by Steve LeBel
“Lenny, you have an open mind about so many other things,” said Bernie. “Why can’t you believe she has feelings?”
“If you want to see Candi again…” Suzie’s voice trailed off. She knew she didn’t have to finish the sentence.
“I… I need to think about this,” Lenny said as Sissy crawled back on his finger.
And so he did. A lot.
Wicked Winds
Their world had no seasons. No extremes in temperature. No ocean currents flowing from the frigid north to the temperate zones. The ingredients needed to spawn hurricanes did not exist on their world. It had required the power of a god to create such a terrible force. And now the wild winds released their fury against an unprepared world.
Until now, protection from the elements had been unnecessary. Buildings were designed with open courtyards because it was important to let the Sun shine in. In a world where property crimes were unknown, entrances seldom had doors. Walls were built with many windows to give easy entry to the sun and the gentle breezes. There were no fierce winds to shutter out or keep at bay.
It was fortunate many buildings had been built of stone. Those buildings survived. Wooden buildings did not fare well. The people who sought shelter in buildings of wood were the first to die.
The people had no experience with such things. As the great storms approached, people thought they were thunderstorms. Getting wet was inconvenient, but nothing to be overly concerned about. And it was good for the plants.
By the time the first of the storms was upon them, the winds, unlike anything known before, brushed aside people and buildings alike.
A mother, rushing across the street to reach her young daughter, watched in horror as the little girl was blown over by the wind. As she ran to rescue her child, she herself was hit by flying debris and killed instantly.
A family, sheltering in their wooden home, died when a nearby tree was uprooted and crashed through their roof.
And so it began.
No one had ever seen winds so fast or so strong.
The deaths did not come from wind alone. The winds brought high water levels and mass flooding to the lower elevations of the coast. Many people huddled in their dwellings as the flood waters rushed down the main streets of town. They drowned in their own homes.
* * *
Leader Gondal banged his gavel and called out, “The Senate will come to order.”
Grim expressions were everywhere as the Senators took their seats in the crowded amphitheater. Perspiration still beaded the faces of some, due to the haste with which they’d traveled. They were anxious to learn anything the Senate had discovered about the wild winds that ravaged the land.
“Thank you for coming on such short notice.” Gondal knew the importance of setting expectations appropriately. “We have only one item on our agenda. Before we start, I must tell you we do not have many answers. Do not expect today’s session to result in decisions and action. We will instead recount recent events so you understand what has happened. Minister Wadov will tell us what we know so far.”
Wadov, seated behind the table on the raised dais, stood to address the crowd. “Thank you, Leader. I’ve tried to put these events in chronological order, but the breakdown in communication and the distances involved makes it difficult. I’ve done the best I can.
“The first sighting of the wind storms was made in Kazonit, located on the northeastern coast. Far out at sea, they saw a massive cloud front approaching. By the time it reached them, the sea had become extremely violent and huge waves crashed against the shore. The storm brought heavy, stinging rain driven by howling winds. The winds were so strong, they ripped up the wharves and blew them away. Several ships were capsized by the winds. The ocean itself rushed inland and flooded several streets. The southwestern part of the town, which had many wooden structures, was demolished. Flying debris inflicted further damage, including damage to stone buildings around the town. There were fifty-three lives lost, including one child,” said Wadov amidst a number of groans and laments.
“The storm continued inland to the town of Globet, fifty-five miles southeast of Kazonit. Reports from Globet indicate they suffered heavy winds and some damage, but no flooding, and nothing like the intensity experienced by Kazonit on the coast. Thank the Sun, no lives were lost there.
“Later the same day, the village of Maris on our southwestern coast was hit by a different storm. Their storm also came from the ocean, and they reported similar events. The town is smaller than Kazonit. There were thirty-one lives lost, including three children,” said Wadov. This time the groans were even louder.
“Less than a day later, on the northeastern coast, the town of Rabinit was hit by an equally severe storm. It began the same as the others. The wooden docks were destroyed almost immediately. Town officials moved people away from the coast and into the natural shelter of a large cliff which protected them from the direct force of the wind.
“Suddenly, the wind stopped, the rain stopped, and the clouds disappeared. Minutes later, the day was clear and normal. The storm just ceased to be. There appears to be no explanation.
“We believe at the same time there was another storm bearing down off the south central coast, near Guntamin. As soon as they saw storm clouds approaching, they began preparations. However, before the storm made landfall, it just disappeared. They claim it was the Sun who saved them because as the storm clouds dissipated, the Sun broke through and warmed the land,” Wadov said.
“Were there other reports?” Gondal asked Wadov.
“There was one report from a small village on the eastern coast. They saw a massive storm moving directly toward them at dusk, but they did not get the bitter weather they expected. It may have passed them by, but it was too dark to see what actually happened. We believe it’s possible their storm disappeared at the same time the storms at Rabinit and Guntamin disappeared. The timing was very close,” Wadov said.
“Have there been other reports or sightings?”
“No, Leader. All four sightings happened within two days of each other. There have been no new reports in the last three days.”
