Scales of Empire

by Kylie Chan

  I embraced them. ‘So good to see you, Shiumo. And, Richard, you haven’t aged a bit.’

  He smiled down at Shiumo. ‘Being with a dragon will do that for you.’ He held two rocks out to me. ‘For you. I’ll give you my journals later.’

  ‘Thanks. I look forward to reading them.’

  The two smooth blackened rocks, each five centimetres across, appeared to be fused pieces of burned glass. They were clear with a faint blue tinge where they weren’t scorched. I turned them over in my hands.

  ‘Knowing you, these aren’t lumps of volcanic obsidian,’ I said. ‘They’re probably something alien and terribly expensive.’

  ‘They’re diamonds,’ Richard said, and I nearly dropped them. ‘It rains diamonds on Jupiter.’

  ‘He gave you rocks,’ Shiumo said with scorn. ‘Absolutely worthless.’

  ‘One as a keepsake, and one to sell,’ Richard said. ‘I can’t imagine how valuable a Jovian diamond would be to a jeweller or a collector. Hopefully it’ll make you independently wealthy.’

  ‘I’m already rich,’ I said. ‘I have three fantastic kids, and I live in a rose-pink palace floating in the sky.’

  ‘You have ninety-nine kids, Jian, if you calculate dragon-style,’ Shiumo said. ‘We count by the number of children you care for, rather than those from your relationships or those you’ve officially adopted.’ She turned her head on her long neck and jiggled from foot to foot. ‘The first dragonscales are here. My children!’

  The elevator doors opened and five of Shiumo’s daughters, together with their parents and human half-siblings, came out. The dragonscales girls were nearly two metres tall, and all had long hair in a variety of colours and styles depending on the ethnicity of their mothers. The red scales shone at their temples, and each wore a red gem in the centre of her forehead that Shiumo had fitted when they were five years old. They were sixteen now, but appeared about twenty-five, and were androgynously beautiful and lithely graceful. It was incongruous to see them wearing ordinary teenage clothes – jeans and T-shirts, or simple dresses.

  Two of the girls squealed and raced to embrace Shiumo, then Richard. The rest held back, waiting their turn.

  ‘Are we the first? We’re the first!’ Jessica said.

  ‘Told you we’d be early,’ Regina said.

  ‘It’s so good to see you both,’ Shiumo said, obviously moved.

  The rest of the greetings took place, the dragonscales children laughing and sharing jokes with their families and Shiumo.

  Jessica looked around. ‘Did you enlarge Scaleshome again, Marque?’

  ‘By about thirty per cent since last year’s meeting,’ it said. ‘Since you’ll be here more than just a couple of weeks this time, I’ve made bigger quarters for you all, and extended the study halls and library.’

  ‘Awesome,’ Regina said.

  The lift doors opened and more dragonscales arrived. They shared greetings, laughter and hugs with each other and Shiumo.

  I sidled up to Richard, who was smiling indulgently as Shiumo welcomed her children. ‘Travelling with Shiumo seems to agree with you, sir.’

  His smile widened. ‘I am loved, I love, I travel – every day is new. But most importantly, I am still of value to humanity.’ He grew more serious. ‘Are the journals really useful? I feel like I’m just writing down the interesting things I experience.’

  I raised the diamonds. ‘The journals are worth any number of these. You have no idea how much we appreciate the information.’

  ‘Good.’ He looked around, admiring the tropical gardens that flanked the pale pink walls of Scaleshome. ‘This facility is more impressive every time I see it, Jian. The kids will be very happy here.’

  ‘Thanks, but Marque did most of the work.’

  ‘How are Oliver and Georgina? Did Georgina decide to go home?’

  ‘Yes. She’ll be treated like royalty now that her contract’s finished and she survived it; of course she’ll go home.’ I sighed with feeling. ‘Her people can probably provide better care for her mental health issues than I ever could.’

  ‘That’s not fair, Jian,’ Oliver said. As usual, he’d approached silently on his bare feet. ‘Hi, Richard.’ He wrapped one arm around Richard and gave him a quick half-embrace. ‘Marque knows her psyche inside out but Georgina refuses its help. It’s not your fault she’s like this; it’s mine. I tortured her for years.’

