Verron_Birth of a Nation

by Douglas Varnell

  They escorted Amber to Paki’s office and she went in alone. Ninety-nine was pacing the floor like an expectant father in a waiting room. Amber thought it funny and sad at the same time. She cleared her throat to get his attention and smiled when he turned to see her standing there. She walked over and gave him a hug and escorted him to a sofa overlooking the cloning tanks. She began with, “Which one is hers?” He pointed to a tank near the office window with special bright red tag, evidently indicating that this tank did not contain a Chikondi clone. She continued, “You were alone for a long time 99, and now you are a part of a family that loves you like a brother. We are all so excited that one day there will be someone else like you to keep you company. I hope she likes Sci-Fi.” Ninety-nine smiled at that, hoping it would be a forgone conclusion that she would. “When people from Earth have a wife and they want to have a child it takes 9 months for it to grow inside a mother’s stomach until it is strong enough to survive outside in the world. But even then, as you have seen with MJ and MJ2, it takes years for them to reach full maturity. It is a process that can take as long as 20 years to be fully grown, although most can reproduce much younger. But men on Earth have learned that they must continue to work and play and interact with others during that entire process. If for no other reason than to prepare for the new life that is coming and to be the best person they can be when the child arrives. Having someone go from conception to full grown in only 9 months is an unbelievable achievement and you are going to be truly blessed to have someone like you to be with, but 99, we need you; I need you. Your family is still there and you’re a part of it, your Air Force is still there and they need you, you’re the best instructor I have. So what do you say to coming here once a week, or even every few days to check the progress of what they are doing. Your waiting here will not make it happen any faster and those back on Verron will suffer from your absence.” Ninety-nine gave her a smile and asked, “You really think of me as a brother?” Amber gave him a hug and replied, “As my little brother. Now get out of here before I clobber you.” Ninety-nine smiled his toothy grin and headed out the door with new vigor to his step, thinking, “I really am family.”

  Paki and Uduak were grateful for Amber’s accomplishment and made pleasant tour guides as they escorted them through the cloning process and the android manufacturing process. After seeing the androids being made from the skeleton to finished product, they realized that they were much more complicated to make than a human or a clone. Neither could comprehend the level of technology that was required to complete the entire process. Amber couldn’t believe, as she looked at her friend Uduak that she was a very well designed machine, anatomically human in every way, and available in custom colors. Even though they could not reproduce, nor were they allowed to marry non-androids, you would often see mixed couples on the streets or in social settings and realize that they had likes and dislikes, feelings and emotions, and could even love and hate, just like a human, while having the strength of 10 men and longevity of thousands of years. They did not grow old; they broke-down or wore out, some even got wrecked. When Amber and Samantha arrived back at their ship, 99s Fighter was gone. They boarded the ship, just now remembering the dozen Marines who had been patiently waiting for them; anxious to get home. As soon as Amber was clear of the outer shell of Beriya-Haven she did something she does not normally do. She made a gateway directly to the end of the valley where the Air Force Base was located. She never even bothered to accelerate to over Mach 1 on the trip. As soon as the troops were safely on the ground, Amber turned to Samantha saying, “It will be another day or two before George is ready to come out of rejuv/regen. Ever been on a fully functioning 10,000 acre cattle farm?” Samantha smiled saying, “Do I look like a country girl to you.” Amber headed for home and replied, “I’ll teach you to ride a horse if you don’t know how, and we can play on the dirt-bikes.” Samantha shook her head saying, “All this time I thought we were becoming friends, now it sounds like the white girl is trying to kill me.” They both laughed as they sped across Verron in a hurry for home.

