Chapter 7

Donald Prendergast crossed the short distance to his children like a man going to his own execution. Intellectually he knew that his wife was almost certainly correct in that this was the only chance his children had of getting off the planet and surviving. That he would lose his position as head of the Earth First party didn’t really matter anymore. He’d already had his doubts but now the party was becoming something that he didn’t want to be associated with so these events could turn out to be a blessing in disguise - it just didn’t feel like it as he crossed the garden. What mattered was that he had to convince his son John that this was a good idea - in fact the only idea - and then say goodbye to his children.

John Prendergast was only fifteen years old, but that was only a measure of his age, in nearly all other things he was well advanced. He was big for his age and excelled at all the sports he tried, he led his class in most academic pursuits and was more than capable of holding his own in a fight or a debate.

His CAP score had been held down by his belief that his father, and his views, should at least be given credence. Even so he’d scored high enough to be eligible to volunteer to his father’s apparent disgust. The test had only been taken because it was compulsory and the school he’d been attending didn’t request explicit permission from the students’ parents before submitting them for examination.

That his views had changed in the past twelve months was a secret that he’d hidden from his parents, and especially his father, to the best of his ability. He understood where his father was coming from, as did most people, but unlike many he didn’t cling to the idea that what was considered fair was also right. John had taken the time and had dug into the figures that both sides of the political divide had thrown around with gay abandon. What he found was that the Earth First party had been, at best, looking at the figures through rose tinted glasses - or - as he’d come to believe, they were deliberately lying to serve their own ends.

When this garden party had been turned into an extraction he’d been very tempted to run off and volunteer but his own sense of responsibility to his parents had held him back. Now his father was returning from confronting the Queen and the look of total defeat on his face gave an indication of how well that had gone. John had a sudden moment of inspiration and guessed that he would be leaving with the evacuees. Inside he felt elated at his chance but that was tempered with the understanding that he would be leaving his family behind.

Donald gathered both his children in his arms and hugged them before stepping back a little and beginning, almost formally, “John.”

Before he could get any further John decided to spare his father further embarrassment and said, “I know, Dad.”

When his father stared at him in shock John continued, “I’m going with them, aren’t I?”

Donald could only nod in answer.

“Is there anything else?” the boy asked his father, who was now sweating.

Swallowing Donald nodded, “Gail...”

“You want me to take Gail?”

Again Donald could only nod in response.

“Does that mean...” John petered out, realising that he couldn’t ask his father if he meant him to have sex with his own sister. Glancing at his older sister he was stunned when she shyly nodded her understanding of what he’d been going to ask, and more importantly, her agreement to the act.

Blushing furiously John stuttered, “How do I, uhmm, volunteer?”

Donald, with silent tears running down his face stepped forward and gathered both of his children in for a final hug before pointing back the way he’d come from, “Go to the Marine with the Queen,” he said, “he’s going to sort everything out.”

Letting his arms fall to his side Donald stepped back and watched as John held out his hand to his sister and slowly, glancing back often, led her away - to continue living if nothing else.

When the two young Prendergasts reached the Queen their mother was stood there frozen with her mouth hanging open. The two children looked at her and worried, what had been going on here?

“Mom,” squeaked Gail as she rushed to her mother.

The Queen looked at the boy who was regarding her suspiciously and tried to hide a grin. “She’ll be alright,” she said, “I just gave her an option she hadn’t thought of. I think it came as a bit of a shock.”

John stood and puzzled over the comment for a moment before looking around quickly and then made a couple of, possibly rash, assumptions. He looked back to his Sovereign with a calculating gleam in his eye and stated clearly, “You told her she could go with me as my ‘mother’,” he said waving an arm towards the group containing the two Royal children and the three naked women who were trailing them.

“Clever,” said the Queen, “that’s just what I told her.” She then stared hard at the young boy, “So what do you think?” she asked.

Around him there was silence but John didn’t notice, his mind was racing, could he do this to his father? Earlier conversations sprang to mind; his father’s driving ambition had been to save his wife and children. Was this the chance he’d been searching for?

John glanced towards his father and then pointed to his mother. Even at that distance John could tell that his father was confused, he pointed to his own chest and then to the skies. It took a moment but understanding dawned on Donald’s face and then he was nodding frantically and yelling what appeared to be YES, repeatedly, at the top of his voice.

John nodded back and moved across to his mother, “Come on mom, we’ve got to get out of here, Dad says so.”

Adam Crossfield consulted with the AI and was actually impressed though he didn’t say anything about it. “Just to confirm,” he said, “all three of you have CAP scores in the sevens which means that you get to choose four concubines as well as the mother figures you’ve already picked.”

He glanced at Elizabeth and added, “I’m sure you’ve heard this many times before but it does no harm to repeat it, Princess Elizabeth you have the hardest decision to make. Personally, and this is based on experience, I’d suggest that you pick a man and three women; they along with your ‘mother’ will provide a stable household into which you can introduce your children. Having the extra woman might mean that you could get away with a second man but that is entirely up to you.”