Q and A

Pariss spoke again. “I wanted to reassure you Sedona. You won’t be bothered anymore by that aggressive roofer.”

Sedona nodded solemnly, “I understand he died during that last illness.”

“Yes, sadly.” Pariss paused, then, “I must admit his death was timely.”

Noticing the startled expression on Sedona’s face, he hurried to explain. “I acknowledge that he was an excellent roofer. But recently Oslo had become a liability. He was involved in several incidents where he was belligerent, even violent. In one case, some people were injured. And there are concerns about several missing orphans.”

What! Orphans were missing? Sedona felt a pang as she thought about the young wastrel she had brought into the city. Could she have been in danger - especially since she was training for the roofer’s department? Her concern was obvious. Pariss asked if she knew how the tradition of bringing orphans into the city began.

“Yes. It’s so we can have help with simple labor, which frees the city’s citizens up to do more important work. And it’s a charitable act that allows the orphans a chance at survival and a better life.” It came out all in a piece – only when she stopped speaking did Sedona understand that she had merely repeated exactly what she’d been taught in school.

Pariss looked at her for a long moment. “You’re partly correct,” he finally said. “But that’s not all there is to it. Did you know that when the dome over the city was finally finished, there was a revolution inside the city?”

Sedona was shocked. Why had she never heard this before?

“Actually,” Pariss added, “there were two revolutions. One at year twelve, and another during year 80. Both times, the fighting was about one idea, and many people died supporting one side of the argument or the other.”

“What were they so angry about?” asked Sedona.

“They were fighting over whether they should let outsiders in – the people, just like us, who had been left out in the decaying environment. Less and less of them survived each year and many humans inside the domed city believed we should save as many as possible. The fighting was bitter. Finally, they reached an agreement, one that at least attempted an uneasy peace. And they all agreed, hoping it might keep the city from destroying itself.

“What was the agreement?” she asked. For some reason, Sedona felt like she should already know the answer.

“The agreement involved the orphans,” explained Pariss. The people inside the city agreed to take in the outsiders, but only the children, and only those who were healthy and had the most potential for being useful. Those children were given into our care. But over the years, we’ve turned them into our servants, our slaves.”

Pariss continued. “In fact, owning an orphan has become a status symbol. They’re often prized because it’s believed the children will grow up to be utterly loyal to whoever owns them.

All this was a revelation to Sedona. This was city history, but an ancient history that she’d never heard before. She wondered if all the administrators knew about it. Did Lundun know? 

“But Pariss, most Domers believe the orphans are taken care of. I know they do some basic chores, but aren’t they well-treated? Kind of like beloved pets?”

He responded with a voice that rang out hard and angry. “NO!”

Paris hesitated, as if to get himself under control, then he began to speak softly again. “The care of orphans falls under my jurisdiction and I must protect them.” Then he turned to go back to his other guests. As he walked through the doorway, he said over his shoulder, “you’re welcome to stay and look at the paintings for a while.”

A few minutes later, having looked her fill, Sedona walked to the open door. She could see both Accra and Indiga in the lounge, waiting for her. Just as she was about to step through the doorway, she glanced back into the room. There was a shelf that she hadn’t glanced at before, and she now realized that what she dismissed as small boxes were actually … books. Pariss had books! A whole collection of them. Such riches! No wonder he knew so much.

As the three friends left Tower Two, they each went their own way homeward. Sedona walked slowly, thinking about all she had seen and heard tonight. She was asking herself a lot of uncomfortable questions about Lundun. She wriggled around and scrunched her nose and frowned just thinking about it because she absolutely did not want to be disloyal.

But the things Pariss had told her - even though some were shocking – they had the ring of truth about them. Sedona found herself drawn to both Tokyo and Pariss, feeling they could be trusted. They both seemed to care less about their own power and more about what happened to the people of the city. And she really liked Accra and Indiga. (Especially Indiga.) So what was a poor pawn to do?