Human Free

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--"