“Which is taking all the power?” Rachel said.
“Right. And Sheida is stubborn as hell…”
Both looked up as another figure appeared, this one much more familiar.
“Men, women and children of Norau, I bring you grave news.”
“As you’re now aware, the power network has fallen. This message is all the power that is available for me to talk to you. My image is appearing in all places that persons were at the time of the Fall within the former reaches of the North American Union. Which means not everyone will see this, but it is the best we can do at this time.
“Paul Bowman and a faction of the Council, just a short time ago, attempted to wrest power from the rest of the Council. They did so by releasing poison insects, attuned to the DNA of council members opposed to them, into the Council Chamber.
“It was the intent of Paul’s faction to establish a tyranny with the intent of… hardening humanity and ‘bringing it back to the path of righteousness,’ and I quote.
“In one way the attempt failed. I, Ishtar, Aikawa Gouvousis and Ungphakorn survived. I regret to inform you that Javlantugs Cantor was killed by the poisons. However, we were not idle and in the short battle seized control of enough Keys to check his direct action through the Net.
“In another way he was very successful; it was Paul’s intent to strip most of the world of its wealth of energy and throw people back upon ‘work’ as a way on the path of righteousness. In that he succeeded. Until one side or the other submits, or is defeated, all available power is being diverted to the battle among the Council. This battle rages even as I speak and does not look to end soon. It is imperative that you seek such shelter as there is and prepare for a long period without the comforts and support that has become the norm. Because we, Ishtar, Aikawa, Ungphakorn and myself, refuse to give in. The castles in the air have fallen and the dragons are grounded, but I refuse to let him win.
“Until this is decided, however, it shall be hard. Most of you live in habitations and locations unsuitable to this lifestyle. I urge you to prepare to move to more suitable locations. To those who are better prepared, I understand the burden but you must take it upon yourselves to help those less fortunate. To the extent that we can, the Council will aid you. I will be contacting leaders within local communities soon and giving what support I can.
“To those of you who find yourselves in current peril or facing famine, find a local community that is prepared to survive in these conditions. Do not despair, for despair will kill you as surely as famine, cold or injury. Prepare wisely, then move to safety. In time we will start to reclaim this world and all that was once ours. But we will never be able to if we turn over the reins of power to fascist madmen.
“Paul’s vision is ancient, as ancient as the slavery of the Hebrews and deaths by the hundreds of millions at the hands of a group called ‘communists.’ He says that it is for the good of all mankind, but then counters that, of course, a small group will continue to enjoy the conditions that everyone else has had stripped from them. Words such as this resound throughout history and in every case they have meant enslavement and death.
“Our faction of the Council could submit to Paul. The power would come back on, some of the normal amenities of life would prevail. For a time. Until he and his council of dictators discovered the next ‘path of righteousness,’ the next ‘true form’ of humanity.
“And all of us would be his powerless slaves.
“I choose not to be a slave. I choose not to enslave my sister’s children and the children of my friends. I choose to fight.
“On the shores of this land, once upon a time, was a great nation called ‘America.’ It is from the seeds of this nation that our present culture derives. The beliefs of the nation were simple: ‘We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, endowed by the Creator with certain inalienable rights, among which are the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.’
“Through their vision, and their beliefs, the people of America, often alone, fought the tides of history and despotism and finally created our society, one in which all of those rights, and more, were protected.
“Paul Bowman, Celine Reinshafen, Minjie Jiaqi, Ragspurr and Chansa Mulengela stand in opposition to those beliefs.”
“I wish that it were possible to take an accurate poll of the feelings of all of you. But I cannot. I can only hope that you stand with me, and the rest of the Council, as this black night descends upon us.
“But I believe, together, that we can win through this night, and create once again that society that we hold so dear. The way will be long, but we will stride it together, one nation, one people, conceived in the concept of liberty and true to those philosophies that we hold so dear.
“Thank you, good night, and good luck.”
“Sheida?” Daneh said as the image winked out. “SHEIDA??? Oh, great. Not a word for your sister?”
“I guess she was just a little focused on her problems,” Rachel said, then snorted. “Not like anyone I know in the family.”
Daneh shrugged agreement at the same time as she gave her daughter a quelling look. “Well, if she’s in that much trouble, it means that the world is screwed.”
“It can’t be that bad, Mom,” Rachel said with a shrug. “Could it? I mean, it’s the forty-first century. Things like this just don’t happen!”
“Well, it’s happening,” Daneh said with a frown. “Right here and right now.” She sighed and shook her head unhappily. “Why now? Why us?”
“Well… why doesn’t one side or the other just give up?” Rachel asked. “Mom, people are going to die. Some already have,” she added, gesturing at the pile of blue dust.
“More than Marguerite, and more thoroughly,” the woman said, shaking her head. “I know delving geologists who work in the magma. They’re gone.” She shook her head. “Gone. Just like that. No warning at all…”
“Mom?” Rachel said after a few moments. “Mom. Why doesn’t one side just quit? Say ‘Okay, have it your way, it’s not worth fighting over?’ I mean, it’s not worth people dying, is it?”
“Some things are,” Daneh said after a moment. “It’s hard to explain that without understanding history. Sheida does understand history. But bad as fighting is, will be, the deaths that are bound to occur, as bad as that is, some things can be worse. I’d tell you to go look up things like the Cultural Revolution, the Holocaust and the Khmer Rouge, but there’s no way to look it up.”
“The Holocaust and the Khmer I remember from history reading,” Rachel said. “But people are going to start dying soon. I mean, the war is going to do the same thing that the Khmer did, in its way. We don’t have any farmers, Mom. Without farmers, we don’t have any food. And you don’t just pick it up. It’s a skill.”
“Good girl, now you’re thinking,” Daneh replied. “But there are some farmers.” She looked at her daughter significantly.
“That’s the point, Mom,” Rachel sighed. “There were farmers in Cambodia. But the Khmer and that guy… Pol something… he sent people from the cities out to farm. They didn’t know how and they were told how to do it wrong and millions died. Mom, I don’t know what day to start plowing, do you?”