Chapter 60: Let’s Talk
In the Downs Region, Henders was standing on his apartment balcony waving to his technician friends who were heading home after their evening performance. He headed back into his apartment. He sat down on his sofa as he placed his laptop on his coffee table. He wanted to do a bit of work before supper.
There was a knock on his door. Henders stood up and walked over to the door. He opened it to see Colin standing before him. Henders nodded and then welcomed Colin in.
‘How have you been, my friend?’ asked Colin as he walked into Henders’ apartment.
Henders nodded slightly.
‘Things have become chaotic,’ sighed Colin as he walked into Henders’ lounge. ‘It will get worse before it gets better.’
Hender’s began typing on his phone. He held up a message. It read, ‘I’m sorry’.
‘No, don’t be sorry,’ said Colin as he rubbed Henders’ shoulder. ‘You acted with best intentions. I owe you an apology. I have not been honest with you.’
Henders sighed and nodded.
Colin shapeshifted into August. ‘This is my true form,’ he said as a tear formed in his eye. ‘A form I do not reveal to anyone. I just can’t.’
Henders held his arms out to hug August. August smiled at Henders, and the two of them warmly embraced.
Henders gestured for August to sit down on the sofa. August obliged and sat in the corner seat. Henders walked into his kitchen. He returned shortly carrying two mugs of hot chocolate.
‘That’s most kind and generous of you,’ said August as he watched Henders place the mugs on coasters on his coffee table.
‘I trust you,’ said August as he watched Henders spray whipped cream onto the hot chocolate. ‘You do what you believe is right. I’m afraid I only do what is right for me.’
Henders’ eyes bulged slightly as he inserted a small chocolate flake into the drink.
‘You’re also incredibly thoughtful,’ chuckled August.
Henders patted his chest as he raised his eyebrows up and down. Then he sat down in the opposite corner of the sofa to August.
‘You’re a judge in Tiberius’ trial,’ said August as he picked up the mug. ‘You’re going to be presented with evidence that Tiberius is a fraud. Someone who impersonated the eldest living Alset to become the head of the family and the Emperor of Sapey.
Henders took a huge swig of hot chocolate. Some of the cream rubbed off onto his nose. Henders smiled in delight as he rubbed the cream off his nose with his finger and then licked it.
‘I fully trust that you will pass judgement in good faith based on the evidence presented,’ said August as he sipped on the hot chocolate. ‘The other judges will not. Miro, Duffo, and Hermon want to become the new Emperor. They will find him guilty regardless, and one of them will take his place.’
Henders smiled as he dragged his finger along the bottom of his mug to pick up the last drop of cream.
‘All three of these options aren’t good,’ continued August. ‘During the trial, I want you to observe the reactions of the other judges. This will give us a good idea of who might make the most appropriate new leader.’
Henders’ eyes bulged slightly again as he raised his finger. He quickly got up from his seat and ran into the kitchen. He returned a few seconds later with a plate of cookies and a chocolate dip. He placed the plate in front of August.
‘Very thoughtful of you,’ said August as Henders sat back down. ‘I was feeling a little peckish.’
Henders smiled and nodded. He pointed at the biscuits and motioned a dipping action with his right hand towards the dip. August nodded and dipped a biscuit into the chocolate.
‘When you’re comfortable, you should relay that to the technicians,’ said August as he nibbled on the chocolate-dipped end of his cookie. ‘Any new Emperor needs the support of the technicians who are by far the majority in the Empire.’
Henders responded by holding up a soft cushion.
A short while later, Miro had just returned to his apartment. He was about to sit down on his sofa in his lounge when Julie entered the room from the balcony. ‘Beautiful evening,’ she said. ‘I can see a million stars shining down on us.’
‘You have no business being here,’ said Miro in a startled tone.
‘I have every business being here,’ snapped Julie as she shapeshifted into Maskameera. ‘I could eat you right now and then I could be you,’ she added as she shapeshifted into Miro.
‘We have technology to detect you,’ said Miro as he stumbled back onto his sofa.
‘Sure, but it wouldn’t bring you back to life,’ chuckled Julie as she shapeshifted back to Julie. ‘Now calm down. I’m here to help our future leader.’
‘You mean future Emperor,’ said Miro as he stood up.
‘No, I don’t!’ said Julie angrily. ‘You’ll be a dictator with a one-year term.’
