And the Suns Never Rise: A Story of Alpha Centauri

Some Senators Should Never Be Elected

A few hours later, Miss Harrison walked into the penthouse suite of the most luxurious hotel in the region, the Château Duflot. Normally, she wouldn't be able to afford the rooms Year-round, but the cred's she used came from Stellae Sanguine, and not from her own accounts.

'I hate to think how many cred's the clan has with Duflot at the reins. When it comes to saving a cred' or two, he is the best,' she murmured she took off her trademark sun hat and tossed it on the table.

"Computer, call Cooper," she called out in a loud voice.

Moments later, Cooper's voice came from the hidden speakers scattered throughout the apartment. "Cooper here."

"It's me. I just got here since we were all taking some time to catch up with one another."

"How did they take the news?" Cooper asked.

"Better than I expected. In fact, Christiana seemed excited at the thought of working with Haruhi. Haruhi was quiet, but you could tell by her smile that she was interested as well," Miss Harrison reported.

"Good," Cooper replied. "At least we got that off of our plate for now."

"What's going on back at the barn?" Harrison asked after hearing how tired Cooper seemed.

"Well, a situation has just popped up and I am going to need your help to take care of things," Cooper admitted. "A brand new Federalist Senator is stirring things up back in Cooper's Landing. She inherited the position from a Senator who had to retire for medical reasons, so this is her first large-scale election. As a result, she is looking for various things to build her platform on."

"And I guess I'm supposed to look into things more closely for you?" Harrison asked. "Do you want me to drop the psychogenesis project? I supposed I could do so for a month, but I want to be there during the final stages of the program..."

"I wouldn't be asking you if I thought you were going to have to miss anything on the psychogenesis front," Cooper responded. "I know how important those girls are to you. You've played Mother to them nonstop for six Years, after all, I wouldn't make you miss a major milestone in their... lives."

"Okay, when do I start?" Harrison asked.

"Right now. There is a car waiting for you at the hotel entrance. Pack light and send me a listing of things that can be transferred to Sara while you are gone," Cooper announced.

"Thanks for the advanced warning," Miss Harrison responded. "So what has this Senator done to make her a target?"

"She wants to revoke the special rights given to the gee-emms."

"Oh, crap!"

Cooper responded, "That's what I said."

---

Christy Harris was looking at the initial report that she had put together to send to Cooper and then on to Duflot himself.

The name of the Senator who was overstepping unwritten bounds was Hui Thomas. She was a member of the Federalist party and her constituency lay to the north/northwest of Cooper's Landing. Currently, the party was known for its fiscal and social conservancy with Mrs. Thomas voting strictly along party lines. Otherwise, there was little to know about her.

Thankfully, the more conservative members of the Senate were keeping her from going public with the news that gee-emms were given rights far beyond those of other citizens. But the party heads' influence was waning as Thomas' initial poll numbers put her neck and neck with her much more experienced opponent from the Second Wave.

'Still, the information about the gee-emms is far too important to be released for such a petty reason. I think it's time for the Senator to be educated about how things truly work in the government,' she thought as she sent the report off to Cooper.

Less than five minutes later, as she was pouring herself a tumbler of orange juice, she received a call from Cooper.

"Harris here," she answered.

"Please tell me this is just a bad dream," Cooper lamented, her voice shaking slightly over the com.'

"No, I am afraid we are going to have to another reveal, this time to the junior-most member of the Senate. On a positive note, we can do it for the President at the same time."

"We haven't done a reveal to the President because she is so incompetent that her re-election chances are all but zero. Remember that we need to be as inconspicuous as possible," Cooper said with a sigh.

"Perhaps we can use our influence to convince them both not to pursue re-election."

"Remember, we tried that about fifty Years ago and it did not work very well," Cooper noted. "Humans are much more likely to think about things in the terms of months and Years and election cycles than what is good for humanity over the course of decades. Thus, it's hard to get them to follow instructions that will be good for everyone in the long run."

"And giving up their own political careers for the good of Cooper's World in the long run just doesn't sit well with them."

"Exactly," Cooper replied.

"So what would you like to do, then?" Christy Harris asked.

"Let me talk to Duflot and see what he has to say."

----

It only took half an hour for Cooper to ring back.

"Duflot agrees that we have to do a reveal and an ultimatum."

"Oh really? Please tell me what is the ultimatum he wants us to give?" Christy asked.

"The death of herself and all living first and second-degree relatives," Cooper announced.

"Damn, that's harsh," Christy replied.

"Don't forget that Duflot lived for centuries on Earth where it is a constant struggle for resources and where humans were seen as little more than cattle. As strict as this sounds, we have to remember the Duflot was seen as a tree hugger who kept his clan out of trouble via carefully worded treaties rather than through fighting," Cooper reminded her protégé. "He was capable of the same thing while he was the crown prince of Alsace–Lorraine because of his superb mental abilities. In fact, the reason that neither France nor Germany absorbed the region was primarily due to the advice he gave to his brother and his brother's descendants after he was turned."

"In other words, if this is how a pacifist Duke of the Night acts towards humans, then..." Christy began.

"Then the hardcore ones would be downright terrifying," Cooper concluded.

"So when is my flight to Cooper's Landing scheduled?" Christy asked.

"Your helicopter is waiting on the roof. You will then take a shuttle from Planetfall to Cooper's Landing where you will receive further orders."

"Wait, Duflot approved an unscheduled shuttle ride? This must be high on his list of priorities," Christy pointed out.

"I haven't seen him this worked up in decades. The entire psychogenesis project is in jeopardy despite it being all but completed. I don't think that they could have picked a better way to piss him off..."

"Okay, I am on my way. Please make sure that the 'costumes,' including the cloaks, are ready since I'm not there to make the final preparations like I normally do. Heck, I'm not even sure where my casual clothes are right now, since plans are changing by the hour."

"Duflot has assigned both Emma and Keiko to help us. I'm sure Keiko is already in the process of having all the loose ends straightened out by the time you land."

"He assigned all three of the Chosen to work on this? Wow... just wow," Christy said in disbelief.

"I know, now get to moving."

"On my way, mum. Love you."

"Love you too, kiddo."