Caim

by T. S. Simons

  On one raiding trip outside the dome, Luca had encouraged the team to bring back industrial coffee machines taken from a warehouse that supplied cafes. But Luca's pride was the roasting equipment. After years of experimentation, Cam and his team had finally learned to grow coffee in one of the new hothouses, with different varietals being grown. Luca oversaw the harvest of the coffee, which he was pedantic about, ensuring the ripeness was the same so it didn't spoil the flavour. He had set up a small shed near the hothouses and, over a period of months, taught himself to remove the parchment layer and roast the green beans in small batches. After a few failed attempts, he had perfected the art, with three different styles available via Illy's trade. Cam and I preferred the darker style, which we found much richer in flavour. Now we consumed our own beans, grinding them daily, and I regularly awoke to the low burr of the grinder in the morning. Our machine had burned in the fire, but a replacement had quickly been sourced from one of the warehouses. Luca always thought ahead and had obtained replacement parts too.

  'Just because we live in isolation doesn't mean we can't enjoy small luxuries,' Luca had grinned at me as he had demonstrated his new toy.

  Blinking away memories of Luca, with three sips of steaming coffee, I could string a sentence together coherently.

  'Where did Ashton go?'

  'I have no idea,' Cam admitted. 'And I honestly don't care. He isn't here. That is all I know. I know he released you, and I am thankful for that. But he kept you and Illy prisoner. He allowed them to do unspeakable things to you. Likely he ordered it. Does it make me a bad person if I don't want to be around him?'

  'Not at all. I blame him, but sometimes I wonder if he hadn't set us free if we would still be there. They would have kept repeating the cycle on me until they killed me.'

  I realised as soon as the words left my mouth that I had confirmed his suspicions.

  'You need to speak with Isla.'

  I didn't want to respond to that, seeing the look of concern etch his features. So I had woken him last night. The door had rattled, and I had seen the door slam behind me in the meeting room. So many nights, I had woken in the dark, and for a moment, panicked that I was still there, bound and tied to the cold, metal bed frame. Even sometimes, lying in bed, I could feel Dale's sweaty hands insistent on my thighs. At least the panic attacks that had woken me every night in the early days had lessened. Waking in a sweat, my heart pounding, remembering waking from the surgery, knowing what they had stolen from me, but not knowing why. Cam had seen me wake in a panic enough times to know that time still haunted me. Likely always would.

  'Frey,' he looked at me, his head tilted to the side. 'Do you want to know who the father is? The father of these girls?'

  I pondered that as I sipped and stared out the window at the bright new day. Did I?

  'I think so,' I admitted. 'Not that I care, but I will always wonder. If they do come here, and I am not saying I want them to,' I hastened to say, 'I would watch them and try to guess who they look like. It is a feeling I can't quite describe. Knowing that I didn't sleep with anyone. I didn't grow these children. Yet apparently, they are mine. I remember every second of what they did to us in that place. I know what they stole from me. But it doesn't feel quite real. Does that make sense?'

  'It does.'

  'But then I wonder, what if the father is someone like Dale? Will I ever be able to look at those children and not see him? Remember what he did to us? Maybe it is better to know of their existence but not know them.'

  'Have you thought any more about what you want to do?'

  'How do I care for that many children? But conversely, how do I not? They are mine, but they aren't. I don't know what I want. Maybe I need to talk to Ashton again. Work through the options.'

  Cam sipped his coffee and changed the subject to seasonal planting, a topic he could rabbit on about for hours, allowing me to zone out and not pay attention but appreciate the companionship. Twenty-four more children. That was more than our tiny school could accommodate, and here we were, homeless. How on earth did you feed or change nappies for that many babies? Maybe it was best that Ceri had siblings? Other children on Clava to play with?'

