Binary by Jay Caselberg (best short books to read txt) 📖

"Principal, we probably need to have a word."

The Principal looked back over his shoulder, narrowed his eyes briefly then gave a short nod. "If you'll excuse me, gentleman," he said. "There's a small matter I must attend to." He stepped back from the group and turned to face Sandon, drawing him to one side.

"Can this not wait, Yl Aris?" the Principal said with just a hint of annoyance. "Right now is not the best time."

"I believe it might be important, Principal," said Sandon.

"And so is this, Sandon."

"Yes, I know, Principal, but I really do think you need to hear this one."

"All right then. My chambers. But give it a few minutes, will you?"

Sandon nodded and moved discretely away to hover near one of the side walls.

Men Darnak's height gave him an easy advantage in a crowd such as this and after the few minutes had passed, where the Principal moved effortlessly through the crowd, bestowing a word here or there, lifting a hand to touch an arm or a shoulder, he glanced over the intervening heads and gave the slightest toss of his chin. The barest of nods from Sandon, and the Principal turned, seeking out Witness Kovaar, motioning for the priest to attend.

The Principal had drawn closer to the Church in the days since his wife's death, and it seemed to have given him some sort of solace. The priest had recently become a constant figure in the Principal's sphere. Sandon was prepared to tolerate the man, but he wasn't comfortable with it. On this particular occasion, he would have preferred to talk to the old man in private. He clamped his jaw shut and, suppressing a sigh, followed Men Darnak as he swept from the hall. The Principal strode down the side passage without so much as a backward glance. He paused impatiently at the double ajura wood doors waiting for them to catch up, then ushered them both inside.

Four

Men Darnak's chambers were functional and sparsely adorned. A wide desk scattered with papers and files dominated the room. A screen sat at one end of the desk. The only concession to taste was the row of portraits depicting Men Darnak's predecessors hanging along one wall. Sandon knew these had another purpose, to subtly reinforce Men Darnak's authority, the power of history and succession. Everywhere else, the stone walls remained bare in defiance of convention. Behind a door to one side lay the Principal's private sleeping chambers and on the other, his library. Since the groundcar accident more than ten years ago that had robbed him of his wife, Men Darnak had existed almost like a hermit, spending most of his time in these chambers, paying scant attention to anything other than the smooth functioning of the Guilds and the progress of his children. The Principal was strong; his control of the Guilds, the smooth operations of the Principate, all attested to that, but recently he'd been showing signs of things that troubled Sandon.

Men Darnak moved to a position behind the desk, and Witness Kovaar moved to stand at one end, his hands folded before him. Kovaar wore dark blue unadorned robes that concealed most of his frame. The priest was gaunt beneath the obscuring cloth and his high cheekbones and hollow cheeks gave him a slightly sinister appearance. On the few occasions Sandon had bothered to listen to the man speak, his voice had been high and reedy, gaunt like his appearance. For some reason, Kovaar seemed to want to keep silent in Sandon's presence, and Sandon hesitated to think of the conversations the priest probably held with Men Darnak in the many hours when Sandon wasn't actually around. The superstitious nonsense fostered by the Church helped to keep the general population in their place, but it had no proper role in the Principal's chambers. Sandon looked straight at Kovaar, making it clear that his presence wasn't welcome, but Kovaar returned his look without expression.

Sandon pressed his lips together. The Principal, seemingly unaware of the brief, silent interchange, motioned Sandon to shut the doors behind him.

"So, Yl Aris. What is important enough to warrant dragging us away from the celebrations?"

"It's Tarlain, Principal."

Men Darnak sighed. "And what has my dear son done now?"

"It's not what he's done, but what I think he's about to do. I just witnessed a fairly heated discussion with Karnav Din Baltir...."

"And?"

"I didn't catch all of it, but he was talking about 'acting' before Roge had cemented his power. That can't be a good thing."

"Acting? And what has Tarlain got to act upon?" Men Darnak shot a glance at Witness Kovaar then fingered his beard thoughtfully. "Was there anything else?"

"From what I could gather, it involved the Kallathik somehow." Sandon waited patiently while Men Darnak sat, then shuffled through the top drawer on his desk. He was used to these apparently unrelated activities from the Principal when the man was thinking. He knew better than to interrupt the old man's knife-edge flow of thought.

"And what exactly might that be I wonder, hmm?" said Men Darnak without lifting his gaze. "Well, let us find out." He turned to Witness Kovaar. "Fetch Tarlain would you? You wait here Yl Aris."

"But, Principal, wait," said Sandon. "Don't you think it would be better if we found out what--?"

Men Darnak cut him off with a wave of his hand. "Go," he said to Kovaar who stood hesitating by the door.

