31 – A New PerspectiveHector motioned for Freddy to keep walking. After a few steps, he said, “There’s always been corruption at the top—nothing new.”“This is different, though,” the kid said, turning to stare at him again. “Have you ever seen one of the Lautrec emperors in person? Supposedly, we’re being ruled by Damian the Sixth, but my uncle—who’s been around a long time, mind you—says Damian the Sixth is the same as the Fifth who was the same as the Fourth—all the way down the line.”Hector shrugged. He’d heard rumors about that even back in his old life—Damian the Fourth had been Emperor then. He’d seen him from a distance a few times but could hardly picture the man—just vague memories of pale flesh surrounded by gold-threaded finery and rift-tech armor that allowed him to float above the rest of his procession.“Old rumors, and even if they’re true, who cares? Yeah, it would make him one of the oldest people in the system, but there are others who claim to have been around in those days. Rejuvenation, clones, neurodecks—plenty of ways to cheat death.”“Don’t you see, though? The Lautrecs have been on the Imperial throne since the Fracture! When the Great Houses came together and built the modern Empire, Damian the First was elected. When was the last time the Great Houses held an election?”Hector had never heard of one, but he doubted that was the sort of thing that was advertised. “Doesn’t the Senate Conclave handle that?”Freddy snorted, shaking his head. “They would, if they weren’t, each and every one, owned by the Lautrecs. They have their votes, but it’s always the same: Lautrecs maintain the throne.”Something Freddy said triggered dusty memories in Hector’s mind—Drake Conti railing about the “feckless” senators in the Conclave. No, it was more than that. The Conti representative had voted against something… The memory was too vague, and Evie wasn’t (...)