VII #5
"The shelter needs a governing board, that's you. You must have privacy when making decisions that affect the quality of life of every resident of this shelter. And believe me when I tell you that some of those decisions won't be positive or will be understood as malicious.
Your first and foremost job will be to ensure the survival of all residents."
She leaned against the table in the middle and very seriously explained to them: "Decisions made here will almost certainly, I say, be unpleasant, especially if someone violates the shelter's laws."
People were silent as they thought about what she'd said.
Nick, as a former military man, knew Ana was right.
For now they had hope and positivity, but once everything settled and human nature surfaced, once the monotony of life crept into the shelter and human hearts, then the problems would begin.
Thefts, attacks, the emergence of gangs, and possible attempts to snuff out human lives.
All of that had to be resolved here, regardless of affiliation or acquaintance.
The council had to be able to put the shelter before everyone, and only then the individual.
So he spoke up to break the silence that reigned in the room:
"We need laws. And order."
Everyone looked at him. He was right, the shelter needed some kind of laws that would bring peace and security to the hearts of all residents. Ana nodded to him in confirmation and gratitude.
"That's right. That should be one of the first tasks of this council in the coming days. Establishing guidelines of conduct and the legal rights of all shelter residents. Laws to which all residents are subject and above which no one has greater authority."
"You think no one will be above the law?" someone asked.
"That's right," Ana confirmed. "If we want to create a new society, this rule of technocracy that's been proposed, then none of us may be above the law. We don't want to create a world that has already sunk into corruption and the flame of radiation."
"How to pull that off?" asked Goran, who until then had stood calmly behind Nika. Many heads agreed with his question.
"Well, what do I know, we're all here and you're all representatives of your guilds, you all need to create the guidelines and the basics of the laws. Use your heads a bit, I'm not here to make decisions concerning all of us on my own. That's not technocracy, and that's not the path we want to take.
No single person may have too much authority. No single guild may be too important. We're all equally important in this shelter."
Ana had flushed as she spoke. You could see she'd thought a lot about what she'd said and was straining with all her might to pull people in that direction.
She was right. If some guild stood out as too important, if an individual was considered priceless, then you no longer had technocracy and you were on the brink of totalitarianism.
Ana tried with all her might to avoid that, and you could see she was succeeding.
People were now talking quietly. Ideas and the basics of a plan for drafting laws began to emerge.
It was quite certain that in the coming days the council members would produce the necessary guidelines for drafting laws that would bring peace among the shelter's residents.
People slowly began to gather into little groups, discussing, while Ana pulled her friends aside.
She approached each of her acquaintances and whispered something in their ear, at which the person would nod and head toward the room's exit.
Tomi was quite surprised when Ana approached him and whispered: "The foyer, we're not done yet."
He was curious what Ana had prepared, so with easy steps he followed the thoroughbred girl, who'd tied her lush red hair into a ponytail that bounced playfully on her back as she entered the foyer.
Entering, Tomi noticed a small group of people made up of Nick, Nika, Ana, Erik, and Vlasta.
He was surprised, because he'd never considered himself a member of Ana's inner circle of friends.
He was intensely curious why Ana had singled them out.
Ana nodded to the arriving Tomi, cast her gaze over the curious faces, and finally said:
"You're surely wondering why I singled you out?"
Nick looked at the small group and jokingly added: "Surely not for orgies, because the lineup's a bit off." He laughed.
Ana just gave him a brief look, then pointed toward the space from which Dijana was emerging.
"Your curiosity will be satisfied at once. Dijana was in charge of the next part of the space's decoration."
Ana headed toward the entrance on their right.
"As you know, this space was where our dear metalheads were, and it's somehow the smallest of all the spaces on this floor, which suits us perfectly."
As she spoke, Ana passed through the doorway and vanished from view.
The little group looked at each other, not understanding, then followed Ana into the room together.
Ana was waiting for them in a small hallway that hadn't been there before.
Namely, where before there'd been only open space leading to the small bar, which was still in front of them, there was now a short hallway five meters long and two meters wide.
