Markom

16: Fraternization Clause | C

It was a cloudy day; or, at least, it felt cloudy to Cadmus. That, or, the typhoon wrangling inside was fighting to be let loose at any moment. For today was the day his journey as Litigator would officially begin.

A series of auto-vehicles stalled in front of the Obelisk, ready to greet Cadmus and the other Litigators as they readied for their important day. Cadmus boarded the first car, had his iris scanned, and sat in a row of his peers before the car took off for the glass Basilica known as Delphi.

The cars pulled onto marble streets flanking the opulent, sparkling building. Despite its lavish exterior and the clear glass columns that cast colorful refractions onto the marble, Cadmus couldn't help but think that the building felt sterile.

He had never held much interest in Delphi; believing, instead that there were far more exceptional feats of engineering in the Inner Court. How fitting that his most disliked building would be the one that would rob him of each working today.

Cadmus was shaken from his meandering mind by a peer from his grouping. "J," Cadmus greeted as his spikey-haired friend walked towards him. Cadmus was so focused on his own terrible luck these past few weeks, that he hadn't taken even a moment to evaluate his competition.

"C," Jacov responded with a wink. They walked towards the rotunda in the front of the Basilica where buzzing cameras scanned their eyes in welcome. Silently, they entered through a series of revolving doors. The glass walls inside flashed "WELCOME ONES" while tiny arrows that seemed etched into the glass itself pointed them towards a large auditorium. There, Cadmus and Jacov took their seats in the large hall. Over the next few minutes, dozens of Ones joined them in the glass cavern and a tall and smiling woman in a smart navy-blue suit took center stage.

"Welcome Ones!" She called energetically, with arms raised up in greeting. "If I'm excited, I can't imagine how excited you must be..." The rows of Ones shifted uncomfortably, it was too early for such perk.

"Sorry, this mic must not be on." She tapped at the lavalier by her white blazer. "I said - how excited are you?"

A mumbled cacophony of "So excited..." filled the room.

"No, no, that simply won't do! You are the future Law Makers of Markom - if you're not excited about Jurisprudence, how can we expect the rest of your citizens to have even a semblance of order?" She held the attention of the room with her piercing gaze. "Let's try that again. How excited are you?"

The room rose in cheers, hoots and hollers reverberating against the glass. Even Cadmus feigned excitement, standing on his chair and raising his own voice in screeching screams.

"Good Ones" She said sweetly, motioning for them to all take their seats. "I am Alysia 36, your head Lawmaker." Cadmus held back a scoff. He was surprised that a One of such unimpressive lineage had risen through the ranks. He supposed that Litigation was the great equalizer. "Please direct any major questions to me and our Senior Leadership," She held up the bronze pendant on her neck. Cadmus squinted at the imprint of scales on the large medallion. "We all wear similar pendants according to our troupe." Cadmus looked around the room to see a number of other pendant holders waving politely at their group.

"It's exciting for us to have new blood." The woman said slyly. "But just because you are ignorant, doesn't mean you don't have rules to follow." Alysia cleared her throat and a series of rules appeared on the screen behind her. "As you might imagine, the work we do here is incredibly confidential. You are the only assortment of Ones with the power to fraternize with other classes -- if only to collect data through scientific processes to improve and elevate our laws -- but fraternize none-the-less. The things that you will discover must only be discussed among your track. Any dialogue of unpublished, confidential materials across departments or outside of Litigation will be punished most severely."

Cadmus sat up in his seat. Out of all the things he knew about Litigation that was new to him. Fraternize outside of his class? Was there anything more forbidden among castes? His heartbeat quickened.

"A lawmaker is only as good as their team," the woman continued. "Today, you will be assigned to your troupe and given your mentor. But first - your shadow assignments. Please, exit through the back in two lines."

Cadmus looked at Jacov, his own brows furrowed in confusion. His whole life, Cadmus had assumed that Litigation was a joke assignment. What could matter less than creating laws? Yet, as the veil was being lifted, Cadmus couldn't push away the growing feeling of intrigue that consumed him.