"I do like your boldness," Ms. Maxwell began. "However, you must also keep in mind that such bold assertions are not called for."
"What do you mean?" Link asked.
Maxwell leaned back in her chair, furrowing her brow. "You take the role of our government out of context." She thought for a minute while Link and Zelda exchanged glances. "Though there is not a veto system for the Matriarchy, as is included as a check on many planetary governments, you must recognize that if the government of the planet that committed the violation itself was to be allowed to veto their decisions...the Matriarchy would often not stand much of a chance. And to involve other planets in the vote would both be time-consuming and involving a third party that is likely to be apathetic about the plight of other planets with little relation to their own. And you can't require apathetic people to vote, can you?"
"I see your point," Link said, in a rather matter-or-fact fashion, "but each insubordinate planet would have a populace that could vote to veto, and I am sure they would care a lot more about an unjust government than-"
"I see your point too. However, who says that the regulations existing upon such planets would allow for a vote, or have the people with the power to collect them?"
"It's unreasonable to claim that the federal government can't enforce such a simple law."
She shook her head slowly. "Nothing's simple. Collecting a vote is much harder than one would think. One does not simply walk about, collecting votes on little slips of paper in a bucket."
Link tried to think of an answer, but he had lost his focus. "I'm sorry, but can we take our break? I mean, this is interesting and all, but..."
"Okay, you can go," she said, turning away from them and toward her terminal. Link, Zelda, and Nabooru, who had been sitting a ways a way but listening intently the entire time, started toward the door. Ms. Maxwell fidgeted, rapped her fingers thoughtfully on her desk and cleared her throat. They turned. "Don't think that I regard your opinions as illegitimate. Believe me, I hold you in the highest regard. If I didn't, I wouldn't be talking to you like this."
Link smiled politely. "Thanks," he said.
Maxwell sat, looking at the screen but seeing nothing, as she heard the click of the door closing. Had Link been right? She had always regarded the UIR as one of the most just governments in history, giving as many rights to planets as possible without sacrificing any of the fundamental principles of right and wrong. But on the other hand, there were very few checks on the Hylian Matriarchy itself. Three women, made practically immortal by technology barely imaginable by most. They hadn't done anything yet to make her doubt them...as far as she knew, that is, but Link could be entirely correct. The Constitution itself could be scandalous, set up so that any "inhumane" or "unjust" actions could be pounced upon without the danger of public opposition. And their military was unmatched by anything individual planets could muster. If such a truth was so, then she had been a fool all her life.
On the other hand, it was most likely that Link was just another self-proclaimed intellectual, who thought he could logic his way out of any situation without prior knowledge.
Outside the classroom, Zelda stopped in her tracks, causing Link to do the same with a curious glance at her. Zelda waited until Nabooru was out of earshot before turning to Link. "Not do be demeaning, to you or her, but...does the presence of a gerudo make you..." She groped for the right word. "Uncomfortable?"
"Me specifically?" he asked.
She nodded. "Despite you, you know, being accepting as possible, I couldn't help but notice some hostile undertones."
Link inhaled quickly. He had no idea. "What do you mean?"
"I mean you looked nervous. Cold. When she spoke. When you looked at her."
When he looked at her. He didn't want to admit it, but, internally, he hated her. He hated what she had done for his family, because what was there to distinguish her from the brutes who had slaughtered his parents after torturing all of them for days on a frigate? But, externally, he said, "I believe you're being overly receptive. You're reaching the wrong conclusions. I don't have anything against Nabooru."
She shrugged. "Seems that the class is uncomfortable with her there, if nothing else. In all honesty, I wouldn't be surprised if you were the same way."
He fidgeted. "Well I'm not the same way. At least...at least I try not to be."
She patted his arm. "Well, trying is the first step. And what matters more: your natural drives or your real-life actions and intentions?"
"I don't want to be a racist." He said this, even as he knew that the problem was much more deeply rooted than anything society's perpetual whispers could ever plant.
"Many would say racism doesn't exist anymore. That it hasn't since the twenty-first century."
"They are so wrong."
Zelda looked back at the classroom door. "Would you say Ms. Maxwell has similar feelings?"
"Probably, although she wouldn't dare show them."
Zelda touched his arm. "I haven't offended you, have I?"
"No...no, don't worry about it. I'd rather you be blunt than deceptive, anyway."
"Well, thanks." The bell rang. "Say, what class do you have next?"
He pulled up his schedule and scrolled through the classes. "Looks like I've got math next. Calculus II."
"Hmm. I've got literature next."
"Well, see you later, then, I guess." They walked away in opposite directions, both glancing over their shoulder but neither meeting the other's gaze.
As Link walked away, he thought about his rapport with Zelda. Less than a day had he known her, yet their minds locked together so smoothly. Had it been by chance that he had found her, or had it been the will of some outside force that they had met in just the right place, at just the right time, in precisely the right way? They might, he thought, just have to attribute their relationship to God.