The discussion went on from there to detail their mission and the challenges they faced. The thing that interested Damian the most is when Amelia revealed that they spent an entire month in the portal while only a week had passed outside. While they would have to check after other portals were closed if the time dilation held at 4:1 they would have to make sure to plan accordingly when sending others into portals to ensure that some Inducted were always standing by. Damian tuned back in at the end of the discussion.
This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
Damian shared a look with Big Lu, “That seemed kind of random, didn’t it?”
Big Lu just shrugged, “That’s more or less his normal. Ludwik and his buddies from before the integration had a surprisingly vast network that reached into various government departments. They also tended to have a massive amount of paranoia and when they uncovered one legitimate conspiracy, they became convinced that most of their other theories were correct. I wouldn’t be surprised if the tension caused by the monster waves and the attitude of the worst of the former elite class ramped up their paranoia.”
“Still…...” Damian muttered, “It almost feels like someone is egging him on.”
Lu arched an eyebrow, “Why would they do that?”
“If he had as much faith in his network as you imply, he might have told them about the governors. Given their track record one of them might have believed the worst and went to someone in charge to get help.” Damian tried to articulate his thoughts as best he could.
Big Lu rolled his eyes clearly not buying it but willing to hear his friend out.
Damian gave Lu a sheepish smile, “I know how it sounds but I’m trying to see if something could make sense here. Anyway, the reason they would go to the government lies in the saying, ‘better the devil you know’. After all they were used to a regular government and their abuse of power, in their perception anyway. One run by superpowered beings not subject to earth law? I’m betting that wouldn’t go over well with that crowd.”
Big Lu gave a grudging nod, “I could see that being a slim possibility, but why would they feed Ludwik’s paranoia then?”
“If I used to be in power and found out that these newly powered civilians could just decide to not let me return to the position, I spent my life working to gain, I would want to make that chance as slim as possible. Once the governor thing gets out there is going to be an inevitable fall out. Everyone would be arguing about the merits of both sides, but if it’s revealed that the governors knew well in advance and didn’t tell anyone? That would swing public opinion against us, after all what if our reasons for keeping quiet were nefarious in nature. After that it gets into the territory politicians do best, dig up dirt on their opposition and start slinging. Suddenly they are on the side of the people, and we are the would-be tyrants and warlords. With all the stress everyone has been under these past few years, it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility for a lynching or two to occur. Which will escalate into an all-out war as we defend ourselves and the world believes they are defending their freedom.”
Lu and Ulf blinked at him, then Ulf decided to speak up, “That….is so convoluted that it loops back around to being feasible. If we lived in nonsense land where stupid is king and good sense was stabbed a decade ago. Even Loki couldn’t make a scheme like that work.”
Lu nodded in solidarity with Ulf, “I agree with Ulf. I think you might need to get some sleep. How long have you been up for anyway?”
Damian just flipped the two off, “It’s only been four days, I’m perfectly fine. Like I said I’m just trying to put an idea out there.”
Lu shook his head, “Go sleep man, your common sense is on the fritz.”
Damian just shoved some of the Tlanuwa feathers into Big Lu’s hands, “Go make my coat ya jerk. I’ll sleep after I talk to the Colonel to see if he has anything else for us.”
Lu gave him a thumbs up and trotted off with Ulf in tow, discussing times for Ulf to teach him how to better use his great hammer. Damian just shook his head, dropped the egg in his pocket and moved towards the nearest soldier. The soldier saluted him when he noticed Damian’s approach. “Sir! What can I help you with.”
Damian returned the salute, “At ease privet, do you know where I can find Colonel Johnson, or someone who could point me to him?”
“If his patterns hold, he should be making his way back to city hall right now sir. He has to debrief the mayor and high command after each wave.”
“Thanks soldier, I’ll be on my way.” Damian clapped the man on the shoulder and started the long walk to city hall. Seeing as he wasn’t in a hurry he decided to make a detour to see how the mood among the civilian population was doing and was happy to note that everyone seemed to be in a good mood. The usual gloom and seriousness of the monster tides was nowhere in sight. Folks were setting up grills and prepping food with smiles, turning a usual somber meal for the troops to regain their strength into a neighborhood block party. He had to doge out of the way of some kids who ran past, and was waylaid by some of his students, who managed to cajole him into a game of cornhole while they asked him a bunch of questions about being an Inducted and the egg he was carrying. His mood was high and his stomach full when he finally reached city hall three hours later.
