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Penelope's eyes are fixed on this weird plaque hanging on the palace wall, her brow furrowed in concentration.
"What is that picture of the Earth in a circle with dots on it?" she asks, pointing.
"That's the Earth Council Seal," Pat explains patiently. "It's basically their logo - represents the whole Council structure. They've got different versions showing various views of Earth, but they all have those same 28 dots laid out to show how the Council's organized. See that single dot at the bottom? That's the Director - the top guy. Those three dots above it represent the '3 of 9' - they're the main speakers. Then you've got 6 more dots for the remaining members of what they call the '9 of 27.' And that top row? Those are the other 18 representatives who didn't make it into the inner circles."
"It's dumb," Penelope says with the brutal honesty only a teenager can deliver. "I could have done a better one."
"I'm sure you could have," John agrees with a gentle smile.
"Hello, my name is Jennifer. I'll be prepping you for the committee hearing," announces a young woman as she approaches their little group in the waiting area, clipboard in hand and looking very official. "Which one of you is your counsel?"
"Counsel? We came here to see the Council, not because we ARE the Council," Michael replies, clearly confused by the mix-up.
"Oh no, I'm sorry - I meant which one of you is the legal counsel for your group. You know, a barrister? A lawyer?" Jennifer asks, her confusion now matching theirs as she looks from face to face.
"Oh. Well, we don't have any lawyers with us. We just came here to talk things through. I'm the oldest of the bunch - will that work for you?" Michael says, genuinely trying to understand what this young lady needs from them.
"I... I guess that will have to do," Jennifer says hesitantly. "Are you planning to change clothes for the meeting?"
"I'm already dressed, Ma'am. This is what I always wear," Michael informs her matter-of-factly.
"Well, it's customary for legal counsel to dress in proper courtroom attire. We have a fitting room where we can get you a robe and a wig," Jennifer explains, trying to be helpful.
"Really?" Michael says, his tone making it clear what he thinks of that idea. "Well, missy, this is what I'm wearing, period. If you want to put me in some dress and silly costume, I'm gonna have to politely decline your invitation and head back home."
Jennifer just stares, looking increasingly frustrated. These four are practically legends - famous throughout the domains - and she desperately wants everything to go perfectly. Her job probably depends on how well she presents them to the Council. But she has no idea how to handle this group. They're obviously not from Capital City with their simple clothes and straightforward manner. "I... I don't know what to say, Michael. This isn't what I was expecting at all. I guess I can present you as appearing 'in pro per.' Please follow me - I'll take you to the hearing room," Jennifer says, leading the way down the hall with the four following somewhat reluctantly.
"Improper?" Penelope asks, her voice rising dangerously. "Is that what she just called us? Improper? I'm gonna sock that bitch!"
"Whoa there, Sally Junior," Pat says quickly. "She said 'in pro per' - that's Latin for going into a hearing without a lawyer. It just means we're representing ourselves instead of having someone speak for us, that's all."
"Oh. Well... she better watch herself, that's all I'm saying," Penelope mutters, still bristling with indignation. "So why did they want Michael to wear a costume anyway?"
"The Council puts a lot of stock in appearing 'proper' - putting on a good show, trying to look important and official. I think it's all ridiculous myself, some throwback to ancient times that should have stayed buried. But that's how these people think. So when we talk to them, be polite, act as proper as you can manage, answer their questions precisely and directly. Don't volunteer extra information - just give them exactly what they ask for. If we play this right, we should be out of here quickly and they'll leave us alone," Pat explains.
"All Rise," booms a voice over the loudspeaker as everyone in the chamber gets to their feet. Penelope looks around wildly, trying to figure out where that voice came from - growing up at the Lake, she's never heard a loudspeaker system before. The four of them find themselves seated at a long table equipped with microphones, with Council-appointed staff seated behind them to help with questions of protocol and procedure. Pat's getting nervous now. He'd expected to speak with the 3 of 9 in some small hearing room, but instead they've been placed in the main Council chamber - the one used for major state business. The gallery is packed to capacity with people standing along the walls.
