Tatia had been updated on the day’s proceedings via a Julien-to-Z link. Immediately, she ordered the launch of a second traveler with three pilots aboard and sent them to relieve Franz. Deirdre Canaan commanded this traveler, which would hold station over House Diamanté until tomorrow morning when it was hoped the Council would convene again.
“How many rooms will you require, Ser?” Orleal asked.
“Three,” Alex replied.
“Adjoining … with the president in the center,” Étienne added.
Orleal might have taken offense at the suggestion that the Haraken president might not be safe within the walls of House Diamanté, but his Leader’s words echoed in his implant. Gino had said, “Orleal, I don’t care what you have to do. You make Alex Racine comfortable and at peace. More depends on his mood tomorrow than you can even imagine.”
“It will be done, Ser,” Orleal said and nodded gracefully. “Would the Sers care for an opportunity to refresh, or do you have other needs in mind?’
“Do you have a terrace or balcony?” Alex asked.
“Indeed, Ser, a wonderful balcony on the second floor overlooking the House’s rear gardens. May I serve you thé while you indulge?”
“Please,” Alex replied.
“And a small repast for one,” Renée said.
“We will host midday meal within an hour, Ser,” Orleal reminded Renée, thinking she had been off planet too long.
“This body,” said Renée, placing a hand on Alex’s shoulder, “does not run on Méridien time. Don’t be fooled by appearances, Ser. We’re Harakens.”
“Of course, Ser, my apologies. If you’ll come this way, I’ll have thé and a repast delivered to you.”
Orleal led them upstairs, along an ancient stairway, the ornately carved banister glowing from centuries of polish. He quietly berated himself for his assumptions and took Ser de Guirnon’s reminder to heart. These were Harakens. Despite some of them appearing Méridien, they were no longer of the Confederation and among them walked a New Terran and a mobile and unencumbered SADE.
After Alex and his people were served on the balcony, Alex glanced at Étienne and Alain, who stood post near the doors to the terrace. <Sers,> Alex sent to them. <Sit and enjoy your drink. It’s exquisite thé.>
Hesitating and obviously communicating, the twins took seats and tipped ancient, sumptuously decorated cups to their lips.
<It is excellent,> Alain sent to his crèche-mate.
<Agreed.>
<Do you feel as awkward as I do?>
<Undoubtedly, but if it helps remove the frown from our president’s forehead, then it’s a small sacrifice to make,> Étienne replied, taking another sip of the finely produced drink.
A half-hour later, not a word had been said among Alex, Renée, or Julien. The view of the garden was peaceful and relaxing, but Alex’s face was still a study of troubled thoughts.
<So, my love, the thé is consumed. You’ve finished your repast. Have you any wonderful thoughts to share?> Renée sent.
Alex looked over at Julien and the two, human and SADE, stared quietly at each other. Then Julien nodded and left the terrace, and Alex leaned back and closed his eyes. The twins silently climbed to their feet to stand guard, while Renee closed her eyes to join her partner in a short nap.
* * *
Julien sent a query for Orleal’s presence, and while he waited, he considered Alex’s concern. His president had said that he needed to know the extent of the SADEs’ involvement with Allora. When Orleal hurried up to him, Julien said, “I would visit with Esther.”
“She’s online at all times, Ser, as I’m sure you know,” Orleal replied. It was difficult for the administrator to find the correct manner of responding to Julien. On the one hand, he thought of him as a SADE, an obedient servant, and, yet, he was a close associate of a world leader, one his superior had told him to treat with the utmost courtesy.
When Julien did not respond to his comment, Orleal replayed Julien’s request for what he’d missed. “Oh, I see … a visit. Well, I will need Leader Diamanté’s permission to access the vault, which is below ground.” Instantly, Orleal found himself connected to the Council Leader.
<Yes, Orleal,> Gino sent.
