Evolution

Chapter 2-1

2

Sunlight streamed through the window in Anna's living room, falling on the comfy white sofa and reflecting off the surface of the glass coffee table. A few rays even made it to the kitchen where an island sat in the middle of the white-tiled floor.

Wooden cupboards lined two walls with the fridge and the oven placed side by side. As far as accommodations went, she didn't mind her kitchen. There was no serving bot to cook her meals – though she preferred to cook her own meals, it was handy to have a bot if she was pressed for time – but otherwise, it was nice.

Anna sat at the island with her elbows resting on its surface, clutching a tablet in two hands. Her short cherry-red hair was tied back in a nubby little ponytail. “You dumb f*****g w***e,” she read aloud. “I will find you and rape you to death, you evil f*****g cop-hater. Hashtag 'Respect police.' ”

Behind her, Bradley was sitting on the couch with his arms folded, frowning at the wall. “Honestly, hon, do you have to read every single one of those?” he asked. “It can't be doing anything to improve your disposition.”

Anna scrunched up her face, trembling with impotent rage. “Three months,” she hissed, tossing the tablet onto the island. “Three months since I intervened to help Kevin Harmon, and every damn day, it's the same thing.”

Her inbox had been full of disgusting messages ever since a Tennessee news station had reported the incident. She would have expected the fury to die down – Earthers were so quick to shift their attention to the next scandal – but several online communities had banded together to create an organized harassment campaign with Leana Delnara Lenai as its primary target.

There were online games where you could click on her face over and over until it was bruised beyond recognition. Memes generated from pictures that were taken on her first visit to Earth painting her as some kind of interstellar totalitarian. Companion have mercy! Once upon a time, she had been a hero to these people. She knew there would be consequences for standing up to those two officers, but this…

Anna shut her eyes. “It's getting worse,” she said. “I don't even want to leave the apartment anymore!”

In her mind's eye, she saw the silhouette of Bradley turn its head to stare at her. “If you're that worried,” he began, “maybe I should go with you? People are much less likely to try something if you're not alone.”

Grinning sheepishly, Anna stared down at the counter. “You don't get it, Sweetie,” she said, shaking her head. “I'm not afraid to go out because I think I might get hurt. I'm afraid to go out because I might have to hurt someone else.”

“Regardless…”

Anna twisted on her stool to face him with hands on her knees, frowning into her own lap. “What are you going to do, Bradley?” she asked. “If some psychotic man on a rage-trip gets it in his head to attack me, what are you going to do?”

Bradley watched her with a tight frown on his face, his cheeks slowly reddening. Clearly the question had left him unsettled. “I just think it might be easier…” he mumbled. “Never mind. You're probably right.”

With a sigh, Anna got up and made her way over to the window. Tall skyscrapers rose up in the distance, glittering in the light of the afternoon sun. Ottawa was a beautiful city – one that had once felt like a second home – but she was beginning to wonder if she had any business staying here. She had told herself that she came back here because Earth was the place where a Keeper could do the most good, but deep down inside, she knew that was only part of the reason.

Anna crossed her arms with a heavy sigh, frowning down at herself. “Maybe I just shouldn't be here,” she mumbled to herself. “At this point, I'm nothing but a focal point for hatred. Maybe it's time I went home.”

“Where does that leave us?”

A glance over her shoulder revealed Bradley sitting on the couch with a scowl on his face. “You and me,” he went on. “If you decide to go back to Leyria, what does that mean for us?”

Wincing so hard it hurt, Anna shook her head. “I don't know,” she said, dropping into the chair across from him. “Suppose it depends on how bad you want to be together. Besides, it was just an idle thought.”

“Right…”

She could tell that her attempt at reassurance had failed miserably – and that was probably because it had been partially insincere; considering the prospect of going home had been more than an idle thought – but she lacked the energy to press the point right now. No, right now the only thing she wanted was a nice relaxing bubble bath. Alone.

Anna's fists slammed into the punching bag one after the other, leaving indentations in the fabric, and providing enough force to send Gabi stumbling away. The other woman clutched the bag in both hands.

Dressed in a pair of shorts and a blue tank-top, Gabi struggled to catch her breath. Her face was slick with sweat, her black hair pulled back in a ponytail, and she stared at Anna as if seeing her for the first time. “Damn, girl,” she hissed. “You've really got some quality rage going.”

Anna winced, then rubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand. “You try reading vivid depictions of what vile men want to do to you for months on end.” She turned away from the bag, pacing across the gym mat. “I feel like I'm going numb inside.”

“That's understandable.”

The workout room was just a big empty box with exercise equipment on one end and open floor space on the other. Not far away, two young Keepers were sparring with each other on a neighbouring mat, but otherwise, it was just her and Gabi. She retrieved her water bottle from her belongings.

The silhouette of Gabi stood next to the punching bag, staring down at something on the floor. “I don't think any of us were prepared for it,” she went on. “The extremes reactions Earthers can have.”

Lifting the bottle to her lips, Anna shut her eyes and tilted her head back. “Do you want to know the worst part?” she said after a moment. “I feel like it's somehow my fault. Like I should have known what would happen.”