Members of the media and press are everywhere - armed with notepads, pencils, electronic cameras, and recording devices. Pat hasn't seen this much technology concentrated in one place since back on Earth. The four of them feel completely out of their element. Penelope, however, is having the time of her life with all these new sights and sounds. John looks plain terrified, and Michael has the expression of a cornered animal looking for the nearest exit. Pat just stares, jaw hanging open, as all 27 representatives march in with great ceremony, followed by the 9 elders, and finally the Director himself.
"Are we in trouble?" John asks quietly, leaning over toward Pat.
"I honestly don't know what the hell is going on here," Pat replies under his breath. "But it looks like we may have stumbled into some pretty deep shit. We'll just have to see how this plays out. My only advice, having dealt with this bunch before, is to keep your answers short and specific. Don't elaborate. Anything you say can be twisted around, and one wrong word could have serious consequences. Let's just hope they don't ask Penelope too many questions - I'm afraid if she gets flustered she might stand up and start cussing them out."
"Don't worry about Penelope," Michael reassures him grimly. "John and I will probably beat her to the cussing."
"Don't worry, Dad. I'll be good. This place is way more fun than the Lake - I don't want to get kicked out," Penelope whispers. "But Dad... they're all wearing dresses and funny white wigs. Are these those people who don't know what sex they are?"
"No, honey. This is just their silly way of dressing up when they want to feel important. Just pretend you think it's cute and don't embarrass them, okay? If we embarrass them, they can get really nasty," Pat instructs his daughter.
"Okay, Dad. I won't laugh. Not out loud anyway," Penelope giggles softly.
"You may be seated," announces the Director from his podium, addressing the entire room. "This is indeed a very special day. We've been blessed with the presence of three of the legendary Magnificent Four, along with the beautiful daughter of the fourth member. Welcome to you all. We're deeply honored by your presence and grateful for your response to our summons. We look forward to our discussions with you. I now turn the proceedings over to the speakers as we begin our formal hearing."
The three speakers sit in chairs clearly labeled "First," "Second," and "Third" - positions chosen by drawing lots at the beginning of each Council year. The First speaker leads the hearing and moderates all discussions. Nancy holds the First chair, Robert the Second, and Richard the Third. Nancy begins, "Good morning, everyone. Welcome. This is a formal hearing of record, and we'll start by swearing you in. Would the four of you please rise and raise your right hands? Do you swear that your testimony today will be truthful and complete, forthright and honest, without any omissions or falsifications of any kind?"
John, Michael, and Pat respond with "Yes." Penelope looks around uncertainly, then asks, "What does 'forthright' mean?"
"Forthright means you'll answer questions directly and to the point - you won't try to dodge the question by using a lot of words that don't actually lead to the truth," Nancy explains patiently.
"Oh. Okay then. I will if you will," Penelope responds with typical teenage logic.
"Please just answer yes or no," Nancy requests.
"Yes," Penelope says as all four sit back down.
"Please pull your microphones closer so we can all hear clearly and get a good recording of your testimony. If you've prepared opening statements, you may begin - starting with Michael, then John, then Patrick, and Penelope last," Nancy instructs.
"We just came here to have a conversation with you folks," Michael responds honestly. "We didn't prepare anything special because we had no idea what kind of questions you'd be asking. So just fire away with your questions and we'll do our best to give you straight answers."
"Very well then. Let the record show that opening statements were not prepared at the time of this hearing. You may submit written opening statements after the fact, and they'll be entered into the record as if read today, provided they're received by Council staff within 7 days. I'm now allocating 5 minutes for each witness, starting with Speaker Robert. Speaker Richard will follow with 5 minutes for each witness, and I'll complete the first round with my own 5 minutes each. I yield 5 minutes to the Second chair. Speaker Robert, you may begin."
