The Truth About Thantia

The Truth About Thantia

     Karrena stood up after Thantia selected her as the next one to ask her a question among the fifty other Information Specialists at that meeting. She glanced down at the Palm Monitor before she asked her question. “Is it true that you will do whatever it takes to become the Leader of Havinna again?”

     The other fifty Information Specialists started asking questions or making comments. Thantia ignored them. She kept her eyes on Karrena. “Of course, I wouldn’t do anything. It’s the others who want to be our next Leader who have been saying these lies about me.”

     Before Thantia could select someone else, Karrena made more to say. “It’s not just the others who want to be our next Leader who are saying this. When you were our Leader before, you did many things that said you would do anything to get what you wanted.”

     “That isn’t true. I was a great Leader before, and I will be a great Leader again.”

     “Only great for you and them like you,” Karrena quickly commented. “Most of us individuals on Havinna don’t agree you were great for us.”

##

     Vancent hovered near the next level up in a large meeting room exactly like the last one Karrena was in. The other fifty Information Specialists were there too. They were mingling around, talking to each other, including Karrena. Karrena was waiting for Thantia until she got there too.

     When Karrena looked up, she saw Vancent. Karrena tapped a small metal solid tube in her ear once. I can see you. Who are you? What are you doing here? You have been following me on this Havinna tour for the last three communities. Why are you following me?

     I’m not following you. My name is Vancent, and I’m your new Helper.

     You said what? I don’t need a Helper. Especially from a device like you. What does Vancent stand for?

     Vancent was a big flat bottom circle device with a dome on top of it. He started lowering himself toward Karrena. When Karrena stepped into some darkness, Vancent did the same thing. Vancent doesn’t stand for anything. It’s my name. My Creators gave me that name when they created me.

     Just like your creators named you Karrena when they created you. I know you are a human, and I’m a device, but the concept is the same.

##

     “What are you trying to do to me?” Karrena asked her Supervisor on the Information Monitor in front of her.

     Doggan looked past Karrena at Vancent hovering slightly behind her. “I know how you feel about having a Helper. Especially a Help like Vancent, but you need Vancent. This planetary tour of Thantia is almost over, and you still haven’t found anything against her.”

     “If anyone can find out what’s going on with Thantia, it’s Vancent. Don’t get me wrong. You are still in control. Vancent is only there to help you.”

     “I know this tour is almost over, and we will have to decide who will be our next Leader. I’m getting close to showing it shouldn’t be Thantia. She almost destroyed Havinna once. Most of us don’t want it to happen again.”

     Karrena looked back at Vancent. “All I need is a little more time to find what we already know Thantia has done, and I don’t need any help to do it.”

     “Unfortunately, I disagree with you.” Doggan returned to looking at Karrena. “You don’t have enough time to find anything. If you want to stop Thantia, you need help in doing it.”

##

     Karrena and the other fifty Information Specialists weren’t the only ones at the latest community meeting. Sitting behind them in floating Seats were about two hundred community adults there too. They were mumbling to each other also, waiting for Thantia to show up there.

     Almost everyone except for Karrena. Karrena tapped her ear tube. Now she could think to Vancent without anyone else hearing them. I still don’t understand how you can help me.

     One way I can do it is what I’m doing right now. Do you know where I’m at?

     Karrena looked behind her where Vancent should have been. She slowly looked around her, and she still didn’t see Vancent. Some of the other Information Specialists also had Helpers, but most were human. There were a few other devices like Vancent, but none were Vancent.

     Vancent became seeable again. I can also use Air Passages and space between rooms to get the information we need against Thantia.

     Before Karrena could respond to Vancent, Thantia showed up. Karrena and the other Information Specialists started getting up and asking questions that Thantia tried to answer. Thantia picked Karrena to start asking her questions next.

##

     A covering over an Air Passage fell to the level below it. Thantia looked up at the large open round passage. Plaic was also looking up there as he entered her Sleeping Quarters. “That looks suspicious,” said Plaic. “We can’t be too careful. Do you want me to check it out?”

     “I don’t see anything. The room has already been checked. We are still protected.”

     Thantia turned to face Plaic. “What have you got to tell me?”

     “It’s all good. All the representatives of this community will decide on you to be our next Leader again. They know what will happen to them, their families, and their friends if they don’t do what we want them to do. Accidents happen all the time, and they are usually deadly.”

     Suddenly, Vancent became seeable again at the edge of the open Air Passage. He floated back far enough so Thantia and Plaic couldn’t see him. I don’t know if you can hear what I’m thinking, but we have Thantia.

     “I can hear you. Tell me what you have found.”

     “Thantia has threatened the representatives of this community somehow. If they don’t do what she wants, they won’t be the only ones who die accidentally.”