The walls were of wood or an imitation of wood, probably dug up somewhere in the warehouses above them.
Ana stood beside a door and, when everyone had gathered in front of her, opened one of them with the words:
"This is the space intended for the residence of our triumvirate. Dijana arranged it, so, please, without too many objections." She smiled at everyone. "It was made in a hurry and with what we had available."
Tomi peeked into the room. About five by four meters, the room was spacious enough for the bed placed in the middle.
Again probably filched from the warehouse above their heads, the bed seemed completely new and unused.
Fine bedding with a pattern of large red flowers and two pillows was all that was on the bed.
On the left side of the entrance, in the corner of the room, stood a dark-brown shelving unit with bookshelves and pretty lamps that shone above a small but comfortable dark-red sofa placed directly beneath the lamps.
The space was obviously meant for reading, while the empty shelves were there to receive the read material.
On the right side was a small round table with a reddish pattern, and next to it two comfortable chairs, and on the table a carelessly set-down encyclopedia of plants.
A massive wardrobe graced the right side, and two nightstands on each side of the bed completed the room's overall ambiance.
A dresser with a mirror on the left, and that was it.
The room exuded comfort, and the bed invited testing.
Ana was visibly excited. She gratefully hugged Dijana and then headed toward Nika.
"You may have noticed the clues," she said to the girl, who flinched in surprise, put a hand on her shoulder, and led her into the room. "There's only one person who has the encyclopedia of plants at her fingertips. This room is meant for her."
Nika looked shocked. She looked at Ana, who was smiling. "You're joking?"
"Not in the least," Ana replied. "The person most deserving of credit for the shelter's food needs a place where she can sleep in peace and think up some new way to surprise us all."
"I, I have no words." Nika seemed completely flustered and glanced at the gathered people as if seeking approval. Finally, she stated: "Isn't this contrary to what we're trying to create here?"
"You're one of the three people who are above all the rules," Ana explained. Then she added, a bit playfully: "Who's stopping there from being a few of us, as long as the shelter is run fairly."
"You mean us gathered here?" Vlasta asked.
"For this room. The council will get the room where the electronic music was."
Nick immediately knew that the room assigned to the council was more spacious and could hold far more people than this one where they now stood. He agreed with Ana's choice. Ana led them toward another door, which she then opened.
"Here I don't think many words are needed to understand who it's meant for." Ana smiled warmly as her friends went in to look around.
This room was larger in area and divided by thin plastic walls into several little rooms.
Inside one was a double bed of brown wood with suitable nightstands and a wardrobe.
Beside that little room was a small but comfortable little room with a cradle in the middle and a few plastic toys carelessly tossed on the floor.
Besides that, there was also a three-piece dresser inside and a colorful plastic box of toys.
The space thus divided left just enough room for a living room dominated by a brown sofa with a small table, in front of a shelf with a few books.
In the corner stood a decorative black table lamp, and brown curtains hung from the ceilings, decorating the space and creating a homey atmosphere. Dijana spoke up from the doorway:
"Here I imagined my cousin while we were decorating. I know she likes brown and curtains. I hope you like it." She looked at Vlasta expectantly.
Vlasta just turned and, with tears in her eyes, went to Dijana.
She gave her an enormous hug with barely audible words: "Thank you."
Dijana seemed pleased and visibly enjoyed the embrace.
Nick was happy for Nika and Vlasta. He came out of the room into the small hallway and noticed Ana standing beside a doorway that opened a view into a small living room.
Nick noticed the bar was still there, only now behind it stood a decorative shelf with bottles filled with various liquids.
There were also a few bar stools in front of the bar, as well as a few beanbags scattered around the room.
Three little tables in front of the beanbags and a few doors on the sides, in walls made of wooden panels.
Here too curtains hung from the ceiling, but they didn't reach the floor; instead they stopped halfway so as not to block a clear view of the whole room.
The room was dominated by scattered posters and newspaper clippings pasted on every surface.
The posters showed things from the warehouse and offers for sale, and the newspaper clippings were about nothing at all.