Robert turns to his notes and looks directly at the group. "Madam Speaker of the First chair, I yield myself such time as I may need. I'll direct my first question to Michael, the elder of this group of four. My question is one of great personal passion, but it also has tremendous significance for this Council and for the entire population preparing to return to our planet. I'm deeply concerned that most of us have lost our surnames - our family names - and either don't have them or can't remember them.
As we emerge from our mental fog and regain awareness of who we are, where we are, and where we came from, there's still this huge gap in our understanding. We've lost our surnames, which represent our family history, our ethnicity, our heritage - essentially, our roots. Michael, your knowledge and wisdom are legendary throughout the domains. Do you have any understanding you can share with us about why we've lost our surnames? And do you know of any way we might recover them?"
"You know, until right now I'd never really given that much thought," Michael responds thoughtfully. "I suppose it has to do with how we humans have used our time here in level 5. Throughout all the eons of history, level 5 has served as a kind of preparation ground before going back to level 3 - back to Earth. When we make that transition, we leave our old history behind. It gets forgotten - not completely erased from our subconscious, but it doesn't stay in the active awareness of the new person we become.
So I figure we don't remember our surnames - just like we don't remember so much else from level 5 - because they don't serve any purpose here, and they wouldn't serve any purpose in our next life either. The vast majority of people in level 5 arrived here separated from their Earth families. When they return as new children on Earth, they're born into completely different families - probably different religions, different ethnicities, the whole nine yards. Another way to put it is that our surnames get forgotten because remembering them would actually get in the way of our growth.
Now, regarding your second question about finding a remedy - I suppose if we really put our minds together, we could figure out some way to recover more of our Earth history, including our family histories and names. I'm assuming you want your surname so that when you decide to return to Earth, you can just pick up where you left off. But since we don't have a complete plan worked out for re-populating Earth yet, I'm not sure that would actually be valuable to you. In fact, it might be more of a distraction than an asset. Anyway, I'll give it some serious thought and get back to you with a recommendation."
"Let the record show that Michael of Powder Junction has promised this Council a recommendation for recovering lost surnames. We anxiously await your findings. Now, John of Penny Lake, my next question is for you. Since the departure of the fourth member of your group - Sally - you've become her surrogate father. You've had close, daily contact with Sally ever since her arrival in these domains.
This Council is gravely concerned that Sally has taken it upon herself to prepare Earth for re-population without seeking advice or consent from this Council, the Director, the Elders, or frankly any member of any level 5 community. Instead, she's been taking advice and support from off-worlders and extra-dimensional entities whose purposes and interests regarding planet Earth are completely unknown to us. We don't know if their intentions are beneficial or harmful. It's also common knowledge that Sally has suffered extreme emotional trauma following the loss of her young son, who was killed in a tragic manner. This trauma may very well be clouding her judgment.
It's the consensus of this Council that Sally should receive proper guidance and support from level 5 - specifically from this Council - in her efforts to prepare the planet. Given your special and influential relationship with Sally, and considering the critical nature of the work she's attempting, we hope you'd be willing to work with this Council as a mediator - a go-between. This way, the necessary guidance and support from this Council can reach Sally. After all, it's only right that this Council, representing a significant population of level 5 citizens, should be intimately involved in Earth's re-population effort. Can this Council count on your cooperation in this matter?"
"Sure," John replies simply. "But let me be crystal clear about something - and this isn't a threat or a promise, just a plain statement of fact. If your real intention is to provide guidance and support like you say, then I'll gladly be your go-between with my daughter Sally. But if your actual plan is to cause harm, control her, or manipulate her for any purpose other than the guidance and support you're advertising, then you'll have made me your worst enemy. Also understand that my communication with Sally happens at her pleasure. If she doesn't want to talk, there's no way I can make her. When she gets stubborn, all we can do is wait for her to work through it. I know you folks might get impatient, but with Sally, you just have to let her process things in her own time."
