Ipsa scientia potestas est

++Deep underground, beneath the city of Xi Char, Haor Chall++


“Secundus, you must choose. One way or another, a decision must be reached.”

The voice, deep and heavy, almost growled at him.

Standing in front of the massive monument which dominated the approach to the inner sanctum of the Council of Twelve, Secundus was struck once again by the incredible arrogance of his forebears. An outstretched hand, grasping a globe, it was a tribute to the grand ambitions of the Council. Ambitions that, from some points of view, had largely already been realised.

The speaker, a large man with his face shrouded behind a dark cloak, was called Malleus and he shifted impatiently as he waited for a response. An unsubtle name for an unsubtle man. Secundus mused on the dichotomy between the subtlety which was a necessity for any clandestine organisation and the clear lack of subtlety inherent in the enormous sculpture looming behind them, as well as in Malleus himself. Perhaps it was the external repression, which was a requirement of their position, that led to such obvious displays of hubris here. The Council of the Majestic Twelve had a public image that was almost monastic; it’s members were never seen in public without the cloaks and robes they wore to conceal their identities. Like many secret societies across the centuries, their secret places were splendid, even opulent in their construction and décor. There was a message in such things, of course, but Secundus suspected that they went largely missed where Malleus was concerned.

Malleus, like Secundus, had not been his birth name. All members of the Council took a new name upon their ascension to its ranks. And although the true identities of the Council were known to all its members, but no other, they never used their real names even in their inner sanctum. Secundus recognised the origins of their many rites and traditions, although he had little patience for such tedious ceremony when they were cloistered so far beyond the reach of any outsider.

“My friend,” Secundus said dryly, “Oftentimes what might appear as no decision is itself a decision. If all you have is a hammer then you may see every problem as a nail, but is that the fault of the nail or the hammer?”

“Must you always speak in riddles?” Growled Malleus, his impatient tone showing that the allusion to the hammer had been recognised. “This matter must be resolved urgently. There is not time for philosophising.”

“Malleus, in my experience demands for urgency are most often demands to not think through one’s actions. When we are dealing with the fate of nations, as we do, there is never anything so urgent as to prevent thorough thought, so as to understand fully the potential consequences of our actions. Knowledge is power for a reason.”

The matter of debate was a minor insurrection in the city Charros. The main reason for its prominence was both the location, for Charros had also been the birthplace of the current regime - and, accordingly, the death place of the previous one thought Secundus – and also the involvement of the Xi Char religion. Religion always complicated matter mused Secundus, it was difficult to fully understand how the people will react and you always had to avoid creating accidental martyrs. It was unusual for the Council to be deadlocked, as despite it’s name the Majestic Twelve actually had eleven living members. The twelfth member being God, a particularly arrogant conceit of the founding members Secundus believed. An odd number of members did of course ensuring a majority when matters came to a vote, although the original Council had operated on a principle of unanimity. On this occasion the rest of the Majestic Twelve were evenly split and Secundus had declined to vote. There was nothing within the Council rites which allowed for abstention but, equally, he had argued there was also nothing which prevented it.

“Once we resume, we are not adjourning until a decision is reached.” Malleus warned, shaking his head and heading back into the council chambers.

We shall see… Thought Secundus as he watched the former General walk away.

++Cyberdyne Factory, Charros, the second city of Haor Chall++

Flames licked up through broken windows, as the fire took hold throughout the factory floor. Issac couldn’t help but feel guilty at the destruction being done, even though he knew it was only the modern automated assembly lines within that were being ruined, the baroque factory walls were made of thick stone and would still be standing long after the fire burned out. But they had not intended to cause such a conflagration, the protest was meant to have been a peaceful one.

The protest had grown far beyond what he had intended, indeed it had now left him behind as it spread out into the streets. Such destruction was the antithesis of the teaching of Ix in so many ways, he found it difficult to comprehend how what had begun as a religious protest – about how the old values of the Xi Char were being abandoned – could turn out like this. Perhaps because people repressed and internalised these feelings, they could but only explode when unbottled.