‘That’s not what we discussed before,’ said Miro. ‘I don’t like it.’
‘If you become Emperor, your life will be in danger,’ said Julie as she walked across the room. ‘Duffo will claim he was named by his adopted father. Hermon is the oldest Alset and, based on your own family law, is in line above you. Tiberius is still alive and Head Enforcer and the imperial guards are still loyal to him. Their only option to remove you is by killing you.’
‘I see, I am not a fool,’ replied Miro.
‘A statement only ever made by a fool,’ said Julie aggressively. ‘Now sit down and shut up.’
Miro sat back on his sofa.
‘You have a good relationship with most of the enforcers, and if you act reasonable, Henders will ensure you have the support of the technicians,’ said Julie.
‘It is ridiculous that I need to pander to a mute autistic technician,’ sighed Miro.
‘Henders is a better Linap than you’ll ever be; that’s why he’s loved,’ growled Julie.
A little later, Duffo was in his apartment playing on a keyboard.
‘I’m still rocking these tunes like a god!’ said Duffo as he pumped his fist.
Julie became visible in the corner of the room. She performed three cartwheels across the room.
‘That’s what I call moving,’ said Duffo as he dragged his hand across the keyboard.
‘Your music is so electrifying, and it makes you so sexy,’ said Julie as she danced around the room.
‘Did you bring your delicious muffins?’ chuckled Duffo.
‘No, I’m afraid not,’ said Julie as she continued to dance.
‘In that case, you can just fuck off,’ chuckled Duffo.
In a mad rage, Julie slammed the keyboard into an apartment wall. ‘You’ll show me respect or I’ll tear your limbs off,’ she growled as her face briefly shapeshifted into that of Maskameera’s.
‘Okay, cool,’ said Duffo as he backed away. ‘I was only joking.’
Julie burst out laughing. ‘Well, I wasn’t,’ she added. ‘It’s the kind of thing I do for a hobby.’
Duffo stared at her in terror.
‘Let’s have a civil conversation,’ said Julie. ‘You think you’re going to be Emperor, but that’s not happening.’
‘It’s my right,’ said Duffo in an indignant tone. ‘I’m the son of the Emperor.’
‘A fake Emperor whose word will soon mean nothing,’ said Julie aggressively. ‘Miro will replace Tiberius.’
‘He has no damn legitimacy as an Emperor,’ said Duffo as he kicked a table over. ‘He will not take my palace.’
‘Calm down, idiot,’ said Julie. ‘He won’t be Emperor. He’ll be a temporary dictator. When his popularity tanks, the enforcers and technicians will be calling for you to replace him.’
‘So, you’re suggesting some stupid elections,’ groaned Duffo.
‘Not exactly,’ replied Julie.
A short while later, Hermon and Benny were in Hermon’s apartment. They were playing a game on his console.
‘Wha Boom Boom!’ shouted Hermon as he jumped up from his gaming chair. ‘I win again. You suck so badly.’
‘Oh no,’ gasped Benny. ‘You don’t have to behave like that.’
‘You’re right, I don’t,’ chuckled Hermon as he pretended to rub his eyes. ‘I do it for fun and to see your precious reaction.’
‘Hey champs,’ said Julie as she touched both of their shoulders. ‘I see you’re both enjoying yourselves.’
‘Just a bit of fun at the end of a busy day,’ chuckled Hermon as he turned his head to look at Julie.
‘What do you mean?’ gasped Benny. ‘You’ve been at the hotel all day.’
‘It’s called working on the go while networking with investors,’ said Hermon as he looked at Benny while raising his eyebrows.
‘I’m not here to debate work ethics,’ sighed Julie. ‘The Empire is on the verge of great change.’
‘I’m about to take charge, and I’m bringing with me a tornado of chaos,’ said Hermon excitedly as his eyes bulged.
‘That’ll be a disaster,’ said Benny as he put his hand on his head.
‘No, it means you’re going to have to up your game,’ said Hermon as he poked Benny.
‘I spent six hours today doing my job and another six hours doing your job,’ said Benny as he shrugged his shoulders and held out the palms of his hands out.
‘An admission of laziness,’ said Hermon as he shook his fist at Benny. ‘You know all the other technicians work eight hours on their jobs. You’re cheating the Empire out of two hours. Shame on you!’
