The Grand Patriarch looked over at Owens, a small smile on his lips, “Janus Owens, it seems I have again underestimated the consequences of bringing you to Golstar.”
Having just witnessed the puzzling exchange between the Grand Patriarch and his captain of the guard, Owens had surmised the identity of the Grand Patriarch’s daughter. Sharné had made unexpected use of the dispersal gun he had given her. It was an interesting development. He sat there, wondering about the Grand Patriarch’s cryptic comment about consequences.
The Grand Patriarch said, “My daughter’s demonstration of her interest in you has somewhat changed matters. Therefore, this audience is now at an end. We will reconvene in the morning and continue our discussion then.” The Grand Patriarch tapped the arm of a chair. The door opened and a uniformed guard entered. “You will now be escorted to a suite of rooms for your rest and convenience. A steward will provide anything you might require.”
Owens decided on a small test. “Will I be allowed the freedom to tour your palace?”
The Grand Patriarch shook his head regretfully, “I am afraid that, for the time being, your movements must be limited. It is for your own protection.”
“I understand,” Owens said simply.
The Grand Patriarch looked at him shrewdly, “Yes. I believe you do at that.”
CHAPTER 48
The Preservers of the Way assembled at the appointed time. All the sub-leaders, along with their lieutenants had never before met together in a single gathering. Prior to that, meetings were usually limited to smaller groups and often only included the sub-leaders. Occasionally, one or two lieutenants would be included to report on the status of various projects. It was a true singular event for the Leader to call for a complete assembly.
The meeting room, a large auditorium in the old abandoned school on the outskirts of the city, was quite crowded. The gray, peeling walls seemed to absorb the light in spite of the numerous portable light globes that dotted the cracked flooring. However, the attendees did not seem to mind. The Leader called this special meeting to discuss a new strategy. The room was abuzz with speculation and barely concealed anticipation.
Near the rear of the room, two of the gray-robed figures were engaged in a quiet discussion. The shorter one asked, “Do you think the Leader has called us together to announce the time is finally at hand, that we will soon openly move against the Grand Patriarch?”
The other shrugged, “That is a difficult question to answer. The Leader’s message did seem to indicate some new strategy was forthcoming, but nothing of its goal was mentioned. It may only be limited to the latest plan that will finally lead to the elimination of the dark-bringer. I for one would be most pleased to wield personally, the instrument of the dark-bringer’s destruction.”
The shorter robed figure nodded in agreement, “Would that any of us be given that opportunity...” then paused. “Perhaps the death of this man from Confederated Planets will serve as the signal to begin the coup d’état. I am weary of all of these cloak-and-dagger activities in which we have been forced to participate. The Grand Patriarch should not be allowed to…”
The other Preserver immediately grabbed the speaker’s arm in a painful grip and said in an urgent undertone, “Quiet. Such talk can have serious consequences. Remember where you are.” The Preserver then released the other’s arm.
Rubbing the place where the taller Preserver had gripped, the short, robed Preserver started to respond when the ninth chime of evening began to toll.
The room immediately went dead quiet. A door to one of the numerous entrances opened. The tall, hooded form of the Leader walked towards the mass of followers. Members of the Preservers of the Way began to kneel before the one who had called them together. The Leader reached the center of the room, paused for a moment and saw that all had knelt in obeisance. The Leader then walked towards a raised platform at one end of the room without acknowledging those who knelt and took up a position behind a podium.
Then, with arms raised, the Leader called to the assembly, “Arise, my fellow Preservers. The glorious day of ultimate illumination finally draws near. My… our goal is within our grasp.”
The throng rose as one.
The Leader looked out upon the gathering of Preservers, nodding in apparent approval and said, “The end is near, so very near. Your hard work will soon reap its just reward. All of your labors have led us to this most glorious moment in Golstar’s history.”
A figure near the front boldly stepped forward and shouted, the voice synthesizer cracking with distortion, “Hail to the Leader for his steadfast guidance, hail to the Founder for bringing forth the Light!”
This pronouncement ignited a deafening cheer that reverberated off the auditorium’s ancient walls. The Leader allowed the demonstration to continue for a time then the gloved hands were raised once more for silence.
“We all know that through divine visions, the Founder was guided in his work to formulate and construct our grand civilization. These holy revelations provided the Founder with the great insight that allowed only him to navigate through the myriad moral and theological pitfalls that beset civilizations throughout the ages of human history.” The Leader looked down, as if in prayer and said, “I now humbly come before you as one who has been gifted by such a vision.”
The Leader then looked up. A low murmur began to rise again from the crowd. The Leader nodded and began to talk over the rising voices, “Yes. It is true. The Founder saw fit to gift me with a pure vision, a vision which will guide us to victory in the name of the Founder. The vision has shown me the means to achieve the final grand victory!” The Leader held up a hand for silence and the voices quickly died back down.
“Before I share with you my vision, a vision that relates the final, true strategy that will once, and for all time, secure Golstar’s future, I ask you all for one more sign of your united support.” The Leader looked out at the sea of gray robes and said nothing more. The leader seemed be savoring the prolonged moment of silence.
