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Waldemar has gathered his most trusted advisors and loyalists in a sector of
the ship just for them. He knows what these people think, and how they
react to news. Still, he’s not just going to stand here and blurt out the
plan. He’s divided everyone into circles. A lot of people in history seem to
have had inner circles, and then everyone else, but he’s chosen to have nine
of them. The outermost is simply the entire population of the ship, though,
so it doesn’t really count. And they are certainly not all here today.
This isn’t just for the ninth circle either, though. Those are the
ultra-loyalists. He could literally extinguish the entire population of
Extremus, and they would still be on his side, as long as they personally
survived, of course. That’s obviously not on the table, but it’s important
for him to know who those people are, and to keep them happy. Right now,
he’s standing before the seventh circle, which includes the niners, and
everyone in the eighth as well. Only the people in this room are even aware
that the circles exist. The people in the sixth circle outwards can be
trusted to varying degrees, but never enough to let them in on all this.
Even so, he has to play this smart. He has to play it cool.
Waldemar is the one who came up with the vice captain program. It was great
for him—it got him the job—but now it’s a threat. Most people expect him to
step down to let the next one step up. He has no intention of doing that. He
only allowed the program to continue to find his last true loyalists.
Unfortunately, none of the candidates passed the secret tests he ran on them
while they were undergoing the overt tests. So they’re not here. It’s time.
It’s time to start planting the seeds. Will some intelligent people figure
it out before the time comes? Yes. Will they voice their concerns?
Absolutely. Will it matter? It won’t if he rewards his current army of
loyalists...and curates more.
That is why there aren’t too many people here today. It will be their jobs to
go out and start spreading the good word, so to speak. He first has to teach
them subtlety, though. Well, he won’t be the one to teach them
subtlety. He is not particularly good at it, because he still doesn’t
understand human emotions. But he has someone right by his side for that.
“And now—you all know him, you all love him—it’s my new steward...”
His late wife has been haunting him. He still doesn’t know how it’s
possible, but Silveon claimed to have seen her too. That’s one reason he had
to fire him. They’re not enemies, but he’s only in the fifth circle now. He
just doesn’t get it. Ghost!Audrey doesn’t either. She keeps trying to get
him to change his ways, but if anything, it’s made him more determined.
She almost invariably shows up when he’s alone. That’s why it was so hard to
prove to himself that she was a ghost, and not simply alive and teleporting
around at will. But she’s here now. She has just suddenly appeared on stage
right in front of his steward. Waldemar is too confused to stop himself.
“Audrey Husk!”
The crowd was ramping up into another cheer, but they fall deathly silent.
They know that name. They know it’s not the name of his steward. They don’t
know what to think. It is certainly an odd mistake to make with no
explanation. She has been gone for many years now. Why would he call his
friend that, accidentally or otherwise?
Waldemar freezes. He has never been so embarrassed. No, he has never been
embarrassed at all. He doesn’t feel shame, because he doesn’t care about
other people’s opinions. How can he save himself now? What explanation could
he give? “That’s right!” he decides to say. “It doesn’t matter what your
name was, or what you prefer to be called! If I want to call you something
else, that is exactly what I’ll do! You are now the new Audrey Husk! That’s
the only name I’ll ever let you use! Accept it...or die!”
The new Audrey accepts it.
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