Social Conundrums Part XXXIII

"When you meet with the elders the day after tomorrow for your hearing, you are going to kill them all using this weapon," Felix said his yellow eyes glancing at the sword he held in his hands.

"But...what would that accomplish?" I asked him struggling to understand his horrific plan. Killing the elders will create widespread panic and could even destabilize our entire society.

Felix raised his eyes to meet mine. "Surely you Anne, a historical anthropologist specializing in the pre-enlightened years of our civilization, knows what happens when an existing power structure is destroyed."

My oped body grew warm, the equivalent of a human body’s shiver, “Our ancestors did it to seize power but nothing like this has been done since we shed our human natures and became fully energetic Little Dragons." What would be the impact to our world, to our universe, to have energetic beings destroying each other? I thought of when Jezebel Dannah and her followers used their abilities to oppress others and created a creature that nearly destroyed our race. “History has already shown us the consequences of those actions,” I said.

“The garden itself gave me the ability to create this weapon,” Felix said his voice confident, “If what I was planning was wrong, I never would have received it.” His golden eyes then looked at my own challenging me to refute him.

My oped eyes hardening in response. “The garden is beyond our understanding. Only a fool would forget that fact,” I said while struggling to sit up as far as the restraints would allow me, “You have thrown away science and logic for pure ambition. The universe has a way of correcting these imbalances and trust me it won’t go well for you or any of us.”

Felix gave a negative shake of his head. “It isn’t just the sword. The universe itself has made all of this possible,” he said. A strange glint came into his eyes, as they looked past me to something beyond that I couldn’t see. An unsettling quiet coming over the room. “If you were there and saw what I saw you would understand,” he said making me jump with the sudden sound.

“There were at least half a dozen Little Dragon scientists with me observing the oped's planet,” Felix continued in a much softer voice. “I, however, was the only one who saw what happened to Demera.” He then turned to me. “An oped woman,” he said by way of explanation. “She stood motionless for 10 minutes with the same glazed look you see on the opeds serving me. Naturally I was alarmed, at first, but to my astonishment she reacted to every suggestion I made. Then it cleared and she was normal again. I found out much later that it was a reaction to the combination of being stung by a fela bee, no bigger than a human mosquito, and sniffing the fragrance of a koia flower, Demera held in her hand. Can you imagine how something so simple can alter a creature’s mind?” he asked me an incredulous note in his voice revealing the part of him that was no doubt a scientist.

I wasn’t impressed. “So because you were the only one to witness it, you decided that you needed to exploit an entire species?” I asked more than a hint of sarcasm in my voice.

“Not at first,” he said nonplussed by my criticism. “I actually forgot all about it until after the scientific study I took on with my father to study whether the anti-garden existed.” He then turned to look at me again. “You have already seen him, he is elder Keros.”

The implications of his statement weren’t lost on me. “You plan to have me kill your own father,” I stated unable to keep the horror out of my voice.

“If the situation were reversed, he wouldn’t hesitate. It isn’t my fault that I found the weapon he was seeking,” he told me, “You see Anne, we weren’t actually seeking the anti-garden, father used it as an excuse to hide our real objective, the fulcrum,”

A truly controversial objective after the last seeker of it Julie Salmon just disappeared. No wonder Keros kept it a secret. “Keros is an influential member of Res Publica," Felix continued. "Which has been quietly growing in strength since it was “officially” disbanded 50 years ago. I am also a member. Everyone on that scientific study were Res Publica members. They wanted to harness the fulcrum's power so it could be used to further the group's objectives. But to my father’s great disappointment we found nothing, at least that is what I told him,” I heard the smile in his voice, he obviously had issues with his family.

“Now that I had a weapon, I needed help so it was then that I remembered what happened to the opeds so I went back to the planet and perfected the formula I now use on them,” he said. “After creating this laboratory, your social code committee member, Hannah, a member of Res Publica by the way, said one of the co-chairs wanted our help in discrediting the other. I immediately saw how to use the entire situation to my advantage. Once I destroy the elders and take over, then Res Publica no longer has to do its work in the shadows. We can help all Little Dragons embrace that there are times when free will should be hindered for the greater good,” a mad light in his eyes, “especially now when we are on the verge of creating our own planet.”

Felix’s words weren’t lost on me but I felt a new type of pain when he informed me of Hannah’s membership to his organization and how she helped Gershom contact them to discredit me. Jerome had been right Gershom was involved.

“So instead of doing as he asked you frame me for murder,” I said putting extra effort into keeping my voice neutral.

Felix turned towards me. “Yes,” he said. “You like Linda Devine are merely tools. I have no personal reasons to despise either one of you. It is the universe itself that selected both of you to be my instruments.”

The Little Dragon stared at me for a moment longer as he put the sword down on a nearby table. “I am not without sympathy for your position so in addition to killing the elders you will also be killing Gershom. He will pay for his betrayal to you.”

Before I could fully process his promise, I then saw Felix reaching for the dreaded needle signaling he was finished. My oped heart began to beat faster as I knew only mere seconds were left to me. “Wait!” I shouted but this time he didn’t stop. “It will be all over soon,” Felix promised as the needle entered my arm. I felt a numbness descending, my mind becoming jumbled until I forgot everything again.

That ends Social Conundrums, Part XXXIII. Next month is Social Conundrums, Part XXXIV. Learn more about the Little Dragons by reading the earlier blog post series titled Humanity's Evolution.

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