casting vote.’
‘And you have no idea who this leader is?’
‘None whatsoever. I have no idea who it is, where they live, what they do for a living. I think the same leader has been around since your parents were involved, but that’s all I know.’
‘And you’ve never thought to question the motives of your illustrious leader...? Why so secretive? What if they’re a total psychopath and everything they get you to do is simply for their own amusement? What if Austin or someone equally poisonous is the real leader?’
‘It’s possible, but unlikely, I’ve been in the Institution for all my adult life and I’ve never been asked to do anything that contradicts with our aim of energy stability. I reported my misdemeanour and the presence of Austin’s brass cylinder a few weeks after the fire, and we’ve been trying to recover it ever since. Milly had orders to try, I’ve tried, you’ve now tried Anita. Everything we’ve ever been asked to do has been to benefit the organisation and there’s nothing to suggest the leader is benefitting personally through any means.’
‘How do you know that? You don’t know the orders of everyone else, you said that yourself,’ said Alexander, now a little agitated.
‘I don’t know for sure, but sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith, otherwise, what’s the point of living? You’ve got to believe in something.’
‘And what if I believe the way to energy stability is to send the relic back?’
‘Fine, you may really believe that, but what have you or any of the other Descendants ever done to try and find a way to send the relic back? Austin banned energy research for goodness sake. You might be friends with Anderson and I know you’ve been finding covert ways to support his research, but it’s not enough. It will be too little too late unless we can find a way to make a meaningful difference quickly.’
Alexander was going to argue, but in truth he had to admit Helena was right. The Descendants had never really done anything to try and find a way to send the relic back, predominantly because most Descendants were greedy, selfish, people who cared most about sustaining their own comfortable situations. The idea they could no longer rule by right was terrifying to them.
‘Who is your ‘handler’,’ asked Anita, curious as to who it was Helena had to answer.
‘I’m afraid I can’t tell you that. We’re not allowed to reveal to anyone the identity of the next level up. I don’t know who Milly or Rose’s handlers are either.’
‘But everyone here at the farm knows that you, Rose and Milly are all handlers. You must be the handlers for everyone here.’
‘We never confirm or deny anything to anyone. Nobody should know who reports in to who, but in reality, at this level, the secret is less important. Everyone suspects I’m a senior member of the Institution anyway, so it’s not going to surprise anyone that I’ve recruited a few people.’
‘And if we agree to help? You become our ‘handler’?’
‘I suppose so, yes. But all it really means in practice is that I’m your connection to the leadership and I provide the communication channel from you to them and back again.’
‘And what if I only agree to help if I can meet the leadership?’ asked Anita, purposefully pushing the boundaries Helena had laid down.
‘Impossible,’ said Helena, her eyes flashing with annoyance. ‘I’ve never met the leadership. They simply won’t meet anyone, regardless who they are or what they could do to help.’
‘Well that’s too bad then, because I’m not sure I want to help someone who won’t deign to provide me with the common courtesy of letting me know who they are.’
‘Anita, you could have the key to energy stability, or sending the relic back locked in a cylinder in your head. How can you sit on that and say you won’t help us?’
‘Because we have no idea what’s actually
‘And you have no idea who this leader is?’
‘None whatsoever. I have no idea who it is, where they live, what they do for a living. I think the same leader has been around since your parents were involved, but that’s all I know.’
‘And you’ve never thought to question the motives of your illustrious leader...? Why so secretive? What if they’re a total psychopath and everything they get you to do is simply for their own amusement? What if Austin or someone equally poisonous is the real leader?’
‘It’s possible, but unlikely, I’ve been in the Institution for all my adult life and I’ve never been asked to do anything that contradicts with our aim of energy stability. I reported my misdemeanour and the presence of Austin’s brass cylinder a few weeks after the fire, and we’ve been trying to recover it ever since. Milly had orders to try, I’ve tried, you’ve now tried Anita. Everything we’ve ever been asked to do has been to benefit the organisation and there’s nothing to suggest the leader is benefitting personally through any means.’
‘How do you know that? You don’t know the orders of everyone else, you said that yourself,’ said Alexander, now a little agitated.
‘I don’t know for sure, but sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith, otherwise, what’s the point of living? You’ve got to believe in something.’
‘And what if I believe the way to energy stability is to send the relic back?’
‘Fine, you may really believe that, but what have you or any of the other Descendants ever done to try and find a way to send the relic back? Austin banned energy research for goodness sake. You might be friends with Anderson and I know you’ve been finding covert ways to support his research, but it’s not enough. It will be too little too late unless we can find a way to make a meaningful difference quickly.’
Alexander was going to argue, but in truth he had to admit Helena was right. The Descendants had never really done anything to try and find a way to send the relic back, predominantly because most Descendants were greedy, selfish, people who cared most about sustaining their own comfortable situations. The idea they could no longer rule by right was terrifying to them.
‘Who is your ‘handler’,’ asked Anita, curious as to who it was Helena had to answer.
‘I’m afraid I can’t tell you that. We’re not allowed to reveal to anyone the identity of the next level up. I don’t know who Milly or Rose’s handlers are either.’
‘But everyone here at the farm knows that you, Rose and Milly are all handlers. You must be the handlers for everyone here.’
‘We never confirm or deny anything to anyone. Nobody should know who reports in to who, but in reality, at this level, the secret is less important. Everyone suspects I’m a senior member of the Institution anyway, so it’s not going to surprise anyone that I’ve recruited a few people.’
‘And if we agree to help? You become our ‘handler’?’
‘I suppose so, yes. But all it really means in practice is that I’m your connection to the leadership and I provide the communication channel from you to them and back again.’
‘And what if I only agree to help if I can meet the leadership?’ asked Anita, purposefully pushing the boundaries Helena had laid down.
‘Impossible,’ said Helena, her eyes flashing with annoyance. ‘I’ve never met the leadership. They simply won’t meet anyone, regardless who they are or what they could do to help.’
‘Well that’s too bad then, because I’m not sure I want to help someone who won’t deign to provide me with the common courtesy of letting me know who they are.’
‘Anita, you could have the key to energy stability, or sending the relic back locked in a cylinder in your head. How can you sit on that and say you won’t help us?’
‘Because we have no idea what’s actually
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