by Paul Teague
In fact, Magnum Enterprises is expanding in some very interesting ways.
Viktor now heads the newly created AgriSection; he’s developing his own research to adapt it for areas where crops struggle to survive. Magnus reckons that within three years they’ll be able to feed starving populations in regions hit by drought and floods, adapting the processes that Viktor developed to grow crops in seawater and in darkness.
It’s all really cool tech, the stuff of sci-fi, but that’s my world now. It goes with the territory – I have an alien mum after all.
My two mums get on really well, and we call them by their first names so we don’t get confused. Even though they’re both still ‘Mum’ to me and Nat.
Amy and Davran have become political activists – it’s great to see Amy using some of that ‘kick-ass’ attitude again. Without a weapon in her hand, of course.
They gave The Global Consortium a really hard time after Genesis 2, and with the blessing of The Off-World Federation, they have won approval for increased ties between Earth and Zatheon.
There’s even agreement that everybody on Earth will know about off-world life forms within the next ten years. It will be a staged process which my mums will oversee. That’s an amazing prospect – by the time I’m 27, there could be Zatheons on Earth and out in the open.
That’ll bring some big changes for me and Nat. We’ll have to decide whether or not to keep our alien heritage secret, but that decision is a long way off. Let’s see how the world reacts to news of alien life forms first.
Amy and Davran also forced the Helyions into submission via The Off-World Federation courts. They’re completely neutered now – my mums proposed a new process of ‘recalibration’, where planets who use technology for aggressive purposes have their expansion limits curtailed, curbed and strictly monitored. Put simply, their entire planet has been clamped. Everybody agrees – what the Helyions tried to do cannot be allowed to happen again. It’s humane, but decisive, just the sort of thing I’d expect from Mum. Amy. They’ve helped to re-write The Covenant.
Simon and Kate are here too. They now lead the work of The Global Consortium, jointly replacing Harold Pierce as its head.
The world’s leaders owe everybody such a debt of gratitude, it all makes perfect sense really. Besides, the key task of The Global Consortium has been accomplished, they can move onto new projects now. And Simon and Kate are determined that those projects will be about creation, growth and sustainable development; they’ve vowed to change the ethos of The Consortium and to be more open about their work.
Even Dae-Ho is here, with his family. Nat rushes straight up to him and wraps her arms around him, those two share some horrible history that I was never a part of.
I’ve heard Nat’s story now of course. It was difficult listening, but I’m sure she’s putting it behind her, I think she’s just pleased to be back with the family. A wonderful extended family, which includes lots of new friends.
We’re missing James and Harold Pierce here today, they should have been with us, but they sacrificed their lives for this, they helped us to save the world. They’re not forgotten. James’s family is here as well, so it will be good to meet them at last. Amy visits regularly and keeps in touch. She still feels guilty about James I think, I’m not sure why.
The bunker has been restored to its original state, the incredible transmogrification enabled by Zatheon technology now reversed and concealed once again. Hopefully, these bunkers will never be needed again and they’ll remain tourist attractions.
Magnus unveils a plaque in memory of James and Harold and there’s a spontaneous round of applause. The plaque can’t say what they did of course, the wording just says ‘They cared deeply about this planet’ but we all know, we remember what they did.
I look around this gathering of family and friends, standing on the edge, needing a few moments alone to sort this all out in my head. I spent twenty-four hours trapped by these doors in complete darkness, petrified that I was about to lose my mum and the rest of my family. When those doors slammed shut it was like being trapped, I couldn’t exit until I’d done what was expected of me. Well, we did it, together, and it was worth it I think.
I wander off towards the café area – they’re serving food and drinks there so it’s on my list of essential stop-offs.
There’s a newspaper on one of the tables and I skim through it casually, thinking about Magnus’s offer to me and Nat. Neither of us has gone back to school, it seems a bit superfluous after what we’ve been through. It’s a bit difficult to think about anything nine to five after you’ve lived through the final battle for Earth.
Magnus wants us all to move over to the States and work for him out there. He says Amy and Davran can base their political work in his offices so we can all be together. I think it’s just what we all need now, a big change to help us all to settle again.
Magnus wants Nat and me to work in the company, eventually to run it with him he hopes. I know that we’ll say ‘Yes’ to him, I could feel Nat jump with excitement as soon as he mentioned it to us on the web chat.
So this may be the last time we gather in Troywood. I’m not sure that I want to do this every year. It was right to do it today, but I think we all need to move on.
Yes, I’m decided. I’m going to work with Magnus, I liked him from the minute I met him and I want to get involved in his projects and work with Mike and Jeff on this exoskeleton project. With that decided, I grab a cup of coffee and skim the paper, not ready to do the socializing thing just yet.
It’s amazing how fast the world returns to normal. The headlines were dominated by reports of the aftermath for about three months, then bit by bit, the celebrity stories returned and before you knew it, it was like nothing had ever happened.
Humans have an amazing capacity to fill the voids that are left behind by tragedy – I guess that’s why we’ve done so well as a species. We just get on with it, however bad things get.
So it’s no surprise to see the latest celebrity gossip on the front page. I have to move a few pages in until I get to the story that really catches my attention. It’s only a few column inches, a fraction of the size of the celebrity story, as if it doesn’t really matter.
It’s a simple headline, and I nearly miss it. I thought it was all over, but I realize now that it never really ends.
The headline is there for all to see, a warning if they only chose to heed it, and it suddenly feels like we’ve learned nothing from all of this:
New Subterranean Gas Source Discovered
Power Supplies Secured ‘For Centuries’ Scientists Reveal.
The Adventure Continues ...
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