The E Utopia Project

by Kudakwashe Muzira

  She went to the bathroom and performed her ablutions. He had hardly moved when she returned to the bedroom.

  “Morning, darling,” she said. “How are you feeling?”

  “You know how I’m feeling. I’m wasted.”

  Sara laughed. “And I feel lively.”

  “I know. You always seduce me in order to steal my strength.”

  “From the way you pounded me last night, it’s obvious you enjoyed letting me steal your strength.”

  “I didn’t want you to steal my strength, you witch. I just can’t resist your evil charms.”

  “I’m starving.”

  “Me too.”

  “Let me ring the bell and see what our Russian benefactors will serve us for breakfast.”

  Sara rang the bell and in seconds someone rang the doorbell. Sara opened the door and came face-to-face with a young maid.

  “Good morning, Doctor Cummings. I’m Helen. What can I do for you?”

  “Morning, Helen. Can we have some breakfast, please?”

  “Give me a few minutes, ma’am.”

  She returned to the bedroom. “Darling, breakfast will be ready in a—” she broke off in mid-sentence when she realized he had gone to the bathroom.

  She sat on the edge of the bed, thinking about El Monstruo. She prayed the US governments and other governments would listen to her and create a space force. She hoped ordinary people would believe that the attempt on her life was linked to El Monstruo. Many countries of the world had some form of democracy, which gave the populace some say in the decision-making process. If the people of the world believed her story and her extraterrestrial factor theory, they could pressure their governments into establishing a space force to defend the Earth from possible infiltration by extraterrestrials.

  George returned to the room just before the doorbell rang.

  “That should be our breakfast,” Sara said, walking past him.

  She opened the door, admitting a tray-laden Helen. The maid put the big tray on the table.

  “The ambassador said you asked to be served whatever he is served. I brought you the ambassador’s favorite breakfast, tea, toast and fried chicken slabs.”

  Sara’s mouth watered. “You mean you brought us real chicken? I thought there was a UN resolution against animal husbandry.”

  “Yes and no,” the maid said. “The chicken slabs did not come from real chickens but rather from chicken cells that were grown in a culture solution.”

  “Thank you,” Sara said, feeling her stomach grumbling. “It’s a long time since I had chicken of any sort.”

  “Call me if you need anything,” Helen said, walking out of the apartment.

  Sara walked to the bedroom and found a naked George looking at his clothes.

  “There’s nothing as disgusting as putting on dirty clothes after bathing,” he said without looking at her.

  “You’re right. We need a change of clothes. I’ll talk to the ambassador about that. I’m sure the Russian taxpayers won’t mind buying us some clothes. Breakfast is waiting.”

  George hesitantly put on his clothes and followed her to the living room.

  “Oh my God!” Sara said when she took a bite of a chicken slab. “It tastes like real chicken.”

  George frowned. “Did they use artificial flavors? I hate artificial flavors!”

  “No. They grew chicken cells in a culture solution.”

  George bit a slab. “This is super-tasty!” he said. “Do they sell this stuff in the supermarkets?”

  “Maybe it’s a new product. If there are chicken slabs there should be beef slabs.”

  “I don’t get it.” He paused as he swallowed. “Why can’t they just grow real chickens? Isn’t it more difficult to grow the chicken cells in a culture solution than to keep real chickens?”

  “There is a food shortage in the country. Real chickens need more food than cells grown in a culture solution. Real chickens need energy to run around, groom and fight. Not to mention that some of the food they eat gets assimilated into inedible parts like feathers and intestines.”

  “That’s the advantage of being married to a scientist,” he said with a dazzling smile. “It’s like being married to an encyclopedia.”

  Sara’s eyes bulged. “Did you say married?”

  “Yes, Sah.” He dropped to his knees and took her hand. “Will you marry me, Sah?”

  “Yes. Yes I will marry you, George Surman.”

