by Eden Wolfe
"Good, because it was an intensive effort to - "
"We're not here to discuss data."
Uma cast Carole a look. Carole raised her hands and stepped back.
"We will go with Uma's recommendation."
Uma smiled.
"Carole will prepare the logs. Sara will gather the subjects and conduct the tests."
"Sara?" Carole’s jaw dropped.
Uma’s eyes narrowed. "What does she know about it?"
Sara stood still, her face didn't change. She stared forward at Roman.
"She has better social skills than both of you combined. Carole, I'm not going to bring up the subject of your previous reconnaissance missions. I've decided. It's Sara."
Uma stepped closer and spoke softly, "I don't think that's a wise choice, Roman. There are others - "
"She has the technical skills. And the ability to keep her mouth shut." He turned to Sara, "Since you left the Male Program, how many social collections have you managed?"
"Three hundred and twelve. Sir."
Roman shrugged. "Obvious choice to me." He walked behind his desk, pulled his belt a notch tighter, and sat down. "Uma, I need this written up for my briefing to the Queen at sixteen hundred. Carole, I gave you your instructions. Sara, pass off your current load to Lab D."
"Yes, sir."
Uma nodded. Carole turned and walked out without another word.
"Sara, stay for a minute."
Uma waited. Roman cocked his head, silently asking what more she wanted. Uma gave that quick smile he so despised and walked out.
Roman looked down again at the charts, the truth only becoming clearer to him.
We're going to have to take this to Lucius.
"Sara," he took a deep inhale through his nose, unsure if she really was the right one for the job. If she were at all arrogant or condescending, Lucius wouldn't put up with her for a minute.
"Yes?"
"What do you know of the previous Great Geneticist?"
He watched Sara's cheeks drop and her eyes widen. A look of both fear and reverence on her face. He sat back in his seat.
Yes, she'll be perfect.
10
Irene
Irene listened to every word that Roman muttered in his briefing, but her eyes were glued on Maeva.
"We've been unable to remove whatever characteristic is causing this anomaly. Whatever it is, it's well hidden. We will be able to adapt it, that's no question. But we moved to implementation too early." He took a deep breath. "I can only say that with hindsight. I consider myself responsible."
The young Queen, still only twenty-three years old, listened carefully to Roman's bleak explanations, her face giving nothing away. It was impossible to tell whether she was angry, despairing, or confused.
But Maeva was a different case.
Maeva's lips were in constant but silent movement, speaking to someone or something with every bit of news that Roman gave. Her eyes were wide, and when Roman had said "suicide", Irene thought they might bulge right out of Maeva's head.
Of course, she considers herself responsible. This had been her decision after all. One of her last before handing over the throne.
How much Maeva had changed. When she'd been Queen, any failure was someone else not fulfilling her command. Now that she had no formal role to play, her body had shrunk, her shoulders pulled forward. She could still stand stately and proud, but in the quiet moments, she was a different woman. Irene felt a pang of regret at seeing her this way, though she couldn't identify why. She was the Commandante, dedicated to Lower Earth's well-being, dedicated to the Royalty who led it to prosperity.
Maeva has become my kin.
The thought came as a surprise to her.
Irene hadn't allowed herself to think of kin since she was first called to serve in the fortress. The concept had seemed rigid and outdated. The Lower Earth they were becoming sought common relationship across the peoples, not kinship.
But looking on Maeva now, in this state, Irene knew that behavior could only be adapted to a point. Maeva was her friend, her kin, and she felt loyalty to her even if she wasn't Queen anymore.
Roman's voice broke Irene out of her trance. "We continue, and we will find it, but we may need to use some unorthodox measures to have a breakthrough."
The young Queen stood and walked to the window, just as Maeva used to do, Irene couldn't help noticing. She looked out over the square, her eyes scanned and for a moment Irene wondered if she truly understood the implications of what Roman was saying.
Five years of incubation births, and it seemed they were almost all flawed. Flawed in ways that nullified their purpose. Several thousand girls, and they were all genetic outliers. They could not become the army they were intended to be. They could not become anything at all. The program of mass incubation was thus far "inconclusive" in Roman's words, with thousands of children born from its failure. What were they to do with a generation that had no place in Lower Earth's structure? No Willing Mothers could take them on permanently, and there were far too many for dispersal in the outer counties.
Queen Ariane turned back to the room, "Mother?"
Maeva's eyes refocused, "Hmmm?"
"What have you to say to this news?"
"This news? I don't call it news." A flame rose in Maeva's eyes. Irene recognized it. It was Maeva as she used to be. "I call it thorough incompetence."
Roman stepped forward, "We were always going to face challenges in implementing - "
"Challenges?" Maeva tilted her head, "You think this is a challenge? You've created a subset of society. That was rather out of your brief, don't you think?"
"I was unprepared for - "
"Clearly, you were unprepared. When I promoted you into the title you so desperately wanted, did you think that it permitted you to make foolish mistakes? To run amuck, laisser faire with my commands? The Great Geneticist always had to work within limitations. You let the glory of your position go to your head."
Roman's face reddened. "I was doing as you commanded."
