Fire, Ruin, and Fury (Embers Saga) Page 9

  Chapter 7: The Nautilus

  (Alias Goodwell)

  Alias Goodwell and his family had begun their approach to the landing pad of the Consortium’s regional headquarters when he noticed the branches on the patches of scrappy trees bending in the icy wind. The thought of opening the doors to meet a blast of freezing air filled him with dread until he caught his first glimpse of the Nautilus.

  Their airship circled above a massive complex of stone, glass, and tile—a pearl-colored dome with the curves of the whimsical (and long-extinct) sea creature in the center. A web of iridescent travel tubes connected the center to handful of shimmering towers. Giant reflective tent canopies stretched over the spaces between the spokes. It all glinted like gemstones in the morning sun.

  Alias had read about the marvel of the Nautilus in his studies with Minister Joshua. It was built as a symbol of determination after the third water war, when several fiefdoms were consolidated into the Desert Plains Territory and cleaved from the Southern Rocky Mountain Territory. Constructed from materials salvaged from the ruins of Denver, whose hulking skeletons still sighed wistfully far away, the complex was completely self-sufficient—able to generate its own energy, recycle its own water, and even grow its own food.

  Of course, it was strictly off limits to anyone who didn’t work for the Chief Regent, the Senate of the Commonwealth, or one of the industrial consortiums. Alias had seen its outer wall from the window of his father’s misfit caravan when they had trudged over the smoldering highway a mile off. But they never approached—or even stopped to admire the spectacle.

  The adults would just point to it, offer some educational tid-bits, and delight in the children pressing their noses against the glass to see the marvel. Except for Minister Joshua, their longest-serving partner in the big-top ministry, their closest ally, and the godfather to both Alias and Jasmine. Joshua quietly pointed out its symbolism as the distinction between the Ellies and the urchins. Every time the caravan passed it, Alias hated his fellow citizens inside a little more, just as he hated being unable to resist pressing his dirty nose against the glass like all the others.

  Up to this point, though, Alias’ focus had been on the pending joint venture with the Ellies in the magical Nautilus, and the parade of horribles that the deal could send into his family’s tiny lives.

  Before they had left their temporary camp in Ogallala, Alias convinced his father to call Minister Joshua, who had taken leave to visit his biological family. The trip to the Nautilus was initially to be kept secret, but Alias knew they couldn’t walk into a room full of Ellies without the benefit of Joshua’s knowledge, data, and opinion—even if his opinion was entirely predictable.

  By virtue of Joshua’s long hours with the family, Alias and Jasmine had followed him around from the time they were old enough to scoot. He was one of the most educated members of the Ministry, and he had taken charge of their education and religious training at an early age. As they got older, Alias and Jasmine augmented their education with censored media from the High Times, arguing that knowledge of what had happened to the world—and what the world could potentially be again—was critical if they were to one day inherit the Ministry and bring it to its full potential. He secretly showed them Soylent Green, Logan’s Run, Blade Runner, Planet of the Apes, Interstellar, 2012, Day After Tomorrow, Elysium, and Mad Max. He fed them the works of Martin Litton, David Attenborough, Al Gore, and Aldus Huxley.

  They poured over the history that had led to this point. The Agricultural Revolution shattering the Malthusian limit. The Industrial Revolution kicking off the unbridled burning of fossil fuels and production of chemical waste. The Green Revolution unleashing a population explosion. The melting of the polar ice caps and the river-feeding glaciers. The exhaustion of the aquifers, and contamination of fresh-water supplies. The sinking of coastal cities worldwide. The cycle of droughts, dusters, fires, floods, and mudslides that ultimately desertified the continent’s breadbasket. The superstorms’ relentless growth in intensity and range. The Great Extinction and collapse of global fisheries. The blights and insect infestations that wiped out crops and the meager holdings of the land-workers. The banking crises and disintegration of the global economy.

  The inexplicably feckless response. The refusal to address—or accept—the ecological spiral, even as it unfolded in front of their noses. Alarm, denial, delay, and distraction. Blame and recrimination. Segregation and tribalism. Resignation and messianic fervor. The breakdown of order and privatization of security and public services. And the fighting. Always fighting.