####

     Vancent turned sideways so he could float between two rooms without being seen. When he got to the end of that passageway he stopped. A thin blue beam came out in the middle of the flat bottom part of it to open an unnoticeable opening in the wall in the room where Thantia and Plaic were.

     Neither Thantia nor Plaic saw what Vancent had done. They didn’t even look in the direction where Vancent was. All they did was continue to talk to each other. “The representatives of this community won’t be a problem for you becoming our next Leader again,” said Plaic.

     “Everyone has secrets and lies they don’t want anyone to know about. All the representatives here have them. If they don’t help you to become our Leader again, those secrets will be known.”

     “You have done it again. I don’t know how you are getting this information on these representatives, and I don’t care as long as you keep on doing it.”

     Plaic smiled. “Like I said, everyone has secrets and lies. If we can’t threaten them, then we can still use their secrets and lies to get what we want.”

##

     Karrena tapped her ear tube. If what you are telling me is true, then it looks like we can stop Thantia before it’s too late.

     It’s true. I haven’t just been listening to Thantia and whoever Plaic is. I’ve also been watching them too.

     I know who Plaic is. He’s an Information Specialist too. At least he was an Information Specialist. Now he uses his contacts and knowledge to whoever gives him the most Credits to do it.

     Karrena smiled barely so no one else there could see her doing it. Did you just say you have been watching them too? Show me what you have been watching.

     Tapping her Palm Monitor, Karrena glanced down at it at a slight angle. Her head looked like she was falling asleep. She even bobbed it every so often. What she was seeing on her Palm Monitor was what Vancent had been watching and listening to lately.

     It looks like you are right about Thantia and Plaic. Karrena thought after seeing what Vancent had been telling her was true. We should have more than enough to stop Thantia from becoming our next Leader again.

##

     When are you going to tell everyone what we have seen and heard? Vancent wasn’t unseeable anymore. He was hovering slightly to the right of Thantia’s head.

     This isn’t the time for us to do that. We still have six more community meetings before our tour is over. If we tell them now only this community will hear about it. I’m going to wait until everyone on Havinna can hear the truth about Thantia.

     Karrena looked at Vancent. Don’t worry Vancent. I may not be telling these communities about what Thantia has been doing. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to be asking her a lot of questions about what she has done.

     I want to get her reaction and answers to my questions. Just then Thantia enters that meeting room. Karrena and the other Information Specialists got up and started trying to get the attention of Thantia. They kept asking questions. Unfortunately, Karrena hadn’t been selected to ask her questions yet.

     Thantia finally pointed her finger at Karrena. Karrena smiled. “From the beginning of this tour, you have been seeing the representatives before these meetings. We select our representatives and our new Leaders. Why have you been seeing our representatives first?”

##

     Vancent floated beside Karrena while they walked down a hallway. They continued thinking with each other. You don’t need to worry about what we have seen or heard about Thantia. Even if Thantia or one of her assistants knows what we know, there is nothing they can do about it.

     I have made duplicates of everything we know about Thantia. So many they won’t find all of them.

     That’s good to hear. Karrena stopped in front of a door. She placed her palm in the middle of that door. A light blue light in the form of her palm started pulsating around her palm. The door slid open.

     Karrena walked into this Sleeping Room and stopped. A beam of blue light covered her entire body. While still covered, Karrena used her Palm Monitor to look around. When done looking, Karrena stepped out of the beam. The beam disappeared. “We are safe here. There are no Watchers and Listeners in this Sleeper.”

     “We don’t need to worry about anyone hearing us here either.” Karrena went over to her Data Monitor on her Room Desk. She turned on this monitor.

##

     “It’s Selection time. Have you made your selections today?” Thantia and Plaic sat in front of a large Image Monitor, watching and listening to an Information Specialist. “So far, these selections are saying our next Leader will be Thantia again.”

     Just then what Vancent had seen and heard appeared on the large monitor there. The Information Specialist could be heard, but he couldn’t be seen. What Thantia and Plaic were talking about was louder. “What’s going on here? Where did these moving images come from?”

     “How did this happen? It was Karrena. She has done this to me. I want her dead now.”

     “That isn’t going to happen.” Vancent became seeable. He was hovering in between Thantia and Plaic, behind them.

     A thin beam of blue light coming out of Vancent showed the moving images of what Thantia and Plaic had been doing. “Your Credits may keep you off the Prison Planet and the Higher Status Orbital, but it will never make you a Leader of Havinna ever again.”

     The second set of moving images ended on the large monitor. Now what Thantia had just said about wanting Karrena dying appeared on that monitor. “It hasn’t been Karrena who has been watching and listening to you.”

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