The Human Condition - Ch 111: Declaring the Causes

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“Injustice, in the end, produces independence.” - Voltaire

~

Standing amongst the crowd of enthusiastically cheering humans, Rodah couldn’t help but feel just a little bit eager herself as a man wearing a black coat and a peculiar looking white wig took to the small stage that had been set up in front of the main hall. She wondered if this same sort of excitement had been the prevailing attitude several hundred years ago, during the original event.

“Ahem,” the reenactor cleared his throat into the microphone. “I’d like to start by welcoming everyone who has come here on this fine day and by thanking everyone who volunteered to help make this event happen. I think it is a wonderful thing that even in difficult circumstances, so many people are still willing to help history come to life, and that so many people are here to experience it.”

As he continued with his acknowledgments, Rodah noticed a slight disturbance moving across the crowd. Standing almost a head higher than the rest of the crowd, as it got closer, she was able to see that people were distributing large stacks of fliers. They weren’t bright or colorful like the one advertising this event, and from this distance just looked like plain text printed on white paper. 

As the nearest one passed by Rodah, she tried to get a closer look at it:

“Hey, I didn’t get one,” she announced, raising her hand.

“Oh? You want one?” the person holding the stack asked.

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I want one?”

“I mean… you’re…” he hesitated, looking her up and down. 

Was it because she was a shil’vati? Was this some sort of secret human cultural thing that shouldn’t be shared with her? Was it just more mundane anti-Imperial propaganda?

“Never mind, here you go.” He relented, handing her a copy. “But don’t get mad if you read anything you don’t like. It’s just history.”

“I won’t get mad. I wouldn’t be here if I weren’t interested in your history.”

“Fair enough,” he said, before Rodah’s attention turned to the paper that he had handed her. At the top was a bolded title: ‘In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776. The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America.’ 

It certainly wasn’t a very poetic title. Nor was it very descriptive as to exactly what was being declared by the Thirteen United States of America. Still, Rodah already felt a certain commonality in style existed between this document and the Advisory Council’s resolutions, which were all similarly titled: ‘Resolution [X] of the Advisory Council to the Governess/Governor of Pennsylvania.’

“And now I, John Nixon, shall publicly proclaim the Declaration of Independence of the Thirteen United States of America, just as I did on the 8th of July, 1776,” the reenactor at the podium said, bringing Rodah and the rest of the crowd’s attention back forwards. Rodah noticed that he had subtly established his own character and set the scene with that line. But wait, wasn’t that the wrong date?

 “Yes, July 8th,” he continued, as if he had somehow heard her unvoiced question. “The Continental Congress passed the Lee Resolution on the 2nd of July, making the first official assertion of our independence from Britain and her tyrannical Monarch. Then, on the 4th, the more widely known Declaration was signed and ratified, having been compiled for the purpose of explaining our actions to the world. The more formal Declaration was first published on the 6th, and the first public readings took place on the 8th. General Washington read it to his troops on the 9th, and it took over a month to make its way across Europe. The 4th is merely the date we choose to remember and celebrate these events.”

About a month for a message to spread to everyone was a similar timescale to the modern Imperium. A piece of the familiar hidden in the distant past of a strange land.

“Ahem. Now, without further ado,” the faux John Nixon said, holding up his own paper copy of this Declaration. He paused dramatically, and his next words felt somehow weightier, as if he were a priest imparting some sort of ancient spiritual wisdom upon the crowd.

“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.”

On its surface, the statement was simple enough: ‘We’re rebelling. Here’s why.” But there was one part that caused Rodah to quirk her head in curiosity. Why did the Laws of Nature and of their religion’s singular God entitle them to ‘separate and equal station’ among the great powers of their planet? Sure, a religion might espouse its own greatness, but the laws of nature?

“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

So that was what they meant. They believed that their God had created all of them as equals. That they were divinely entitled to ‘Liberty,’ that double-word which sat heavily laden with two perpendicular meanings, overthrow and emancipation. And they assumed that it was all somehow obvious.

“That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

The government’s primary purpose was to secure those arbitrary privileges? But what about public order? What about defense from external threats? Wait, maybe those did follow from ‘Life’ and ‘Pursuit of Happiness.’ Defense of life from threats both internal and external fit the bill, and crime generally made the victims unhappy. So they did also believe in those things, but it was phrased in a roundabout alien way. 

On top of that, the phrase ‘consent of the governed’ rung oddly in Rodah’s ears. She had only heard the English word ‘consent’ used before in relation to having sex, and applying it politically had the disturbing implication that humanity viewed the Imperium as a government of rape in more ways than one.

