The Evacuation Proposal Chapter 7 – Out of the Wilderness
Shabba has moved to Telmon, the largest and most beautiful Tulubian city-state. She is surprised at how few people are walking around and how few young people there are. She gets a visit from her old boss/mentor, Jedib Del Grot (who she knew when his name was Jeb Della Grot). Then Beito comes to her office and has a tantrum because Markis and her gave him poor reports and he has no chance of getting a position in the Mininstry, and may not even be able to stay in the field of ecology.
Shabba, Vido and Markis are in the garden of Markis and Vido’s flat. Shabba and Imo’s flat is right next door. They all live in a building called the Doogul Cylinder: an energy self-sufficient residential complex and community. Members of all four Classes live in the Cylinder, and it’s its own community with a cafeteria, food service to flats, recreational halls, lounges and an open courtyard in the core with a stage. This is basically how most Tulubians live. Vido is excessively nice, and it is clear that Shabba feels some resentment of her.
Shabba and Markis are in Shabba’s flat, which she had decorated in the style of the Essentialist School. (think sparse and functional) Markis reveals to Shabba the plan of the Ministry of Science and Technology to make a proposal to evacuate all liitens from the planet Sede. In the proposal liitens would move to the Gray Jewel and leave Sede to the lemos. Shabba is overjoyed by the idea, but believes it will never pass. She and Markis are still lovers. It is not clear if Vido is aware of their affair.
Chapter 8 – The Council of Peace
Shabba is watching the Council of Peace Meeting on a screen in the lobby of the Tower of Peace. It is the day of the Evacuation Proposal and Markis has brought her and Imo to present to the Council members.
The meeting begins with The El-fal Usibil Mur, religious and political leader of the Suth Empire, (A tall, ceremonially dressed old Suth buck) furious with Chairman Pago Zizum of the United Wakitian Nations because the Wakitian Nation of Deirdiok is suspected of helping Progressive Suth Sect heretics from the province of Gorbo escape. (Remember, Dona’s family were Progressives from Gorbo living in Deirdiok.) Zizum stutters nervously and claims to know nothing about it. The Ubagai Shril Akven, religious and political leader of the Gaishon Islands, (a sweet little fat Wakitian doe wearing lots of colorful decorations) tries to calm the El-fal down by asking what the point of capturing the refugees is since the Empire only executes them. Minister of Ethics Izadel Della Hedra expresses her wish that the Council would in fact send the Army of Peace in to stop the El-fal from executing the Progressives. The Prime Minister Ilis Et Dooly says that the Suth Empire cannot have the refugees that have escaped back because they are out of jurisdiction.
The Minister of Science and Technology Gizo Della Mekador begins to introduce the Evacuation proposal, first by bringing in Markis to talk about lemo intelligence being much greater than once though, and then Shabba and Imo coming in to prove it. The Minister of History Shan Et Iban (a nasaly, overly formal, annoying sort of guy) is highly skeptical of Markis’ claims of lemo intelligence equal to liiten intelligence.
Then Gizo Della Mekador makes the proposal – to nonviolently force all liitens to the Gray Jewel over a 180 year period that would start as soon as the atmosphere of the Gray Jewel is made viable. All that must change for initial preparations is that global taxes will be raised threefold. The El-fal become furious and refuses to pay any global taxes. Ilis Et Dooly has a guard bring in a little metal ball that when activated by the body heat of someone picking it up starts talking in the Suth language – saying the truth about the rest of the modern and industrialized world that the El-fal keeps a secret from the Suth peasants. Et Dooly threatens to have such ball dispersed all over the Suth Empire if they stop paying their global taxes. The El-fal agrees to pay.
Once the meeting is over one of Ilis Et Dooly’s guards invites Shabba to come to his flat for dinner the next day – alone.
Chapter 9 – The Taste of Pleasure
Shabba is reading history of the province of Gorbo. It seems the Progressive Suth Sect developed because Gorbo was so far from the capital city of Aws and after the Terrible War (that devastated most of the Suth Empire) Gorbo had near economic autonomy because of rich farming lands and trade with Deirdiok. About thirty years ago the then El-fal cracked down on the Progressives heretical religion by executing its members. She gets a call from Jedib. He has a new wife now and they have a little debate about world affairs. Then Beito calls to apologize for his behavior in her office. (some time has passed at this point, and she is surprised.) He wants to meet with her to talk about his new career plans. She agrees to meet with him after her dinner with the Prime Minister. (she doesn’t tell him that’s who she’s meeting with.)
Ilis Et Dooly’s guard come to whisk her to the Dix Cylinder where he lives. It is a high security residential structure in the middle of Telmon with a view of Brionco Lake and the Ministry towers. Shabba is shocked when Ilis Et Dooly comes out wearing Wakitian casual clothing and an apron (because he’s Tulubian and no Tulubians do not cook for themselves – they have hired cooks.) He says cooking is his hobby and has made dinner for them both. Then another surprise – he has cooked a sea creature called an ishto. Tulubians don’t eat meat! So Ilis Et Dooly is definitely not a conventional Tulubian. Perhaps Shabba has found her perfect compliment? Nothing sexual happens or anything, but this is a rather sensual chapter and it’s suppose to imply some chemistry between them.
