Earth To Nole: Return of the Prince (8 page)

“Can you blame them? Poreti was not cut out for it. He was a total misfit. He was nothing like a royal is supposed to be.”, Seriri quipped casually.

Boriri was not amused. He wanted to reply but Kevin interrupted.

“Can someone please explain these names and events?”, Kevin looked at Keele.

Boriri and Seriri looked at Keele too. It was now understood that Keele was the one to explain historical events to Kevin. After all no one could quote the dates and other details as accurately as a bot.

“Okay, okay, stop staring.” Keele began. “Poreti and Sokoro were brothers. Poreti was the elder one and hence the former of the two to be nominated to represent the royals in the elections. On his gala night, he was however…”. Keele was interrupted.

“Why would be have a gala night? Was he from outside too?”, Kevin asked.

“Of course not. He was born and brought up here. It is customary to have an introductory gala night for first time nominees. When his father decided to retire he had to nominate someone. Naturally, he nominated Poreti, who was older to Sokoro. But, Poreti was never cut for it. He came to the gala, all drunk and messed it up. The guests were not happy. The next morning the newspapers were full of it. They explained how the line of the royals was now no longer the special one. Democracy was already popular those days and people were in no mood to give the leadership to an immature prince.”, Keele explained.

Kevin asked, “His father should have exercised better judgement. Why didn’t he choose Sokoro?”

Boriri jumped in before Keele could start, “because Sokoro was 16 at that time. The minimum age for contesting elections is 25. But, I think I have made my point that tonight is after all, a test.”.

Seriri smiled and shook her head with disapproval. She knew Boriri was right but also felt he needed to loosen up or else he would make Kevin nervous too. She turned to Kevin and rubbed his biceps with appreciation. She told him that he was way better than Poreti and that the guests were going to fall in love with him.

People started coming to Kevin and introducing themselves to him. Seriri stood by him as he went from one handshake to another. Slowly a small queue formed around Kevin and Seriri as guests realised that it was time for them to meet the prince in person. Boriri and Keele walked a few paces away from them to allow the guests stand closer to their prince. They stood not far away though, they wanted to hear everything just in case he required any guidance.

“Seriri looks beautiful, doesn’t she?”, Keele said as he watched them talk to the guests one after the other. She was doing a fine job assisting Kevin with the who’s who. She looked very graceful, in her white dress. Her half brown half golden hair was updo with a silver hair clip holding it in its place. She stood with her head held high on her perfectly shaped body.

“Yes, indeed. She reminds me of Moriti when she young.”, Boriri said.

“Why didn’t you ask Moriti out tonight? Do you like going to galas with me?”, Keele asked.

“Not at all. But I thought she already had a date. If only I knew she was coming alone.”, Boriri said casually as he saw Moriti talk to some of the scholars and scientists in one corner of the hall. He appeared to be a bit less uptight now. The guests were liking their new prince.

“How did your meetings go? Should we expect to win?”, Keele asked Boriri.

“Frankly, I am optimistic. We could win, after all.”, Boriri said.

“Would they vote for Kevin? They barely know him.”, Keele wondered.

“Not just for Kevin, they would vote for the king’s rule. They all know politicians and bureaucrats can’t run it forever.”, Boriri said.

Keele prepared to ask another question but Boriri silenced him. “Shhh, here comes Igogo.”, He drew Keele’s attention to Igogo who walked through the queue of waiting people and headed straight to Kevin.

Kevin saw a young man walk towards to him. The guests moved out of his way as he cut through the queue leading up to Kevin. Even though he had been in the hall only for a couple of minutes, he looked in control. Others bowed and nodded at him and greeted him with respect. He responded with respect too. He seemed polite. He bowed and nodded back to each one of them but kept his eyes fixed on Kevin. It had to be Igogo, Kevin concluded. He recalled from his conversations with Moriti that Igogo was very popular among hums and enjoyed everyone’s respect.

“The prime minister of the democratically elected government of hums welcomes you to Mone, Prince.”, Igogo introduced himself and extended his right hand for a handshake.

