Heroes - ch6
News Bulletin - in politics, the brand new Senate meets for its first full session, today. The issue that’s top of the agenda is said to be a motion to restrict the power of the Guilds. Conspiracy theorists have kept public attention on the Guilds and their ability to be, apparently, ‘above the law’ in some matters, although many dismiss their theories as propaganda of the lowest kind. This Senate has a record low number of Guild members who currently hold prominent positions within their respective Guild as well, and there are rumours that some members of the Senate are hoping to take this opportunity…
Security Guild Head, Commander Hal Basson, clicked off the holo-player on his desk at the sound of a knock on his office door. He pressed a button on the desk, and the door slid open soundlessly. Captain Callistan entered, as stiff as ever in her Citadel Guard uniform. Her boots and buttons gleamed. She stood stiffly to attention on the carpet in front of his desk, until he invited her to sit down.
‘Thank you, Sir,’ she acknowledged, and sat, just as stiff and upright as when she had been standing.
Basson waved away her thanks. ‘Thank you, Captain, for coming to see me. I only need a brief update on progress. There is a meeting of the Council of Guild Heads this afternoon, and I like to be fully briefed on the exact situation of my own area ahead of these things.’
‘Of course, Sir. In brief, the Tech Section is working at full capacity, and within budget. We met all of our targets for the last quarter, and surpassed our target for the timeliness of repairs,’ Callistan stated in her usual clipped tones.
‘Yes, Captain, I had gathered that much from your quarterly report,’ Basson replied, dryly. ‘However, I was referring specifically to the two or three minor personnel issues that we discussed at our last meeting.’
Callistan settled herself more comfortably in her chair. ‘I was just getting to that, Sir. Cartonian is becoming a liability, I am afraid. He has been given more than usual leeway in an effort to bring him in to line. There have been improvements, certainly, but not nearly enough.
‘He has used his position to intimidate his subordinates, to exhort favours of…various sorts, and to cover up his own low productivity. Whilst Senior Technicians in general do consider milder forms of these activities to be the “perks of the job”, they usually engage in them covertly, even subtly.
‘Unfortunately, Cartonian has never learned the meaning of the word “subtlety”. In itself, that is not a disaster, either for him personally, or for the service as a whole. However, there have been several complaints from members of the public about his handling of certain situations - too many complaints for us to ignore.
‘I am, therefore, left with no alternative other than to remove him from the Tech Service completely.’
Stroking his chin, thoughtfully, the Commander asked, ‘Is that really necessary? Could you not demote him temporarily? Or even permanently?’
Callistan bridled a little. ‘I assure you, Sir, that I have considered all possible courses of action with regard to Cartonian. I have even tried most of them. Demoting him would, in my opinion, simply antagonise him to the point that he would be impossible for the Senior Technician who had to supervise him to manage.
‘That opinion is based on my many years of experience of working with Technicians of many different kinds, as you know, Sir. It is also informed by an particular incident from three years ago, which I am sure you remember as well as I do.’
Basson shuddered visibly, and nodded in agreement. ‘Yes, I remember Talloth very well. Too well. Some of the repercussions of that are still being played out.
‘Very well, you have my explicit permission to act as you feel best with regard to Cartonian. I would like to stress that I was not questioning your judgement, earlier. I have my own performance targets to meet,’ here he gave a wry smile, ‘and I wanted to be able to inform the Council with complete conviction that every possible avenue had been explored.’
The Captain gave a slight nod in acknowledgement that she understood. ‘I fully appreciate your position, Commander. The existence of the Council is of great value with its ability to regulate the activity of the Guilds without any requirement for an external body.’
‘I am glad you see things that way, Captain,’ Basson responded, with another of his wry smiles. ‘I wish that certain… Socialist… elements in the Senate appreciated our work in the same way. But, perhaps, I am getting ahead of events, there. Certainly, there is no immediate cause for concern.’
‘On the other hand, Sir, it always pays to consider all eventualities,’ observed his visitor.
He nodded, thoughtfully. ‘You are perfectly correct, as always, Captain. Your political abilities will take you to places you cannot yet imagine, as I have told you before.’
