The choosing of the Leader of The Dimension of Barbarik was done in a very civilized, fair and orderly fashion. Each individual Clan first was to have an Initial Consensus taking for the purpose of choosing specifically which Citizen of The Dimension of Barbarik they would nominate to run for Leader for the next three thousand days. Then each of those six candidates chosen by the six Clans of Barbarik were given a position on The Ballot. A Citizen could vote for one, two, three, four, five or even all six of the candidates, however they chose to do it. If the same name appeared on The Ballot in three different Clan slots, then it was possible that such contender could actually get three legitimate votes on that one ballot. So even though the Initial Consensus was just preliminary, it was very important because if one candidate, such as Charismatic Leader, were to be named in two or three or even five of the six ballot positions then they had a much greater chance of winning. Every Citizen who had reached the age of maturity (7000 sunrises) could vote in the Final Consensus. Only once had all six choices submitted in the Initial Consensus been for the same candidate. In that one instance, there had been no need for the Final Consensus taking and Just Leader had automatically been sworn in as Leader of The Dimension of Barbarik. 

Jo Sef had great expectations for he was positive that the True Believers would name him their nominee. Of course the Idealists and the Truly Persecuted would nominate Charismatic Leader for he was their champion. The Power Hungry would most surely nominate Ay Bud. That left the Skeptics and the Indifferent. Jo Sef was sure that he had made great in-roads with the Skeptics over the years and knew that many of them had great respect for his judgment and integrity. And last but not least, he had convinced many of the Indifferent that they could truly make a difference.

Finally the time came for the Initial Consensus taking. As Jo Sef expected, the True Believers gave him their nomination. And also as he expected the Idealists and the Truly Persecuted nominated Charismatic Leader and the Power Hungry nominated Ay Bud. So it came down to the choice of the Skeptics and the Indifferent. By an exceedingly narrow margin (and after several dubious recounts) the Skeptics nominated the man that many of them had come to admire and trust, Jo Sef of the True Believers!  The Indifferent traditionally had an exceedingly low turnout at the Initial Consensus taking. They invariably would nominate whoever was ahead in the polls because they really felt that their choice of nominee would have little impact on the final results anyway. If they hadn’t been required to submit a choice they would have most likely just skipped the whole process entirely.

But an unexpected thing happened. The Indifferent had a turnout that was ten times more than usual and they nominated Jo Sef of the Clan of the True Believers to fill their Clan position on the ballot!

This was a major upset! An insignificant Citizen such as Jo Sef winning three out of the six slots on the ballot for the Final Consensus taking. It couldn’t be possible, but it was. Definitely a major upset!

Jo Sef was elated! He publicly thanked the Clans who had nominated him. He had known he could do it! There was still the Final Consensus to take place one hundred days later but Jo Sef had great hopes and faith that he would become Valiant Leader of The Dimension of Barbarik. The years of preparation, hard work, persistence and dedication to serving his fellow Barbarikians were about to pay off!

The Etile Aidem immediately played down Jo Sef’s triumph. They said much could happen between the Initial Consensus and the Final Consensus. After all, Jo Sef had won by the slimmest of margins the nomination of the Skeptics. They also pointed out that most members of the Clan of the Indifferent would more than likely not even bother to come out to vote in the Final Consensus. They declared that of course it was only logical that Charismatic Leader would come out victor in the end. With an adoring public such as his he would surely win his third term by a great majority. Not to worry, after all he was CHARISMATIC Leader.

Ninety-seven days later The Dimension of Barbarik was in major upheaval! Dab Sejes of the Clan of the Truly Persecuted, close friend of Charismatic Leader, was actively campaigning against Jo Sef. He had organized huge demonstrations by proclaiming that if Jo Sef were to become Leader that he would surely take away the Clan status of the Truly Persecuted. Jo Sef’s childhood friend, Doog Sejes, also a member of the Clan of the Truly Persecuted, threw his support wholeheartedly behind Jo Sef. He spoke publicly about what a great Leader Jo Sef would make. He said that it was not true that Jo Sef would take away their Clan status. He even pointed out the fact that the True Believers had refused to take in Goldlockians as servants because they held the belief that no man is born to be servant to another.

Doog Sejes also pointed out that the True Believers had wholeheartedly supported reinstating official Clan status for the Goldlockians. He reminded Barbarikians that when it came time for the True Believers to give the Truly Persecuted 1/6 of their land that they had quietly handed over their most choice portion. The Idealists had eagerly and with much pomp and circumstance handed over their least desirable portion.

The Etile Aidem enthusiastically covered all the demonstrations and declarations of Dab Sejes demonizing Jo Sef and broadcast them repeatedly for all the citizens of Barbarik to hear. When Doog Sejes spoke in support of Jo Sef only those within actual earshot would ever hear the words he had to say. In fact, many of the Citizens of Barbarik would rarely even hear the words that Jo Sef had to say.

The Idealists were in major uproar also. Jo Sef was a True Believer and one of the main tenants of the Clan of the True Believers was the doctrine of personal responsibility. True Believers felt that each person was responsible for his or her own success or failure in life. This meant that everyone would “have” according to their own personal goals and the effort they put into achieving those goals. Therefore not all citizens would receive equal substance because not all citizens would put forth the same amount of consistent effort required to get what they desired.

The Power Hungry declared that Jo Sef was surely not intelligent enough to be Leader of The Dimension of Barbarik. They pointed out that Jo Sef had not yet even held any position in the Ruling Body therefore he was too inexperienced in matters of governing. Surely Ay Bud was the wisest choice for Leader. Afterall, his father had been a distinguished member of the Ruling Body and his father before him. His great, great, great, great grandfather had even been Competent Leader of The Dimension of Barbarik. Ay Bud had already put in many years of loyal service in the Ruling Body and after much previous silence on the subject of “opting out” Ay Bud was even declaring boldly that he would appoint a council to look into the matter if he were to become Leader. Indeed, he was certainly the most logical choice for Leader.

Jo Sef had always and from the very beginning unapologetically declared, “As long as there is life left in me I will never turn away from defending Life.” And from the very beginning he had made it perfectly clear that if he were to become Leader of The Dimension of Barbarik, his first official action would be to issue a new Executive Order immediately putting an end to the abhorrent practice of opting out, with dissenters “dutifully noted.”

Three days before the Final Consensus taking tensions were high. Of course the Etile Aidem still showed that Charismatic Leader was well ahead in the Official Polls. Still, there were some that thought it was a much closer race than was being reported, after all, Jo Sef of the True Believers had earned three positions on the ballot and Charismatic Leader had only two. In three days every Barbarikian would know who was to be the new Leader of The Dimension of Barbarik. In three days time it would be decided.