THE SECOND THIRD OF the Council of Thirds met in the customary room. It was meant for six, but all twelve members of the council normally squeezed in together.
The group, composed of Zan Gopal, Quinn Yester and Loyan Axon, never drew more than a cursory examination from the other three sub-councils which composed the council of twelve. The Second Third rarely met, for Zan Gopal enjoyed his ease more than his work. Quinn and Loyan came to the Unbroken Tower often enough, yet Zan spent the majority of his time upon the surface in Hong Kong, usually on a couch or in a bed.
At one time, both Quinn and Loyan had gone to Zan's estate to ask if they might convene a meeting there. Zan Gopal, having just woken up from a nap, had taken his socks off his feet and thrown them at the two men.
Zan had elected to remain in the sky however, after having attended a full council meeting two days ago. Zan looked like a man of 600 at 441 years old. He once boasted a proud mane of long, flowing hair. Somewhere along the way however, most of his hair had fallen out so that a mullet starting at the back of his head was all that remained. A curving horseshoe pattern of baldness had eaten away at his follicles over the years; despite all the lotions and creams he applied to halt the advance of hairlessness.
So proud he had been of his hair that he could not let even let go of the white, mangy remnants on the back of his head.
He worried that if he lived as long as the old men of the council, he would eventually have no hair left anywhere on his body. He worried about that day, just as he had worried that the methods he used to get his hair back had, in fact, accelerated his baldness.
Where most people of the 73rd century never became overweight, Zan Gopal had bucked that trend. He had grown a large belly together with large thighs and a second chin. He didn't mind his weight as much as he minded his hair. Yet, he found his weight curious enough to warrant further investigation. Since he hadn't eaten anything since his fourteenth year, he could only wonder which of his biological processes caused him to gain weight while everyone else remained thin.
The single visit he'd paid to a human biologist had produced no results. The biologist said that Zan had a genetic predisposition to gain weight. Try whatever he might; Zan would not be able to stop. Zan hadn't believed the answer he'd heard. He had even traveled all the way to Norway just to speak with one of the world's few remaining experts in human biology. He regretted doing so, for what little good it did. He could have spent all that time on his couch in Hong Kong.
After meeting with the biologist, Zan's face grew a scowl he didn't know he had. Both corners of his lips always turned down. His eyes narrowed in a way that made the rest of his face look scrunched. Even in his few moments of pleasure, Zan's face remained this way. He did not know that Quinn and Loyan thought of him as a bitter, sad old man clinging to his seat on the Council of Thirds by virtue of owning the ship construction company, which operated beneath the Atlantic Ocean.
The council used Zan's company to build the ships that Plone Hesser said would prove effective against the Soonseen. Zan never bothered with the company, however. He turned its day-to-day operations over to other people while he collected the lion's share of the company's profits. He wanted nothing more than to consider the clouds through the glass ceiling of his mansion. He would never tell Quinn and Loyan how close he had come to resigning from the council when they called a meeting of the Second Third.
He supposed that, after the meeting with Hensen Var had concluded with Hensen's execution, Zan didn't need to tell Laan Munnin that he planned to stay in the sky for a few days. Laan, as the youngest member of the council, had told everyone of Zan's plans. Shortly after that Zan had received a summons for the next day. Zan almost tore up the piece of paper with flowing, flowery speech imprinted upon it.
Then, just as he held the paper between both his hands, another thought occurred to him.
A connection existed between Hinjo Junta and the rebels in Madagascar. Future history claimed that Hinjo would lead humanity to destruction by introducing people to the joy of eating food once again. That, as far as Zan understood, was exactly what the rebels had been doing. He hadn't given their behavior a second thought until a vein of pure Estonite was discovered on their island.
Without the computer to relay real time data to him, Zan had to rely upon what little information passed over the emergency channel. He had been able to glean that the enemy of humanity, together with his two favorite citizens of the time, had stolen a 161 Williamsport Turtle for the army. Reading that report had made Zan scratch his wide stomach. He had thought that, given the opportunity to join the rebels, the citizen named Unquill Hester who would later become Hinjo would have thrown in with people who shared his own philosophy.
Yet that had not happened.
Zan could only think that Hester Van's statements regarding the Zeta Disruption had been correct. Perhaps the two children did have the power to change the future.
Perhaps, Zan had thought to himself, the Final Prediction might be wrong.
If so, he should let go of controlling his company and retire to his comfortable bed. There were enough clouds to go around to last him a long time.