Callistan demurred, but she was clearly pleased with the compliment from her superior. ‘I am quite content with my current position, Sir. There is quite enough politics to deal with, I assure you!’
‘Of course, Captain, of course. So, Cartonian is to go. I shall leave the details up to you, of course. Now, what do you have to report of our latest addition?’
The Captain sneered slightly. ‘She still insists on using her ridiculous “tag”, I am sorry to report. As we discussed last time, I began with the standard procedure for such cases, by instructing all of the Techs on her shift to completely ignore her. Whilst her general demeanour indicated that she was suffering from loneliness, her productivity remained consistently high.
‘Too high, as it turned out. I had to reprimand her the other day for repairing all of the disabled gate security systems! If she had been more integrated, one of her colleagues would have given her all of the inside information not included in the Manual, by now. Anyway, I pointed out to her the error she had made, and she corrected it, immediately.
‘Actually, the two cases overlap, you know? Cartonian is her Senior Technician, and he could easily have told her what she needed to do without me having to get involved. It’s just one example of the type of petty power mongering that he’s been engaging in, letting her be hauled over the coals by me, when he could have prevented it.’
Hurriedly, she added, ‘Not that I feel the slightest sympathy for her, of course! She has created this situation for herself. She even tolerates that horrid little flat we gave her! I would at least have tried to get permission to redecorate it, probably via Cartonian - some kind of mutually beneficial arrangement would have been pretty easy for them to cook up between them.
‘The girl has no political skills whatsoever!’ exclaimed the Captain, disgust clearly evident in her voice. She took a deep breath, and continued in a calmer tone, ‘Anyway, be that as it may, she had not succumbed to the isolation technique, which is usually successful in a much shorter space of time than she has been with us. Either she really has no concern for the opinions of others, or she is somehow still in contact with her friends and family in the Slums.’
Basson raised an eyebrow. ‘Would it really be possible for her to have kept a channel open for so long without it being detected?’
‘For this girl, Sir, I would believe anything to be possible. Her talent is over and above anything we have seen before, which is the only reason I am taking such pains to keep her with us. However, in order for us to take full advantage of that talent, we need her to integrate fully.’
‘I am well aware of that,’ her superior responded, his tone of voice at its very driest.
Callistan looked slightly uncomfortable for a moment. ‘Of course you are, Commander,’ she replied, at last.
After a moment’s awkward silence, she continued, ‘Given all of that, I have implemented the plan we discussed last time. I have found another Tech who fits the profile that her psych tests indicate she would find physically attractive. He was given a brief background, based on what we know about the current social structures in the Slums, and also an appropriate costume. Getting them to meet was ridiculously easy, and then things were allowed to run their course.
‘I met with the young man concerned earlier, knowing that you would want a full update. He informs me that he has assisted her in choosing some more appropriate clothing, and that she now trusts him sufficiently for their relationship to have become… er… physical.’
‘That’s all a bit quick, isn’t it?’ Basson enquired.
‘I think it is an indication of just how isolated and lonely the girl was feeling, Sir. She was more than ready for someone she could see as a friend, someone who was, apparently, in the same position as herself.’
‘And what about your theory of her having links to the Slums? How much does she need a friend from amongst the Techs if she is still getting support from that quarter?’
Callistan pursed her lips thoughtfully. ‘Even if she is still in touch with the Slums, she can’t be in constant contact, can she? Her whole life is here, now, even if she does get the odd pep talk from “the folks”. She is surrounded by people who are very different to her, and who pay attention to each other but not her.’
‘That is making sense, Captain. And you think your ideas are born out by her reaction to your plant?’ Basson asked.
The woman nodded slowly as she replied, ‘Yes, Sir, I think so. She has gone from being steadfastly opposed to giving up any of her former attire to purchasing an entire outfit, just in a couple of days. There is apparently no suspicion in her mind about the young man, so it should be fairly easy to move her along the path to full integration.’
‘And will you encourage their relationship to continue?’
‘I see no reason not to, when it is proving so useful, Sir.’
‘You don’t think that, perhaps, she would be surprised that the young man encourages her to change and become more like other Citadwellers whilst he retains his Slummer credentials?’