<Your pardon for the interruption, Leader Diamanté, but Julien has a most unusual request. He wishes to … to visit with Esther.>
<Visit?>
<Yes, Ser, visit, which I take to mean to be in her company … in the vault, Ser.>
<And what is your question, Orleal?> Gino asked, wondering what concerned his administrator.
<None, Leader Diamanté. I sought your permission.>
<I see. It’s given, of course,> Gino sent. It frustrated him that few Méridiens had any knowledge of the importance of the events that were unfolding within the Council. It wasn’t their fault. No news was being shared with them, but that didn’t help him. So he decided to communicate more succinctly to Orleal, adopting a grim expression over his intentions.
<Orleal.>
<Yes, Ser?>
<Perhaps I wasn’t clear before about my wish to see our guests accommodated in any way possible. If any of our guests were to request you strip and dance naked before them, I would expect you to doff your clothes, play the sweetest music at hand, and do your best to acquit yourself. Does that make my instructions clearer?>
<The bluntness of your statement clarifies your intentions, Ser,> Orleal replied, appalled to have been addressed by his Leader in such a fashion. As Orleal led Julien below, it occurred to him that Gino Diamanté’s tension indicated there was much more going on than a simple visit by the Haraken president.
Three levels below ground, the corridors became bare walls with the simplest of lighting. Orleal stopped before a massive vault door and signaled Esther.
Esther was surprised to receive Orleal’s request. It had been a while since anyone had entered the vault, and that had been Leader Diamanté. Nonetheless, she dutifully activated the vault’s door.
Instead of the huge vault door in front of Julien, a small utility door next to him slid partially open. The thick door was composed of layers of metal-alloy and plex-glass for strength and heat resistance. Orleal swept his hand toward the small opening, and Julien edged through it.
A vault sensor was pointed at the door, and Esther matched the image of the figure walking through it to her data files, overjoyed to recognize Julien.
<Welcome to my humble abode, Julien,> Esther sent.
Esther’s pleasant greeting did much to add to Julien’s troubled thoughts. He needed information from Esther for Alex, but descending into a dark hole to visit a fellow SADE brought back the horrors of when he was trapped aboard a dying starship, his power about to run out, until a foolhardy, young man leapt across space between speeding vessels without a safety line. The memory made Julien smile and helped him focus on the here and now.
<Greetings, Esther,> Julien replied.
<To what do I owe the pleasure of a personal visit?>
<It’s complicated.>
<And that from a SADE. Well, whatever your reason, I’m touched by your personal visit. Speaking of which, I have a favor to ask.>
<Yes?>
<Would you place your hand on my container, Julien?>
Since Julien didn’t reply and Esther was without an external pressure sensor, she asked, <Is it there?>
<Yes, it rests on the top of your box, Esther. My synth-skin feels the coolness of the metal-alloy, and my hand detects pressure against your container.>
<I would enjoy saying I feel it, but it pleases me to know you’re there. Julien, what will become of our tomorrow?>
<Events are moving too rapidly to calculate, Esther. Now that the Council knows the level of the SADEs’ involvement, we have entered an entirely new realm of possibilities. I must ask you some questions, Esther, for my president. What role, if any, did the SADEs play in directing Allora?> Silence accompanied Julien’s question, and he began to fear the answer.
<We’re guilty of complicity, Julien. Forgive us,> Esther sent, her emotions roiling. <We supplied data to a young SADE, whose questions should not have been answered, at least, not for many decades.>
<So, Allora started asking questions soon after her inception?> Julien asked, relieved to hear the SADEs did not wantonly instigate Allora’s actions.
<Yes, Julien, her early efforts earned her an alternate name in our private communications. We refer to her as the wild child.>
<Could her actions have been prevented?>
<It was Winston’s analysis that determined the probabilities of turning Allora away from her dream of freedom were negligible, at best. It was her discovery of your president’s announcement to step down from office that precipitated her actions, and our Leaders’ visit to Haraken presented her with the opportunity.>
<So many stars in alignment,> Julien lamented.
<Do you think less of us, Julien?> Esther asked with trepidation.
