The President’s Plan
CHAPTER 3: THE PRESIDENT’S PLAN: Excerpted from Conquering the Divide: The Legend of Barsicon by Angela Stever
Seneca opened the door as carefully as she had closed it on her way out. President Barbara Crow’s voice blasted out of the old black and white television in the kitchen. Her moms were glued to the six o’clock news.
“It pains me to see an increase in the crime rate in Light City. For many years, we proudly boasted a zero percent crime rate. Yet in the last month, police have investigated three crimes. Three! An innocent young man was assaulted…”
That voice. Talk about nails on a chalkboard.
“...and therefore, next week I will unveil my new plan for crime and punishment. It has become apparent that banishing criminals to The Darkness is no longer a strong enough deterrent. Change is coming to keep all of us safe. No further comments until the official news conference. Thank you and God bless those who walk in the light.”
The election was quickly approaching and the President’s nightly news updates were sounding more like pre-election speeches.
Which was totally unnecessary considering she was running unopposed.
Throughout her 20-year reign, not a single candidate stepped forward to run against Barbara. Only one person attempted it in the thirty years prior, when Barbara’s father Walter had been in charge.
In half a century, only one man was brave enough to throw his hat in the ring.
That man would never wear a hat again, what with his head being split in two and all.
Some say the axe was still resting between his surprised eyes when they found his body hanging off the seventh step at the Light City gates. Rumour was, his surprised look had little to do with the fact that he was about to be murdered and more to do with who was about to execute him.
Stories shared in the streets told of an angry teenaged Barbara holding the axe.
Again, just rumours.
Not a single soul in Light City expressed political aspirations after that. It was smooth sailing for the Crow family. An election was still held every five years, but it was more of a formality. A ceremony of sorts.
The Crows were big on their ceremonies.
Seneca had watched the election on television twice. She was eleven the last time. Marie had made a special blueberry pie and Catherine allowed her to take a few sips of wine.
For whatever reason, she laughed a lot that day!
The election was a spectacle to watch, even on television. Every resident in Light City gathered to witness it at Crow Coliseum.
The massive outdoor stadium seated 80,000. It was built as a gathering place for the people of Light City, but it was more than that.
Crow Coliseum stood as a symbol of the Crow family’s power.
The election was an extravagant affair. A highlight every half decade for those who respected the Crow family, and many did. Anticipation grew in the days leading up to the event. Reporters camped outside of the coliseum and interviewed anyone who agreed to be a talking head.
Even as a child, Seneca thought their questions were ridiculous.
“What do you think President Crow will be wearing? Will she be late again like she was in 2017? Bookies have three-to-one odds Walter and Matilda will be wearing matching outfits like in 2012. Good enough for you to put some money down?”
Seneca wished she was the reporter asking the questions. She wanted to know why no one ran against the Crow family. Why they thrived on separation between Light City and The Darkness.
Most importantly, she wanted to know why there were still people in The Darkness working day in and day out just to survive, while playing neighbour to extreme excess in the west. It made no sense to her.
Why were some people ‘born into the light’, while others had to risk their lives for the same opportunity?
If Seneca lived to see the next election, perhaps she would ask President Crow herself.
Lately, she’d been having recurring daydreams about challenging the president during the election ceremony. When her mind wandered, her imagination took her to Crow Coliseum to the moment when President Crow made her royal entrance onto the platform.
In real life, the president addressed the crowd at the climax of the ceremony and asked the same question each time.
“Is there a soul among us who wishes to challenge my leadership?”
No one in the crowd dared to breathe. Not even those watching on television from deep in The Darkness. Seneca remembered sitting on the living room floor as a child, holding her breath for the mandatory ten seconds of silence observed before the president concluded the ceremony with the standard Crow family motto.
“God bless those who walk in the light.”
In her daydream, Barbara never made it to that part because Seneca spoke up.
“I challenge you.”
“Challenge me to what? Are you listening...”
“Uhhhh.”
Catherine had ordered her to do something. Now she had to figure out what that something was.
She flashed her dimples innocently at her mother, who was growing more impatient by the second with her inaction.
“Stop giving me that look and get on with it! The table isn’t going to set itself.”
There it was.
A bit of patience and the answers will come to you.
Seneca searched the cupboard for three plates with no chips or cracks. She found two. The unmarked plates she placed in front of Catherine and Marie’s spots at the table. The cracked one she kept for herself.
The line down the middle of her plate reminded her of the wall that separated Barsicon. As she stared at it, a map began to form. She envisioned Light City and the West Ocean on one side. Their log cabin in The Darkness on the other. Two worlds, separated by the Crow Line.
The crack made the plate weak.
Fragile.
Gasp!
The plate shattered in her hands. How tightly had she been gripping it? There must be hundreds of pieces on the floor.
“Oh, dear! Are you hurt?” Catherine panicked.
“I’m fine. Can’t say the same for the plate.”
“Don’t move until I grab a broom.”
Standing alone in the kitchen with shards of ceramic surrounding her feet, Seneca prayed her world wouldn’t be the next thing to come crashing down around her.
******
Angela Stever was born and raised in Prince Edward County. Stever hosted a #1 Morning Show during her twenty-year radio and television career in Kingston, Ontario. Always the storyteller, she also performed stand-up comedy for over ten years. The mother of two now works as a Voice-Over Actor and Author. Conquering the Divide: The Legend of Barsicon, a dystopian sci-fi for young adults, is her debut novel.