‘I think, Sir, that it could be quite easily arranged that he changes with her. After all, he would be returning to his usual appearance. Seeing her change succesfully could easily be the “spark” that encourages him to “integrate”, too.’
‘You would not be unduly worried, then, if it transpired that the boy actually developed real feelings for her?’ pressed the Commander.
Just for a moment, Callistan looked as if such a thought had genuinely never passed through her mind, as if the possibility of people having real feelings for one another were completely beyond her experience. She quickly smoothed her expression, however, and said, ‘I don’t see why it should matter. If she finds herself in the throws of a lover affair, it is more likely to cement her loyalty to the Citadel.’
‘A fair point, Captain, a fair point. And what if he should one day reveal that he began the affair in… er… dubious circumstances?’
‘That would depend on how much he chose to reveal in his sudden moment of honesty, would it not, Commander?’ Callistan said, a steely edge to her voice. ‘Any mention of names, and he would most certainly regret it.’
‘If he lived that long,’ was the dry rejoinder.
What appeared to be a genuine smile, though not a pleasant one, spread over the Captain’s face. ‘Absolutely, Sir.’
‘Very well, Captain, I think the situation is under control, at least for the moment. I urge you to keep on top of this one, however. I am sure that I don’t need to remind you to proceed with caution in such circumstances, but I would be neglecting my own responsibilities if I did not.’
‘Of course, Sir. I shall consider myself duly reminded.’
‘I am glad we understand each other, Captain. Now then, is there anything else you wish to draw to my attention before you leave?’
Callistan considered the question for a few moments, before nodding her head a little hesitantly. ‘There is just one other thing, Sir, perhaps only a minor thing, but it has been bothering me, slightly.’
‘Something that bothers you slightly, Captain, is something that is bound to be significant,’ replied Basson, leaning forward in his chair. ‘Please, speak freely. There is nothing that worries you that I would not wish to know about.’
‘Well, Sir, it’s this business with the Henton boy’s death. The official report may fool the general populace, and I seriously expect that most people have already forgotten about the affair. However, I doubt that it’s enough to satisfy the kind of people who engage in spinning conspiracy theories.’
‘You speak as if you did not believe the official report to be completely, Captain,’ her superior commented, a hard glitter appearing in his eyes. ‘Perhaps you have a conspiracy theory of your own to share with the world?’
The Captain swallowed hard, and licked her lips nervously. ‘Well, of course I believe the report is accurate, Commander! After all, to think anything else would be to doubt the efforts of our excellent colleagues in the Slummer police, and the ability of the Citadel Guard to detect an incomplete investigation.’
‘Wise words, Captain. And, of course, one must not forget that if the investigation had been less than... thorough… and the Citadel Guard gave it their official stamp of approval, that would admit the possibility that one of two equally unpleasant situations would be true. Either, the Citadel Guards who assisted the Slummer police could not detect that the investigation was shoddy, which would make them incompetent, or that they knew full well that it was incomplete, which would make them corrupt an involve them in a cover up.
‘In fact,’ he continued, a still harder edge creeping into his voice, ‘it would involve the whole of the Citadel Guard in that incompetence or cover up.’
‘Of course, I was not implying anything of that nature!’ exclaimed Callistan, who appeared genuinely shocked at the suggestion. ‘After all, what could any one possibly gain from such behaviour? But that is, essentially my point.
‘Conspiracy theories require no real evidence in order to gain momentum. They merely need something to be… slightly unusual, perhaps. For example, in the case we are discussing, the report was completed very quickly, and includes very little information on the investigation itself.
‘More has been made of situations that were far more… er… robust, Sir.’
Basson gazed at her impassively, and she stumbled on, ‘All I wished to do, Commander, was to… draw your attention to the possibilities. Of course, I am sure you, and the Council, have already given the matter your full consideration.’
‘Is there anything else, Captain?’ enquired the Commander.
Callistan shook her head and almost ran from the room when she was dismissed.
