Part 15

She was waiting carefully on a narrow path through the swamp, one hundred feet from the edge of the forest patch, when her screen quietly beeped. It was Ali's text message, saying only; 'Three min.' Soon she saw the dark outline of the flyer against the night sky as it seemed to glide to a stop in mid-air, then she saw the harness descending toward her. It stopped in front of her, swaying slowly in the downdraft, and she slipped it on, buckled it, and clipped the safety line to her knife belt. She jerked on the safety line, and was drawn rapidly up into the night sky. When she reached the flyer she swung nimbly into the door, and it was closed behind her by Ali's younger brother and partner, Assan. They could have been twins.

"Nice ascent. Fire Rescue?" Assan asked.

"Pardon me?" Tika asked as she slipped out of the harness and packs.

"I can't think of too many places a Tiger girl would get trained to do a night ascent like that." Assan said. "I was wondering whether you were in the Fire Rescue service."

"No. I studied the motion on screen." Tika said, and called forward to Ali.

"Ali! Northern Zone, Vishnu Region, E.T.A.?"

"Twenty-two minutes if I fly it low, thirty-one on auto up in the traffic lanes." Ali called back.

"Put it on auto and come back here. I need to speak with both of you, and I have little time." Tika called.

"You should come up." Ali returned. "We have four seats in the cabin here, and I hate to leave the controls. Call me paranoid, but I'd rather be ready. And it'll be quieter here."

Tika went forward with her screen and took the co-pilot's chair. Ali finished setting the autopilot, then released his seat swivel and turned to include Assan in the conversation, in the seat behind him. Tika did the same.

"All right." Tika began, and called up files on her screen. "NightHawks Air Service. You run a very tight operation. A nicely equipped hangar, six flyers, all almost unused but obsolete high-performance military models you saved from recycling. You got a great deal on their price, but they are not cost effective, as both their operation and maintenance are very expensive compared to recent models. This stealth unit, three general-purpose flyers, one heavy lifter, and a ground attack fighter. Of course you have no weapons for them, and the fighter especially has no practical role in civilian business beyond the joy-flying of a single thrill seeker, and it would be an expensive ride.

"You are the only two employees. You both gave up very lucrative careers in the Space Service, where you were each qualified as both pilots and mission generalists. Ali's foot was severed by a heavy-duty remote manipulator, apparently due to a one-in-a-billion software glitch. Though it was re-attached and healed without complications, and you were welcomed back to work, you chose to retire with a partial pension, and invested your civil restitution settlement in this company. Assan took early retirement to join you in this venture. Your former superiors described you as: 'Real hot shit flyers, and good boys to work with, but too old-fashioned romantic for their own good. Archaically addicted to the feeling of speed, and the taste of bugs in their teeth.'

"Since then you have been accumulating debt at a steady rate, totaling six point four million credits at this point. I doubt you gave five minutes thought to the marketability of the venture when you heroically decided to save these lovable pieces of hardware from destruction.

"Would you say my appraisal is accurate?" Tika giggled.

"You're an Adult, aren't you?" Assan asked. "I mean, that's what the arm bands mean, right?"

"Yes, I am an Adult." Tika smiled. "And no, I am not a midget or anything, I am a White Elf. Do not ask about it beyond that now. Answer my question."

"Well ya, that's a pretty accurate assessment." Ali grinned. "It was juvenile of us, but we've had a lot of fun, and we gave it our best shot. We'll have to go back to the Space Service if we can't lock up a major customer soon. But if we have to go back, we'll at least have the income to mothball these babies, and fly them once a year or so. And we'll be out of debt in about twenty-seven years." and they laughed easily at themselves.

"I wish to buy your company." Tika stated.

"I won't sell." Ali smiled firmly. "I was hoping you might want to be our regular major customer. As I told you earlier, you're way overpaying us.

"I would guarantee that you two would remain in charge of operations. I would bring your company purpose, and challenge. I will pay your debts, and pay you the same salary and benefits you would receive with the Space Service. And beyond that, I will pay you three mega for the company." Tika offered.