“That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

There was the overthrowing part of ‘Liberty.’ They believed, in the very same way that titled nobility felt entitled to honor and deference, that they were allowed to rebel. And following from the fact that they had been continuously rebelling, they clearly believed that the Imperial administration on Earth was destroying their privileges. Or rather, their ‘Rights,’ as they kept calling them. 

Was there an important difference hidden in that word, as there was in ‘Liberty’? With the very same word also being a synonym for ‘correct,’ it seemed to inherently deny any argument against these ‘rights’ because they were naturally and by definition right.

Setting that aside, it also seemed odd to ascribe any sort of privilege to ‘the people,’ presumably the common people, who as a group, would generally be defined by the fact that they lacked any special titles or privileges. Sure, all Imperial subjects possessed certain allowances, but these obviously weren’t special, coming directly as they did from the Empress’ protection and extending to everybody (except foreigners).

“Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.” 

Finally, a more rational—and less religious—perspective. Rebellion came with serious costs, and involved a great deal of risk. But there was still condemnation there, specifically of what they called ‘sufferable evils.’ So what did they consider unsufferable evils, then?

“But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”

There were some interesting choices of language there. Firstly, to cite ‘usurpations’ as a cause for overthrowing their monarch seemed kind of hypocritical, unless a pretender had somehow taken the throne. Secondly, referring to rebellion as a duty sent Rodah’s head spinning. That was literally the opposite of duty! 

What could possibly be the reasoning there? How did they rationalize this flat insanity? Maybe if you fervently believed in a divine directive of ‘Liberty?’ Under such circumstances, perhaps you could attempt to leverage the concept of a righteous moral (or even religious) duty against the conventional political duty one had to their sovereign? That was the only way Rodah could imagine these men framing such a statement as rational.

“Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.” 

Rodah took a breath and refocused herself. Apparently even after several years on Earth there was still culture shock to be had. She would definitely have to go back and review some of this to make sure she wasn’t misunderstanding anything, but she didn’t want to fall behind, so she scanned the copy of the Declaration she was holding and found the lines that had just been said.

Facts to a candid world. So they were going to lay all their justifications out, and hope that they could convince people. That they could convince her of the righteousness of their cause. Well, bring it on, then. She would hear their suit out, and form her own honest opinion on the issue.

“He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.”

Huh. They were citing a lack of action as a reason for removal. In her personal experience humans had mostly been getting upset at new laws being enacted. Although now that she thought about it, maybe some of Alice’s reforms had been ‘wholesome and necessary,’ given their immediate calming effect on the entirety of Pennsylvania, and that they had obviously been refused prior to her tenure.

“He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.”

Further criticism in the same vein, and definitely justified. Even in the Imperium, the Empress actively preventing Governesses from passing laws to address local crises would be considered an abhorrent overreach, not to mention utterly illogical, given that the whole purpose of delegating authority to Governesses was so that local crises could be addressed faster and more effectively.

“He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.” 

Conditioning the administration of an area on not having a council member. Surprisingly still relevant today. They were also saying that heeding such counsel was only a problem if you were a tyrant. Certainly, Rodah agreed that dismissing well-meaning advice was not wise, nor was deliberately ignoring the concerns of an entire district.

“He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.”

Rodah imagined that the closest analogue to this complaint would be if Cor’nol took away her omnipad, in which case she wouldn’t be able to get much useful work done at all. She didn’t like the prospect, but was pretty sure that he was not nearly so crazy as to attempt such a thing.

“He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.”

Mark another close parallel with current circumstances. This Declaration had stood as the beginning of a bloody rebellion, hadn't it? Would similar events follow from today?

“He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the meantime exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.”

The accusation directed at the king of failing to secure his subjects from threats both foreign and domestic was a rather serious one, given that those duties were far and away the primary responsibilities of any monarch. However, the reasoning leading up to that conclusion was strange to Rodah, and she could feel that in this area, human ideas clashed very strongly with Imperial sensibilities.

But deep down, there might actually be some degree of overlap. After all, the implicit exchange of fealty for protection did imply that if protection was withdrawn, fealty could be withdrawn in turn. At that juncture, it would indeed be the case that the only law remaining was the ‘law of the people,’ although there was a clear difference in opinion between the two schools of thought about exactly how righteous a ‘law of the mob’ might be.

“He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.”