  ‘You only had her as a toy for a couple of years. I’ve kept her a prisoner for more than a decade,’ I said. ‘I hope she finds peace on Eh-Ay-Oyau.’

  ‘I’m betting she’ll last six months of their sickening adoration before she begs to come back here,’ Oliver said. He nudged me with his shoulder. ‘And when she does, say no.’

  ‘Don’t be mean to her, she’s your sister,’ I said, poking him in the side and making him jump.

  ‘Meow,’ he said.

  David joined us. He hugged Richard and me, then turned to watch the dragonscales. More had arrived, and there was an excited babble as they greeted each other with many hugs and small gifts.

  ‘They’re all so beautiful they hurt my eyes,’ he said.

  ‘I don’t see it,’ Oliver said. ‘Even though I’m steeped in human ideals of attractiveness after living here for so long, human girls just leave me cold. Even the dragonscales – half-human, half-dragon – don’t do it for me.’

  ‘Don’t worry, man, they scare me to death,’ David said. ‘Totally not my type.’ He grinned at Oliver. ‘Maybe if they were boys?’

  ‘Maybe,’ Oliver said, then shrugged. ‘Don’t think so though. I don’t think I’ll ever find a partner.’

  ‘Are you attracted to your own kind?’ Richard asked with interest.

  ‘I am, sir. I’d love to meet a female cat who hasn’t been on the inside,’ Oliver said. ‘I doubt I ever will.’

  ‘Is there internal dissent in the Cat Republic?’ Richard said ‘Maybe you could join a resistance group –’

  ‘No,’ Oliver said. ‘It’s our nature to be selfish. It’s the way our brains work. I’m the only one who’s had experience outside the Republic’s indoctrination. I’m better off alone.’ He put his arm around my waist. ‘Having Jian for a mum and David for a brother makes up for it. Jian’s okay without a partner, and I will be too. I have a family.’

  ‘Oh, Ollie love,’ I said softly, and gave him a squeeze.

  ‘Zianto and Hanako are here,’ Marque said. ‘You have two dragonfathers for the second generation instead of just one.’

  ‘Excellent,’ Shiumo said with relish. ‘Gather them up. Let’s do this.’

  Small Marque spheres emerged from the sphere above us and zipped around the facility notifying the dragonscales girls. They gathered in the main square with their families.

  Zianto appeared next to us, with her Marque sphere above her. She had visited Scaleshome a few times during the annual meetings and the dragonscales universally adored her. Another dragon, presumably Hanako, appeared next to her, also with a Marque sphere. Hanako was pastel green and looked similar to Shiumo, with four legs and two wings. She had a dark green soulstone in her forehead.

  ‘All here,’ Marque said.

  Shiumo and her sisters embraced, brushing their cheeks against each other, then Shiumo turned to address the dragonscales.

  ‘Hello, my lovely children,’ she said, and they quietened to listen to her. ‘You all know why you’re here. If you don’t feel right about this, approach me afterwards and you’ll be removed from the program. We’ll respect your privacy.’

  A few of the girls shared looks with each other and their parents, but the prevailing emotional tone was enthusiasm. They were psyched to be having this experience, and looking forward to it.

  ‘The Empress has been exceptionally generous in providing us with two Seconds. Zianto you already know. Hanako messed up her previous First Contact and wants to make up for it by helping Earth out.’

  ‘Oh, thanks a lot,’ Hanako said in a deep velvety voice.
/>   There was a smattering of applause and laughter, and some small cheers.

  ‘You’ve prepared all your lives for this, and we know you’ll be magnificent,’ Shiumo said. ‘Settle into your rooms. This will be your home for the next year or so. We’ll do some final health checks to make sure you’ll be able to lay the eggs, then the program will proceed. As I said, you can change your mind at any time.’

  The girls cheered, and many of them hugged each other.

  Hanako looked around. ‘This seems like it’s all under control, so where are the potatoes?’

  ‘Wow,’ Shiumo said. ‘You really don’t mess around.’

  ‘Marque provided me with an approximation. I cannot wait to taste the real thing,’ Hanako said.

  ‘I have some in my quarters,’ Shiumo said.

  ‘Let’s go!’ Zianto said.