  “I don’t have a ring now but I’ll buy it as soon as I get out of here. For the moment, you can have this.” He held her ring finger and kissed it a dozen times.

  She rose from her chair and gently pushed him to the floor. “I love you, George Surman,” she crooned, holding him tight.

  “I love you, Sara Cummings.”

  They remained motionless for more than a minute before George said, “Are you going to let me eat the delicious chicken slabs?”

  Sara rolled away from him and they returned to the breakfast table and dined.

  She finished eating first and affectionately looked at him, telling herself again and again that this adorable man was going to be hers for life. She pulled out her phone from her pocket when she reminded herself that she had a planet to save and mortal enemies to fight.

  She opened the mobile web browser and looked for news about herself. The first stories that caught her attention were the comments from US government officials. The US President said the United States was capable of protecting all its citizens and that he saw no reason why Sara chose to seek asylum in the Russian ambassador’s residence. He said that the US government was obliged to protect her firstly because she was a US citizen and secondly because she was the head of an important arm of the United Nations. He encouraged Sara to come out of asylum and pledged to give her a crack team of bodyguards. The Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security also echoed the same sentiments. The Attorney General went further to say that if Sara sought asylum in the Russian embassy because she was genuinely concerned about her safety, she would accept the President’s offer of a team of bodyguards. If Sara refused to take the President’s offer and remained holed up in the residence of the Russian ambassador, the Attorney General said, it would lead to the conclusion that Sara sought asylum for the sole purpose of embarrassing the US government.

  NASA, ESA and the six companies that Sara had implicated during her press conference responded strongly to her allegations. Some of the representatives of the companies mocked her, and some echoed Wong’s sentiments and said they forgave her because she was suffering from a nervous breakdown. Many people ridiculed Sara for asking the world’s governments to spend money and resources on creating a space force when the world needed to channel its resources into building more sand reduction and ultraviolet laser plants. Some even called for her removal from her post, arguing that as an important arm of the United Nations, GEMA needed a practical and logical leader who was not prone to inventing stories about aliens. One commentator went to the point of saying that he believed that Sara missed her calling. “Why was GEMA being led by a science fiction writer?” he asked.

  By the time George finished eating, Sara was deeply engrossed in browsing the internet. He itched to hold her and explore her body, but he didn’t disturb her, knowing how passionate she was about her work. He went to the bedroom and threw himself on the bed.

  Sara searched the internet for over a quarter of an hour before she came upon an article that supported her.

  The article was under the headline The World Cannot Afford To Ignore Doctor Cummings’ Theory Says Scientist. The story read as follows:

  Doctor Sikhanyiso Ncube, a little known scientist from Zimbabwe says the world cannot afford to ignore what Doctor Cummings said in her press conference yesterday. Yesterday Doctor Cummings, the Administrator of the Global Environmental Management Agency (GEMA), said she believed that an extraterrestrial force was taking oxygen from the Earth’s atmosphere and she implored world leaders to set up a
space force. Like Doctor Cummings, the Zimbabwean scientist thinks that instead of focusing solely on building oxygenators throughout the world, the world should find out what is happening to the atmosphere’s oxygen. If an extraterrestrial factor was taking away oxygen from the atmosphere, then replacing the oxygen by the decomposition of silicon was not the solution because it would turn the world into a silicon dump.

  “Thank you Doctor Ncube!” Sara said to herself. “At least there’s someone out there who doesn’t think I’m crazy.”

  Her eyes were still glued to her phone when George returned to the living room.

  “Still busy trying to save the world,” George said, looking at the screen of her phone.

  “Not just the world, but you, me and our future marriage.”

  “Dinosaurs became extinct because they couldn’t adapt to changes in the environment, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Maybe this time the environment has changed so much that every living thing will become extinct,” George said soberly. He had just been fantasizing about the happy family that he wanted to raise with Sara. El Monstruo firmly stood in the way to the realization of his dreams.

  “I believe there’s a way,” Sara assured.

