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

the Guilds and the Guildmasters who run them. Who gave them the power?"

Another voice from the crowd. "By the tradition of the First Families."

And another. "And by the Words of the Prophet."

Tarlain waved his hand. "The First Families brought us here for what? Look around you. Is this the paradise they sought?"

A low mutter broke out. Someone pushed someone else. The man pushed back. Someone else swung a blow.

"Stop!" yelled Tarlain. He couldn't afford to lose them.

"Whatever happens now," he said. "The Kallathik are going to march. You have a choice. You can march with them, or against them. The Guilds have ruled too long on a structure supported simply by tradition. Well, tradition is not enough. Now comes the time for change. Do you want a better life? A better life for you�" He picked out a face in the crowd and pointed. "And you�and you. Do you want a better life for all of us?"

The muttering grew.

"So, now is the time to make your choice. You either march with us, or against us."

Deliberately he took the steps to the ground, one by one. The paired Kallathik moved in behind him. The front ranks of the crowd shrank back. Slowly, he stooped and picked up the spear he had cast down, holding it to his side, one end planted in the ground.

"Make your choice," he said clearly. "You must make your choice now." He stepped forward and the crowd parted to make a way through their middle. Slowly, he walked the length, looking from face to face, the Kallathik shuffling along behind. As he reached the edge he spoke again, not looking back behind him, but in a clear strong voice so that all could hear.

"Those who are with us should follow us now."

He didn't bother to look back at how many followed as he strode down between the buildings toward the edges of Bortruz. He knew they were there. Bortruz would be the first--the first of many. And in ones and twos and in numbers, he knew they would join.

Somewhere, back in the crowd behind him, unnoticed, a solitary figure slipped away, heading for the stables where his padder lay tethered and waiting.

Thirty-Two

One by one, the Guild dignitaries filed into the broad hall. One by one, they took their seats. Though there was no formal placement assigned, the natural hierarchy that worked within the Guilds manifested in their choice of seating. This large wooden barn, set aside from the main cluster of buildings on the old Men Darnak estates had many times served the purpose for both impromptu and formal meetings of the upper echelons of the Guild functionaries. Karin stood off to one side, close to Karryl Ky Menin, watching as they moved to their places, low conversations stirring amongst them. She had only the slightest tinge of nervousness. Ever since word of Tarlain's activities had reached them, there was no question. She knew what she had to say. She knew what she had to do. She only prayed that these, the men who made the Guilds work, would give her the audience to do it.

The Guild leaders had come from all the surrounding estates, in buggies and wagons and on the backs of padders, heeding the urgent call to Guild business sent out by Karryl. In the front row sat her husband, watching her with narrowed eyes. Three places down from him, was Jarid Ka Vail. She had that one, she knew, and she suppressed the slight smile that threatened to creep onto her face. There would be time for that later. Plenty of time.

Torches lined the walls, flooding the space with warm flickering light, and three high-backed chairs lined the wooden podium to the hall's front. A long, low table sat in front of the chairs, forming a subtle barrier between those that sat on the stage and those below. Just briefly, she was reminded of the meeting in the Guild halls back in Yarik when her father had delivered his final announcement. Well, this time it would be different. Just how different remained to be seen. She scanned the faces, trying to judge whether everyone was here. A low buzz washed across the open space, losing itself in the empty vaults of the high-roofed structure. She glanced at Karryl, standing impassively, his hands folded in front of him, waiting for the noise to settle down.

Finally, the noise level dropped and the fifty or so Guild functionaries started to settle. Karryl gave a brief nod and moved toward the stage, climbing the three short steps, and crossing to stand at the center, in front of the low table. For once, he had worn a muted gray, instead of his normal pale cream. If anything, it made him seem more pallid, waxier. He lifted his hands slowly and held them, palms forward, for quiet.

"Can I have your attention please? Thank you all for being here, for taking the trouble to join us," he said. "We have business to conduct this evening. Important business." He gave a quick glance around the assembled faces, and then continued speaking. Karin watched, looking for reaction.

"Storm Season is upon us now," continued Karryl. "And there is a greater storm growing in our midst. We are entering a time of change. This is not a change in the seasons, a change in the way we conduct our business day to day, but a change in the way we need to approach everything we do."

"We've heard this speech before, Ky Menin. Why have you brought us here?" It was Aldus Yak Farin, a Guildmaster from one of the subordinate Guilds. Karin could not remember which one, and she pressed her lips together tightly at the lapse. All she remembered about him was that he was always vocal.

