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Copyright 2009 by Garvath Publishing
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"He really is crazy," Heinz said.
"Hmm?" Helga asked, looking up from her breakfast.
"Herr President. The text of his upcoming speech 'accidentally' got posted on the net yesterday," Heinz replied.
He had her full attention. "And?" she prompted.
"I suspect he'll change the speech now, but he had been planning to announce his plans for an army."
"To do what?" she asked incredulously. "Protect us from the fish?"
"According to him, the surface dwellers would come for our mineral wealth."
"On a mineral-rich world? They have much easier pickings on the surface than they would have coming down here and having to transport them!"
"You and I understand that. But remember that a lot of the people here came down merely out of blind devotion to Wagner, rather than because of the technical challenges that brought people like us.
"Wagner knows that. His speech was pure emotional rhetoric, about traitors among us having communicated about our mineral resources to 'accomplices' back home."
"Well of course folks would mention that!" Helga said. "They wouldn't want their friends and families worried about us not doing well."
"That's how tyrants work. They use pieces of truth to craft plausible lies. He couldn't very well say the surface dwellers were going to attack for no reason.
"I just wonder how he will respond to having his thunder stolen," Heinz continued. "When people read the text of that speech minus Wagner's trademark emotional delivery, it will be easy to see the logical fallacies. If he simply went ahead and read it now, he would likely be laughed at."
"Problem now," Helga began, "Is that he'll be able to talk about the 'traitors among us' trying to discredit him by releasing a bogus speech."
"Yes," Heinz said, staring into the depths of his coffee.
"Fellow citizens, my sincere greetings," Wagner intoned. He paused, then continued in an uncharacteristically calm and rational tone. "As I'm sure most of you have read by now, someone has published the alleged text of the speech I was to give tonight. This speech. I can only assume that this person is trying to discredit me by making me appear to be some kind of lunatic.
"I'm at a loss why someone would do this. I have only the best interest of our people in mind in all I do. But if you really have that little confidence in me, then I will reluctantly step down from office once a replacement has been duly elected and installed. I will not resign and leave things in chaos."
"Oh he's good," Heinz said to Helga during a pause. "You know he may have 'leaked' that other speech himself. This one is likely to boost his popularity greatly."
Wagner continued. "I'm going to call for a referendum within the next week to see how many of you would like to see a special election. Depending on the referendum results, we'll either schedule the election, or get on with life.
"In the fictitious speech, I was supposedly going to announce the formation of an army. Apparently the perpetrator had heard of my plans to organize a Sea Ranger squad.
"As you know, up till now we've not allowed anyone outside the habitat except when absolutely necessary for safety reasons. We've all learned a lot now, and since we are after all an underwater civilization, I've decided to open up the great outdoors for educational and recreational activities.
"It would be irresponsible to do this without adequate safety personnel available in case things go awry. In addition, these Sea Rangers will be able to assist our current police and emergency workers in technical aspects involving habitat integrity, etc.
"Anyone interested in applying for the Sea Rangers may start the process at any time by my office for the paperwork.
"Moving on to less sinister, and more mundane things, I am told by the head of our Textile Board that many of us are dragging our feet on getting ourselves and our families situated with clothing.
"I hate to nag anyone, but we agreed early on that we would only heat the habitat at it's current level until everyone had adequate clothing to tolerate cooler temperatures. As of our last harvest season, enough plant fibers have been harvested and processed into cloth that each person can order and purchase two full sets of clothing. Many of you have made no such arrangements. We don't want to freeze anyone out, but let me remind you that as long as we continue heating the habitat at it's current level, we are wasting huge amounts of energy. Also, those of you delaying to clothe yourselves are forcing the rest of us to continue in that humiliating state imposed on our ancestors by Emporer Bill - going about like naked savages.
"Let it be known that three months from this date, the habitat temperature will be allowed to drop to a level comparable to the temperate zone of our ancestors' planet Deutscherwelt. Three months. Don't get caught in the cold.
"Moving on to financial matters..."
Heinz set the communicator to sleep mode. After a second of silence, he said, "Opening the outdoors. Have I missed something? Are there crowds of would-be recreational divers lobbying for that?"
"You don't normally ask rhetorical questions," Helga anwered. You know there haven't been."
"I also know that we've got no shortage of geothermal heat. In fact, we'll probably have to cool some of the interior sections to get the levels he wants. But we knew Wagner had a clothing obsession before we came here. We knew he would push for mandatory clothing. I just don't get this recreational outdoor thing."
"Sure you do. He gets an army by another name - Sea Rangers."
"Yes," Heinz agreed reluctantly. "Maybe it's time to go. We've solved the habitat's technical challenges. Now it's just a matter of routine maintenance."
"Which we are most qualified to perform," Helga pointed out. "You don't expect him to just let us leave?"
"He has to. It's in the Charter."