The two brothers looked at each other, hopefully but skeptically. "Look, I really don't want to sell. If you'll pay us a fair rate for our work, we'll give you services just as well as we could if you owned the company."

"You are idiots as businessmen." Tika stated pleasantly. "I will need to depend on this company, and I cannot risk the service being interrupted because your assets have been seized. Besides, there is a small chance that I will need to bend a few laws, and if we are caught, I will need to be able to take complete legal responsibility in order to prevent our prosecution."

"No, I'm sorry." Ali said, shaking his head. "I can't risk losing the flyers."

"I guarantee you would not lose them." Tika said. "You will be able to love them and fly them as much as you want."

"Yes, but I won't own them." Ali insisted.

"At least think about it, Ali!" Assan told him. "It would solve all our problems!"

"That's easy for you to say!" Ali snapped at him. "It's not your company!"

"Ya, and it's not my six meg debt either, if you want to be that way about it!" Assan laughed.

"Silly boys." Tika giggled, calling up a recording. "You know, I did not choose you by rolling dice.

"Look. Evaluate this flyer." she commanded, as she showed them her screen.

"The Super Harrier III!" Ali exclaimed. "The Harrier line were the best line of vertical-takeoff-and-landing capable jet fighter planes ever produced, and the Super Harrier I was the best supersonic VTOL in two thousand fifty-five. This Super Harrier III was the second-last fighter plane ever built in two thousand seventy-one, only the third-generation American Advanced Tactical Fighter lasted longer. By that time there hadn't been a use for them for twenty years, but the government couldn't weasel out of the purchase contract. That baby's good for mach five point five, and its capable of any aerobatic maneuver you can think of. They were trying to fit the last of them with an ion drive booster before they were finally retired. They thought they could make something that could land on the deck of a small ocean ship in a hurricane, then fly up to orbit and dock with a space station. I think they had problems with overheating in the ducts, and a shortage of thrust, among other things.

"As far as I know, there're only one hundred and sixteen of them left, mothballed in a long term storage hangar like packed sardines. They're just too valuable to scrap, even if they are obsolete."

"Very good, Ali." Tika laughed. "Now I tell you, there are only one hundred and fifteen of these in storage, because I have purchased one. I have paid for a twenty-year option to purchase the other one hundred and fifteen. I have also purchased much of the simulators, tooling, spare parts, and support materiel, with options on the rest, as well as everything relating to the VTOL Space Plane project. I assure you, I got an incredible deal on this, considering its original cost. They were delighted to sell to me.

"Now you look at that recording, Ali. That is the Hawker Super Harrier III in its final performance, at the Paris Air Show in two thousand seventy-nine. Do you wish to pilot the most incredible flyer ever built? That will be us, Ali. You and me and Assan. Because I wish to fly it, and I need someone who has the skills and equipment to teach me to fly everything leading up to it, and space piloting as well. I can guarantee at least that, Ali. We will fly the Super Harrier, and we will have great fun with it! Eventually you will teach me everything you know, and there are few with both the skills you two have, and such a varied collection of high-performance flyers.

"But I hope to achieve far more, Ali. I need someone who can be the core of the White Elves' Aerospace Service. The technology now exists to make the VTOL Space Plane project work, and the Harriers will be refitted with a new air/space thrust motor. I hope to be able to initiate point-to-point, high-speed VTOL limousine service between any two places on earth or up to medium earth orbit. There are many very wealthy people who would pay a respectably profitable fare for such a service, since the shuttles have been booked to capacity for decades, and for snob appeal as much as anything else. If we get that far, you will receive fair payment for your efforts in this achievement, including generous stock options, so you will end up owning part of the company anyway.

"Assan, I am offering you exactly the same, minus the purchase price of NightHawks."

"Come on! Go for it!" Assan pleaded joyously with his brother. "I'm gonna! I'm goin' for it! I'm in!"

