by Eliza Green
Bill rolled his eyes and punched him in the arm. Hard. ‘No, you idiot. I thought we could talk about what Harvey said.’
‘We are not interested in change,’ said Seven, his fists clenched by his sides.
Stephen couldn’t get a clean read on this Conditioned, and that unsettled him.
‘Change is going to happen, whether we like it or not,’ said Laura. ‘Please, hear him out.’
Stephen couldn’t help his paranoia. His lack of abilities made him more nervous than usual. He didn’t know how to trust his own instincts. Serena had said he needed to be patient. But patience had never been his strong suit.
Seven unclenched and nodded at Bill. ‘Proceed.’
‘What happened a week ago can never happen again,’ said Bill. ‘I hate what this world has become in such a short time.’
‘What do you propose we change about it?’ asked Stephen.
‘Whatever we can without breaking it. The peace treaty is a legacy document, and I don’t think Harvey’s intentions for this planet were entirely off the mark.’
Stephen scoffed. ‘You think re-altering a race that has been in existence for over fifty years is suddenly not eugenics?’
‘It is, but that’s not what I’m suggesting.’ Bill fanned his hands once. ‘Listen, Harvey saw the issues with this world after a couple of weeks of being here. We’ve been living with them for eight years. Pierre and Elise fought for change, right up to their last breaths. I think we should too.’
Stephen tried to gauge Seven’s take on it, but his face held no emotion. The fire in his eyes, however, evidenced a reaction. Stephen wished he knew what that reaction meant.
‘We are happy with the current arrangements of living apart from the population,’ said Seven. ‘Any changes that involve us merging with society... we will not vote for.’
Bill huffed out a breath. ‘Look, what I’m proposing is an alliance, all voices around the table—as it should have been from the start. Think of this meeting as our first of a new interspecies council.’
The idea intrigued Stephen. Sharing the heavy burden life in this world had created appealed to an Indigene who was running out of ways to govern his charges safely. The idea presented a glimmer of hope that the future was not a lost cause.
‘I will have to run our discussion past the other elders after this meeting.’
‘As will I with the other Conditioned,’ said Seven.
‘Naturally.’
‘Our list for change is not short,’ Stephen said.
‘Ours is simple,’ said Seven, ‘but would be no less demanding.’
Bill smiled and nodded. ‘I didn’t think it would be.’ He looked each of them in the eye ‘That’s settled. Consider this our first official interspecies council meeting. I propose we each share our demands, and spend as long as it takes to hash out the details. Determine what we can agree upon and what we can’t.’
‘This could take a while,’ said Stephen.
‘I’m not going anywhere.’ Bill glanced at his wife. ‘Neither is Laura.’
35
One week later
‘This is pointless!’ Laura jumped up from the sofa and paced their living room floor.
From his seat, Bill watched her.
‘All we have to show from our first interspecies council meeting is a long list of demands from Stephen and Seven, and no way to proceed with them. The cities aren’t going to like what the Indigenes are asking for. And they already have an issue with the Conditioned living in the caves, like hermits.’ She stopped and perched her fists on her hips. ‘How will we ever reconcile all sides’ demands enough to avoid a repeat of last time?’
Bill shoved the uneaten boxes of food from Cantaloupe aside, and dragged the half-full whisky bottle closer. Both of them had been too busy and too tired to cook the past week. He poured a measure of whisky for him and Laura. He picked up her glass and shook it at her.
With a sigh, she snatched it from him and downed it in one go. The alcohol appeared to soften the edges of her mood; she rewarded him with a soft kiss on the cheek.
‘I’m sorry. Let’s forget about everything for one night. I want to enjoy my food for once without this constant knot of worry in my gut.’
And a knot it was, but it would take more than one night to rid either of them of it. After their first meeting, Stephen had held an open forum with the representatives from all ten districts and listed any and all changes the Indigenes wanted to see. He’d brought back two separate sets of demands that largely aligned with the other districts. The first set was from those loyal to the old ways, the second from those seeking radical change. Bill knew that to quell a further attack, the rogue Indigenes must also be appeased.