  ‘Prepare to taste the best thing ever,’ Shiumo said. ‘They’re amazing.’

  All three dragons disappeared; and the dragonscales and their parents dispersed to their quarters to settle in. Some of the girls guided their parents to the elevator to see them off, obviously content to be left to their own devices.

  The lift doors opened and a man, a woman and two girls stepped out. I went to welcome them, then realised I’d never seen them before. Both girls were fully human. The man and woman radiated determination.

  The woman pushed one of the girls forward to stand in front of me. ‘This is my daughter Stella,’ she said. ‘She applied for a study exchange in America, and as part of the application she needed a blood test. She’s pregnant.’

  ‘Uh, okay,’ I said, wondering where this was going. ‘What does this have to do with us?’

  ‘Her best friend is a dragonscales – Julia. Tell the lady, Stella.’

  Stella looked down; she radiated mortification. ‘Julia’s the father. She’s the only one that I … we … she’s the only one.’ She looked up at me. ‘I knew she could do it like a boy, but I didn’t think we needed to take precautions!’

  I opened my mouth to dismiss her claim, then closed it again. I’d seen the dragonscales girls when they were small and their bodies had seemed standard female. But I hadn’t seen any of them naked since puberty.

  ‘Come into my office and we’ll talk about this,’ I said. ‘Marque, fetch Julia and Shiumo, will you?’

  ‘Shiumo’s already in the office,’ Marque said. ‘And Julia’s behind you.’

  I looked back to see Julia following us, her head bowed with shame. Her parents were with her.

  I closed my office door and sat behind my desk, using it as a barrier between me and the painful emotions that filled the room.

  ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t get your names,’ I said to Stella’s parents.

  ‘I’m Romy. This is Ben,’ Stella’s mother said.

  ‘Julia, how could you?’ Shiumo said softly.

  ‘I’m sorry, Dragonfather,’ Julia said. ‘I thought …’ Her voice trailed off, then she rallied. ‘We’re both girls!’

  ‘Obviously you’re in a difficult situation, particularly with Stella wanting to go to the Americas,’ I said to Stella’s parents. ‘How can we make this right for you? We can arrange a termination for Stella. Marque can do it simply and painlessly –’

  ‘Goodness, no!’ Romy said. ‘Terminate? No!’

  ‘That’s not what we’re here for,’ Ben said. ‘We want to know …’ He glanced at his wife.

  ‘If her baby will be a dragon,’ she said.

  ‘No,’ I said. ‘It will be dragonscales like its … father.’ It felt strange referring to Julia that way.

  Julia moaned gently. Her parents broadcast mortification, and her mother wiped tears from her eyes.

  ‘And dragonscales can have dragon babies, right?’ Ben said.

  I nodded. ‘With dragons, yes.’

  ‘So Stella’s baby – it could be the father or mother of a dragon?’ Romy said.

  I understood. ‘You want a dragon in the family.’

  ‘Of course we do!’ Ben said.

  ‘Our own dragon,’ Romy said with wonder.

  ‘You’re about to create the second generation of dragons, and they’ll be the same age as Stella’s child,’ Ben said. ‘Can one of the dragons father it for us when they’re both old enough? Or are they too closely related? We worked it out, and they’re first cousins.’ He looked to Shiumo for confirmation. ‘Is that too closely related?’

  ‘Dad …’ Stella said.

  ‘And can Julia come back and father another dragonscales on our other daughter?’ Ben said.

  ‘Dad!’ Stella said, horrified.

  ‘There are five more families here with human daughters,’ Marque said. ‘I let Stella’s family up because Stella said she’s Julia’s friend and she had something important to give her, but I’ve kept the others at the base. I just double-checked and there are more families waiting at the Scaleshome ferry terminal. Total: forty-three human girls so far, all with their families.’

  ‘Are all the girls pregnant?’ I said.

  ‘Checking … Yes, they are.’

  I rose. ‘I’ll sort this out. Everyone, could you please follow Marque and it will give you a tour of Scaleshome.’

  ‘Please come with me, everyone, and I’ll take you on a tour of the facility,’ Marque said. ‘Julia, I’ll show you to your room.’

  ‘Can Stella’s sister share it with Julia for a while?’ Ben said.

