arbitrate (daynight) by Thomason Megan

Author:Thomason, Megan [Thomason, Megan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2013-12-12T04:00:00+00:00

Present

“Brad must not have asked them to clean before they left the city. This place is trashed,” Blake says, pointing to heaps of garbage in the main plaza of Art City. Jax brought us all here. Brad agreed to give the Exilers Art City, the caveat being that they couldn’t use the SCI’s portals. The Arbiters had to find “another way” to transport them here.

It’s just before sundown. Blake, Jax, and I are standing at the edge of the city that once housed the artists and musicians of Thera. The poor former residents have all been dispersed amongst Theran cities that allow music and art. As much as I wanted a peaceful solution to the Exiler camp problem, I feel terrible for the people that got kicked out of here.

The city itself is a series of “floating” islands sitting atop giant, twenty-foot tall pylons and connected by rope bridges. The pylons were driven deep into the marshy ground that sat below to give stability. The city is in the equivalent area of the Gulf of Alaska on Earth, far north of every other Theran city.

I peer over the edge of the platform rail and look down in the dense, grassy marsh and see two long, scaly creatures slip into the water. “Were those alligators?” Jax throws something over the edge and several gators congregate around the offering. When they realize there isn’t enough to go around, they start to fight and a couple beady eyes seem to look up at us in hopes we’ll send down another offering, preferably one of us.

“This place is full of them,” Jax responds. “Fish, gators, and birds. Oh, and snakes. Poisonous ones.”

Shivering, I imagine all the small children from the Exiler camps and hope they never figure out a way off the platforms.

“Why’d Brad pick this place?” Blake asks, keeping a wary eye on the gators.

Jax responds, “Because it’s not like Brad’s going to do the Exilers any favors. He’ll uphold the ‘letter’ of the Arbiter demands but only loosely. He has armed guards stationed at the in-city exit portals—anyone without ‘permission’ who goes through will get shot. The portals in are clear, so he and his troops can show up at any time. The closest portals to Earth are a three-day hike away. Sure, this is the only city without an Eco barrier, but no one would make it far given the alligator and snake population. And the closest Theran city? It’s over a thousand miles from here. He did leave rations, but they are meager. We’d best rename this place Prison City because that’s what this will feel like for the Exilers.”

“When do the Exilers start to arrive?” I ask Jax since Arbiters are facilitating the move although I don’t quite understand how, and Jax has not volunteered the information. An individual Arbiter can open a portal and bring someone through but to do that for more than fifty-thousand people? Doesn’t seem possible. My mind flits to the Genitor. He would have no problem pulling it off.

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