"I commanded a generation who could defend Lower Earth. Have you done that, Roman? Have you really accomplished what I asked of you?" She walked to Roman, her face nearly touching his. "I still hear you over there. I may have passed along my title of Queen, but my ways have not changed. You take liberties, Roman, and you overstated your abilities. Perhaps you even let yourself believe you could do what you could not. And now look where we are. All because you didn't have the humility to admit your limitations. Now they are cast into the light for everyone to see." She opened her arms wide and dropped them to her sides, walking away from Roman, leaning against the stone wall. She closed her eyes.
"Seems my Mother has already said everything for me," Queen Ariane continued. "Now I want to know what you're going to do about it."
Roman spoke quietly, his eyes lowered. "We have a plan in place. We will gather more samples, conduct randomized tests. The samples will be more intrusive but I've assigned someone skilled at such collections. We won't rattle the Homes. We'll make sure this stays as quiet as possible, as we have done. We've attributed it to behavioral development, kept the focus on disciplinary measures and confinement as well as drug therapies. So far the Homes believe it's activated in the children under their supervision; they don't suspect, as far as we know, that it's related to the genetic makeup of the incubates."
The young Queen nodded. "And once you have these samples?"
Roman inhaled through his nose. "Then we'll take the sequences to Lucius."
Maeva's head snapped upright. "Lucius? No, no."
"We have to, Maeva," Roman's voice softened, "You're right, we've surpassed our abilities here."
Maeva pointed her finger at him, "He'll trick you. He'll trip us up. He'll turn this into his own little experiment at the expense of' - "
"Mother, " Ariane walked across the room. She put her hand on Maeva's shoulder. "You're too close to this to be objective. Roman’s right." She
turned back to Roman, "I want to be informed every step of the way."
"Yes, Queen."
"Daily."
"Yes, Queen."
Irene saw the shimmer of sweat on Roman's forehead. He'd done well, keeping his cool.
He's made such a mess of this, no wonder he feels the heat.
"You're dismissed, Roman. We have to discuss all you've reported. Leave us now."
Roman bowed low and walked out quickly.
When his degradation begins, who will take over the Tower?
As far as Irene knew, there were no obvious candidates. It had been held by a man since its inception, a way of staving off criticism and rebellion by backroom men.
But soon there won't be any men left. Isaac's gone; he might have been a contender but he was always going to die before Roman. A few on the lower levels of the Tower, but none sufficient for this level of responsibility. Never mind their capabilities. They don't hold a candle to Roman.
She hadn't considered the implications before of having a woman leading the Tower. It had felt like an institution and a cultural truth that men would have their place in the Tower while women ran the rest of Lower Earth.
Change. Change is coming.
She watched Roman's back as he left.
Ariane closed the door. "This is a complete disaster."
Maeva muttered, but Irene couldn't hear the words.
"Stop it, Mother. They have no answer for us now. You got us into this, not them."
Maeva looked up at Ariane, but her lips kept moving. Fast wisps of words spoken only to herself.
"I said, stop it. Mother, stop it." But Maeva continued, if anything, her lips accelerating.
"Stop it!" Ariane slapped her mother with such force that Maeva flew to the floor in a bundle of velvet and leather.
Maeva looked at the floor, but her lips were still.
Ariane panted, her lips parted, the air audible.
Irene blinked. She couldn't help Maeva up, that would be an insult. Ariane would not have it either. Irene couldn't speak. Any word she uttered would be an affront, regardless of its intent. She waited.
"Pack for your trip, Mother. You leave tomorrow." Ariane looked up and saw Irene. "And you have a clear-out of Cork Town to prepare."
Irene bowed and left and the room, clicking the door shut behind her.
11
Leadon
Priyantha brought Leadon a tray of fruits to break her fast. Three days of intensive prayer. Three days of visions, dreams, and ideas. Leadon was full of the words of the ancients. The sound of the tray placed on the floor was jarring. She wanted to stay in that meditative, prayerful state as long as possible. She found such peace there. In that place, there was no death, no fight, no politics. No imposter Queens. No lost childhood friends.
The array of fruits, beautiful though they were, signaled the end of her sabbatical. She was back in the earthly world.
Where has Aria gone? She can't be on the Forgotten Islands; we would know about it. Is she on another island, alone? Starving? Abandoned?
She shook the thought away. Anxiety rode up her throat. Every time she thought of Aria she went down this path, ending at a place where Aria was suffering and Leadon could have, or should have, done something about it.
Her teeth sank into a pear, the flavor cascading over her mouth and she found herself drooling. How delicious, how fulfilling, how consuming was the taste of the fruit.
Someone opened the curtain at the entry of Batrasa's hut.
My hut. I must come to call it my hut.
"Yes?"
"I come with good wishes for our new Chief."
"Enter."
Before Leadon was the woman who had stood around the fire, Ahnira, the very one who had spat insults and ridicule. Leadon felt her spine straighten at the sight of her.
She said she has good wishes. Hear her out. Perhaps she's had some change of heart. Or perhaps she's realized she made a horrible misstep in insulting the future Chief.
The woman kneeled.