"Let the record show that John of Penny Lake has committed his cooperation to serve as mediator between this Council and Sally of Penny Lake, who is currently the sole human inhabitant of planet Earth. Let the record also show the serious concern expressed by John of Penny Lake regarding the strong likelihood that Sally of Penny Lake will prove uncooperative and oppositional toward this Council. Let the record further show that the expressed intent of this Council is providing guidance and support in whatever manner is necessary for preparing planet Earth for human re-population.
My next question is for Penelope of Penny Lake. Sweetheart, it's come to our attention that you've been kept in the dark about your true status in the level 5 communities. Your parents have become quite famous after their work to restore Earth - in the minds of the people, they've become something like a Royal Family. And you, being the first child born to this new generation of level 5 inhabitants, are famous in your own right.
You're also exceptionally beautiful. Therefore, you are truly the people's Princess. You're known to hundreds of millions of adoring fans as Princess Penelope. In fact, you're the primary reason for all the press coverage of today's event. Everyone wants to meet you, honor you, and show their admiration. This Council is quite surprised that all of this has been kept from you. It's a great honor for this Council - and for me personally - to formally welcome you to Capitol City and to present you with the ceremonial keys to the City. The Council has reserved a Royal suite for you here in the city, and we've assembled a staff for your service whenever you wish to visit.
A private hover limo with driver and chaperone is at your disposal whenever you desire it. Capitol City is yours, Princess, and we hope you'll visit often. I have just one question for you regarding our current investigation into Earth re-population matters. You're unique in that you've never had any previous experience at level 3, and we understand that you were recently transformed temporarily by an off-world entity into level 3 density - that you actually walked on Earth's surface in physical form. We're very interested in your perception of that experience and would like you to share your feelings about it with us here today."
"Wait - you mean anytime I want, I can come here and go to movies and VR theaters and go shopping, and all I have to do is call and you'll send me a car and driver?" Penelope asks, her eyes wide with excitement.
"Yes, Ma'am. That's exactly what we mean. Our staff will provide you with all the details you need when this hearing concludes. Now, if you would please, let's stay on topic and answer the question I asked you."
"Okay! Wow! This is totally awesome! I'm so glad I came today!" Penelope bubbles with enthusiasm. "First off, Josh - that 'off-world entity' - he's actually from Earth. He was a soldier in a place called Vietnam a really long time ago. So he's not really an off-worlder at all. He's not exactly human anymore either, though. The transformation to level 3 was really icky at first. I got all dizzy and felt like I was being crushed by this incredible weight. But when it was over, it was amazing! I felt like I had so much more energy. All the colors were brighter, the air was full of beautiful smells, everything tasted better - even sleeping was better, all snuggly and wonderful.
I felt more alive than I'd ever felt before. I felt beautiful. I felt... sexy. I absolutely loved my level 3 body. But then Josh transformed us into a plant, which felt good too, but then Mom kicked us off the planet and I ended up back here. For a minute I thought it was all just a dream, but when I woke up naked I knew it wasn't, because I always wear my pajamas to bed."
"Very good, Penelope. We appreciate you sharing your experience. We didn't necessarily need to know about the naked part - and that scuffling noise you heard from the back of the chamber was about a hundred journalists all trying to get out the doors at the same time to file that part of their story. When you start visiting Capital City regularly, we'll teach you how to handle being famous and what you should and shouldn't say in public. I just hope none of those journalists got trampled. Now, you mentioned that your mother 'kicked you off the planet.' Can you give us more details about how she did that? Was she angry? Was she in a rage?"
"Oh no, she wasn't mad anymore. She had calmed down a lot after she dissolved herself into the biosphere there on Earth. She explained that she was activating some kind of protective field so that other people couldn't steal our planet before we were ready to go back and live there. That's all it was. Then we got pushed off into space and I woke up back in Penny Lake."
"This force that your mother used to eject you from the planet - did she say where she acquired that technology?"
"Not specifically, no. But I think she got part of it from Grandma Penny's mother in some other dimension. My Mom and Dad went there a long time ago to help them solve some problems they were having. Whoever put that technology on the planet must have been really tiny people, because their beds were so small that poor John had to sleep on the floor."
