“We’ll convince them,” Jon says. “We can get every scarab in there to drive them out.”
“Jon,” I say. “They might not be able too. They are starving. They haven’t had food in days, possibly weeks.”
“They will come through,” Jon assures me, and Bess nods her head in agreement.
“What about the filchers?” Lucy asks. “The bluecoats will rally to the royals, but the filchers will do whatever profits them.”
“Shoot them,” Lyon says. “Everyone will have a weapon. They don’t. Now is not the time for diplomacy. If they surrender, then let them be, but if they don’t, then shoot them and don’t feel guilty about it.”
“Give me a gun and I’ll shoot them,” Bess says. “And I promise I won’t feel guilty about it either.” The look on her face shows her hatred. “Filthy filchers,” she adds.
“What about me?” George asks.
“People will be coming out,” Lyon says. “We can’t have them running crazy over the countryside without knowing the dangers. We need to set up a holding area here,” he indicates the ruins where we first camped. “And here.” Lyon points to the dome entrance. “Tobias can man this one since he is more familiar with this area.” Tobias nods. “Just remember what you tell them when they come out is important. This place is more than adequate for you. You will have to decide how much of it you want to share.”
I hadn’t thought about that. We are a community here. How many more people do we want to bring into it? How many more people can we support? I just assumed that once the glass was broken, people could stay in their homes and just use the resources outside for gardens and such. I didn’t think about the entire population moving in with us. Is it true what Ragnor said? That there isn’t enough for all of us to survive out here? Why wouldn’t there be? We have gardens, and there is livestock in the dome. With all the land there is outside, they will be free to breed and multiply. There is plenty of pasture. The orchards and other gardens on the rooftops can be transplanted to the outside. And with all the trees around, the buildings that are in disrepair can be fixed.
Everything in moderation my mind warns me. You can’t just start chopping down trees. There has to be organization. There has to be rhyme and reason about the decisions we make.
“We found another ruin similar to this not too far from here,” Jon says, as my mind whirls with the repercussions of freeing the inhabitants of the dome. “We can duplicate what’s been done here, for the scarabs. It might be that we’ll do so well that you’ll have to find something else to call us.”
“As long as we can continue to call you friend,” James says, and everyone nods in agreement.
“Not everyone will want to come out,” Lyon continues. “But we need someone to calm them when they do. George, Tobias, Rosalyn, Lucy. Can you do this?”
“We will,” Rosalyn says. “Sally and Nellie can watch the children.”
“I’ll go with them,” Bess says. I can tell she is dying to be a part of the attack. “I can stay with Tobias since that’s where my people will be.”
“I should be there too,” Jilly says. “I know my foot makes me not much use, but believe me, the royals will not listen to any of you. I will have to be there to make them see reason.”
“We’ll take care of you, gel,” George assures her. “One of the pony carts is ready. You can ride in it, and I’m sure Freddie will volunteer to lead you. It’s best we just let him come with us because I know he’ll be sneaking out if we don’t. At least this way we can keep an eye on him.”
“Wherever he goes, my sister will follow,” Peter says about Nancy.
“We’ll take care of them,” Rosalyn assures him.
“I will station one of my men with each of you,” Lyon says. “And the rest will be on the Quest, which will scout for rovers. Our flank will be exposed, and I do not put it past them to attack.”
Something else to consider. “What about after?” I ask.
“After what?” Lyon asks.
“After we find Zan and the glass is broken and there are more people outside. After you leave. What happens then? What will we do? We need to protect this world. We all have to live in it together. There has to be some sort of organization, some sort of leadership or else we all end up fighting one another for the resources.”
I can tell Lyon has not thought much past rescuing Zan. Freeing the people in the dome is not his purpose; it will just be a side effect from his attack. Lyon and Jane both look at me in astonishment, and then Dr. Stewart pipes up.
“Parliament.”
Now we are the ones confused, until both Jilly and Pace straighten in their seats. “From the before time,” Jilly says. “England had royalty, which was basically a figurehead. The governing body of the country was parliament. I don’t remember all the basics. Some were Lords, or such, and inherited the position, but others were elected by the people.”
“And there was a prime minister who was like the king, only elected,” Pace adds.
“Like our council?” Adam asks.
“Yes,” Pace says. “Sometime after the dome was closed they must have done away with it officially and just had representatives of each faction meet with the governing committee.”
“Except we didn’t have a representative,” Jon says.
“The governing committee must be what was left of parliament.”
“And the master general enforcer at some time must have been the prime minister,” I say. “Funny how my father thinks he is protecting our history when in fact it’s just been twisted to suit the needs of a few people so they can stay in control.”
“It’s a farce,” James said. “A joke of what it once was.”
“That is why we must make sure that this new world doesn’t turn out to be a farce too,” I say. “You have built a home for us here. A new place for the shiners … and our friends. The others who choose to come out will need a place also.” I want to make sure that what I am saying doesn’t sound selfish, but I also want everyone to know that I want to protect what they worked so hard to create.
I can tell everyone is thinking hard about my words. Freeing the people of the dome will affect us all in different ways. I know Jilly wants to see her parents, but she doesn’t expect them to live with us, not when they have a perfectly wonderful house inside. And Jon’s comment about building an enclave for the scarabs makes perfect sense. They have never had anything but the scraps.
But what about the workers who are now starving? I remember the mob from the street. Banded together they would be a force to be reckoned with. I know we can defend the enclave. I just don’t want to have to fight against them, especially since we have the rovers to deal with.
I know Harry has family inside also. If the animals are driven out, what does that mean for them? There is so much to think about. So much to deal with, and I am suddenly overwhelmed.
We all are.
“We will keep it all under control,” Lyon assures us. But I am not sure if he means it, or if he is afraid of losing our support in freeing Zan. He grins, and it looks so much like Zan that I can’t help smiling. “We will put into force a thing called martial law. It means the army with the biggest guns is in charge. And that would be us. It should be a simple matter after that to form a parliamentary government.”
Not if my father is involved, I think.
“Don’t forget you have the tank to back you up,” Jane adds.
“Talk about a master general enforcer,” Alcide says, and we all laugh, and some of the earlier tension, regrettably created by me, subsides from the room.
“We will strike at dawn,” Lyon says. “Is everyone sure of what they are supposed to do?”