The weather had cleared during their journey to the enclave’s wall. Ashken waited on the top of the wall. Except for his infrequent visits to the gates, Ashken had never seen the world outside the enclave. He had given it very little thought. In his mind’s eye, he expected it to be desolate and bloody. Without the Moderns’ machines and the guidance of the enclave’s council, he could not imagine a civilization growing and taking hold. This was the same people who brought about the Great War, his father had taught. It seemed unlikely that they could rebuild anything like the civilization they had destroyed. It was the governing council’s strongest argument to keep the enclave separate from the rest of the world. It was only there where the elders could watch over the people that the people could enjoy the safety afforded by the Moderns’ machines.

And from what he saw, his assessment was not too far from the truth. The Moderns’ machines kept the area close to the wall clear of trees and vegetation. For miles around, there was only dusty hilly ground. He could spot trees in the far distance, and a small winding road leading through one of the banks of trees. As far as he could see, though, the area around the wall was undeveloped.

A few years back, a number of farmers had petitioned the governing council for the right to develop the land outside the walls. Space was precious within the enclave. The population had grown larger as space became more limited. As the Moderns’ machines that produced food began to break down, more of the land was converted into farmland to feed the growing population. Not all of the land in the enclave was capable of supporting food. Many of the Moderns’ buildings still stood, and around the foundations of these buildings, it was impossible to get anything to grow. The Moderns must have treated the land to protect the buildings from unplanned weeds. It took a couple of years after the roads and buildings broke down for the land to support food.

Tenos had spent many hours explaining the confrontation to Ashken. Ashken had been very young at the time, but most of the lesson had stuck.

The governing council met in a large oval building in the center of the enclave. It was the tallest structure in the enclave rising five stories above the ground. A walkway encircled the vaulted ceiling of the main meeting room. The domed ceiling itself was partially transparent. The transparency was based on the amount of light. When dark outside, the ceiling was completely transparent. When the sun glared overhead, the ceiling was almost completely opaque, with just enough light let in to illuminate any proceedings. The rest of the time, the transparency changed in proportion to the amount of light outside.

The main meeting chamber was square with four sets of doors leading out in each direction. The building itself was separated into four quadrants. When originally designed and used, there had been four political parties, and each party would use the separate areas that led from the doors to gather and discuss their positions on the various issues brought in front of the governing council. The council room itself was designed to hold over three hundred representatives and their support staff. That number of members of the governing council had greatly shrunk over the years until only ten members attended most sessions. The ten members and their staff gathered near the northeast entrance to the great hall. Three of the four quadrants of the building had long since been closed.

Tenos sat in the chamber waiting for the farmer’s representative to be recognized. His name was Travis Ridley, and he was a member of an older and distinguished family. Travis became involved with the farmers for the same reasons as most of the old families: they had grown too large too quickly, and it was difficult to support the families on the income the properties provided. Travis worked closely with the farmers, and the Ridley family threw their support behind Ridley and his work. Travis had given up his place in the Ridley household to devote his full efforts to the farmers. He even lived as a farmer, and had married the daughter of a farmer. She was not from an old family and the rumors about his marriage worked around the enclave many times over.

Only five of the council members had showed up for the hearing. Even if they all voted to provide Travis whatever relief he requested, they would not have enough of a majority to make it so. Tenos did not think that the five people who had shown up planned to vote in his favor. There was a strong dislike of the farmers among the older families. They looked down upon the farmers with disdain. The old families and the council had begun to rely on the farmers’ output now that the Moderns’ food-making machines had started to break down. There were few choices. The enclave did not allow enough trading with the outsiders to provide more than the most extravagant foodstuff to be brought in from the outside. The farmers had to provide the staples.

The ten chairs of the governing council were arranged in a semicircle in the far northeast section of the great hall. Four large paintings of the founding council leaders hung above each of the double entrance doors. The people in the painting looked young and ready to save the world from itself. The one hanging over the northeast door was that of Penelope Liebowitz, the great ancestor of Tenos’s family. She had instilled Tenos’s family as the judges of the council. At the peak of its power, a dozen Liebowitz’s had presided over the council. As the council concentrated its power in fewer people’s hands, the concentration lowered the number if not the power of the Liebowitz family.

Sitting next to Tenos was Jeremiah Friar. Jeremiah wore a brown overcoat and chewed on a lit pipe. The tobacco in the pipe smelled sweet and natural, like trees in the autumn. Jeremiah was rarely without his pipe. He claimed it made him feel dignified. Deidre Diamond sat across from Jeremiah. She was the newest member of the council. She was the first of the Diamond family to sit on the council. She was also the first person from a farming family to gain a seat on the council. Tenos had little doubt where she would stand on whatever issue Travis would raise. The other two members sitting in the council were Tomlin Vanders and Petra Scowler. Both sat on the opposite side of Deidre and chatted quietly to each other. Attendants would usually sit behind the council members, but today the hall was empty except for the council. The governing council had declared today a holiday after the Moderns’ machines had overrun a particularly nasty attack from the outsiders trying to breach the enclave’s walls. The attendants were celebrating with the rest of the people. The work for the council, Tenos knew, could not wait on celebrations.

