Chapter 9 - The Legal Way to Steal a Life
Elder Cho did not attack.
That would have been easier.
He invited them to dinner.
Ten minutes later Eli sat at a stainless employee table in the basement garden while one of the most powerful culinary cultivators on the West Coast served tea.
"The Appetite Tax is legal," Cho said.
"By whose law?"
"Ours."
"Convenient."
Cho almost smiled.
Madam Sato sat rigidly. "These people did not consent."
"They consent through participation in subsidized programs."
Eli stared. "Nobody reads forty pages before eating clinic soup."
"Ignorance does not invalidate a contract."
The system flashed red.
[Statement conflicts with Heavenly Kitchen Law.]
[Consent acquired through concealment is invalid.]
Eli felt relief.
Then another message appeared.
[However: Nine Banquet law supersedes Heavenly Kitchen Law within registered Hearth jurisdictions.]
"What?"
Cho noticed his expression.
"The Ledger disagrees?"
Eli said nothing.
Cho sipped tea.
"The Heavenly Kitchen system predates modern cities. Its rules were written for villages. It believes hunger can be solved by generosity. Charming. Impossible."
He gestured toward the garden.
"Seattle has hundreds of thousands who skip meals, waste food, overeat, starve emotionally, consume compulsively. Appetite generates spiritual turbulence. Unmanaged, it creates Hollow Zones."
Owen asked, "So you steal life to stabilize the city?"
"We harvest fractions. The alternative is famine entities forming beneath population centers."
Eli wanted Cho to be lying.
Appraisal showed no deception mark.
Grant leaned against the wall.
"Your father learned this too."
Eli's pulse jumped.
"Where is he?"
Cho ignored that.
"Your mother benefited from the system for years. Cheap meals. Subsidized clinics. You see only the price, not the service."
"Forty-one days of her life."
"Spread over nine months."
"Listen to yourself."
Cho finally looked tired.
"Young man, civilization is listening to itself. Every pension, tax, insurance plan and mortgage is someone trading tomorrow for today. We simply refine the transaction."
The argument disgusted Eli because part of it made sense.
That was worse than a cartoon villain.
The system chimed.
[Reader Engine Event]
[Host has discovered apparent justification.]
[Dangerous Question unlocked: If exploitation prevents catastrophe, what happens when exploitation stops?]
Eli hated how the system phrased it.
Cho offered a bargain.
Join Nine Banquet as an apprentice Hearthkeeper. Learn to manage the city. Remove Mei's personal tax seal. Receive information about Jian.
In return, Eli would stop purifying mass-distributed food.
"What if I refuse?"
"Monday's school program proceeds."
Madam Sato whispered, "Eli. We need time."
He looked at the black garden.
Then at the heart-shaped fruit.
"I accept one condition."
Cho raised an eyebrow.
"I inspect the Hearth Engine first."
For the first time, Grant and Cho exchanged a worried glance.
Eli noticed.
So did the system.
[New Question: What are they afraid you will see?]
---
The next chapters are on the left side of your screen.
If you enjoyed the story, bookmark my site: https://vibe.treeiq.biz
May you like
New stories are posted daily, so check back for updates.