  Samantha couldn’t believe how big this country was. At the speed they were traveling they could have crossed the U.S. in an hour. It took 2 ½ just to reach the cattle ranch of Renee and Joshua. As they approached the hacienda, Samantha noticed something she had never seen on Verron. She had to do a double-take to make sure it was real. Amber smiled, “Mom. She refused to do without her 4x4 GMC. It does come in handy on the ranch, but since there are no roads to speak of on Verron, that’s pretty much the only place she gets to drive it.” By the time they were on the ground and climbing out of the Light Destroyer, Renee was pulling up in her bright red, but muddy, GMC Sierra Elevation. The sound of the 420 HP engine with a custom duel Glasspack exhaust was a strange sound after a week of hearing the whine of turbines and antimatter reactors pushing huge thrusters. Renee stepped from the truck wearing faded Levi jeans, Dingo Cowboy boots, a Faded Glory long-sleeve T, a wide belt with her name on it and a worn-out Stetson over a long middle-of-the-back ponytail. The biggest dog she had ever seen came scrambling out of the cab and headed directly to Samantha to sniff the stranger. It stood face-to-face without standing on its hind legs. Renee called, “Heel Atlas!” The gargantuan dog immediately obeyed her master. Amber encouraged Samantha to pet the animal to make friends. She asked, “What kind of dog is this?” Renee told her, “A Highland wolf mated with our Bull Mastiff. He redefines the term big dog, but at least he isn’t as large as a Highland Wolf. In fact, her mate was small for a Highland Wolf and running alone because he was too weak for the pack. We found him a few months ago, evidently killed by a pack of Mountain Wolves who didn’t like him on their turf.”

  Renee asked, “Give me a hand Amber.” The two walked to the back of the truck and removed a young calf. It wasn’t a new born, but still was only 100 pounds or so. Amber lifted it easily and carried it into the barn where Renee put it in a stall by itself. She told Amber and Samantha, “I found her roaming around alone. For some reason the mother has abandoned it. I’ll have the Vet come by tomorrow and check it out.” She mixed up some kind of disgusting sludge that was supposed to be eatable and put it in a low trough and guided the calf to it. It slowly began to eat whatever it was. Renee made sure the other animals in the barn had food, with Ambers help, and they soon headed for the hacienda.

  They entered through a mud-room off the kitchen where Renee removed her boots, muddy from the pasture. She told them both, “We’ll have dinner in an hour if you two want to clean-up. I don’t even have to sniff to know I smell like a cow. Use the guest room overlooking the river; it’s got the best view, unless she wants to look at cows. Bye the way, welcome to Rancho Dinero. Josh named it that because we spend more money on it than we make from it. Actually, we do pretty well, but he’s so wrapped up in the TV and Radio Stations, Internet Service and now trying to produce a Verron video to advertise our virtues, he really doesn’t know much about what we do here. We have 4000 head of cattle, 20 horses, chickens, pigs and cornfields. We employ a ranch manager from Texas and 15 ranch hands. We actually made money last year. See ya in an hour.”

  Samantha loved the 20 foot ceilings and tile floors, a fireplace so big she could stand in it, exposed solid wood rafters and lots of stone. She wasn’t sure but she believed she recognized several Frederic Remington sculptured pieces and paintings. The heavy double door into her room was actually carved with mountain scenes and forests. The décor was all western rugged, with hardwood floors covered in thick rugs and a California King Poster bed with Indian style blankets. Amber opened the French door to the terrace and Samantha immediately fell in love with the view, snow-capped mountains in the distance and a wooded valley below with a swift moving river flowing through the side of the valley immediately below the cliff that held the hacienda. You could lay here at night and hear the rapids below. Samantha turned to Amber and asked, “Think your Mom would adopt me and give me this room?” Amber showed her where the towels and oth
er bathing needs were located and left her to the 8x12 shower.

  Samantha’s biggest surprise came at dinner. Evidently Renee did not like to cook and had a full time live-in chef from France. That evening he prepared Veal Oscar with asparagus, baguettes with honey butter and crepes with fresh strawberries for desert, offering a Pinot Noir with the entrée and of course French Roast Coffee with desert. However, the background music during dinner was numbers by Garth Books, Naomi Judd, Willie Nelson, and other country artists. Samantha thought to herself, “Renee is a Southern girl to the bone, even if she was Minister of Commerce and Immigration for the fastest growing Nation in existence, not to mention, Princess Renee, oldest daughter of King Verron.”