Shabba meets with Beito. He announces that he’s joining Jop on the Tripitus Space Station and he has no interest in living a genteel life in Telmon anymore. Shabba thinks that’s great. Then he tries to seduce her and she rejects him. Poor Beito.
Chapter 10 – The Ministers
Gizo Della Mekador (remember, he’s the Science buck) is hosting a social meeting in his flat with Izadel Della Hedra (the ethics doe), Shan Et Iban (the history buck) and, of course, Ilis Et Dooly. Ilis is largely quiet during this chapter. Gizo goes off about his vision that by evacuating Sede and starting a new life on the Gray Jewel, liitens will somehow leap to another plateau of existence. It’s largely a psychological concept, but he believes this leap is necessary to liitens not breeding themselves to chaos and eventual violent extinction. Shan, more down to earth, thinks Gizo is a bit crazy and argues for much more practical solutions to the population problem, such as limiting birth rates and eliminating First Class Citizenship. (Classes are tied to each other in Tulubian culture, so if First Class standards of living go up so do the other classes. Thus, the population problem has already caused First Class Citizenship to become “a shadow of what it once was”. Gizo says that Shan’s ideas are mediocre. Shan also brings up the fact that the Tulubians are in danger of losing their position as the global hegemony since they are having less and less children, the Wakitians are having more and more, and they share their advanced technology with the Wakitians. The idea that Tulubians may someday in the near future lose their genteel way of life and be unable to hold up their high standards of ethics is very alarming to Izadel. Izadel is also interested in the lemos, saying that if they do qualify for rights equal to liitens then something drastic will have to be done since the Ministry of Ethics will protect the lemos by forbidding anyone from colonizing Sribana. Ilis Et Dooly is mostly interested in what Gizo’s chef is cooking for dinner. (or is he just feigning neutrality?)
Chapter 11 – Tripitus
Beito and his colleague, Gini, are getting ready to board a shuttle for the Tripitus Space Station. Most of the interns are very young – the average age on Tripitus being 22. This is encourages by the leader of the terraformation, Bort Della Supri. There is a lot of security at the Space headquarters, much to the annoyance of the Tulubian interns.
Jop is in his lab on the Tripitus Space Station analyzing microorganism that are native to the Jewel. (that’s right – they aren’t exactly starting from scratch terraforming the Jewel – it already had microscopic life and oceans.) Beito comes in a surprises him. Jop had no idea Beito was coming and is quite happy. It turns out Jop is engaged to a very young Wakitian intern and they are applying to be colonists on the Jewel.
Beito interviews an intern. Apparently someone (probably Bort Della Supri) has arranged all the new interns to have a sort of initiation when they first arrive so that they feel challenged, but also that they have to earn the respect of their teams.
During the biannual conference all 930 liitens who live on the Tripitus Space station gather in the Gray Jewel Hall to listen to Bort Della Supri speak. (he’s usually on the Jewel, so they’re all pretty excited) He gives a very dramatic, motivational speech about how they are all heroes and the future of a new society on the Jewel.
Chapter 12 – Dissent
While Imo and Shabba are visiting Jedib and his new wife, Kota, Shabba and Jedib get into a discussion over what the vote on the proposal will be. (The next Council of Peace meeting is in 3 days). Jedib insists that all the Ministers will vote for it for the sake of Tulubian unity, and that the Ubagai Shril Akven will vote in favor of it because she worships the planet Sede and will understand that they are trying to preserve Sede from liiten overpopulation. He is not sure about Chairman Pago Zizum. And of course the El-fal will vote against it.
Chairman Pago Zizum meets with the Presidents of the 5 Wakitian Nations. They all get pretty pissy with each other because of the Traditionalist terrorists mostly based in Itika. (But they make attacks on educational and technical institutions in all of the nations. Two Presidents want to be in on the Evacuation for economic opportunities and so that the Tulubians don’t take over the Jewel by themselves. Two Presidents oppose the Evacuation because they think it will make the Traditionalist rebels even more violent and it’s arrogant of the Tulubians to force everyone to move. One President remains neutral, seeing good arguments on both sides. Poor Pago Zizum – what will he do?
Markis and Shabba are reading different reactions to the proposal from the Gaishons, the Suths, and Chairman Zizum’s latest speech about terrorist attacks in the United Wakitian Nations. It ends with Markis proposing to make Shabba his second wife. Shabba happily accepts.
Markis tells Vido about his proposal. Vido threatens to leave him and take Om with her if he marries Shabba Deen, and makes a point of how that will leave Imo with no family other than the two of them.
Chapter 13 – The Decision
Gee – whaddya think happens? Shabba and Vido watch the vote together with the kids. They are polite – in fact Vido is super nice because it turns out that Markis retracted his proposal. Shabba is hurt but she’ll get over it.
Everybody votes in favor of the proposal except the El-fal. He storms out as soon as Pago Zizum casts his vote. But the real surprise is that right afterward riots break out all over the 5 Wakitian Nations. We leave with Shabba watching footage of her home-city in flames. The Wakitian Traditionalists and the Suths are not happy.
