Theo’s mind raced as he considered what to say. He could feel all eyes in the room on him. “Sir, I think the people want to know what’s happened.” He looked around the room. Nobody seemed ready to jump out of a chair and attack him. He took a breath and continued. “The people deserve to know what has been found. Sure there will be a lot of people upset and scared. I think we all feel that way about it. But with the right encouragement they can come through all that and be even more united.”
“Mr. Essex,” said Tiberius, “it’s very…noble of you to speak for the people and to seek transparency for them. As I am a firm believer in educating our youth, allow me to teach you something about governing. The populace is a mass of sheep, and the government is the shepherd that guides them and protects them from the wolves. You give the people too much credit when you assume they can handle the kind of information you propose we give them. You think that they will only be angry if they are sheltered. That is nothing compared to the misplaced anger they will feel when confronted with the truth. They will seek to tear down this government in their furor and if they succeed only anarchy will remain. Anarchy is doom, Mr. Essex. A firm ruling hand is survival.”
“But Deputy Mayor Tiberius, the people miss their loved ones. They worry about them. Maybe it will give them something positive to know that what happened in the Event happened to us… that there’s a chance all their friends and families off the island are totally fine.”
“Friends and families who they will, in all likelihood, never see again,” said Tiberius. “To long for such things is a weakness that will eat at our young nation like a cancer. As far as we are concerned, those ‘loved ones’ are dead and gone. The past. We concern ourselves with the present and the future.”
Theo couldn’t help but glance at Mayor Lucas as the deputy mayor spoke. He saw the sadness in the man’s eyes at the talk of loved ones being gone forever.
“Paul, I understand where you are coming from,” said Lucas. “We’ve talked endlessly about the need to push the country ahead, whatever that implies. Still, Theo’s point has value. If I don’t give some answers on Halloween there will be rumors that we are hiding things. It’s only natural for people to be suspicious of those who lead them. We can not allow suspicion to blossom into conspiracy.”
There were mumbles of agreement around the room. Theo realized the dichotomy of loyalty. The advisors had a deep loyalty to and respect for Mayor Lucas, but had a fear of the deputy mayor that kept them from voicing full support. Lucas did not seem to be too upset about Tiberius’s objections. Theo assumed the mayor was well used to maintaining the balance of power in these meetings, and probably in the course of running the government as well.
Tiberius was not satisfied with the mayor’s explanation. “You are proposing to go before thousands of people and tell them what, exactly? Information that I myself am not even positive is true…that we’ve been transported to another universe? You’re likely to be laughed out of the room before the riots begin, and they will begin. You give people far too much credit, Sam. We are the order they need. We need to guide them with an iron hand and that means telling them that while investigations have been underway for some time, the findings are strictly confidential and we are using that research to help us help all of them. Do you see?”
“Perhaps,” said the mayor, “we should take a break from this line of discussion and talk instead about what we the ‘iron hand’ should be doing about Dr. Johnson’s findings.”
“Sir,” began Dr. Johnson, “We are very close to finalizing the adjustments to the helicopter that should allow for a trip to the approximate coordinates of New York City. In addition we are making tremendous improvements to the deep-sea exploration vessels. We should be prepared by mid-November for another trip to Philadelphia, with a series of mini dives along the route through New Jersey.”
“Very good,” said the mayor, “but tell me, what is your gut feeling? Have we truly been dislodged from our own universe?” Theo saw the weariness in the mayor’s face. He felt terrible for Mayor Lucas. Here was a genuinely good man facing unique and extraordinary circumstances. Not even the Founding Fathers had been forced to lead people through this much uncertainty.
“I’m afraid so,” said Dr. Johnson. “All evidence points to-”
“Evidence?” yelled Tiberius. “Evidence? Doctor, your so-called evidence is based on finding Nazi flags. How can you say for certain that we aren’t survivors of a great flood that occurred during the Event?”
Dr. Johnson tensed. Theo watched the man carefully, curious to see if anyone would truly challenge Tiberius. “Sir, I can’t say for certain. Still, it is extremely unlikely that that would be the case. The island in the world we knew was at a much lower elevation than the inland areas. It is hard to imagine a scenario where we could remain above water that rose so far over the buildings of Philadelphia, unless we factor in what we know and theorize that our island sits on top of this universe’s version of the island, thereby raising it to a much higher elevation. This would explain the gradual sloping of the island with higher elevation on the former bayside and low elevation along the beach.”
Theo looked at Tiberius. The deputy mayor had not expected such a well-developed rebuttal. Theo felt a bizarre sense of pride for Dr. Johnson, as if the man was here standing in for Ryan. You tell him Doc!
“And you expect,” said Tiberius, “that the average man or woman on this island will buy that?” Theo heard the advisors shifting in their seats. Tiberius had just brought the conversation back to where nobody wanted it to be.
“You wish to tell them something else?” asked Dr. Johnson. He seemed genuinely confused.
“I wish to tell them nothing!” shouted Tiberius. “We will say nothing about any of this!”
“That is enough, Paul!” said Mayor Lucas. He looked genuinely furious. Theo had never seen him looking like that. “You wish to tell everyone his or her place and yet you seem in danger of forgetting yours. You are a valued part of my committee and I appreciate your concerns but nobody is here to give orders. I will listen to your opinions and make a decision as I have always done. Do you understand?”
“I understand…” said Tiberius slowly, “I understand that you have been overwhelmed by your responsibility and may not be suited to run this country any longer.”
“Hold on just a minute-” started Officer Dougherty, rising from his chair.
Tiberius wheeled around to face him. “Don’t you dare cross me, Dougherty! You serve at my pleasure and what I give I can take away!” He turned and addressed the group. “You are all fools blindly following a man who is operating far beyond his expertise. You deserve the fate that awaits you all.” He turned and walked out of the room in long, purposeful strides.
“Well… that was uncomfortable,” said Mayor Lucas with a smile. “Now then, I’d like to iron out some details for Halloween before we go into a discussion about the first quarter of our new school’s operation. Theo, I take it you will have much to say about that.”
Chapter 16
Theo and his friends walked to Boardwalk Hall from Theo and Kylee’s apartment. Living at the edge of the city made commutes much easier than they had been from the penthouse apartment where they had taken refuge after the Event. As Theo watched people stream toward the arena he was taken aback by his own emotions. Was it possible he felt sentimental thinking back to the tumult and chaos of those first few weeks? Theo would have laughed at the ridiculousness of human nature if he weren’t sure that the others would give him a hard time for bursting into laughter.