Chapter 62 – EVO
***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***
***Magnus***
I find myself wondering… I twiddled my thumbs nervously while facing a stern-looking Mary Frost. Why am I here?
Mary looked up briefly before she returned her attention to the documents on the desk.
It wouldn’t have hurt if she had bothered to give me a quick explanation before continuing with whatever this was supposed to represent. But even if it irked me, I figured further complaints would only result in more time wasted.
We had met up in a small pavilion in the mansion’s garden area. Presumably for tea after Teresa informed me of the unannounced appointment.
If I hated one thing about social life, then it was having my schedule altered with nothing but a notice a few minutes in advance.
With nothing else to do than proving my patience, I turned my attention toward the greenery. Going by the ‘garden’s’ size, it was more appropriate to call it a small park.
Yes, definitely a park.
I couldn’t stop myself from throwing sneaky glances at the memorial path which testified to Mary’s considerable age.
At least I tried my best not to make it too obvious.
Anyone would have gotten nervous upon meeting a person who had witnessed a considerable part of Tirnanog’s colonization.
A little over a week had passed since Astra’s and my responsibilities shifted away from the supercomputer. It was sad, but with most of the subsidiary structures gone, we could make almost no use of the extremely powerful device.
The elders had held another vote, resulting in the utter defeat of the anti-war faction which wasn’t a surprise at that point. It would have been shocking if the vote hadn’t resulted in our win.
The fifth strata was the only one which sternly refused to vote in our favour, while the thirteenth and fifteenth had shifted away from their neutral positions and came over to our side.
This caused the third and eleventh to switch sides, while the others from the anti-war faction went to a neutral stance. Having two of the strongest stratas proclaim their willingness for war was a huge factor in our favour.
The vote ended with two votes against war from the two leading members of the fifth, twenty elders were in favour, and eight refused to take sides.
Once the result was confirmed it was like a big stone had fallen off my shoulders.
Not to misunderstand, total war wasn’t on the table just yet, but the clans had practically agreed to aid me with my remaining sister. They would pressure and confront the Thich’s leadership to force a political statement.Read latest chapters at nov(e)lbin.com Only
Which meant I had now to wait for the end of winter. It was a time of training and preparation until the snow would melt.
Etan and I still met up for regular training of the weave, but most of the day was occupied by Gilbert and his experiments with various cores. It involved us visiting the tenth strata which made a living by taming the wild creatures of this world.
Gilbert was fascinated with researching the cores.
The research required us to do… necessary stuff. There just wasn’t a way to say this without injuring at least some sensibilities.
Back on Earth, our experiments on living animals would have been outlawed. Or conducted without informing the public. Why care for animals when they didn’t treat humans any better?
But this was Tirnanog.
In our defence, the creatures we tortu… Ahem! Killed for the sake of knowledge were up for slaughter anyway. And to be honest, I couldn’t care less about a beast which would eat my face given the opportunity.
And the results could be shown. We had identified three different cores which functioned as batteries or capacitors.
One provided a light source in the form of a focused light beam I had no idea how nature or whoever came up with a monster that had oversized laser pointers for eyes to blind people.
Though, in most cases, the cores provided relatively boring bio-mechanical enhancements. Standard stuff which couldnt hold up to most strength mutations.
The biggest prize was a core which could be described as a little chemical nanofactory. We had extracted it from the belly of a molerat. Given time and a feedstock of nutrients, the large, oval-shaped core began oozing out various chemicals which were identified by Thalia and her mother as basic drugs and antibiotics.
It was only to be found inside the older molerats which were harder to tame.
The core’s inner workings utterly escaped my understanding, although Sienna thought to recognize various catalysts and ceramic filters necessary for chemical processes once we cracked one open.
Comprehending the core would require a dedicated research group, so I tabled the idea of understanding any of it and handed the matter off to the Tates. They had the necessary dedication and a much bigger chance at success now that they had seen the bio-mechanic device in action thanks to me.
Mary returned my drifting thoughts to the present when she put down her papers.
You are here to learn and to be evaluated, the old hag declared haughtily.
Learn? Evaluated? I asked with maybe a little too much sass in my voice. What about?
Morals.
True, if you consider a normal government. The clan is structured in a way so that elders aren’t necessary to keep the clan functioning. Their scribes and assistants should be perfectly capable of keeping things running until new elders are elected. The elders are the clan’s representatives and its powerhouses. They only point the way while others care for the details.
She gestured towards the memorial path.