He could hear the yelling and the sirens, and could do nothing, as the chaos worked its way out across the city…


+++


Firefighting teams rushed from across Charros towards the burning Cyberdyne factory, thick black palls of smoke billowed into the air, visible from across the city. Police cordons were slowly being established at key junctions, their sluggish response a result of the surprise at such a rare and unlikely event – and a wariness due to the lack of communication from higher authorities in the capital.

The most effective cordon, the only one established quickly, was at the main exit/entrance points to the city. Principally to ensure that any foreign (or domestic) media were kept out, for their own safety of course, the cordon was manned not just by local police and law enforcement but by special agents from the ISB, often referred to as “men in black” amongst the Challian population. Long tailbacks started to build as everyone attempting to enter or exit the city was re-routed or questioned…

++Deep underground, beneath the city of Xi Char, Haor Chall++

Angry voices echoed around the darkened chamber, although Secundus had largely filtered them out. You would think half the nation was in flames, from the way they argued, he thought to himself. The dangers of decision by committee of course. He liked to think that the rest of the Council shared his self-awareness of their national idiosyncrasies, but today somewhat proved they did not. On the positive side; such self-awareness was definitely a trait shared by his protégé, Ion Dardanus, their new envoy to META. That had been a calculated risk, but one with potential for great benefit in the long term. And they always planned for the long term. He tuned back into the argument, deciding it had gone on long enough…

“… cannot allow this to spread further. The risk is too great.” Said a voice further down the table. That was “Capitalis”. One voice he had not expected to favour the use of military force.

“The risk of that action is far greater!” Argued another. “It would only stoke the fire! Whatever we all might believe, we should not risk losing the faithful. Opening negotiations with the leaders of this movement allows us to…”

“Be seen as weak.” Interrupted Secundus. “Why would we negotiate with a petty band of dissidents? That would only validate their position.”

“So you finally see sense!” Malleus growled, “We cannot let them go unchallenged, an example must be made to ensure the preservation of security and stability.”

“As I have told you before,” Secundus responded levelly, “overreaction also shows weakness, not strength. You would make martyrs of them. It would only lead people to question the system. Would you really repeat the mistakes of the regime we overthrew?”

A figure further down the table, whose outline seemed to shimmer slightly, coughed quietly. “Gentlemen, before we go around in circles, I think Secundus should tell us his alternative.”

Secundus smiled thinly and nodded toward the figure down the table. “It is simple. We trust in the system we have established. Events are handled on the ground and we do what we have always done, watch from the shadows. There is…”

“You would have us do NOTHING?” Thundered Malleus, interrupting Secundus. “This is absurd!”

At this moment Secundus suddenly recalled to mind that previous members of the Council, who had – for various reasons – came to be seen as a threat to the Majestic Twelve by others, had been quietly assassinated. Such a thing had not happened for almost a hundred years and whilst he would be loath to set a precedent for it in the modern era, it was certainly a tempting thought….

He decided to ignore Malleus and looked, in turn, at all of the other Council members gathered around the table. “I understand why everyone is on edge, but step back and look at the bigger picture. This is what we do. Yes, this is the most significant loss of control since the Council took power. But it is not even close to the scale of the events in 1987. We knew the possibility of events like this existed. We prepared for this. If you truly think the Internal Security Directorate is not up to the task of dealing with an uprising like this then we have already failed. But I am confident the ISD will perform as we designed it to.

If it helps, think of it as a test. Our first real opportunity to see if the system we designed is robust enough to handle challenges like this. You all know of the rigor, the thought, the time and the energy spent on building this organisation and building this system. Have confidence in our plan, we here are the Majestic Twelve for a reason. And if that isn’t sufficient, then I can be cynical enough to point out that if we leave the ISD to handle it – and they do poorly – it will be easy enough to find a scapegoat. One way or another, we will weather this crisis.”

This time Malleus stayed quiet, although Secundus could easily tell that he was glowering still, hidden underneath his hood. But most of the heads around the table nodded slowly and had placed their right hands on the table, with an old Charrian sovereign in their open palm.

A decision had been made.