The Circadia Chronicles: Omnibus: The Complete Colonization Sci-Fi Series by Heather Heckadon (books to read to get smarter .txt) 📗

I thought for a second, but then the words tumbled out of my mouth. “Why would I need to raise a rebellion?” I felt my eyes widen and my head tilt to the side, silently daring her to ask why I wouldn’t. I had the god rod in my pocket and could end the whole thing right now if I wanted. I wished she would tempt me. I wouldn’t hesitate to take away her power.

Instead, she turned to the two men who had escorted me into the hanger. “Go check the plane. If there are any guns or other weapons, confiscate them.”

It caught me off guard. “Are you scared of me?” I was genuinely curious.

“No, of course not. It’s one of the first rules of negotiation I learned. If your opponent has any type of power over you, take it away. Simple as that.” She smiled at me as if trained to do so.

My brain felt rattled. The thought of her taking away any option I had and then talking to or negotiating with me was sickening. How could anyone have an honest conversation that way? How could she be sure of my intentions after doing that? Whatever I said next would be at her mercy since she made every effort to render me powerless. It was at that moment that I knew I couldn’t threaten her with the god rod. Not ever. Not if I wanted to have a clear conscience or a truthful answer that I could trust for that matter. This changed everything.

She waved her hand in my face to get my attention since I had apparently been staring off into space. “Hello...Aella?” She sounded annoyed.

“Yeah, sorry.” I forced myself back to the matter at hand—this time, with a different attitude. I didn’t know what the plan was, but I wanted to have an open conversation with her, without threats. “What were you saying?”

“I asked if you were going to lead a rebellion against The Divinity.”

“Right. I don’t know,” I sighed in relief.

“You don’t know?” she sneered. “You don’t know... You don’t know. Ha! So what does this decision of yours depend upon?”

“You.”

She looked taken aback. “Me?”

“Yeah. It depends on you and The Divinity. I don’t have a problem with The Divinity being our governing body. Not at all. I think you’re going about it wrong, though I don’t know. I’m not a ruler so I don’t know what’s right or wrong, but I know there are a lot of people who are unhappy about how you’re handling things right now.”

“So what do you suggest?” she asked.

“Democracy? Everybody wins? I like the idea of the world having one governing body. Maybe we’ll have less war that way! Who knows? What I do know is that if you keep trying to control a mass of people oppressively without their input, it’s going to backfire. History has seen it time and time again.” I sat quietly for a moment, then pressed, “Do you agree?”

Gibbins sat back in her seat and let out a long sigh. “You really don’t understand, do you?” Her voice seemed more tempered now.

“Understand what?”

“How this works. You’re from the States, correct?”

“I like to say I’m from Circadia, but before Circadia, yes. I lived in Chicago.”

“Then I’m sure you’ve heard of and possibly experienced martial law. They used it in states of emergency. They took away the citizen’s rights and enforced whatever law they considered necessary. It worked, right?”

I shrugged.

“It did,” she insisted, smug with her self-answered question. “The US government used it for emergencies only, but now the entire world is in a constant state of emergency. People may not be able to see it, but we’re doing what’s right for them.”

I took in what she said and thought for a moment. Was I incorrect to think they were doing wrong simply because I disagreed with their methods? Was I too close to it, just like the people here, to see that The Divinity was doing good?

Then I thought about what I’d seen out there. I’d seen firsthand how The Divinity was selfish and took any progress people had made for themselves, and knew that her words were pure deception. And most of all, wrong. I sighed and looked at her. “I can see I won’t be able to change your mind or reason with you.”

Her eyes squinted down on me. “So what will you do? Why do you care about all this anyway? I thought your heart was in Circadia?”

“You’re right. It still is. I want nothing more than to live out the rest of my days on Circadia in peace, but I can’t. Maybe there won’t ever be peace, but it can’t be like this.” My head lowered, and I felt tears stream down my cheek. They were silent, but I couldn’t stop the unrelenting water from running. “You’re right,” I repeated as I looked up through the tears. “I didn’t understand, but I do now. I’ve been going about this the wrong way.”

“What?” Her eyes went wide with shock. “Really?”

“Yeah, really. I shouldn’t be a part of this. I don’t live here. I live on Circadia. This isn’t my war. It’s theirs—the people who live here. This is their fight. I don’t need to question whether what I’m doing is right or wrong. All I’m morally obligated to do is show them the facts. What they do with that information is their decision.” I felt immense relief as a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. I’d been unsure of what I should be doing this entire time on Earth or if what I was doing was right, but now I knew. I knew where I was supposed to be and what I needed to do. “I’m going back to Circadia.”

She giggled. “You’re delusional, aren’t you? You realize that Circadia belongs to The Divinity, right?”

“Will you stop me from going?”

She sat silent for a moment. “No. I won’t stop you from