Anthony DeCosmo - Schism

Jon snapped, "Trevor was a great man. He made this from the ground up. Without him, we would have been lost. Wow, I mean you, Evan, you would have been dead a long time ago."

Dante agreed, "Yeah, I would have been a part of The Order, so I know what you mean. He was my best friend, back in the day."

Evan said, "I know that, Jon. Just because I argued with Trevor did not mean I didn't appreciate his accomplishments. Yes, he built us from the ground up. But now where are we, Jon? Trevor was mortal, like any other man. We knew-all those years we knew — that sooner or later he would be gone. In recent years, as he took to the battlefield again, we should have prepared for his end. Three years ago we had a glimpse of what could happen on this day, yet we failed to take adequate precautions. No one prepared, other than a procedure for electing a new, all-powerful leader."

Jon grunted, but said nothing. Evan went on, "What you don’t understand is that I did not dislike Trevor. What I opposed was the idea of an Emperor. It does not matter if that Emperor be a good man or a bad one. What is happening out there, on the streets of our nation, only proves my point. I just wish it had not taken this tragedy for the truth to be revealed."

Brewer walked to the balcony doors. A soft rain fell from low, fluffy clouds. A solitary beam of sunlight appeared over the lake, then disappeared, then appeared again but it could not chase away the dreariness.

Dante said, "He makes sense, Jon. The whole thing has been depending on one guy; on Trevor being out in front. It was like one of those houses of cards. With him gone, it was going to fall apart. Now we have to pick up the pieces and not make the same mistakes."

Jon thought about the stacks of papers he had found atop Trevor's desk; papers on subjects ranging from agricultural output to industrial capacity to drawing political boundaries in new territories. To his eye those papers resembled a complex equation from a discipline of math he had never studied that he was expected to decipher, decode, and correctly complete.

"I didn’t want to be Emperor. I don’t even know how I won the vote."

"That doesn’t matter now. The point is that the council placed their faith in you to make the right decisions. You have the power Trevor had, and if you don’t do something fast you’re going to have to build it all up from the ground again because it’s falling apart right now."

Jon, still gazing out the doors, placed a finger on the glass and traced the slow streak of one tiny water drop. He spoke in a quiet, reflective voice.

"Wow, things have changed. Dante can tell you, in the old world I was pretty much an arrogant ass. I thought I knew everything. I thought I was, in charge," he spoke those two words in a voice that mocked the very idea of him being in charge. "Then, when it all went to Hell, I…I dropped the ball. Wow, sure did. When… when the chips were down I showed that I wasn’t in charge at all. That I had no business being in charge. Then Trevor came along. He gave me direction again, and I found that there were still a few things I was pretty good at. Things I had the confidence to do."

Evan encouraged, "You’re the best General in the military, Jon. Your accomplishments are extraordinary."

"Yeah, buddy, Trevor came to rely on you. He trusted you."

"That’s right," Jon agreed. "He trusted me to play my part. Then when he disappeared three years ago, I found myself in charge again. I found out that things hadn’t changed much. That I don’t have what it takes to be…to be at the top. Like I said, I didn’t want this."

The rain drop slipped out of reach. Jon turned to face the two men.

"So the question is, what do I do now? The economy is falling apart because I’m the Emperor. The people and businesses are afraid of what is going to happen with me in charge."

"Jon," Evan consoled. "It’s falling apart because Trevor is gone yet there is still to be an Emperor. It wouldn’t matter if Dante, or Shepherd, or myself were in your shoes. As long as one man or, I guess, one position can overrule all the institutions then those institutions and rules and procedures don’t mean a thing. That causes instability. People don’t have anything to rely on, not the bus schedule, electricity, or even the enforcement of the laws that are on the books."

"So what am I to do? I can resign this post. Have another vote and exclude myself."

Dante jumped, "Whoever takes over will have the same problems. Jon, you said you didn’t want to be Emperor, right? You have the power to change whatever needs to be changed. Use it to change everything."

Evan concurred with Dante, "You can set into motion a totally new form of government for The Empire. You can change us into a republic. Think back to the founding of America. George Washington won the Revolutionary War and was a beloved national figure. The politicians and the people were willing to hand him complete authority over the colonies, but he refused. He was elected President twice, but would not run for a third term because he felt that gave too much power to one man, a precedent that survived all the way up until FDR and then, after, the two-term limit was made a part of the Constitution because it was such a good idea."

"You’re talking about things I know nothing about. I don’t know the first thing about political systems and governments. I’m a General. I know how to fight wars. This other stuff…it’s for someone else."

"Point is," Evan focused, "sometimes the greatest leaders are those who give up power. That is what we need now, Jon. We need organization and institutions, not individuals. The people need to have faith and confidence in the government as a whole, not in a new Emperor. But right now, you are the Emperor and that gives you the power to do whatever needs to be done. Change the fundamentals of our nation and the economy will stabilize, the people will calm, and our nation will unite again."

Dante said, "We have a lot of it already. We have judges that just have to be organized into a new judiciary branch. We already have a Senate, so you’ve got the legislative branch."

"But the Emperor," Brewer conceded, "is not checked by those other branches. That needs to change. Is that what you’re saying? I’m not even sure how to do that."

"Then find someone who can," Evan said. "I’ll help, but I understand if you don’t trust me. There are plenty of political experts out there who can guide you."

"No," Jon spoke in a voice that sounded as if he had hit upon an idea. "I can’t do it. As long as there is someone with the title ‘Emperor’ then we’ll still have the same problem you just said. My first act as Emperor has to be the last act of any Emperor. This position has to cease to exist. I can go back to fighting the war and the people who know about this stuff can start building a new form of government."

Dante said, "Well, yeah, that sounds right. But you can’t just have the Senators bickering about this. Someone has to lead. We need an election for, what, a President? That will take time. I don’t know if we have that kind of time with the way things are falling apart out there."

Jon told them, "We already have an elected President; elected by the representatives of the people. You, Evan. We can morph your position into a new Executive Branch. From there, you can shape a new constitution and government through the Senate. You have friends in the trade unions and stuff, I got to figure you can use those connections to help calm things down."

Evan acted surprised. "I don’t know what to say. There are those in the military and Trevor’s old circle who will oppose me gaining such a position."

"You're already there," Jon said. "The only difference is ending the position of Emperor."