Chapter 6
Flora Harper sat in her teak-paneled office at the highest point in Unity. Behind her, the solid rock of Mt. Kilimanjaro protected her. Ahead of her lay the decreasingly lush African savanna. Beyond that, the dark rising waters of Lake Victoria troubled her.
Flora Harper was having a bad day.
“It’s so crystal clear, I shouldn’t even have to explain this to you, Dr. Herczfeld. You will analyze these twenty-nine specimens. You will discover how they resisted our remediation vectors. Then you will create new remediation vectors that actually work! Is that clear, Doctor?” Flora yelled, her eyes wide and blinking unnaturally fast.
“What you don’t understand is–” Dr. Herczfeld started.
She angled her head to cut the connection.
The Chairperson of the Gaian System stood up with some difficulty and hefted herself to the wide picture window that occupied the wall perpendicular to the perfectly cleared surface of her desk. The desk was all show, of course. A renewable resource manufactured into a decoration that spoke of her commitment to the environment. In reality, everything of importance was on the network.
The network was powered by solar, wind, hydro and geothermal energy. With nuclear backup, of course. That last part was a secret best limited to the Gaian High Command.
Which was now just Flora.
The tigers took care of the last remaining council member and the others were too weak to speak up. Flora was a strong woman and she’d shown the others their places - some just below her, others much deeper, six feet underground to be exact.
Flora grinned and returned to her desk for her herbal tea. They didn’t bury people anymore. Too damaging to the environment. Too many chemicals in these bodies. We spread their ashes to the winds. In that sense, her enemies who couldn’t shut up were now above her.
That thought irritated her. She was Flora Harper, Chairperson. She shouldn’t feel irritated anymore. There was no greater power for her to aspire to.
Men. The stronger sex? The conquerors, military heroes and alpha males? I killed five billion of them. She snorted.
But now there were only these stragglers left. Children. Misfits. Pathetic waifs who survived only by the luck of their genetic code.
Flora Harper would break that code. Mother Earth would be human free very soon. But first it would be man free. The women could go last.
She tried to imagine her own death. No, for her to go too soon would be a waste of talent. The rest of these bumbling idealists would screw it up. They lacked the mettle. And then it would all be for nothing.
She thought of the nearly ten billion she’d pushed off the cliff so far. Their deaths didn’t trouble her. It was just that they were so close. The stakes were too high now. If they didn’t finish the job straightaway–
Her ear buzzed. “What?” she responded.
“Damian here. Chairperson, my most sincere apologies for disturbing you but the student from the exiles is in Unity.”
Rage piled upon rage as Flora counted the reasons why she should not have received this call. She took a deep breath. Damian was a loyal servant. He did everything his Chairperson told him to do. He’d even castrated himself when she mentioned it. But still.
“Is this the level of incompetence I can expect from my staff now? That you bother me with such a minor matter? You know what you need to–” Flora started.
“Apologies, Chairperson. The girl - Astrix - is violently ill. She cannot walk on her own. She has an irregular heartbeat. And, well, her father just passed away on Independence and she is–”
“I don’t care! Stuff her in a room near Herzcfeld and be done with it!” Flora twitched her head to cut the connection.
Herczfeld. Her rage broke and she connected to him. “Doctor, do you have any idea of the context of your work?”
“Listen, Flora–” Dr. Herczfeld started.
“That’s Chairperson to you, bub!”
Herzcfeld guarded his silence. If there was anything Flora hated more than someone who picked a fight with her, it was the someone who refused to escalate the fight!
“Doctor, you are aware that the global warming situation is worsening, correct? Temperatures continue to rise. Grassland continues to turn into desert. We’re still losing plant and animal species!” Flora yelled.
“Yes.”
Flora waited, her fingernails tapping on the hard wood of her desk.
“Yes, Chairperson,” Dr. Herczfeld said.
“These remaining humans in South America and East Asia are responsible for this. And we need–”
“Chairperson, it’s time to consider that the cause of global warming may not be human activity.”
“How dare you!” screamed Flora. “How could–” He’s a traitor. Saboteur! He’s been lying to me this whole time. He wants to subvert the Gaian System. I knew it. I just felt it! A new awareness dawned on her and her skin tingled with goosebumps.
He wants to overthrow me. Me! Chairperson Flora B. Harper!
Another realization hit her like a chunk of barbecue fried chicken to an acid-scorched gullet. She groped for her desk chair and plopped into it, the metal and plastic shrieking its protest.
There must be others! He would never be so bold alone. There are collaborators.
And they could be anywhere!
“Chairperson?” Dr. Herczfeld said. “If there’s nothing else–”
“Just do your job, Doctor,” Flora whispered. She cut the connection.
The world contracted around Flora. Just moments ago, she presumed that her power extended to the borders of Unity and even beyond, with the exception of the stragglers. And that trash heap in the sky.