“Thank you”, Kevin shook his hand.

“Don’t be surprised, my prince. The humans learned the art of handshake from us.”, Igogo remarked. It was clever how he acknowledged Kevin as the prince in one sentence and then declared him an outsider human, in the next.

“I am sure, they did. After all hums are their creators.”, Kevin responded tactfully.

“Oh, don’t get me wrong prince. I have utmost regards for them. Just that they still seem to be driven by instinct.”, Igogo said. Others around him kept smiling in approval of his prejudgement.

“I hope, I am able to grow up to the hum’s standards soon. I would need all of your guidance.”, Kevin responded aptly.

Keele and Boriri still stood at a distance but listened to every word very keenly. They were both happy to see Kevin handle the situation as per his training but knew that a few minutes were enough for Igogo to throw him out of balance.

“Who is the beautiful lady?”, Igogo acknowledged Seriri, being the gentleman that he was.

“Seriri.”, Kevin introduced her.

“Good that you have made some friends here. I feared you would be lonely so far from home.”, Igogo said. His tone was every bit as authentic as that of a true well wisher who was genuinely concerned but Kevin knew what this truly was. Igogo was trying to imply that Kevin was, after all, a human who was out of place among the hums.

“On the contrary, I feel completely at home.”, Kevin lied. It has never been easy for him to lie but he knew this was a game of wits. He continued, “I have friends there, I must accept but I have friends here too.”, Kevin looked at Seriri with admiration. He made it look real. He also put his arms around her waist and pulled her in gently.

It seemed to be working for Kevin. Other guests in the room found it easier to accept Kevin as one of them because of Seriri. She had been standing by his side the whole evening and had true admiration for him in her eyes. Although Kevin was only using her, even if he knew it only at a subconscious level, she took his gestures a bit too seriously. Finding his hand in her waist, she blushed and leaned into him.

Igogo found Kevin to be a tougher target than anticipated. He prepared his next attack with much more sophistication. “So, you are here to end my rule!”, he asked point blank.

This was Igogo’s sharpest attack yet and it was supposed to throw Kevin off balance. He had said it bluntly but covered it with a witty smile. Kevin knew he had to respond. Not responding would mean that he truly believed he was here to end Igogo’s rule. This would mean to the bystanders that he was over-confident and took the elections for granted.

Boriri realised that Igogo’s last comment had put Kevin in a fix. Any response from him would have made him look either an over confident fool or a spine-less coward. It was stale mate for Kevin unless someone else responded on his behalf. He decided it was time to join the conversation.

“You have had a long enough run, Igogo. It’s time for you to rest.”, Boriri too replied bluntly but with a witty smile. This is exactly why he had been listening to the conversations all along. Boriri had successfully saved Kevin and pushed Igogo on the defensive.

“Ah, Boriri. The mastermind himself.”, Igogo turned to Boriri. He had a big smile on his face.

“If you say so.”, Boriri smiled back.

“On a serious note, I am a fan of the king’s rule myself. Hums need it now more than ever. The prince has my full support.”, Igogo said, increasing the diplomatic tone in his voice. Maybe he was withdrawing now seeing Boriri on the other side.

“We need your support, Igogo. You are right, hums need the king’s rule now more than ever. It has been long overdue, don’t you think?”, Boriri asked rhetorically.

At first Kevin feared that the conversation between Boriri and Igogo would turn ugly but then realised that both of them were too mature to let that happen. He understood that although everyone around them could hear what they both said, only they knew what they wanted to communicate to each other.

“Have they introduced you formally yet, my prince?”, Igogo turned to Kevin and asked.

“No. We were waiting for everyone to arrive.”, Boriri replied before Kevin could.

Igogo looked around and said casually, “Let’s not keep the people waiting. They have waited long enough to see their prince. Allow me to officially introduce him to the hums.”, Igogo said as he proceeded to the center stage. Boriri nodded and indicated that Kevin should follow Igogo’s lead.

