| Generated by Pollo AI text-to-video AI software |
Resi demanded to speak with the Assembly, or whoever was trying to stop
House Kutelin from exiling to Anchor Island. They refused, as always, but
Zenith and the Bungulans were not happy about it. The purpose of this island
is to facilitate movement and communication. Refusing to meet your opponent
is the first sign of being on the wrong side. So Zenith pretty much forced
it to happen. Since Speaker Lincoln committed suicide, she was replaced by
the next in line. Sherman is now the interim Speaker, and will serve in this
capacity until a new appointment can be made. He brought his granddaughter
here for some reason. She is fifteen years old—having not yet gone through
her Kidjum—and Resi has never heard of her before, but she looks familiar,
like she showed up in a dream once recently, or something. That can’t be it,
though. He hasn’t dreamed even once since his botched Kidjum. She really has
no business being here, but he can’t argue against it. She looks at him like
she knows something he doesn’t, which she surely does.
“Can we all be civil, or do I need to remain here to mediate?” Zenith asks.
“You may go,” Speaker Sherman tells her.
“You do not need to mediate,” Resi begins, like he’s going to agree. “But
stay anyway. They are your guests. I would like you to see who they are.”
Zenith closes her eyes and bows slightly before taking a seat against the
wall.
It’s important that Resi speaks first, so he can seize the upper hand. “Tell
me. Where do you expect us to go? You won’t allow us to return to Yana, and
you won’t let us live here. So what other options do we have? What do you
want, or think we should do? Should we kill ourselves, like your coward of a
former leader?”
Sherman isn’t pleased by his words, but his granddaughter has the strongest
reaction. She doesn’t speak, though. “It may sound like a contradiction, but
I assure you that it’s not. You may not stay on Yana. You may not live here
on Anchor Island,” Speaker Sherman says.
“There’s nowhere else!” Resi cries. That was the wrong move. He has lost his
advantage now. He needs to stay calm and in control. Let his enemy see no
emotion. No one ever taught him that, it just makes sense.
Sherman is successfully managing to follow Resi’s internal advice, so it
must be the right call, at least in theory. “I am not here to give you
answers, or options, only restrictions. It is our job to manage the affairs
of the Tamboran nation, and to engage with other cultures when necessary.
House Kutelin is not a culture whose sovereignty we recognize. Therefore,
there is nothing we can do for you.”
The other Fold Leaders begin to yell and argue against his ridiculous
position. Resi motions for them to relax. “You may not think that you owe us
anything, and the truth may be that you don’t. But if you don’t answer me,
you will be the ones declaring war against House Kutelin, not the other way
around. We do exist, and the other Houses know us. You may tear us down, and
wipe us out, but your will lose your power over Tambora. The people will not
stand by. You will lose your reëlections, and you will have accomplished
nothing good. Is that what you want?”
Sherman only smiles. “I’ve told you, I’m not here to give you any answers.
This conversation is over.” He looks over at Zenith. “I have fulfilled my
promise. I gave him five minutes. Now we’re done. Please arrange my
transport home. Resi and his people must leave within one day, and the rest
of his House must leave Yana a week after that. If I find out you’ve been
harboring any members of House Kutelin after that, the Accords will be
broken, and you know what that means.”
“I do.” Zenith wasn’t happy, but she wasn’t going to go against him either.
No one on this planet has the authority to do anything. If that’s true, then
maybe he should stop asking for what he needs. Maybe he should just take it.
Resi watches the Speaker and the Assembly walk out of the room. As she
passes by, Sherman’s daughter flings something from her device to his. He
doesn’t look at it until they’ve all left. It’s a note from her. She wants
to meet on the rock beach. Alone.
Here it is. Here’s where the relative or assistant swoops in with a
knowledge bomb, and our hero has to decide if she can be trusted or not. In
half the movies, she can be, and in the other half, she can’t. If she
can’t, and is still loyal to the villain, the hero seemingly takes
her advice anyway, only for it to turn out that he knew the truth the whole
time, and was playing the long game to dupe them both. There is no
workaround for this trope. If you operate inside of the system, there is no
way to beat that system. The reality of her loyalties, and the hero’s
actions, are equally dictated by the needs of the story. This is real life,
which means what he chooses here could result in failure, and even
casualties. No author is trying to make it more interesting, or lead things
down the right path.
“You’re not going alone,” Vantu insists. “You must be protected.” Vantu is a
bit of a brute, but a very kind one, and very protective of anyone smaller
or weaker. That’s usually not Resi himself, but he’s been particularly
clingy on this trip due to the high stakes. Still, it won’t be necessary.
Resi already has a plan.
“If they want to hurt me, there are easier ways to do it. A Bungulan-run
island is the worst place to try something fishy. They got drones flying all
over the place.”
“They only react so quickly,” Vantu argues, “and won’t be able to stop
anything. Let me stay out of earshot, but in line of sight, so she knows
she’s being monitored.”
“Really, it won’t be necessary, but I’ll let you walk with me,” Resi tells
him.
He follows the girl’s directions, and heads towards the beach. He sees her
standing there on the rocks, hair blowing in the wind. She’s changed her
clothes into an asymmetrical shawl loosely wrapped around her waist, and
what at this distance looks like a flower bikini top. She must think that he
will listen to her because of it. He doesn’t advertise his asexuality but he
doesn’t hide it either. If she’s done her homework, she’ll know that this
won’t work. Or maybe she’s just hot. They are in the tropics, after
all. He shouldn’t assume what her motivations are. He has no clue who she
really is, or what she wants. He can’t trust her, though, that much is
absolutely certain. She appears to be rather patient. She’s not folding her
arms, or even shifting her weight between legs. She’s a statue, which may be
telling him all he needs to know.
Resi looks over his own shoulder at Vantu, who nods, acknowledging that this
is where he will remain so he doesn’t interfere with whatever is exchanged
here. It doesn’t matter. Resi turns back at the stranger. He slowly draws
his open hand up against his forehead in salute. Then he steadily swings it
forward dramatically. If he could see her face from this distance, it would
probably look confused. He doesn’t go up to see if he’s right. He just turns
and walks away. The only way to win this game is to refuse to play.
No comments :
Post a Comment