I have one of these…implants, then? Is that how you do it?
No, Abel. I am an advanced model. I am able to narrowcast to you using quantum uncertainties within the small bits called molecules that make up your brain. Zentrum will not have the means to detect this.
Good. You two get me in enough trouble already.
“Based on their direction of movement,” said Joab, “the Redlanders were coming from the northern borders of Treville. But, as we both know—”
“—Treville manufactures no gunpowder,” put in Zilkovsky.
“Exactly. So the point of origin must have been Cascade. That is also the Captain of Scout’s evaluation.”
“Sharplett,” said Zilkovsky. “Good man. Pity he’s of Delta stock.”
Joab nodded. Abel knew there was no use arguing against class distinctions in the Land. They were, if anything, more deeply carved in stone than the Stasis itself.
“The problem then becomes to figure out if this is a regular flow. Are the Redlanders planning something?” Joab said. “My Scouts report that the Blaskoye have been on a tear of consolidation in the past couple of years. They’ve incorporated at least five neighboring tribes by conquest or negotiation.”
“What are they up to, do you think?”
“I’m not sure, Mr. Prelate,” Joab answered, “but it can’t be good. I was hoping you might tell me.”
Zilkovsky sighed, sat back in his chair, took another swig of beer. “Unfortunately, this is a matter on which I’ve received no guidance from Zentrum. I do, however, have a few watchers in Cascade who send me the occasional report.”
Joab smiled a toothy smile. “I’d hoped you did, Mr. Prelate.”
“Cascade has problems. Rot at the top, I’m sorry to say. As you and I have long discussed, it’s a happy district when District Military Commander and District Prelate get along and truly share power with one another. You and I are blessed by Zentrum to be in such a relationship.”
“I agree,” Joab said.
“Many times in…more unhappy places…it is the military commander who takes control, since he possesses the force.”
“Or believes he does,” said Joab. “More than one DMC has found out the hard way that what he believes he has is a relative matter in actuality. Zentrum often finds a way to swat such a man down.”
“Yes,” said Zilkovsky, “quite. But the problem in Cascade is worse. Both the priesthood and the military have allowed themselves to become pawns of the gentry.”
“Surely this can be remedied,” replied Joab. “I’d think a lesson or two would go a long way to doing just that. Burn a farmhouse, save the Land.”
“It might,” Zilkovsky said. “But the monopoly on gunpowder production at the Bruneberg plant would continue, for that is the Edict of Zentrum. So the enormous inflow of wealth would likely tempt another group to misbehave. This is how it has been in…well, forever …in Cascade. It is a corrupt place.”
Joab looked perplexed. “So what’s the solution, Hiram?” Abel had never heard his father use the prelate’s first name in another’s presence. He hadn’t even known Zilkovsky had a first name.
Zilkovsky now turned to Abel and pointed to his father. “Behold the military mind,” he said mildly. “Your father wishes to order things that are fundamentally chaotic.”
“The Blaskoye are building up to something,” Joab replied. “We can’t resign ourselves to being unprepared for attack just because Cascade’s a dirty mess.”
“No, we cannot,” replied the priest. “I also do not believe Zentrum will allow it.”
That’s where he’s wrong , said Raj. This is exactly the sort of thing Zentrum will allow, so long as it ultimately keeps the Stasis in place. Zilkovsky has come to enjoy his job so much, he’s forgotten Zentrum’s ultimate purpose.
Zentrum takes the long view , Center put in, in what, for Abel, had become a mantra akin to a Thursday school lesson. But it was a lesson he knew he ought to
No, Abel. I am an advanced model. I am able to narrowcast to you using quantum uncertainties within the small bits called molecules that make up your brain. Zentrum will not have the means to detect this.
Good. You two get me in enough trouble already.
“Based on their direction of movement,” said Joab, “the Redlanders were coming from the northern borders of Treville. But, as we both know—”
“—Treville manufactures no gunpowder,” put in Zilkovsky.
“Exactly. So the point of origin must have been Cascade. That is also the Captain of Scout’s evaluation.”
“Sharplett,” said Zilkovsky. “Good man. Pity he’s of Delta stock.”
Joab nodded. Abel knew there was no use arguing against class distinctions in the Land. They were, if anything, more deeply carved in stone than the Stasis itself.
“The problem then becomes to figure out if this is a regular flow. Are the Redlanders planning something?” Joab said. “My Scouts report that the Blaskoye have been on a tear of consolidation in the past couple of years. They’ve incorporated at least five neighboring tribes by conquest or negotiation.”
“What are they up to, do you think?”
“I’m not sure, Mr. Prelate,” Joab answered, “but it can’t be good. I was hoping you might tell me.”
Zilkovsky sighed, sat back in his chair, took another swig of beer. “Unfortunately, this is a matter on which I’ve received no guidance from Zentrum. I do, however, have a few watchers in Cascade who send me the occasional report.”
Joab smiled a toothy smile. “I’d hoped you did, Mr. Prelate.”
“Cascade has problems. Rot at the top, I’m sorry to say. As you and I have long discussed, it’s a happy district when District Military Commander and District Prelate get along and truly share power with one another. You and I are blessed by Zentrum to be in such a relationship.”
“I agree,” Joab said.
“Many times in…more unhappy places…it is the military commander who takes control, since he possesses the force.”
“Or believes he does,” said Joab. “More than one DMC has found out the hard way that what he believes he has is a relative matter in actuality. Zentrum often finds a way to swat such a man down.”
“Yes,” said Zilkovsky, “quite. But the problem in Cascade is worse. Both the priesthood and the military have allowed themselves to become pawns of the gentry.”
“Surely this can be remedied,” replied Joab. “I’d think a lesson or two would go a long way to doing just that. Burn a farmhouse, save the Land.”
“It might,” Zilkovsky said. “But the monopoly on gunpowder production at the Bruneberg plant would continue, for that is the Edict of Zentrum. So the enormous inflow of wealth would likely tempt another group to misbehave. This is how it has been in…well, forever …in Cascade. It is a corrupt place.”
Joab looked perplexed. “So what’s the solution, Hiram?” Abel had never heard his father use the prelate’s first name in another’s presence. He hadn’t even known Zilkovsky had a first name.
Zilkovsky now turned to Abel and pointed to his father. “Behold the military mind,” he said mildly. “Your father wishes to order things that are fundamentally chaotic.”
“The Blaskoye are building up to something,” Joab replied. “We can’t resign ourselves to being unprepared for attack just because Cascade’s a dirty mess.”
“No, we cannot,” replied the priest. “I also do not believe Zentrum will allow it.”
That’s where he’s wrong , said Raj. This is exactly the sort of thing Zentrum will allow, so long as it ultimately keeps the Stasis in place. Zilkovsky has come to enjoy his job so much, he’s forgotten Zentrum’s ultimate purpose.
Zentrum takes the long view , Center put in, in what, for Abel, had become a mantra akin to a Thursday school lesson. But it was a lesson he knew he ought to
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