  The children arrived, looking sleepy, seeking breakfast. Cam made them toast and chattered away, leaving me to my thoughts. How many of Katrin's eggs did they harvest over all those years? I wondered. What happened to them all? After I had told her what had happened to me at Clava, Jorja had admitted that they had conducted many retrieval procedures on Kat, but she had never told me what happened to the embryos. Now I knew. By the time Ceridwen, Ruby and Scarlett were born, and they learned that only Kat's embryos could be modified, they had realised there weren't many eggs left to harvest. By necessity, they had slowed down. Then I had taken a hand. As I finished my coffee, I realised that if they had harvested ten to twenty of her eggs in a cycle, they must have tested on hundreds of babies before they worked out the successful method. Kat had been there for over twelve years. Katrin's babies, those that had been sacrificed, had paved the way for my own to survive. But were they mine?

  'I must go,' Cam announced, with groans and mumbling all around. 'I'll drop in at Juliette's and get some bread.'

  'I'm going to have a shower at Isla's,' I told the children. 'I won't be long.'

  Returning somewhat refreshed, I saw Louis turning on the biogas to cook porridge for the younger ones.

  'You are such a good brother. Always helping others.'

  'I couldn't help Ceridwen,' he said sadly.

  'That had nothing to do with you. She had a challenging life before she came to us. She needs some time. She is safe with her sisters for now.'

  He nodded and turned away. I knew that Ceri leaving would hurt him terribly. He felt he had failed her. But the truth was, Auckland and Angus had failed her. Was that what would happen to these children if we didn't take them all? Hugging each of them, they looked at me suspiciously, instinctively knowing something was wrong.

  'What is it, mum?' Katrin asked, her face screwed up in puzzlement.

  'What do you mean?' I feigned ignorance. 'I hug you all the time.'

  'You do. But something is up. You look weird.'

  'Gee, thanks. I'm fine. Now, what are we having?'

  After sending the children to school, I spent the day pottering around the makeshift house, tidying up, but my mind churning over these children. How could I care for them all? There was no way we could accommodate them all. Even at four to a room, we would need five more rooms. We would need to get building. A bunkhouse, by the looks of it. But what about Cam? I picked up his jacket, discarded carelessly on the back of a chair. How did I do this to him? I know what he said. But Louis was different. He was Cam's child. Laetitia's admittedly and not mine, but I had been in his life since he was a year old. We knew his parentage. His mother had passed, tragically. These children were manipulated. Would it affect them? No, I realised as soon as the thought crossed my mind. Ruby and Scarlett were normal little girls. There was nothing unusual about them. Ceri was highly intelligent, but cold and calculating. But that was nothing to do with her genetics. She had lived a life devoid of love and care for six years. I wondered if it would take another six for her to overcome her early years—if she could overcome it at all. The enormity of what I was contemplating struck me. I loved my children with every fibre of my being, but they were exhausting. Dealing with disagreements, being challenged over every little thing. Every request being met with an argument or a negotiation. How on earth could I manage more?

  How did you do it? I silently asked Laetitia's ghost. How did you let another woman raise your child? I couldn't possibly expect Cam to adopt that many children, mine, but not his. And not mine by choice. They had been stolen from me, manipulated, and grown by strangers. Perhaps Ashton was right. They weren't mine.

  Cam returned early afternoon, looking exhausted but very pleased with himself.

  'What?' I asked suspiciously.
/>   'Nothing.'

  'Nothing, my arse. What is it?'

  'Really, it is nothing. But get changed, will you? There is a town meeting tonight in Garynahine. Ashton is going to speak.'

  I pursed my lips in annoyance. I wasn't ready for everyone to know.

  Cam saw the look. 'It is okay. Really. Sorcha and Di will be there. Illy too. We won't let people gossip about you.'

  Looking around as we entered, the entire community appeared to be here. There was little room to stand. Shoulder to shoulder people stood, jostling for a view of the small stage. The stage I had stood on several times to address the group.

  'We need to build a larger community space,' I murmured.

  Cam grinned. 'We do.'

