9The sun beat down upon the roof of the small clay house, brutalizing the already withered plants. It did nothing, however, to slow the pace of the girl who was reading as she lay in the heat of noon. She flipped pages, skimming each chapter until she found something of interest, and then stared at it intently as though memorizing it in her head. Her back was red, silent testimony to how long she'd spent engaged in this activity. It didn't look as though she was particularly bothered by it, though.
"Leigh!" Her older sister trotted up the stairs and into the sun, calling her name. "What on earth... have you been out here for the past ... how long have you been out here?"
Leigh didn't look up from her book. "What time is it?"
Her sister glanced across the houses at the large clock that stood in the center of town, visible even through the glare. "Half-past three."
"Ummm... six hours. I think."
Her sister folded her arms, looking stern and worried and amazed all at the same time. "Leigh, you can't keep doing this. What do you think you're going to find in these books? You can't keep raiding all the libraries on the peninsula looking for the answer. It's not in there."
"It is..." she muttered, turning a page and ignoring the blisters on her back. "It's got to be, Ker. The Elders and the scientists are wrong, I just know it."
Kerrigan folded her arms. "Were the scientists wrong about the pipes?" she asked sternly, "Or the new smelting process? Or the sun-catchers that, even now, are keeping your ice cool, young miss. Even now while you go through all the books you can find looking for a way to discredit them."
Leigh sighed and shut the book, leaning her head on it. She could see that she'd get no peace while her sister was around. "I'm not looking for a way to discredit them, or their experiments. I'm just ... I'm sure this is a bad idea."
Kerrigan sighed, too. "Why? Why is it a bad idea? You know how hard it is to get people to train for the law these days... most of them just want to be mountaineers. You know how tough things have gotten lately, how many lawless bands of people there are roaming through the desert. We need anything the scientists can come up with, no matter how much it may offend our sensibilities." She tried to hide it, but Leigh caught the slight shiver from her sister at the thought of the new patrols the Elders had come up with.
"See, that's exactly what I'm talking about. Why is everyone going against their better judgement on this? We have instincts for a reason, and if everyone's instincts are telling them that this is a bad idea, why are we all trying to convince ourselves otherwise? Is that sensible?"
Kerrigan took a deep breath, but there wasn't much she could think of to say about it. "And you think you can do better?" she said finally, mildly challenging but without any real heat in her voice. Her sister stretched, wincing as the movement pulled the abused skin on her back, and picked up her books.
"I don't know..." she admitted, "But there has to be something I can do. There has to be some way I can get people to see that this isn't a good idea. Because..." she shivered.
"Because what?"
"Because I really don't want to find out what happens when it's too late to do anything about it."
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Leigh's wasn't the only voice of dissent that day.
The council chambers in the heart of Westgate were ringing with shouts, angry voices, and imprecations. In the heart of it all the High Elder sat, rubbing his temples and feeling sure that an ulcer was incoming. This was all too much, and it was that damned Harold Ignacio's fault. Him and that Redman girl he was so fond of. They were both stirring everyone up, making everyone worry needlessly about what was an elegant (if a bit unnerving) solution to a growing population and crime problem. He didn't see the point of it all. The plan would work, dammit. What was the point of causing all this unrest and increasing the problem when what they really needed were a few good, quick solutions?
The pain in his gut started to rumble and grow, heralding the ulcer he had anticipated. The headache had already settled itself into his skull. This was shaping up to be one hell of a day.
"... there are reasonable doubts, then is it not reasonable to wait?"
"We can't wait, are you mad, man?" The retorts flew thick and fast. "We're already under siege from every disreputable element in the cities what chooses to turn his hand to crime! What purpose would waiting serve, except to give them time to decide to slit our throats before or after they rob us blind?"
"You're being a fool, Norris. The problem is not so nearly as bad as you'd have us believe. You can fool the unwashed masses with that drivel, but you can't fool me..."
"Reckless hooligan!"
"Paranoid lunatic!"
They were going to start throwing things in a minute. The High Elder sighed and began to quietly prepare a getaway. Down the table a little ways from him, one of the assistant scientists caught his eye and gestured to the more discreet door set in the side of the wall, next to the bleachers. The Elder nodded; quietly, they sneaked out the back.
