Ghale (H minus One Month 22 Days)
A part of me had become paranoid about watching the monsters. Yet I still watched from one of the
Miri made monsters from my DNA.
Nasr's training had begun in earnest. My attention wasn't needed. Miri certainly hadn't needed me around. I had nothing to contribute to the work of her or her staff.
Yet I still lingered here.
Miri made monsters from my DNA.
The Net hadn't been a distraction. The latest riots in Seattle had been something new. They had been growing in numbers. I didn't understand it.
She had been Morgan more often back when the two of us lived together. That had been different though. We loved each other. Not after. Not after what we agreed to do.
#IncomingCircle from @M_Hobb
I blinked away the tears that had been forming at the corners of my eyes. Below me Charlie and the smaller Whiskey floated. Both were asleep. Engaged in dreamspace, none of Miri's monsters were awake. At least they didn't seem to be.
If they were awake, I would've found somewhere else to be.
#IncomingCircle from @M_Hobb
What hadn't she called me earlier? Why did she wait four days? Why didn't she respond to my Circles?
My BrainSys pinged again.
#IncomingCircle from @M_Hobb
I activated the Circle app in my BrainSys. Audio crackled for a moment. Then I ventured out, certain that neither of us were eager for it.
"Uh... Hey." I said.
"Ghale. Its been... almost six years now."
"Ten years since the abortion you mean."
I cringed as I spoke my words. Maybe they went too far.
"Yeah." She said.
"I saw the video in Seattle, Morgan. Everything... it... Morgan, I didn't get it. What happened?" I asked.
"You saw the video. People with Conjured guns killed their kids as a political statement. Gunned them down rather than let them die on Earth."
"I saw the video, I meant... the idea of killing their own kids- Morgan, I've never really looked at any of those sorts of politics. I deal in science and trying to save humanity."
"And rather than be worried about me, you're curious about them?" I could hear her mouth curl into a sarcastic smile as she said those words. Of
"I just..." I spoke a bit more softly to the Circle. "I just don't get it entirely. Aren't these the same people who were against aborting fetuses ten years ago? When did Pro-Lifers go from that to killing their own kids?"
"I... don't know entirely the why. Just that they almost killed me." She said. Her voice definitely had its feminine inflection.
I winced a bit. Moira then. Not Morgan. I had been using the wrong name.
"Moira- I never really understood why you got into that work. Playing Net vid gal. Journalism and all that." I told her.
"I had to call. But I couldn't." Moira whispered. "I tried to. But I didn't want to ruin your work with my grief. I still imagine... I mean... Ghale you ever see our kid? In your imagination, I mean?"
"Um."
"Because I did. And those kids dying... I can't say its monstrous, because I did that. We did that. We killed our own kid."
"That isn't the same thing." I winced. Moira had a right to know about what Miri had done. Just as much as I had.
Miri made monsters from my DNA.
"Same ends. We just used different means. Ghale, these people believe that we should either kill ourselves to join up with the Enemy."
"That makes us different. Even the suicide protests before were at least loyal to humanity."
"Or maybe that was never the point. I'm not saying its sane, or even reasonable, but those people call themselves 'No One.' And they weren't pro-lifers, Ghale."
"That isn't what was being reported to me."
"The truth is a bit more insane than that. Conflicting stories, I guess. There was a massacre in Missouri that morning too." Moira said. "Ghale, I was there in Seattle. No One is new. They honestly have been convinced that children are worthless."
"That only makes it sound darker." I said.
"I guess it makes no sense because it's a cult that worships the Enemy. Children, age, infirmity, all of that is supposed to 'disappear' when you join."
"No one knows that for certain. No one has ever even documented much on those who join."
"Hence the name." Moira said.
"I miss these talks you know."
"Me too. But we know it can't last."
"Yeah." I said. "It never can last anymore, can it?"
"We would've made horrible parents." Moira lied. We both would regret that for the rest of our lives.
"You should see what the Pygmalion has cooked up." I said. The spontaneity of it threw me off. What was I doing?
"And what is that? Images and vids from one of the countless blacksites the UN doesn't admit exist?" Moira asked.
"The information is out there, if you ask for it." I said. "Nothing is classified or censored, unless it could cause harm."
"Like the Hecate Project?" Moira asked. "The one your sister runs? The one allowed to break all the rules? If no one knows what to ask, how can they ask for it?"
"It's... it's something we might need to consider give PR for." The honest thought leaked out of me. We were going to need something about the Hecate Project. "None of it is censored or classified, you know that. There's no good reason to cover stuff up."
"Yet groups like No One claim you do."
We weren't like that. Yet... Miri made monsters from my DNA.
"Moira... I need to tell you something. Its important and... I don't know if a Circle is the best place to do it." I said.
"Going whistleblower on me?"
I chuckled a bit. "No... I just... I..."
I couldn't just show her what Miri had made. Not without being certain about it. That Charlie had been created from our aborted fetus's DNA. A clone I never would've allowed Miri to create.
Screw it. Miri needed a lesson. Moira could help me get back at her for this.
"Moira. It's important. And it is about the both of us. And the Pygmalion Program. You need to know."
"Sure. I can transit over tonight... I mean..." Moira's voice trailed off for a bit.
"I thought you didn't want to talk with me about it either." I said, answering the question that went unsaid.
"Yeah." Moira said. "I kinda threw myself into my work. You know?"
"Anything to avoid thinking about it. I still have that nightmare."
"Yeah. Look, Ghale, I... I'll see you tonight then, ok?"
"Yes. Of course. You probably have stuff to work on."
"See you Ghale. Nice to talk with you again." Moira said.
"See you."
I ended the Circle between Moira and me. The app made a little ding in my BrainSys as it closed.
#CircleClosed
I stood up from where I had been on the catwalk watching Charlie sleep. I gazed down at her giant form. Her head looked too small for her body. Her body looked massive compared to me. Her limbs looked thick and too long.
Her black hair had been awful short. It would never grow to be longer than a handspan. Dark scales covered Charlie's almost inhuman frame. The pair of green eyes looked up at me. Along with the freckles on her cheeks, they reminded me of Moira, back when she choose to be Morgan more often.
Awake. Charlie looked at me. Her eyes wide. The eyes of my child, the gigantic monster-girl.
Panic filled me. I bolted away from the catwalk. I didn't need that thought in the roil of my mind.
I needed to talk with Miri. I just had to get the courage to follow through with it. Miri made Charlie from my DNA.
Aftermath 13
Not much of a aftermath this time. Attempting to explain No One and what their core philosophy is. Still rings hollow to me.
Need to work on that. Prolly means more worldbuilding for #InTransitMonsters, to at least get a better framework thought up for them. :/
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