Kevin followed Igogo as he walked towards the center stage. He struck as an upbeat and energetic person to Kevin. He had expected someone serious and dull, but Igogo was far from it. He was popular and the hums absolutely loved him. Kevin could see this in the eyes of the guests who greeted Igogo one after the other. He appeared to be a celebrity among the hums. Kevin was finding it hard to reconcile the declining popularity of the democratic government and the celebrity status of its prime minister.

As they arrived at the center stage. Igogo began speaking in a mouthpiece.

“My dear Hums. May I have your attention please.”, Igogo began his speech. Everyone in the hall turned towards the stage and there was pin drop silence.

“Thankyou. As you all know, we finally rescued our prince from the humans a few weeks back. Thanks to Boriri who kept an eye on him throughout, we have a royal among us after centuries.”, Igogo paused. The hall was filled with applause. Kevin felt humbled by the warm welcome but he didn’t like the bit about being rescued from the humans.

Igogo continued, “We all know that hums need king’s rule. No one understands this better than I do. I deal with those problems on a daily basis and trust me when I say that we need problem solvers in those offices not politicians like me.”

Igogo then went ahead and described the kind of problems Hums were facing, “Our economy has been declining ever since democracy came to power and scientific progress has come to a stand still. We all know democracy is not equipped to make tough and long term decisions. Democracy is the governance of appeasement, it cannot bring in the reforms that are needed. Honestly, I can’t wait for the scholars and scientists to take over from bureaucrats and politicians. Our society has been running democracy for too long now. Let’s change that this time.”

Igogo turned to Kevin and said, “Kevin, my prince. I wish you all the best for the elections. They are a mere formality, trust me, I know it. Like me, most of the hums have already made up their minds. Kingship is yours.”, Igogo looked at Kevin with trust, faith and appreciation - all at once.

“How can someone be that good.”, Kevin wondered. He knew Igogo despised him but tonight he had managed to portray himself be Kevin’s biggest fan. Had Kevin not known him better he would have fallen for his gimmickry, similar to how most of the guests did.

Igogo had said all of it with a smile but now he turned serious and continued, “But a word of caution, my friend. If you mess up, I will be waiting.”

The hall went silent again. Did Igogo just threaten the prince? Was he so naive after all to openly do such an atrocity?

Of course not, he was clearly joking. He knew how to keep his audience entertained. Igogo started laughing hysterically and said, “I am just pulling your leg. Don’t mind me.”. He went ahead and shook Kevin’s hands once again, then pulled him to the center and announced, “People of Mone, I give you your prince, Kevin!”

The room roared with laughter and then applause as Kevin was given the center stage. Kevin had prepared a speech for the occasion. He had it memorised. He began speaking. Boriri and Keele knew what was in his speech so they ignored it and started chatting among themselves.

“I don’t know about you but I am surprised. It seems as if he really wants Kevin to win.”, Boriri suggested.

“Don’t get confused by his external remarks. He is a politician, after all.”, Keele replied.

“I know but he gave a pretty strong statement about the problem solvers being needed in the ministry. I believe he just threw away any chance of becoming the next prime minister that he might have had.”, Boriri said. He was still wondering why Igogo did that.

“What else could he have done? Have you seen the news articles lately? People don’t care who is the king. They just want democracy to end. Everyone wants the bureaucrats and politicians gone. There is no way democracy is winning again.”, Keele tried to put Igogo’s behavior into perspective.

He continued, “He is just saying it now so that he remains a friendly face even after his loss. This way he gets to be the prime minister who brought back the king’s rule. Otherwise, he will look like a typical politician who didn’t want to step down.”

“I think you might be right. I am getting old now. My instincts are all over the place.”, Boriri confessed. He continued, “Somehow my rusty brain still says that he genuinely wants Kevin to win. I know it's absurd but I just can’t get it out of my head. He was the one who disclosed Kevin’s true identity to roco and now he has gone out of his way to endorse him publicly. If he just wanted to be diplomatic, he needn’t go this far.”, Boriri was confused.