The very fabric of Union was being tested in the jousting of strong interest groups. Certain political theorists called into question the wisdom of the founders who had created the electorate system, maintaining that the system encouraged electorates to vote their own narrow interests above that of the nation at large.
It was the aphorism of Nasir Harad, president of the Council, on his own re-election after his Council conviction on bribery charges, that: "Corruption means elected officials trading votes for their own advantage; democracy means a bloc of voters doing the same thing. The electorates know the difference."
CHAPTER 8
i
An announcement came through the public address in Wing One corridors—storm alert, Justin thought, ticking away at his keyboard on a problem while Grant got up to lean out the door and see what it was.
Then: "Justin," Grant said urgently. "Justin"
He shoved back and got up.
Everything in the hall had stopped, standing and listening.
". . . in Novgorod"the PA said, "came in the form of briefs filed this morning by Reseune lawyers on behalf of Ariane Emory, a minor child, seeking a Writ of Succession and an injunction against any Discovery proceedings of the Council against Reseune. The brief argues that the child, who will be nine in five days, is the legal person of Ariane Emory by the right of Parental Identity, that no disposition of Ariane Emory's property can be taken in any cause without suit brought against the child and her guardians. The second brief seeks an injunction against the activities of the Investigatory Commission on the grounds that their inquiries invade the privacy and compromise the welfare and property rights of a minor child.
"The news hit the capital as the Commission was preparing to file a bill requiring the surrender of records from Reseune Archives pertinent to the former Councillor, on the grounds that the records may contain information on other Gehenna-style projects either planned or executed.
"Mikhail Corain, leader of the Centrist party and Councillor of Citizens, declared: 'Its an obvious maneuver. Reseune has sunk to its lowest.'
"James Morley, chief counsel for Reseune, when told of the comment, stated: 'We had no wish to bring this suit. The child's privacy and well-being have been our primary considerations, from her conception. We cannot allow her to become a victim of partisan politics. She has rights, and we believe the court will uphold the point. There's no question about her identity. A simple lab test can prove that.'
"Reseune Administration has refused comment...."
ii
Ari thought she was crazy sometimes, because twice an hour she thought everyone was lying, and sometimes she thought they were not, that there really had been an Ari Emory before she was born.
But the evening when she could get out of bed and come in her robe to the living room with her arm still in a sling, uncle Denys said he had something to show her and Florian and Catlin; and he had a book filled with paste-in pictures and old faxes.
He had them sit at the table, himself on her left and Florian and then Catlin on her right, and he opened the book on the table, putting it mostly in front of her, a book of photos and holos, and there were papers, dim and showing their age. He showed her a picture of her,standing in the front portico of the House with a woman she had never seen.
"That's Ari when she was little," Uncle Denys said. "That's hermaman. Her name was Olga Emory." There was another picture uncle Denys turned to. "This is James Carnath. That was your papa." She knew that. It was the picture maman had once showed her.
The girl in the picture looked just exactly like her, but it was not her maman; but it was the right name for her papa. It was all wrong. It was herstanding there. It was. But the front doors were not like that. Not quite. Not now.
She felt her stomach more and more upset. Uncle Denys turned the page and showed her pictures of old Reseune, Reseune before the House was as big, before the Town was anything but old barracks, and the fields were real small. There were big buildings missing, like the AG barn, and like a lot of the mills and half the town, and thatAri was walking with her maman down a Town Road that was the same road, toward a Town that was very different.
There was that Ari, sitting in her same classroom, with a different teacher, with a kind of screwed-up frown on her face while she looked at a jar that was like her saying Ugh,she could feel it right in her stomach and feel her own face the way it would be.
But she never had a blouse like that, and she never wore a pin like that in her hair.
She felt herself all sick inside, because it was like it was all real, maman hadtricked her, and she was stupid like she had been afraid she was, in front of Catlin and Florian, in front of everybody. But she couldn't notlook at these things, she couldn't do anything but sit there with her arm aching in the dumb cast and herself feeling light-headed and silly being out here in the dining room in her robe and her slippers, looking at herself in a place that was Reseune a long, long time ago.
A longtime ago.
That Ari had been born—that long ago. Her maman's friend, uncle Denys had called her; and she had not thought when he said that, just how old maman was.
A hundred thirty-four years. No. A hundred forty-one, no, two,she was real close to her ninth birthday and maman was that old now.
A hundred forty-two. . . .
She was close to her ninth birthday and maman's letter hadto come, any day now, and maybe maman would explain some of these things, maybe maman would send her all the letters maman must have written too, all at once, like hers. . . .
"There's your maman," uncle Denys said, and showed her a picture of her and a bunch of other kids all playing, and there was this pretty woman with black hair, with her maman's mouth and her maman's eyes, only young,with her,but she was about five or six. A baby. Maman had had another Ari, first,a long, long time ago.
It hurt to see maman so pretty and not with her at all, not really, but with that other baby. It had stopped hurting until then. And it made her throat ache.
Uncle Denys stopped and hugged her head against his shoulder gently. "I know. I know, Ari. I'm sorry."
She shoved away. She pulled the book over so it was in front of her and she looked at that picture till she could see everything about it, what her maman was wearing, what that Ari was wearing, that proved it was not something she had forgotten, it was really not her, because everything about it was old-fashioned and long-ago.
"That's your uncle Giraud," uncle Denys said, pointing to a gangly boy.
He looked like anybody. He didn't look like he was going to grow up to be nasty as Giraud was. He looked just like any kid.
She turned the page. There was that Ari with her maman, and a lot of other grown-ups.
Then there was herwith Florian and Catlin, but it was not them, they were all in the middle of old-time Reseune.
She felt another deep chill, like when she flew off Horse and hit the ground. She felt scared, and looked at Florian and Catlin for how they saw it.