Benny stared at Hermon in shock.
‘This guy badmouths me every chance he gets,’ said Hermon to Julie as he pointed at Benny with his thumb. ‘Finally, he’s been trapped and has revealed his true nature.’
‘You’re the head of the Economic Institute,’ said Julie as she leaned on the back of Hermon’s gaming chair. ‘Almost all the technicians are in debt. They are working forty-hour weeks and cannot afford to live. This is a problem that you need to solve. A good leader would do that.’
‘It’s all part of the plan,’ said Hermon, shaking his head.
‘Did you know we have over a thousand loan requests,’ said Benny as he held up his tablet. ‘This will take me weeks to sort out.’
‘Lazy and inefficient,’ huffed Hermon as he snatched the tablet off Benny. ‘Watch how a genius gets work done.’
‘Oh no,’ sighed Benny.
‘Here we go,’ chuckled Hermon as he began touching the screen on the tablet. ‘Hit “Select All” and then “Approve”. Boom! Problem solved.’
Benny stared at the screen as the loan requests disappeared. His mouth dropped open in shock.
‘Now that’s the look of jealousy,’ chuckled Hermon as he pointed at Benny with his thumb again.
‘That’s really going to bite at some point,’ sighed Julie.
‘Just proof I’d make a spectacular Emperor,’ gloated Hermon as he jiggled his shoulders up and down. He then looked at Benny, who was gasping for air.
‘There isn’t going to be a new Emperor,’ said Julie as she walked to the fridge. ‘Miro’s going to declare himself a dictator for a one-year term.’
‘Sounds like you’re in the know,’ said Hermon as he continued to look at Benny, who continued to struggle to breathe.
‘Give him this,’ said Julie as she tossed Hermon a juice packet she had just taken from the fridge.
Hermon poked the straw into the packet and squirted some juice into Benny’s mouth. Benny immediately sat up and then snatched the packet from Hermon.
‘Your little stunt is going to hurt Miro in the coming months,’ said Julie. ‘If you get your act together, you could have a great chance of becoming leader in a year.’
‘The rise of Hermon cannot be denied,’ said Hermon as he smiled broadly at Julie.
‘Oh, looks like someone already wants to repay their loan,’ said Benny as he looked at his tablet.
‘I’ll deal with this,’ said Hermon as he grabbed the tablet back off Benny. ‘Right, sorted. The first loan of a million Tibers has just been repaid in full.’
‘That’s a good start,’ said Benny, smiling.
‘It was a loan for a million Tibers to build a theatre,’ chuckled Hermon. ‘Some guy named Frank just paid us back in theatre tickets for the opening night. It even includes backstage passes.’
Benny’s eyes turned in, and then he fainted.
An hour later, Head Enforcer was sitting on his bed. He was holding and looking at a photograph of Tiberius.
‘I see you’re missing your boyfriend,’ chuckled Julie as she poked her head around the door.
‘Our Emperor has been betrayed and must be avenged,’ said Head Enforcer as he glared at Julie.
‘You’re a judge,’ said Julie. ‘You can help reveal the truth to the other judges during the trial.’
‘The trial is rigged, and you know it,’ replied Head Enforcer as he put the photograph down.
‘Let’s say the deck is stacked against you,’ chuckled Julie.
‘I would willingly die for our Emperor,’ said Head Enforcer aggressively as he stood up.
‘And he would enjoy watching,’ said Julie as a slight smile came over her face.
‘You don’t understand,’ said Head Enforcer as he walked over to Julie. ‘I don’t care about his values or what he thinks of me. My sole existence is to carry out his will.’
‘Such a pity,’ sighed Julie as she turned to leave.
‘I know what you are,’ said Head Enforcer. ‘I will kill you.’
‘You do what you must,’ replied Julie as she walked out the door. ‘We’ll see how it all pans out for you.’
Sapien Loop: Worlds Collide
Sapien Loop: Worlds Collide is the final book in the Sapien Loop trilogy. It continues directly after the events of the second book. The world above and the world below merge into one world. The conflicts in the underground world are brought to the surface. The new ruling elite attempt to crush any resistance from above and below in an attempt to create a new global empire.
Currently, three books from the series have been published on Amazon; see the links below:
All individual chapters can be found on my @captainhive account.
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