Dominions

23-2

Rodin rose as the door screen turned green. He was about to thank the voice, but stopped himself. The voice was an AI, or maybe a simple voice synthesiser. There was nobody around, except for himself and whoever worked behind all these doors.

Unless someone was watching. There were Eyes, and an AI could be tasked with monitoring anything.

Rodin crossed the room to Councillor Leopold’s room in a couple of quick bounds, pushed the door, and entered.

“Ah, Mister Terrell, so good to see you once more. Please, come in.”

Leopold smiled, but his face was drawn. He lazily waved Rodin across the room, and even that appeared almost too much effort. Clearly, this man should not have returned to work.

The room was larger than Rodin had expected. There were various pictures on the walls, many of which Rodin recognised. In one corner was a copy of a Sertio sculpture from a couple of years ago, almost hidden under the broad, bright leaves of a potted plant. Appropriate staging for a piece concerned with the hidden side of human nature.

Near the door was a desk, efficiently empty, with two screens set in the wall and another lying flat. Past this were three easy chairs, arranged around a table in such a way that each offered a view through the window.

“Impressive, isn’t it?” Leopold said, standing before the glass, supporting his weight with one hand on the window-frame. “To see the gardens from this vantage point is something special, but it can also be a distraction. Hence the desk by the door, facing the wall. However, for meetings, such a view provides a relaxing backdrop. Please, take a seat, my friend. Would you care for a drink?”

“I’m fine, thanks.” Rodin sat, choosing the chair that gave him the best view of the room itself. There were plenty of objects that could be used as weapons‌—‌a vase on a shelf, some small decorative sculptures on the floor, a glass on the table‌—‌but they’d leave open wounds and blood. He’d be better off strangling the man.

Leopold eased himself into a seat across from Rodin and picked up his glass of water. “Please excuse me having a drink. Apparently I should consume a glass every hour. Something to do with my lungs, I’m told.” He took a sip, and winced, one hand reaching for his chest.

“How are you faring, Councillor? I suppose the carer you mentioned has been keeping you from unnecessary stimulation.”

Leopold rolled his eyes. “If she had her way, I’d still be in bed, my curtains closed, being fed through a tube. Do you know, she wanted to escort me to the bathroom every time I needed to go? I swear, the woman would have fitted a catheter if she could have done so.”

Rodin smiled. There was a refreshing honesty in the way Leopold spoke.

“But I told her,” Leopold continued, “that my work was important, and my determination wore her down. Maybe it aids my recovery, too. My medic tells me I’m faring far better than she anticipated.”

“I’m pleased.” Rodin smiled, gave a sigh of relief. “They insisted I return home from the lake, and I had no opportunity to ask after your wellbeing, or to apologise. I made a fearful mistake in your dinghy. Please believe that I would never do anything so rash on purpose.”

Leopold waved a hand. “Of course you wouldn’t! It was an accident, could have happened to anyone. And if anyone was at fault, it was me. First rule of nauticals, the captain is always responsible, whoever has the helm.”

“It was fortunate there was another boat on the water, though.”

Leopold smiled, and the expression appeared genuine. “Wasn’t it just? But let’s put that unfortunate evening behind us. We’re both fine, and that’s all that matters.” He took another sip of his water.

Leopold hadn’t known the other boat was there. Rodin was certain of that. So whoever was watching over the man was doing so without his knowledge.

Rodin glanced round, confirming that there was nowhere to hide in the room. But he couldn’t discount Eyes, even though he saw no obvious ones.

“But I have one regret from that evening, Terrell, and that is the curtailing of our conversation. If I read you correctly‌—‌and I’ve often been told that I’m an excellent judge of character‌—‌you’re something of a thinker. Our mutual friend Sertio used the phrase ‘still waters run deep’, although that might be an inappropriate metaphor in the circumstances.”

Rodin nodded. “I strive to do my best. And I suppose I do ponder matters before speaking.”

“Hardly surprising, given your background. Oh, I know no details, merely what is in the public record. Singled out by Authority, moved to a second Dome, and then that unfortunate incident with the forgery. Such troubles would lead many to question what’s really going on in the world. Why me? many would ask. Why must I suffer when I have striven to do what is right, both by Society and by my conscious?”

He raised his eyebrows, and Rodin bit his lip as he framed a response. “But taking a step back, it is clear that there is so much in life that we cannot control. I can’t change the past, but I can learn from it in order to improve my future.”

“Wise words indeed. You’re definitely a thinker, friend. But back at Federick’s soiree, you mentioned one of my speeches. I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts on it. If, that is, you can recall my words well enough.”

