Into the Ether (2)

“We can't just… eliminate emotions?”

The council members gathered around the jet black boardroom table most certainly did not take to the radical idea as well as Leonard had prayed they would, but the voice in His mirror warned him this would occur. Leonard shuts his eyes, inhales deeply through his nose & exhales from his mouth, three times in total. The council were put off, taken aback, by this. They looked around the room at one another in confusion, trying to anticipate where the presentation organized by the council's lowest ranking member was headed. His eagerness to speak before them was peculiar, his sudden burst of initiative fascinating, & the unprecedented overhaul of his entire personality exciting. Though their words said otherwise, at least 11 of the 12 were indeed enamored by the snake oil salesman in front of them.

Leonard's eyes opens with ferocity, looking almost as if he'd been startled awake from a bad dream. His eyes were cold & calculating, this malicious energy had washed over him & began to fill the room. Though the shift just witnessed may not have physically altered His appearance, as Leonard still looked to be a meek & fragile man, everyone in the room feared what he would unleash should he lose control over the monstrosity that evidently lived just beneath the surface. They knew this was not the career bureaucrat with a timid nature who’d spent the entirety of his time with the council taking notes & handling press concerns. Who he was was but a mystery waiting to be revealed. The anticipation for His next line of dialogue was unbearable, but they dared not press Him until He was ready. Leonard had to sink His teeth deep into His tongue just to keep from grinning like a madman.

“In all our years as Carbon Based Lifeforms embodying sentient vessels of meat & blood, we’ve looked towards the sky for answers. Praying to different Gods utilizing different tongues, always asking for solace, compassion, & an end to human suffering. Be it flourishing crops or a smidge of peace, empathy. Once realizing our heavenly monarchs to be cold & uncaring Kings with deaf ears, we began observing the stars & litany of planets within our solar system. We charted their transits, made note of how we were impacted by their movements & placements. Emotionally, physically, even socially, their influence had clear signs to those willing to look beyond the world around them. We know these effects to be more than mere superstitious folklore. & thus it is time to recognize that the only path forward for us is to reject the extraterrestrial force in the sky responsible for holding us back from becoming who we truly are.”

One of the men on the council, a strapping & stoic gentleman named John Akrin, opens his mouth to speak but is stared into submission by Leonard. Noting the power hungry Leonard shifting group dynamics too far to his favor, the woman adjacent to John speaks in his stead, “You can't just… reject the moon?”

A light chuckle rises amongst the council members; in all but Leonard. He directs his icy gaze at the woman but with no effect, He simply can't bend her to his will. The old Leonard would have crumbled at this moment, clamming up & backing down out of sheer humiliation. But that iteration of Leonard was dead & gone, & this one thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity of testing the limits of His resolve.

“It’s common knowledge that the moon's influence impacts our tides & causes the sane to act as though mad when it glows bright & full in the sky. As you surely know, humans are composed predominantly of water, 70% in fact. I’ve come to the realization through my studies that the pull of our moon's gravitational force is what causes us to feel. Its influence over the fluid in our skulls & brains, its pull over the very blood flowing through our veins. We’re at a crossroad, a stalemate one could even say. Our ‘perfect’ society has fallen into ruin, & our emotional nature prevents us from doing what is necessary to further enhance our species capabilities. There are two paths forward from here. We can choose to do nothing, this option being a wasteful squandering of the finite universal & terrestrial energies we utilized to get here as a species & civilization. Or we can take drastic measures. Take a bold & calculated risk towards a limitless future of unbiased information, innovation, by being rid of the celestial titan that's kept its mighty boot on our necks since we first emerged from the primordial soup.”

They were stunned by the stranger at the helm of the round table they were seated at; slack jawed & in absolute wonderment. No one knew who this man was, or what happened to the timid Leonard of old that was the council mascot at best, but they all envied him. All but one. Though none would admit it aloud, to each other or even alone in the mirror, the men in the room were fearful of the beast of fire & ego before them. He possessed the dryness of a sociopath, the composure of a professor, & the tongue of a poet. Everything he said made perfect sense in a way that made no rational sense. They just knew he was right.

They looked around the room at one another for a second time, each member as mesmerized as the next. Leonard reveled in his newfound power & superiority over the council, over all but one at least. No matter. She was of no concern as majority rule is the way of the council. There was little need to expend energy towards coaxing her into seeing from his perspective - though her inability to succumb to His energy of influence was fascinating. He forces his eyes shut & digs a hole for this curious thought in the darkest depth of his unconscious mind.

“So how should we proceed?” Says John Akrin. & even though Leonard loathed his teeth, he smiled. A calm, cool, composed smile. To this day Halle Barnum could have sworn she'd seen fangs click into place as he revealed his grin to the room.