  “I hope you’re right, Sah. I want to live with you for the rest of my life and if El Monstruo prevails, that could mean being with you for a year or two. I want us to have kids, but it would be a sin to bring a child into a world like this.”

  “There’s a way and we just have to find it,” Sara said solemnly. “We have to fight to save life on Earth. We have to fight for our marriage. We have to fight to make the world a better place for us to bring our children.”

  “I’m not a scientific expert, darling. I wish I knew enough science to help you in the fight to save the environment.”

  She put her hands on his shoulders. “You’re helping me more than anyone could, George. I’m still in this fight because you saved my life. The world now knows about my theories and observations because you saved me. There are murderers out there who want to stop me from doing my job. You might be required to save me again.”

  George hugged her. “I won’t let anyone touch you, Sah. I won’t let them take you away from me. I lost you once. I’m not going to lose you again.”

  She kissed him. “It was difficult being away from you.”

  He sighed. “What do you think is the best way for us to fight this war?”

  “The President offered me a crack team of bodyguards comprising some of the best agents in US security and law enforcement agencies. I have to accept the President’s offer so that I can move freely and do my job.”

  “I want to be one of your bodyguards.”

  “I’m glad you said that. If you become my bodyguard you’ll be with me wherever I go. I’m sure the President will accept my request to have you as one of my bodyguards given your military record.”

  “So how are you going to contact the President and the Attorney General?”

  “Through the office of the UN Secretary-General.”

  “Do you have his number?”

  “Yes.”

  He gently pushed her way from him. “Phone him, Sah.”

  She dialed a number. “It’s busy,” she said after trying the number for two minutes. She tried a second number and a female voice answered in heavily accented English.

  “I am the Director of GEMA and I want to speak to the Secretary-General.”

  “He’s engaged right now. He’ll phone you when he finishes what he is doing.”

  “Thank you.”

  They only waited for six minutes before the UN Secretary-General phoned.

  “How are you, Mr. Secretary-General.”

  “Doctor, it’s good to hear from you,” the Secretary-General said with a strong Khmer accent. He was a member of Cambodia’s Khmer ethnic majority. “How are you?”

  “I’m fine, sir.”

  “I was shocked to hear about the attempt on your life. I sent the Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security and his assistant to investigate the matter. Did they talk to you?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “We’ll do everything we can to help you, Doctor Cummings. The American government offered you bodyguards and you have to accept the offer.”

  “That’s why I phoned, sir. Can you please tell the US President that I accept his offer. I want the bodyguards as soon as possible, today if possible.”

  “I’ll talk to the President. Does this mean you will be at the summit next week?”

  “Yes, sir, I’ll be at the summit.”

  “Good. I was worried you would not turn up for the meeting. In the past mediating in civil wars and resolving international conflicts was the UN’s major role but now the environment is our major concern and that makes your department the most important department of the UN. Let me talk to the President right away and see if he can quickly setup a guard to protect you.”

  “Please tell him that I want my fiancé to be in the team of my bodyguards.”

  “Is your fiancé qualified?”

  “He’s an ex-marine and he saved my life, so yes, I think he’s qualified.”

  “I’ll tell the President about your fiancé.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “I’m not doing this for you, Doctor Cummings. I’m doing it for myself and for the whole world. If you help us defeat El Monstruo, you help save me and the whole world. I shall contact you after I talk to the US President.” Although the Secretary-General didn’t subscribe to Sara’s extraterrestrial theory, he had great respect for her and believed she was the right person to lead GEMA.

  The call was disconnected.

  “He’s going to talk to the President,” she told George. “He’ll call as soon as he gets the President’s response.”

  “That gives you enough time to sap my strength again,” he said, pulling her close.

  She pushed him away. “Wait. I’ve to let the Russian ambassador know about the new developments. It will be improper to let him learn about this from the media.”

  She led him to the living room where she rang the bell. The maid responded in a minute and a half.