“Thank you, Minister Wadov. Are there any questions or comments from the other ministers?” Gondal looked toward both sides of the long table where the ministers were seated. “No? Then I turn to the Senators. Are there any who would ask questions or who wish to make a statement?”
“Yes, Leader. I am Senator Anitol. I represent the south central district of Vigiton. I would ask three questions. First, what caused these hellish winds? Second, what can we do to prevent them from happening again? And, if we cannot prevent them, my third question is what can we do to minimize any loss of life?”
Wadov stood. “Until we know the cause, the best thing we can do is be prepared. If another storm is sighted, keep your people away from wooden structures. Shelter them in your strongest stone buildings. Keep them away from low areas that could flood. And, if you have advance warning, move inland as far and as fast as you can. These storms appear to be strongest at the water’s edge. If you can’t escape the storm, then seek shelter and wait it out.”
Branton, the minister of science, stood next and said, “With respect to discovering the cause of these storms, we’ve asked both Speaker Zardok and Lord Alcandor for their thoughts. At this time, we have no answers from either. Until we know what caused these wind storms, it is pointless to speculate on what we can do to prevent them in the future.”
* * *
The Senators left the meeting with few answers. And little hope. Their world was falling apart. People were dying. No one knew what to do about it.
An Understanding
“Hey, Lenny,” Bernie said.
Lenny smiled as he took his seat at their table.
Suzie noticed immediately the kaleidoscopic green and orange elements in Lenny’s shimmer. “You’re in a good mood.”
“I should be. Candi and I have a date tonight,” he said as he stroked Sissy’s fur.
Suzie laughed. “Did Sissy have anything to do with that?”
“Yes, quite a bit actually,” Lenny admitted.
“You must tell us everything.” Suzie wiggled in pleasure.
“I wasn’t sure you and Sissy were talking,” Bernie said.
“We had a long talk. It might be more accurate to say, I had a long listen. Sissy had a lot to say. There’s a lot more to her than I thought,” Lenny said as Sissy purred.
“What did you talk about?” Suzie asked.
“Well, you were right about her, Suzie. She was jealous of Candi,” said Lenny. “She’d been doing things to keep us apart. I think I convinced her she doesn’t have to worry about that.”
“How did you do that?” Suzie asked, not willing to let Lenny off the hook so quickly.
Lenny’s face turned red as his shimmer added two new colors to the mix. “We talked, like I told you.”
“Do I have to ask Sissy what you said?” Suzie teased.
“Okay. I told her no matter what happens with Candi, I will still like her.”
“Pop-pop-pop,” Sissy said.
“Sissy says that isn’t exactly right, Lenny.” Suzie was grinning.
Lenny sighed as he said, “Okay, okay. I told Sissy it was okay for her to love me because I love her too. I told her no matter what happens with Candi, I will always love my little Sissy.”
Suzie watched as Bernie’s jaw dropped. They were both hearing words they never thought would come from Lenny’s mouth. Suzie tried not to laugh with delight.
“Is that right, Sissy?” Suzie asked her little friend.
“Ye-ye-ye,” came the sounds from Lenny’s little fur ball.
“We’re going to be better than ever. This morning, Sissy told me to get to work three minutes early, and when I did, I bumped into Candi. That’s when we made our date for tonight.”
“This is very interesting. If Sissy can tell you what to do, she’ll be a lot more helpful, won’t she?” Bernie asked.
“Ye-ye-ye,” Sissy said proudly.
Sauna, Anyone?
Billy found it increasingly difficult to get into Bernie’s universe. The idiot simply refused to go home before he saw Billy leave for the day. This forced him to come back late at night or early in the morning to get his swipes in. Today, he’d come in early.
Sitting at Bernie’s desk, he reviewed his plan. It was a good one, both simple and subtle, although the visualization was large in scope.
From his vantage point far out in space, Billy visualized the planet and its moon. Careful, so as not to disrupt any of the relationship parameters, he dragged both the planet and its moon closer to the sun. He made his calculations earlier, so it was quick work to move everything to the new position.
Not too much closer. Bernie mustn’t suspect until it was too late. At this distance, everything on the planet would come to a slow boil. By the time Bernie figured it out, everything would be dead.
Say goodbye to your plants, Bernie.
Suzie Intervenes
Ezrah read the memo from Shemal again. He’d been expecting it for some time. But still, he was sad to see it.
Shemal’s memo described Bernie’s poor performance on his universe project. Shemal claimed he had never seen anything this bad, and, recently, he had seen no progress of any kind. Shemal said he was making the recommendation with some regret, because Bernie was a likeable fellow with some positive traits. But, he concluded, there was no reason to believe anything would improve in the near future.
Ezrah called Suzie into his office. He knew she would be upset, but there was no point in putting it off.
Suzie came in with the pot of coffee, filled Ezra’s’ cup, and returned the coffee pot before sitting down.
“What’s up?”
“Suzie, I just received a termination recommendation for Bernie. Shemal says he’s given Bernie every opportunity to prove himself, but he doesn’t believe Bernie is the kind of employee we’re looking for. I know he’s your friend. I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but I’m going to approve the termination.”
“Oh, no! This isn’t fair, Ezrah,” Suzie said as her shimmer displayed colors and patterns he’d never seen before. “Bernie’s work has been sabotaged from the beginning.”