Tenos called the governing council to order and dispensed of the minutes. He called Travis to the table to explain his case. Travis was a tall thin man. His voice was quiet and reed-like. But there was an inner strength. Tenos believed that most farmers shared this inner strength. It was something one acquired from spending hours in the fields alone with one’s own thoughts. The one wonderful thing about physical labor was how much thinking time it provided you. Tenos smiled at his thoughts. He had never done physical labor, and he was at best extrapolating. Perhaps how the others was not as wonderful as he supposed.

“I thank the council for taking the time to hear my pleas,” Travis said after a ferocious coughing spell. “As you know, I represent the council of farmers. They have asked me to come before you to explain a situation that is only growing worse. As the population grows, the farmers need more land to produce enough food to feed the enclave. They have cultivated all the abandoned land and made deals with many of the old families to begin producing on their abandoned lands.

“This has helped the families considerably, but there’s still a need for more land. That is why I am here today. There is an area of land that is available for cultivation immediately. We believe that this land would produce more than enough food for the growing population of the enclave. It has been overlooked before not because it is hard to reach but because the governing council has not allowed us to cultivate.

“What the farmers and I are talking about is the unused area around the outside of the enclave’s wall. It is the only place where we can expand our harvest for some time to come. The council has discussed this before, but has never granted the farmer’s the rights to work the land and bring the food back into the enclave to distribute it to the people. We are running out of time. The new planting season is weeks away, and if we’re going to cultivate that land, we need to start now.”

Travis sat down after his speech. Tenos had not been surprised by its contents. For a while now, the farmers had been eyeing the lands outside the walls. While most of the families had leased their land for the farmers to work, many of the older families, who owned most of the lands, had not. This included Tenos.

“Do you know why the council hall is so empty today,” Tenos asked, trying to keep the disgust from his voice. He had heard the farmer’s arguments before, and he had not been persuaded. This now seemed a waste of time, especially during a holiday, which he could have spent with Ashken.

“Of course, Tenos. You declared today a celebration day after the walls repelled another large-scale attack by the outsiders. But I don’t see what that has to do with the production of food outside the walls.”

Tenos gave an exaggerated laugh that he cut off abruptly. “Travis, I spent many years with your family and you. Your family had hopes for you. We had a spot on the council that I always hoped you to fill.” Tenos glanced over to Deidre’s chair, and she returned his look with disdain. “But it was not meant to be. You threw your lot in with the farmers, and while I find it hard to understand or respect your decision, I do understand why you are here.

“But what I don’t understand is how you can ignore the dangers that wait outside the walls. The dangers are real as evidenced by yesterday’s attack. If we send farmers to cultivate the land outside the walls, what do you think will happen? Do you think the outsiders will leave them alone to go about their business? You know better than most the dangers that the outsiders represent. You also know that the Moderns’ machines that patrol the walls will not help the farmers when they are attacked. The outsiders would use the farmers as hostages, and there would be nothing that we would be able to do to protect the farmers.”

“Isn’t that the farmer’s risk to take?” Deidre asked. Tenos had watched her during his response. He had seen her eager to speak, to refute his statements. Once a farmer, always a farmer, Tenos knew. And Deidre was one of the worst of the lot. “And the farmers do not need the broken-down Moderns’ toys to protect them. They are a hardy lot. You are not giving them much credit, Tenos. They are the people of the enclave. I believe this would be a fine thing for the farmers as well as for the people of the enclave. The only risk as I see it is to the great families of the enclave and their control of the land.”

Jeremiah stood up to speak but Tenos put his hand on Jeremiah’s arm. He knew where Jeremiah stood on this issue. He was more interested in hearing from Tomlin and Petra. Both remained seated, however, whispering something to one another. Tenos knew the vote did not matter. It could not pass because of the holiday. Travis’ visit had been planned and scheduled for many months. It was a shame that more council members had not been able to make the trip to hear his demands. But that was the way of the enclave. Things happened slowly here, and nobody was fond of change.

Ashken had learned from his father what happened to Travis and the farmers. After the council voted down their request, the farmers had left the enclave. They had hoped that once they grew the food, the enclave would accept them back. As was the custom of the enclave, the farmers were allowed to leave. But once they left, they would not be accepted back into the enclave. They were considered outsiders. Such was the freedom the council granted the farmers. As far as the governing council knew, the farmers did not set up their farms along the outside of the wall as everyone had expected. They were never seen from or heard from again. Many of their family members still lived within the enclave. Tenos would comfort them by reminding them that the Travis and the farmers had taken the risk and knew the possible outcomes.

Word count: 2,267

Words remaining: 18,461 (words so far: 31,539)

Thoughts: I experimented with a flashback to see if it would get me out of my funk. I should stop wasting my time with politics. I’m just not good at it. And writing too. I’m definitely not good at that. At least the words came easier today. I spent most of the time telling instead of showing—but somehow, the telling ate up the words. I guess there are worse things. Now, if only I spent October telling so I could have spent November showing, the world would be a better place and dogs and cats, well, you know where I’m going with that. It’s getting worse. I’ve completely lost all coherencies in the story. I don’t even know where it’s heading or what it’s about. Ah, now I remember: words. Lots of them. This will be heading to the trash bin soon enough. I just need to cross the line to start crumpling.