"Please," Leadon said, "You're in my home. You do not need to kneel here. Those who enter are my friends."
The woman stood, shifting her weight from side to side. Her discomfort was palpable.
"I am Ahnira."
"Ahnira. I know your name, but not from your own lips. It is good to meet you."
The woman shifted again, "I felt compelled to come. But now that I'm here, I'm not sure what to say."
Leadon waited. She also didn't know what to say to this woman who had been so clear in her disdain for her.
Replica.
"If you do not know what to say," Leadon picked up, "Then do not speak, but come sit with me and have some fruit. The pear, in particular, is delicious."
"No, no, I cannot."
"Please, I insist."
Ahnira sat down and Leadon held out the tray. The woman looked at it.
"I feel disgusted."
Leadon lowered the tray, wanting to ask why but afraid of the answer. So she waited.
Ahnira continued. "I have complete faith in Batrasa. I know she never would have led us astray. Since I was a child, I idolized her. I dreamed of one day becoming the Keeper, giving training, having some authority but always in service of Gana."
"It is a worthy dream to have."
"I don't know that I ever intended to fulfill it, but I tell you because I want you to understand how deep my loyalty was to Batrasa."
"I understand. I see it in you as you speak."
Ahnira's face twisted. "I never expected to be here, in this position. I don't have to tell you that I said things. About you. And to you. And all the while, Batrasa knew you were to be the next Chief. I feel - I feel disgusted. Because my loyalty was shallow. Because it was directed at Batrasa and not the good of Lower Earth."
Leadon felt her heart beating harder as the woman spoke. Leadon valued truth, but she also felt a desperate need to run away from this awkward conversation that brought all her insecurities to the surface.
"Chief," Ahnira continued. "You have my loyalty because you are Chief. But my loyalty is shallow. Please do not punish me for it. I am only just realizing my own shortcomings. I will change. I will grow from this. I already have." Ahnira took Leadon's hand and brought it to her forehead as she bent over it. "Forgive me, even for the thoughts I still harbor now."
"Ahnira. Ahnira, please lift your head." Leadon waited until she was upright again, "Do not be fooled into thinking I do not have flaws. My flaws are many. I, too, am learning." She was careful with her words. She wanted to be honest, but not reveal so much that this woman saw just how frightened and uncertain she actually was. "This is our journey. I forgive without condition. But I do hope you'll change your mind about me. I never was all you said that I was."
Replica.
Ahnira stood and bowed her head low. She then walked out of the hut without another word.
Leadon let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding.
If only all the others could be so forthright. I should value the discomfort she gives me. But still, I'd rather not have it at all.
Leadon remembered Batrasa's words. The Chief was one who had to stand up against the women's words, one who would rise above their partisan beliefs. Leadon began to better understand why she was the one chosen, even if she still didn't fully grasp the enormity of what was before her.
She stood and walked into the midday sun. After three days in the dark hut, it felt good to have the sting of sunshine on her face. Priyantha was waiting for her.
"How was the transition phase?"
"Illuminating."
Priyantha smiled. "I think that's how it's supposed to be." She took Leadon's arm and they strolled together towards the river in silence.
Once at the river's bank, Leadon let Priyantha's arm fall. She put her hands in the water. It was icy and fresh. She brought two handfuls of it to her face. The rush of cold water on sun-stung skin awoke her senses and she smiled.
S
he and Priyantha continued their walk along the river's edge.
"I must make a trip." Leadon turned to Priyantha. "It will be my first as Chief."
"Of course. To the Dark Counties, I imagine? The traders off the north coast? Shall I see authorization from the Ministry of Displacement?"
"No, I'll go to Geb."
"Ah, I see." Priyantha nodded.
"I need to see Irene."
"That's to be expected, I suppose."
Leadon wasn't sure what she meant, but she didn't want to ask. "There is some history that needs to be clarified for me to better understand our direction."
"Know where we've been to know where we're going?"
"Exactly."
"It's probably more relevant for you than for any of us."
"Priyantha," Leadon couldn't contain it anymore, "Will the women here ever see past my face? Will I ever be something other than the first genetic model in Gana?"
Priyantha took a deep breath. "Leadon, I'm not sure how you can be anything other than that; I'm not sure why you'd want to be. It's who you are."
"But it's not all I am."
Priyantha shrugged. "That part might take more time."
"Yes," Leadon continued walking. "I believe you are right."
“I’ll come with you to Geb.” Priyantha jogged to catch up.
“That’s not necessary.”
“Perhaps it’s not necessary, but it’s desirable. Your position has changed, Chief. You are not a warrior priestess like the rest of us anymore. You may have need of someone while you’re there.”
Leadon knew Priyantha was right. Nothing was as it was the last time she made the trip to Geb. It felt like years had passed, not a couple of short weeks.
“Alright. You’ll join me.”
Priyantha smiled wide, “I’ve always been curious about the capital.” Her face grew serious. “But you have my word, while we are there, my commitment is entirely to you.” Priyantha's face was so earnest that Leadon had to smile. She took Priyantha's arm.
“Let’s stroll while we can, and then prepare the horses. The world is changing around us. We may not have much time for simple joys anymore.”
