The Long Night of Centauri Prime (7 page)

4

Senna lay back on the greensward, gazing toward the skies and the clouds.

"What do you see?" came the question from nearby. Telis Elaris lay there. It was how they always tended to conclude their study sessions, Senna and Telis. Telis explained that it gave him an idea of just how much he had managed to expand her mind in that particular day's lessons. Senna, however, had come to look at it as simply an excuse for creative woolgathering. As opposed to Senna, who always lay flat upon the grass, Telis had a decorative mat upon which he always reclined. "I am not as young as you," Telis would say to her, which always struck her as something of an odd excuse, because in truth Telis was only a little more than twice as old as she. He was, however, fond of claiming that he was far older than she in experience.

Senna had been assigned a number of teachers since she had first come to live in the palace, eight months ago. She remembered that night as if it were a distant dream. Indeed, she had trouble associating the girl she was then with the young woman that she was now. The emperor had extended a hand of friendship to a girl who had ricocheted a rock off his skull, and she had had the temerity to slap that hand away. When she had come crawling back to him that night, she had been convinced he was going to throw her out, chortling with amusement over the pathetic young woman who had thought that she was somehow entitled to anything more than contempt. Instead she had been given everything she could have wanted.

"Why?" she had asked him the next day over breakfast. She had not felt the need to go any further into the question than that. The one word spoke volumes. And Londo had understood.

"Because," he replied, "if I cannot attend to the body and soul of one woman ... what hope have I in doing the same for Centauri Prime?"

"So I am to be a living symbol?"

"Do you have a problem with that?"

She considered it a moment, and then said, "No, Majesty." And that had seemed to settle it.

What had become more hotly debated was her choice of teachers. Londo had not hesitated to assemble a list of all the very best tutors, scholars, and lecturers to address Senna's education. This, however, had not gone over particularly well with Durla, the captain of the guards whom Londo – for reasons that remained inexplicable to Senna – had appointed to the key position of minister of Internal Security. The main reason Senna wasn't able to understand it was that she was certain – absolutely, one hundred percent certain – that Londo did not trust the man. And if one did not trust the minister of Internal Security, what could possibly be the point in having him in that position? She remembered one day when she had heard particularly loud discussions coming from within the throne room. Londo and Durta had been disagreeing about something at extremely high volume. Once upon a time, Durla would have backed down immediately, but such was no longer the case. Durla no longer hesitated to tell the emperor precisely what was on his mind, and precisely why the emperor would be a fool not to attend to it.

On that particular day, she had heard several names being bandied about, and she recognized all of them as having been on Senna's own list of desired teachers. One name had been mentioned at particularly high volume, and that was the name of Telis Elaris. That hadn't been surprising ... all things considered.

Senna rolled over, and Telis looked at her quizzically.

"Well?" he said in that no-nonsense air he had. Telis was another one of those who openly flouted convention; his black hair was long, but instead of wearing it upswept, he allowed it to run down over his shoulders. The style was abhorred by most older men and adored by most younger women, with the latter phenomenon leading to even greater ire among those members of the former faction.

"Well, what?" she replied.

"Well, what do you see in the clouds?"

"Great Maker take the clouds," she answered in annoyance. Telis had been her historical philosophy tutor for some months now, ever since Londo had first sent for him and hired him at Senna's request. She had been reading treatises of Telis' opinions ever since she was a child, and once had watched as her angered father had tossed one into the trash. She had recovered it from the rubbish, and Elaris had been her guilty, secret pleasure ever since. Historical philosophy specifically covered the various schools of thought that had served to shape much of the Republic's early years, examining how those philosophies interacted with politics. The topic was of particular interest to Senna.

"Why must we stare at the useless clouds, when so much of great importance is occurring, right here under our noses?" With that, Senna gestured toward a section of the capital city that had already been heavily rebuilt. The entire section had been blocked off as being too badly damaged to be safe for the citizenry, so the populace had been relocated and reconstruction had progressed quickly. In some ways, it was breathtaking.

