RB Chapter 40 Reigniting The Flames

The current setting was a room, white spotless walls, tables filled with all sorts of things and various devices guzzling electricity. This was a state of the art labaratory with technology so advanced it would make a 21st century scientist mad!

It was big, about 30×30meters and in one corner, a massive standing transparent cylinder could be seen. It was about 7ft tall and two meters wide.

It was full of liquid and a person was drifting in the colorless liquid. It was Elena who was completely naked and not wearing any kind of breathing apparatus on her nose.

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Leo and Lena were facing each other, one grinning, the other glaring.

"So you think that you have won?" Lena asked. His toothy grin was getting on her nerves. The moment he entered, he had been grinning. He had given Elena to the staff so that she could be taken to a recovery pod.

"Yes, after all, look at this situation! We have no other options." He said frankly.

"You are mistaken, I am going to stay and fight. If they hadn't involved my daughter, I would have let it go." Lena answered after taking a deep breath.

"What!? Why? This is a fruitless endeavour! Do you want the children to die with you?" Leo asked.

"I have already given the two brothers to a capable surbodinate who will take them to the wilderness and look after them. Elena is old enough to make her own decisions." She continued calmly. Leo was left speechless.

"So I will also have to stay." Leo sighed when he came to that conclusion. The plan didn't work out.

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"Elec! Time for dinner!" Lisa called out. Elec jumped out of the bed and Eric followed behind as they made their way to the dinner table.

It was currently just a minute to 8:00pm.

According to what Eric picked up in the conversation between mother and son, Baguma was apparently not going to join them for dinner this night. He was going to be busy.

But Lisa knew in her heart that it must have frustrated him to see the woman he liked being saved by the man he hated. He deserved that! That was what she truly thought.

During dinner, Eric enjoyed his meal quietly while the mother and son chatted about various topics.

One of the important ones he picked out was that school was going to go on hiatus for an indefinite period. The message had been sent to both her contact and Bagumas'.

Eric rejoiced in his mind. That meant that he will have plenty of time to figure out his abilities.

(Breaking news, we have just gotten news that a very respected personage wants to address the Kampala city community about the mortifying events that took place this evening!)

A hologram once again abruptly appeared on top of the dining table.

"These few days have been more lively than any others!" Elec exclaimed.

"Yes, they really have." Lisa agreed and even Eric had to shake his head in agreement even though he had only seen this world for a short time.

"I wonder who this person is?" Lisa mumbled. She could detect a hint of respect in the female voice.

(Dear beloved citizens of Kampala city!) An elderly voice was heard as the cameras focused on an elderly man. He was dressed impeccably in a black suit with his hair swept backwards. Wrinkles could be observed on his face giving the impression that he was really old, but his straight back gave the impression that he still had many years in him.

He was standing straight, with no one else in the background. This wasn't going to be a talk show but, an address!

(My name is Muti Livingstone. Most of you know me as elder Muti.) He introduced himself.

Elec and Eric cast puzzled looks on the screen.

"Who is this old geezer?" Elec asked Lisa.

"Be polite!" She shouted, causing Elec to shrink in his chair.

"Sorry! But this man is truly someone deserving of respect! He has been the chief pioneer of grown foods ever since the start of the evolution. If he wasn't here, many of us might have died! The ten clans were so invested in fighting that they didn't care and simply maintained their sustenance on meat. But one man, elder Muti, pioneered the resurgence of farming. All the vegetable food on this table is thanks to him." She finished.

Elec didn't care too much but Elec developed a touch of respect for the man.

"He has been out of the public eye for a long time, the incident this evening must have been what made him come out into the limelight once again."

(The incident which took place today between the times of 2:00pm and 7:00pm was truly a very cruel one indeed. I offer my deepest condolences to all of you who lost a loved one.) He bowed his head.

Lisa clasped her mouth, more in surprise.

(The incident has truly shown us how vile the ten clans can be! Even I, who had decided to stay neutral, have been driven into anguish! I have decided to join the Abolishment of The Ten Clans Association (ATTCA) to fight against this system with my fellow citizens.)

That alone caused an uproar in various residences and even the ten clans were shaken!

Such an important personage joining would make all the others who had stayed neutral all this time to go to the other side!

(The Mpologoma clan, your daughter slaughtered the innocent citizens of Kampala city. We demand she be turned over to the authorities so that a suitable punishment can be administered! Your clans might be powerful, but we! As the citizens are more numerous than you!) He raised his voice at the last statement drawing out cheers from the general public.

(I hope that am accepted into the association with my meager talents and advanced age. I want to also fight for freedom in our city so that the outrageous incident that happened today may never happen again!) He finished on that note.

But the riled city couldn't sleep! The flames which had been doused a little by Leo, flared once more, stronger than ever!

Many channels were showing people discussing about the elder's speech and its implications! Some people were even wondering whether all the farms were going to stop supplying produce to the ten clans.

The blow dealt by elder Muti was truly heavy.

"So elder Muti chose the other side." Lisa commented. She was dazed. This wasn't a good thing!

"How will I cook my meals? Will we have to eat meat for a long time?" She wondered.

"But this is a bad thing for the ten clans." She continued on a more serious note.

"He is just one old geezer!" Elec said offhandedly causing Lisa to stare at him.

"Elec, you need to learn about the world. Elder Muti is a respected pioneer and with that title comes, connections! Almost all things connected to plants have some connection with him. All those are connections. If the head moves, the body must move too! All those people wouldn't want to offend him or fall out of public favor, so they will have no choice but to follow him. Some of them are even essential to our livelihood." Lisa explained as calmly as possible.

Eric understood the gist. The ten clans were doomed! It was as simple as that!

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"This old geezer should have become an actor." Leo commented as he looked at the screen. An amused smile was tugging at his lips. The old geezer was the one behind the Association in the first place. He was now trying to rally all his supporters to his side,while also reigniting the public's flames.

"He is a sly one. He saw that you were undermining his efforts, so he put our clan in the spotlight. Plus! It was also a way for him to raise support so that he will have the chips to scramble for power after the removal of the ten clans." Lena analysed calmly.

"Yes, you are right! We were supposed to go quietly that was the plan with him, but now-" Leo started before realising what he was saying and hurriedly clamped his mouth shut.

"Continue honey, I already knew that someone behind the scenes was pushing for my current predicament! You aren't cut out to be a schemer, so the one who would have egged you on is the elder." Right now her eyes were glittering with a hint of laughter as she beheld the childish way he was acting. It was adorable!

"Sorry." He apologised with a lowered head.

"Its okay! You tried to do what you wanted and failed, just like I did. Those people simply decided to cut me off the moment you met the elder, right?" She asked after regaining her serious demeaner.

"Yes. That old geezer is ruthless. But now, I have forced him out of the woodwork. He must be fuming!" Leo rejoiced at that.

TRIVIA

When the walls of Kampala city were being built, food was scarce! The hunted meat was mostly devoured by the ten clans on grounds that they needed energy to fight. After all, ATP production hadn't yet started. A visionary appeared, his name, Muti Livingstone! He claimed to have been researching and managed to grow plants from the cells of plants without using seeds! He even managed to genetically alter them to produce fruit with more nutrients than meat! Even proteins! The people came to sanctify him. He became the hero of that period!