Zero to Infinity

The bell had rung signaling the beginning of lunch. It was three against one on the sky courts. There was Marcus, zero, and Gordon against November. Typically, the boys would do two on two with Marcus and November on the same team. But November was particularly boastful this day.

“Marcus, you’re always hanging on my coat tail. It’s time for you to prove yourself. I bet you I could work all three of you. By myself.” November was a bit smug this afternoon. Probably because he had just discovered he was next in line to become one of the councilman for the matriarch.

“Yeah ok. Some of us can work with others,” Marcus chuckled. “You sir, are sure to fail on your own”.

Marcus was short for Theorian. He stood 5′10 with brown hair and brown eyes. He had a chiseled chest and broad shoulders with muscular thighs and fit calves. He had a great body. But his height would render him a little less desirable than November. Because November stood. 6. ’3. With brown hair and light brown eyes. Uniquely framed and a gorgeous smile.

November and Marcus had a friendly rivalry. This was probably also because they were cousins and got along so well. They were both raised by their grandmother who was one of the original settlers on Mount pioneer. They would go home on Sundays and have dinner with her despite needing to work most days in the main castle. Sunday dinner was nothing to play with when it came to the cousins.

With one cousin most likely holding position next to the matriarch, it’s left the next two options as the most obvious. Gordon and Zero, best friends from birth. Both born the same week. Both sharing the same skills. Both great candidates. The problem though, as many would suggest, was that Gordon never accepted the ways of the Theorians. He always felt that there was something missing. That there was more to their people than his seniors would share. A lot of the ways of the Theorians on Mount pioneer made little to no sense to Gordon. Having no father to guide and a mother who was constantly busy due to sharing the load of two people, Gordon always wondered without resolve.

“Just throw the ball”, Zero yelled out to November. Skycourt was something similar to basketball on Earth. The balls needed to come from underneath and go up into the hoop. There was four corners in which each player had their own hoop to guard. And since shifting was allowed, the only additional rule was that you could not shift into something that was larger than your own actual size. This meant, a 5′10 in ant had the potential to dunk.

Of natural habit, Zero and Gordon seem to pass each other the ball more frequently than Marcus. Not that they didn’t think you could play, or that he was the shortest guy on the team. But Gordon is zero. Were actual best friends. They would hang out together, Chase each other in the woods, and always talked about what their life would be like as councilman or the matriarch. Matriarch. Neither of the two were born into any special status. So their roles would be earned solely on their abilities. Both boys had a tendency to find themselves in trouble. Gordon, skillful with the tongue, we’re typically talk their way out of it.

The game was finished and of course November 1 against Marcus, 0, and Gordon. And not because he actually played well. But more so because the boys were really excited to get back into the building. Lunch was about to be over but they knew during lunch they would find out who the official councilmen would be.

The four boys grabbed it their items and prepared to walk to the main hall. Looking on the bulletin board, they scroll down for the important positions within the main castle. Connor, one of the nerds in the class had been giving the position of reporter. Not like a television reporter, Connor would be in charge of notifying all important officials of all important things occurring on Mount pioneer. This was actually a rather powerful position to be in. Because you see, as a reporter, Connor got all the details of everything. First. He was the one to break the good news and the bad news to anyone who needed it. Connor was what those on earth would call, elite.

As they scroll down the list of other important but not so great positions, there was Bastion who would be head of nutrition. He would ensure that orders would be sent to councilman leagues to retrieves specific food items from Earth. Not only would he replicate these items on Mount pioneer, but it was also in charge of creating special dishes for their people. They didn’t eat as humans do. Their diet consisted more of plants and vegetables, fruits and leaves.

Thomas, Carter, and Enjin would be next on the list. While many Theorians were vegetarians, there were a very few selected who were allowed to eat meat. This is because their bodies were able to be reviewed and studied. They were the few Theorians that got away with murder. Well they were never allowed to kill humans.

The Dominates, as they were called, would be assigned to the animals and plants from Earth for studies. These studies would often consist of consuming, dissecting, shifting, and so forth. Once done, if it were not of meat or no longer usable, the remaining supplies would go over to the nutritionist for further evaluation. There were 9 lawmakers assigned, those of which were like police officers. Four Bipartisans to speak on behalf of the people in the lower castle, and five district covering all lower castle.

Was such an extensive list, it took quite a while for the boys to scroll down to officially see who councilmen were. At the top of the list, it was none other than November. Next it would be Zero followed by Marcus. Shocking it all, the four boys stood there. Because it was no doubt in their minds that it would be November and Zero, followed by Gordon. Even Marcus didn’t think he had a true shot. But there he was on the list instead of Gordon. Not sure what to do, what to say or where to go, the four boys seem to stand there for what felt like forever.

“I’m sure there’s a mistake here,” said Marcus. Hopeful that his name being on the list would not tarnish their friendship.

“No, it’s probably right”, said Gordon in such a positive tone. This was very unusual as Gordon seemed for sure to have something to say about their government. So it would be no surprise to them that this would fuel some kind of comment. But instead, he said nothing more as they stared in silence.

“What do You mean they’re probably right?“, stated Zero with concern. “I mean come on?”

“Yeah”, said November. “Marcus is our guy. You know that. But I’m sure they made a mistake.”

Marcus stood in the middle of the group, not sure if he should join along, kind of started to enjoy the fact that he was chosen over Gordon. He didn’t think he was all that bad. In fact, while he didn’t expect to become a councilman, it was purely because of his height. He thought he was just as good as the rest of them. Maybe not as tall. Maybe not as quick a learner. Maybe not as quiet as Zero or November. But he definitely felt he was pretty close to equal with Gordon minus the sass.

“Hey, maybe they made a mistake and they’re going to have four people to the councilman instead of just three.” Said Marcus

“Not likely, said Gordon. But seriously guys. I’m going to be okay. You know how I feel about this stuff anyway” he said trying to lighten the mood.

The four boys could agree on that. Gordon never really liked the way their governmental system was set up. He argued with everyone at every chance he could get and questioned all of their societal rules. Gordon probably was the least qualified when it came to the political aspects of Mount pioneer. And it was understood, that the role of the councilman was very heavy on the political side and a little less on the knightly side. Because they had little to no wars or disagreements across the Plain.