05-03-2022, 08:38 PM
Pierre Apartment, Council Chambers, Grapevale
April 2022
“It’s been almost a goddessdamned year, Pauline!” yelled Nirmala Patel, slamming her hands on the coffee table in front of her. “It’s like you’re deliberately stalling! But given that you were the one who reported her in the first place, why? There’s no love lost between the Pierre’s and the Robinson’s, there’s no way you want to keep her alive, so why? What reason could you possibly have for continuing to vote against expulsion?”
Pauline Pierre did not react to the other Councillor’s shouts; instead calmly lifting her tea to her mouth and taking a slow sip. She leaned back on the sofa in her Council Chambers apartment, where Nirmala had barged in earlier without asking permission. She remained silent, allowing Nirmala to finish her rant, which had begun much earlier, on the subject of Carmen Robinson’s treason and the Council’s votes on her expulsion from that same body.
“I do not want to see Carmen dead,” Pauline replied finally, once it was clear that Nirmala was done for the time being. “That would only continue indefinitely, something best left in the past. The feud of our grandmothers has been allowed to dictate the course of our nation’s politics for far too long. It is time for change.”
“Change? I swear to the Goddess that if it was up to me I’d have you declared unfit and locked away until you begin to see sense again. Since when did you, of all people, want change? Is this about the Haven Accords again?”
Pauline sighed and stood, walking over to where the servants had left the teapot and pouring herself another cup. “The Haven Accords are a symptom, not a cause. That is what we failed to understand in the aftermath of the war: the Accords did not destroy us; we were destroying ourselves and they only brought that into light.”
“Perhaps the Reformists have discovered a form of mind control,” mused Nirmala as she stared at her fellow Councillor in shock and outrage. “What are you even talking about?”
“I speak of the tyranny we keep our people under. The tyranny we tried to spread when we went to war in Lauchenoiria. Your mother and I, we worked together to bring about something that could only end in disaster. Lauchenoiria would never have joined us willingly; we would not have spread the revolution, only harmed it. We would have gained territory, perhaps, but we would not have spread gynarchy. Now, your mother is dead and I am smart enough to recognise that if I do not change, I will soon follow. But this is not just about me; it is about the cause of women’s rights. Or have you forgotten that our mission is not to stay in power, but to promote women’s liberation?”
“That is exactly why we have to stay in power; to ensure…”
“No, you don’t really believe that. That was a lie the Founders told themselves to justify their actions on the Night of the Six.”
“We do not speak of that,” Nirmala said sharply, glancing around in case someone somehow overheard.
“Perhaps it’s time we did. We won’t get away with it a second time; that’s why you need my vote, not out of some desire to follow the rule of law. If you want to remove someone from the Council now - especially after we made such a big deal of Hale’s return - it will need to be done openly, and thus legally. Technology means that history can’t be edited so easily.”
“Robinson faked an entire massacre that became notorious, which never even happened, and saved the supposed victims. Her own actions disprove your point. History is malleable, as long as you control the witnesses.”
“Do they? There are far more witnesses to the actions of the Council in 2022 than there were to mass executions in 2003. And if history was so malleable; if the truth was so changeable; then we would not know the truth now.”
“We only know because she confessed.”
“Out of her own free will? Are you so naive to believe that? Auroras. It was Auroras, Nirmala, just like the war, and the Accords, and the Hunt, and the endless sanctions that nobody will lift regardless of what reforms we make. They were the witnesses, and they could not be controlled. Auroras were my family’s pride and joy, but they will also be the Matriarchy’s destruction if we don’t move forward.”
“You and your Auroras,” Nirmala rolled her eyes. “You’re obsessed!”
“Auroras coerced Robinson into confessing. Because they knew; at least some of them. Those who are now sitting alongside Carmen in prison; who know our secrets and our shames and our lies. I was a fool in believing it was safe to give those things to anyone. The only way to stay safe is to trust nobody; the moment there is a single witness to the truth it will persevere. But what is done is done, and now all we can do is move forward.”
