Genesis Rising

by Eliza Green

  Bill, Jenny, Greyson, Eleanor and Gunnar set their gel masks to their faces and entered District Three’s restricted-air environment. Waiting for them inside were Stephen, Serena, Anton and Margaux. Margaux wore a deep, suspicious frown, but it relaxed when she saw Laura. Over the last few weeks, Laura and the former elder had grown close.

  A tentative Stephen eyed the newcomers, but the obvious tension in his shoulders lifted when he saw Jenny. The pair embraced like the old friends they were.

  As Laura observed the group comprising of two species—genetically altered versions of the same species except for the second generation—she saw their vision for a better future had already begun. It was happening on a smaller scale, ready to be built upon.

  ‘Good to see you’re well.’ Jenny checked Stephen over like he was one of her children. ‘I was worried about you.’

  ‘Better for seeing you, old friend.’

  Jenny smacked him lightly on the arm. ‘Hey, less of the old, thank you.’

  Serena nodded to the guests. ‘You are all welcome here. We are glad it is you who came and not more like Harvey Buchanan.’

  ‘Things are slowly improving on Earth now,’ said Greyson. ‘And we’d like to show you how they can be different here. Better.’

  ‘Where is Ben?’ said Isobel, her voice wavering.

  She had been aloof since stepping off the space craft, but Laura caught the first sign of emotion from her.

  ‘He’s in the Central Core with Arianna,’ said Serena. ‘He’ll be thrilled to see you.’

  ‘And the others?’ asked Laura.

  ‘Gathered there, like you asked.’

  Serena led the way to the Central Core. There, Laura spotted an excited Arianna waiting with a nervous Ben.

  ‘What’s this all about?’ Ben stepped forward as soon as Serena entered the space.

  Laura stepped off to one side with Bill. Jenny appeared first, then Greyson, followed by Eleanor.

  ‘Jenny, Greyson!’ Ben strode over to them, a smile on his face. He had become a man in a short space of time—confident, decisive. But then his smile disappeared. ‘What’s wrong? Has something happened? How’s Isobel?’

  ‘Right here.’ She stepped inside the Central Core and Ben’s mouth dropped open in surprise. ‘Hello, Ben.’

  Her smile showed genuine affection for the teen. And judging by Ben’s grin, the feeling was reciprocated.

  He said nothing as he marched forward and flung his arms around her. She hugged him back just as hard.

  ‘Me too,’ said Ben in answer to a silent question.

  Even without the neurosensor in place, Laura felt the familiar tingle of telepathy pass between the pair. She frowned in confusion.

  Bill nudged Laura with his elbow. ‘What did she say?’

  She didn’t answer him because she didn’t know.

  To Stephen, she said, ‘I thought it was impossible for Indigenes to speak to humans in this way.’

  Isobel turned and said, ‘My genetic reversal treatment facilitated a new connection.’

  That intrigued her. ‘Do you have it with all humans?’

  She ruffled Ben’s hair. ‘No, just this one.’

  Ben groaned and ducked away from her affection.

  Laura looked around the space. A crowd had gathered, exactly what she’d hoped for. Some watched with interest, others with fear.

  Isobel addressed the room. ‘Please do not fear new changes, new challenges. Some of you might recognise me from my short time in this district. I travelled to Earth recently, and I met this young man.’ She pointed to Ben. ‘From the moment I set foot on Earth I was labelled an outcast, forced into a life of servitude. Ben rebelled against my situation and helped me to see past the impossible, to see what is possible. Things have changed on Exilon 5, but out of much resistance and dissent can come good.’

  She glanced back at Jenny, Greyson and Eleanor. ‘We originally came here to help you fight your war, but we were too late. Now, we wish to help you figure out a better future. I am proof that two species can co-exist. Back on Earth, we brought humans and Indigenes closer, through education and meaningful interaction. Our cross-species interactions have not impinged on the lives of either species, but rather enhanced the connections, enriched them for the better.’