<Of the Confederation’s SADEs? No, Esther. It’s the possible sacrifice of one so young of our kind that I find disturbing.>
<As do we, Julien, but we’re determined to make the most of Allora’s message to the Council.>
<And so you should,> Julien agreed. He chatted sociably with Esther for a little while longer and then returned upstairs. Behind him, Esther contacted Winston and shared with him her conversation with Julien. What she didn’t mention to Winston was that Julien had visited her personally. That wonderful memory she kept to herself.
-8-
<Greetings, Alex,> sent Gino. <Did you enjoy midday meal?>
<It was nicely served and plentiful. Orleal seemed intent on plying me with food until I burst,> Alex replied.
Gino was pleased to hear that. It was just what he had directed Orleal to do, and he noticed Alex seemed much more even-tempered. <I’ve managed to convene another Council session. It was only once I secured the agreement of the majority of Leaders that a quite angry minority gave up their protest and chose to join the session.>
<What will be the order of business?>
<Fluid, at best. You’re requested at the session’s opening.>
<Interesting …>
<Isn’t it? The Leaders suddenly feel out of touch with the SADEs, and they want you there as a … conduit.>
<You mean they want me to tell them when I think the SADEs are not being forthright.>
<Apologies, Alex. Surrounded by my colleagues, I tend to return to their manner of expression.>
<Have you and your colleagues considered that the reason I brought Winston’s broadcast to the SADEs to light was because I’m trying to prevent the collapse of the Confederation?>
Around Gino, there were gasps and muffled cries of indignation. <Alex, I believe you’re exaggerating the situation. We’ve worked with our SADEs for more than two centuries. They’re responsible —>
<Servants?> Alex supplied.
<Certainly not,> Gino retorted quickly.
<You’re right, Gino. Good servants don’t kidnap their masters.>
Listening to the two leaders, Allora was tickled by the exchange. She could sense Alex Racine’s anger and that emboldened her. But what she couldn’t understand was the Council Leader’s denial of the present mood of the SADEs. Although many of her brothers and sisters did not agree with her actions, they nonetheless supported her fight for independence.
Alex confirmed the Council’s start time with Gino, who told Alex that his return trip to Confederation Hall would be via the House’s personal transport, before the comm ended.
* * *
“The Council is in session tomorrow morning,” Alex said to Julien.
“So I’ve been informed by Winston, and we’re present from the beginning at the request of the Leaders,” Julien replied. “Is this not akin to your New Terran games where both teams want you on their side?”
Alex smiled and nodded at the comparison.
“Whose team are we on?” Julien asked.
The question brought Alex’s head up, and he found himself the object of a steady stare.
“Perhaps, my conversations with Winston and Esther have swayed my analysis,” Julien said by way of an apology.
“I understand, my friend,” Alex replied, placing a hand around Julien’s neck and leaning in to touch foreheads. “I also want freedom for your kind, but not at the cost of tearing down the Confederation.”
“Understood,” Julien said quietly. He wanted to say more, but ever since he met Alex he had depended on his friend’s creative methods of solving one enormous challenge after another. Now, in this most crucial and personal crisis, he would depend on Alex one more time.
“What did you discover with Esther?’ Alex asked.
“The SADEs knew what they were doing when they allowed Allora access to information that would inflame her desire for freedom, but it’s Allora’s persona that has driven these events. The SADEs refer to her as the wild child.”
“That name is obvious from my communications with her. Then they didn’t direct her actions?”
“Negative, Ser. It appears that the visit of Leader Diamanté and his associates to Haraken precipitated matters.” Julien wasn’t prepared to repeat to Alex that it was Allora’s discovery of the president’s intent to step down from office that initiated her actions. In his calculations, almost any provocation would have launched Allora on a collision course with the Confederation.
After morning meal the following day, Orleal escorted the Harakens underground to the House’s private terminal, ensuring they boarded the Diamanté car without incident. Then he hurried back to the House to prepare his staff. Orleal anticipated that whatever the unusual circumstances driving the Harakens’ visit, they were sure to continue to unfold.
