The Elders (Mind Dimensions #4)(20)

At the mention of the Enlightened, I can tell I have George’s undivided attention.

“The Elders will want to hear about this,” he says, his eyes gleaming. “The Enlightened fascinate them, and if they took Thomas, of all people—”

“Wait,” Hillary says. “How would the Elders even know who Thomas is? He’s not exactly powerful.”

“We like to keep tabs on Guides who have, or could have in the future, access to powerful Unencumbered individuals.”

Hillary looks confused, but I know what George is insinuating. “This is about Thomas being in the Secret Service, isn’t it?” I ask.

“Your nephew shares your wit,” George says approvingly. “Yes, indeed. The Unencumbered do not get any more powerful than the so-called Leader of the Free World.”

“So the rumors are true,” Hillary says. “Ambassadors do control human affairs at the Elders’ bidding. That’s why you’re keeping an eye on any potential competition.”

“I will not dignify rumors with a response.”

“Knowing you, that means yes,” Hillary says, frowning.

“All I can say is, if we Guided the Unencumbered, the world would be a better place for it.” George smiles at my aunt. I wonder if he still has some kind of feelings for her—assuming he ever had them, that is. He might’ve also been getting pressure from his family for this alliance.

Hillary snorts. “In that case, I guess you’re not Guiding them, since the world is turning to shit.”

“We’re only speaking hypothetically. But you’re wrong. The world is getting more peaceful as of late, a happenstance that would imply someone is looking out for everyone’s interests.”

“Really?” Hillary gives him a disbelieving look. “With all the violence happening everywhere?”

George’s smile fades. “Human society is an extremely complex system that would be very difficult, if not close to impossible, to Guide perfectly, especially for a tiny group such as ours. Still, again hypothetically, you are being unfair. Violence has diminished compared to other times in history.”

“Violence is down?” Hillary lifts her eyebrows. “Maybe in the Elders’ secret hideout, but not in the world I live in.”

“That’s a common misconception,” George says. “The media makes things seem much worse than they really are. Trust me, compared to humanity’s turbulent past—a past where no one, hypothetically, Guided the direction of world events—things have steadily improved.”

My aunt is wearing a scornful expression. “Oh, please. You consider the Holocaust a decrease in violence?”

“No.” George’s face tightens. “That horrible event and the nuclear proliferation that soon followed are times when someone, hypothetically, decided to step in to ensure similar events would not repeat themselves.”

“But we had those atrocities in Uganda,” Hillary argues as I listen in fascination. “And all the acts of terrorism and the wars in the Middle East.”

“Extremely complex system, remember?” George leans against a wall and crosses his arms. “If you look at statistics, wars don’t happen as often and are resolved with less bloodshed. We haven’t had nuclear war. Despots lose their power much faster than ever before, and people don’t get tortured by their states as much. Even the murder rate is down.”

“How can you say this about torture when the truth about enhanced interrogation just came out?” Hillary glares at him.

“Again, read your history,” George says. “Rectal feeding is nothing compared to, say, the rack, which was extremely common in the Middle Ages. Not to mention that until recently, torture was done legally and openly, and now it’s a condemned practice that only the fringe—”

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” I say, getting tired of this, “but I really think we should get going soon.”

“Right,” George says, straightening away from the wall. “I tend to get carried away when the subject of history comes up. Hillary, perhaps we can discuss this further once we get to our destination?”

“I’m not going with you,” Hillary says.

“You’re not?” George and I say in unison.

“I’m staying here, at least until Darren is done.”

George looks vaguely disappointed, but says, “I understand and respect your decision, even if I would’ve liked to talk some more. Also, Mary would’ve loved to see you.”

“Mary is still alive?” Hillary asks. When she sees my questioning look, she adds, “Mary is my grandmother—your great-grandmother.”

“She has Alzheimer’s, I’m afraid,” George says. “But they arrange for her to be brought into the Mind Dimension when she’s lucid. This way, her lucidity can last for many, many years.”

“That’s incredible,” I say, impressed both by the strategy and the fact that I have a living great-grandmother. Hillary never talked about her before.

“Family is extremely important to me,” George says. “Hillary knows this.”

“You better go,” my aunt says.

In the uncomfortable silence that follows, I phase out.

Hillary goes into the master bedroom and comes back with Anne.