“Indeed I can,” Rodin said, truthfully. “You were positing the possible benefits of greater travel between the Domes. And there were many ideas that stuck with me.”

Rodin allowed Terrell to take over, reflecting the Councillor’s own thoughts back at him‌—‌how restricting thought leads to stagnation, how being open to new ideas broadens the mind, how there can be no harm in pondering even extremes, so long as actions that may come about are logical and justified.

But Rodin didn’t relax. He studied the room in more detail, seeking a possible way to complete his contract.

The desk had hard edges, so arranging or staging a fall might be a possibility, but would be imprecise. Leopold wore a high-collared jacket, and while this might seem to protect his neck, to Rodin it meant something else‌—‌it would reduce signs of a struggle. If Rodin was to strangle the man, the nature of his death would not initially be obvious. And if he were to stage the corpse, it might so clearly be seen as an accident that no further investigation took place.

Terrell talked on, touching on the idea of travel between Dome and districts, but backing away quickly. After all, the aim of any civilisation was survival, and so there had to be some compromise.

Leopold listened attentively, nodding frequently. Every so often he’d tilt his head and frown in thought, or raise his eyebrows in surprise. He made all the signs of active listening, but maybe this was down to his job.

“You’ve clearly given this some thought,” he said once Terrell had finished talking. “And it’s refreshing to hear someone express opinions that go against the normal line.”

Rodin shrugged. “I can only speak of what I believe.”

“Is that a quote?”

“Maybe I heard it somewhere. I can’t recall.”

“It’s good.” Leopold reached for a hand-held screen that sat on the table. “I must make a note of it. ‘I can only speak of what I believe’,” he repeated as he tapped. “A fine argument for open discussion. But I’d like to return to the idea of free movement across the glass, if I may. You expressed reservations about this.”

“Of course. Everyone knows how lawless those people are. It would be inconceivable to let them within the Dome.”

“Would it?”

That brought Rodin up sharp. Leopold raised his eyebrows and tilted his head‌—‌clearly, he was using a provocative notion to elicit a reaction.

“You need to ask?” Rodin countered. “I know there are some who might see travelling through the districts as an adventure, but I can see nothing to be gained from allowing passage into the Dome.”

“What of the different skills those outside might have to offer?”

Rodin forced a laugh. “But they are barely more than animals.”

Leopold’s brow furrowed. “I must admit, that’s not the reaction I would have expected from you, Terrell. A deep thinker should never give in to the knee-jerk reaction, should never merely ape what the masses are saying. But even if your statement is correct, it doesn’t argue against my point. For years, we have learnt from animals. You have only to think of my dinghy‌—‌a sail that owes its development to our understanding of the wings of birds, and a hull shaped to pass through the water as effectively as a fish. My dear friend, learning and understanding can come from everywhere. To cut ourselves off from any one source makes no sense.”

Rodin pulled a face, raised his hands in submission. “I apologise. Sometimes it’s hard to pull away from common beliefs.” Then his expression hardened. “But what you posit is‌…‌somewhat extreme. Do you honestly believe that security around the Dome should be stepped down, and that people should be free to leave or enter?

“I’m doing nothing but throwing ideas into the air, my friend. I find it a challenging way to stimulate discussion. I firmly believe, though, that our minds should be open to considering issues from all vantage points. A blinkered approach will always reduce the possibilities of success. And with that in mind, I have something to show you. Come!”

The Councillor rose, wincing only slightly, and walked steadily to his desk. He tapped on his desk screen with speed, then exhaled loudly and sat, waving a hand at the second desk chair.

“I’d prefer to stand,” Rodin said. “I never find those chairs too comfortable.” And, he added to himself, if I stand, I can be behind you. He needed to keep an eye open for opportunities.

Andif I stand, I can be behind you.“You’re made of sterner stuff than me! But allow me to talk about human potentiality. At its heart, it’s the notion that a person’s future, their station in life, can be predicted from factors surrounding their birth and early life. The concept has fallen out of fashion of late, but its popularity waxes and wanes. Once, the position of the stars at the moment of birth were considered enough to give a prediction, but I’m sure someone as practically-minded as yourself wouldn’t be taken in by such mumbo-jumbo.”

Rodin didn’t respond, and Leopold continued.

“Some take a more scientific approach, and although there are too many variables to give accurate predictions, strong possibilities can be extracted from the data. To give a somewhat fatuous example, a person born with some physical difficulty, in a time and place where medical science knew no cure, would have a very slim chance of becoming an athlete. Similarly, a person born into wealth, in a society where learning is valued but costly, would have a strong likelihood of being what we might term ‘educated’.”