"You think he'll honor that?"
"He has to. Breaking the Charter will allow the Oreni to intervene. He may try to intimidate us, but if he tries to keep us here against our will, the Oreni will step in."
"You're really sure of that?"
"Have you ever known an unreliable Oren?"
"I've never known any Oren. Have you?"
He hesitated before answering. "I've had them in my work crews. When extraordinary circumstances have arisen, one of them is suddenly there, helping out."
Noting her surprise, he said "Oh not looking like glass statues or anything. They appear as someone I knew to be out sick that day, or as a worker from another crew. When I've tried to thank the person later, they've not known what I was talking about."
"So of course they had to be Oreni," Helga said, skeptically.
"I've seen them doing super-human feats. They're good at hiding it, but not good enough to fool me. They may not be interfering with us, but they're watching us closely."
"Doesn't that bother you a little? I mean we're kind of like bugs from their perpective."
"They're surreptitiously helping us. I tend to trust them. More than I trust certain presidents, anyway."
"There is that," Helga acknowledged.
Heinz plopped down unceremoniously at the dinner table, tossing his discarded shirt across the room.
"So why are we sweating in those things?" Helga asked, nodding toward the shirt. "I thought it was supposed to be too cool for bare skin."
"Well, unfortunately, I was right. With unlimited free hot water from the geothermal vent, we never felt the need to monitor usage. After all, our heating water is the discharge water from the turbine generators. What we didn't cycle through the radiative heating network of the habitat just got dumped outside.
"It seems that the interior rings of the habitat pretty much produce enough waste heat that the actual heating panels were barely needed."
"Waste heat?"
"Our bodies, the electrical wiring, lighting, and all of our machinery generate heat. The outer rings lose heat to the near-freezing water outside, but not the inner rings. It seems that, unbeknownst to us, the inner rings' thermostats cycled almost none of the heating water through their respective panels."
"So this part of the habitat will need cooling, just like you predicted."
"I would have much rather been wrong. It's going to take months to fix this, and a lot of resources. I guess I was wrong about being done with the technical challenges."
"They have achieved stability in their basic requirements," the young Oren informed the assembled faces.
"Yet there is more," Fourth prompted.
"Yes. We have observed and listened carefully. They are now exerting great effort to recreate the climactic conditions of the world of their ancestors, even though none of them have ever lived there."
"For what purpose?" Second asked.
The young Oren delayed noticeably. "We listened carefully," he repeated. "We are quite certain of this information, though we do not understand it."
"Proceed," First directed.
"Their leader, Wagner, wishes these people to cover their bodies with material derived from plant fibers. He does not want these people to see each other's bodies at all. He wishes to cool the climactic conditions adequately to make wearing these coverings at all times tolerable."
"Wagner spoke of this when he was here among us," First said.
"Ghan tell us that covering themselves is a common trait among humans," Fourth added. "Many of the humans on Ghan keep themselves covered," she said pointing to the huge planet overhead. "In harsh weather, it is understandable. In fact, it can be necessary for survival. But Ghan tells us many humans simply prefer being covered."
A new voice boomed in. "It is a habit almost as old as humanity," Ghan said. "An astounding amount of resources have been wasted because of the practice. However, that's not relevant here. Wagner's people have essentially limitless energy and resources. I have a more important concern."
"Greetings, Ghan," First replied. "We have missed hearing from you."
"As I have missed communicating with you. Silence was necessary. I am seeing a pattern develop with Wagner that I have seen often among humans. He has started an army. He has no legitimate need of one. If he doesn't use it against the surface dwellers, he will use it against his own people.
"I will tolerate neither, on this world. I would like one of you to watch Wagner continuously, but without his knowledge. Do not be concerned with his privacy. He may need to be stopped. If his death is necessary, it must be quick and painless. I do not trust my own restraint in this."
Though Ghan had nothing visible to point with, everyone had looked up at the big planet when he'd said 'this world'. Fourth spoke for the benefit of the young Oren.
"The humans have long fought over there. Ghan is bound by oath not to intervene up to a well-defined point," she said.
"And since the explosion generations ago, the humans always stop just short of that point," Second added. "Ghan has no such limitations here."
"Nhrigo, will you please begin watching Wagner?" First asked. " He is not to be allowed to use his army in any aggressive fashion. He may deploy it for humanitarian or defensive purposes."
"Defense against what?" the young Oren asked, genuinely surprised.
"Not even Ghan is all-knowing," First replied. I suspect that is why he didn't tell us to dismantle the army."
"I will do as you ask," the young Oren said, as he faded into nothingness.
"Is Nhrigo the best choice for this?" Fourth asked. "He is still very innocent."
"Ghan said he couldn't trust his own restraint," First replied. "I am not sure I could trust ours. Nhrigo is open and direct. He will not kill Wagner without warning."