Preserving Hope (27 page)

“That’s a good point, Aldus,” Will interrupted. “And regardless of whether any of us intends to stay or go, we’re owed an explanation.”

“Will…” Eva said, her voice a warning.

Will ignored her. “Excuse me, Arthur,” he said, raising his voice.

The leader of the village looked his way, and frowned. “What is it, Will?” he asked, with an audible sigh.

“I’ve noticed after this morning’s transactions that you’re exceptionally concerned with ensuring that agreed-to prices for various items are enforced. I think that’s very commendable, and it’s the sign of a true leader to ensure fairness for all those he leads.”

Arthur beamed. “I’m glad you feel that way, Will. I agree, ensuring agreed-to prices are enforced is very important, and I want you to know that everyone — even the Traders — are covered under that directive.” His smile held layers of meaning, and Will was able to sense that Arthur’s greatest sense of triumph was his belief that Will was finally, truly, defeated as a leadership threat in the community.

“I’m glad to hear that Arthur,” Will said. “For as a lowly Trader, I believe that I’ve been a victim of an agreed-to price being changed on me. This very day, in fact.”

“Yes, Will,” Arthur replied. “We’ve been taking care of the problem your team has inflicted upon us with your incorrectly recorded prices for transactions.” Laughter greeted this statement.

“It’s amazing how the writing on the altered numbers doesn’t match Eva’s handwriting, and how those numbers are written in different colors of ink. I’m certain that the problem will be investigated fully. We wouldn’t want everyone who lives here thinking that anything they write down might get changed on them if certain… conditions aren’t met. Perhaps we can have everyone here examine Eva’s handwriting on her private notes and the receipts stored publicly and decide for themselves if things look like they were written by the same person.” He paused. “Any reason we haven’t done that, Arthur?” He arched an eyebrow.

There were some murmurs in the crowd, and Will sensed that quite a few people wondered about that. He heard a few whispers of people wondering if, perhaps, Arthur had forged the numbers that had just been processed. And more than a few wondered if they’d been dishonest in their dealings with the Traders. They considered the Traders to be thieves, but didn’t want to be seen that way themselves.

Arthur, perhaps sensing that an examination of the evidence wouldn’t be in his best interest, changed the subject. “You said that there is a case of people not living up to agreed-to prices in the community that requires my attention?”

Not subtle about his role here, is he?
Will projected to Eva. “Yes, sir. Since my arrival, our chefs have always charged a copper for a full bowl of stew and a slice of bread.”

Arthur nodded. “Of course. Nothing has changed there.”

“That’s interesting. I was just this morning charged two coppers for a partial bowl of soup and no bread. I was told that the price had changed. And yet immediately after my payment, one of my neighbors received a full bowl of stew and bread for the usual single copper. That seems incorrect, doesn’t it?”

Arthur smacked his forehead. “Oh my, I’ve forgotten that you aren’t aware of the new zirple discount, since you were away for such a long time. Since I receive the discount, I simply have forgotten how things have changed. You see, the price
is
now two coppers for a partial bowl of stew. However, for those receiving zirple, a special deal is in place, and they receive the old allotment for the old price. There is nothing amiss in your story.”

Will laughed. “Spin it how you want, Arthur. Let’s tell the truth here, shall we? You want the Traders out, and you’ve managed to rig everything to make us into lesser citizens. The Traders, against all laws of chance, receive essentially none of the zirple through the lottery. The Traders find written records altered to ensure that profits from their trips are under reported, and they receive less; nobody else cares because they get what the Traders lose out on. The Traders, who remarkably receive none of the zirple, find themselves charged higher prices for food. The Traders, who have always been welcomed members of the various professions between Trading trips, and who have always worked hard and added value in those roles, are shunned and prevented from the opportunity to do anything to help this community.

“And why is that, Arthur? It’s because you want the Traders gone, all of us, yet you realize you can’t tell everyone the truth. You fear the financial prosperity we’ve enabled here, which has nothing to do with your leadership, and nothing to do with the zirple. Consider this: if the zirple works as advertised, Arthur, wouldn’t it be better to have the Traders be part of this? Wouldn’t it be tremendously useful to have our Traders able to read emotions and thoughts, as this zirple is supposed to enable us to do, and then go trade, knowing you can tell exactly the best price?

“Arthur, you believe that this is possible, and that this type of trading dominance is ideal — but only if done by the person who created the goods being sold. If you have others do that work on your behalf, you believe, those people are stealing profits, and as such those people should be shunned.”

Will looked at the crowd. “And you all have come to believe that as well, haven’t you? Those evil Traders finally gone! Oh, happy day! You’ll get
all
of the profits on your sold goods! Isn’t that
fantastic
? But think about this. How many of you have ever traveled to another town, or another city? How many of you have ever tried to negotiate a price on a transaction? Here, the prices are set — well, unless you’re part of the current despised group of people and try to buy food, of course. That’s not how it works elsewhere. You’ll have no sense of what prices you might achieve, or even if you did, you’ll not know how to get agreement on a price. You think you can simply walk into a new town, divine the best price, and simply demand it and get it? Good luck. And while you’re gone, you can’t build anything else to sell. You’ll lose at least a week just traveling around. Think about that. You have to stop building chairs and swords and tapestries, because you have to load the carts, pack provisions, travel to the towns, buy and sell goods, pack everything up, and come home. One week, gone. But you’ll be tired when you get back, so you probably lose another two days preparing to travel and recovering. Nine days lost. How many chairs could you build in nine days, Joseph? How many swords can you make in nine days, Maynard? How many tapestries can any of you weave, how many kegs of beer or wine could you prepare? Each time you leave, you lose that many sales. Your skills will falter, and people will see a lesser value in buying your goods. Fewer goods produced, less profit per transaction. Think that sounds like a good plan?