We believe firmly that someone who thinks armed conflict is necessary should stand for his convictions at the frontlines. Too many wars were fought to unfavourable outcomes because the instigators and leaders safely hid back at home while others fought and died for them. The elders who voted for the war will not hide inside this mountain when the time comes.
But what if an elder dies? I asked.
Etan told me about your rat-extermination trip, Mary said. Was it Etan who commanded the hunters, or someone else? Would the command structure have crumbled if Etan or you had fallen?
No. Conla Leece had coordinated the battle while Etan and I simply followed her instructions. Though, I liked to believe our death would’ve been a blow to morale.
Mary continued to school me for the rest of the morning on how a proper elder should see things.
I agreed on some topics and disagreed on others.
If Mary was to be believed then perfect agreement with the clans moral code wasn’t expected, but strived for. And as I was right now I was far from being qualified as an elder. But this was what these sessions were supposed to prepare me for.
We made our way back to my quarters once Mary declared the lessons as finished for the day. I had invited Mary to join me and Astra for dinner because I had unexpectedly built a connection with Mary. Despite my initial misgivings, I found our conversation about morals to be engaging.
Now that the food restrictions were mostly lifted on our nanotech, Aerie’s cooking culture had already experienced a second renaissance.
The mutation system via food wasnt gone completely, but people could now specify in their UI settings whether they wanted to gain a new mutation or bond with a partner. It hadnt taken long until a brave soul was found to test out the UIs function meaning some poor fool who had committed a crime was used as a volunteer.
I am back! I called out once I arrived, figuring Astra shouldve already returned from her job as her mothers assistant.
What I found upon entering the living room gave me a small shock!
Astra!
I ran up to my wife and fell to my knees where she was lying on the carpet in a fetal position with her filaments writhing protectively around her.
Whats wrong!?
Its so horrible, Magnus! Astra choked. Her eyes were watery and red and she had snot running down her nose. It was an emotional breakdown if I had ever seen one and contradictory to everything I knew of my brave Astra.
Had she been crying? I checked for blood and injuries but found nothing.
When I pulled her into an upright position, I finally realized what the ado was about. Astras belly was gone! Well, not gone, gone, but she was back to her non-pregnant self.
My heart stopped for a moment at the sight, but getting emotional too wouldnt help her. I had to provide a solid shoulder for her. If something bad had happened, I could kill things later!
Astra, what happened? I hugged her while Mary entered the room. You are making me worry!
I stayed at home today because I felt a little bit ill, Astra dissolved in my arms. And then it happened! I was suddenly all wet down there and when I knelt in the shower to check what was wrong it went slip! Slip! SLIP!
Shush, its okay! I rocked her back and forth, not knowing what else to do. You are fine! We can deal with anything as long as you are fine!
Oh, dear! Where are they? Mary took an actual combat stance. Do we have to call a hunter team?
Astra suddenly stopped crying and looked up at Mary in horror. What!? No!
Then get to your feet and explain yourself, girl! Mary ordered Astra with a commanding voice which I hadnt heard from her before. It was the voice of a combat instructor and military leader.
I gave her the stink-eye, but Marys demeanour managed to rip Astra out of her funk.
Its best if I show you, my partner sniffled while she straightened and got to her feet with my help.
She led us into the bedroom where she had made a sort of nest for three cylindrical-shaped eggs. They were about forty centimetres in length and a little more than twenty in diameter. One was sprinkled with red flecks, another dotted blue, and the third green-themed with a mix of sprinkles and dots.
The three of us stared at the new addition to the family.
Ahem I wasnt sure what to say. I had warned Astra of hitting Gaia with a chair. But no, she had to keep disrespecting the avatar of all human life and use her as a cook!
See! Astra beseeched us. I- I- I was looking forward to holding the babies and now this! Whats this supposed to be? Do I have to sit on them or what!?
Oh, dear Mary covered her mouth. For once, it seemed like she had no answers.
I held up a hand. Okay, first of all, you have to think of the upsides. You had what? A month of pregnancy? Thats wonderful compared to the nine months of torture that baseline humans have to go through. Also, slip, slip, slip? Seriously! I wouldnt complain about giving birth in this manner! And I am a guy! Next, these egg-thingies arent the crying maggots I expected once I learned I knocked you up. If they just lie around until they hatch in a state in which they can take care of themselves, thats a blessing! I have dark memories of my younger sisters being born, and babying them wasnt pretty. I take this over the baseline human process.
The two women glared at me with venom in their eyes.
What?
It seemed like babying babies was supposed to be one of the joys of parenthood and I got an earful about it.