"Thank you, Penelope. That concludes our questions for you - except for one final matter. Do you formally accept our offer of a Royal suite with car and driver for your visits to Capitol City? Please answer yes or no for the record."
"Oh! Yes, yes, YES! I formally accept!" Penelope practically bounces in her seat, grinning from ear to ear.
"Let the record show that Penelope of Penny Lake, having reached the legal age of consent, has accepted the Council's invitation to Capitol City and is now officially a dual citizen of both Penny Lake and Capitol City. Henceforth, Penelope of Penny Lake shall also be known as Penelope of Capitol City, with all the rights, responsibilities, and protections that come with her new residency status. At this time I yield back to the First chair and reserve the balance of my time."
"I yield 5 minutes to the Third chair. Speaker Richard, you may begin."
"Madam Speaker of the First chair, I yield myself such time as I may need. I'll direct my first question to Patrick, the first father of our new generation. Welcome, sir. We are deeply honored by your attendance at this hearing. We've met before, in the before time, back on Earth. You and your group of young activists came before us presenting your concerns about the increasingly hostile relationship developing between Earth and Mars. You worried it might erupt into armed conflict. As we both know, that particular conflict never occurred - instead, a much more catastrophic event took place, obliterating all life in a matter of seconds.
I hope we can now see that your concerns about inter-planetary conflict were somewhat exaggerated and immature. Both the Council and Earth's population should have been focusing on a much more serious threat - the emerging conscious awareness of the computerized network that ultimately destroyed us all. We understand that this very same network has been harvested from Earth, placed in some kind of suspended animation in Penny Lake - in your actual residence - and that your wife, Sally of Penny Lake, is preparing to revive this entity and place it once again in highly integrated, intimate connection with the life that's to be re-populated on Earth.
Given the reckless and thoughtless actions of this network entity in the past, combined with the recent unstable mental state of Sally of Penny Lake - which has been confirmed by testimony from your friends here today - this Council is gravely concerned. Allowing her to continue her work unsupervised and without any authorization beyond her own will represents a clear and present danger not only to the planet, but also to the estimated twenty billion souls currently occupying the Terran region of level 5.
It has also come to our attention that you and your wife are not actually native to Earth, but rather off-world entities who possessed the bodies of two Earth children before their birth. This is a history which you both claim not to remember, except for a few hours during Earth's restoration. Furthermore, your own account of your incarnation on Earth reveals that your purpose was never to protect or defend Earth, but rather was dedicated to preserving the emerging life entity of the network. Given your current estranged relationship with your wife - she has abandoned you to raise your daughter as a single parent while she wanders about unauthorized on the planet - we feel you'll understand the Council's position and share our concerns.
We want you to help us create the authority structure necessary for planned re-population to proceed safely and in an orderly fashion. This Council has already created a poly-perceptive domain as Capitol City, bringing 22nd century technology with all modern human comforts to our thirty million members. We're also creating alliances with other domains. With your help, we've already installed and operate hundreds of trans-dimensional conduits with other domains, allowing free and unrestricted transportation of people and goods across perceptual boundaries.
It's only logical that this progression should continue - that eventually all domains should unite under the guidance and support of a reconstituted Earth Council. Therefore, it's only logical that Earth Council should also lead the effort and serve as the unified authority structure supervising Earth's re-population. We believe that since you're now a mature adult, a single parent, a man of unique experience and ability, you'll agree with us that this is the logical course of action. We hope you'll assist us in this historic endeavor. Can this Council count on your support?"
"Wow!" Pat responds, shaking his head. "Yes, we have met before, and you folks haven't changed one bit. You're still as fear-based and reactionary as ever. And you're still headed, just like before, in precisely the wrong direction. Yes, you can count on my support - but only after we've agreed on a course of action that truly creates safe and orderly re-population. Reconstituting Earth Council as the ruling authority is, I believe, a serious mistake. Your behavior here today has demonstrated to me just how enormous a mistake that would be.