“Even if you did, would you have done anything different?”

“Of course not.”

When she turned, Gabi was standing there with her arms folded, every inch of her exposed skin glistening. “Well?” the woman asked, raising a dark eyebrow. “Then what good is there in blaming yourself?”

Anna smiled, then bowed her head to the other woman. “You've got a point,” she said, her eyebrows rising. “It's just…I'm always hearing Jena and Harry go on about how delicate the situation is.”

“Not your fault.”

“I know.”

Gabi seized the punching bag again, holding it steady in both hands before peeking around the corner to blink at Anna. “So your boyfriend's nervous that you might go back to Leyria,” she said, “That can't be fun.”

With a growl, Anna threw a pair of jabs at the bag, pounding it again and again as she worked out her aggression. The fire in her belly flared up until she thought her skin might start to sizzle. “It was a stupid thing to say,” she hissed. “I've got no intention of leaving him; Bradley is wonderful.”

“But…Maybe…” Gabi winced as she was driven backward by the onslaught of Anna's blows, the bag providing very poor protection. Only then did it occur to Anna that she might want to avoid using the full force of Keeper strength. “Maybe Earth isn't quite so wonderful, no?”

Biting her lower lip, Anna let her head hang. She mopped a hand over her face. “I don't know…Just a few months ago, I would have said that this is the one place in all the universe I most wanted to be.”

“And now?”

“I'm starting to worry I'm turning into my mother.”

Releasing the bag with a grunt, Gabi stepped backward and pressed a hand to her stomach. She closed her eyes and drew in a slow, soothing breath. “So what would your mother say about all this?”

“That this is what I get for associating with a bunch of primitives,” Anna replied. “She'd go on at length about how Earthers still fell victim to petty prejudices. About how they trashed their planet with no regard for human life. She's even been known to ponder why we would let Earthers become Justice Keepers.”

“Charming.”

“Isn't it though?”

“What do you want, Anna?”

Anna felt her cheeks burn, her nostrils flaring with every breath. “I want people to stop asking me what I want,” she answered. “I'll figure that out in my own good time. In the meantime, I want to do my job.”

“Fair enough. Shall we prepare for Jena's meeting?”

“Yeah,” Anna said. “Let's do that.”

The window in Jena's office looked out on a field of stars with Earth barely visible in the left-hand side, its reflection shining in the SmartGlass surface of Jena's desk. For the moment, that desk was unoccupied.

Jack slouched in his chair with his arms crossed, tilting his head back to stare up at the ceiling. He blinked several times. “Well, this is encouraging. For those of us who are counting, we've got humans, microscopic organisms and now an artificial intelligence all pissed off at Grecken Slade.”

A hologram appeared beside him, depicting the image of a vaguely human-shaped creature made entirely of Leyrian characters. Ven had altered his appearance slightly. “Do you really believe this single individual to be a threat?”

Jack winced, pinching the bridge of his nose. “On his own? No,” he muttered into his own palm. “But Slade has been modifying symbionts and building super soldiers. I think it's pretty clear the Overseers are backing him.”

“Why would they?”

Grinning ferociously, Jack stared down into his own lap. “Hard to guess,” he said, eyebrows rising. “But I'm thinking they figured out that Slade's a shoe-in for prom king, and now they're hoping for a seat at the cool kids' table.”

In his mind's eye, he saw Jena stride through the door behind him, flanked by Anna and Harry. His boss stopped short, crossing her arms as she stared at the back of his chair. “I don't believe my eyes,” she said. “For once, Jack is early.”

“Do I get a cookie?”

Harry shuffled into the room with his hands in his pockets, casting a suspicious glare at the hologram. “What's with the light show?” he asked. “Does this presentation come with a visual aid?”

Gabi was the last one inside, flowing across the room in black pants and a maroon t-shirt. She paused next to Jack's chair, resting a hand on his shoulder and showing him a warm smile. Every now and then, he felt a burst of affection when he remembered how lucky he was to have a partner like her.

Jena rounded her desk with a heavy sigh, taking position just behind her chair. “The light show is actually a guest that I've invited to join us,” she said. “Everyone, meet Ven.”

Anna's mouth dropped open, and she blinked several times in confusion. “This is Ven?” she asked, dropping into the chair next to Jack. “As in the artificial intelligence that left Leyria over a hundred years ago?”

For a brief moment, the hologram flickered, and when it stabilized, it seemed to be facing Anna. “Pleased to meet you,” Ven said, bowing his ghostly head to her. His voice came through the speakers on the wall.

“Likewise?”

A wince passed over Jena's face, but she cleared her mind with a quick shake of her head. “No one else knows Ven is here,” she said, taking her seat. “And I'm of the opinion that we should keep it that way.”

Biting her lip, Anna lowered her eyes until she was staring into her lap. “So is he…I mean she…” A growl rumbled in her throat. “Ven, forgive me, but I do have to ask. Which pronoun would you prefer?”

A pang of guilt hit Jack right in the gut when he realized that he had failed to even consider that question. There was no reason to assume that Ven was male, and yet he had done so without question. Personal bias was like a virus that might hide in your body for months or even years before it made its presence felt.