Chapter 48

Aina time: 10:30 AM, day 285 of 1449

Earth time: 10:33 AM Eastern Standard Time, Saturday, July 18, 2043

Lynda walked into Jennifer's hospital room and saw her sitting in the sunlight by the open window reading a book. Jennifer gave her a brief smile and then continued reading. Lynda walked over to her and said, "Ready for lunch?"

Jennifer glanced at her watch. "It's still a half hour from now... Nervous?"

"A little. Aren't you?"

"Yeah, I guess. What we're about to do goes against all our training classes. We're supposed to kill males on sight..."

Lynda shrugged her shoulders. "What're you reading?"

Jennifer closed her book and sighed, handing it to Lynda. "Three days ago I was playing with the computer here. I think I was reading Dr. Mayoni's biography. Va'an walked in and asked if I'd like something to read that was more recreational. I asked her if they had a copy of this. She brought it to me yesterday."

"Pride and Prejudice? Oh, I love Jane Austen! I was so disappointed when the WFM banned all her works." Lynda looked inside the front cover. "Wow! Look at all the people who signed it!"

"Yeah, I saw. A lot of the medical staff..."

"Not just that. These names here, a lot of them are male. See the SM? That stands for Sparta Manufacturing."

"Huh?"

"Oh, Jennifer! Don't you know these people don't make books except for special occasions? They use computers... They had their manufacturing people make this book especially for you."

"Wow... I didn't know... It looks so well made..."

"Yeah... Come on, let's walk up to the picnic area."

A few minutes later Jennifer and Lynda were sitting on a bench on the garden roof of Spirit House. The views of the countryside were magnificent, and the weather pleasantly dry and sunny, a bit breezy and about 73F. They were both still wearing the devices around their upper arms, but otherwise felt healthy, far, far better than they had in many years.

Lynda said, "Did you know you can look at your complete medical file from the computer in your room?"

"No. Did you look at mine?"

"Oh, I can't access yours. Sorry! I did try. But mine... Mayoni was incredible. I was reading what she was doing while we were sedated. She was running on pure intuition, controlling our dosages to make the supply last. It's her fractal algorithms that are in these arm thingies now. I could see all the entries she was making into my log file. I don't think she slept at all for almost two months. Well, maybe catnaps..."

"Two months?"

"Ah, I've started to think in Aina time. Did you notice Earth and Aina are almost in perfect synch right now?"

Jennifer pushed a button on her watch. "Yeah, I've noticed."

"There will be two leap-days this year; five more days until 1450. I kind of like it, starting the year at the summer solstice... But starting off with a day zero! That'll feel weird..."

"Ah, we might die that day, Lynda."

"Nope! I was speaking with Dr. Ker. The Aina school children took an expedition up north, all the classes, to search more wild bushes for us. They were very successful. We now have enough extract until day 4 next year. Did you know Dr. Ker was a Paleo as a little girl? She has such amazing stories!"

"Oh..."

"Hey! Jennifer! Cheer up! Oh, look, there's Va'an."

Va'an walked over from the stairwell and sat down. "Hi! I couldn't find you downstairs. Excited? I am..."

"A little..." admitted Jennifer. "The last time I saw males was five years ago, and they were being executed. It was a bloody business. Wait! I take that back. I think I saw a male when we first got here, from the helicopter..."

"Ah, that was Keona, Mayoni's husband. There was also a male pilot in the copter, Kale. Lynda, what?"

"Huh? Oh! I was just thinking. Why are you starting us out with two males at once? These aren't dates for us, right?"

Va'an couldn't stop herself. She burst out laughing. "No! Certainly not! You'll see... Ha!... Ah, if I haven't told you already, the Congress is very pleased you've agreed to this. They see it as very encouraging."

Jennifer looked thoughtful. "Va'an, can I ask you something?"

"Sure. What's up?"

"I was reading Kahn was ruler thirteen years ago, when the Path was open, and he's ruler now. Is there some reason a male leads when the Path is open?"

"No, not at all. It's the person, not the gender. Kahn took a ten-year break from Congress. He's an expert furniture maker. The tables in the dining room right below us are all his work, magnificent creations."

"Wow!" said Lynda, trying to laugh. "Being led by a carpenter! I guess there's some Biblical precedent for that! That's another banned book now, by the way, black-level. Anyone caught with it would be executed."

Vann nodded. "I've read the book..." She sighed. "People thought Kahn did a fantastic job, being the executive for the 1436 Path mission. He was a little reluctant to run again, but he thought of it as civic duty..."

Jennifer frowned. "Still, he is male."