  Ashton took the stage with Jorja, I noted with some surprise. She introduced him and spoke about the key phases of the project. Ensuring that we, the healthiest specimens, survived. Ensuring all genotypes and phenotypes were replicated in the selected breeding program. They spoke about the testing they had conducted, their findings. With some hesitance, Ashton advised they had commenced phase three, learning how to modify the genetic makeup of some embryos, and ensure that they were resistant to the protozoa that still raged around us. I felt the chill of the crowd turn against him. Please don't tell them they are mine. But he kept speaking.

  'There are now twenty-seven children who are resilient. Immune.'

  The shocked silence spoke volumes. Were these mutated little beasts?

  'It was quite a shock to learn yesterday, but my children,' Jorja said, looking out across the crowd, 'are resistant. Ceridwen, too. But now, there are more. Twenty-four more. All girls. Some newborn, some not born yet. Each will form a crucial part of our future. A future that will see our children's children able to live outside these domes once more. Be able to resettle our world. It is essential that these children survive, reproduce. Clava has recognised that these children need a home, a family. Freyja and Campbell can't take them all. The question now is, how do we raise them?'

  Murmurs rose like a cloud and hung above the seated heads.

  A loud voice cut through the thrum. 'I'll take one.'

  My head spun around in shock to see Illy's hand high in the air, not looking at Jorja, but watching me, a beaming smile on her face. Baby Alasdair asleep in a sling strapped to her front. 'I would love another child. Especially one that will secure the future for all of our children.'

  I looked at her, my mouth agape. I had avoided her since Ashton had confirmed that she had only been held hostage because of me, not knowing how she would respond. But… this. I never expected this.

  'So will we.' I would have recognised Sorcha's crisp, rational tone anywhere, and a tear rolled down my cheek as I realised what was happening.

  'And us.' I saw Jamie, his arm around Jacinda with his hand up. 'What is one more?' he shrugged.

  'We would love another child,' a familiar voice spoke. I followed the sound and saw Isla and Fraser beaming at me.

  'Liar,' I mouthed across the room at her. Isla grinned back.

  'Count us in!' Josh and Orla called across the room.

  'And the rest?' Jorja asked Cam knowingly.

  'Nine will travel to Newgrange,' Cam spoke clearly, ignoring the crowd's rising chatter.

  I gasped. 'Newgrange? Why?'

  'You have friends beyond Lewis, you know. Callie and Tadhg, Makayla and Jakob, Kevin and Nadia, Nasir and Magali and several other couples have all asked to parent one of these children.'

  'Really?'

  'Truly. Everyone recognises that although they didn't come about in the most ideal of circumstances, these girls are special. They will be the mothers of humanity. If these children can be spread a little more widely, then they will probably choose partners from those communities and help ensure more than just this one survives. Then another six will travel to Orkney. Do you remember those women you saved? They are desperate to return the favour. Raise a life in return for the ones you were responsible for saving. The children they have had since returning are all because of you. As Alize phrased it when I asked, "Freyja saved many generations of Orcadians. We would be privileged to return the favour by nurturing these special children." The remaining children will live here, plus Ruby and Scarlett. Ceri will return to Clava with Ashton. Mairi and Lucie's families will take one each. Hamish and Morwenna have offered to raise a child as well.'

  Nodding, I ran the numbers in my head.

  'Another daughter for us?' Cam asked beneath the rumble of the crowd. 'Thorsten is six. There isn't going to be a better time.'

  I choked back the tears, knowing that he had arranged this. Called in favours across several communities. But they had all agreed.

  'There is one condition, though,' Ashton warned, breaking my bubble.

  'What?' I asked suspiciously, my heart sinking. Of course, this was too good to be true.

  'We need you to reactivate the portal. When the time comes, we need to ensure that these children have the widest range of potential partners across all communities. This is why we needed so many. To ensure they spread out and choose diverse partners. While they can travel overland, their partners cannot. Via the antipodes is the safest way, using the Nexus.'