Men Darnak called up something on his screen and started scanning while Witness Kovaar disappeared to find the Principal's youngest child. Sandon was left standing, staring across at Men Darnak's snowy mane. The Principal made no suggestion that he should sit, despite the three chairs arrayed in front of the broad desk. For the moment, Sandon might well have simply not existed. He sighed.

"If I might suggest, Principal--"

"You will suggest nothing, Yl Aris!" Men Darnak snapped.

Sandon bit his lip and clasped his hands behind him, knowing better than to push the point when the Principal was in a mood such as this. There had been more and more of these moods of late, and he had no desire to feel the Principal's ire right now. He needed him thinking with his usual calm rationality. With the transition already announced, the entire political dynamic was too finely balanced.

He didn't have long to wait. Kovaar reappeared a few minutes later with Tarlain in tow. The priest resumed his position by the desk's edge, folding his hands in front of him, and without further ceremony, Men Darnak spoke quietly without lifting his gaze.

"So, Tarlain, what's this I hear about the Kallathik?"

Tarlain shot Sandon the briefest accusatory glance. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Men Darnak slammed his palm down on the desk in front of him and stood. "The hell you don't." He drew himself to his full height and glared across the room at his youngest son. Tarlain glared right back.

"Just because you think you have eyes and ears everywhere, don't think you know everything," said Tarlain. "If you paid a little more attention to what was really going on in the world and less to your spies, you might know a little more than you think you do."

A muscle worked at the side of Men Darnak's jaw. He spoke the next quietly. "What is this thing you're planning, Tarlain? I've worked too long putting everything in place to have you upset it all. We have an entire social order to run and maintain. There's no place for petty idealism. Everything we do depends on what happens here. On what happens right here. You might just be old enough to understand that. If you took the time to listen and consider, you'd know the truth of it. Yl Aris here understands the need, so don't question the work he does for me. Tell me what you're up to. What does this have to do with Roge and Din Baltir?"

Tarlain gave Sandon another accusatory look and strode across to stand right in front of the desk. "At least Guildmaster Din Baltir knows what's really going on in the world. You, Father, must be blind not to see the discomfort and suffering all around you. There are signs everywhere."

"Where? What discomfort and suffering? Haven't I given you a good life? The Atavists -- is that it? They choose their own lives. Or is it the Kallathik you're talking about? They've existed the same way for centuries. Long before the arrival of the First Families. They're little more than animals, Tarlain. Why do you want to suddenly take them on as your cause? Isn't there enough to keep you busy in Welfare?" He shook his head. "I would have thought more of Din Baltir. What's he been doing...filling your head with more of those stupid notions about what's good and right, no doubt?"

Tarlain placed both hands on the edge of the desk and leaned forward. "Say what you like, but this is nothing to do with Guildmaster Din Baltir. I know you can't see it, Father. I know how you think, what's important to you. And it's that which blinds you. You want to pass everything to Roge regardless of what's going on about you in the world. All Roge sees is his own power. And we know where he gets that from."

Men Darnak laughed. "And we know where you get your romantic ideals too. You're your mother's son, Tarlain. I'll give you that." He smiled at the boy and then the smile drifted away. "How can you even talk about acting against Roge? Haven't I done enough? I've done everything to ensure that you, that all of my children, have had everything. I spoke about a division of power, with Roge acting as Principal. There was place for you there. I've done enough for all of you, Tarlain. And now, now you choose to -- no, damn you. How dare you!"

Tarlain stood his ground. "I've said nothing about working against Roge. Nothing at all. All I want is to be free to act on what I think is right. We need change. If we don't change, things get worse and more suffer. It's a self-fulfilling spiral. These times are hard, Father, and they're going to get harder. And the only sort of reform Roge is likely to become involved in is to improve his own position -- no one else's. You have to be able to see that. Yet you still expect me to sit back and turn a blind eye. I can't do that."

Sandon watched the young man with renewed respect. He had always picked him as the softest of the three. Before today, he would never have expected the boy to face up to his father like this. The others, perhaps. Especially Karin. Men Darnak, however, was not accustomed to having people stand up to him.

"You will sit back and do precisely that -- nothing! Do you hear me, Tarlain? Tell him, Kovaar. Tell this foolish young man the way of the world." He strode to the other end of the desk and stood there with set jaw, glaring at Tarlain. Sandon frowned. There was something wrong here. The old man never reacted like this. There were the flashes of fury, but normally they were swiftly swept aside by the Principal's normal calm.

Witness Kovaar cleared his throat. "The Prophet dictates that there is an order to all things. Each person has their place and their role in life. It is everyone's duty to fulfill his or her given role. To work against that is to work against the natural order as written in the Words of the Prophet."

Tarlain rounded on the Principal. "Is that it? Blind acceptance? You only use this stuff to bolster your