  During the meal Amber and Renee discussed the bag of shiny rocks Samantha had been given by the Molnar and was asked, “What would you do with them?” Renee replied, “I’d have Robert make me some nice jewelry and put the rest in the treasury, but I can get that kind of stuff any time I want. They next talked about the Chinese Immigrants to Klelta and decided to send out a team to help them get settled and to see about adding to their numbers by sending extraction teams into China to help persecuted or imprisoned Chinese get to Klelta. Amber suggested that Brad and Rebecca Austin be sent to Klelta. Renee had known Rebecca since junior high school and had forgotten about how she and her husband spent all those years as missionaries to China. She quickly realized that God always had everything in order when it was His idea. There was no one better for the task of resettling the Chinese than Brad and Rebecca. Maybe she would have Rebecca open a Medical Center there. The Klelta rarely got sick and could even regenerate a severed limb, the Chinese would not be so lucky. When Amber told her about the pregnant ladies already there, Renee waited until dessert was over and immediately got on the phone to make arrangements for a medical team to go make sure everyone was healthy.

  Samantha returned to her room that evening thinking about how things got done so quickly and efficiently on Verron because King Verron had intentionally established a power structure where those in charge could make their decisions independently without a lot of bureaucratic red tape and politics getting in the way. It was refreshing to see people confident in making their own decisions and knowing that King Verron would stand behind them regardless of the outcome. It made her wonder how the United States managed to get anything done at all. She hadn’t prayed in a long time, except for when she was drifting hopelessly through space; then even the atheistic Russian’s prayed. She thanked God for all he had done for her and asked what she could do with this new life He was allowing her to have. She prayed for her daughter and grandson and she prayed for King Verron and everyone on this planet that seemed to be working hard at doing what was right. She fell asleep and had dreams of her husband and her running together along the harbor shore by Annapolis.

  She woke with a large gray dog licking her face. She looked up to see Amber smiling at her. She moaned, “I hope he’s already been fed.” Amber joked, “He has, but he has a big appetite. I thought we’d go for a ride before breakfast. Coffee’s ready and Willy is saddling you a nice gentle horse. See you in the kitchen.” Samantha couldn’t remember the last time she had ridden a horse; summer camp forty years ago, maybe. After coffee and a doughnut they headed out along the river valley for a nice ride. Amber told her that if she wanted to when they got back, they could go for a run in the mountains. She realized she had almost forgotten about running. She suddenly remembered her dream from the night before. She replied, “If you don’t mind, I’d like my first time running since rejuvenation to be with my husband.” Amber smiled and replied, “That will be a true blessing for both of you.”

  They were winding along the cliffs above the river when a T-Hog came crashing out of the trees challenging the intruders to his territory. Amber did not have a weapon of any kind and prayed the 2000 pound beast would just go back into the woods and leave them alone. Her prayer was not answered. It came charging directly for Samantha and the slower, older horse; somehow able to spot a weaker prey. Before it reached its destination a basketball size blast of plasma shot through the air, the entire head disappearing in an instant and a big hole blown through the rocky cliff behind it. Samantha stared speechless for a moment then looked at Amber with a look of total wonder. Finally she said, “I didn’t just see that, did I?” Amber shyly replied, “I’d appreciate it. I mean Grandpa and all the Dragon Guard can do the same thing, and Mom and the family know. Otherwise, it didn’t happen.” Samantha shook her head and laughed, “No one would believe me anyway.” They decided to turn for home and have one of the ranch hands recover the T-Hog; maybe they could BBQ it before Samantha left Verron. They left the ranch after having Willy load the T-Hog into the Destroyer. Samantha laughed at a multi-billion dollar spaceship being used to haul a giant pig to the King’s Mansion; only on Verron.