  “What can I do for you, Doctor Cummings?” she asked.

  “I want to speak to the ambassador.”

  “He’s gone to the embassy. You can phone him.”

  “Do you have a number which I can use?” Sara asked.

  “Yes.” The maid took out her phone and gave Sara a number.

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  The maid went out of the apartment, leaving Sara dialing the number. The call was answered on the second ring.

  “Russian embassy, can I help you?” a female voice said from the other end of the line.

  “I’m Doctor Sara Cummings who is in asylum at the residence of the Russian Ambassador. Can I speak to His Excellence.”

  “Wait a moment.”

  The “moment” was a hundred and two seconds long.

  “Doctor Cummings, are you still there?” the ambassador’s voice came out of the earpiece.

  “Yes, Your Excellence.”

  “Is everything alright?”

  “Yes, everything is alright. Your people are taking good care of us.”

  “I’m pleased to hear that.”

  “Your Excellence, the US President offered me a team of bodyguards and I accepted his offer because I want to run around and prepare for next week’s UN summit.”

  “I see,” the ambassador said, stifling his disappointment. He was enjoying the embarrassment of the US government and he wanted Sara’s asylum to last long. “Are you sure it’s safe for you to go out, Doctor Cummings?”

  “I think I’ll be safe with the team of bodyguards that the President offered.”

  “Fine. I will be waiting for communication from the US government.”

  “Thank you for everything, Your Excellence.”

  “Don’t mention it, Doctor Cummings. The Rus
sian Federation is always ready to help the UN and its staffers.”

  The line went dead.

  “Now what?” George asked.

  “Now we wait.” She smiled mischievously. “It looks like someone wants me to drain his strength.” She walked toward him, put her hands on his chest and looked at him with challenging eyes. “Let’s see how much strength you’ve got, George Surman.”

  “I think I’ve got enough to make you moan, writhe and squeal,” he said before he scooped her in his arms and carried her to the bed.

  She laughed, making mock attempts to free herself from him.

  * * *

  All the men and women of Harvesting Fleet 4 reported for duty on time and began checking everything in their ships, a process that took more than three hours. The engineering and maintenance squad had done a good job. All the ships were in good order.

  The crews boarded their ships and the fleet de-anchored and sailed toward the jump zone where they would begin a hyperspace trip that would take them into the Solar System. The fleet consisted of twenty Oxygen Harvesters and five Vanquisher fighters, making a ratio of one fighter ship to four Oxygen Harvesters. All Oxygen Harvesters were armed with missiles that could be called air-to-air if they were used in air combat, or space-to-space if they were fired during space combat. Vanquishers were a sixth of the size of Oxygen Harvesters. Apart from missiles, each Vanquisher boasted of a laser turret and a rotary canon. The laser turret was capable of 360 degree-aiming and could focus powerful lasers at targets two kilometers away. The rotary canon was capable of firing 50mm amour-piercing shells.

  The ships travelled in V-formation with the fighter ships evenly spaced on the fringes of the formation. OH64, Sopoaga’s ship, was on the tip of the formation. The rear admiral liked to lead from the front.

  Sopoaga couldn’t help feeling resentful when he looked at Commander Inkeri Jantunen, his ship’s new XO. She was a Finnish tomboy with a figure that had only the slightest hint of femininity. Her face would have looked somewhat womanly if her hair wasn’t so short. Vice Admiral Frankson gave Sopoaga the privilege to choose his ship’s new first officer and he chose Jantunen because she was the only woman available. The admiralty had cannibalized Jantunen’s previous fleet when they increased the sizes of the milking fleets. He had hoped she would have a voluptuous figure like Nuate. Her record was impressive and she could speak eight languages, namely her native Finnish, English, Russian, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Ukrainian and French. Although Sopoaga knew that her linguistic skills would be of great help to him in commanding the multi-ethnic group of men and women under his command, he wasn’t delighted to have her in place of Nuate.