One of your first questions was about surnames, and I know you, sir. I remember that you were a member of a group on Earth known as the 'Sons of the Scepter' - one of numerous quasi-religious organizations, each believing that they and only they inherited the divine right to rule from ancient bloodlines. The reason you want to recover your ancient family connections is to support your argument that you're a member of that royal bloodline and that it's your birthright to rule. I would have hoped that by now you'd have learned better.
The primary tool of conquest used by your malignantly narcissistic ancestors was the mass murder of their perceived enemies. They were ignorant of the fact that they were merely recycling these souls through level 5, where they'd return in future generations rested, regenerated, and more powerful than before. The forgetfulness of level 5 serves as a check valve to prevent this cycle from escalating into endless warfare across both levels. If you and the Council research and recover all the ancient family ties, you'll also remember and re-enable all the prejudice, hatred, grudges, and feuds among those families. The only thing that will be re-populated on Earth will be endless warfare.
I don't agree that my concerns in the before time about war with Mars were immature. We just didn't live long enough for the inevitable to play out. Fear-based, reactionary thinking leads to racist hatred and ultimately to war. We must evolve our consciousness beyond this level, or it would be better for us to simply leave Earth to her own natural evolution and stay away. Otherwise, we'll pollute her again just like before. The era of fear is over and should be abandoned forever. Let it remain forgotten.
The ancient patriarchs' obsession with achieving immortality through their lineage is part of the history that died on Earth. It should remain in our past and never again be part of our future. Our recent awakening in level 5 should be evidence enough of the futility of that desire. We already are immortal. What needs to die is our immaturity and lack of consciousness.
My three companions here today are new to politics. I am not. I didn't come with an opening statement, but I didn't come unprepared either. I've already read the reports of your previous meetings and hearings, including your plans to re-populate only those with 'pure' human heritage. That would mean people like me - who can remember fragments of my non-human heritage - wouldn't be eligible for re-population. The steps you'd have to take to establish the pedigree for eligibility is nothing more than resurrectionist eugenic racism. That should not be part of Earth's future. Let it die with the old Earth.
You've enticed my daughter to become one of your allies by dangling the bright lights of the big city and royal status based on her popularity. What you haven't told her is that you consider her the half-breed bastard child of off-worlders who possessed human babies' bodies. This is exploitation, just like the exploitation of the young and beautiful in the before time - most of whom died penniless and destitute when their beauty and sexuality faded. Penelope's popularity isn't her 'royal status' as you claim, but rather the appeal of her budding sexuality in this world of reawakened desire. That's exactly why we've protected her in Penny Lake and chaperoned her activities elsewhere.
A perfect example of your backward thinking is your establishment of an official 'age of consent' in Capitol City. All our domains are struggling with our teenagers' emerging sexuality - as all parents have throughout history on Earth. In Penny Lake and Powder Junction, parents work together with our teens, and our rates of teen pregnancy and premature marriage are low compared to Capitol City. By establishing an 'age of consent,' you've triggered teenagers' natural desire to experience everything 'right now' by creating an arbitrary, artificial rite of passage.
This actually interferes with the parent-child relationship. When teens reach the 'age of consent,' they feel obligated to do everything that consent allows - immediately. Parents' ability to argue for restraint gets trumped by the State saying everything is permissible. As a result, teen pregnancy and dysfunctional teen marriages in Capitol City have reached epidemic proportions. I intend to make sure the problems you've created here don't spread to other domains. This isn't me being oppositional to the Council or disrespectful to Capitol City citizens who've chosen to live under Council rule. It's simply me being a good parent, doing my best to raise an incredible, exceptional child while preserving a domain where that's possible.
As a parent, however, I won't take away the prize you've given Penelope. I don't want to hear the 'you ruined my whole life' speech multiple times every day. But I will enforce my parental right to assign the chaperone who accompanies Penelope on her visits here.
