Civilisation: Chapter 4

After he had showered and changed into something a bit more presentable than his work clothes, Aldon made his way to the Council chamber where he would be meeting his new contact.

He always tried to arrive everywhere he went early, that way nobody would ever be waiting on him. Looking around as he entered the chamber to ensure he was alone, he waited a few moments. Once he was convinced that there was no one else there, he made his way over to the advisor’s seats.

Leaning back, he looked up and out of the glass ceiling. Due to where the Council chamber was located on Algerian Prime, there were no lights near the top of the structure. This meant that when Aldon sat and looked out, light did not intrude on his view of the universe beyond the planet.

The view never ceased to amaze him and from where he was sitting, he could not only see the Crab Claw nebula, but also the Algerian Beta wormhole. It was this wormhole that he wanted to send a series of ships through in search of a new home. While they would not know where they would end up, he had been working on a way at least, to allow the pilots to find their way back to Algerian Prime, should they need to.

Just as he was thinking about that problem, he heard a noise from the entrance and turned to face his new ally. As he stood, Oluania walked towards him.

“Sorry Oluania, I just need to be alone for now. I need some time to think about what it is I must do and this is one of the few places where I get peace,” he said, frowning at the smile on her face.

“For all your education and supposed intelligence, you still don’t think of the simplest of things, do you?” asked Oluania, that all knowing smile still not leaving her face.

“What do you mean? I don’t understand?”

“Of course you don’t, but you will. We have a mutual friend, Kruff.”

Aldon could not believe it, it was Oluania who Kruff had arranged for him to meet. He knew instantly that this was not going to be a trap, she would not do that to him no matter how much such disagreed with his work, but why was she his contact?

“I still don’t understand. You did not believe in my work, so why are you here? Why are you leading people who want to help me?” asked Aldon, still feeling stunned and unsure by this revelation.

“It’s not that I don’t believe you, but there is the possibility that you could be wrong. If we were to pool all our resources into your project, we will be left short in other areas. Other parts of our society will suffer. I also see the need in helping you. If you are right, we should have a plan in place to save as many people as we can. We cannot let blind ignorance hurt our people.”

“I don’t know what to say. Thank you.”

“Now that you know who your contact is, we need to decide what our next steps are. You can begin meeting some of the other interested parties, but not all of them, not yet at least. Some of them are still a little nervous. They know our relationship and almost everyone on the Council trusts you anyway, but they are committing treason by helping you, so they are rightfully nervous.”

Aldon definitely felt better about the whole situation. The one person he could always count on to help him see the path before him was offering her support. He had never considered having her as an ally before because of their political differences, but now that she was, with her and Zolin at his side, he could clearly see his way and felt confident about walking down that path.

The pair continued talking all through the night, with Aldon explaining his research and the results they had been getting, thus proving what he had said during the Council meeting. Oluania moved the conversation away from this, explaining that the past did not matter, what they needed now was a plan of action for the future.