This seemed like a bit of a non-sequitur compared to the earlier complaints. Considering that by far the most valuable resource to any government was the size of its tax base, preventing willing migration from your rivals and hindering the establishment of new settlements seemed a bit self-defeating. Maybe the King had fallen victim to some sort of overblown paranoia about foreign espionage?

"He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers. He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries. ”

Again with the refusal to pass laws. But this time specifically about refusing to give judges power? Once again, that didn’t seem very logical, nor conducive to maintaining public order. As for the second half of that accusation, the Empress and Governesses virtually never removed Ladies of Justice once they were appointed. Occasionally, they were encouraged to abdicate in favor of their heiresses, but even that was rare these days unless they had done something particularly egregious.

"He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.”

Rodah found the mental image of officials swarming like insects and eating fields of crops rather amusing, but the valid criticism of over-bureaucratization did not escape her notice.

"He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.”

 Now that was yet another assertion challenging common sense. How was a government meant to protect from foreign threats, if not by maintaining an army?

"He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.”

Now, this complaint did have some merit. Ambitious generals staging coups were a serious threat to any government that did not have the proper safeguards. Once or twice it had even been an issue for the early Imperium. Luckily, subsequent Empresses had been able to claw back their power and implement certain measures to ensure such a thing did not happen again.

"He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:”

Huh? Rodah wasn’t sure exactly what this part meant, but it seemed to imply the King had created a Council the colonies refused to recognize?

"For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us. For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States.”

Yet another parallel with modern accusations made against the Imperium. Personally, Rodah had found that many of the relevant incidents seemed to involve fault on both sides….

"For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world. For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent.”

The first part was kind of similar to how the tariffs Alice had created COMP to combat had stifled intraplanetary trade. The second part was less relevant, if you considered that the Empress wasn’t taxing Earth yet, or that Alice had imposed taxes herself. Or maybe it wasn’t so simple. Hadn’t Alice made it a point to have the Council confirm her 10% corporate tax as soon as possible?

"For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury. For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences.”

It was not common practice to send someone to another star system for trial in the Imperium, but Rodah wasn’t sure if the location was the important part of this complaint. Rather, they clearly thought the charges were not authentic, and particularly objected to not being ‘by Jury,’ whatever that meant.

"For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies.”

An accusation of using administrative shenanigans to mess with their government, and probably their previously mentioned councils. Reading between the lines, all these anti-council measures seemed to imply a prolonged back-and-forth struggle between the King and these councils for authority. 

"For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments. For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.”

There, exactly like she had guessed. The colonies’ normal councils had been disbanded and replaced with people who were more loyal to the King. At this point, the number of similarities to the current situation was well past the point of alarming. If this was what was being celebrated today, and by this many people… it was a wonder this reenactment was being allowed in the first place. Was it being officially allowed, or was it taking place without the knowledge of the local Militia?

"He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us. He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.”

Rodah frowned. Now that indeed sounded like a horrible King, if he had really been attacking his own subjects! And if this declaration had been the start of the rebellion, then such actions would have been truly tyrannical and barbaric.

"He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.” 

In this matter, the document’s accusations agreed heartily with her own sensibilities. Using foreign mercenaries against your own people! It is a wonder that this supposed King was not immediately overthrown by his own nobles, for permitting such actions would surely be recognized by them as virtually suicidal!

"He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.”

Rodah nearly gasped in shock. Enslaving people to fight their own sisters and brothers! That fact alone justified any sort of rebellion. The word treason was meaningless when applied to a monarch who acted this way, as such honorless and savage behaviour made it into mere self-defense! 

On the contrary, it was only natural that the rebels had fought against this. The only confusing part of this was that the King hadn’t just been overthrown and replaced with a wiser one. Maybe he had been so bad as to ruin their trust in any monarch? So bad, in fact, that the potential anarchy of democracy had almost seemed a reasonable alternative? If so, then Rodah couldn’t really blame them for giving it a try…

"He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.”

Rodah didn’t know exactly who these ‘Indian Savages’ were, but the context implied they were almost like the Roaches/Ulnus, the ruthless ameboid pirates that menaced certain areas of the Periphery. Compared to the heinousness of the previous acts, this one was almost to be expected. If the colonies had had a group like that around, of course this supposed King would have tried to sic them on the colonies.

"In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people." 

Unfit to be the ruler of a free people. Rodah surmised that this particular tyrannical king could easily have been the source of the double meaning of ‘liberty.’ When you treated your subjects like slaves, it was unsurprising that they would revolt for their freedom, and that they would still celebrate that victory centuries later.

"Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity."