  ‘Dad!’ Stella and her sister said in unison as they closed the door behind them.

  ‘Marque, stop any more families from coming to the island,’ I said. ‘And send those at the base of the tower back to the ferry terminal.’

  ‘Understood.’

  I sat in my chair again and glared at Shiumo. ‘Ten generations.’

  ‘You were there when we warned them – you helped me talk to them!’ she said. ‘We told them not to have sex with anyone until they’d given birth to the dragon children. They knew they shouldn’t get pregnant, and that birth control may not work on their half-dragon metabolisms. They knew!’

  ‘But did they know they could father children?’

  She didn’t say anything, just studied me with her silver eyes.

  ‘Why didn’t you tell them? Why didn’t you tell me?’

  Again she didn’t reply.

  ‘Oh, fuck me sideways, Oliver’s mother was right. “Second” doesn’t just mean a second generation – it means completely replacing us with dragonscales. No wonder membership of the Empire is immediate – you’re replacing us with your own kind.’ I pointed at the door. ‘Get out.’

  ‘We told them not to have sex!’ she said again.

  ‘Like that has ever worked in the history of humanity!’ I pointed at the door again. ‘Get out. I need to contact my superiors and tell them that you aliens just fucking invaded Earth right in front of us!’

  ‘I told you that interbreeding was a terrible idea, but you insisted. You blackmailed me into doing this. This is not my fault!’

  She disappeared.

  I slapped my forehead. ‘Ten generations.’

  I called my superior at the UN and his aide answered the call.

  ‘This is Major Choumali from the Scaleshome facility. I need to speak to the Secretary urgently – we have a major crisis here. The dragonscales girls have been fathering kids all over the place. I have nearly fifty girls here pregnant with more dragonscales. He needs to call me back immediately.’

  ‘He’s not here right now, Major,’ the aide said, obviously not comprehending the urgency of the situation. ‘It’s the middle of the night here. Can I have him call you back in the morning?’

  ‘This is an emergency,’ I said, frustrated. ‘The dragons are invading us.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Alien invasion! He needs to call me back immediately!’

  ‘I’ll let him know,’ he said, stunned, and disconnected.

  I’d paced my office for ten minutes waiting for the UN Secretary to call me back when
an EBC reporter appeared on my big screen, doing a vlog for the network. The caption said ‘Dragon children’ and with a sinking stomach I turned the volume up.

  ‘There are over a hundred of them in this town alone,’ she said, walking along a rainslick cobbled street somewhere in Britain. ‘One dragonscales girl – although “girl” may not be the correct term here – has fathered a child on more than half of the girls in her school, some girls in a nearby school, and a few older women, some of whom are married. None of the women or the families of the girls she’s impregnated have complained. In fact, most insist that they want the prestige and possible income from a dragon in the family. Many have gone into hiding, concerned that they may be forced to terminate their pregnancy.’

  I groaned. It was out already.

  The screen switched to show a couple with a teen daughter sitting on a couch in a normal suburban home.

  ‘Well, who wouldn’t want a dragon in the family?’ the father said. ‘With our extended lifespans, having a great-grandchild capable of earning an income as a starship engine will set us up for a grand retirement.’

  ‘Bonnie’s grandchild will be able to carry us around the Dragon Empire,’ the mother said. She smiled at her daughter. ‘You did the right thing, honey.’

  The girl smiled but didn’t speak. She had the glazed look of someone not sure they wanted to be where they were.

  The transmission flipped to an academic from a British university. ‘If you’re right about the number of children, this is a disaster for humanity,’ he said.

  The reporter spoke offscreen. ‘More and more pregnant women are showing up. All are claiming it was their idea and they want to keep the children.’

  ‘If that’s the case, their children – the dragonscales children – will produce more dragonscales. At this rate …’ The academic raised his tablet and a graph showing an exponential rising curve appeared on the screen next to him. He lowered the tablet and glared at the camera. ‘In ten generations, humanity will be wiped out. We’ll be bred out of existence, replaced by dragonscales. All the dragons have to do is move in and breed a few more dragons, and even the dragonscales will become extinct. In as little as five hundred years, Earth could be populated entirely by dragons.’