  A silent hum sounded in Laura’s head, but she heard none of what was being discussed.

  Stephen said, ‘We will fight for what we need. Our healing starts here, today.’

  More humming followed. Serena nodded, as if agreeing with their silent thoughts.

  Bill asked, ‘What are they saying?’

  ‘Good things, I hope,’ said Laura, biting her lip. One Indigene who needed help more than the others came to mind. ‘Clement needs us. We can’t promise change here and not include him.’

  Bill rubbed her back. ‘I will do everything I can for him.’

  37

  ‘What do you think about my idea?’ Laura chewed nervously on her thumb. She stood in the Council Chambers with Arianna, Stephen and Serena.

  Serena nodded. ‘It could work. But who do you propose to head up this venture?’

  ‘Arianna.’

  Her friend, with her hands behind her back, beamed at the leaders of District Three. Laura had already spoken to her about it last night. Isobel’s presence had sparked an idea in her head. Laura and Arianna had been up all night discussing it, teasing out the logistics of it, in the hopes it would pass one Indigene’s strict approval. Stephen looked sceptical.

  ‘And Clement,’ Laura added quietly, expecting Stephen to hit the roof.

  Both Serena and Stephen stared at her. She’d expected this reaction, since Clement was still locked up.

  ‘Think of it as his rehabilitation.’

  Stephen flashed an unconvinced smile. ‘By acting as a go-between for the Indigenes and humans?’

  ‘Arianna would be the main point of contact. Clement would be helping her to manage the education workshops. The Indigenes are feared because humans don’t know enough about them. Equally, the humans are feared for the same reason. I want to bridge that gap by improving communication between the species, like is happening on Earth.’

  Serena shrugged at Stephen. ‘It’s not a terrible idea.’

  ‘No, it’s not.’ Stephen sighed. ‘Clement is not off the hook, but I would prefer to see him doing good rather than languishing in one of our cells.’

  Laura released a quiet breath of her own. She’d hoped this would be Stephen’s reaction. What Clement had done was serious, but it had been to protect the Indigenes and the Conditioned. And Laura. Harvey’s death had been the only way to stop this madness.

  ‘May I tell him the good news?’ she asked.

  ‘Maybe it would be better to wait until we have a plan before we do,’ suggested Serena.

  Arianna cleared her throat. ‘Actually, Laura and I discussed one last night.’

  Stephen lifted a hairless brow. ‘A fully formed one?’

  Laura nodded. ‘I have ties to both worlds. I’ve been thinking about it for a long time. I just never saw a way to do this until Isobel arrived here and showed me we’ve already formed meaningful connections between the species. Her friendship with Ben is proof of that. Or yours with Bill. Mine with Clement and Arianna. We have a chance to right what has been wrong for too long.’

  Stephen half smiled. ‘I guess epidemics have a way of focusing the mind.’

  ‘They do.’

  The virus had certainly contributed to Laura’s concerns about the divisions between the Indigenes and humans. But with the Elite acting as a reminder of a world that no longer existed, she hadn’t seen a way to cut ties with the past. Now, with their deaths, and the recent push for control, it had shown her who in the ITF was loyal to the old regime and who was capable of change. It would be easier to start anew with those interested in preserving the different cultures and their needs.

  She wasn’t sure what
role the Conditioned would play in her improved-communication idea, but the genetically reversed Isobel was technically a third species on Earth, and had shown in a short space of time that anything was possible.

  ‘Will Clement agree to your plan?’ asked Serena.

  Laura hoped he would. It was a chance to turn this mess into something positive. ‘I’ll ask him now.’

  She and Arianna left Council Chambers and headed for a disused accommodation area in the south of the district. Clement was being held in the same cell once used to hold Benedict, the fake persona Charles Deighton’s imprint had invented to control Anton. Arianna shivered when they entered the area. She had visited Anton once, and been on the receiving end of Benedict’s insidious games.

  Posted outside the room were two guards.