"Well, that was entertaining," Morgan said dryly. The Elder mopped his brow and looked annoyed.
"Entertaining? It was a damn tavern brawl, that's what it was. The High Council turned into a bunch of squabbling children outside a school."
"They're scared," the scientist said placidly. "They see uncleanliness, dust, and mechanical decay everywhere, and think that this leads to more crime. Because they impose greater strictures on the city-states it breeds discontent and does, in fact, lead to more crime. A self-fulfilling prophecy."
"Careful, Morgan," the Elder replied, not liking where the conversation was going already. "You're speaking dangerously close to treason."
Morgan shrugged. "It's true that crime is on the rise. It's also true that the Councilmembers, the administrators of each city, are helping to cause it. That doesn't mean anything one way or the other; it's still a problem and it still has to be dealt with."
"Are you saying that we shouldn't go through with..."
Morgan held up a hand. "I didn't say that. I think it's a decent idea, if a bit inelegant. I also think that if we stepped up maintenance and production on the pipes, not to mention advancing the project of White Horse Pass, we could do a world of good to clearing up the problem permanently, instead of this temporary solution."
The High Elder rubbed his forehead again. "I see what you mean, I think. But that whole pack of yipping coyotes... they'll never go for it. Half of them are afraid of their own shadow trying to steal their fortune out from their nose, the other half just came to this damn peninsula to consolidate a holding they wouldn't have otherwise. This country is based on the unfulfilled dreams of too many second, third, and fourth sons... and there's not enough wealth to go around."
Morgan shrugged. "We've done well enough for ourselves. A hundred years, and look what we've accomplished? Cities thriving all over the desert, a system of roads to be built over the next twenty years, a pass through the mountains to be built in the same span of time so we can trade for the wood for a fleet that isn't merely stopping over on their way to somewhere else. Given enough time, we may even be able to put real grass on the sands, instead of just drygrass."
"From your mouth to the gods' ears," the Elder smiled wryly. "True enough. First problems' first, though, and that means taking care of this damn woman who thinks we should leave well enough alone. What do you know about her?"
"Well..." Morgan pursed his lips and thought. "She's smart enough, that's for certain. She actually seems to know what she's talking about, but she's never been able to articulate her concerns over the project. In fact, I'd say she's the brains of the most vocal resistance to it, not Hal Ignacio."
"That doesn't bode well..."
"Not necessarily..." Morgan leaned forward. "See, if we talk to her like this..."
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"You want me to what?"
Leigh couldn't believe her ears. "Hal, you've got to be kidding me. I am not going to stand up in front of the entire damn Council and tell them they're all being a bunch of sand-struck morons!"
Kerrigan sat in a corner of the room, arms folded across her chest and a small smirk plastered onto her face that said more clearly than words, I told you so. It wasn't helping Leigh's mood, anyway.
"Every citizen of this country has a right to speak before the Council," Hal wheedled. Leigh hated it when he wheedled; it usually meant he hadn't thought the idea through completely and wanted someone else (preferably the person who was going to carry it out) to do it for him. "Seven days from now they're going to launch the first of the generators and we aren't going to be able to stop it after that. We need to do something soon, and you're more... you can speak better than I can. More fancy-like. You can tell them what needs to be said."
Kerrigan could barely contain her laughter. Leigh scowled at her older sister before glaring at Hal. "You've got to be kidding me. I haven't reached my majority yet..."
"Which hasn't stopped you from acting like a young woman half again your age," Kerrigan interjected, and recieved a glare in reply.
"... and they think I'm a jumped-up little girl anyway. What makes you think they're going to take me at all seriously, much less actually listen to what I have to say?"
"Because you can speak their language," Hal said patiently. "You can be formal and correct and have all your facts straight, and you can speak the scientists' language. Sure, they may think you're just being silly at first, but they'll start listening to you once you start making sense to them."
