I secured my Domestic life path by finishing my last test and submitting my paperwork. Jason and I both pulled our birthing licenses and put them on hold. We aren't interested in children until after the celestial event. Beryl helped me get an appointment for a birth control device to help with that goal.
According to Mr. Tilley, the new world currency will be skills. Bloodlines will be a secondary consideration. The twenty original families have doubled in size over the last few months, making their attempts to secure passage on the evacuation ships by heritage alone futile. There are only so many spots on the ships, and they go to those who are the most useful. The government announced quietly that none of the spots on the ships could be purchased. This set off a panic. The first of many I expect to see over the coming months.
Jason and Difference enrolled in a medical training program. I secured a place in the technical equipment maintenance trade school. I'm more comfortable with machines, they don’t scream when you do something wrong. We convinced as many of our friends as we could to join the escalated training programs. Honey and Aqua enrolled in the teaching program. I can’t stand small children so more power to them—somebody needs to teach the little sticky people how to read. We will be assured staff positions on the world-class ships and possibly ancestry spots on the Universe class ship. Our grandchildren might one day colonize a new planet.
The medical facility is just how I remembered it, bright white, clean, and unremarkable. The maternity wing is painted in pink and blue pastels so it’s a bit more inviting than the rest of the monotonous looking building. Beryl is going in for her incubation session today. Three months have gone by in what seems like only three weeks. She produced healthy twin boys, both slightly above weight, like their father.
We don't discuss Will outside the walls of the Eaton estate. He is one of the many secrets my sister and I keep with knowing glances and subtle jokes that only we understand. Beryl hasn't accepted what the near future will look like. She fully expects some last-minute miracle to move the comet away from the planet. I can't afford to think in such optimistic possibilities.
My sister's new mother-in-law, Priscilla, is quite the useful ally. With her invisible line into the Red encampments, Zeke knows I made it home alive. Just when I was beginning to rest Zeke’s memory in the back of my mind one of Violets beautiful sewing creations made it into my closet. The purple nightgown appeared tied with a white silk ribbon and a note that simply read Z. Jason hasn't asked about the new sleepwear. I'm not sure what I will say if he does.
Our wedding is the next concern on our long to-do list. Two months from now, the estate will welcome friends and family for a colossal affair. Dredge sees it as one of the last grand parties the family estate may ever throw. He's treating the event accordingly.
The comet cluster is close enough to see with the large-scale telescopes now. Many news reports show interviews with experts spouting their theories. How safe or how doomed we are depended entirely on their viewpoints that day.
We are using the wedding as an excuse for stockpiling provisions. We hope to have a well-stocked stronghold available for those unable to secure a spot on the ships. The bones of the main corridors have been reinforced with steel beams. The retrofitting is not aesthetically pleasing, but it is architecturally beautiful and will withstand quite a beating.
The room of incubators is quite an odd sight. Machines and lights line the otherwise white walls. Expectant parents are invited to visit and oversee their child's progress. The theory of the process is tidy, but the application is a bit bloodier than I imagined necessary. The pods are a mix of engineered fluids and the contents of the mother’s womb. The bright orange-pink gelatinous goo is hard to look at.
A tastefully decorated table of snacks and drinks sits at one end of the long room. A card embossed with a red and gold Eaton family crest reads: Refreshments provided by a grant from the Eaton family in memory of their late son William J. Eaton.
Priscilla squeezed me on the arm and motioned to the cookies, “Have a cookie, Auntie Kar,” she smiled and walked the length of the incubation room, admiring the wall of growing embryos.
I think she makes herself believe the lie she created surrounding her son when she is in public. It is an incredibly powerful trait to be able to lie convincingly. I don't have the stomach for it yet. The omissions alone tear me apart. I can't wait for the population to catch on so I can watch the panic breakout in the streets. It will be a great relief for me to stop hiding mine.
Jason seems to be the only force capable of calming my mind. The touch of his warm hand over mine melts my fear of death by rocks from above. We figured it all out, the making things fit problem took several awkward attempts, but everything is pretty great now.
I popped a little round shortbread cookie in my mouth and smiled at Priscilla. We had a few more minutes to wait for Beryl to join us. She put her arm around my shoulder. “You have that same look your grandmother used to get when scheming