“So… do it. Cast the Traders out of this village. Do everything yourselves. See how your money situation looks afterward. Oh, and don’t forget… if you’re not here, you can’t enter the lottery and get your zirple allocation. If the Traders are the only ones not winning the lottery, and they leave, then everybody has to win every day, don’t they? No point in buying fifty chances if you’re going to win every day only buying one, right? Still think kicking us out is a good idea? Fine. Tell us all to leave, and we’ll leave. No argument. No protest. Go earn all of that extra profit Arthur says we’re stealing from you.”

He paused, then thought of something else. “Oh, and when we’re gone? Everything will be perfect, won’t it? All that profit, nobody consuming food you might want to eat. But it won’t be. Someone will become the next bad guy. Perhaps it’s the foragers, who just gather stuff up that’s fallen on the ground. Or the farmers: they plant seeds in the ground and then don’t do anything until harvest time, right? Pick a group; it will happen to one of you when we’re gone, because there must be someone to blame for any real or imagined problem, someone denied zirple through the lottery to keep everyone buying chances. By getting rid of us, you’re just increasing the chance that it will be you shunned instead. And don’t forget… you’ll have seven fewer mouths to feed, true, but you’ll have seven fewer people here to buy your food and other goods in this neighborhood. Who makes up the lost profits to the farmers and foragers and bakers and chefs when you eliminate one out of seven people who live in this village? But that’s okay. If they become poor, then they can be the next shunned group.”

Will turned and walked away, heading to his room, where he could be alone. He didn’t need to turn and use his eyes, or his other enhanced senses, to know that the Traders followed him, heads held high, leaving many confused neighbors in their wake.

Then he heard the crowd gasp, and this time he
did
turn around.

As the Traders had dispersed, Elizabeth, who’d been hidden by all of them near her room, was suddenly visible to her neighbors. But it wasn’t the Elizabeth they were accustomed to seeing. This was an Elizabeth who’d cleaned and groomed herself, revealing her radiant inner beauty. It was an Elizabeth with the confidence built through her successful Trading efforts. It was Elizabeth infuriated at the way her friends were being treated. That confidence and anger were reflected in every step she took, and those steps took her straight to Arthur.

“Hello, Father,” she snapped.

Arthur stared at her. “You… you’re beautiful. How did
that
happen?”

“It’s amazing what a girl can do when people care for her and believe in her, rather than try to kill her slowly, isn’t it?” She folded her arms across her chest and glared at him, clearly intending to say more.

Rage covered Arthur’s face. “How
dare
you speak to me in that fashion, you worthless child!” And he slapped her across the face, knocking her to the ground.

A blur flashed across Will’s vision, a blur his eyes finally recognized as Eva. The woman moved with incredible speed, fury on her face, and she crashed into Arthur, sending the two of them to the ground. “Don’t you
dare
hit her again!” she screamed, throwing fists and elbows at Arthur’s face. Arthur was in shock at the attack, but finally regained enough composure to defend himself.

Maynard pulled Eva away, none too gently, and hurled her aside. When Eva scrambled to her feet to attack again, she found Maynard’s sword in the way. “Give me an excuse, and I
will
run you through,” the giant snarled.

Eva didn’t move, but her glare never lessened in its intensity.

Arthur crawled back to his feet, stood up, and dusted himself off, matching Eva’s glare. He ignored his daughter, who was crying on the ground nearby, and stalked toward Eva, a predator ready to finish off his prey.

“Will said that you’d leave if I told you to leave. He never said that you wouldn’t come
back
if I told you to leave. But that
is
your fate, Eva. For an attack on one of your neighbors, for an attack on
me
, you are hereby banished from this community, and you may
never
return.”

“Wait just a minute!” Will shouted, marching back into the crowd.

“Stay out of this, Will!” Arthur growled.

“I will
not
stay out of it, Arthur,” Will replied, his voice calm but firm. “If the penalty for attacking a neighbor is banishment, then you are banished as well. It was
your
attack on Elizabeth that provoked Eva!”

“You’re wrong, Will,” Arthur hissed. “My disciplining of my child is not an attack. It is just discipline, and nothing more, and there is no penalty. As for Eva, she will be tried tomorrow morning, and when she is found guilty, she will be escorted away, never to return.”

It was difficult to ignore Arthur’s sneer of triumph at the look of horror on Elizabeth’s face.

XIX

Trial

“There is no defense. If attacking him is a crime, then I’m guilty, and proudly so. There’s no purpose in the rest of you dragging your images in this community down any further.”

Eva, Elizabeth, and Will were crowded into Eva’s room the next morning, discussing what might unfold that day, and Will wanted to figure out what type of defense Eva should mount.

“We can’t simply let him win, Eva. If you say nothing, you’ll be banished. And then what happens?”

Eva snorted. “I’m a big girl, Will. I’ll go to Richland. Nobody
there
wanted us to leave, did they? And none of them was hitting Elizabeth, either.”

“You can’t leave, Eva,” Elizabeth whispered, and her blue eyes filled with tears. “You
can’t
leave me here alone like that.”

“You’re an adult now, Elizabeth,” Eva said, her tone firm. “You must make your own place in this world, wherever in the world you wish to make it. Do not change your mind because of me. You’ve stated that your place is here, and that you wish to help your neighbors — and especially your father — rediscover the good they possess. You can have an impact here that you can’t have anywhere else. These people…” Eva glanced out her window, then leaned in closer, and lowered her voice to a whisper. “These people are developing abilities now. Nothing dramatic yet, but at some point, they’ll get there, and they’ll need someone who knows what they’re going through. They’ll need
you
.”