“What are you talking about?” Ezrah asked, more concerned with calming her down than what she had to say.
“Do you know Billy?”
“Yes. We hired him last year. I’ve seen excellent reports on him.” Ezrah thought for a moment before asking, “He and Bernie had the big fight, right?”
“Yes. Back in school, Billy always picked on him, and he’s doing the same thing now. He has been sabotaging Bernie’s universe.”
“That doesn’t make sense, Suzie. If Bernie had a problem, he would just go to Shemal and tell him. I’m sure Shemal would have looked into it.”
“No, he wouldn’t. Billy is Shemal’s nephew. I’ve seen the good reports Shemal has written about Billy. He would never believe Bernie over Billy,” she said. “I told Bernie not to tell Shemal, because I knew Shemal wouldn’t believe him.”
“You shouldn’t have done that, Suzie,” said Ezrah as his own shimmer flickered. “Bernie should have gone to Shemal right away so it could be straightened out. Shemal might have solved the problem. Or we might have intervened and transferred Bernie to another department. It’s a bit late for that now.”
“Oh, Ezrah. Please don’t let this happen. Bernie is a great employee. He’s making a great universe in spite of what Billy’s done.” Ezrah pretended not to notice the teardrop that fell on the corner of his desk.
“How can you say that, Suzie? Shemal has seen his universe, and he says it’s the worst thing he’s ever seen.”
“Please, Ezrah, Bernie just needs more time. Give him a chance to show what he can do.”
“I don’t know, Suzie.”
Ezrah was struggling. On one hand, he wanted to support Shemal, who was in the best position to evaluate Bernie’s work. Normally, there wouldn’t be any question about accepting his recommendation. On the other hand, Suzie—from his own department—talked Bernie out of having his claims of sabotage investigated. That wasn’t good. She should have told Bernie to report the problem so it could be properly investigated. She’d given him very bad advice. Was it fair to punish Bernie for doing the wrong thing? This cut into Ezrah’s sense of ethics and fairness. He wasn’t sure what to do.
It was Suzie who tipped the scales when she said, “What if he won a Universe Award? Could he stay then?”
“Well, of course, but I don’t see how that can happen.”
“We can nominate anyone we want. The Committee dropped off the nomination forms yesterday. I’ll nominate Bernie. If he wins, he stays. Okay?” Suzie begged.
Ezrah shook his head and said, “Suzie, I don’t like any of this. I think Bernie should go to Shemal and tell him whatever he thinks Billy has done. If Shemal finds Billy has sabotaged his work, he’ll be reprimanded, and Bernie will be re-evaluated.”
“Answer me honestly, Ezrah. You know Shemal, and you’ve seen his evaluations of Billy. You also know how quick Shemal is to fire people. Do you believe Bernie will get a fair review here?”
Ezrah pondered her question. “Probably not. Too much time has gone by. He should have reported it when it first started happening,” Ezrah admitted.
“Then, please, give Bernie a chance to save his job by winning an award. You can tell Shemal Bernie has been nominated, and you want to delay any termination decision until the Committee has a chance to see his work.”
Ezrah avoided looking at her. It was bad enough imagining the tears in her eyes without having to look at them.
“Well…” Ezrah began, although the argument was over. Suzie would get her way, and Bernie would get a second chance.
Use your time well, Bernie, he thought.
Gee, It’s Hot
“Gondal, we need to talk,” Nottag, the minister of building projects, said from th
e doorway to Gondal’s office.
“Certainly. Come in,” Gondal said as he gestured to a seat.
“It’s the heat. No one remembers anything like it. I’m afraid it’s the beginning of another catastrophe.”
“Have you sketched out any scenarios?”
“There is only one scenario. Not to be overly dramatic, but there’s only so much heat we can take. We’re getting reports from several project sites of people collapsing. Others are having respiratory problems. The heat is too much for them.”
Gondal started to ask which projects, but with all of the rebuilding going on, they were too numerous to mention. Even the Senate building had suffered damage.
“What action have you taken?”
“We changed the work schedule,” said Nottag. “We’ve got people coming in before dawn, and we’re sending them home before noon. We have a second shift coming in the late afternoon and working until after dark. That lets them avoid the heat of the day—”
Gondal had stopped listening. He didn’t move. He didn’t blink. He couldn’t. His brain had stopped the moment he grasped the implications of Nottag’s statement. The people were succumbing to the heat at mid-day, when the Sun was at its height. If this was true, then everything was lost. How could they survive if the danger came from the Sun itself? They were doomed.
“Leader, are you okay?” Nottag asked. Nottag’s hand was on Gondal’s shoulder, shaking him gently.
Gondal saw his minister’s concerned expression. Instinctively, he hid his fear. He had to remain strong, even among his Council of Ministers. They could not see their Leader filled with doubt. So he did what he always did, and reached down inside himself for still more energy, though he felt his fingers scrape the near-empty bottom. He calmed his breathing as he collected his thoughts.
“Thank you for your report, Nottag. I agree with your action to change the schedule. Will you please send Minister Tonst and Minister Branton to me? I have a matter to discuss with them.”