Ali smiled at her and shook his head. "You're one of those people who has it all figured out in advance, aren't you? There was really only one possible outcome to this negotiation, but at least you're being nice about it. What's the stick, if I say no to the carrot?"

"I have bought up all your debts." Tika giggled. "Your creditors had such little faith in you, they sold you to me for thirty-eight cents on the credit. The stick is this: If you refuse the carrot, I will simply foreclose on your debts, since they are well past due, and seize your assets, and kick your silly ass out into the corridor. I think Assan here would like to run the operations of a huge transportation empire."

"Be stubborn, brother!" Assan urged with a grin. "We don't really need you anyway!"

"Yup, all figured out in advance." Ali chuckled. "And there's no way I'm stupid enough to say no after all that.

"It looks like you've bought yourself a flyer company, Miss Tika." he said, holding out his hand. "And welcome to the aeronautics industry."

Tika left the flyer at the Enclave house, where she had sent off the second cryogenic cylinder in the mail tube. She entered Tira's clearing and stood at the edge of it for a moment, wondering what to say first. Before she had decided, Raz spotted her.

"Hey Tika! You are back!" he called as he waved.

"My plans have progressed more quickly and smoothly than I expected." Tika stated. "I have come to speak to you all, but especially you, Davdan, about matters of great importance. And then I must go back."

Everyone became attentive, but she remained silent until Davdan gently prompted her.

"We are listening, Tika. Go ahead."

"All right. I have much to talk about, but I will start with this:

"Davdan, you are a good friend of mine and I will always be there to help you with anything you need, and I respect your wisdom, and I love you like the grandmother I have never had. But that is no longer enough to make me support you politically, or vote for you for Leader of the Council of the Tiger People, as the Leadership is something you want, but do not need.

"You will see why this is important in a moment, but for now I need to know why you want to be Leader, and what you hope to achieve for our future, and what makes you a better choice than the other candidates. I can still help you politically, perhaps enough to make the difference as to whether you ever reach the Leadership of the Council of All People. But before I help you become leader of the world, you must convince me that it is truly the right thing to do, disregarding our personal relationship."

Davdan smiled at her for a moment, and shook her head. "Well, I am glad you have asked me that, Tika. I have not truly asked myself all those questions yet, so I hope I have some good answers.

"Why do I want to be leader? It is about half altruism, and half selfishness. Sure, I think I would be good at the job, and I wish to do something great for my people before my time is gone. I feel a need to put my talents toward their best use, and I still hope to achieve more greatness for myself. I hope that the political competition ignites my soul, as physical combat used to.

"But the other candidates are all very honorable Great Elders. I am sure I can do at least as good a job as any of them, and better in most cases, but I would be proud to have any of them as my Leader. And if I lose, I will support them fully and loyally, as I support the present Leader. I am sure any of them would say the same of me.

"Politics is not what it used to be. Votes in elections are a matter of personal preference, as generally all the candidates are fully qualified, and roughly equally competent. And all the great problems are solved; the laws and governments are all well-designed, so the Leadership is more a matter of administration than truly one of leadership.

"It is hard to offer a great vision of the future, as the first Leader of All Peoples, The Rationalist, offered the great vision of the future, and we are all living it today.

"Of all his dreams, there is the only one that has not been fulfilled. The Rationalist made people realize that the ultimate purpose of the human species is to spread the life of earth throughout the cosmos; that we must grow out into space with at least enough other species to form balanced ecologies, so that even if the earth is destroyed, life will not end. We have life in space stations, on the Moon, on Mars, and on the moons of Mars and Jupiter. But none of it is near self-sustaining, and if the Earth was destroyed tomorrow, the other colonies would be dead in three years.

"If I became Leader of All the People, I would intensify the terraforming effort on Mars, expand the caverns of the moon until they are a self-sustaining ecology, and intensify the establishment of other colonies. It is the greatest thing we can do."

