By David C. Daoust
Eduardo Bram was not born a wealthy man. In truth, he was born anything but. There were times, when he was young, he would awake in the night, just like any boy, rich or poor, wander out into the kitchen for water, flick on the light- that boy found himself suddenly jumping at the sight he found…
The first time it happened he thought, maybe, he was seeing things- sudden blots of black bolting just outside his line of sight. Eventually he got a good look at the bugs that had taken up residence within his home. Realized they were bolting for cover- hiding under cabinets and chairs. He was really very young, had no real reason to think this was unusual at all, except for the feeling of disgust in his belly. He mentioned it a few times to his parents- they were forever busy and Eduardo just ignored it.
Night after night, the longer he did so, the worse the problem got. Until that final night, he came into the kitchen to find the most disturbing sight of his young life. He found a ring of insects in the middle of the room; A huge fat bug in the middle, the rest circling it. It was like some sort of ritual to Eduardo’s mind- some dark congregation. Even with the light on, they did not flee- not this night. As Eduardo grew closer- he noticed the mad number of ‘tiny’ bugs swarming from the center. The feeling of disgust had never been deeper in Eduardo’s belly.
This was the night he learned how to take care of business; this was the last night any of Eduardo Bram’s homes would be infested with insects. Not only did he smash as many as he could- he found the most potent bug spray he could, the very next morning- sprayed every nook and cranny of his house. He could smell the poison for weeks.
The sight of that late-night, dark ritual of some crazy insect cult would haunt him most of his young life- until his more mature mind, finally made sense of it: The fat bug in the middle, was not some minister giving a sermon, it was giving birth, to all those tiny bugs that were swarming from the center. The bugs circling it- were there for a free meal. Gobbling up the newborn that were too slow, too unlucky, or just got too close. This was all guesses of course, Eduardo never bothered to study the matter- it made a lot more sense than the dark congregation that haunted the nightmares of his youth.
This was a turning point in his life, not only did it teach him to take care of things before they got out of hand- it also taught him to see the angles involved in the actions of others. That mamma bug giving birth in the middle of the kitchen, knew the wide-open space would give her offspring a better chance to avoid capture. The bugs circling, knew to stay at distance, less they deal with the mother’s wrath. All, on this night, were willing to brave the kitchen light…
The rebirth of Grady was not without its angles. Chief among them- the construction of the Cathedral of the True Night. Eduardo Bram knew how important this was to the People of the Chantry. ‘People of the Chantry’ was a classification he did not generally consider himself a part of- considering. He was a bit more about business, and business alone, than how he saw the normal Chantry member. In fact, his involvement with the Chantry was an angle, entirely, all its own.
Tele-minister Emanuel H. Grady had formed a large base of followers among the distraught and downtrodden. Attracted them from far and wide- not a sector of the Onion did not have at least one, dyed-in-the-wool member of the Chantry, dying to witness Emanuel’s next broadcast. He pumped them full of hope for a new life, a better life- that only he could pave the way to. Emanuel had raised them up, and created a settlement all his own in Grady.
What Eduardo Bram was wise enough to realize, was that among them, among all settlements in fact, were the elderly. Truth was, there was not, and never would be, any shortage of Senior Citizens. Not with the level of healthcare that was rampant through the Onion. Truly, there were limited ways one may find their end before their time finally came. And no matter the advances of technology, age was inevitable, and with it- the deterioration of the mind.
Senior Citizens were his bread and butter.
Eduardo Bram was proprietor of ‘Bram Family Nursing Home’, the largest and most successful business on Twin Crown. This was not an angle, not a side-hustle, this was a business he worked at every day of his life. Eduardo’s joining of the Chantry, however, was a bit more of a hustle than he’d dare admit. He was far too pragmatic for such magical thinking. Ultimately, this proved he was a politician through and through; the trust he had cultivated from the community was paramount to his business being as successful as it was.
Eduardo recognized the angle when Emanuel Grady stepped down as leader of the ‘Grady’ settlement. Insisting upon a separation of church and state. Eduardo knew this was to separate Emanuel’s Broadcasts from the current media blackouts that had swept through the prime networks upon the solidification of the United Moons. He knew Emanuel needed his message to still be heard by those still worshiping him from afar.
Eduardo also knew, Emanuel dare not step down, until he’d assured that Raymond Haul had his plate full with his new duties as ‘Judge’. Eduardo knew what the First Wave man’s angle was truly about- Emanuel’s angle suited the situation. If need be, Raymond could be removed later, Eduardo was sure.
Emanuel had looked to Eduardo to fill the role as the new Governor of Grady. Eduardo quickly declined. He had already set his sights a bit higher than that.
While Twin Crown was considered the first solid toehold for the UM- the actual capital, was being formed on Umbrie.
Umbrie, being the largest, wealthiest moon involved, with the largest concentration of constituents that had been pushing for its formation, long before the crisis on Twin Crown.
The true seat of the ‘Fifty-first Republic’ -of the United Moons- was Umbrie.
And it was there that the Senate would convene.
Eduardo’s next angle, was to gain one of those seats for himself.
This brought his mind back to the trust he had cultivated. A trust that had slowly begun to choke, to lose circulation, slowly begun to whither. Why? -because, thanks to his sons, his name was now synonymous with the beating of a very talented, very beautiful, young woman.
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