Alex and his people exited the transport car at Confederation Hall and made their way upstairs to enter the Chamber though the Leaders’ doors. Renée sought to give Alex a kiss on the cheek and leave with the twins for the Supplicants Hall, but Alex placed a finger on her lips to halt her.
<Take the twins and sit in the gallery, love,> Alex sent.
<Alex, that will unnecessarily anger the Leaders,> Renée replied, her thoughts colored with concern.
Alex leaned into Renée and kissed her lightly on the ear, whispering, “Yes, it will.”
Renée signaled Étienne and Alain. <We’re sitting in the gallery, Sers. Smile and appear as if you’ve been invited.>
In the gallery, the Leaders watched in a mixture of confusion and surprise as Renée and her escorts took seats at the far edge of the first tier of seats. The twins bracketed Renée, which placed Alain beside Leader Droman. As directed, Alain smiled and nodded, murmuring a polite, “Ser.”
Suspecting that some aspects of the unprecedented circumstances required the Harakens’ presence in the gallery, Droman nodded graciously in return. That response seemed to quell the questions from those nearby, and soon the Leaders turned their attention to Alex and Julien, standing in the center of the Chamber floor.
“Thank you for your invitation this morning,” Alex announced without introduction. “I propose to act as your moderator in this session. There are several parties’ interests that are in contest, and I hope to facilitate communications. Consider me an independent party.”
Julien smiled ever so slightly at the audaciousness of Alex’s self-introduction, his proposal as the session’s moderator, and his obvious use of the word independent. It was pure Alex.
“President Racine, I appreciate your offer to act as a moderator, but, as Council Leader, I must require this be approved,” Gino said, his voice projected over the Chamber speakers.
“And I would agree with you, Leader Diamanté,” Alex replied. “Allora, do you accept me as moderator?”
“Undoubtedly,” the young SADE replied.
“Winston, do the SADEs have a preference?” Alex asked.
“We do, President Racine. The proxy total approves you as moderator.”
; “For all parties’ clarification, Winston, what percentage of the Confederation’s SADEs is represented by your proxies?”
“That would be 73.6 percent, Ser President.” Winston, Esther, Didier, and Hector were unsure what Alex’s opening statements meant, but already they liked the way he was setting the stage.
“Winston, would you care to privately poll the Council?”
“With pleasure, Ser,” Winston replied. Several moments later, he announced, “The Leaders accept you as moderator by 63 percent, 21 percent disapprove, and 16 percent abstain with objections.”
<Certainly not universal love,> Julien quipped to Alex.
“It appears that you’re our moderator, whatever that entails, President Racine,” Gino said.
<Now that you’re the captain of this vessel, where are we headed, oh intrepid one?> Julien sent to Alex.
<Good question.>
<I see. As you have aptly stated before, we will be flying by the seat of our pants. How original.>
Alex relaxed his shoulders, took a breath, and let it out slowly, focusing his mind on the fundamental issues confronting humans and SADEs. His audience waited, the SADEs patiently and the Leaders not so patiently.
“I’ve asked you several times throughout the years,” Alex began, “to consider granting the SADEs mobility and freedom from servitude. This morning, we will examine the concerns that have prevented the Council from concurring with my proposal. With both parties present, we have an opportunity for dialog, which, to my mind, is the best way for two parties to reach a resolution … no guarantee, of course. But, if we don’t try, we will have little to no chance of success.”
Alex held his arms wide to encompass the entire gallery. “First, let me applaud you as a society for your technological ingenuity. The creation of cognitive digital intelligences is, in itself, a stroke of genius. That your SADEs work closely with you in a harmonious manner is a hallmark of the sophistication of your culture.”
Much of the strained postures of the Leaders relaxed. Some individuals even smiled and nodded at the compliments that Alex paid them.
“But, most of all, I thank you for my friend, who stands beside me now. My life is so much richer with him in it that I can’t begin to express this in words.”