Davdan paused and took a long drink of water. "I want you to truly understand that I believe in the teachings of The Rationalist, and in the system he built. I seek to protect the best parts of the status quo, while not inhibiting the incremental improvements of social evolution. There are too many techs who think that Tiger People should not be allowed to fight with knives, and too many Tiger People who think they should be allowed to attack any tech who insults them in any place, and fools of every kind who cannot see beyond the boundaries of their own situations. Protecting the Rationalist System from those who would weaken it with a million tiny legislations that enforce their personal moralities on others is a constant task for every senior leader alive today, and the most important part of the job.

"I think that my biggest advantage over my honored political opponents is my ability to react well to the unexpected. We have had stability for a hundred years, and I think most of my cohort would have a difficult time dealing with any truly momentous change in the circumstances of the world."

Tika nodded. "Those are good answers. More than good enough to win my support. I thank you for answering so openly, as a friend and not as a politician. I doubt you would use that as a campaign speech."

"No." Davdan laughed. "But now that you have prompted me to think it through, I am ready to write my first campaign speech. I have been procrastinating both the thinking and the writing until the campaign actively begins. Till then it is more important to be seen achieving great things, and performing great acts of leadership."

"Well Davdan, as they say in tech politics, a big political football has just landed in your lap." Tika said. She stood, and walked a few steps so she could turn and face the whole group. Suddenly she seemed a little shy, and took a deep breath. "Am I well lit? This will be historically important footage." she asked.

"Just a moment, I will be your cameraman." Raz said. He set his screen to white light and illuminated her with it, then moved one of the tripod cameras into a better position and aimed it at her. "How is this looking, Pina?" he asked.

Pina called up the video feed from the camera on her screen. "It looks good. Tika, you should tuck one of the earphone mikes in your knife belt, to assure good audio on your voice."

Raz tossed her one, and Tika made sure the pickup was aimed roughly at her face as she placed it in her belt. "How is that?" she asked.

"Lots of signal on both channels." Pina assured her, checking VU readings on the audio.

"All right." Tika said, paused, then shook her hair back and stood proudly, and spoke with confidence.

"There has not been a new people on the earth since the Wolf People succeeded in their attempt to usurp the Grizzly Bear People from some of their territories in North America, forty-one years ago.

"Now, there will be a new people.

"I, Tika, daughter of Tira, a Tiger Person of the Northern Zone of the Vishnu Region of the Great Indian Forest, do declare on this thirteenth day of April in the year Twenty One Fifty Five, the formation of a new Predatory and Civilized People, who shall be known as The White Elves. The Land of The White Elves includes territory IVN 27, formerly the second territory of Jela, formerly the territory of Catal, in the Northern Zone of the Vishnu Region of the Great Indian Forest. The White Elves will uphold the Laws of All Peoples within their Land, and do further claim the following Binding Traditions of The White Elves, as permitted under the Wild Peoples Act:

"A resident of the land of The White Elves may declare themselves to be a combatant, or a non-combatant. This declaration will be binding until the resident's next birthday, at which time they may re-declare.

"Those residents declaring to be non-combatants will be treated under the law exactly the same as the residents of Civilized Zones are treated on their own land; any who initiate violence against non-combatants will be charged with assault, and non-combatants will be charged with assault if they initiate violence against any other.

"Combatants will designate themselves as such with a removable tattoo, the design of which shall be a one inch wide red stripe around the left upper arm. Those declaring to be combatants will fall under a Code of Challenges, which shall be the same as that of the Tiger People, with the following exceptions: Females as well as males have the right to challenge their choice of mate of the opposite gender for sexual access. Rape is Banned. After a victory is established, the victors of sexual challenges may not take any action to cause pain during the sex act without permission from their mate, while those who have been defeated in sexual challenges must be fully co-operative during the sex act. The most dangerous fighter residing in the land of the White Elves shall be declared Champion of the White Elves.

