Wattys shortlist 2021. One morning the sun rises a few hours early, striking levitating skyscrapers in Soliara ahead of schedule. People in the streets stop to look up at the sky and then down at their watches. Most of them, puzzled but disbelieving...
Outside the modest home of Calcus Donato, the whole neighborhood had come out onto the streets. Calcus stayed on his front porch to ruminate, watching his daughter Lora as she gossiped with the crowd.
It was a pleasant street that housed hard working families in identical bungalows with trimmed green lawns and privet hedges.
Caucus could move somewhere with a larger lot and a monstrous manor, now that he was on the board of Constellation, but he liked to take his time making decisions. There was Lora to think about, and leaving behind his neighbors, and what would the maid think, and would he need to hire more help to manage the upkeep?
Could he handle the gardening on his own? And what would the new neighbors be like?
No, there were too many factors to take into account — and everything that had happened today made him feel uncertain of the future and completely incapable of making any decisions under such unstable conditions. Who knew what tomorrow could hold? Maybe the sun would never rise. Maybe all of the expensive properties by the bay would crumble into it in an earthquake. Maybe a new president would be elected — and someone would kill that one too.
There was just too much uncertainty today.
He resolved not to change and focused his attention back on the crowd in the streets, and just as he found Lora again he saw her raise her arm to point at him — she was talking to a woman he didn't know and pointing Calcus out to her. Calcus knew what the stranger would want; it was obvious, given the timing.
He gave a friendly wave and waited for the woman to approach.
She was in her later years but her long hair didn't have a single strand of white. Her pantsuit was immaculate, her leather briefcase and shoes polished and stately in every way. When she made it to the end of his adorable cobblestone walkway she held out an elegant hand to him and introduced herself, "Esperanza Valerian."
"Calcus Donato," he said, as he shook the hand, and would say nothing further until he heard what she had to say.
"It's nice to meet you. I hear we'll be working together soon. I'm assistant to the lead engineer on the energy team, as well as liaison to the board."
With a characteristic pause before speaking, Calcus pondered his response and decided it was safe to go with, "It's nice to meet you too." Lead engineer. Liaison to the board. This was exactly the sort of person he expected to find as a neighbor were he to move to a 'nicer' neighborhood. The sort who always asserted his or her importance.
He had shaken her hand to be polite, but he didn't want to waste her time. "Let me save you some time," he said before she could speak another word. "I'm not interested."
"You know why I'm here?" said Valerian.
"Of course. The president is dead and Alma Valerian, whom I believe is your kin, is in the running to replace her. There's nothing you could say to change my mind. I'm voting for Justin Marius."
"I'm glad to hear that," she said, a response he never would have counted so much as a possibility. But she beamed at him and went on, "I don't support Alma for president — I don't get a vote, but I wanted to let all of the electors know that. I do not endorse my sister. I'm here on Justin Marius's behalf."
Calcus didn't really know what to say to that, so he thought about it for a minute. He hadn't expected Justin Marius to send anyone out; Calcus had given his word, and he meant to keep it, no matter what else changed between now and crepesculum. The decision had been calculated carefully, with decades of data under consideration, and it was the correct choice beyond a doubt. But obviously Marius was worried that Calcus might not come through. Well, if Justin feared for his victory, that didn't change anything in Calcus's mind either, so he said, "Justin Marius has nothing to worry about."
"He sends a gift, as a thank you for your loyalty." Esperanza Valerian drew something out of her suit jacket. Wrapped in a silk cloth, it looked too large to have been comfortable in the inside pocket. Curious though he was to know what the wrapped object was (a knife, some kind of tool? his imagination was limited — it was big enough to be a pistol, but he already had one of those) he didn't need to think long about it before deciding that also didn't change anything, and there was no reason to accept a bribe.
"That won't be necessary," he said. "Tell Marius I'm with him."
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Thank you for reading Stars Rise. Next week the final act will begin at hora octava. Don't miss the festivities!
