And why? Because, girl babies, as they matured, were far more intelligent than their male companions; also, they aged more slowly, after reaching a certain age, causing them to live ten times as long.
In the beginning, a powerful, jealous man had seen the dangerous probabilities, rebelled ...and instead of working with his gifted population, made certain, there would never be that uneven dominance.
'Breeder females must come from the more primitive race,' they had agreed. And so, the experiments, far away in another place, continued. The results were this yearly harvest.
Mighty physicians came back at this time, from the other side, on leave, choosing, or having already chosen, a partner. Life began all over again...when the intelligent men bred.
But it was never so down in the gardens. The workers were the rejects...there were rarely breeder females for them.
If they only knew what they had placed among the castoffs...the protection they have unwittingly given to one such as me.
Loni remembered how his mother had died. She had hid her talents, from those in control, for many years, after being separated from her son, but when they had finally discovered the smallest inkling of what she could do, she, too, had been put to death. Rather than admit, they had actually created a female like those of old, her existence was erased from the records of their experiments.
Loni had learned a hard lesson by that: it was better to be thought dumb, than to ever let anyone know they had a male of like caliber in their presence. He kept what he could do to himself.
As for the law; there was little he could do about that. Without exposing himself to a death sentence, he could not help anyone. He would wait, until the time was right.
As yet, he was not fond enough of any other to risk his life for them.
Chapter 9
Gemma wanted to skip with joy. She was free! No more chemo; no more radiation; no more stupid doctor's appointments. The tumor in her sinuses was gone!
"We'll have to have a follow up in about three months," the physician had told her. "But, yes, you can go on with your life. Just remember to eat well, get lots of rest...take a holiday..."
That last wasn't even in the background, as far as Gemma was concerned. Though she had some savings, she'd been using them to get by, and slowly, depleting them. It wasn't wise to take a trip or tour.
Besides, she was a coward, frightened to travel alone. She had finally gotten through to Bella, but her sister was like a cold fish, distant, and uncommunicative. She would never consider accompanying Gemma anywhere.
What is it with her? Is she afraid if she gets close again, she'll be responsible for me? Man! She can be so selfish, sometimes!
****
Peering at the film on the viewer, the physician commented to his companion.
"This one has been ripe for some time. How come she hasn't been gathered in before this?"
The other grunted derisively. "Two reasons: first, she was put on hold...she's been claimed."
"All the more reason, she should have been on her way," interrupted the other. "What is the second reason?"
"Smarter than most. All through treatment, she questioned every detail. We had difficulty keeping ahead of her. Now, she fails to fall for the usual methods we use to draw them in..."
"Well...give her a free trip..."
"We have been trying. She always hangs up on the recorded message; won't let it play long enough to get the subliminal message."
"Do we have to stage another kidnapping? Put the message at the beginning...if that doesn't work, send someone in to her apartment to set up a tape to sleep-suggest!"
"We'll find a way, sir."
"You had better. If she is already selected, she needs to be brought in."
"Right! I'm on it."
****
"Hello!" the bright voice on the other end of the line proclaimed. "This is Amie, and I'd like to award you a free trip to the Bahamas. All you have to do..."
Disgusted, Gemma hung up before the sentence finished. She knew the recording was a scam call, and she was getting more than annoyed. These were the only kind of messages she seemed to get, lately.
Wouldn't it be nice, to really win something...
But everyone in the modern world knew that telemarketers were a scam.
Those born in the country had long ago noticed a certain attitude toward them in the many arriving from the less privileged third world. These new peoples viewed the government, with their numerous subsidies, and health benefits, as their personal cash cow. In their eyes, those born here were naive, and gullible, with more privilege and affluence than they deserved.
Upon their arrival, feeling it was now their right to exploit them, they daringly set up unregistered companies, based back in their homeland, to prey upon the unsuspecting elderly and lower class citizens; thus was the bases of most scams; it was their way to get access to your computer; a way into your personal financial records.
What Gemma couldn't figure, was what benefit it did them, when she didn't bite.
The callers were under the assumption most people were loaded with cash; and expected these would easily fall for the ploy. But Gemma felt, along with her luck, her money tree had failed to materialize; had in fact, died a long time ago. Her EBooks made little money, just a couple dollars at a time. Most readers preferred to download her books when they were up for free.
Gemma assumed this scam was like all the others. Nothing was ever free.
But, now that she had a clean bill of health, she was just mad enough at Bella, for her neglect and abandonment, to