News Bulletin - Father Delagor, the wealthy priest from Westernesse Citadel who recently applied for asylum in Alexandria Citadel is believed to have been killed. Our Correspondent in Westernesse Citadel reports that rumours have been circulating to that effect for the past two days, and that a body was recovered from the sewers that is believed to be that of Father Delagor. He has long been an outspoken critic of the government of Westernesse Citadel, and what he claimed was widespread corruption amongst its members. A post mortem, and formal identification of the body, will be carried out later today. The Pleasure Channel will, of course, continue…
Basson gave a weary sigh, as if the subject of politics was one he had no time for, and switched off his mobile-com. He walked smartly through the gleaming streets of Alexandria Citadel, the very image of military competence. His uniform was as much a second skin to him as Callistan’s was to her, but he wore his more comfortably, and less like a shield.
The route between his own office and the Council of Guild Heads’ meeting rooms was engrained in his memory, and he followed it without hesitation. The Council met in the original Senate building, the source of much amusement to its members. It was the best kept secret in the Citadel that real power lay in their hands, not those of the Senate. They held their positions as Guild Heads by merit, not by some arbitrary drawing of lots. Democracy, by allowing each person to have their say on all issues regardless of their fitness to understand them, tended to distract people from the way that things really worked. And that suited the Council very well indeed.
The rumours that some Senate members wished to actually attempt to exercise real power, to really control the Citadel, had been publicly dismissed by the Council. Of course, they had been dismissed on the grounds that the Council was not the real power in the Citadel to begin with. How could the Senate “reclaim” the power that it already possessed, the Council asked. In private, however, many of the Council were beginning to be worried.
The Commander of the Citadel Guard climbed the steps in front of the old Senate building, and walked through its imposing doorway. Just inside waiting for the lift, he met the Head of the Tech Guild. They nodded to each other in greeting.
‘Hal, how are you?’ Sal Hempton asked, cheerfully.
‘Can’t complain, Sal,’ he answered, smoothly. ‘And yourself?’
‘Couldn’t be better,’ was the response.
Conversation was suspended for a moment as the lift arrived, and they got inside. Hempton pressed the button that would take them to the correct floor, and then turned her attention back to Basson. ‘And what about our little competition winner? Is she settling in to your Tech department over at the Security Building?’
‘I think she is beginning to, yes,’ said the Commander. ‘She has been experiencing the usual adjustment issues, according to Captain Callistan, but we are confident that she is now on track to being a useful Citadweller.’
Hempton nodded. ‘I am very glad to hear it. She is the most promising competition winner we’ve had in a very long time. It would be a great shame if we were not able to take full advantage of her abilities.’
‘Captain Callistan was saying very nearly the same thing, only this morning,’ smiled Basson. ‘Great minds, Sal, great minds!’
The Head of the Tech Guild did not look as if she entirely liked being placed in the same category as Captain Callistan, but she was not required to respond as the lift arrived at their floor. The lift doors whispered open, and they stepped across the thickly carpeted corridor into the Council meeting room. Inside, they busied themselves with greeting the other Guild Heads, getting cups of coffee, and so on, and so found no reason to speak to each other again.
A number of conversations were being carried out around the table, as this was viewed by most of the Council as the way most of their business with one another was best done. All other forms of communication were liable to being intercepted by unfriendly eyes or ears, or, perhaps worse, being recorded and kept to be produced at an inopportune moment by one of the parties to the detriment of the other. On the other hand, a “friendly word in the right ear” quite often produced results that were of mutual benefit, without the need for anything formal being recorded.
This practice was, probably, the reason why the Council met as often as it did.
The positions of Chair and Secretary to the Council were assigned on a strict rota basis. For this meeting, the Head of the Guild of Merchants was in the Chair, and the Head of the Guild of Games (including designers, programmers, and producers, but not story writers or distributors) was operating the recording equipment. The apologies of the Heads of Science and Engineering were noted, and then the Council turned to the agenda’s single item.
‘Now then, ladies and gentlemen,’ Lunter Gramble, Head of the Guild of Merchants, ‘we all know what we’re here to discuss. It is a fairly straightforward matter, and I do not anticipate that it will take us very long to cover the various issues involved. I would like to thank the authors for producing a most excellent, and illuminating, paper, which rehearses the main points. I trust you have all had a chance to read it, since it was circulated several days ago? Yes? In that case, I do not propose to go over it in any detail.
‘Instead, I would like to open the discussion with the first question in the paper; what will the Citadel be like if the current situation is allowed to continue?’