Finally, the Leader spoke, “The time has at last come to reveal ourselves in the bright Light of the Way.” The Leader’s synthesized voice increased dramatically in volume. “The concealing veil of darkness must now part! We will no longer walk in the shadows, hiding the bright nobility of our cause behind demeaning cowls and masks! Golstar must soon be made aware of our personal sacrifice for the good of all.”
A collective gasp rippled among the assembled Preservers. The Leaders voice dropped in volume. “Yes, my brethren, I know it is difficult… for you have not witnessed the glorious vision bestowed upon me by the Founder. However, you must believe in His wisdom and trust in my judgment as you have always done before.”
Another murmur began to rise from the crowd. The Leader quickly interjected, “Look into your hearts and know the truth. The time for secrecy has come to an end at last. Trust that it is the Founder’s wish.”
The crowd became quiet once more and for a while, no one moved. The Leader looked out on the stilled throng and seemed to be waiting. Then, the same Preserver who had stepped forward before, did so again.
Pulling back the cowl, the Preserver shouted, “I am with you great Leader. I will walk in shadows no longer. I will take my rightful place beside you, bathed in the glory of the Light!” The Preserver ripped away the mask to reveal a young man that a few in the crowd recognized as a member of the Grand Patriarch’s personal guard.
As if the young man’s demonstration was a signal, others began to discard their robes and masks. More and more Preservers began to shed their disguises. Soon, the floor was littered with robes and masks. The faces of senior members of the Assembly, heads of royal houses, high-ranking members of government agencies and officers from the various branches of the military gazed at each other with varying degrees of surprise or acknowledgment. When last robe and mask fell, all eyes turned to the raised podium.
The Leader nodded and stepped away from behind the podium. Moving to the ed
ge of the platform, the Leader said, “Yes, it is time I too come out from the shadows.” The Leader threw back the cowl and with a flourish, ripped away the mask. The dramatic revelation of Leader’s true identity immediately drew shouts of surprise, quickly followed by cries of despair. Finally revealed before the Preservers of the Way, the Grand Patriarch stood on the platform and smiled widely at their dismay.
The shouts of disbelief grew louder, but before any of the Preservers could take action, the doors to the auditorium flew open with loud bangs. Armed men wearing the livery of the Grand Patriarch’s personal guard rushed through the thresholds and quickly swarmed the confused mob.
CHAPTER 49
It was late at night. Minister Joselé sat alone in a bedroom located somewhere within the palace. When she was confronted by the Grand Patriarch back at the apartment and summarily arrested, she had expected to end up in a prison cell. Instead, she found herself in a plush suite of rooms. She was no less a prisoner but at least her surroundings were bearable. She absently fingered a bit of lace on a side table and wondered how long she would be allowed this unexpected luxury.
Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard muffled voices coming from beyond the room’s door. The guards posted outside in the hallway were talking with someone. Her heart beat faster as she turned to face the door. Were they finally coming to take her for interrogation? Or perhaps she would just be taken away and summarily executed. She strained but could not make out the words. She was deciding whether to move closer to better hear when the conversation abruptly ended, and the door opened. Through it strode a slender man. He slammed the old-fashioned door closed.
“Talin, what…” she began.
The Guardian of the Way put a finger to his lips, signaling for her silence. He removed a compact metal cylinder from his coat. On its surface, three small telltales glowed green. He then walked around the room looking at the detector in his hand. The tiny lights remained green. Nodding to himself in satisfaction, he put the cylinder back into his coat pocket.
He walked over to her and said, “It should be safe to talk. I had a hand in putting you in these quarters. I had them swept for electronics before you arrived, but I wanted to make certain nothing had changed. Now do sit down. There is little time and there are some things we need to discuss.” She sat down and he pulled up a chair and sat facing her.
“You are taking an unnecessary risk,” she admonished him.
He shook his head, “The time for caution is long over, Lauren. The Grand Patriarch has arrested the Preservers.”
She felt initial shock, and then guilt flooded her. “It is my fault, Talin. Even with you helping me to avoid discovery, the Grand Patriarch found me, just as I was accessing the network. He must have read the message for the meeting. Talin, I am responsible for leading him to our doorstep.”
“No.” Talin reached for her hands and held them firmly in his own. He looked into her eyes and held her in his gaze. “Listen to me. Lauren, you are not at fault. The Grand Patriarch already knew where the meeting would be held long before he found you.”
She searched his face and found only honesty. “There was an informer within our ranks? The meeting was just called by the Leader with little advance notice, how could...”
Talin gently cut her off. “It was the Grand Patriarch who called for the meeting of the Preservers.”
She looked at him in bewilderment.
“Lauren, the Grand Patriarch is the Leader. He has always been the Leader.” He released her hands.
Thunderstruck, she couldn’t believe his words, “No, that is not possible!”
“I am afraid it is true, nonetheless.”
“But how can that be?”
