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It’s been a couple of weeks. House Kutelin has had their ups and their
downs, but if we’re talking hard numbers, then all ups. A lot of graduates
are joining, and no one who joins can leave. Some things are meant to start
to change, but Resi isn’t sure if that’s one of them; where people can shift
between Houses at will. House leaders will start campaigning for members.
They’ll incentivize switching sides. Entire industries on this island could
suffer. They technically already are. With fewer people joining any of the
four original Houses these days, those who are already in them are
struggling. Just a little bit, but it will presumably get worse. Older
generations will start to feel the need to stay on the job for longer.
Younger generations will feel bitter about being stuck. Right now, Aether
doesn’t contribute anything. All they do is take. Resi is not an idiot. He
absolutely foresaw this. The question is, did the Assembly? Well, he’s about
to find out. After all this time, they have finally asked for a meeting.
Let’s see how upset they are.
The first thing he hears is clapping. He stops short of rounding the corner,
where he’ll see, and be seen by, the Assemblymen. Did he come in too early?
The steward said that they were ready for him, but if they’re still
finishing up previous business...
“What’s wrong?” Caprice asks.
“I’m waiting until they’re done,” Resi explains.
“That’s for you,” she explains. “Better get in there so they can rest their
arms.”
Resi grimaces, and timidly continues. As he steps in enough to start to see
faces, they look back at him with smiles, and begin to cheer louder. This
again? It happened at his Kidjum, and he still doesn’t understand why. Not
really. Everything he has studied about history has taught him that people
hate change. It doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad, they fear it. One might
think that a post-scarcity society would have possibly moved past that, but
no. Even outside of this one little island, they fear change. That’s
actually what getting rid of things like money, poverty, and war did. It
created equilibrium. No more change, just peace and predictability. And the
only reason Yana hasn’t joined them is because they started the race from
behind. They’re afraid of making that one last change to end all change.
That’s how his philosophy teacher explained it. The lecture is still fresh
in his mind, because it was only a few months ago. When he was a kid.
“All right, all right,” the Speaker says as she’s pressing their voices down
with both hands. Resi isn’t all that familiar with who these people are.
Politics were never his thing. He always thought he would just work the dirt
and keep his head down for the rest of his life. He believes that Speaker
Lincoln is from House Maing’aing, but she would have shed that association a
long time ago. Civil service is a separate thing, which is expected to serve
all Houses equally. They always talk about the four Houses, but in reality,
there are a lot more. They are just the original four industrial domains,
before life became too complex for such limited stratification. You may join
a House but work in a tangential field. She holds silent for a moment, like
she’s waiting for Resi to finish his internal thoughts. “Resi Brooks, First
Tongue of Aether, Founder of House Kutelin, thank you for coming in today.
You honor us with your presence.” She gestures to him.
Is he supposed to say something? Something in particular? Is this ceremony?
He wasn’t given any guidelines. “Speaker Lincoln of the Tambora Assembly,
thank you for having me. I look forward to hearing your grievances, and
working towards a common goal.” Wow. What the hell was that? Just say the
quiet part out loud, why don’t you?
The whole Assembly laughs. They’re delighted. They must still see him as a
child, with his quirky little ignorance, and lack of decorum. Speaker
Lincoln doesn’t laugh out loud, but she looks as pleased. “We have no
grievances, only a gift.”
“A gift, sir?” he questions. “I could not ask for more. House Kutelin is not
yet working.” That is not entirely true. Last week, once Resi realized that
the population of his new House wasn’t on track to stop exploding, he
started sending volunteers back to the other four Houses. They don’t work
too hard, and have no obligations, so it hasn’t made up for the total loss.
Only a handful of them have agreed to it. Most of these volunteers have
simply been staying at home, where they were before graduation.
“How many belong to your House now?” Speaker Lincoln asks. “Three hundred?”
“Three hundred thirteen,” Resi replies, “if we’re counting my pre-Kidjum
sister.”
Speaker Lincoln nods. “Outgrowing the old college dorms, aren’t we?”
Yes, they’re climbing over each other over there. The school shut down
because it became too small for the populace, and outdated, but it’s
considered a historical landmark, so it remains standing. Really nowhere
else in the city could accommodate such a concentrated group of people.
“We’re making it work. Many joiners are from House Maing’aing, so they have
begun to draw up plans for new facilities, but that...”
“...would require authorization and support from the Assembly.” Speaker
Lincoln indicates her Assemblymen. “Well, let’s fix that before the concrete
cures.” Yeah, she’s definitely from Maing’aing. “You’re not getting it. You
will not get a builder’s permit.”
“Speaker Lincoln, I understand that you’re angry with us, but I am not the
one who came up with House Kutelin. The breath that told me about it was the
same one which told me that it was mine to lead. This is how I’m leading it.
If you wanted me to do something different, you should have said something
ahead of time. Now it’s too late. Now I’ve built momentum. Now people want
to join who aren’t even up for House transition. Some have already
transitioned. Others are yet too young.”
“We are aware of how well you are being received,” Speaker Lincoln begins.
“Younger generations never understand that the Kidjum is a fundamentally
different process from their usual bizarre and hard-to-interpret dreams.
It’s nothing new. There is always doubt. Once they find their true place,
all fall in line. You, First Tongue Brooks, have chosen your place. You've
chosen to go against our ways in unexpected fashion.”
“I told you, you should have said something!” Resi argues. “You. Said.
Nothing.”
“That was by design,” Speaker Lincoln retorts. “Our hands were tied. The old
traditions were clear. The First Tongue speaks first, and it is up to us to
reply. Now that we understand what you’re doing, we have found our voice,
and this our reply.”
“What I’m doing,” he echoes. “What do you think I’m doing?”
Speaker Lincoln smirks. “I’m not here to give you the answers, only a
timeframe. You and three-hundred and twelve of your closest friends must
exit the Nation of Tambora by the end of the month, or you will have
declared war on the Four Houses.”
“War?” That escalated quickly. This was a gift? “You were just clapping for
me.”
“You are still owed deference in this assembly hall. The old traditions were
clear on that too.” She takes a breath. “We are reinstituting the Kidjum.
This experiment is over. You will remain an ally, but you are no longer
welcome on Yana. Thank you.”
Yana. Tambora does not equate to the whole island. They can’t kick him out.
He just has to speak with one or both of the other two nations.