  With Joshua now far away, they had no choice but to get on their seldom-used OmniComms V-plat. The family paid extra for encryption, they had to assume their discussions would be monitored, but Alias was still stunned when Minister Joshua laid out his unfiltered caution about the path they had so unwisely started down.

  Joshua looked at Alias and Jasmine with disappointment, as if they had learned nothing from their lessons about the great families and industrial consortiums that had forged the uneasy oligarchy of the Commonwealth. Joshua recognized the names on the list of contacts they had been given—Ellie families that had endured from the High Times, when capital concentrated to their advantage, the masses slowly suffocated economically and turned on themselves as the earth and weather retaliated for centuries of abuse. The Ellies, who had long underpinned true power, reinforced their positions with legal privileges and entitlements—especially at points of acute crisis—gradually giving birth to a new aristocracy.

  Joshua reminded them that the Ellies were united by little more than a shared desire to preserve their interests from the masses. Coalitions, seldom based on loyalty, shifted like the monarchies of Europe in the Middle Ages. The country devolved into semi-autonomous spheres of influence, with control alternately changing hands, centralizing and decentralizing, growing in size only to shrink again.

  The geography itself—inextricably linked to weather and in turn tied to prosperity—reinforced the fault lines. The dynasties of the north were determined to control and protect the remaining arable land and water, but they couldn’t stop the migrations from the desertified south and west. The tidal wave of people from other regions—Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East—confounded them all, overwhelming cities and public infrastructure. The rural Ellies used food as a weapon, while the urban Ellies weaponized waste, toxic chemicals, and finance. The ocean-farming families hated them both. All the while, people perished by the millions from famine, exposure, and pandemics from drug-resistant microbes.

  “That’s one of the reasons the consortiums were built,” Joshua explained as he had done many times before. “To make the families so intertwined with each other that they’d stop fighting. To integrate their wealth, pass laws to distinguish them from the masses. To establish networks, mutual-aid pacts and coalitions.

  “Mostly works, I s’pose,” Joshua admitted. “But remember that each Ellie family balances its loyalties between its class, religion, race, and culture. They all lust for more power and riches for themselves, and absent an existential threat to unify them, they’ll plot, scheme, undermine, and sabotage each other. They’ll fight, even if it’s clandestine. Some still have blood feuds that have passed through generations, and the tensions simmer just under the surface. They compete as much as they cooperate, just like great families have always done. Most try to keep their competitions and squabbles under wraps, lest they fall on the wrong side of the Chief Regent. But the Chief Regent isn’t above the fray. Two have been deposed. They’ll fight over isolationism versus internationalism. Authoritarianism versus democracy. Militarism versus humanitarianism. Spending. Taxes. Regulation. Money.

  “Then you add the racial and religious divisions. Asian families in Oregonia and Pacific Columbia Province. Black-factions in the Southeast Coastal Province, the Great Lakes Province, and the old industrial cities. The Indian families in the Mid-Atlantic Province. Latinos in Cali-Sur and in urban pockets all
over. Caucasian clans in the northern provinces, with more malignant offshoots in the Desert Plains and Rocky Mountain Territories. The smattering of Jews, Arabs, Indians—mostly keeping to themselves, but sometimes banding together in small enclaves for self-defense against pogroms.

  “The Big Five churches vie with each other as much as they cooperate under the Minister of Religion. Their leaders, who come from the Twenty-Eight Families are made up of Ellies. They are the tools of the Ellies, but they compete with each other and other Ellie families as well. This you know, and you’ve seen it firsthand—too many times.

  “So, this arrangement is dangerous. It’ll very likely end up killing the ministry. Even if it’s successful—and I’m not sure what that means—it could end up killing the ministers themselves. …Maybe us. …Maybe hundreds more.”

  Alias wondered to himself if his beloved godfather would live through the night, speaking so plainly, and with his father’s determination to explore the Ellies’ offer, he feared the worst for their future together. The way ahead was clear for Joshua, but he was also one to let people come to their own decisions. So, Joshua volunteered to pull together as much information as he could about their Ellie hosts. His message ended simply: “May the love and peace of Christ guide you until we see each other again. Merry Christmas.”

