The Last Days of Krypton - Kevin J. Anderson [171]
Lara was infuriated when he told her what had happened. “They’re distorting history! That’s exactly the sort of thing Zod wanted me to do—and I refused! How can the new Council want to make the same errors? They’re as bad as the General himself.”
Jor-El shook his head. “They will never see it, and you gain nothing by making such claims.” As he sensed the direction the political winds were blowing, he realized that he himself might end up being a scapegoat. “They want our world to be exactly as it was before the loss of Kandor, but they’ve forgotten that the old Krypton wasn’t perfect by any means. I thought we would have learned something from all that has happened.”
CHAPTER 82
After so many nightmarish months, Jor-El wished he could just go home to his peaceful estate, pursue his own interests, and wait for the birth of his son. It wouldn’t be long now.
Lara couldn’t agree with him more. “I want our baby to be born in the manor house.”
But with the new government being formed, Jor-El could not simply abandon the people and leave the course of Krypton’s future to chance. He wanted to make certain the new leaders learned from their mistakes and did not fall into the backward thinking of the old Council. He suspected that the provisional government was already stumbling down the wrong path.
He’d had no interest in politics before, but now he had a chance to change the direction of society. Despite his reservations, he was willing to become a guiding force so that Krypton would look ahead, explore the universe, and become part of galactic society, just as Donodon had invited them to do.
In the sky overhead, Rao continued to swell and churn, erupting with more spectacular flares than had been recorded in centuries. The turbulent red sun concerned him, and it had been far too long since he’d sent up a solar-probe rocket. Perhaps he could convince the new leaders to take long-term action and prepare for Rao’s eventual demise. He had already shown his proposed arkship plans to No-Ton, and the other scientist had gone wide-eyed at the very prospect of evacuating an entire planet.
Two days later, inside the refurbished government palace, Lara sat with him in the front row as the provisional government met to formally establish a new Council, choosing representatives from cities across the continent. Tyr-Us sat at the head of a long table with ten empty chairs. He acted as the de facto head of the proceedings and seemed to accept his role as a matter of course. He was the son of old Jul-Us, and he had suffered greatly for standing up to Zod. Jor-El knew the others would find the man comforting.
Because of his ordeal in the Phantom Zone and his track record of being one of Zod’s first and most outspoken detractors, Gil-Ex also accepted a seat. In what was almost certainly a measure of sympathy for their similar suffering, four more of the prominent dissidents recently released from the Phantom Zone were also elected. As their names were called, the four came forward to take empty chairs at the Council table.
For their parts in the great battle that had overthrown Zod, Or-Om, Korth-Or, and Gal-Eth also accepted seats on the new Council. Jor-El was surprised when they offered the next seat to No-Ton. Though he was a former member of Zod’s Ring of Strength, they found the other scientist acceptable because of his “notable resistance to the General’s dangerous orders.” No-Ton didn’t seem to have expected the appointment, either.
“And for our last seat on the new Council, we are proud to nominate Zor-El from Argo City,” Tyr-Us said. Although he was glad for his brother, Jor-El was perplexed and concerned that they had brushed him aside.
Zor-El stood from his bench in the speaking hall, his face etched in deep thought. He held his left arm out in front of him, contemplating the burn scars there. “I have had experience with the cumbersome nature of the old Council. By requiring that even the simplest votes be decided by consensus