"Oh, Jennifer!" Va'an tried to give her a playful smile. "If it'll make you happy, just think about the other two executives in Congress. They're both female, including Nalani, the chief framer of our constitution, the mother of our nation. And after Nalani Pilialoha will rule. After this summer, the tribe will have women rulers for at least two years. Really Jen, nobody is paying attention to the gender of the ruler. It just doesn't matter."

"Wow..." said Lynda. "Gender of the ruler just doesn't matter... Do you realize how completely, completely different that is from Earth now?"

"Oh yes. I know... Oh look! Our lunch guests are coming! Remember, if you start to feel uncomfortable, just call for a time-out. You're trying, that's the important thing. Amy! Over here!"

Jennifer and Lynda stared in amazement. They had met Amy yesterday, and remembered her from the canyon. They knew she was Mayoni's younger sister. Lynda still thought she was wearing Amy's watch, though Amy insisted it was hers. But behind her, carrying two large picnic baskets... "My God, my God!" thought Lynda. "It's a child! A real child! And the other woman! Is that a baby?!"

"Hi!" said Amy. "This is my son Marcus. And this is Lynnea, my sister Mayoni's daughter."

"Hi!" said Lynnea. "I'm very pleased to meet you! And this is my son Ku'uaki. He's asleep right now." Lynnea had a hand-held baby carrier, and she placed it carefully in the shade by her side as she sat down.

Marcus started setting the picnic table and laying out a large selection of foods and fruit drinks. "This will be a really good example of Aina food, a banquet! Well, except for no peppery dishes. My Aunt Mayoni warned my mom to hold off on that for a while. But try these * anna * leaves! They're a spring delicacy! And on this side are some Earth dishes. We have deviled eggs, chicken salad, these are goat cheeses... And the bread was just baked this morning." Marcus then pointed back to the other side of the table. "Be sure to try the deep-river fish!"

Within a few minutes lunch got started. There was pleasant lunchtime chatter, and as the meal progressed, Jennifer suddenly realized she didn't feel uncomfortable at all. Marcus reminded her of her younger brother, someone she had forced herself not to think about in decades. "So, Marcus, how old are you?"

"Fourteen in Aina years, eleven on Earth. I was born on February 29, 2032. On Aina, I have the same birthday as my nephew here."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yep! I was born on 115 of 1435. Ku'uaki was born on 115 of 1449. In Hopewell, his name means Guardian. In Earth time, that's February 2'nd of 2043."

"Oh..." said Jennifer. "So he's five months old... Did you calculate the Earth times just for us?"

"Oh no. Everybody keeps track of their birthdays on both planets. This way, you get two birthdays every year! Most years, anyway..."

"Ha!" laughed Lynda nervously, and she continued to stare at Marcus.

Marcus returned her gaze, trying to smile. "Lynda... What?"

"Huh? Oh! I was staring. Sorry! I was born in 2009. I've never met anybody who was really younger than I am, until today. This feels so strange."

Marcus nodded, and he glanced at his mother Amy. "My mom was born in 2009 too... It's hard for me to imagine how horrible it must have been, living on Earth. I was thinking about it last night, when my grandmother Va'an called my mom up and asked her about this lunch. Is it... well... no, forgive me. An impolite question..."

"No, go ahead. Is it uncomfortable for us now, you mean, for us to be here with males?" Lynda smiled warmly at him.

Marcus nodded.

"No... No, it really isn't. Just strange... Strange and wonderful... It's a very new experience for me, meeting someone younger... and male... And you're so, so much younger!"

"Yeah..."

"Marcus," asked Jennifer. "How do you feel about meeting us? You know what we are, don't you?"

"WFM militia? Sure. I know what that means. I guess it's a little scary, being near people that have been trained to hate me. But I've read the expedition reports of 1436. The males were horrible back then, not deserving of hate but certainly deserving of being killed. I don't blame you for your wars... Well, maybe for the extermination part..."

Jennifer and Lynda were amazed. "Wow," said Lynda.

"Yeah. Wow for me too," said Jennifer. "Marcus, that was a very thoughtful answer for an eleven-year old. My younger brother would never have uncorked that when he was eleven."

"Huh? Oh... Well, the Aina food might be the difference. It's a huge benefit to mental development, especially for children. I'll show you some references to read, if you like..."

"Okay," said Jennifer slowly. "Marcus, still... Besides it being a little scary, how do you feel about being here with us? Do you hate us back?"

Marcus blinked in surprise. "Gosh no! I feel proud."

"Proud?"

"Sure, to be an ambassador for my gender. To be the first male on Aina to personally offer you friendship. It's an honor. All my classmates thought so. They were quite jealous of my opportunity... in a friendly way, of course."

"So, my young ambassador," Lynda laughed, "Is that your job now, to offer us friendship?"