Travels by Teyla Branton

Author:Teyla Branton [Branton, Teyla]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Dystopian, Science Fiction
ISBN: 978-1-948982-11-5
Publisher: White Star Press
Published: 2019-06-19T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

LYSSA’S MIND WAS about to burst. They’d discussed historical examples found in the Newcali database. They’d rehashed numbers of enforcers and current distribution, which both Reese and Hammer had researched intimately. They’d talked about the fringers fleeing Estlantic and the increasing controls issued by the CORE. Hammer had even divulged that El Cerebro’s own personal access to fighters was over two hundred strong, not counting any of the refugee fringers, but his people were spread out across Dallastar. Even together, their forces paled in comparison to the enforcers in the CORE, especially if the confrontation took place in Estlantic, on the other side of the continent.

If El Cerebro and Newcali succeeded in arming and transporting their soldiers to New York, where the Director and Controller and other Elite leaders resided, the heavily-populated area would mean numerous civilian casualties.

“That won’t bother the Controller,” Dani said with disgust, “but how can we in good conscience do that?” She was pacing again, but everyone here was accustomed to her inability to remain still for long, especially after the long journey through the empty zone in the hover.

“It might be,” President Turner said, turning an enigmatic stare on them, “that blood will need to be shed. On both sides.” She had a mug of brew in one hand, and though her voice was tired, she didn’t look any worse for wear than when they’d started that morning.

“What we need to do is kill the Elite,” Hammer countered. “They’re the ones who’ve hurt so many people.”

About the only thing they agreed on was that the fringers who’d been uprooted from the empty zones should be transferred to Newcali, where they could live without fear. At least until the CORE enforcers arrived, which Lyssa knew wouldn’t be long. With the rioting and crimes that had begun taking place every time birth orders were announced, and the increasing undertone of discontent, the Elite needed some way to appease the people while tightening their hold.

“We’ll all be in a colony soon,” Jaxon muttered darkly. Lyssa hoped he wasn’t saying that because of any vision he had seen.

Hammer sighed and rubbed a hand over his weary face. “Given that for each colony of fifty thousand, they maintain an average of only one hundred enforcers—or one enforcer to every five hundred colonists—compared to one enforcer for every one hundred and twenty-seven people outside the colonies, I’d say that more colonies are the only way the Elite can hold onto power if they want to increase the population and take over Newcali. The colonists are overworked and undernourished with food that is likely drugged, so fewer enforcers are needed to maintain order. More colonies would permit controlled growth.”

Reese looked up from her drawing pad. She’d filled nearly half the book in the hours they’d been here, stopping her sketching only when lunch and a late-afternoon snack had been served in an adjoining dining room. Lyssa had glimpsed only one image, and it was of President Turner talking with a man she didn’t recognize.

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