Laura sat on his lap and looped her arms around his neck. She nestled her head on his shoulder and released a soft sigh. Her breath tickled his neck.
‘It’ll be okay, love.’
She lifted her head. ‘Any word from Jenny?’
He’d tried contacting her after Stephen had told them he’d been in touch to ask for her help. Bill didn’t want her to worry. But the connection must be down.
‘No answer.’
‘I hope everything’s okay there.’
He kissed her on the mouth. ‘I’ll keep calling until I get a reply.’
His DPad shrilled and made him jump.
Laura stood up with a frown. ‘Who’s calling now? It’s after hours.’
He answered it; Julie’s face filled the screen. ‘Bill, Laura.’ Her eyes flicked briefly to his wife. ‘I’m sorry for interrupting your evening, but the sixth floor is reporting a passenger ship entering our solar system.’
Bill’s heart pounded. During the eight-year criminal regime, there had been one ship hidden safely on Earth. Bill had stipulated the ship only be used for emergencies. But with the regime’s demise, he worried about why it was here.
‘Who’s on board?’
‘We don’t know. They’re not responding to our hails.’
He stood and cursed. ‘What’s the ETA?’
‘Five minutes, then another ten to send a craft down.’
‘Do we know which city it’s headed for?’
‘We won’t know until the craft begins its descent.’
Laura was already waiting by the door.
Bill strode over and grabbed his coat. ‘Send Gunnar to the station. We’re on our way now.’
‘He’s headed there already,’ said Julie. ‘I’ve also alerted the other ITFs to stand by at their docking stations.’
‘Out.’
Bill disconnected the call and quickly called the car. He grabbed his bag from beside the sofa and shoved the DPad into it.
‘Who do you think it is?’ asked Laura.
‘They’re illegally entering Exilon 5 space. They’re not answering ITF’s hails. I’d say we have more criminals on the way. Maybe Harvey’s old team, maybe not. He must have called them while the power was down, to ask for their help. He must have told them the planet was theirs for the taking.’
Laura jerked the door open. ‘Shit.’
They took the stairs two at a time. Outside, the car was waiting by the kerb. They got in and the car moved. The docking station wasn’t far, but it was far enough that Bill couldn’t stop squirming.
‘This is all we need, more trouble,’ he said, scanning the dark streets, as if he expected to find the answers out there.
Laura patted his hand, but her eyes were fixed on the way ahead. ‘Don’t worry, Bill. We can defend ourselves, this planet. Let’s see what the trouble is first before we jump to conclusions.’
The car pulled up outside the docking station. It had barely stopped before Bill jumped out and marched towards the station.
Gunnar was outside, pacing nervously. ‘The space craft is in the sky and coming here.’
‘Only one?’
He nodded.
‘Well, that’s something I suppo
se.’ They could deal with one rogue craft.
‘I have my team waiting inside.’
His skin had tightened with worry, but he forced a smile and clapped Gunnar on the back. ‘Let’s greet our uninvited guests.’
Bill slipped his Buzz Gun out of his pocket and glanced at a worried Laura. Anything to do with Harvey never ended well. Bill had no idea what criminal network Harvey might have built before he came to Exilon 5.
Together, they headed for the group of black-clothed military men and women gathered near the landing site, who’d remained loyal to Bill during Harvey’s takeover. A swell of noise grew louder and louder until a space craft became visible in the sky. The magnetic plates at the landing site flipped over suddenly, and slowed the plummeting craft with an intense force.
‘Why would they risk coming here like this?’ Laura shouted over the noise. ‘They must know we have firepower.’
Bill didn’t answer her. His eyes refused to leave the craft. The magnetic plate disengaged and the thrusters kicked in next, to land the craft gently.
