Warship

Asher: The First Meeting

"Those who don't learn from history are condemned to repeat it." - George Santayana

    Asher looked out the window out to his territory. He had won it years ago from the remnants of the human race. All of this, he thought, mine. I can't wait until I can start Phase One.

    "Sir." Everyone in the court was watching him. The one who had spoken was his top royal advisor, Brendan. "Are you listening to us?" Asher tried to look convincing, without much effort, and he succeeded.

    "Yes, yes. Of course. I know what we were talking about." Nobody questioned Asher's word, seeing as he was King, and they went back to the conversation at hand.

    "So, as I was saying, the mining districts are getting more out-of-hand. Their protests have become more and more violent. We are worried that their rebellious spirit will lead to a downfall in our mining export, which is tedious as is. We are a very underdeveloped country, as you know, and a downfall in the mining industry would be devastating to our universal standing." Everyone nodded as Cameron, a long-standing member of the court, gave her monologue. Edraa, the planet they ran, was, in fact, only twenty years old. It was the nation that inhabited Earth after political unrest and corruption in the human societies led to an uprising, which led to an anarchy that practically wiped humans off the face of the earth. The last surviving colonies were done away with as Asher's first move as king of Edraa as to remove any competition for control of the planet, and the Tsemini, Earth's new invasive species, quickly populated the planet. Unfortunately, in the last couple of years, unrest had been bubbling up like a hot spring in the labor districts, and it was causing major setbacks in the capital. "But I have a solution that, personally, I think will work. If we just-."

    "We don't need to do anything," Asher proclaimed, interrupting Cameron mid sentence.  Everyone gasped, their heads were flung in Asher's general direction. Their disbelief did nothing to deter him, though, and he smiled like a businessman. "I have a plan." Asher carried himself in such a self-assured way that one statement calmed his advisors' disbelief and turned it into curiosity. "We don't need to do whatever Cameron planned." Cameron looked disappointed. "Instead, we're going to do my idea." That was not a question. "You see, the labor districts are rebelling because they feel like they have the legal opportunity to do so. If we cinch the belt of justice tighter around them, they will have to quit at their playing proctor. If we crowd all of the districts with more laws, we will be able to ultimately control them. They don't know what they want, you see, and doing this would be in their best interest. I don't want to have to do this, but I must. It is the only way." When Asher finally sat back down, the room erupted with applause. I guess that standing up thing really did it for everyone, he thought Asher hadn't noticed it at first, but in the middle of his speech, he had stood up. Really adds to the dramatic effect. Asher took a glance around the room. It was then when he noticed something was off. Not everyone was clapping. In the corner, around Deidra and Eric, was Ruby, the newest advisor. She had come from somewhere close to the mining district they had just been talking about. She seemed confused.

    "Well, Lady Ruby, what seems to be the matter?" All eyes turned to Ruby, who was barely old enough to be in the court. It was law that all those on the royal court had to be above the age of twenty. She was twenty-one. Ruby's face flushed a dark shade of red, brought out more by her sun-darkened skin and black hair. The flush of color looked odd on her catlike face.

    "Umm... ummm..." Ruby stuttered.

    "What, cat got your tongue? C'mon, spit it out." The idiom was especially funny because cats had disappeared a few years after the humans. Little known to anyone else, though, was the fact that the government kept a few around to study because of their insatiable will. Many advancements had been made to knock this will right out of them. Asher used it as a way to coax good ideas out of her with friendliness, but with the underlying threat of disapproval by the group in case her idea was not a good one. Taking in a deep breath, Ruby composed herself, and she started her monologue.

    "Well, first off, that idea wouldn't work because the people want freedom, and you are using oppression to squash this want. The only way to silence this need is to give them freedom. Secondly, it is just right. Oppression for no reason is cruel and should not be tolerated. If we give our people the freedom to express themselves, to bend the rules, they will not order an uprising. They will not ask for an upheaval of the government. They will be content with what they have. If you oppress them further, you are just asking to be overthrown. Instead, give them freedom, and all will be well." Well she just got very confident, Asher thought. Ruby's speech, although very eloquent, was met only with disbelief, confusion, and incredulity. The other court members looked at her like an unfamiliar, disgusting animal, eyes wide and repulsion at the helm of their expressions. Asher smiled charismatically, trying to wrap the situation back into a neat box, and shut this stray idea back inside of it.

    "Now, now, young Ruby, that would never work. " The court members who had been thrown off by her statement were now slightly less frenzied because of his. "Let's take the human state of America, for example. They gave their citizens freedom, the freedom to do whatever they want, the freedom to corrupt anything they want, and now look where they are now. Torn apart from within. Lying in shambles on the roadside. Do you want our country to be like theirs?" The other court members waited for Ruby's response. She cleared her throat.

    "Mmmh.. With all do respect, the reason they fell was because their country turned into a dictatorship. A dictatorship, like ours." A gasp ran through the court like the feeling in a studio audience when something outrageous happens, like when a young, inexperienced member of a patriotic group "subtly" suggests that their government is corrupt. Asher was baffled. Being one of the few moments in his life where he didn't know how to respond, it angered him. Rage glinted in his eyes. He was trying to control his ire, but only slightly succeeding.

    "Are you saying this government is corrupt." He spoke through his teeth. Ruby shook her head slightly. She lifted it back up and look him in the eye, determination setting her every move.

    "I am only suggesting that." That statement sent the court into a frenzy. Asher pounded his hand on the table.

    "Meeting dismissed," he said, distaste creeping in his words. He sent a glare Ruby's way, and she responded with a determined stare of her own. This would not be settled easily.