"No, Guildmaster Yak Farin," said Ky Menin, completely unfazed by the interruption. "You have not heard this speech before. If you will let us proceed, everything will become clear."

Yak Farin snorted and sat back in his seat, crossing his arms. Karin knew the man could be discounted, but it didn't make this any easier. One or two heads had turned to look back at him. Yak Farin met the looks and snorted again, shaking his head slightly.

"We have important news," said Ky Menin, once everyone had settled again. "Because of that news, I would like Karin Men Darnak to join me up here to talk to you."

The reaction was immediate. A couple of the Guild leaders got to their feet. Others called out. Several shook their heads, muttering.

"Wait," said Ky Menin, lifting a hand.

"Why should we?" yelled someone. "You go too far, Ky Menin. Why should we listen to this?"

For the first time Karin could remember, Ky Menin seemed to lose his veneer of calm. A flush came to his cheeks and he lifted his voice over the growing noises of protest.

"You will listen! Or you will lose everything you have. Is that what you want? Now please take your seats and be quiet."

The uncharacteristic outburst had its effect. Slowly, gradually the Guildsmen took their seats. Ky Menin urged them down with his hands, and when relative calm had been restored, nodded briefly to Karin. Taking a deep breath, she crossed to the stage. She moved to the center, waiting as Ky Menin withdrew to slip behind the table and take one of the seats. She was suddenly alone, facing a room full of hostile faces. Another deep breath and she started.

"You all know me. You all knew my father. Every single one of you knew my brother." She picked out one or two key faces and met their eyes. "Storm Season is with us, but so is a time of change, a time when we have to act. The Kallathik are marching and we must defend everything that goes to make us strong, to defend everything passed down to us by the First Families."

"Trouble with the Kallathik. It's Storm Season. Tell us something we don't already know." It was Yak Farin. "Why should we listen to you? How can you stand there and talk about what was handed down by the First Families."

It was Karin's turn to lift a placating hand. "There is something you don't know, and more," she said, unperturbed by the interruption. "The miners have joined with the Kallathik. And there are others. They are moving against us even now. Some of you may have heard that already. Well we can confirm it's true."

There was a stir across the hall.

"Even now, they are marching toward these estates, prepared to take from us everything that the Prophet has granted us, preparing to rip away the very fabric and the order of our society. You know me. You knew my brother, Roge. If he were here today, he would be the one standing here before you. But he's not here. Nor is my father, Leannis Men Darnak. We are without a Principal. So, I stand here before you, representing the family of Men Darnak, representing that tradition that has kept us alive on this world since the day when the ships first crashed from the sky. Yes, I am Men Darnak. Do you hear that? I am Men Darnak. I am my father's daughter, and you, all of you, need to understand what that means."

"What do you mean the miners have joined with them?"

"Just what I say," she said. "They have taken up weapons, as have the Kallathik. But that is not all..." She had them now; she could sense it. One by one, she looked around the faces in the hall, pausing at one or two, making the briefest eye contact with others, but touching each of them with her glance. "They have banded together with the Atavists as well. There is a combined force heading our way, led by Tarlain, my younger brother--"

There was a stir across the hall at the mention of his name, but she spoke over it, driving the words home. "--and they mean to take us and everything that is ours, to overthrow our social order. We cannot allow that to happen. By the Prophet and in the name of the First Families, we cannot allow that to happen. The very nature of everything we believe in is under threat. We, all of us, must work together to crush this heresy, to place these fools back in the place they belong. Does not the Prophet tell us that everything in this world has its place?" She spread her palms wide, pausing to let the words sink in. "Now. Are you prepared to listen? Are you prepared to act? Are you prepared to do what we must to restore the proper order to things? You�" She swept one arm in a wide gesture. "Have a duty to your Guild, have a duty to the other Guilds, have a duty to the Prophet's teachings and the traditions of the First Families."

Several of the Guildmasters were on their feet. "What do we have to do?" called one.

"How can we fight the creatures?" said another.

She gestured for them to resume their places and glanced back at Ky Menin, giving him a brief nod, before turning back to the audience. She could not let her satisfaction show. Not yet. But the daughter of Leannis Men Darnak finally had the Guilds.

"Each of you has men. Each of you has household staff and members of your Guilds living on your estates or nearby. We must prepare. Guildmaster Ky Menin has some plans. He also has one or two surprises that will help us win this conflict quickly and efficiently. If you are all in agreement, I will defer to the Guildmaster to share his thoughts, and we can plan together