“It’s not apathy,” Zan says softly next to me as we take our seats, evidently following my train of thought.
Telepathy, or empathy?
“Then what?”
“They’re comfortable,” Teren says simply, and I suppose he would know. “Here they have the luxury of not having to think about politics, because the empire’s interest is limited.”
The Quiet did that.
It insulated them—and in so doing isolated them from each other.
Zan adds quietly, “It’s better here than you realize. This is a higher percentage than comes to many town halls throughout the empire,becausethey all want to maintain the life they have here.”
Is that supposed to be reassuring or profoundly concerning?
I don’t know enough to decide, so I try to look at whatisinstead.
The building for official town business looks the same as any other house on the outside, except that it’s bigger. Inside, there’s only one large room for people to gather in, full of chairs, and a table where people have brought snacks and a water pitcher. The room is otherwise empty and bare of... anything.
It’s a striking counterpoint to the personality all the exteriors in Crystal Hollow have.
I wonder if Sunani would paint it.
In the back is a door that presumably leads to the bathroom as well as a staircase.
“What’s upstairs?” I ask.
“Office. It’s where any official paperwork for permits is stored, the town seal, our taxes.”
I frown. “Who gathers those? There are no tax collectors, are there?”
Teren shakes his head. “There are five representatives that gather them—you met a few of them today in line. They collect the taxes and listen to people’s concerns and bring them up here. Not everyone has time to go to a meeting like this every month—they have small children, or their job requires long hours, or they’re old or sick and can’t spare the energy. So people still feel like they’re represented here.”
Huh, okay. “Do their reps actually bring up their concerns?”
Teren says dryly, “Generally yes, or people choose a different representative.”
Theychoosewho is in charge, rather than the person being chosen for them, as they do—or did, anyway—in the Orderandin the empire.
I feel like my brain is breaking open.
It wouldn’t have been allowed if Crystal Hollow weren’t considered unimportant, but the implications are still stunning.
“And,” Teren adds, “the busybodies who want to be reps don’t want to be cut out of all the gossip and appreciation for their labor.”
Zan snorts.
Then Nomi’s voice from the front calls, “All right, let’s get this started.”
I blink and look at Teren again. “Is she in charge?!”
He smiles faintly. “Of course she is. You’ve met her.”
I didn’t realize she was themayor. Even though she’s not—
Oh. I suppose since no one powerful would have accepted the lifestyle limitations of living here, Crystal Hollow must have had to develop their own governing structures.
Does Nomi being the mayor mean we have a better shot, or—
