2400 AD
44

They sat along the elongated table on the upper deck of the Pyramid, all seven of them. Nkoni, Kendall, Reacher, Volbrecht, Tshabalala, Raja and Terces. The eighth person was Callum.

“Gideon’s instructions are to bring him back, but we all know that would mean leaving the safety of Denizen 1, and revealing ourselves as the culprits. Xenocon will be seen as the victim,” Volbrecht said.

Kendall stood up and leaned against the table. “That is the least we should be worried about. We have a duty to rescue Gideon. He would have done the same for any one of us. This is something he felt strongly about.”

“If we go the rescue, it will mean war, you understand that?” Reacher said, checking the cleanliness of his fingernails.

“We’ve been at war with Xenocon for a long time, this will be no different,” Tshabalala said.

“A cold war is different to a war where killing takes place. Volbrecht suggested.

“But that is precisely what Xenocon is doing. They kill, make people disappear, brainwash them all on racial lines and leave nothing for the imagination,” Raja said, stroking his beard.

“I agree with Raja,” said Kendall. “The government has returned to racism and we have no option but to put a stop to it. We are all human no matter where we come from, no matter what we do, and no matter where we are going.”

Nkoni stood up. “Our world has changed, people. Destructive forces are playing with us. Not only must we rescue Gideon, because that is imperative, we must also find out who is responsible for the devastation over the last fifteen to twenty years. Look where we are. We’re hiding from civilization when we could be doing great things like restoring our atmosphere, healing people of the Xenocon affliction, breaking down racial barriers. Instead, we secret ourselves and we should be ashamed of that.”

Raja said, “And how do we do all this without a leader?”

“That’s why we are here,” Kendall said. “We need a leader who is brave, not afraid of Xenocon and willing to change our world for the better. To rebuild.”

“We can’t rebuild, not yet. We don’t have enough answers.”

Callum stood up. “Forgive me, but we do have the answers. Jacob and Thespian. They have the answer. Xenocon is not guilty of making buildings and people and animals disappear. They’re not guilty for the Tsunami that hit northeast Africa only three days ago. They’re not the ones who caused the Toba devastation. But they are responsible for dividing us into factions of Denizens and Solarians. Gideon saw into that. His hands were tied, because Suiderland wants the children for a specific reason. The children have the key, and we’re no closer to finding out where they’ve hidden it than when we first brought them here. Find the key, open that door, fix the problem and then we can go about healing the world. Every moment that ticks by means that Gideon is more and more unexposed to us. We must save him. Save him, destroy Xenocon, find the key, fix the problem, heal the world.”

“It’s all been said, not in so many words, but we know all this,” Volbrecht said. “We need to be led, and we need someone who is tough, fair, emotional and combat ready.”

“Are we ready to vote?” Kendall asked.

“Hang on a second,” Callum said. “Kendall, you’re the one closest to Gideon, why don’t you take the responsibility?”

“This is a job for the toughest, and I’m not that person. During the last two days I’ve been with Thespian, and I’ve thought about a lot of things. I have no partner, no child and no heritage to base my life on. I want those things desperately. Truth is, I’m not strong enough. Are we ready to vote? Please don’t vote for yourself.”

The voting was by secret ballot. Each candidate wrote a name on a sheet of paper and deposited it into a box. At the end of the vote, Kendall collected the box and read a name as she removed each ballot.

“Volbrecht – 1.”

“Nkoni – 1.”

“Callum – 1.”

“Callum – that’s 2.”

“Nkoni – that’s 2.”

“Callum – that’s 3.”

“Last vote –” she unfolded the paper slowly and smiled. “Callum – that’s 4 votes. Nkoni 2 votes, Volbrecht – 1 vote. It seems that Callum has been elected as our interim leader.”

“But he’s not part of the leadership,” Tshabalala said.

“The rules state that any person invited into the room during voting, is fair game,” Kendall said. She turned to Callum. “Callum, will you take this position as our leader and act in the interests of all present as well as the citizens of Denizen 1 and the world, will you lead fairly, impartially and firmly without prejudice or sleight?”

Callum looked shocked. He did not expect this and he didn’t know if he was ready, but if others in this select group thought he was ready, then he’d make damned sure that failure wasn’t a part of his vocabulary.

He accepted.

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