  Laura stepped up to the pair. ‘Let me speak to the prisoner. I have permission from Stephen and Serena.’

  The guards glanced at each other, but when Arianna confirmed it, they stepped aside.

  Laura approached the door. She turned to Arianna. ‘Let me talk to him first. I want to make sure he’s okay.’

  Arianna hugged her body and nodded. ‘I’ll be out here, waiting.’

  Laura touched the handle just as one of the guards said, ‘I’m happy he killed that human. I don’t care if you know that.’

  She nodded at him. ‘It certainly makes things simpler.’

  When it came to Harvey Buchanan, she neither condoned nor condemned Clement’s actions.

  Laura opened the door and peered inside. She saw a despondent Clement leaning against the wall. He wore the same black hunting outfit from a few days ago, still marked with dust, dirt and probably Harvey’s blood. A folded change of clothes was on the floor next to him, but he hadn’t touched them.

  He looked up lazily at first, then his eyes widened.

  ‘Laura.’ Clement straightened up and brushed stone dirt off his back. He looked around, flustered. ‘I’d invite you to sit, but there aren’t any chairs in here.’

  She smiled and leaned against the wall. ‘This is fine.’

  He joined her hesitantly.

  Laura worried for her friend. ‘Are you okay?’

  He nodded. ‘I’m where I deserve to be.’

  There was something she wanted to know, something that had bothered her about that night. ‘Clement, did you set out to kill Harvey that night?’

  A deep frown marked his forehead. Clement looked away.

  A moment later, he looked back. ‘No.’

  Her heart lifted with relief to hear that. Clement was not a killer. What had happened had been circumstantial.

  He added, ‘But would I go back and do it again? Yes. He was trying to ethnically cleanse our race.’

  ‘Harvey lived through a corrupt time.’

  Clement stared at her. ‘Do you agree with his actions?’

  ‘No, but he’d seen more than I have—than you have. His perspective of right and wrong was skewed.’

  ‘So he should have been permitted to carry out his plans?’

  ‘No, I’m not saying that, but he was doing what he thought was right. He was trying to reset the world, to bring status quo. His plans surprised me, that’s all. He turned out to be a different person to the one I knew eight years ago.’

  He’d threatened to kill her once.

  But he’d also saved her life by giving Bill a treatment to slow down her alterations.

  Clement’s sigh sounded like he didn’t agree. ‘What are you doing here?’

  ‘I have news. Stephen and Serena have agreed to release you.’

  He shifted around to face her. ‘What, why?’

  Laura sensed worry from him, not relief. ‘Don’t you want to be released?’

  ‘Of course I do, but what I did was wrong, and I deserve no special treatment.’

  ‘And you won’t get it. Arianna and I came up with an idea for educational workshops, to bridge the gap of knowledge between Indigenes and humans. The problem isn’t that we are all different; it’s that we are all the same deep down, but think we’re different. All anyone sees are the skills, the appearances. But we’re all after the same thing: the right to live life to the fullest.’

  ‘And you think your workshops can help with that?’

  ‘We have visitors from Earth who have explained that the same workshops there have helped to break down the barriers between the races in a short space of time. If it can work on Earth, it can work here. But it won’t be easy.’

  The Indigene with eyes as blue as Serena’s—a beautiful side effect from the third-gen alteration—frowned at her. ‘I don’t understand why you need me. Arianna sounds capable of doing that herself.’

  Clement brought other benefits to the workshops.

  ‘You have an understanding of the humans that Arianna does not—yet. You worked undercover. You used to be human.’ She touched his hand. ‘I’d like you to work with Gunnar, Bill’s chief-in-command, to bring both species to the workshops. The more we show a united front, the better this will work.’

  Isobel’s presence had taught her that.

  Clement dropped his gaze to their touching hands. ‘And you’re sure you want me for this?’

  She squeezed his fingers. ‘I can’t think of anyone better for the role.’

