c. 2024 Rod Ice
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(10-24)
After the failure of Calimex drones and bots to capture their target at Evergreen Estates, Lotharian Gardino was forced to call a meeting of the coastal governors. This diverse group acted as a sort of ruling council that regulated the western state as an independent territory. For the de facto leader and his supporters, much concern had been aroused that their political opponents would use the squandered mission to hinder ambitious goals set forth in previous sessions. And upon opening their confab, this suspicion was confirmed immediately.
Gorden Guaca, the most senior member of their tribe, stood up dramatically, and addressed the group in cautious, careful tones. He had the look of a desert sage, in a long robe and a necklace of animal teeth set in gold mounts.
“I could’ve told you, man! Lothi, we don’t have an unlimited stash of resources here. You just wasted a big chunk of our tech reserve. That defensive capability kept us safe. Now what? Where do we go from this day, forward?”
Their unofficial leader bristled at hearing such a candid assessment.
“You know better than to think I acted recklessly! It was a smart gamble. With the C-drive capability, we could unite the kingdoms and rebuild our civilization. This continent could flourish, once more!”
Kona Slagg burst into a fit of laughter. She was younger than her fellow representatives, but astute in analyzing their position among the distant outposts. Her fuzzy crop of reddish curls bounced and shimmered with each word offered to chasten the council.
“Oh, we’ve put up with your aggression over the months and years since our first vote was taken. Will ya tell me I’m crazy now? I guess we all rolled the dice, right? But it’s done, Mistah Prime Keeper! Done, done, done! Y’all are done!”
Gardino felt his right hand begin to tremble.
“Now look, everyone. We’ve got to stay the course here. I have a vision for us, and it hasn’t gone dark just because of a mix-up in the middle lands. We need another shot at getting that craft, whatever it is, another chance to elevate our level of understanding. Don’t back out of your agreement! Don’t abandon hope when we’re so close to grabbing the prize we seek!”
Guaca rubbed his bald head and pondered for a moment. Then, he stood up again.
“No, this is the end, dude! We are all done with chasing shadows. Lothi, it’s time for a vote of no confidence. All those who agree, signify your acceptance. Say it out loud!”
The chamber echoed with energy and applause.
“AYE! AYE! AYE! A VOTE, IT IS! A VOTE IT IS!”
Slagg jingled the colorful, handmade bracelets on her wrists.
“We gonna do it out in the open, right? Yeah, that’s how things have been for a hundred years. My mama and your daddy, and granddaddy, and everybody said their piece, straight up! Nobody has ta hide, nobody has ta run form the light...”
One by one, the governors stated their desire for a new head of the conference table. When the verbal balloting had finished, silence fell upon the room.
Gardino was sick at his stomach.
“You’re all making a mistake! I warn you, don’t be so stupid and impulsive!”
Guaca shook his head in disgust. He had heard enough.
“Our window of opportunity just slammed shut, Lothi! The winter season is here for that region. We had a break in the storms, but it didn’t last. It never does! Both factors would doom another run across this continent. Get your shit together, Prime Keeper! You’ve been bounced off that throne. Stand down in accordance with tradition. Do it and humble yourself!”
A chant went around the table.
“HUMBLE! HUMBLE! HUMBLE!”
Their deposed chieftain felt his cheeks burning like hot coals. Defeat weighed heavily on his shoulders.
“This is... your choice. So be it. I acquiesce to your citizen will. Remember what you’ve done in future days. Regret will linger, I promise you!”
Ms. Slagg grinned widely and gestured with her long fingers.
“Y’all don’t need ta cry about this. It’s been time for a change, we just didn’t have the courage. But fate finds a way of making things happen, right? So, it’s happening here and now. We gotta move! Here we go! Here we go!”
Guaca rose from his seat for a third opportunity to address the gathering. He held a printed report from one of their engineers at Toqua Platte.
“The vessel our drones cornered was a shuttle. We figure something from a Mars colony. They’ve got a good jones going out there, all the brain power went in that direction after life got too hard back here on Planet Earth. Our ancestors effed everything up, you know? They trashed this big rock. It’s a damn good thing our forebears were able to hide out by the ocean. None of us would be here without their sacrifice. What’s left in the middle is a dunghill! Why go digging in shit? What’ll it get us? Listen up, Lothi! I say this is the conclusion of a bad, bad movie! We don’t need a remake!”
Again, the governors concurred with a noisy response.
“YES INDEED! AYE, AYE, AYE!”
Gardino bowed his head, surrendering to the moment. He slouched low in his chair, and went pale.
“So be it. So be it...”
Their senior sage read another passage from the engineering report he had received. He spoke seriously, as if directing a funeral procession.
“Winter is harsh in that region, bruh! More so because of the climate disruption that followed our planetary disaster. We screwed ourselves. Or maybe I ought to say, those old-timers from a century ago screwed us! Whatever your vibe, the transport with that sophisticated motor will be frozen for months. We couldn’t chip it out of the ice if we tried! My heart goes out to whoever was at the controls. That’s a tough place to crash. Better’n drowning in the lake, maybe. But still, not too hospitable. I hope they know how to chop firewood!”
The coastal council adjourned without bickering over a formal declaration of purpose. Their intentions were obvious. For Calimex, it was a course change long overdue. And for the abandoned realm of Midwestern North America, this shift was a new beginning. An inheritance formed by the wages of environmental sin. An interlude between ages of arrogance, and consequences that resulted.
Mankind as a species had survived this calamity. But dreams of conquest and the grandeur of empires were both dead at last.
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