"Why? Because it means nothing," said Telis.

She looked at him in surprise. "How can you say it means nothing?"

"Because that which we build ourselves, by definition, has no permanence. The clouds, on the other hand..."

"Have even less," Senna countered. "Look. Even now the wind wafts them away. By morning they will be a memory, but the buildings will still be there."

Telis smiled lopsidedly.

"I have taught you too well. Countering your teacher in that way ... whatever shall I do with you?" Then his face took on a more serious countenance. "I refer to more than those particular clouds, Senna. I refer to nature ... to beauty ... to the light. Those things will continue long after you and I are gone ... long after all memory of the Centauri Republic is washed away, lost in the mists of time."

"That will never happen," Senna said confidently. "We have far more of a destiny to fulfill."

"That–" he pointed at her "–is the emperor talking. Not YOU."

"Why? Because it's believing in something for once?" She stretched out again, the back of her head cupped in her hands. "You are exhausting sometimes, Telis. Everything, everything is always being questioned. Nothing taken for granted. Everything must be debated, analyzed, debated and analyzed more..."

"What is your point, Senna?"

"Doesn't it sadden you? Having nothing that you truly believe in?"

"Is that what you think?" He actually sounded stricken. She glanced over at him and was surprised to see that he appeared seriously upset at the remark. "Is that what you think?" he asked again. "Because if it is, then in all these months as my pupil, you've learned nothing."

She wasn't happy that she had upset him, for truth to tell, Telis Elaris was her favorite teacher, and she would not have wanted to hurt him for all the world. But having taken a stand, she felt constrained to defend it.

"Well, what else am I to think? You dispute every conclusion I make. Even the most fundamental aspects of our life, when I bring them up, you disagree with them. Sometimes I think you'd dispute the existence of the Great Maker himself."

"I would."

Senna visibly blanched at that.

"You're not serious."

"I am."

"But why?"

"To make you think, of course," Telis told her. "To make you question, to encourage you to probe. You must accept nothing at face value, Senna."

"You're telling me that I should never have faith in anything."

"Am I?"

She thumped the ground in frustration. "There! You're doing it again! Answering questions with a question."

"That should be welcome in a free-thinking society." He looked away from her and said softly, "And I am concerned ... that it will not be welcome ... by all." She noticed that he was looking in the direction of the palace, off on a hill.

"Telis," she said firmly, "you can't be speaking of the emperor. He fought to have you assigned as my teacher."

"Yes. He fought. He fought because there are others who prefer not to allow freedom of speech ... freedom of thought. They don't desire it because it serves neither them nor their purposes. They require you to accept that which is presented you, and for you to question further is anathema to them.

"If, as you say, the emperor fights for freedom, well, that is to be applauded. But, my dear Senna emperors come and go. It is the society that continues at least for a time. And oftentimes those who shape the society ... prefer to do so from hiding."

"You don't. Right there..." and she pointed. At the outer edge of the city there was a small building, rather unimpressive. The fact that it was still standing, considering the bombardment that the planet had taken, was impressive in and of itself. "Right there are your publishing offices. Everyone knows it. From there, you publish your papers and articles, challenging everything we do on Centauri Prime. You let everyone know that you believe in nothing ... and yet you fault me when I point it out?"

He shook his head sadly.

"And here I thought you were one of my best pupils. First, my dear, I do not attempt to shape society. I would not presume to impose my will upon it. I do not even guide. I simply attempt to get society to think for itself – about that which it has not previously considered – and to shape itself. As for what I believe in, Senna what I believe in ... is believing in nothing."

"You can't believe in believing in nothing."

"Of course you can," said Telis easily. "Child, it's not enough to open yourself to new ideas. Anyone can do that. The problem with that mindset is that usually there is a limit on the amount of `openness' a person will accept. Sooner or later, the door to the mind swings closed once again. Most will accept just so much, and no more. The truly wise person, however, empties him – or herself of all knowledge... and remains that way. Only in that way can you remain open to all new things, all the time. Only in that way can you truly accept the endless varieties and opportunities that the world will present you."

