Chapter 309
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The sector was quickly buzzing with rumors about Zoey Allen's upcoming visit. The council said that, even with their sovereignty, it was important to maintain some relations with the outside world. There seemed to be at least two reasons for this visit, scheduled for March 14th. One was to see about those who were chosen for the Arks, but allegedly refused to leave the Brooklyn sector. To see if they were possibly being held against their will. The other reason was Zoey's "Monuments Men" project. The Brooklyn public library still contained certain books and paintings that were banned by the ministry of culture and spiritual guidance. During the winter some people burned the books for warmth. Likely they could be used for warmth after impact. The Monuments Men project seemed willing to buy these books for preservation, abd pay food and fuel for them. This trade might be the reason the theocratic council agreed to the visit.
In the week leading up to Zoey's visit the sector police tried to make things more presentable. They tried to destroy leaflets accussing her of valuing paintings and books over people. The police tried to explain that paintings would take very little space on the Arks, and be specially sealed, therefore they'd take no oxygen. The books and paintings could still be used as leverage for the sector, help them get food, medicine, fuel. Some merely made snide comments, how Zoey sucked up to warlords in other mini-kingdoms. These stories ranged from Zoey being baptized by a fanatical preacher, to taking the mark of a self-proclaimed anti-christ. Some stories said she slipped food and bibles to persecuted christians, others said she brought pills to induce abortions for women in the theocracy. One rumor said Zoey was married to several of these warlords, all to get certain people out of these mini-kingdoms. Other people had put up posters, calling Zoey an "abortion Barbie." This seemed very disrespectful to Eve, and likely wouldn't help with negotiations. Eve and Jamal tried to clean this up, but they couldn't really control what people said. It seemed unlikely they could stop violence from being done. Some desperate individuals, believing they could use a valuable hostage as leverage. With the countdown getting shorter, with the world still slouching towards Bethlehem, this became more and more likely. Eve remembered when Mimi Mason was murdered, more outbreaks of the plague, two million North Koreans were killed shortly afterwards. If Zoey Allen died in Brooklyn, God only knew what George Stalin Mason might do. But Eve knew that some were desperate enough to try anyway.
Thursday March 13th marked exactly 129 days until impact. Eve was trying to show Hope a movie from her childhood. It involved a child who tried to deduce who kept stealing his lunch at school. This movie might've been banned by the council, Eve wasn't sure, but it helped Hope sleep. Jamal and Eve talked about what they might do, if Hope was selected for the Arks. The uprising hadn't worked out as they'd hoped. The council seemed to be comprised of warlords and tyrants. Leaving this sector would become harder as time went on. But the risk would be acceptable, if there was any chance of Hope surviving. They couldn't burn bridges, not inform on anyone who talked about escaping. They also had to recruit allies, people who wanted to escape if selected in April. Any move could mean death, but that was true for most things these days.