But now she was vulnerable. The subverters could bust in at any moment and feed her to the tigers. And they would feel justified in doing it! She shivered.
They were smart up there. She mentally reviewed the intelligence reports of the last few years on the so-called space rationals. They were desperate for resources. Desperate to return to the planet. And this girl. Astrid? Astrin? Who cares what her name is. She would be part of the plot.
And Flora you idiot, you put her and Herczfeld together!
Flora strode toward the door. I won’t be a prisoner. I’m in charge here!
She stopped and connected with Robot Command.
“Yes, Chairperson,” came the deliciously precise synthesized voice.
“These stragglers you brought in. Are they the last ones on this continent?”
“Yes, Chairperson.”
“Good, very good.” Finally, someone is doing their job. “That’s–”
“Unless,” the disembodied voice continued, “they are hiding more than fifty meters underground.”
“Hiding underground? Is that a possibility?”
“And with the exception of one male adult who evaded unit KB-89431, stole a transportation unit and is currently in the preserve.”
Like a roast chicken bouncing off a rubber wall, the words of Robot Command were unable to penetrate Flora’s mind.
“Repeat that last part.”
“One adult male evaded unit KB-89431, stole a transportation unit and is currently in the preserve.”
Flora’s heartbeat pounded in her ears and she swayed. “He evaded one of our killbots?”
“Yes, Chairperson.”
“And then he stole its scooter?”
“Correct.”
“And now he is in the preserve?”
“Sensors show that he has penetrated seven-hundred and forty-seven kilometers into the preserve. With a heading that would take him to Unity.”
“How the hell did that happen!” Flora screamed. “Why haven’t you caught him?”
“There–”
“And why wasn’t I notified!” Enemies within, enemies above and now a new enemy approaches and they don’t even tell me? Her guts quivered.
“There is a severe sand storm. The male drove straight into it and disappeared. KB-89431 was unable to maintain visual contact. We did not notify you because it is not protocol.”
“It is now. Confirmed?”
“Confirmed,” the voice replied.
“Speaking of protocol, confirm my instructions once the stragglers are eliminated on Earth.”
“Robot command will execute Space Rational Omega: we will strike Space Station Independence with one-hundred standard missiles.”
“Make it one thousand.” Better safe than sorry.
“Yes, Chairperson. To continue, after receiving final confirmation from you, we will then deploy poison gas to Unity.”
Flora calmed. “Good. Is the scooter still moving?”
“No, the male’s scooter stopped four hours and thirteen minutes ago.”
Flora smiled. “Good. He’s probably dead. Once the storm lifts–”
“We will recover his body, Chairperson.”
“You had damned better well! It’s only the future of the planet that is at stake. It’s only your primary mission!” Flora cut the connection, sat down and drunk deeply of her herbal tea. The damned concoction was ice cold now but she forced it down.
Thank Gaia the little cretin is dead. Men could be persistent little buggers, especially these Africans. Some of them knew how to live from this fouled land. The last thing Flora needed was an alpha male sticking his nose into her business.
Three sharp knocks sounded at the door. It opened. Damian walked in and bowed. “Chairperson–” he began.
Three others followed after him, a thin, balding man with a crooked cane and two younger women.
“Flora,” the man started, “we’ve come to talk to you about this business with the tigers.”
Flora sloshed to her feet. Finally, a plotter shows his scrounging face.
“Now, we’ve all talked, and we know what we came here for, the mission we pledged our lives to. But there is such a thing as a death with dignity.”
“Damian, arrest them,” Flora said.
Damian fixed her with a confused stare. He looked at the visitors, then back to Flora again. “Where should I put them, Chairperson?”
“The tigers escaped into the preserve, correct? Put them into the old tiger cages.”
“Now, listen here, Flora, there is no provision for arrest of expedition members in the bylaws–”
“There is now!” Flora yelled.
“Your powers do not extend–”
“Oh, they do now! I won’t allow you to subvert or sabotage our mission here, Raymond. No matter your expertise.”
Raymond tilted his head and squinted at her. “You need me to keep the field active, Flora. I have trained no–”
“Robot Command will take over your function. Damian!” Flora sat back down, the chair squealing. Her mug was empty now and she was getting hungry. But lunch was at least an hour away.
Damian swiveled and put his arms out to push the three protesters towards the door. Raymond crossed his arms and refused to budge. Damian paused then pushed him hard. Raymond fell backwards in a heap, his cane clattering to the floor and sliding out the door.
The old man pulled himself up and stepped outside, ahead of the approaching Damian and the two women.
“How dare you. How dare you, indeed!” Raymond cried.
Damian pulled the door closed behind him.
The elderly protester inserted a stick-thin arm and tiny fist in between the closing door and its frame. “This is not the last you’ll hear on this, Flora Harper!”
Damian pulled the door closed on the man. He yelped, retracted his arm and Damian slammed the door behind him.