happened so that it goes on record.”
Nobody protested. They were so furious that they were happy to hear it again to have another opportunity to relish in the cowardice and detestability of what had happened.
“Yesterday afternoon,” started the Mechanist, “all members of this council were called by myself, Mecha11, to this council room to report on how the defence of our outer walls was going. Kat, G, Jayden and I all returned as planned. However, we soon realized that Gobbleguy was missing.”
There was a shudder of contempt around the room as the Mechanist spoke that name.
“With the help of the police chiefs, we searched the city, and we weren’t able to find him. However, in Gobbleguy’s bedroom, Ben discovered a book that he had written. In it, Gobbleguy said that he was leaving Elementia forever, and going to play Minecraft on other servers. He then proceeded to explain, in probably the most passive and nonconfrontational way I’ve ever heard, that he couldn’t take the pressures of being on the council anymore. He said that it was, and I quote, ‘far too much stress and effort to put into a lousy Minecraft server.’ Because of his desertion, the police chiefs have charged Gobbleguy with treason, and have a warrant out for his arrest should he ever return to Elementia.”
As the Mechanist finished his recap, nobody had anything to say. All they could do was stew in their misery and despise the deserter. It was bad enough that Blackraven had turned out to be a traitor to the council and had been working as a double agent for the Alliance the entire time. It was even worse that his treachery had caused Stan, Charlie and DZ to be captured, leaving the five of them left on the council to wonder if their three friends were even still alive. And now, as one last kick to the emotional stomach of the council, one of their own members had up and left them for no reason other than his own weakness.
“Good riddance, I say,” spat Kat in disgust.
“I agree,” replied Jayden, his brow knit in scorn. “If Gobbleguy wants to be a selfish little jerk, then it’s for the best that he’s gone.”
“Yeah. I mean, what did he even do?” said G in a nasty voice. “He just sat at the meetings, looking like a timid little bunny rabbit, never saying anything, and not even having the guts to speak up for himself. Honestly, what did we lose when he left?”
“Nothing at all!” exclaimed Kat fervently.
“True!” Jayden said in an unusually deep voice. “I say we just forget he ever existed and move on.”
There were nods and mumbles of assent around the table. Everybody was privately doing the same thing, and trying to project the feeling that they were happy Gobbleguy was gone. In actuality, however, all four of them were scared senseless by the ramifications of his departure.
Although they would rather die than admit it, the remaining members of the council realized that, when Gobbleguy logged out of Elementia, the Noctem Alliance had claimed him as their victim. Even if Gobbleguy had been useless in the grand scheme of things, the fact remained that he had been driven out by the fear and pressure that the Noctem Alliance was spreading throughout Element City so effectively.
The most frightening fact of all, though, was that the council had reached a startling landmark: of the nine of them who had started the war against the Noctem Alliance, more than half of them were now gone.
“I think that it is fairly safe to say,” the Mechanist spoke after a moment of scared silence, “that our city is, as of now, incredibly well protected. Due to various innovations in defensive technology—”
“All of which you created,” Kat cut in with a smirk. There was a grim chuckle of agreement around the table. In fact, Kat was right; the Mechanist had been the one who had designed the city’s superb outer defences.
“Well, yes, that’s true,” replied the Mechanist humbly, “but it is also beside the point. As I was saying, because of the resources that we have put into the defences of our walls, I think that the Noctem Alliance will have a difficult time getting into our city. We are well equipped to fight off any approach of theirs as of right now, whether it be through stealth or by brute force. However, I think that it is also time that we acknowledge that the Noctem Alliance is, at the very least, equal to us in power.”
There were sounds of repugnance around the table. The council still found it difficult to accept that what had started off as a small protesters’ group had grown into an organization that had pushed them to the brink of annihilation in just a single month. Although they could not bring themselves to disagree with the Mechanist, saying it aloud would mean accepting it, something that Jayden, G and Kat were not prepared to do.
“Therefore,” the Mechanist continued, reaching under the table and pressing a button as he did so, “I am forced to assume that our current stalemate is temporary. The Noctem Alliance will manage to break through our walls if we are not able to weaken them somehow. For that reason, I’ve asked Bob to come in here and brief us on what we, as high-ranking members of the city, should do to actively fight the Noctem Alliance.”
“Wait a sec,” said Kat as she realized what he was saying. “Are you saying that you want us to actually go out into the server and fight the Alliance? Like, in combat?”
The Mechanist nodded. Kat’s face lit up, and she looked psyched at the prospect of finally going out into the field and actively doing something to take down the Noctem Alliance.
“Hold on,” asked Jayden, a puzzled look crossing his face. “If we’re out in the server doing the fighting, then who’s going to run the council?”
“That’s actually the one thing we need to discuss before Bob gets here,” the Mechanist said tiredly. “In my talks with Bob, he suggested that while the rest of the council goes out and undertakes several highly important objectives throughout Elementia, I myself remain here as the sole governor of Element City.
“I was the first to point out,” the Mechanist continued quickly, as all three of the other council members looked alarmed, “that this idea would give me sole power over the entirety of Element City, which is something that our constitution was designed specifically to avoid. After all, if handled improperly, the idea of a single person leading the city sounds dangerously similar to the doctrine of King Kev.
“However,” the Mechanist said as the others nodded in agreement, “it does say in the constitution that one person is allowed to control Elementia by him- or herself in time of emergency. This can be done if the other council members are required to take action to resolve the emergency, and only if the police keep a sharp eye on the single ruler to make sure that he or she does not turn into a selfish dictator, and keeps the well-being of the city in mind until such time as a council may be re-established. I don’t think anybody will disagree with me when I say that we most assuredly have an emergency on our hands at the moment.”
Nobody at the table even felt the need to say that they agreed; they all knew that it was true.
“Let us be honest with ourselves, my friends,” the Mechanist explained, sounding exhausted. “The four of us, along with the police chiefs, are the most powerful players in Element City. There are various tasks that need to be done for the sake of protecting our people and ending this war, and I believe that we, the council members, should carry them out. Of the four of us, I think we can all agree… and forgive me if I sound arrogant… that I am the best leader.”
There was a moment of silence. All the other members gave slow, consensual nods.
“So are
