Investigating the Old Proffesor

“What the hell was that?” The Governor slapped the table. There were no cameras around, and she didn’t even have her aides or bodyguards with her, so she could be a bit more forceful than what her public image would imply. Security Council meetings were supposed to be secret, after all.

Three people sat in front of her, the eponymous councilors. She met two of them recently in her meeting with the General. The lanky man with oily black hair and the cold blonde. The more reclusive third councilor was also there, an imposing bald man who seemed ready to burst from his suit.

“The terrorist blew up a truck. I don’t see what’s so hard to understand, Governor?”

“What’s hard to understand is how your Bureau let it happen. Three charred inspectors were found on the scene, their bodies unrecognizable, along with the six other fatalities!”

“Yes, which shows how dangerous this criminal is. I assure you, the Bureau is already mobilizing-”

“You already assured me that everything was under control, and now we have the first bombing on this side of the planet in what? Decades? I can’t emphasize enough how much of a big deal this is. I had to step out of my plane as the engines were warming up to come deal with the fallout of your failure!”

“If you are worried about your votes, don’t be. We’ll handle the situation. We’ll take the fall if we have to. Just leave it on our hands.”

“This is… this isn’t just about the votes. The whole situation stinks, even the military is involved somehow. As the Governor of Earth, I demand to know the full picture.”

“The full picture is that the military spooked our bomber into acting early by trying to kill him to cover up their illicit dealings.” The black-haired councilor got up. He placed his hand on the Governor’s shoulders and nudged her towards the door.

“Don’t worry, we’ll deal with them in time as well. For now, just smile for the cameras and tell the public that everything is under control,” the blonde councilor said.

"Which it is. We’ll have the suspect dead or in custody by the end of the week," the bald councilor said.

“Yes, so please, Governor, leave us alone to plan how to catch this bastard.” The Governor was pushed out the door. Before it closed, the black-haired councilor grinned. “Relax, Earth’s finest are on the job.”

With an indignant huff, the Governor turned around, adjusted her slightly disheveled brown hair, and exited the building. Predictably, a wall of cameras was waiting for her. She puffed out her chest, put on a fake smile, and repeated what the Council told her.

After enduring a few minutes in the media’s interrogation chair, the Governor returned to her limo, where she allowed herself to slouch on the chair. What a mess this had all become. She served herself some wine. It was like the terrorist specifically waited for her to come to the city to rain on her parade with gasoline and fire.

If the Bureau didn’t catch the criminal soon, then that terrorist not only would have blown up a truck but her chances of reelection as well.

Hmm, maybe that was the Bureau’s plan. They never liked her, and they were hiding something. If only she could find out what...

The Governor’s phone rang with an unknown number. Well, if they knew her personal number, it was probably someone important.

“The Bureau is hiding the truth from you,” a distorted electronic voice said.

“Wha-Who is this?”

“Someone interested in exposing the truth. If you want to know what they are covering up, go to the Government archive and look for the files relating to a woman called Aida Sato from the end of the XXI century.”

“Why don’t you go yourself instead of trying to coerce the most powerful woman on the planet to do your homework for you?”

“We both know you barely crack the top five most powerful. And that’s precisely it. Only five people have the authority to look up the files we need to see. Trust me, it will be all worthwhile.”

“Trust who? Hello?!” the call was cut off. The Governor grumbled.

“So, Ma’am, back to the hotel?” The driver spoke up across the intercom. “Or-?”

“The archives, please.” Well, this little puzzle was going to keep her up all night anyway. Why not play along? The Governor went to the archives. Maybe it was a mistake, maybe it was an ambush, and someone would try to kidnap her there. She half-wanted them to succeed if only to embarrass those jackasses at the Bureau a bit further.

Alas, there was nothing in the quiet office but a robotic helper manning the front desk. A never-ending maze of papers and books stretched behind the machine.

“We do not have any articles about the woman you inquire, miss Governor, but we do have her date of birth and death. She died on the First of November, 2094.”

The Governor’s phone vibrated. A message from the unknown number.

“Ask for newspapers about that day. Physical copies, the Bureau has already censured the digital ones.”

“Are you eavesdropping?”

“I am helping us both uncover the truth.”

The robot assistant returned with a small bundle of papers, which they handed to the Governor. Taking a seat in the empty building, she began to parse them until she found the headline she presumably was looking for.

“Fire in New Dawn Enterprises kills famed scientist couple, Aida Sato and Hiroto Ito. Councilman Ixion managed to flee the fire and is now recovering…”

The Governor traced her finger across the article’s picture. There was a man covered in soot being helped by paramedics. He was a bit tall, think, had oily-black hair, and looked very familiar.

“Huh… is this man the grandfather of Councilor Randle?”

“What’s his name?”

“Hmm, it says here Ixion Randle… It is his ancestor!”

“Thank you. It is surprisingly hard to find information on the creation of the Security Council.”

Is it? The Governor racked her mind. It was public knowledge. Following the tragic demise of the Alpha Centauri colony, the Ceres rebellion, and the outbreak of the Jovian Flu, the Security Council was re-instituted with humanity’s top minds, to ensure a guiding hand in their development.

Top minds like… the grandfather of Councilor Randle, apparently. “Why did he get a seat on the council?” the Governor mumbled out loud. A bad habit she picked up due to the stress of her job.

The phone replied with a long text. “From what little I can tell, he was a captain of industry with stakes in pharmaceutical and space exploration companies. However, it is hard to find much information on any of the original five original councilmen. Their data has been scrubbed online, I can’t even find their pictures.”

“Five? Aren’t they three?”

“Not at the beginning. If you don’t believe me, I’m sure you can find a newspaper that will corroborate my information.”

The Governor did just that and returned with another pile of old news. She found an article that confirmed what her mysterious caller was saying.

“Following the extremist bombing on New Dawn enterprises and the second outbreak of the Jovian Flu, the five councilmen of the Security Council decided to establish the Bureau of Planetary Safety… huh, you were right.”

“As I often am.”

“Weird, is there any more information about what happened to the other two?”

The Governor flipped across more pages. She didn’t find any information on the two missing councilors, but another article caught her eye. “Chief of detectives denounces political pressure to drop investigation on New Dawn’s attack…”

“The professor, who made headlines stopping the Jovian flu and was under consideration for becoming the Council’s sixth member, died under suspicious circumstances in what is now considered an arson attack. However, the detective in charge of the case notes multiple contradictions with the autopsy report…

“Both the Professor and his wife, equally renowned scientist Aida Sato, had bullet wounds on their body. The professor’s body was also sporting multiple lacerations. This casts suspicion on the other surviving member of the attack as Councilor Randle was in possession of a handgun of the same cal-

“See a pattern yet, Governor?”

“Yes, and enough drama to make a soap opera, but what if the original councilor was crooked? What does that have to do with the Security Council and the Bureau of today?”

“Ah, but you see, Governor. What if they are still the same Council?”

“What do you mean?” The Governor picked up her phone. But no further answers came. Sunlight slowly peered into the archives as the sun reared its head to signal the start of a new day. “ Ugh, I need a coffee. What did this all mean?”