Theo felt a strange sense of privilege and had discussed it with his friends earlier in the evening. They shared his feelings. The unusual circumstance of having one of them in the security offices, one on the science committee and, of course, Theo himself on Mayor Lucas’s advisory committee led to the teens having a strong sense of what was really happening on the island. It was no small coincidence that Theo and Ryan in particular were as well positioned as they were due to their age. It seemed that Atlantic Island’s leadership had made the uncommon choice to value the opinion of the younger members of the population.
Of course, not everyone felt that the teenagers should be allowed a voice of any sort. Paul Tiberius had made his opinion crystal clear at the advisory meeting. Theo felt responsible in some way for being the straw that broke the camel’s back. He was not foolish enough to think that rapport between the mayor and his deputy had always been perfectly civil. No, they probably argued frequently. Mayor Lucas had basically told Theo as much. Still, he knew that his presence had tipped the balance beyond a point of recovery. He had disrupted a tenuous relationship at the core of the fledgling “leadership.” He couldn’t feel good about that no matter how Mayor Lucas tried to assure him it wasn’t his fault.
Most of the meeting after Tiberius stormed out had gone well. The group had dissenters to be sure, but Lucas made a point of hearing them out and they treated the mayor, and Theo for that matter, with a great amount of respect.
Theo had strongly advised the mayor to give the students a reason to be in school and a reason to strive to achieve. He explained that many of those he spoke with were lost and confused without the possibility of college. Too often, he said, he had heard the words “what’s the point?” and he himself wondered the same. When he finished he looked around expecting the others to laugh or to attack him as Tiberius had done. Instead he saw serious consideration and heads nodding up and down.
The mayor had asked Theo to stay behind when the others left. “Well Theo, what did you think of our little club?”
“I’m sorry it didn’t go more smoothly for you, Mayor.”
“Nonsense,” said Lucas, “I was thrilled with the amount we accomplished. You spoke wisely and with passion, just as I had hoped.”
“But sir, the deputy mayor—”
“I’ve told you before not to worry about him,” said Lucas. He looked angry. Theo thought, but also tired. “I’m serious, Theo. The deputy mayor forgets that he is an elected official, as am I. We serve the people, not the other way around. We’ve had to be a little unfair because of the Event. We gave ourselves some temporary powers, and we left the questions of terms and elections for another day. I do think that that day is drawing near. The people have a right to be heard, just as they have a right to be informed within reason, as we have discussed at length. I have done my best to lead the best way I know how, and I want to give the people of Atlantic Island the chance to tell me how I’ve done. The deputy mayor is not my running mate. He stands on his own two feet and he will face the judgment of the people as will I.”
“I agree with all of that sir, but I still didn’t want to be the reason for him to…spit in the face of your authority.”
Mayor Lucas laughed, suddenly and uncontrollably. He pulled out a handkerchief and blotted his eyes. “I’m… I’m sorry Theo! It’s just… all this stress really has me on edge and that just really tickled something.” He took a moment to compose himself. “You should know that Paul has questioned me from day one. He wanted to be mayor, you know. Tonight’s display may have been a little angrier than usual but it’s essentially the normal order of things. I dare say if Paul Tiberius agreed with me I’d truly believe we’d found ourselves in a different world.”
His face turned serious again. “I want you to remember something, Theo. The United States was founded with the understanding that the citizens could question and disagree with the government. It’s a concept I happen to like and would like to see continue here. The deputy mayor has a right to disagree with me. So does anyone. The day that I or anyone in the leadership decides that he or she is the only one with the right answers… that will be a dark day indeed.”
As Theo was about to leave the room, the mayor called to him one last time. “I’m proud of you Theo. You have reassured me that my faith in you is well placed. You have a bright future ahead of you.”
Theo struggled for the proper words. “Thank you, sir. I look forward to learning much more from you.”
Now, as Theo and his friends passed the security checkpoint and entered the promenade around the arena, his thoughts were with the mayor. Lucas had the unfortunate and unbelievable responsibility of keeping the public motivated and positive as they moved toward an uncertain future.
“So tell me, Kylee,” said Bill, “what’s the Security Force got planned for when the people start screaming, ‘Nazis!’ and rioting through the streets?”
She laughed. “I was thinking of screaming and running with them. Did you have another suggestion?”
Bill smiled. He was still significantly bruised from Bertier’s attack but he didn’t show any sign of discomfort. He hadn’t mentioned the attack since he left the hospital. Kylee was trying hard to get some information on the investigation. She was deeply concerned that the investigation was being brushed aside. Theo wondered if it had something to do with Tiberius.
Would Tiberius appear at the town hall? Theo guessed he probably would. He wasn’t sure Tiberius was scheduled to speak to the citizens as he had at the previous meeting. It wasn’t like the man was a fan of giving reports to laypeople.
Theo noticed Ryan looked nervous again, though certainly not as nervous as he had been the night of the science presentation. Theo couldn’t blame him. Weren’t they all nervous? They had no idea what exactly Mayor Lucas was going to decide to tell the people and nobody could anticipate what the reaction would be.
Theo looked at Michelle, clinging quietly to Ryan as always. He wondered again how much Michelle had tried to impress her feelings on Ryan. She had been very adamant that the government shouldn’t be sharing any of the science committee’s findings. Theo disliked her attitude, especially when she so rarely had anything to say about anything else. Of course, this made him feel guilty. He didn’t want to dislike anything about a girl who was both his friend’s girlfriend and the friend of his girlfriend. Knowing that Bill shared some of his feelings didn’t help all that much.
“Are you okay?” Kylee whispered.
“I guess…yeah. There’s just something… a feeling I can’t place.”
“I think that’s called a ‘sense of foreboding,’” she said.
“Yeah, I’ve heard that before,” said Theo, “I never really understood what that meant until now.”
“Well… what do you think is going to happen?”
“I don’t know. Maybe that’s part of it. I think Mayor Lucas is going to tell people some of what Ryan’s team discovered. It’s such a tough call. I mean, on the one hand, it would seem like to tell them about Philadelphia would be the…I don’t know… conservative move. Leave out the part about Nazis and universes and all that.”
“What’s wrong with that?” she asked.
“Well, that’s kind of what I said at first. But some of the advisors made the point that without telling them that we might be on a different world, we’re implying that all their loved ones are dead and drowned, when for all we know that might not be the case at all.”