  I looked around the room, taking in the apprehensive faces. We had lived in isolation for years. Our experiences with the outside world had been overwhelmingly negative. Laetitia's kidnapping. Di's illness. The murder of Luca fresh in many people's minds.

  'That isn't my decision to make,' I said warily, as a hushed silence fell across the room.

  It was Sorcha who broke the uncomfortable silence. 'What role will Clava and Auckland play now? Now that these children exist. You always wanted to control our society, our trade, and our children. What has changed?'

  'Everything. This was always the end goal. To ensure all communities were interlinked, to ensure each genome was replicated, but the ultimate goal was to raise children who can survive outside the domes, immune to the protozoa. We will play no further role in the reproduction of humans.'

  'Just like that?' The cynicism dripped from her words.

  'Just like that,' Ashton repeated. 'As hard as it will be to let go, this is what we need to do. We can't control people or who they partner with. We can assist with trade, but most societies are doing perfectly well on that front themselves. So while we still have medical expertise and can assist where there is need, we want to focus on living our own lives. The years have been intensive for us too.'

  'What reports do you want on these children?' Illy asked.

  'With your consent,' Ashton looked at me, 'we would like to visit once a year. Supervised, of course. We would like to do a quick medical check just to ensure everything is okay. But for the most part, nothing for you will change.'

  'You won't keep trying to produce more immune people? A vaccine?'

  'I will readily admit we would have liked more. Fifty would have been perfect. That would allow a margin of error, just in case some didn't survive to maturity or chose not to have children of their own.'

  Feeling the glares piercing him from across the room, Ashton hurriedly continued, 'But we have crunched the numbers. Twenty-seven will be enough. Not in their lifetime, and not in their children's, but in fifty years, when the domes start to feel the burden of their population, their grandchildren will be able to live outside. Rebuild and start expanding our settlements when it is likely we can start over. We have achieved our goals. Chosen genomes carefully and eradicated diseases. We have preserved all genetic material by ensuring that it is replicated. We have found a way to save humanity, sustainably, and for the long term. We have ensured that this gene is dominant so that it will be passed on to all subsequent generations.'

  'Why not more? Our population has more than doubled. You said there were tens of thousands of survivors. How is twenty-seven enough?'

  Morwenna caught the glare from Sorcha and Illy and rapidly revised her statement. 'Not tha
t I meant Freyja having more! But can you keep trying?'

  'Twenty-seven isn't too bad. I know it doesn't seem like a lot, but it is dangerous to rely on too many children from one mother. Future generations could end up in-bred, and that is risky. To limit the numbers, have a long-term plan over hundreds of years, and several generations is the most sustainable approach. Back to Dr Mackintosh's question. Now our focus will shift. Our role from here is to re-green the planet. Ensure that all the vegetation we saved can grow again, outside. Our modelling says the protozoa is already in decline. If you don't mind,' he looked at Cam, 'we might be in touch. You are still our best food security expert.'

  Cam nodded at the request, although I sensed the reticence. It might be all positive now, but he hadn't forgotten what they had done to me.

  'The other task we have set ourselves is to repopulate the native wildlife we lost. There are some within the domed communities and many more genes cryopreserved. We have planned an extensive project, and Ms Jorgensen, you may wish to assist with this. We kept two breeding pairs of most animals at a dedicated inland facility, so we slowly need to increase that population. We can't deal with a population explosion, but it is critical that they all survive.'

  Understanding, I nodded. 'But people had to come first?'

  'They did. We have limited resources and space. We always knew we would eventually find the key with humans, and then we could focus on wildlife. I am pleased to say that we have secured the future for us. We can return the world to the way it was, only much more sustainably this time. We will keep all animals under surveillance, ensure that no species replicates too fast and has an adverse impact on the eco-system or on other species.'

  Chatter filled the space, people excited with this news as they poured out of the hall. The children had homes. Our relationship with Clava was tenuous, but the most stable it had been in a decade. There was a good chance that one day, our ancestors could reclaim the earth.