Siblings of Sol: Death of a Planet

Chapter 42

Cos has been staring out the window as one by one everybody left to do whatever it is, they have decided to do. It is no longer his concern. The smoke and ash are spreading across the sky, and he knows that there is no place to hide or escape the inevitable. He quickly comes to a decision and strides from the small Council Chamber.

He passes Adam and Evian talking on the bench, but does not stop, it is no concern of his anymore. He arrives at the main hall at the end of the corridor from the Public Hall and Gallery. He takes the steps to the left, steadily climbing with purpose. He does not rush, because the decision has been made and it is now just a matter of carrying it out.

He heads to the double doors at the end of the long hallway, lined with portraits of the past Head Councilmen, hung in-between the granite pillars. They pull his attention for a moment, and he stops at the last one. Councilman Ross, a man of great talents, who presided over the Council as the poles melted and the waters flooded the plains.

Cos remembers the turmoil and how the Council was divided on key issues that meant that vast numbers of people had to die to ensure that a select few would live. "Sometimes we need to do things that aren't right, but which need to be done for the good of the people," thinks Cos. He can remember being a small boy in the Palace at the time, and how he would listen to everything that was said about the last battle on the plains. The last of the inhabitants were trapped on a slight hill beside the old lake. General Garth had put all his forces on the only available boats and had simply sailed away, knowing that the forces of nature would solve his problem for him, as the waters continued to rise steadily. Ross had to demote him and put Vos in his place, even though he had ordered Garth to do it. It was the only way the surviving people could come to terms with the horror of it.

Cos thinks about his own situation, and the decision to put Lucien in charge of the rebels to give the people something to rally around, instead of focusing on the futility of their chances of survival. It was a bold move, but one that had kept the lowlands people from mounting a major assault on The Peaks, till all their options had been explored, and it didn't make any difference anymore. Cos turns back and moves down the hallway to the carved double doors of his private quarters. "That time has come, and now it doesn't matter what anybody does," thinks Cos, as he pushes through the doors, and strides to his private balcony to look out over the lake one last time.

He looks to the fish floating at the surface and the bubbles starting to rise from the depths of the lake. "Life is a very fragile thing, and so easily ended," thinks Cos. The beauty of the flowering plants at the water's edge, and the full foliage around the rim of The Peaks is disheartening now that he knows how short lived it will be, because Adam has explained what the bubbles and the dead fish mean.

Cos turns back to the interior of his quarters and goes to the tall bureau to the side. He opens the polished red wood doors and smiles at the fragrance of the interior. The wood keeps the insects that like the fiber of the clothes away, plus giving all his clothes a fresh smell. He reaches in and gets his best robes. The one with the purple trim around the collar and the gold buttons down the front. The black opened-sleeve jacket is matched by a loose-fitting pair of shorts that go to his knees, just covering the knobbiness of them. Deep red sandals complete the look. He steps to the full-length mirror beside the bureau and adjusts his collar, and then uses a comb to make his thinning hair sit just right on his sloped head. The last piece he needs to finish the image of authority, is his staff of office that sits by the doorway in a special stand carved and painted to resemble a single Sar standing tall with its six legs planted firmly on a small rise as multitudes of people stand and show reverence to his leadership.

He pulls the staff from the hole at the back of the Sar that keeps it standing straight for all the people to see, and without looking back, strides from his quarters out into the long hall. He walks with purpose, not too fast to indicate impatience, or slow to give the impression of indecision, towards the stairs at the top of the main hall. He turns to the right and can see the two bodies lying twisted and still halfway down the stairs on the Mistress's side of the Palace. "Each person to their fate, and honor to those who choose what that fate will be," thinks Cos, as he starts down the polished marble steps to the main floor.

Cos turns to the right at the bottom of the stairs and enters the hallway that travels along the inner side of the high walls that ring the Palace itself. The tunnel continues through to the other side of the ridge and the open ocean, far below. Slight tremors have shaken the stone around him as he walked through the long passageway, but it did not hasten his pace, or cause him any apprehension. He had a plan, and nothing was going to interfere with him carrying it out, just as he had envisioned it.

He eventually arrives at the other end and steps up to the very edge of the terrace that overlooks the wharf far below. The builders had braced the stone from below so the terrace hung out over the edge of the cliff, so that anybody sitting at one of the numerous tables and chairs would only see the continuous ocean and the ships that would sail up and down the coast as they fished or were just out for a day of sailing on the water.

Cos stood only for a moment, allowing himself to remember coming here as a boy to watch the brightly colored sails move back and forth on the ocean far below. It was one of his favorite places on The Peaks, and a fitting place to carry out his plan.

Cos places his staff on the table closest to the railing, and reaches down to remove his sandals, which he places on the stone flooring of the terrace. He then proceeds to remove all his clothing, thinking as he does, "I am no longer the leader of the people, and will not issue another decree or command. From now on, I am just a man, ready to face his fate, with purpose and a clear conscious."

He folds all the clothes of his former life carefully and sits them beside the staff of his old office. He turns away from them and walks to the railing, reveling in the feeling of freedom he feels, from having lifted the weight of the clothes both physically and emotionally. The slight wind moves between his legs and over his bare chest, adding to the feeling of freedom.

The lake makes a deep rumbling noise and a vibration he can feel in the soles of his feet. He does not even bother to look around in that direction, because it does not even matter anymore as he climbs up onto the railing.

Cos has not even entertained the thought that he should not be doing such a thing. A calmness has overtaken him that causes him to smile contentedly. A feeling that he has not been able to allow himself to have since he took office so many cycles ago.

Cos raises his arms, and bends his knees slightly, as he lets his body fall forward, then, at the perfect moment, he pushes off the edge with his strong legs, launching himself into a perfect swan dive straight toward the rocks far below. The air rushes past his body as he plummets, but again he allows his mind to enjoy the feeling of falling free. It seems to be taking longer than he was expecting, but he soon gets close to his destination and closes his eyes.

There is nobody to see his body bounce from rock to rock, getting more and more loose as his bones are smashed into small pieces, before coming to rest on the edge of the stone dock that juts out into the water. He would not have seen the plume of water, or the debris that rained down on his crumbled body from the lake at The Peaks, as it erupted, or see the Palace topple over and slide down to the depths of the turbulent remains of the lake, soon to disappear forever.