Which was true, she had to admit, since she was listening to him more readily now that he was starting to make sense to her. The admission hurt, and she wasn't going to say it out loud, but it was true. She closed her eyes. "Even assuming that I'll agree to speak to them, we don't have any hard evidence that this whole thing is going to blow up in our faces. We just have a lot of intuition and a sneaking suspicion that it's a bad idea. And keep in mind, they've already spent a lot of resources on this project. Politicians hate to abandon a project that they've spent lots and lots on, and they hate like poison to abandon it if it means admitting they were wrong in the first place."
Hal nodded. Kerrigan just rolled her eyes. "I know," Hal said, "That's why it needs to be you. I'd never be able to get them to admit it."
"As much as I hate the idea, he has a point," Kerrigan pointed out. "You'd probably talk to them with a lot more tact than he would."
"In the meantime," Hal said, rubbing his hands together gleefully as though he'd hatched a cunning plan. "We've got a few days in which to research, find out something real we can take to the scientists, tell them what's wrong with their plan."
Leigh groaned. As though she hadn't been doing enough of that already, to no real effect. "Hal, I hope you have a hundred well-read, literate monkeys, because that kind of thing could take years."
"As a matter of fact, I do..." Hal clapped an arm over her shoulders, jerked back as she bit back a scream and stared daggers at him for hitting her sunburn. "Um... wait here."
She stared after him, rubbing his shoulders. "I'm not sure I want to know what he's up to."
"I'm entirely sure I don't want to know," Kerrigan said, standing and moving over to the jar of burn lotion with a resigned sigh. "Leigh, hon, are you absolutely sure you want to do this? Even aside from the fact that I think you both are seeing sunspot, I don't think I have to tell you that there are many people on the Council who could be dangerous enemies if they see you as opposing them, seriously."
"I know, Ker..." Leigh closed her eyes and made a little squeak as the cold gel touched her back. "But there's something very wrong about what they're trying to do. It's... I don't know what it is. It's indecent."
"It's drastic, I'll give you that. But drastic times call for drastic measures. And it's better than recruiting people for the sherrif's force."
"I'd rather have recruits than mindless..." she trailed off as her burns ceased itching. "I don't know. It's just a feeling I have, a bad one." She looked over her shoulder at her sister, and for once her eyes were more troubled than mischievous. "I hope I'm wrong too, sis. I really do."
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T - Five Days
"This is pointless."
"Come on, Leigh, we've got to find something. There's got to be something in the books or journals that'll give us a clue, they've written enough about the subject." Hal paged through yet another collection of journals of scientists from the past. Leigh just closed her eyes and pillowed her head on a stack.
"They left that part out, the part about the danger. Just to bother us," she muttered, half-asleep already. They'd been at the libraries for the past two days nearly non-stop, not bothering to eat, sleep, or bathe in their haste to find something to prove their theory. Thinking of that, Leigh sniffed absently at the arm of her shirt and then wrinkled her nose in disgust. She really was starting to smell a little rank.
"Okay, Leigh, listen to this. The carefully preserved..." Hal started to go on and on. Leigh tuned him out; she'd read a similar article five hours before, and didn't think the conclusions had changed any since then. Especially not on the paper.
"Excuse me?" They both looked up, Hal looking really foolish as he was paused in the act of thinking and reading at the same time. A scientist was standing there, looking fairly officious despite being almost as young as they were. "Leigh Redman?"
"Yes?" Leigh asked guardedly. She didn't like the looks of hits, even as Hal was looking patently gratified that they'd finally got some official attention. Poor Hal.
"Could I talk to you for a minute?"
She wasn't sure whether she liked that idea or not. Then again, it could be something as innocuous as wondering if she'd gotten any further on her pursuits. It was a little gratifying that they came to her instead of to Hal, but that could just as easily have been because she was the more notable of the two.
"Sure. Hal, I'll be back in a little bit..."
Hal nodded, looking slightly suspicious. Which made her suspicious... as much as she didn't care for some of Hal's enthusiasm, his flightiness, and his inability to think things through, she trusted his instincts almost better than she trusted her own. If he was looking askance at this guy, she'd better keep a close eye on him at least while they walked together.
"What's going on?" she said finally when they got out to one of the many small balconies dotting the walls of the library.