"Judgeships and positions on the Council of the White Elves will be open to residents of all ages, and will be appointed by the Leader of the Council. The Leader of the Council shall retain sole and complete executive power of government. I shall be Leader of the Council of The White Elves until I am dead, at which time the Leadership will be decided by a popular vote of all residents, and the office will be held for a term of four years, after which there will be another election for Leader of the Council. Residency in the land of The White Elves shall be granted at the discretion of the Leader of the Council. Hunting territories on the land of The White Elves will be distributed at the discretion of the Leader, as they are distributed by the Pack Leader among the Wolf People.

"The White Elves reserve the right to build structures under our land within the Common Building Code, though these structures will share no connective corridors with the structures of the Civilized People, with the exception of the Transit and mail tube systems. The Code of Challenges of Combatants will be in effect within our structures, and we reserve the right to use any form of technology within our structures, within the safety guidelines of the technology using peoples. Of course, on the surface of our land we will follow the technology limitations common to all predatory peoples.

"These and other regulations of The White Elves shall be posted as The Constitution of The White Elves today with this declaration.

"So it is sworn by Tika of The White Elves of the Northern Zone of the Vishnu Region of the Great Indian Forest."

She held her posture for a moment, then slumped and let her breath whoosh out.

"Well, how was I?" she asked.

"You were great." Pina answered with a grin.

"Raz, can I ask you to do a final mix on that speech, and send a copy to myself and Davdan?

"And Davdan, you will of course witness the document as an Elder of the Tiger People, and forward it to all the relevant Councils?"

Raz busied himself at his screen, while the rest simply stared.

"So, now you are officially a White Elf." Pina grinned, "Leader of all the Councils of a People of one, and of course, as the only citizen, you are the only Council Member, the only Judge, and the Champion of The White Elves."

She walked over and hugged her friend warmly. "Let me be the first to congratulate you, Tika my love. You have certainly done a great and historic thing. Of course, you are as crazy as a monkey, but I love you anyway."

"Thank you Pina." Tika smiled as they sat back down.

"What the hell have you done!?" Davdan demanded as she found her voice.

"I have founded a homeland for my people." Tika stated.

"A homeland!? There is one of you! When you have children, I see no reason for them to be anything other than Tiger People!"

"Davdan, in about nine months there will be more than two hundred White Elves born. In a year there will be a thousand. There will be at least two thousand born per year for the next nine years after that, and then the first generation will begin having their own children, and begin to spread out through all the Peoples of humanity. But they will always have a homeland here."

"Great fucking Gods Tika! Did you keep even one of your ovum to bear your own child? And will your children be raised by laboratories, or strangers?"

"Do not be ignorant, Davdan." Tika said sadly. "No woman has near that many ovum. Please, try to be calm. I had hoped for a more rational reaction from you."

Davdan sat down harder than she hoped, as she was literally staggered by a thought. "Please Tika, tell me you have not been cloned! The public reaction to the mass cloning of one such as yourself..."

"Gods, Davdan, you are embarrassing yourself! They will not be my children, and they will not be my clones! They will be my half-brothers and half-sisters! Now please, I am trying to make this easier on Tira-Mother!"

Everyone got it at once, and there was thunderstruck silence. Tira stared hard at her daughter, while everyone else looked back and forth between the two.

Tika could not meet her mother's eye, and she stared at the firepit.

Tira finally cleared her throat to break the silence. "So, how is your father?" she asked conversationally. "I take it you are able to handle him physically."

"Are you sure you wish to speak of this?" Tika asked.

"Yes. I think I have forgiven him some, since I began to imagine what life for him must be like. With Professor Watson's help. And I am curious, because I have gotten a lot of hints that he has been discussed intently within the group since the investigation into your genetics began, but no one talks about him around me out of consideration. And after all, he is your father. I cannot ask you to ignore that."

"All right." Tika nodded. "For the most part he is well, and of course he is very lonely. I have been training him."

"What, as a fighter?" Jena gaped.