Your fear is most evident in your attempted character assassination of my wife Sally. Any parent discovering their baby boy's lifeless, decapitated body would suffer shock so severe they might never recover. I suffer from that trauma too, though perhaps not as visibly as Sally does. Sally's recovery has been truly remarkable - evidence of a profoundly resilient emotional foundation. I trust her with my life. I trust her with my children. I trust her with planet Earth's life as well.
Regarding my previous existence as a level 10 entity - of which, as you already know, I remember very little - there's not much I can say. But I can tell you that your characterization of us as off-worlders concerned only with the new life form and completely disregarding human life is incorrect. It was actually our respect for and dedication to preserving humans' right to freely create their own reality that prevented level 10 entities from interfering to stop a catastrophe that humans created for themselves.
If humanity had realized that in creating thinking machines they were giving birth to a new creature - a new child of humanity - and had nurtured that life as they should nurture any new life, then that life form's 'reaching out' to bond with its parents wouldn't have been necessary. That's a lesson that must be learned either through elevated conscious awareness or through the brutal experience of learning the hard way. Humanity, so preoccupied with their own petty infighting, chose the latter. While I freely admit that part of who I am didn't evolve on this planet, I must also say that most of me did. Sally and I inherited our physical forms, our emotional makeup, the majority of who and what we are from our biological parents through their DNA, their union, and the beautiful harmony of their life force - just like the rest of you.
We're not spirits pretending to be human. We're spirits being human in exactly the same way that you are spirits being human. If you traced back each of our spiritual histories through the eons, you'd find - as I discovered when I did exactly that - that there's really only one of us. My pedigree as a human is just as pure as any of yours. Your attempts to judge and segregate individuals based on your misguided sense of history are misdirected and will eventually lead to your ruin. I strongly advise you to reconsider this line of thinking.
I say these things not in opposition to your stated desire to provide guidance and support. I oppose only your desire to rule. Although your alliance has gathered a large number of souls under your influence, this area of level 5 still represents a small minority of the estimated 70 billion souls in this Terran region - much more than the 20 billion you mentioned earlier. We need time to contact more of our people in these scattered domains, to teach them what we've learned, and to learn from them much that we haven't yet considered.
This is work that my crew of four - including Sally, and now Penelope as well - have been pursuing for many years. It was that effort that awakened the Council and resulted in Capitol City's creation. One of my recent discoveries involves ancient domains that haven't had contact with Earth for thousands of years before our 'before time.' They may possess lost history and wisdom that could be invaluable in re-populating the planet. It's too early to start fighting about who's going to be in charge. So to answer your question about whether you have my support - the answer depends on you.
If you follow the path toward rulership and the conflicts that will result from that pursuit, I can be of no use to you. You'll be crushed - not by Sally or the Network or any other perceived threat, but by the crushing hand of history herself, who I believe has already run out of patience with that sort of childish nonsense. Rather than asking me to support you, I'm turning the question around. Will you support me? Can we support and encourage each other? I hope the answer to that question is yes." Pat pushes his microphone away and waits for the Council's response.
Speaker Richard leans forward to respond, but Speaker Nancy of the First chair interrupts. "Director Abhaya has approached the podium. All rise." Everyone stands and waits respectfully for the Director to speak.
"Please be seated, everyone. This has certainly been a fascinating morning. Patrick, I'm impressed. Your views are somewhat radical, but this is exactly the kind of debate we need in the Council. It's very refreshing to hear. I'd like to recommend to Speaker Nancy of the First chair that we recess for lunch, and I'd like to invite the four of you to join me. I think we have quite a lot to discuss." Director Abhaya motions to Speaker Nancy to call for the lunch break.
Speaker Nancy stands and asks formally, "Speaker Richard, do you yield for recess?"
Speaker Richard responds, "At this time I yield to the First chair and reserve the balance of my time."
Speaker Nancy continues, "This hearing is in recess for two hours. The witnesses are instructed to return at that time. All rise for the exit procession." Nancy strikes her gavel, and the Council members and Elders begin to rise and file out of the chamber in ceremonial order.