Order of Magnitude

XXXVIII. The New Boss

     Carlisle, the newly appointed leader of the Lost tried to get used to his new accomodations. It was all more luxurious than he could have ever expected. He figured being at the top of the chain meant a bigger place to live and maybe some more food at the dinner banquet. Instead his room was larger than the entire community he came from, and the food was much more exquisite than the rest of the parvs ate. Most of the stuff he had never heard of before, and was pleasantly surprised by. Things like marshmallows. He had no idea what the name meant or where they came from, all he knew was that they were fantastic.

      "How was your breakfast, sir?" one of the members of the council asked him. "Was it to your liking?"

      "Oh, it was wonderful," he said. "And this bed is amazing. What is this material I was covered with called again?"

      "Silk."

      "That's right. I don't know how you find this stuff, but I'm glad that you did."

      "Well, it's not always easy. But there are treasures all around this world. And it certainly helps us get to the rarer delicacies when we are on spiderback."

      Carlisle nodded and looked himself over in the mirror. He had never seen his reflection before he moved into this room, and the first time scared him half to death. By now, however, he was used to the face that stared back at him. In fact, he quite liked it. Not that he could change it if he wanted to.

      "Sir, if I may," the council member started. "Are you really interested in preparing our members for battle?"

      Carlisle already knew the answer to that. He had planned for this the second that Jacques told him that he was going off and killing humans. To Carlisle it wasn't a difference of ideals, he feared it was a matter of survival. "Yes," he answered simply. "Today we begin training. These parvs have to be ready."

      "In that case, would it please you if I refer to you as General?"

      Carlisle laughed. "Yeah, I kind of like that."

      "Very good, General. Before we begin our day, there are a few issues we need to clear up."

      "Go on."

      "First things first: we have to talk about our scouts. Now that we've changed our code of non-violence, this may also impact how we deal with parvs we find on our grounds. Should our scouts continue to capture wayward souls, or are we going to begin the practice of killing them."

      Carlisle shot his councilman a look. "You seem a bit upset about our need to go to war."

      "No sir. Just curious as to how we should proceed."

      "We're not murderers, we're warriors. Bring stray parvs into here before, and we'll continue to convert them to our ways and culture. After all, that's what this community is all about."

      "Very good, sir. Next on the agenda... erm... well, Petar was known to have some... accompaniment from time to time..."

      "You mean concubines?"

      "Something like that."

      Carlisle laughed. "Well, I just got used to having a nice big bed all to myself. Let me have a few days to enjoy it before I think about filling it with somebody else."

      "If I may make a recommendation: Phylicia is a beautiful young lady, and was well-regarded by Petar."

      "Thanks; I'll make it a point to look for a lover while I'm training everybody for battle. Anything else?"

      "Just one more thing. Our scouts found two parvs last night, and we would like you to speak to them. Determine if they should be allowed to stay or exiled... or killed, I guess."

      "Alright, take me to them. If they're big and strong, they have a better chance to stay."

      The council member led Carlisle out of his royal chambers and onto the mushroom that he had first seen Petar. It felt odd being in such a lofty position of power, but he couldn't deny it felt undeniably good as well. It almost seemed as if he belonged there.

      "Bring them to me," Carlisle commanded effortlessly when he was in position.

      "Yes, sir."

      "General..."

      "My apologies. Yes, General."

      The councilman gave the word and two guards brought Chandra and Turner before Carlisle. As soon as they saw each other, they all said "You!" in unison, and the two captives struggled to break free.

      "I thought you were dead," Carlisle said to Turner.

      "I've heard that a lot lately."

      "What are you doing on our land?"

      "None of your business."

      "General, what are your orders?" the councilman asked.

      Carlisle thought for a moment. "Tie them up, stick them in jail. If we don't have a jail, build one. I want to know what their story is. Then I'll decide if they are to be set free or not."