  After dropping off the pig to be properly butchered and prepared for a BBQ, Amber escorted Samantha to her suite at the Mansion and loaned her one of her flight suits. She then took her to the hanger and climbed into Hunters Speeder, indicating for Samantha to climb into hers, saying, “We design every ship on Verron to operate the same. Why have to relearn how to fly just because you’re in a different craft. You’ve been in the Trainer and you’ve now flown the Light Destroyer. Let’s go have some fun. After only a few miles Samantha realized that even the Speeders used for Dragon Guard recreation were faster and more maneuverable than anything she had ever flown. In a short while she was imitating Amber as she dove and rolled and did sideways slides and bootleg turnarounds. She realized that even her F-14 would tear apart if she tried these stunts. They flew for several hours and returned to Mountain City. When they were headed back upstairs Samantha asked, “Amber, who’s Robert?” She explained that he was one of the finest jewelry designers and gemologists on Verron and just happened to be Paul’s first cousin. Samantha decided, “If I took a whole bag of precious stones home, there would be a Congressional Inquiry into wrong doing and a military Court Marshal held to decide if I was working covertly for a foreign power. If you wouldn’t mind; maybe I could have a nice set of earrings or a necklace made by Robert and have Tala put the rest in the Molnar treasury. I really would feel guilty if I ever took advantage of them.” Amber took the two bags of stones that had been sitting unguarded in an unlocked ship ever since they left Molnar, a true testament to the honesty of the people of Verron, saying, “I’ll give these to Robert, he does the grading and determines the value of all the gems going into the treasury. I’ll have him pick out something appropriate. If he makes jewelry would you prefer yellow gold, white gold or platinum for a setting?” With my skin color, I would think the platinum or white gold would look best.” Amber called Robert and told him she had two more bags from Molnar and that she needed him to pick some quality stones to make some jewelry for Admiral Sullivan then put the rest in Molnar’s treasury.

  The big day had finally come. Admiral George Washington Sullivan, Deputy Director of the CIA was going to come out of the regeneration chamber in one hour. Samantha had gone shopping that morning with Renee and Amber so she would be wearing just the right outfit for his coming out. She arrived at the Medical Center wearing a white Lace-trim Off-the-shoulder Flounce Dress and white ankle-wrapped sandals. Her hair was worn up to accentuate her long elegant neck. Paul encouraged her to wait until he was showered and dressed; no one likes others to see them throwing-up or the slime in the hair part of the treatment. After getting out of the shower George looked into the mirror to see a 6 foot-8 inch 240 pound man that looked better than he did when he played football for the Naval Academy. He smiled when he realized both legs were the same color and matched the rest of his skin color perfectly. There was a pair of tan Izod trousers and a knit Izod light blue polo shirt in the dressing room; his size. He almost cried when he saw a pair of size 14 Bass loafers. He would actually be able to wear both shoes. His face lit up when he saw his wife. She looked better than she did when he met her as a
Lieutenant in the officer’s club at Elmendorf AFB in Alaska. They were both just passing through, but destiny would bring them back together a year later and married a few months after that. Amber thought, “They make one impressive looking couple. They’re going to blow some minds when they return to their jobs.” Paul couldn’t help but smile at the happy reunion and tried not to blush when they embraced and kissed. Dr. Verron joked, “Get a room.” Then it was George and Samantha’s turn to blush. They held hands and embraced as they left the Medical Center.

  Paul made them reservations for the Klelta Palace and invited them to dinner for the following evening, informing them, “Everything is on me, so enjoy yourself.” He handed them a small gold plated credit card sized object with a carved Dragon on it. You’re probably going to need some new clothes. We’re not set up to handle Earth credit cards or cash here yet, but this will be accepted anywhere on six planets. Enjoy yourself, I’ll send a transport for you tomorrow evening about 1800, Verron Time. He pulled off his watch and handed it to George. We have 36 hour days here; it can get a little confusing without a digital watch.