  Within a couple hours, Joshua had transmitted bios on the Goodwells’ erstwhile partners, with no further commentary. Alias hesitated before opening Joshua’s message, but he had to know what his family was getting into. So, he downloaded the documents and began pouring over the dossiers Joshua had compiled.

  Ali Ibn al-Rashid. Voracious reader and learned man. 70 years old. As a child, survived the carpet bombing of Karbala, which killed most of his family (along with the Sacred Shrine of Imam Husayn and three-quarters of a million people). College roommates with Abdullah Azzam, now Caliph of the Pan-Islamic Caliphate. As a general in the Army of the Caliphate, Rashid expanded the Caliph’s territory across North Africa, put down rebellions in the Levant, and resettled the populations of the former Gulf State cities after they were deemed uninhabitable. Once high-spirited and affable, Rashid is now seen as solemn and stoic. Relations with the Caliph are said to be strained. His position in the Commonwealth described as a temporary, punitive exile. His family remains in the Caliphate, probably hostages of the Caliph.

  Thomas Baumgarten. Senator of the Mid-Atlantic Province. 53 years old. Said to be thoughtful, business minded, and cautious with words. One of the wealthiest and most powerful of the 28 Families. Controls the vast Baumgarten Industries. Assumed his mother’s seat on the Senate at age 20 after her death from flu. Accused months later of profiteering from humanitarian assistance and illegal weapons trafficking, but the issue was dropped in Senate Committee when the accusing Senator (and family) disappeared. Two children, Patrick (18) and Joseph (13). Patrick = self-absorbed, entitled, lacking maturity. Joseph = good natured, even-keeled, and disciplined. Some suspect House Baumgarten could suffer if the bothers feud when Thomas eventually passes. Thomas seen as close with the Chief Regent. Rumored to be involved in a romantic relationship with the Minister of War, Deirdre Tealman.

  Ashley Templeton. Senator of Oregonia. 57 years old. Affable, charming, and popular in the Senate. Friendly with the Chief Regent. Second most wealthy Ellie after Chief Regent (maybe tied with Baumgarten). Suffered emotional breakdown 10 years ago at death of his wife. Prone to bouts of sadness and depression. Son, Carlos Templeton, is immature, arrogant, bullying.

  Note: Baumgarten and Templeton Family Rivalry for decades. Numerous disputes in Senate and competing claims to territory and assets still in adjudication. Known interpersonal animosity.

  Josephina Thomson. Minister of Information. 49 years old. Major stake in OmniComms Inc. Leader in the International Media Consortium. Married, no children. Dominant family in Great Lakes Province. Frequent trips to the European Union and Russian Imperial Republic with husband.

  Francesca Carroll – Minister of Religion. 36 years old. Doctorate in Religious Studies from Commonwealth Federal University. Unmarried. One son (rumored father = Archbishop John Paul Vigliano). Rumors of ongoing sexual relationship with Chief Regent. Learned and ambitious.

  Colonel Yuan Shikai. Xin military attaché to the North American Commonwealth (nominal), Senior Advisor for Asset Protection and Security for IEC. 47 years old. At age seven, survived mudslides that consumed his childhood town and killed adopted older sister (adopted from Commonwealth) and four-year-old brother. Family enjoys military prestige but lacks wealth. Father used position on Xin War Council to get Yuan an officer commission. Yuan led unit that put down rebellion in capital. Later accused of massacring civilians but awarded National Medal for Heroism and given lucrative five-year assignment to IEC. Rumored to be isolated and lonely. Associated with known human traffickers. Possible pedophile.

  Xavier Mosino. Acting Governor of Desert Plains Territory. Age 43. From a family in decline. Father was methylhol addict, who (while intoxicated) accused Patrick Baumgarten of profiteering and weapons trafficking in Senate. His father disappeared later that week (presumed murdered). Mother assigned by Chief Regent and Senate to restore order in Desert Plains Territory. Pacification campaign ongoing. Family finances said to stabilize. Several border clashes with Ozarks Provincial Militia recorded. Mother died in air crash near Ozarks border. Chief Regent and Senate granted Xavier action governorship.