He waited nervously, gun in hand, while Gunnar instructed the team to move in. The craft doors remained closed for an agonising minute. Then they opened, and someone waved a white flag out the door.
‘You’d better be friends, because we’re armed and dangerous.’ It was a female voice. And one he recognised.
He breathed out.
‘Stand down,’ he ordered the men.
The team pulled back.
Gunnar frowned. ‘You know who’s on board?’
‘I do.’ He stepped closer, hands in the air. ‘Don’t shoot.’
A face peeked out. ‘Bill? Is that you?’
He lowered them. ‘Shit, we nearly shot you.’
Jenny jumped down from the craft and stopped before him. The military kept their guard up. ‘You’re okay?’
‘Of course I am.’ He frowned. ‘Why are you here?’
‘We came to offer our help.’ She eyed the crowd that numbered twenty. ‘But it looks like you’ve got everything under control.’
‘Not quite, but the danger has passed, for now.’
Looking relieved to hear that, Jenny turned and called to the others in the craft. ‘It’s okay. You can come out.’
Two faces he recognised appeared at the door. ‘Greyson, Eleanor.’
They jumped down.
Greyson smiled. ‘Good to see you’re not dead, friend.’
‘As am I,’ quipped Bill.
Laura hugged Jenny warmly, then Greyson and Eleanor. ‘Are we glad to see you! We had no idea who was on board.’
‘You thought it was one of Harvey’s men?’ said Jenny.
‘Worse, a team of them.’
Another figure emerged from the craft, taller than the others. She had short, black hair and a regal air about her. Her face was partially covered by a scarf. She looked around, then pulled it off.
Bill’s eyes widened. ‘Isobel.’
Her eyes narrowed. ‘I remember you.’
She looked different to the Indigene Bill had tortured not that long ago, right after she’d undergone genetic reversal treatment. Bill had been after new Indigene recruits to help the people of Earth escape the criminal regime. Then, she’d been caught between two species: Indigene and a version of human. Much like the Conditioned were now.
He owed her an apology. ‘I’m sorry for what I did to you.’
She nodded once. ‘I forgive you.’
Isobel had come from Exilon 5. It must be strange to return now. She kept her distance from the others, as wary of humans now as she was then.
Jenny said, ‘It appears we got our message wires crossed and you’re not in danger after all. When we spoke to Stephen, it sounded like all hell was breaking loose.’
‘It was, but we’d like to fill you in on what’s been happening.’ Laura hooked her arm in Jenny’s. ‘How about we all have a chat?’
36
‘Let me get this straight,’ said Jenny. ‘Harvey wanted to reverse all the genetic mutations in Indigenes and Conditioned? For what reason?’
‘To level the playing field,’ said Laura. Having Jenny here was a welcome distraction.
She and Bill had brought their four guests, plus Gunnar, back to their apartment. Everyone settled on either the sofa or dining room chairs, except for Isobel. While she looked more human than Indigene after her recent genetic reversal treatment, her height and quick movements were reminders of what she still was. Those traits had cast her into a place between human and Indigene.
Just like Laura.
‘So I assume that would also have meant changing you back,’ said Jenny.
Laura nodded. That must have been why Harvey had taken a sample from her. While she’d been on the fence about keeping her Indigene traits, the last few frantic weeks had allowed her to make peace with her changes. If Harvey had come calling for her, she would have fought to keep what she now regarded as a gift, not a curse.
Greyson was quiet, hand cupping his chin, looking as if he were sizing up the situation. On their way to the docking station, Laura had slipped on the neurosensor. While she’d been unable to read Jenny, Greyson, Eleanor or Isobel’s ghost, she’d trusted her human instincts enough to remove the device and pocket it. It didn’t matter what was discussed here. Her loyalties remained the same.
The wide-eyed, tight-lipped Isobel stood apart from the group. Laura wished to know what was going on inside her head. But she trusted Jenny and Greyson.