“By expelling Robinson, executing her, and getting rid of these traitors who would destroy everything we’ve worked for,” nodded Nirmala. “That will show those who would contradict us and disobey us.”
“That won’t work. It’s over, Nirmala. We can choose between the Council or the Matriarchy. What we’ve done cannot be undone and the truth will spread; we cannot keep it to ourselves. They will destroy us unless we choose to end it ourselves.”
“I should have you arrested for treason too.”
“Go ahead and try. But what I do is for the Matriarchy. For the cause. Something we’ve been forgetting for the last eight decades. The truth of the Night of the Six will be revealed, because no secret can be kept as long as it is known by more than one person. It will destroy the Council, that cannot be prevented. It is our duty, as the protectors of the women’s revolution, to ensure that it does not bring down the Matriarchy at the same time.”
“You’ve lost your mind.”
“Have I?” Pauline Pierre raised an eyebrow. “Or am I finally seeing through the lies our mothers’ told us? Told themselves? Kerlile is stagnant because our fear of losing power has made it stagnant. We don’t allow progress, despite our claims that it is our goal. This will not last. So no, Nirmala, I won’t vote to expel Carmen because I won’t continue a petty family feud that started because my grandmother’s skin was so thin she couldn’t allow anyone who came close to criticising her to live.”
“Those who allow traitors to live become traitors themselves,” Nirmala hissed, standing up to glare at the other Councillor. She walked over to the door, turning back before she left. “Are we to continue this stalemate until Robinson dies of old age? No, I won’t allow that to happen. Watch yourself, traitor.”
With that, Nirmala Patel left, slamming the door behind her as hard as she could. Pauline sat back down, glancing at a tablet she’d left under the coffee table, that the other Councillor hadn’t noticed in all her fury.
“No,” Pauline said to herself, “the stalemate will end tomorrow. Just not the way you want, Nirmala.”
April 2022
“It’s been almost a goddessdamned year, Pauline!” yelled Nirmala Patel, slamming her hands on the coffee table in front of her. “It’s like you’re deliberately stalling! But given that you were the one who reported her in the first place, why? There’s no love lost between the Pierre’s and the Robinson’s, there’s no way you want to keep her alive, so why? What reason could you possibly have for continuing to vote against expulsion?”
Pauline Pierre did not react to the other Councillor’s shouts; instead calmly lifting her tea to her mouth and taking a slow sip. She leaned back on the sofa in her Council Chambers apartment, where Nirmala had barged in earlier without asking permission. She remained silent, allowing Nirmala to finish her rant, which had begun much earlier, on the subject of Carmen Robinson’s treason and the Council’s votes on her expulsion from that same body.
“I do not want to see Carmen dead,” Pauline replied finally, once it was clear that Nirmala was done for the time being. “That would only continue indefinitely, something best left in the past. The feud of our grandmothers has been allowed to dictate the course of our nation’s politics for far too long. It is time for change.”
“Change? I swear to the Goddess that if it was up to me I’d have you declared unfit and locked away until you begin to see sense again. Since when did you, of all people, want change? Is this about the Haven Accords again?”
Pauline sighed and stood, walking over to where the servants had left the teapot and pouring herself another cup. “The Haven Accords are a symptom, not a cause. That is what we failed to understand in the aftermath of the war: the Accords did not destroy us; we were destroying ourselves and they only brought that into light.”
“Perhaps the Reformists have discovered a form of mind control,” mused Nirmala as she stared at her fellow Councillor in shock and outrage. “What are you even talking about?”
“I speak of the tyranny we keep our people under. The tyranny we tried to spread when we went to war in Lauchenoiria. Your mother and I, we worked together to bring about something that could only end in disaster. Lauchenoiria would never have joined us willingly; we would not have spread the revolution, only harmed it. We would have gained territory, perhaps, but we would not have spread gynarchy. Now, your mother is dead and I am smart enough to recognise that if I do not change, I will soon follow. But this is not just about me; it is about the cause of women’s rights. Or have you forgotten that our mission is not to stay in power, but to promote women’s liberation?”
