The Last Days of Krypton - Kevin J. Anderson [70]
Her father tried to console her, hearing the worry she could not quite cover up in her voice. “We know Jor-El as well. We can’t believe the terrible things they say, and yet the evidence…. You yourself were there.”
“Yes, I was, and I saw the accident. And I still stand by Jor-El.”
Her parents looked at each other in the image screen and simultaneously came to the same conclusion. Lor-Van said, “Then you have our support, Lara. We will be there for you.”
Ora hesitated. “I assume the wedding will take place soon? Jor-El’s hearing…”
“It will be as soon as I can manage it. Trust me!”
Before they ended the communication, her parents shared their own news, that they had begun exhaustive preparations for their most ambitious project yet: to adorn an entire administrative spire with complex friezes and colorful crystalsilk weavings. Lara was excited to hear their descriptions, but her concentration strayed back to helping Jor-El.
Even with the components of the destroyed seismic scanner spread out on the grounds and catalogued, Jor-El still couldn’t determine what had gone wrong, and he worked obsessively to find out. Even though it would not change the guilt the Council no doubt intended to pin on him, still he needed to know. He called up his blueprints, recalculated every possible light angle. Though he could not duplicate Donodon’s technology, he even built another prototype of the red sun generator, which operated perfectly at up to three times its designed capacity. It made no sense.
Outside in the afternoon sunshine, they worked together on the problem. Though Lara had an artistic rather than a technical background, she insisted on helping him. “I can’t match you in the theoretical arena, but every small task I take out of your hands gives you more time and energy to devote to clearing your name.”
Jor-El, however, knew it wouldn’t be enough. He needed a much more powerful ally if he were to have any hope of changing the Council’s decision.
Commissioner Zod arrived unannounced at the estate five days after the death of Donodon. Jor-El came forward, feeling a knot in his stomach. He could not interpret the Commissioner’s motives; at times he seemed to support Jor-El, while other times he seemed intent on destroying him. “Do you have news from the Council?” He wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the answer.
Zod waved his hand casually. “They take an interminable amount of time to do anything. Don’t expect a decision soon.”
Lara remained close at Jor-El’s side, suspicious. “Then why did you come here, Commissioner?”
“Why, to help you plan your defense at the trial. You need my assistance. You must know that I am one of your staunch supporters.”
Jor-El couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He didn’t know any such thing. Though he respected the man for his single-mindedness, he had always disagreed with Zod’s entrenched attitude against progress. “That’s not like you, Commissioner. As you so pointedly reminded the Council, you warned me time and again about uncontrolled technology. It was my invention that caused this disaster.”
The other man shrugged. “Yes, and if I could spin the planet backward and reverse time, I would urge you never to build your dangerous device. But it is too late for that. We must put the past behind us.”
“That still doesn’t explain why you are on our side, Commissioner,” Lara said. She watched the man closely, trying to figure out what political advantages he saw to helping Jor-El.
Zod scrutinized Lara, as if trying to fit her into the equation alongside Jor-El. As if admitting a terrible mistake, he said, “When Donodon was killed, I had an epiphany. When I faithfully censored dangerous technologies to keep Kryptonians from hurting each other, I failed to imagine that we might need to protect ourselves from outside enemies. We may be a gentle and peaceful race, but the rest of the galaxy is not so harmless. Outsiders have noticed us now, and you have a better chance of saving Krypton than anyone else. But the Council doesn’t realize it.” Zod sighed heavily. “I fear