  Gilbert Calden. Nephew of the Chief Regent. Age 53. From one of the smaller Ellie families. Agricultural dynasty nearly bankrupted when Ogallala aquifer collapsed. Chief Regent arranged for liaison position with Int’l Energy Consortium.

  Alias rubbed his forehead to sooth his rising anxiety before hurriedly deleting the files and staring out the window for some relief. The sight of the Nautilus was a welcome distraction, keeping him transfixed until they landed with a crunch. In moments, he was shepherded through the icy wind and into a transport tube, which shot them all to the Grand Entrance Hall, with its gleaming marble, polished granite, and sparkling stained-glass windows. Despite Joshua’s troubling misgivings, Alias felt his heart beat in his chest in anticipation of ambling beneath the Nautilus’ leafy trees, sheltered under lofted glass ceilings and floating canopies. He steadied himself as they arrived, wondering if he would feel awestruck—as people from the lower castes were supposed to feel if deigned to be granted entry—or if he would hold on to his disdain.

  Chapter 8: Negotiations I

  (Patrick Baumgarten)

  Patrick Baumgarten paced his room overlooking the Grand Plaza of the Nautilus Complex, its lush greenery, glistening tiled towers, and panoramic windows veiled by the anxiety throbbing in his head. He finally forced himself to tap and swipe at his wrist-plat until a virtual yogi flickered to life. He hated this thing, but he was at a loss for any other way to regain his composure. So he rolled out a meditation mat and plopped down in front of the floating yogi.

  “Master Patrick,” the hologram said calmly. “How may I help make your path more verdant and serene?”

  How indeed, Genie? Patrick grumbled to himself, though he could already feel his anger abating.

  “Your wrist-plat indicates anxiety and anger has infiltrated your day. Based on your schedule for the rest of today, I recommend a very light session of sedated re-calibration. If you would kindly administer yourself 5 milligrams of opiadeliod, I would happily lead you through fifteen minutes of dialogue, ten minutes of yoga, and five minutes of guided meditation to sooth your emotions. I believe you will then feel refreshed and rejuvenated for your afternoon meetings. Would you like to proceed?”

  The holographic yogi’s melodic voice and peaceful expression was always seductive to Patrick once he’d overcome his reluctance to start it, so Patrick reached into his pocket and took a small yellow pill. Flowing waves of warmth pulsed through his entire body, and his shoulders unclenched.

  “I see you have had a very intense morning,” the yogi chanted, “including an altercation wit
h Carlos Templeton. That appears to be when your physiological indicators started showing stress. Would you like to discuss that event?”

  Patrick would begin there, but for him it really began the moment he stepped onto the balcony overlooking his father and the other Ellies in the Nautilus’ Grand Foyer. One of the Consortium functionaries opened the massive glass double doors to let in Gilbert Calden—his oversized wrist-plat blinking and his lips yapping. The badlander missionaries followed.

  Carlos Templeton, Tatiana Trapinksi, Saanvi Raman—an odd assortment of characters by Patrick’s reckoning—stood near Patrick at the balcony’s shiny gold railing, all waiting with baited breath to catch the priest’s reaction to the Grand Foyer. They knew the cavernous circular room, with its white marble floors, tall Corinthian columns, and gold-leaf ceiling, was something beyond anything the desert urchins had ever experienced. Ellies who welcomed newcomers to the splendor of the Nautilus always half expected their guests to swoon comically and pass out at the sight. It was a sick and stupid game, Patrick knew, but he waited for the amusement as much as the others. Ironically, these were some of the few moments when he actually paused to appreciate his surroundings as well. The extravagance was truly breathtaking when he saw it through a newcomer’s eyes.

  From the balcony, he could see beyond the double doors and the sparkling shuttle-tube platform. The room’s exterior walls were floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the compound’s lush and well-groomed plaza. The shuttle-tubes laced from tower to tower, mother-of-pearl sleds flashing in the sunshine against the backdrop of the mountains’ pastel mosaic. The sight hollowed-out Patrick’s stomach, until emotions of enormous gratitude, tininess, and despicable pettiness filled it up in turn.