"No, that is funny!" Tika laughed. "Mostly, I train him like techs train their family dogs, though in some ways I train him like he was a two year old child. It is so sad, really, because there is an active intelligence that lives caged off in his mind, held prisoner by his instincts and emotions, but it is there all the time, forced to helplessly observe his own behavior. As soon as he feels like doing something, the emotion of it completely captures his attention and over-rides his intellect, and he behaves with the intelligence of a two-year-old. But there was a pair of minutes tonight when I had sated as many of his instincts as I could, and his mind showed through for a moment.

"Note this for the lawyers and investigators, Davdan. My father's name is John King, and he was a tech from Houston Texas."

"So noted. I will tell them now." Davdan stated, and sent a quick email.

"As soon as I can build a house under my territory, I will bring him home. I will have Professor Watson find him the best psych meds for his problem. Even if we find no help for him, I will soon have him as trained to obey me as any tech's house pet, and I will be able to give him a good life. I think that he will have more rational time as his life improves, and his fulfillment profile rises."

"As to who is going to raise the baby Elves, Davdan, rest assured that I have chosen well. There are millions of women who seek the sperm of a superior man, so that they can bear a superior child. There are reputable agencies that match donors with recipients, and all participants are fully screened and investigated. When I submitted my profile there was over eighty thousand women who matched all my criteria, and who wished to bear a baby like me, based on a selection of my recordings highlighting my abilities. I chose the very best. Those who will be Elf-Mothers come from all walks of life, most have a good mate or husband, and the rest are very self-sufficient. Many already have one child. They have all agreed to live on my land and under my rule for at least ten years, and in return I have generously guaranteed their financial security so that they can be full time parents if they so choose. These people will be Honorary White Elves, and I hope that most of them will choose to stay with us after the ten years.

"All those who are Honorary White Elves will keep their present status as techs or Tiger People or whatever, and enjoy dual citizenship. In the same way, all the Elves themselves will always have dual citizenship in the homeland and whatever other land they may chose to live in.

"I offer to make each of you Honorary White Elves. And you would still be Tiger people. Tira-Mother, you are the first Elf-Mother. Your experience in raising me will be invaluable if you help us, and as the first Elf-Mother, your status will be very high among my people.

"But why have you done all this, Tika?" Davdan asked in exasperation.

"I realized how much it would benefit humanity to have a few thousand White Elves around, and all the great things we could achieve, and I could not bear knowing that a flyer could fall out of the sky and kill me, and none of it would happen. I do not want it to all depend on me. And I had the credits. I am initiating a VTOL space plane company as well, that will deliver passengers from anywhere on the surface of the Earth or in medium Earth orbit, to anywhere on the surface or up to medium orbit. It should complement Raz's cargo launcher nicely, and in a few years I will own spacecraft, and found a new colony on the moon, and probably another on an asteroid.

"All right, Jena!" she suddenly snapped out. "Just laugh, before you strangle yourself! You want to know the answers that you cannot bring yourself to ask for?! Yes, I bought my father to orgasm! Yes, I collected his sperm! No, I did not fuck him! How did I collect the sperm? None of your damn business!

"Tika! How could you?!!!" Davdan cried.

Tika took a moment before answering. "I tell you Davdan, you cannot judge this by normal standards. His semen is the wellspring of my entire race.

"All of this must seem very, very weird to all of you. But if you can truly put yourself in my position, you must see that I really had very little choice.

"But no, you cannot truly put yourselves in my place. Wait, take no offense, I do not mean to imply that you lack empathy! I am sure you could empathize with any natural human, but I am not a natural human! I am not a Homo Sapiens! We are interfertile, so I am not a separate species, but I am a very distinct sub-species that is genetically stable, so I am a different race. I am still a human being, so I am a Homo something, but the point is, we do not share the same instincts! You truly cannot know how I feel!"

"That may be true," Jena laughed, "But I still do not see what that has to do with fucking your father! GODS!!!" Jena suddenly yelled, her laughter ceasing instantly, and she scrambled backward in such a panic that she fell backward over the log, then leaped to her feet and ran a few steps, till she looked behind her, and saw that Tika had not moved a muscle. She stopped and stared at Tika incredulously.