The Minister of Boundaries finished his report, and then the Minister of Welfare gave hers. She was a short, round, deceptively mousy-looking woman. The appearance was deceptive, Ivan knew, for if backed up against a wall literally or metaphorically, she would fight like a cornered rat… whether on her own behalf or for that of her people.
“Welfare” carried a rather different connotation among tribe than it did in the world around it. The Minister’s job was to see to the well-being and, when possible, comfort of every member of the disparate street clans that made up the whole of tribe. She was a quartermaster, a real estate agent, a concierge, a social worker, a surgeon general, and a secretary of education rolled into one.
While the various powers and potentates with which tribe dealt tended to regard her colleagues who controlled the purse strings and the diplomatic channels to be greater in authority and importance, Ivan knew the woman who had lived her whole life on the streets was not to be underestimated. If Mama was the mortar that held tribe together, Welfare was the trowel that spread it around.
Throughout Welfare and Finance’s reports, Ivan sat silently in his seat, making mental notes. He’d petitioned repeatedly for the right, as head of eastern security, to attend these meetings. He’d been denied every time. Now he was the driver… it didn’t matter where his body, with ears and brain affixed, was sitting; officially, he just wasn’t there. This had not been any part of his motivation in assigning himself to the post, but he wasn’t about to let the opportunity slip.
He had his own sources and channels of information, of course, but this would be a good chance to test their speed and accuracy. A lot was public knowledge: unemployment rising, fuel prices rising, interest rates rising… more people on the streets.
Some of it was very interesting, though.
“We come at last,” Finance said, “to the matter of Nicholas Brown.”
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Just came here from the MU website.
Wow. I’m enjoying this story just as much as Mack’s! Your abilities are astounding, keep it up! ^_^
Help Alexandra, I want to read this story but I’m really confused.
I’m trying to read Arc 02. When I click on Arc 02 under Categories I get section 2.6 at the top of the page and other sections going backwards down to 2.2. What about 2.1, I wondered?
I read 2.2 and then clicked next – and there was 2.1. I read it and the protagonist was about to talk to some children who were painting swastikas on the wall. But where to go from there – there was no more “next”.
2.2 seems to be picking up the story where he approaches Mama’s van – I must be missing something.
What’s the best way to navigate these pages?
@Fiona: Whoops. That’s an unintended consequence of how Wordpress handles category listings… as a most-recent-first archive of all posts in the category. Arc 2 starts at 2.1 and continues through 2.2 to 2.6. There is a “scene jump” between 2.1 and 2.2 which gets explained a bit later… it probably seemed more jarring because of the odd layout. I’m re-arranging the links so that this does not happen to anybody else.
wow! i just came from mu and i finished all u wrote up till now, this story is really good! Nothing like MU yet, but that’s probably just because I’m attached to its characters. Keep it up! I’ll add Tribes to my bookmarks of “check daily” alongside MU!
Okay, seriously, I’ve caught up on MU and Void Dogs, and now you’re starting to creep me out. If nobody’s perfect, when are you going to mess up? And how can you keep all these stories going in parallel, continuously, and without sacrificing quality on ANY of them? I’ll never understand you writer types…but I’ll always be grateful for the stories.