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leader, I was to be let in on certain secrets and would learn all about the power behind the throne.
     

Chapter 7
     
     
     
     
     
    The English Catholic Historian Lord Acton wrote that 'Power corrupts.' That would be a true statement when considering the real powers behind the UN. Since achieving total control of the Earth the UN's Secretary General dissolved the general assembly and appointed the Council of Ten. The Secretary General's position was that of a figurehead. The real power lay with the Council of Ten. As a future Colony leader, I was inducted into the inner workings of the Government. They called themselves the Illuminati, I found out later the name came from an actual secret society that existed in the past. Several thousand of the planet's elite were members. Military leaders, politicians, celebrities, and journalists came together a century ago to build the Empire that I helped to defend. My brothers and I owed our very existence to them. Our entire program had been their Idea from the start.
     
    "You are the future. You and those who you call your 'brothers' are to be our future leaders if you survive."
     
    The leaders before me were some of the same people that had visited our group when we were still children. In some ways I felt the interview would be like this. "Thank you for considering me for the position."
     
    "We have been watching you Sam. We have been watching all of those in your group. The Superhero program was a partial success for what we wanted. We needed a new breed of warrior."
     
    "The history that we learned in school said that leaders are made not born. How is that possible?" This was really interesting to me.
     
    "Leaders can be shaped and molded into anything that we need. The colony program was successful in removing certain ...elements from Earth. What failed was retaining control of those elements once they left the planet. We sent out several groups of Government representatives on many of the ships. They either joined the rebels or were killed fighting them. We hope that was the case. You and your people will be different. Your very lives have been ours to mold. You owe us everything."
     
    Those last few words shocked me to my core. Owe them? My brothers and I don't owe them anything.
     
    "Did all of the groups you sent fail?"
     
    "Not entirely. We still control two of the early colonies. We have influence on many of the rest where an organization such as this one exists." He spread his arms, encompassing the room. "They exist in the very fabric of the outer colonies. They run the military and control the flow of credits to and from the government. They influence everything, right under the noses of the colonists. We will give you access codes and recognition signals that will allow you to contact and connect with those groups. The military forces that we are sending with you should be able to handle whatever you throw at them. We wish you luck and when we see you again we hope you will join us, here at this table." He patted the empty chair beside him.
     
    As I bowed to the Council of Ten, a thousand thoughts ran through my brain. Where did I stand? Did I really want to rule over other people?
     
    Those questions continued to plague me through the next few weeks. I met with the other four ship captains as we began to plan our roles in the societies we would create on board the ships. Twenty years was a long time to be surrounded by strangers. The council's plan was for us to educate the rebellion out of the colonists. Teach the next generation to respect us and we could rule in peace. When we arrived at the planet we should be able to just take over.
     
    I still was not sure if I wanted to rule over everyone. Maybe on the journey I could decide.
     
    It was time. Several large neighborhoods and small towns had been targeted for relocation by the council. Subversive material and celebrations of former Independence had blacklisted these areas. Special forces troops