Talin began to explain, ignoring the shocked amazement on her face. “The Preservers of the Way were the creation of the Grand Patriarch. He created the Preservers to serve his own ends. By uniting the various opposition groups he could easily monitor and control their agendas.”
“That is simply incredible. I still cannot believe it.” She paused, thinking of the implications. “I have attended many meetings. I have listened to the Leader’s speeches and followed the Leader’s directives and never would I have suspected he could be the Grand Patriarch. How could the Grand Patriarch direct attempts at sabotage against his own ruling government?”
“I would imagine those attempts were seldom successful. However, when they did succeed, they were limited in scope?”
She gazed at her hands, “We had a few modest successes but looking back, no, none were truly significant. Most of our activities were associated with information gathering and planning for the final revolution; a return to the sacred values.”
Talin nodded, “He controlled the organization’s activities with great care, allowing only for enough success to keep the members’ appetites whetted.”
She sat very still, absorbing the Guardian’s revelation. “Yes,” she said slowly. “I am beginning to see… it does make a horrible kind of sense. He guided the Preservers of the Way in the direction he wanted. He allowed them to believe they were part of a growing movement, building to a righteous confrontation, while all along, he was shepherding them to his own ends. How does that old saying go? Keep your friends close, your enemies closer…” Her voice trailed off.
“Exactly,” Talin nodded. “Years ago, he had me work to ferret out the groups that were opposed to his ideas. However, with each rebel organization quashed, two more would arise in their place.” He shook his head ruefully. “Eventually, the Grand Patriarch had me pull back the active investigations and ordered me to withdraw from our open pursuit and instead focus our efforts on passive, clandestine surveillance. Only the imminent act of treason could trigger any action.”
She asked, “So you were aware of the Preservers of Light all of this time?”
“Yes, I was aware of them, but until this evening, I truly had no inkling of the Grand Patriarch’s involvement.”
“I do not understand. Their recent activities would most certainly be construed as treasonous, and yet you did nothing?”
Frowning, he said, “Unfortunately, the true nature and extent of their activities were kept well away from me.”
“I confess that makes little sense to me. You are the Guardian of the Way.”
He only nodded.
She went on, “You have absolute control over every aspect of our military, our police and most importantly, our intelligence network. Nothing escapes your surveillance net. Being in your position, I do not see how you could not know.”
In the face of this implied accusation, color rose in his features. “You know as well as I, it is not the office of Guardian that has the absolute control. Rather, it is the…”
“The Grand Patriarch,” she finished for him. “Please, I did not mean to imply any ineffectiveness of you or your office.”
The tightening in his face relaxed and he continued, “I have just recently found that he has his own network of spies strategically placed within my organizations. They answer only to him. A surprising number of my deputies, key people with whom I have trusted over the years, I now discover were filtering reports and distorting information, all at the Grand Patriarch’s direction.”
She looked at him in disbelief.
“Obviously, I knew nothing of your own membership in the Preservers, until your arrest.”
She flinched, and then started to explain, “Talin, I was afraid to involve you beyond what you had already done to help me escape. You put yourself in great jeopardy when you helped me evade the Grand Patriarch’s initial warrant. The risk you have taken on my behalf…”
He held up a hand to forestall further explanation. “I understand, Lauren. I do not fault you for keeping this secret. And besides you must know where my true sympathies lie. It is the Grand Patriarch with whom I must find fault.”
She hesitated before saying, “How could he have done all of this without your knowledge? To create a spy network within a spy network
without causing suspicion is something I thought beyond even the Grand Patriarch’s capabilities.”
His expression became pained. “He did not create it; he simply used an existing resource. You see, his spy network has been in place for some time, a very long time.”
She asked, “How long?”
“The Grand Patriarchs’ spies have been in place since the Founding. I know this will not sit well with you, but the clandestine sub-organization was created by the Founder himself and carried on by each successive Patriarch and Matriarch.”
She was shocked and dismayed to hear her beloved Founder was the guiding hand in creating the heretofore unknown spy network. “It… it would appear that paranoia is not limited to the present Grand Patriarch.” She sighed heavily, “Obviously such a disease has been passed down along all the generations of our rulers.”
He sighed heavily, “Indeed, just one more secret among a myriad of others.”
“If the secret was so well kept, may I ask how you came to discover it?”
He smiled grimly, “Oddly enough, it was the Grand Patriarch himself who told me.”
She raised an eyebrow, “Really? What could have driven him to take you into his confidence? Why would he reveal an age-old secret, especially one that gave him a particular advantage?”
“It does seem unlikely,” he replied, “but you must remember we were the closest of friends, almost like brothers when we were younger. In fact, I was his one true friend. It seems that he still adheres to that belief. So who better to confide in than me?”
She thought for a moment, then said, “In order to gloat on what he had done, share in his grand victory, he had to reveal to you how he had accomplished it and under your very nose.”
Talin shrugged.
She went on, “He actually expected you to overlook his breach of trust? I cannot understand it.”
“I doubt he views it in quite that way. In fact, I would wager he believes that he has revealed a closely guarded, precious secret to his most trusted advisor, as a reward for his trust.”
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