“Has there been a planet located?” I asked, not wanting to know the answer.
“Yes and no. The two we like are so far away—a theory is all we have. The journey will take multiple lifetimes,” he pulled out a pen and flipped over a random paper from his desk and started to a diagram.
“There will be a layering effect of generations. The older experts in their fields like myself, the pre-childbearing group to be trained extensively, and the custodian class, the twenty to thirty-year-old’s who will maintain the ship and help produce a second generation to train. It sounds odd, but after three generations, the population on the ships will be predominantly female. We are cultivating and freezing all the male embryos we can at present.”
“Why only women?” I asked.
“There is a computer model that shows the chronology of the issue best, but basically, the human-animal is lazy. The jump from female to male takes a great deal of energy. The rates of female births are higher in the incubation pods now. The stress of space travel on the body, and the percentage increases for incubated female births brings about a mathematical certainty that can't be ignored, but it can be planned for.
“Women will eventually run the ships. Parts are being made lighter and easier to physically repair than on an average ship build. The daughters of the Mayflower Universe will travel beyond our galaxy and find the next goldilocks planet to colonize.”
“The Reds had a good deal of men,” I explained. “They needed more women. That's why they took us.” I finished my drink and tried wiping the streaks of dirt off my glass with my shirt sleeve.
“Interesting, they don't use the incubators as we do, and they don't limit their family sizes. If you don't mind, I would like to have a candid conversation about the Red colony and their customs, once you have re-acclimated yourself. You have been given a rare opportunity to observe this culture by living inside it. I would find anything you could tell me about them, incredibly valuable.”
“Blue will be safe and happy with them, Mr. Tilley.” I offered quietly, letting my secret thoughts escape into the room.
“I would like to know one thing before you leave Karine. The man who selected my Blue Bell, is he good and generous?”
“Yes, I saw them together. He believes Blue Bell was sent to him from his God, and he looks at her like she will disappear at any moment. He's intelligent but brainwashed by his religion like the rest of them.
“He's broad-shouldered, about as tall as my father and good looking except for a thin scar across his face. Somehow the scar makes him even more appealing. She found a man who is physically hearty and emotionally starved. The love he shows her, the need and the passion we don't have that here. Not even in our movies.” I fought back the tears and blinked my eyes to dry them.
“You envy her choice to stay,” he asked, staring directly at my telltale eyes.
“I don't agree with it,” I stated firmly, folding my arms across my chest. The old leather on my suit protested in quiet squeals.
“That's not what I asked you, Dear.”
I smiled and nodded my head. “No, it wasn't”
I could hear the commotion building in the other room. My father's voice could be quite commanding. I had only heard it this way a few times in my life.
“My daughter has been through enough today. I will not have her questioned without legal counsel present.”
My father sent me a text: out the back c u soon.
Mr. Tilley's phone lit up. “Dredge knows too many of my secrets, I'm to take you out through the old shooting gallery of our youth,” he confessed. “One of his men will collect you at the door.”
“Civilian weapon usage is restricted to adults?” I questioned.
“The outdoor pavilion you and your friends use to congregate was constructed long after I turned of age. In the old days, we would drink my father's whiskey and shoot anything we could find out in the old pool room.”
“Nice.” I could imagine the group, hiding away in the outskirts of the sprawling estate. Entertained by simpler pursuits.
“I will make a point to speak with you in the next few days, Mr. Tilley, so my experience is fresh in my mind, and my answers are as accurate as possible.”
“Thank you, Karine, but take your time. I'm quite certain your experience will stay fresh in your mind for the rest of your life.” I could hear that damn clock whispering in the background. Emphasizing each word, he spoke.
Everything changed while I was away. The town, the people, the circumstances of my life were not the same as the night I was taken. Richard Tilley rushed me through the length of his family estate, down a dusty stairwell into a forgotten disheveled room and out a door to a waiting car with the enthusiasm of a mischievous pre-teen boy. Seeing some of their family secrets up close made me miss Blue Bell.
As we sped away from the far end of the property, my text lit up. 'I'm just off the train. On the way to our house now. Love you, J.”
Our house, the words removed what little control over myself I had left. I covered my face and began to cry.
The driver smiled and handed me several tissues, “Do you need a moment before we approach the driveway, Miss Fuller?”
Miss Fuller, Miss Lancer, it was too confusing to correct anyone now. My proper title was a matter of perspective.
I blotted my eyes and took a deep breath. “No. Thank you for these,” I said, waving the little white sheets. “I'm just overwhelmed.”
“Of course. Don't worry, Miss, whatever is
