The Constant Star (68)

THE STORY SO FAR

Lucas pauses for a moment, “But if you are willing, you could make a change.”

“What do you mean?”

“Right now a…war…is raging between your leaders, but they are not the ones with the power to make Janus work. You are. The unified people. The ones who have thrown aside their differences and recognized the importance of unity in survival. You have the power to make demands. To change how this place is run.

“I know for a fact that Jupiter is headed to the Council right now to argue for change. If we go also—If we rally all the collateral people and stand before them—we can make a change. We can stop this war. And we can make all of our lives a better place. This is a great destiny that lays ahead of you, if you choose to walk in it.”

“Damn, them’s some pretty good points. What do you think?”

There’s a general murmuring of worried approval. Someone in the dark speaks out, “They’ll just shoot us.”

Lucas nods, “They might do that. But they are already doing that. If they see the people of Janus refusing to be bullied into returning to work, they will be forced to listen.”

“So you’re saying we should die.”

“I’m saying you should decide if it is worth it.”

“I mean, c’mon.” Grem is speaking to the room now, “We’re already dead. Look at us. One day away from starving. One misstep away from being shot. If we got everybody to go to the Council we could shut these power-hungry morons down and make our own demands.”

“And get shot.”

“Would you rather watch your daughter get shot tomorrow? Or make Janus safe for her today? Lucas here has already shown us that our leaders can change their minds. If Jupiter can change, why not the others?”

“You’ll never get the other refugees to join us.”

“Are you kidding? If we have Lucas as our spokesman they’ll show up out of morbid curiosity if nothing else. And even if they don’t, we can still go as we are. I’ve lost so many already, I’ll do whatever I can to stop this bloodshed. I’m going with Lucas. Any of you who want to come as well are welcome to do so.” About half the room steps forward in agreement and Grem smiles, “Alright, send out the runners. We’re heading to the Needle.”

Lucas puts his hand on Grem’s shoulder, “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it, kid. I’ve been looking for an answer, and it looks like you’ve got one. Let’s go fuck ‘em up.”

54

<<Citizen#0023-48325193

Entry#14246

For too long humanity has been at war with nature, and now we must free the universe from this violence.>>

“Welcome back.”

The muddiness of waking up starts to evaporate and Siff sits herself up in the med-bed. Macy is sitting on a chair against the wall smiling a curious smile. Siff shakes her head a little, “Glad to be here.”

Macy lets out a laugh, “I’m sure you are. I wasn’t sure Addy would get you here but she managed it. She tells me you…fell?”

“Yeah, something like that. How’s her face?”

Macy laughs again and settles into her chair, “I’m sure you have questions. Go ahead and ask.”

“Why bother? I can’t tell if you’re lying or not.”

“They got you good, huh? What did they tell you?”

“That you told them where I was, that you killed those people you said you would spare, that you want me dead.”

“See, those are the best lies, you know: when they’re so believable. It must be really hard to know who to trust when you care about both sides.”

“So they lied? That’s your official response?”

“Well, they mostly lied. I’m gonna disappoint you a little here, Siff. But yes, I executed that security team in the elevator.”

“…Why?…” the betrayal is clear on Siff’s face.

“You experienced their cruelty once. We lived with those assholes our whole lives. What you saw was as kind as they ever have been. What you experienced was a mild beating even on their kindest of days. We were nothing to them and they used their power over us to do whatever they wanted. Whatever. They. Wanted. They needed to face justice for the things they have done to us, and we needed to send a message to the Upper Levels that we will no longer tolerate their abuses. I think the message got across quite well.”

“That act started a war.”

“No. How they treated us for centuries started a war. Don’t forget why you joined us in the first place; your heart is good and you saw injustice and horror and you stood against it. This war isn’t just about stopping them from keeping us as slaves, this war is about them realizing we are human and we are their equals. In every way.”

“Do you want me dead?”

“I don’t want you dead.”

“Then why—“

“Why did I order Addy to kill you if she couldn’t get you out?”

Siff pauses at the honesty, a little shocked that it was true, “Yeah. That.”

“You know who I am, you know where I am, you’ve seen our base of operations, you’ve seen our armory, you’ve seen how many of us there are…you’re a valuable asset to them. If they capture you they will interrogate you and find out way too much. They’ll find out things you don’t even know you know. I love you Siff—we were best friends—but if you get caught we are going to lose everything we have ever fought for. It breaks my heart that I had to make that call, but I couldn’t let my people fall back into slavery. Not even for you.” Macy smiles, “But you’re here now and we don’t have to worry about that.”

“Did you tell them where I was? They shot me when I made the jump. The

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