  38

  Bill sat at a round table inside the secret room on the fifth floor of the ITF offices. The room had been used primarily for meetings with his underground operatives. It was a late Saturday evening, and this meeting type was a first.

  Around the table sat Seven, Stephen, Laura, Jenny, Greyson and Isobel. While Stephen did not speak for all ten districts, he had been put forward as an agreed representative. Emile and Marie had been ousted since news of their deception had spread, and new leadership put in place. Apparently, helping Harvey, whose goal had been to ethnically cleanse their race, had been enough to push general favour towards Bill’s idea of collaboration.

  It was time. This planet, its people—all with human roots—deserved a new start.

  On the table was a one-page document that Jenny, Greyson and Isobel had pulled together. It mirrored a similar agreement they’d put in place back on Earth. Bill clutched the pen in his hand and stared at the line meant for his signature. There was a separate line for Stephen and Seven’s names, too, as reps for their charges. The document wasn’t necessary—the real one was in digital form and safe—but Jenny had insisted on this ceremony. She’d said the signing of an actual document would allow all sides to mark change with a signature, to see what had been done and to imagine what could be achieved.

  Bill scrawled his signature. It was a mess; he hadn’t used a pen in so long. Isla had been the expert letter writer. He slid the document and the pen to Seven, who added his signature.

  Stephen was last. He put the pen down after signing. ‘Is that it?’

  Jenny shook her head. ‘It’s the first step to initiate change.’

  ‘But we still haven’t agreed to everything.’

  ‘And you won’t, but signing this begins that dialogue. First the discussions will happen, then the workshops.’ She looked around the table. ‘What’s been lacking for so long is trust. The fact that you’ve all agreed to an interspecies council is a start. This document develops on from that concept. First you show a united front, then you publicly announce the start of your interspecies council meetings and hash out the finer details there. Taking this step will show everyone that you are willing to work together.’

  ‘When we prove to everyone that all sides can work together,’ added Bill, ‘we can work towards finding common ground.’ He stood. ‘That’s it for today. We will begin planning at the next meeting. See you back here on Tuesday at 11am?’

  Seven nodded and disappeared through the door. The stairwell there would take him underground.

  Laura said to Bill, ‘I’ll take the others up and out shortly.’

  Bill nodded, expecting Stephe
n to leave next. But when his friend lingered by the table, Bill asked, ‘Is everything okay?’

  ‘Can I have a word?’ The Indigene cocked his head towards the noisy server room.

  Bill led Stephen inside the unoccupied room. Jeff was on an unofficial break and wouldn’t be returning until Bill gave him the nod to return. The hum of the machines filled his ears instantly; inside the meeting room, it had been just a dull roar. He led Stephen over to a darkened corner, away from the worst of the noise.

  Stephen’s gaze was too wide, and that worried Bill.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ he asked.

  ‘What if this doesn’t work?’

  ‘It will.’ He hoped it would.

  ‘How do you know that?’

  He had no guarantees, but this was the first time all sides had agreed to sign anything official.

  ‘You want to know what I think?’

  Stephen nodded, his lips thin.

  ‘Jenny, Greyson and Isobel are right. If we remove the fear of what you and Seven are, it will be harder for anyone to argue against real change.’

  ‘And if we wish to keep to ourselves? I know many of my charges will not wish to interact with humans.’

  ‘So we do it on a phased basis. I can’t see the Conditioned swapping their plans for solitude to become extra involved in society, can you?’

  Stephen smiled and shook his head.

  ‘But this way we stop the witch hunt plaguing both your species.’

  Stephen released a hard breath. ‘That’s what I want too. Do you really think it will work?’

  Bill clapped his friend on the shoulder. ‘We became friends, didn’t we? That day we first met in that underground tunnel, I wouldn’t have put money on it ever happening.’

  Stephen chuckled. ‘I suppose if we can see past our differences, anything’s possible.’

  Ever since the virus in District Three had raged and been subsequently quelled, the fire in his friend’s eyes had dulled. Bill had never seen Stephen so lacking in confidence.