Chapter 11

The Broken Watch: 11.

"Yup, that's me. The All-Mother," she said, grinning.

"Pleased to meet you, Sekhmet. Do I bow, grovel or shake your hand?" I asked.

A background chorus of gasps, sharp inhalations of breath, shorting through nostrils and other displays of huffiness accented our conversation.

"Hel, it's enough that you know who I am."

"I know what you can do, too," I said.

"But you're not afraid?"

"Nope, I know you're going to do what you want to me, with me, or for me and I can't do a thing about it."

"You're right, and don't you forget it."

"Oh, I won't," I said.

"You want to go home so you can go back to work?"

"Yes and no, ma'am. I'm probably in fairly serious trouble at work but mom left me a pile and I work because its my civic duty and I like my job, mostly ... but I don't have to work. The second reason is that short redheaded fireball in there recovering."

"You love her," Sekhmet said.

"Umh ... I guess," I said. "That's something I need to wrap my tongue around and see how it tastes ... in a manner of speaking," I thought about it for a second and spoke up, "I'm mopey without her, I'm too old or too young depending., I like looking at her and she's smart. Smart is more important than looks."

"Yup ... you're in love. In case you're wondering ... she'd love for you to wrap your tongue around a couple three places. You figure heavily in her dreams and she loves it when you tell her stories and think she can't hear ... but she does."

"That's good to know," I said.

"Now ... lesson time. It's 22000 ... give or take a few hundred solar circles. In 2290 or as close as anyone can guess, life on earth stopped. It was hoped by the Council that the planet had recovered. It hasn't ... doesn't look like it will ... ever. Come on up here and let me show you."

I stepped around the huffers and climbed up on the throne platform. A set of shutters opened on a scene of near blasphemy.

The sky was a roiling yellow greenish purple and that was it. No grass, trees or creatures. There was a violent wind but the colors didn't mix.

"Your world governments denied, declined, confused and other wise flat refused to admit that anything was wrong ... because to do so would hurt the economy ... and the economy is simple greed. It's not that money, in whatever terms it exists, be it coin, paper, barter, trade or word of honor, is evil. But the LOVE of it is. Man LUSTED after money and that," she waved her hand at the wind driven horror, "is the result. Science couldn't fix it ... since science was the cause. Some things you can't throw money at. There are no icecaps, glaciers, volcanos, or anything that life can grasp a hold of and live. The cockroaches are dead. The bacteria that lived on the fleas that lived on the roaches are dead. We've fixed it 10 times and the reigning intelligent life form at the time killed it. Seven clean that up."

"He can clean up his own mess ... eep." said Seven as she turned into a toad.

"And that's another problem ... no cooperation from the powers that be. Put someone in charge and they think they're running the show."

She looked at the pile I'd left steaming on the platform and it was gone ... gone into a bucket with a toad in it.

She handed me a towel and I wiped my mouth with it.

"The watches have added 90 years of life ... but WE," she gestured at the Six and the very uncomfortable toad, "Have seen the future and this is it."

She slipped a package out of her cape and handed it to me, "That's Wendy's watch ... she's awake and wondering where you are. You'll like the modifications."