Of Cabbages and Kings
Every few years, the consortium convenes in person. It’s an interesting group of all the best and brightest world-wide. Due to his background in physics, Papa was chosen to be part of it ages ago… and I’ve been a member for 10 years. And now, it’s Orri’s time to be groomed to join the group.
What exactly is the consortium? Basically, we run projections on what would happen if there’s a worldwide catastrophe… and how to best preserve life on this planet. The consortium actually consists of several portions: military, economic, governmental, and several branches of the sciences. My main contribution is to moderate over the majority of these meetings. Joel handles the remaining meetings that I don’t tend to. I would suppose it’s due to his abilities as an empath. Either way, we keep all meetings from straying off topic. In addition, I’ve provided DNA information on every supe that I’ve come in contact with to Theseus Atreidae. It is our opinion that there is something about supes that will preserve the human race, and it will be necessary in the future to know exactly where each one is, their descendants… as well as their unique abilities.
After an obscenely early flight, my group landed at DCA, then we were whisked to the hotel. As I thought, our usual suite was reserved for us. Raoul and I had our old room, Mama, Papa and Vera were in the room that Raphael and Daidrae had used, and Phillip, Josie and Bethany were in the room the girls shared. Orri was more than happy to sleep in the office, which had a pull out bed. We all dumped our things, then it was time for Papa, Orri and I to leave. Raoul opted to stay with the other group.
As usual with consortium meetings, we were whisked to a secret location, happily meeting up with Joel…. and Leigh. Evidently, she’s one of the newest members. I mentally relayed the information to Raoul, in case he wanted to meet up with Sam and Cecil in the bar. Once everyone was assembled, we went to our designated sections.
Dear, sweet Orri was allowed to sit in the ecological section, after being ‘advised’ to keep quiet unless spoken to. She took to the meeting quite well, especially after everyone learned about her ability with insects. Joel told me about it, since he moderated over that meeting. My meetings as moderator tend to lean towards the business and political… and they were definitely a test of my patience. From what Joel says, the science group is much more agreeable. We took a break for lunch…. then continued it all over again until 5.
At the end of the day, Joel and I gathered up all the information from each group, then presented it to Theseus Atreidae. I also gave him the genetic information from Luisae’s latest batch of DNA testing. What he does with our information, we don’t know…. and really don’t want to know. I do have my suspicions, and I’ve seen things in my dreams…. but until these things come to pass, I’m happy enough to work in the dark. I have enough to deal with in my everyday life than to worry about the future.
After the meeting, Joel, Leigh, Papa, Orri and I headed back to the hotel, where we met up with the rest of our group. Phillip and Josie opted for room service, while the rest of the group ate downstairs in the restaurant. It was nice to know that Mama was still able to meet with some clients, while Vera and Josie strolled around with Bethany… and Vera’s guards. Raoul and Phillip didn’t mind, though. They kept a discreet distance, and were able to get a chance to talk.
Now that it’s well after dinner, we’ve all headed to our areas for the night. Orri’s already asleep, as well as most of our group. And to think…. in a few years, I get to do it all over again. Next time, I’m sure that Orri will be an official consortium member, as well as Robin. Positions we’ll keep until… well, that’s a story for another day.
“The time has come,” the Walrus said,
“To talk of many things:
Of shoes—and ships—and sealing-wax—
Of cabbages—and kings—
And why the sea is boiling hot—
And whether pigs have wings.”
from Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, 1872 by Lewis Carroll