Rodah once again wondered why the British on their original island had not themselves revolted to overthrow the King and replace him with a friendlier family member. Had he been not quite so tyrannical in that province as in the colonies? Had he thought he could get away with such repulsive actions if they were far away from the Imperial core? Clearly, it hadn’t worked out for him.

"We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends." 

Even still, after voicing their many grievances, some of which were definitely worth their perpetual enmity, the rebels—or rather, revolutionaries—still held out their hand in a limited capacity. It was a great shame that Cor’nol had slapped down their most recent attempt at the same. 

"We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States;”

 Another appeal to the divine, though this one seemed to be more in line with calling upon a greater power to enforce an oath. The oath being sworn in this case being that of ‘Independence,’ like the name of the document suggested.

“That they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do.”

A quick list of all the things that governments were generally responsible for, probably to help make it clear that they wanted to be really, truly independent, rather than to possess any lesser degree of autonomy. The Imperial Crown, throughout all of her long history, had never accepted such a complete secession from any part of herself. Cambria and Sevastutav may have won their special little privileges, but declaring war and peace were certainly not among them. 

“And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor." 

There was the actual oath they were swearing, one of unity among themselves. Rodah had almost expected it to be a vow of victory or vengeance, but those topics seemed almost wholly absent from the document. At the beginning, it had almost implied that their separation from Britain had already taken place, and later on it had lamented that their issues had not been addressed. Not very bloody-minded for a proclamation of rebellion, then.

“Signed: John Handcock, Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall…”

Rodah did not recognize any of the names listed as signatories except for one, Benjamin Franklin, whom she and Te’dol had learned all about the other day at a museum dedicated specifically to the man. Surprisingly, George Washington, the supposed leader of the rebellion, was not on this list. Had he become the leader at some point later on, then?

“That concludes my reading of this historic Declaration,” the man playing John Nixon announced. With that, there was a massive wave of cheering and applause that swept through the crowd. Although most people had respected his speech, there had been occasional cheering, especially when the Council equivalent had been mentioned, which was a keen indicator of where public sentiment lay regarding its dissolution.

“But today isn’t over yet!” he continued. “A number of the founding fathers themselves were also kind enough to volunteer to come out here today. They will be here the rest of the day to answer any questions you may have about how the document that I have just read came to be, or about themselves.”