"Your research had caught the attention of some of us... we decided to conduct our own investigation." He seemed in earnest, and Leigh stared in frank amazement. She hadn't thought they'd actually held her opinions in high enough esteem as to warrent an independant inquiry.
"And...?" she said after a little while.
"And..." he said it slowly, as though he was reluctant... well, why shouldn't he be? It would be his fault... their fault, if anything was found to be wrong with the whole project... generators, maintenance units, anything. Of course he would be reluctant to talk about any major kind of flaw in the grand design. "We found some problems. Some sticking points, some things... out of place, not where they should be."
Leigh held her breath. It was both more than she had hoped for and more terrifying than she'd dreamed. "How many?"
"Enough." The scientist looked deeply unhappy. "Enough to cause some serious problems, if we'd gone ahead as scheduled. The project's being put on hold... just a couple of days, but long enough for us to fix things."
Leigh felt herself deflate, letting out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "Not to be nosy, but... what kinds of problems did you find?" Her voice was trying to crack, but she wasn't going to let it. She wasn't going to sound like a little girl. Not dealing with something this important. She wasn't going to freak out. She was going to hold it together. She could do this.
"Serious problems... problems of containment, of control, of direction..." The scientist's voice was ragged, like he hadn't been getting too much sleep. Maybe he wouldn't blame her if she fell apart, too. "Nothing big at each point, but just enough that all together.. it could have been a disaster if the project had gone forward as planned. A really big disaster."
"Oh." Her voice was higher pitched than she'd wanted it, but just the one syllable wouldn't give her away. "Now what?"
"Now..." the scientist took a deep breath. "Well, now I'd appreciate it if you kept this between us. Just for, you know, safety purposes. The cities have enough problems right now without doubting what's going to happen in a few days... the project, and everything. Just... put out something in the papers, maybe. Something saying you finally spoke with the scientists, and you were reassured that everything's going to be okay. Right now the last thing we need is a panic in the streets."
With his words came the realization that she really was being a little irresponsible, and Leigh flushed. She hadn't meant to start a panic with what she'd written, and tried very hard not to be inflammatory about it. But she just hadn't trusted the experiment... oh well. At least now they knew. "All right," she nodded. "And I'll keep Hal from doing anything stupid, too."
"Thank you," the man said fervently, and looked as though he meant it. "You have no idea how much this means to us... to the whole community. And thank you for making us check it again..." he looked as though he was going to say something else, and then scurried off.
Leigh walked back to her friend, hands jammed deep into her pockets. She had a lot to think about.
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Morgan slowed his pace once he got out of the library building, breathing deeper and calmer, all trace of agitation gone. Now that that was done, she was out of the way, with no one the wiser. It was amazing what one could do when everyone thought you knew every little thing about what you were talking about. That kind of blind trust, the trust that even Leigh Redman had, even if she didn't think she was trusting... that was useful on occasion. Morgan didn't consider himself a manipulative man, but he was proud of what he'd done today.
The scientist frowned a little. It wasn't what he'd just done that was bothering him, but rather the grain of truth that was hidden in the bed of lies. There had been some discrepancies in the documentation, a few little glitches in the first three generators they'd prepared to lay down. He hadn't been sure what they were, but he'd had the documentation on hand just in case she'd asked to see it. It didn't bother him terribly much... there were always glitches. But still...
Could it be sabotage? Could she be right, could the experiment really be fundamentally flawed in some way and they were all just fooling themselves? It was so unlikely, it was entirely outside the realm of probability, and yet the thoughts were still nagging at him. The discrepancies he'd found, the little problems of interpretation and fautly diagrams. It didn't look deliberate, or even deliberately covered up by someone who believed just a little too much in his own infalliability. Which, Morgan admitted to himself guiltily, they were all susceptible too.
The scientist shrugged it off, finally, after turning it over and over in his head. There was already a search underway to see if it was sabotage, and if more tokens of sabotage could be found. More likely it was just some student who had gotten careless, though. Thanks to Leigh Redman they had found the glitches, and everything could go ahead as planned.
Morgan put a little skip in his step, whistling as he walked down the street in carefree contentment. The sherriff recycling project was well underway, and if everything went as planned, they would be guarded by their best men long after the men had died. It was a stroke of genius.