So he had remained in the Unbroken Tower because the possibility intrigued him. He had put down the summons rather than tearing it, because he wanted to believe that two children could set the world to rights so that he wouldn't have to work anymore.
He came to the meeting of the Second Third because, when push came to shove, he just had to know.
QUINN YESTER had arrived in the meeting room wearing a white shirt with frills up the middle and along the cuffs. A single red rose lay in Quinn's breast pocket, a luxury Zan knew only members of the council could afford. In the last thousand years, flower seeds had become nearly impossible to find. One seed could buy a property that would make most well-to-do families envious.
For Quinn to display a rose openly upon his breast constituted the height of arrogance, as far as Zan was concerned.
Quinn moved with a grace that did not betray his years-or his gray hair. He had entered the room as though walking on air. He sat down in a chair opposite Zan as though sitting might be the easiest action in the world for one as old as him. He had a smile on his face, his eyes glowing with merriment, as though daring anyone to put a damper on his day.
Zan decided he didn't trust Quinn Yester.
Loyan Axon, like many other members of the council, was a red-eyed man given to fits of yawning. He held his back whenever he walked, though he had always turned away offers of assistance, no matter how discreet. Sitting at the far side of the table at Zan's right, Loyan sported a sleepy, tired look on his face. Zan did not understand how the man persisted in calling for or attending as many meetings as he did. His constant exhaustion and desire to work appeared at odds with one another.
Loyan wore a purple robe with a crest sown into the fabric over his chest. His right shoulder lay exposed to the air, as was the custom. He even wore the cream-colored sandals worn by every member of the working class, Zan noted with a twinge of disgust. Blue veins showed beneath the white skin of his hands. Thick white hair grew upon his arms and upon his cheeks.
A moment of silence passed.
At last, Zan broke the silence by saying, "Well, what do you want?"
Loyan answered in his scratchy, plodding voice, "I have called you, citizen Gopal, to consider revoking citizen Hester's current status as enemy of humanity."
When Quinn didn't show the least bit of amazement or surprise, Zan knew he and Gopal had discussed the matter between themselves before bringing it to Zan. While Zan didn't like their plotting, he knew at once the crux of Quinn's argument.
Zan said, "You refer to the Zeta Disruption. The possibility of re-writing future history."
Loyan inclined his head. He said, "As you have no doubt discovered by now, citizen Hester has performed a service for the United Solar Army that no man seeking to doom humanity would have done. If he really were Hinjo Junta, he could have taken possession of the Turtle for himself. Have you had similar thoughts?"
Zan interlaced his fingers, then rested his chin upon the knuckle of a middle finger. He said, "Yes, I have considered these matters."
Loyan continued as though Zan had not spoken. "Then only one conclusion remains to us: citizen Unquill Hester and citizen Hinjo Junta are two different people."
Zan hummed to himself for a moment. Then he said, "So you think the computer has produced this image of Hinjo Junta in error?"
Quinn Yester spoke up. "Perhaps not. Perhaps citizen Hester has not yet become citizen Junta."
"Then what difference does it make? Arrest the man anyway, if he will become Hinjo Junta."
Loyan closed his eyes for a moment, and then opened them with effort. He said, "We no longer know if that is a certain event. Future history, as we have all known it, no longer exists. That is, if Hensen was correct and the Zeta Disruption does exist in our time."
Zan, who had never doubted Hensen's words, said, "Both of you believe he is correct?"
Loyan and Quinn both nodded their affirmation.
Zan knew the Second Third could revoke an individual's status in society at will, no matter what the person might have done. Yet, this power had never been used for fear of retaliation by a class of citizens who feared that the council might be abusing their power. In fact, the Second Third's privilege of designating or revoking an enemy of humanity status to an individual had left the balance of power precarious enough. The council could not use the power lest the citizens realize their own potential.
The citizens could not take too many liberties against the council, lest a status be invoked against them.
In this case, though, Zan saw no danger in revoking the status. The other nine members of the council might object. Zan wasn't worried about that. Unless they granted themselves the power to seize private property and personal assets, the worst they could do to Zan would be to kick him off the council.
That possibility did not trouble him.
Zan said, "You all know what to do? Then bring forth the recorder and let us swear together what we intend. Because the computer is down, we will have to deliver our recording to Erson in person."
As each member of the Second Third began to swear their oath proclaiming citizen Unquill Hester no longer an enemy of humanity, Zan thought he saw the ghost of a smile pass over Loyan's tired face.
That smile bothered him more than the possibility of his own dismissal.