Valhai (The Ammonite Galaxy Series, Book 1)

Chapter Four

Chapter 4

GRACE HAD MADE her way unenthusiastically to the voting room, almost in the centre of the eighty-one by fifty metre square area that made up the 48th floor. As all voting rooms on Valhai, it was huge. A giant circumference with only the four high chairs, each situated at the four cardinal points of a circle. The highest of the four chairs nearly reached the ceiling, and the lowest, the daughter’s, raised its occupant about two metres off the floor. In the centre of the circle there was a tridiscreen, which was at that moment informing all the listening Sellites of the various points on the voting agenda of that day.

In the past, she had enjoyed the privilege of voting, making it into a ceremonious event. That had been when she had had a father to take his place in the highest chair, a normal mother to get into hers, which in its turn was lower than their father’s, and a brother living in the same space to scramble up into his own voting chair, mocking her because his was higher than hers.

Grace climbed up into the lowest chair. She didn’t feel as if her meager vote would count for anything at all, but attendance was obligatory. She settled into the chair, and positioned her right finger over the predis button so that it could be scanned and added to the list of attendant Sellites. She looked over momentarily at the other three chairs. Two years ago this voting chamber had emitted fifteen votes: eight for the house leader, three for his wife, and two each for the children over ten. Today it would emit only five votes. Her mother was already sitting in her own chair, looking around her and waving the large Xianthan dagger she couldn’t now be parted from.

Grace moved her fingers swiftly over a touchboard near the predis button. Current Sell votes were registered as a total of seven thousand, five hundred and forty-two so her two votes were not going to make much of a difference. Still, the tridiscreen in the voting chamber was connected to all the skyrises, meaning that she could be seen by anybody who wanted to see her, so she sat up straight and tried to look interested in the proceedings. Her mother was attending in the same grubby dressing gown she had worn for the last two months, and her hair was unbrushed and unwashed. Grace gave a deep sigh. She was doing her best to keep her mother on the right side of sane, but she couldn’t help feeling that she wasn’t having much success.

Since her walk on Valhai, Grace had lost all interest in the affairs of her acquaintances. So she was surprised when a flashing light indicated that she was being observed, and that the Sellite who was viewing her desired private communication.

Grace didn’t feel like talking to anybody, but it would have been very offensive to turn down a fellow Sell in a voting meeting, so she quickly moved her fingers again over the touchboard to agree to the connection.

The face that appeared in front of her belonged to Vion, from the 367th house of Sell.

“How are you, Grace?” he asked.

“Fine, Vion … you?”

Vion, heir to the healing house, had just finished his final studies of medicine. He had begun practice that same year, lightening the load on his father’s shoulders. He had a nice face, and expressive eyes. She wondered why he was contacting her now at such a personal level. It made her feel uncomfortable. She had been hoping to keep the doctors away from her mother, although she knew that this was getting more and more unlikely.

“I’m fine,”—he narrowed his eyes—“which is more than I can say for you. Are you sure you’re all right, Grace? You look a little bit under the weather to me.”

For some silly reason Grace’s voice clogged up. She wasn’t used to anybody worrying about her these days. It was an uncomfortable feeling. To her horror, she felt tears welling up in her eyes.