Pathways - Jeri Taylor [181]
She noted that a small group of people had gathered round, but realized it was primarily Daggin and their friends. Most of the Ocampa were transfixed by the entertainment screens, and couldn’t stir themselves enough to pay attention to this minor insurrection that was occurring in front of them. Kes kept going.
“Knowledge shouldn’t be hidden away from the people, it should be given freely to anyone who requests it. Knowledge itself isn’t dangerous—but lack of it can be devastating. Wouldn’t we be better off as a people if we had more knowledge, rather than less? These writings of our ancestors contain a gift more valuable even than energy and water—they contain truth. That’s a quality that is valuable in and of itself. All people should seek the truth, and those who govern should have that same quest. But we’re being denied the truth, because of a small group of people who have decided on our behalf that truth and knowledge are better off kept secret. Do you see any wisdom in that kind of thinking?”
She glanced up at the glass-front façade of the structure that contained the Elders’ offices. She was fairly sure she saw Toscat’s squat shape standing at his window, peering down. The sight gave her a rush of vindication, and she turned to the small group that had gathered around her. She was gratified to see that it had grown somewhat; some of the citizenry had apparently developed curiosity about what was happening.
“She’s right,” called Daggin from the periphery. “We ought to be able to study our own past. Why are these documents being kept from us? Is there some ulterior purpose? We should hold the Elders accountable for their actions!”
A lusty cheer arose from the small band of their supporters, but the other Ocampans merely looked perplexed. This was a singularly unconventional event, one outside their ken, and they had no idea how to respond. The pacifying influence of the screens was more familiar, and some of them wandered back.
“Who will go with me to the Elders?” called Kes. “Who will join in our demand to find the truth of our past?” Again, Daggin and the others pressed forward, calling, “We will!” But most of the citizens began to drift away, unable to absorb what Kes was proposing. She watched them melt back into the milling crowds, and for the first time began to feel doubt. These people were too far gone, too docile, too drained of initiative. They would never challenge the Elders.
Then Kes saw a familiar figure standing near one of the columns. It was Martis, her mother, and she was smiling at Kes with what could only be called unabashed pride. Their eyes locked, Kes felt a surge of love pass between them, and her courage returned. She turned back to the crowd. “Come with me,” she rang out, “let’s go right now. They can’t refuse us.”
She began to stride toward the office structure, followed by Daggin and their friends. She noticed that a few other Ocampans fell in behind them, though more from an instinct to follow than from revolutionary zeal. So be it, at least their numbers had swelled.
Marlath’s face was startled when they burst into the anteroom and demanded to see Toscat. He was clearly disquieted by the appearance of this unruly group, for nothing like this had ever happened, so far as he knew. He stammered as he spoke.
“I . . . I don’t know if he’s here. He may have . . . have gone to . . . to . . .”
“Don’t bother, Marlath. I know he’s here. I could see him from the Assembly floor,” challenged Kes. At that point the door to Toscat’s office opened and he appeared, summoning as much mastery of the situation as he could.
“Citizens, how can I help you?” he asked, and Kes was intrigued that he chose to speak out loud. They’d had an effect on him, after all.
“We want the right to review the records our ancestors kept,” announced Daggin firmly. Toscat’s eyes swept the group and stopped on Kes.
“I see you’ve been busy, Kes,” he said, with a hint of disappointment in his voice, as though she had somehow personally betrayed him.
“We all feel alike, Toscat, and