‘I tried to contact you,’ Bill told Jenny, ‘after Stephen told me he’d been in touch.’
Jenny shook her head. ‘We were on our way here. As soon as Stephen disconnected, we made plans. And when we couldn’t reach him again, we accelerated those plans.’
‘We had help in the end,’ said Bill. ‘The Conditioned stepped up and helped to keep Jameson safe.’
Greyson lifted a brow. ‘The former World Government employees? Now that surprises me.’
‘As well as those from the Earth Security Centre,’ said Laura.
Had she still been working there, had she not already been altered by Stephen, she might have been one of those picked for the new evolution.
‘Well, I never thought those cretins would help,’ said Greyson. ‘From what I heard, Tanya Li and the board members picked people who backed Deighton’s vision of super selection. I wonder what changed their minds?’
‘The death of the Elite freed them from the constraints of having to follow Tanya and the former board members,’ said Bill. ‘Without her dictating their purpose, without her ordering more tests than their bodies should have been able to handle, they had a chance to start anew.’
Laura had doubted how honorable the offer of help from the Conditioned had been. She still did.
‘We’ve been in touch with Stephen and Seven—’ she said.
Jenny frowned. ‘Seven?’
‘Yes, in that he was picked to become host to Elite Seven’s consciousness during the attack on District Three. It started out as a nickname, but it kind of stuck. Anyway, they presented a list of demands that would mean more freedom on both sides. Stephen presented a similar set of demands from the Indigenes.’
‘Are they willing to follow any laws?’
‘We don’t know,’ said Bill, ‘but a libertarian society without rules will never work. We need to meet enough demands of our three societies to live in harmony, while following the law. Trouble is we don’t know how to integrate all three worlds.’
Jenny glanced at Greyson. ‘I think we can help with that.’ She nodded at the tallest one in the room. ‘We only gained control of Brooklyn and the surrounding areas five weeks ago, but Isobel has been instrumental in helping to bring the Indigenes and humans there closer together.’
Isobel stepped forward; it was a deliberate step, Laura noticed, to show this Indigene meant business. She wondered if Isobel had sensed Laura was different.
‘Y
es,’ said Isobel. Her voice was cool, calm. ‘I and others have acted as intermediaries to bring both sides together.’
‘Do you think you can help us,’ asked Laura, ‘even with a third side—the Conditioned—in the mix?’
Isobel fixed her gaze on her; it was more light blue than grey. ‘What are they asking for?’
‘To be left alone.’
She lifted her chin. ‘I don’t understand the issue, then.’
‘You know how humans can be. They look down on anyone who is different to them.’
‘Yes, I have experience in that.’
Laura detected a little sorrow in her voice.
Jenny gave Isobel a look that told her to play nice.
‘We can try...’ said Isobel hesitantly. ‘But now, I have a favour to ask.’
‘Anything,’ said Bill.
‘I would like to see Ben Watson.’
Laura hid her surprise. She knew Isobel had been instrumental in helping Waverley—where Ben had come from—in the fight against their oppressors, but she hadn’t known Isobel and Ben shared a connection.
‘We can arrange it,’ said Bill with a nod and a smile. ‘I’m sure he would be delighted to see you. All of you.’
Laura added, ‘Actually, I have an idea. I think we should do it in a different setting, if you’re willing.’
When Isobel stared at her, Laura worried the former Indigene might reject the idea without hearing it. But then Isobel nodded.
Laura let out a soft sigh. ‘Great.’
She explained her idea to the group.
☼
Bill drove everyone out to District Three, calling Stephen along the way. The Indigene was only too happy to hear of the new arrivals.
‘Of course, we shall collect Ben and bring him here.’
‘Don’t tell him why.’
‘I’ll keep it a secret.’
A short drive later, Bill pulled up to the main entrance. Laura got out first. She led Greyson and Eleanor down the stone steps leading to the start of the environment, while Bill accompanied the others.