The Clean Slate Accord Page 5
“Director. Mother. I’m going away now. I’m proud to be your son.” His communication ended.
Alexa stared at her blank monitor. “No! Jonas!” She pressed all of the communications lines, but the monitor remained blank. “Jonas?”
The lights on the mirror flashed off and on. “Director, it was his decision. He grew up.”
She unstrapped her wrist communicator and dropped it on the floor, burying her face in her hands. “But I wasn’t ready.”
“He was.”
From the wrist communicator on the floor, David’s voice came through, “Director, there’s been some atmospheric disturbance originating over the Land Bridge, spreading quickly over the United Continents. On its present course, it will reach Contiguous Eurasia and the remaining continents within an hour. Do you want me to continue monitoring it?”
Alexa drew in a deep breath. It was Jonas. He truly was the world’s friend, embracing the planet as only he could. “Yes. And let me know as soon as the removal rate slows.”
“You’re expecting it to, Director?”
“I am. Very soon.”
She got up and went to the garden. There were new lotus blossoms emerging, their stalks reaching up toward the sun. Alexa saw a blush of red-orange across the sky, in the jet stream. She reached up, trying to touch it. “I’ve always loved you, Jonas. And I always will.”
Time passed slowly as the sun descended and fell below the horizon. David reported that the removal rate slowed and then eventually stopped. Alexa knew that the implants were rendered dormant by the Serum D. Clean Slate was now a note in the history of the world. She strolled back to the Bunker and passed by the lab. Peeking inside, she saw Jonas’ black eyeglass frames lying on the counter. How silly he looked in them.
She picked them up and slipped them on. She felt empty inside. If only she’d used all human DNA, then perhaps Jonas wouldn’t have been so alienated. He didn’t fit in because he wasn’t completely human. Human DNA could be manipulated, perhaps not as easily as viral DNA, but it was possible. It was also possible that there might be a way to undo the effects of Serum D and reinstate the Accord.
Alexa took off Jonas’ frames and tossed them into a garbage receptacle. She couldn’t throw away twenty years of research. The planet now needed nurturing more than ever. And who better to nurture the world than a mother? This time, however, perhaps a daughter would make a better companion and assistant. A daughter would be easier to relate to.
Sofia Diana Gabel, The Clean Slate Accord
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