“That is exactly why we have to stay in power; to ensure…”
“No, you don’t really believe that. That was a lie the Founders told themselves to justify their actions on the Night of the Six.”
“We do not speak of that,” Nirmala said sharply, glancing around in case someone somehow overheard.
“Perhaps it’s time we did. We won’t get away with it a second time; that’s why you need my vote, not out of some desire to follow the rule of law. If you want to remove someone from the Council now - especially after we made such a big deal of Hale’s return - it will need to be done openly, and thus legally. Technology means that history can’t be edited so easily.”
“Robinson faked an entire massacre that became notorious, which never even happened, and saved the supposed victims. Her own actions disprove your point. History is malleable, as long as you control the witnesses.”
“Do they? There are far more witnesses to the actions of the Council in 2022 than there were to mass executions in 2003. And if history was so malleable; if the truth was so changeable; then we would not know the truth now.”
“We only know because she confessed.”
“Out of her own free will? Are you so naive to believe that? Auroras. It was Auroras, Nirmala, just like the war, and the Accords, and the Hunt, and the endless sanctions that nobody will lift regardless of what reforms we make. They were the witnesses, and they could not be controlled. Auroras were my family’s pride and joy, but they will also be the Matriarchy’s destruction if we don’t move forward.”
“You and your Auroras,” Nirmala rolled her eyes. “You’re obsessed!”
“Auroras coerced Robinson into confessing. Because they knew; at least some of them. Those who are now sitting alongside Carmen in prison; who know our secrets and our shames and our lies. I was a fool in believing it was safe to give those things to anyone. The only way to stay safe is to trust nobody; the moment there is a single witness to the truth it will persevere. But what is done is done, and now all we can do is move forward.”
“By expelling Robinson, executing her, and getting rid of these traitors who would destroy everything we’ve worked for,” nodded Nirmala. “That will show those who would contradict us and disobey us.”
“That won’t work. It’s over, Nirmala. We can choose between the Council or the Matriarchy. What we’ve done cannot be undone and the truth will spread; we cannot keep it to ourselves. They will destroy us unless we choose to end it ourselves.”
“I should have you arrested for treason too.”
“Go ahead and try. But what I do is for the Matriarchy. For the cause. Something we’ve been forgetting for the last eight decades. The truth of the Night of the Six will be revealed, because no secret can be kept as long as it is known by more than one person. It will destroy the Council, that cannot be prevented. It is our duty, as the protectors of the women’s revolution, to ensure that it does not bring down the Matriarchy at the same time.”
“You’ve lost your mind.”
“Have I?” Pauline Pierre raised an eyebrow. “Or am I finally seeing through the lies our mothers’ told us? Told themselves? Kerlile is stagnant because our fear of losing power has made it stagnant. We don’t allow progress, despite our claims that it is our goal. This will not last. So no, Nirmala, I won’t vote to expel Carmen because I won’t continue a petty family feud that started because my grandmother’s skin was so thin she couldn’t allow anyone who came close to criticising her to live.”
“Those who allow traitors to live become traitors themselves,” Nirmala hissed, standing up to glare at the other Councillor. She walked over to the door, turning back before she left. “Are we to continue this stalemate until Robinson dies of old age? No, I won’t allow that to happen. Watch yourself, traitor.”
With that, Nirmala Patel left, slamming the door behind her as hard as she could. Pauline sat back down, glancing at a tablet she’d left under the coffee table, that the other Councillor hadn’t noticed in all her fury.
“No,” Pauline said to herself, “the stalemate will end tomorrow. Just not the way you want, Nirmala.”
LIDUN President 2024 | she/her | Puppets: Kerlile, Glanainn, Yesteria, Zongongia, Zargothrax