There it was, the true reason Rodah had come to this event. She could read a piece of paper anywhere and anywhen, but to talk to people who had spent a lot of effort studying this time period and the individuals involved was a rare opportunity. Hopefully the lines for that wouldn’t be too long…

~~~~~~

Lil’ae wasn’t normally one to rush her or her subordinates’ work, but today the temptation was very strong and she couldn’t help cutting one or two small corners so that she could get outside and get over to where the unsanctioned barbecue was occurring. She had sent Bel’tara out there to make sure that there hopefully wasn’t any sort of regrettable incident, and she had returned with mouth-watering descriptions of the smell of cooking meat. 

“You know how the mess hall had ‘barbecue’ last week? Well, this isn’t even done cooking yet and it already smells 10 times better,” was what she had said, and Al had seconded that opinion: 

“You’ve not lived until you’ve had real, authentic barbecue fresh off the smoker. Trust me.”

Those lines repeating in Lil’ae’s head were severely straining her willpower.

“Done!” Kerr’na exclaimed. “We can go now, right?”

“Hara still needs to stage one or two more pallets for the drone pickup this evening. If we’re going to be shirking our duties for the next few hours, it’ll feel really annoying to have to do that afterwards. Getting it done now is better.”

“Actually, I just finished doing that,” Hara said, poking her head around the end of an aisle. “Bel’tara brought Handy over to help.”

“And she’s off stowing him properly?” Lil’ae asked. With the exo-lifter to help, it was no surprise that Hara had finished quickly.

“Yep. Any chance of the rest of us getting the opportunity to pilot him at some point?” Hara asked.

“Oh, I second that,” Kerr’na added.

“Once there’s some cargo we can afford to destroy, and once I feel like spending a couple hours of my free time teaching you,” Lil’ae said. “So not today.”

“Of course,” Hara said. “I’m not about to squander a holiday on it.”

“I would absolutely squander a holiday on it, except for the fact that Brent sent me a message saying he’s outside right now,” Kerr’na said.

“Fair warning, it’s not quite as glamorous as you might be thinking,” Lil’ae said. “Handy may be plenty capable when it comes to moving cargo, but he’s not exactly a high-spec model.”

“All set,” Bel’tara said, popping out of the aisle behind Hara. “Are we good to head outside?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Lil’ae said, dismissing them with her hand.

Being most of the way across the base from where the barbecue was taking place, the first evidence that anything out of the ordinary was going on was the steadily growing trickle of women abandoning their normal duties at the prospect of free food. Well, the mess hall was technically also free, but everyone knew that it wasn’t the same!

As they rounded the corner of the dorm building, Lil’ae was surprised at how many women had already gathered near the corner of the base. A lot of them were talking to humans through the chain-link fence, and it even looked like an oblong brown ball-thing was being tossed back and forth over the top. Hopefully it didn’t get snagged on any of the strands of barbed wire that topped the fence.

“Oh, they’re playing football?” Kerr’na commented.

“Is that what that is?” Lil’ae asked, somewhat out of the loop on the obsession some of the newly arrived companies had with the human game.

“Not exactly, I think. It looks like they’re using a football to play catch.”

“Huh,” Lil’ae said. There had been a crate labelled ‘footballs’ in Al’s delivery, but she hadn’t looked inside the container.

“Ah, there’s Brent. See ya,” Kerr’na said, splitting off from the rest of them. Lil’ae scanned the crowd, looking for Phillip or Ralph. Offhand, she had the thought that Lt. Colonel Sa’zell would probably freak out once she found out about this unauthorized party. Annoyingly, this sparked a little bit of anxiety that Lil’ae couldn’t quite shake.

At least she finally caught sight of Ralph and Phillip, who waved at her. 

“Hey, how’s it going?” he asked as they approached.

“We finished up as quickly as we could,” Lil’ae explained.

“Ah. Honestly, there isn’t any real rush. The plan is to just hang around all day.”

“Oh. Really? Is that it?” Hara asked

“Yeah. It is a holiday, after all,” Phillip said. “The fireworks are the exciting part, but that won’t be until it gets dark.”

“But what about the rioting? I thought you said that it was traditional?” Hara asked.

“Not before the last couple of years,” Phillip said. “It used to just be barbecues and fireworks.”

“And now it is again,” Bel’tara said. “I like this version much better than the rioting.”

“It’s a barbecue for now, at least here in Crossroads specifically,” Ralph said. “And wish I didn’t have to add that caveat.”

“We were so close,” Sae’li grumbled in a low voice. “Fucking idiot noble-brained governor.”

Lil’ae was pretty sure that everyone had heard her friend’s complaint, but no one commented on it.

“What’s going on over there?” Hara asked, pointing to the far side of the human section of the barbecue, where there seemed to be some sort of minor commotion. 

“I don’t know,” Ralph said, going up onto tiptoes. “You can probably see further than me.”

“That’s Alice,” Bel’tara announced, sounding mildly surprised. “Alice Cooper, the former governess,” she clarified unnecessarily.

“Oh yeah, she lived here, didn’t she?” Kerr’na said.

“She grew up here,” Ralph said. “We were classmates in high school, which is odd to think about.”

“Yeah,” Phillip said. Lil’ae wasn’t sure, but she thought there was a hint of awkwardness in his voice. He had once told her that he had dated Alice back in high school. She wondered if he didn’t like being reminded of that. If that were the case, seeing her on the news all the time must not have been fun…

“Unsurprisingly, she’s shooing everyone away,” Bel’tara said. “She’s mostly kept private recently, so I guess that makes sense.”

“I hope people don’t pester her too much,” Ralph said. “She’s probably just here to chill out, like the rest of us.”

“What if she isn’t?” Hara asked. “What if she’s here in order to stir up trouble?”

“I wouldn’t be that pessimistic,” Bel’tara said, putting her hand on her friends’ shoulder. “Besides, it looks like she brought her children. She wouldn’t do anything like that with them around.”

“Oh. I suppose not,” Hara said, slightly abashed. “It would be rude to assume the worst of someone like that.”

“Exactly. Now, let’s have fun!” Bel’tara said. “What’s a game we can play without anyone climbing the fence?

“I keep a deck of cards in my truck,” Ralph said. “I think the cards are small enough to fit through the holes without folding.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Sae’li said. “You can teach us one of your card games! Do you have any traditional ones for the Fourth?”

“Not specifically, but maybe poker? Poker’s pretty American,” Ralph said.

“I’ve seen that one in a couple movies,” Bel’tara said. “It seemed to be a good way to lose an awful lot of money or get into a fight.”

“Only if you’re betting actual cash. I suggest we play for snacks, that way the stakes are low,” Ralph said.

“Good idea. I’m getting hungry already,” Hara said.

~

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