"Those are fine words, Telis," replied Senna. "But words you can easily offer up with impunity, since you are not a leader. Leaders cannot remain open to all things, all the time. Leaders have to lead. They have to make decisions."

"And you believe the leaders are presently making good decisions?"

"Don't you?"

"A question answered with a question," he smiled. "Perhaps there is hope for you." Suddenly Senna felt extremely impatient with what she perceived as constant verbal fencing. Her time with Telis frequently seemed to devolve into such matches.

"Tell me. Tell me what you think," she demanded.

"I asked you first," he responded calmly.

"All right." She nodded, feeling that it was a fair enough point. "I think the answer speaks for itself. Look. See the industry that is underway? And the people ... they have been through so much. Suffered through the bombings, seen their homes destroyed, their livelihoods shattered. There was a time when the emperor's walking among them posed a great security risk because there was so much anger directed toward him. But now, now they are focused on things other than anger. They are focused on re-creating Centauri Prime, achieving the greatness it once knew. The emperor has put forward a vision and they share it. Certainly this is better than anger, or hostility. Better than a sense of hopelessness. The outlook of the people is far better than any would have credited possible."

"And is that of consequence to you?" he asked.

"Of course it is! Why would you ask such a thing?"

"Because in referring to the people, you refer to 'they'... and not to `we.'" She opened her mouth to respond, then closed it. "Would you have spoken in that manner six months ago, I wonder?" he continued. "A year ago? Who knows ... perhaps you would have, back when your parents were people of rank and privilege. It could well be, Senna, that you have the snobbery of privilege so deeply ingrained within you that all it takes is the most gentle of stirrings to bring it bobbing to the surface."

"You think I don't know you, Telis," Senna said.

"Well, I don't think you know me very well. Not very well at all."

"Perhaps. I am open to that possibility." She swung her legs around and curled them up under her chin, pointedly keeping her back to him. "I answered you. I apologize if my answer wasn't up to your usual demanding standards. You, however, have not answered me."

There was a long pause. Then he said, "Why?"

She looked back at him, angling her head slightly, which indicated her puzzlement.

"Why what?"

"That should be the first question you ask yourself about everything ... and once you have the answer ... keep asking it. Why is there this drive to rebuild Centauri Prime?"

"To reattain our greatness," she said in confusion. The answer seemed self-evident.

"Why?"

"Telis, this is silly. It's like talking with a child. `Why, why, why?'"

"Children are the greatest philosophers in existence. The purpose of the adult is to beat that drive out of children, because it threatens the status quo as created by the adult. Very well, though ... I shall answer the questions myself, since it seems too tiresome for you."

"It's not a matter of tires–"

But Telis was already moving forward with his train of thought, ticking off the elements on his fingers as he went on.

"There is a drive to rebuild Centauri Prime to make it what it once was. Why? To focus the people. Why? Because people of one mind become easier to manage. Why? Because then you can direct them where you want them to go. Why? Because you have someplace specific in mind for them. Why? Because you have a goal for yourself. Why?" He paused and then said, quite slowly, "Because you have decided that the return to the old ways necessitates a return to the expansionism that typified the old Centauri Republic. Because you have decided that no lessons are to be learned from the destruction that befell this planet except that one must be stronger and more focused than one's opponent if one is to win. Because what you truly seek is a return to a time when the Centauri Republic was the preeminent force in the galaxy, master of all it surveyed. Because you realize that times have changed, and that the Alliance now stands in the way. To overcome the Alliance requires new resolve, new weapons, new and even more fearsome allies, and a rededication and rebuilding that presages a new time of war. It's all in the histories, Senna. The so-called Age of Rationality of the Gaim that led to their Great Conquest March, a campaign that left four worlds burning in their wake before it ended. The rebuilding of Germany on Earth after their first World War, which set the stage for an even more calamitous second World War."