Chapter 5
While Natonito and Bathsheba were sitting in their audience room, to their surprise Oen Bravia came in to talk.
�I need to talk with you,� Oen said to Natonito.
�Why?� Natonito replied.
�I want to know if you are supporting my estranged wife or not,� Oen said.
�Why is that your business?� Natonito asked. �Honestly, she has not come to me asking for help. I assume that she is taking care of herself.�
�I do not know how that is possible. The Cork estate was never very profitable,� Oen said.
�I am sure that she has ways of making it profitable,� Natonito said. �After all, I believe that most of the acreage was going unused. Unless a government stupidly pays for subsidies, it is unusual for fallow land to be of profit.�
�She has sent me no news herself, except to tell me that she has not decided to sue me yet,� Oen said. �I have hired an agent to help her make up her mind.�
�Agent Bennett?� Natonito asked.
�Yes, how do you know?� Oen said.
�I have heard of his work in Imperium,� Natonito said. �He has quite an illustrious reputation among the scoundrel population there.�
�Are you calling me a scoundrel?� Oen asked.
�Your actions of late have been highly questionable,� Natonito said. �Must I remind you that no one, not even a Senator, is above the law.�
�But you are above the law, right?� Oen said sarcastically.
�I am the law,� Natonito said. �And it is a responsibility that bears down on me every day. Under this form of government great power has been placed to the emperor and I, which demands great responsibility and great accountability. No man should want the power I have if they realized the price one pays for that power.�
�What do you know of my actions?� Oen asked.
�I know that you murdered a former lover who was about to expose you to the press. I have read the story myself, and it is already circulating in aristocratic circles. I imagine you realize that your split with my sister is not the only reason you have not been invited to many parties,� Natonito said.
�What?� Oen said, dumbfounded.
�You see, social occasions are much more than vapid exchanges of shallow conversation, as the uninitiated tend to believe, but are skillful reminders and tests of social authority and the acceptance within the upper classes. The biting comment about a lack of appetite or taste in clothing reflects a deeper jab about one�s place in society. Rightly do commoners distrust the aristocracy, for they realize its power without understanding its game. It seems you have forgotten that being snubbed is a warning that you do not belong in polite society anymore,� Natonito said.
�I am a Senator, how can I be rejected like that?� Oen stormed.
�You are a Senator, that is true, but you realize how many able aristocrats we have, and how interchangeable they are,� Natonito said. �Remember that the Senate is an aristocratic debate society. It only has power to the extent that the emperor and I pay attention to it. Besides, people tend to place too much emphasis on the Senate anyway. When certain Senators abuse their powers they can serve as sacrificial lambs, showing that the government indeed is ruled by high moral standards.�
�Are you saying I am a sacrificial lamb?� Oen said.
�Have you been using drugs recently?� Natonito said. �Your perception seems a little dulled. Or has the power you have held so long blinded you to the responsibility that power entails. There is no freedom without responsibility unless one seeks to be a tyrant, and no one gives responsibility without freedom unless they seek to make that person a slave.�
�Why are you lecturing me on the philosophy of government?� Oen snapped.
�For though by this time you ought to be a teacher, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of government; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil,� Natonito said.
�Are you calling me a baby now?� Oen said.
�You are truly a fool,� Natonito said. �For if you acted wisely others would understand you were wise. I have been advising you on how you could salvage you career, for you have done a lot of good service to the empire and to the people of Bravia. You need to remember that there is a higher responsibility for those who have greater power. We are not to lord our power over the people, but to use our power to serve the people. Our superiority over the common folk can only be gratified by our using the power we possess for the good of those we lead. Those who abuse their power over the common people are not superior at all, but monsters.�
�You are saying that I should not seek to gratify my every desire and that I should rule over myself before I seek to rule over others?� Oen asked.
�That is the first wise thing you have said so far today,� Natonito said. �In order to be capable of ruling over others we must first rule over ourselves.�
�Such a burden that is,� Oen said.
�Yes, but it is a burden that we take upon ourselves when we seek power and authority. Many people falsely assume that power will ease their problems by giving them control over others, but they do not realize that God holds those who hold power with greater accountability than those who do not have power. If we use our power to abuse we will suffer gravely in judgement, if not now, later,� Natonito said.
�How long do I have to recover my reputation?� Oen said.
�I do not know if you can recover it,� Natonito said. �But I will tell you this, if you do not mend your ways before the fall session begins you will suffer gravely for it.�
�That is only a couple of weeks away,� Oen said.
�I know, but I thought you would figure this out for yourself. I am too busy dealing with matters of government to go lecturing Senators on their duty to serve,� Natonito said.
�I fear it is too late then,� Oen said. �What will you do, remove me?�
�I have not decided what to do yet,� Natonito said. �But I tell you I will be keeping an eye out on you and your friends. If you make another false move, I will start swooping like a red-tailed hawk.�
�You are as subtle as a skunk,� Oen said.
�I take that as a compliment. By the time a problem needs to be resolved by me, there is no place for subtlety,� Natonito said. �I take it you will avoid hassling my sister and will focus on improving yourself?�
�I will not stop pressuring Karen until she promises not to bring out our problems in court,� Oen said.
�Then you are in a world of trouble indeed,� Natonito said.
�Good day,� Oen said. �I still cannot believe a former prostitute can be a great socialite when a Senator is snubbed.�
�I would insult my wife if I were you,� Natonito said. �After all, those who have repented of their sins have their sins forgiven, while those who continue to sin are judged. But good day to you too.� Oen walked out of the palace.
�Why are people always attacking me?� Bathsheba said. �I cannot change what I have done.�
�You should not have to be ashamed of who you were. Did not Rehab the harlot marry a prince of the tribe of Judah?� Natonito said. �She could not have done that unless she had been forgiven of her sins. Likewise you have been forgiven for yours.�
�I am always amazed by the ability others have for making me feel miserable,� Bathsheba said.
�I think we both have to work on our insecurity,� Natonito said.
�Yes, that is why we love each other so much, right?� Bathsheba said with a wink. �One of the reasons anyway.�
�Yes, that is one of the reasons we love each other,� Natonito said. �We both need that affirmation of ourselves, some confirmation that we are truly good and that our lives are worthwhile.�
�Yes,� Bathsheba said. �Life is so stressful right now.�
�Yes, it is,� Natonito said. �We have to do something soon, though.�
�Does it mean leaving this palace and going on a trip?� Bathsheba asked knowingly.
�Yes, it does,� Natonito said. �We have to go warn Karen about Oen.�
�Yes, we do,� Bathsheba said. �He seems to have lost his mind recently.�
�I do not know the exact reason, but this is unacceptable for a high official in the government,� Natonito said.
�When will we leave?� Bathsheba said.
�We can do it tomorrow. I am sure that the emperor will understand the reason,� Natonito said. �I have already sent him a report on my brother in law�s corruption.�
�I will be glad to get out of the city for a while,� Bathsheba said.
�Me too,� Natonito said. �Me too.�
�Let�s get started packing,� Bathsheba said.
�We shouldn�t have to pack too much. We won�t be gone too long,� Natonito said. He kissed Bathseba as they went to their master bedroom.
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