fiction - ljidol week 11 - the blue hour

[hwango]

The emissary arrived at the gates of Noon just as the sun dipped below the horizon. As such, she was admitted to the city moments before the gates were closed and locked for the night. The guards on duty had been ordered to be scrupulously polite to their guest when she arrived. Nevertheless, when they saw that the visitor was a bat, they openly sneered. One of them even spat on the ground. She smiled at them.

Bats were not common visitors to the Empire of Day, and certainly not common in the capital city of Noon, but in some ways a bat was the logical choice for an ambassador. Traditionally they awoke at dusk, and thus could be a natural bridge between the Empire of Day and the Republic of Night. On the other hand, bats were such an iconic night animal that it was impossible not to see her as the enemy. So, a complicated choice.

The guards closed the gates behind the emissary with a bit more force than was probably usual. They clanged shut in a way that was probably meant to feel intimidating - to make her feel as if she was being locked inside a cell. That particular impression was sabotaged by the fact that the gates gleamed in even the dim twilight, and not even Day would bother to adorn its prison cells with gold.

The bat took a moment to take in the view, which was calculated to impress. Statues, carvings, soaring arches, and pennants everywhere. Like just about everything in Day, the bat found it all rather gaudy and ostentatious.

The bat made her way unescorted to the palace. She was mildly surprised that no one had been sent to meet her. An intentional slight? Or perhaps they thought that she would wait for a guide, and be late for the meeting? Become lost and miss the meeting completely? Regardless, it was certainly some stratagem to sabotage her position in the talks, or dismiss the meeting entirely while putting the blame on her. How childish.

She made her way to the palace at a steady, unhurried pace. She knew exactly where she was going, having scouted the area well in advance and memorizing several possible routes she could take. It was quite likely she could make the trip blindfolded. To amuse herself, she counted her steps as she walked to see how close the total would be to her estimates.

The bat arrived at the doors to the palace exactly at the appointed time, and only about a dozen paces later than she'd guessed. There she was left to wait under guard until a bored-looking cheetah arrived to speak with her. He stopped short when he saw her.

"You're a bat," he said.

"Well spotted," she said with a pleasant smile. "And you must be the slowest cheetah in Noon to keep me waiting so long."

The cheetah looked deeply affronted. "I had other important matters to attend to," he said.

"My sincerest apologies!" said the bat, "I have attributed your failure to slowness, when in fact it was the result of your incompetent scheduling."

The cheetah's whiskers twitched in outrage. "I've never met a diplomat so insulting."

"Well, then your many shortcomings may simply be the result of inexperience. So perhaps there is hope for you yet. Maybe in a year or two you will not be such a tragic embarrassment to your nation," said the bat.

For a moment the cheetah looked as if he might do something rash, but then he realized that every time he took the bait he made himself look more the fool. Instead, he made a visible effort to calm himself.

"This way, if you please," he said after a moment. She smiled and motioned for him to lead the way.

Their destination turned out to be a small room of no particular importance, with barely space for the two of them. The chair obviously meant for her was much too large to be comfortable for her. Insults upon insults.

"Please have a seat," the cheetah said. "I apologize, but I neglected to introduce myself or ask after your name. I am Jubatus."

"I am called Vesper," said the bat.

"Seriously?" said the cheetah in yet another lapse of courtesy.

"It is a common name among bats."

"Hmm. Well, Vesper, I'm afraid this entire meeting is simply a waste of your time and mine. Frankly, the Republic of Night is in no position to negotiate anything. We continue to advance on both our Widdershins and Futurum borders - more than a minute into your country on each side every day."

"I would remind you that the Republic still holds more of Clock than your Empire," said Vesper. Jubatus snorted in contempt.

"Not for long," he said. "We estimate that in a matter of weeks our territory will equal yours in size, and that we will continue to seize minutes until all of Clock belongs to Day."

"It is amusing that you seem to believe your own propaganda," said Vesper, "but if you stop to think about it, you will realize that you could never maintain that rate of expansion. More importantly, you should not wish to, because total conquest would be your eventual undoing. Every geographic minute controlled by Day is another temporal minute of sun in the sky every turn, and surely even citizens of Noon like to sleep now and then. You should not want eternal sun any more than I would want eternal darkness."

"So what is it that you're here to propose?" he said.

"That we stop wasting time and you let me speak to the Emperor."

"And would you be this rude to him as well?" asked Jubatus.

"Only if he also turns out to be an idiot," Vesper said.

The cheetah sprang to his feet so violently that his chair toppled behind him. Vesper did not so much as flinch. Jubatus glared at her for several moments.

"Wait here," he growled, and then left her there alone. Vesper waited.

Eventually Jubatus reappeared in the doorway. "This way," he said, and then turned to leave without waiting to see if she would follow. Jubatus led her down several hallways and finally stopped beside a door and simply pointed.

"Thank you for the lovely conversation," Vesper said as she stepped past him. She could feel the look of loathing he gave her before he closed the door behind her and left.

This room was much larger and better appointed than the last, and its only other occupant was an elephant.

"It is becoming more and more apparent that I will not be speaking with the Emperor today," Vesper said. This clearly was not that august personage, or Vesper would be looking at horns rather than tusks.

"Oh, please don't be disappointed," said the elephant. "It was my understanding that you wished to speak to someone of intelligence."

"True," said Vesper. "But also someone of authority."

"I assure you, I have the emperor's ear, such as it is." He motioned to a chair much more her size than the one in the previous room. "Please, have a seat. My name is Aegis. I am told that you are called Vesper?"

"I am mildly surprised that your charming colleague can remember his own name, let alone mine."

"Alas, individuals such as Jubatus are all too necessary. If all bureaucrats were clever then there would be no need for most of us. Why, if there were no fools to manage, I would probably be out of a job."

"How fortunate for you, then, that Noon is so full of fools," Vesper said. Aegis smiled.

"Oh, I like you. How can I help you today?"

"I would like you to surrender an hour on your Widdershins border to the Republic of Night," said Vesper.

"Fascinating."

"In exchange, we are prepared to offer you an hour on your Futurum border," said Vesper.

"Even more fascinating," Aegis said. "What exactly does this accomplish? It will not actually extend the dominion of Night at all."

"No, but we will regain control of the sixth hour."

"For a while. You must realize we will continue to gain ground. We'll have it back again before long," Aegis said.

"Yes, but you and I know both know that this is not a war of conquest, but a dance. We simply wish to change a few of the steps."

"I see," said Aegis. "Based on our projections, and accounting for this adjustment, even at our peak we would never control the fourth hour. That's the one you truly care about?"

"Perhaps," said Vesper.

"Well, I must say that the idea has a certain appeal from my side of this as well. The hour we would gain...although, this arrangement could have serious consequences in several months."

"Indeed, and so we would make a similar exchange in the opposite direction at that time," said Vesper.

"A logical solution. Well, it's certainly something to consider. I shall send a message to your Senate after our esteemed Emperor has had time to ruminate on the subject," Aegis said. Vesper wrinkled her nose in distaste, the first sign of discomfort she'd let herself show in the entire visit.

"How can you stand being ruled over by sheep?" she said.

"It is as I said before. Job security."

Vesper smiled her first genuine smile of the day.

* * *

"...is that really why we set our clocks ahead an hour for Daylight Savings Time?"

"Of course it is. Can you think of a better explanation?"