Order of Magnitude

XXIII. The Plan of a Lifetime

      Word of Prime Minister Antony's upcoming visit traveled fast. Jacques heard about it fairly quickly, thanks mostly in part to the shifts of parvs that he rotated topside. It was a dangerous job, sure, but a necessary one to keep up with the news from the human world. After the Burger World assault, Jacques did all he could to keep informed about any moves from his enemy.

      Miller's death, meanwhile, shook the people of SubTerra to the core. Any previous members who were on the fence about the parv revolution were instantly swayed to Jacques' side. And in turn, their leader hatched more schemes and ideas to fuel their cause. So when he heard that Antony was going to be in the local area, he decided that he couldn't pass up such a golden opportunity.

      "The leader of the humans will be visiting the Burger World in a few days," Jacques explained to the entire community. "Now is the time for us to make our mark on this world! Never again will they people above live in the ignorance of safety! Never again will they look at a parv with the same contempt that they would look at a bug! No. Now when they see us, they will feel fear!" The SubTerrans clapped their hands enthusiastically. "They will feel horror!" More cheering. "They will run and cower, and we will finally earn our place as more than just pests!" The audience roared so loudly that the ceilings and walls began to rain dirt.

      "What are we going to do?" Jean asked from the front.

      "Good question, brother," Jacques said. "We're going to take destiny in our own hands! We are going to kill the Prime Minister!"

      There was a noticeable silence from the crowd. Each parv looked at their neighbor, searching for answers. Then someone from the back clapped loudly. After that, more scattered applause spread sporadically in the group. Soon enough, the entire group was feverishly screaming their approval. The idea was risky, but delightfully tantalizing, and everybody was on board. Jacques watched them cheer with eager eyes. If they all worked together, then they would never fail. He believed that to his core.

      Turner, on the other hand, didn't like the direction this rally was headed. He had his reservations about the poisoning of the food, but this was more than that. This was cold-blooded murder. How could he condone such a reprehensible act? This wasn't self-defense or a decision that was made in the heat of passion, this was a pre-mediated hit job on an innocent man. In fact, this guy's only real crime was being the leader of the humans. Turner flipped it over in his mind several times, trying to find a rationale behind it, but it all came up empty. He scanned the crowd, fearing that he was the lone holdout. His eyes landed on Chandra, and her expression made it clear that she felt the same way.

      "Now, we don't have much time!" Jacques urged the parvs. "We have to make it to Burger World quickly. And I know from experience that it's quite a trek. It took us several hours to get there our last trip, but we were also a small group. This time, we're going to need each and every one of you."

      The crowd gasped, both excited and terrified. They were all going topside. Some of them hadn't ventured into the real world for years, and now they were going to be involved in the most important mission their species ever faced. There were a lot of emotions bouncing off of the walls.

      Turner snaked his way through the crowd until the fiery locks he was seeking were in front of him. "What do you think of this?" he whispered into Chandra's ear. "The whole assassination idea, I mean."

      Chandra studied her friend's face. "Well, he certainly has the crowd riled up."

      "That's not what I asked, though."

      She sighed and brushed her red hair out of her face. "Personally, I think it sucks," she spat and walked away, done with the conversation.

      "Yeah, me too," Turner said quietly to himself. The crowd started to dissipate around him. Jacques had finished his speech, and now the excited parvs were sprinting off for their own homes. He looked around, desperate to find more support. He caught Jean stomping into his room, and decided it was worth the risk to follow him.

      Turner entered the parv's room, watching silently as he shoved supplies into his pockets. "What's wrong?" he asked.

      "Nothing," Jean answered brusquely.

      "Are you on board with your brother's plan?"

      "Of course I am. Jacques already talked to me; I'm one of the most important parts." To emphasize this, he grabbed his match launcher and wrapped it around his shoulder.

      "You can't be serious," Turner said, feeling like he made a serious miscalculation. "This is murder, plain and simple. Is that the type of group you want us to be? Is that the type of person you want to be?"

      "Makes no difference to me."

      "But-"

      "There ain't no 'buts' about it. They kidnapped my brother, they destroyed our home, they killed Miller."

      "That was not their fault."

      "I'm going to blame them anyway."

      "Come on, man, this isn't like you. You don't really want to do this, do you?"

      "You have no idea what I want," Jean said. "Now, let me give you some advice. If you're having second thoughts about all this, keep it to yourself. The people around here are like to tear you apart for disagreeing with Jacques. I'm not too happy hearing it myself. So, you better get out of here and not say another word. We're preparing to take on the humans; we won't have any qualms about dealing with you as well."

      Turner backed out of the room, more than a little afraid. He shuffled to the corner of the common area, scanning the crowd. It looked like he was outnumbered, 3000 to 1. If he was a betting man, he would know that those odds were terrible. But he wasn't, and somehow that made the odds worse. All he could do now was keep his eye on things and try to get Jacques to reconsider when the time was right. It wasn't like he had much of a choice anyway.

      3000 parvs. The biggest community he had ever seen. And yet, right now, he was all alone in the world.