Tegan says, ‘Yes, that’s what happened. I saw him reach for his gun.’
Jocelyn looks at the gun, clasped in the cooling fingers. Some of the NorthStar people carry their own unregistered side arms. Her mom had to get the New York Times to pull a piece about it, on the grounds that it would threaten homeland security. Maybe he had that gun in his back pocket. Maybe he was going to turn it on them. But if they had guns, why were they using bats?
Esther clasps a hand on Jocelyn’s shoulder. ‘You’re a hero, soldier,’ she says.
‘Yes,’ says Jocelyn.
It gets easier to tell the story the more she does it. She starts to see it very clearly in her mind’s eye so that, by the time she’s talking about it on national TV, she thinks she half remembers it anyway. Hadn’t she seen something metal in one of their pockets? Couldn’t it have been a gun? Maybe that’s why she let off her blast. Yes, she probably did know.
She smiles on the television news. No, she says. I don’t feel like a hero. Anyone would have done the same.
Oh, come on, says Kristen. I couldn’t have done it. Could you, Matt?
Matt laughs and says, I couldn’t even have watched! He’s very attractive, a good ten years younger than Kristen. The network had found him. Just trying something out. While we’re at it, Kristen, why don’t you wear your glasses onscreen now, it’ll give you gravitas. We’re going to see how the numbers play out this way. We’re sending it for a run around the park, OK?
Well, your mom must be very proud, Jocelyn.
She is proud. She knows part of the story, but not the whole thing. It’s given her leverage with the Defence Department in rolling out the NorthStar training camp scheme for girls across all fifty states. It’s a well-run programme, with good links to colleges, and they’re able to charge the army a bounty for every girl they send their way who can bypass basic and go straight into active duty. The army is fond of Margot Cleary.
And with all that’s going on in the news, says Matt, this war in Eastern Europe, what is that about? First the South Moldovans are winning, now it’s the North Moldovans, and the Saudis are involved somehow … He shrugs helplessly. It’s great to know that we have young women like you ready to defend the country.
Oh yes, says Jocelyn, just like she practised. I would never have been able to do it at all without the training I received at NorthStar Camp.
Kristen squeezes her knee. Will you stick around, Jocelyn? We’re going to be tasting some great cinnamon recipes for fall after the break.
Of course!
Matt smiles into the camera. I know I feel safer with you around. And now, the weather on the ones.
Statue of the ‘Priestess Queen’ – found in a treasure trove in Lahore. The statue itself is substantially older than the base, which is made from repurposed Cataclysm Era technology.
Though much eroded, analysis of the base has revealed that it was originally marked with the Bitten Fruit motif. Objects marked with this motif are found across the Cataclysm Era world and their use is much debated. The uniformity of the motif suggests that it is a religious symbol, but it may also have been a glyph indicating that the object should be used for serving food; the different sizes may have been used for different meals.
This Bitten Fruit artefact is, as is common, constructed partially of metal and partially of glass. Unusually for objects of this type, the glass is unbroken, giving it high value in the post-Cataclysm years. It’s speculated that the Bitten Fruit artefact was given as a tribute to the cult of the Priestess Queen and used to increase the majesty of her statue. The two objects were welded together around 2,500 years ago.
Statue of ‘Serving Boy’, found in the same hoard as the ‘Priestess Queen’. From the careful grooming and sensuous features, it has been speculated that this statue depicts a sex worker. The statue is decorated with Cataclysm Era glass whose composition is similar to that of the base of ‘Priestess Queen’; it almost certainly came from a broken Bitten Fruit artefact. The glass was probably added to this statue at the same time that the base was added to ‘Priestess Queen’.
ONE YEAR
* * *
Margot
‘Can you comment on why you’re here, Senator Cleary?’
‘President Moskalev has been ousted in a military coup from the country of which she was the leader chosen by a democratic process, Tunde. This is the kind of thing which the government of the United States takes very seriously. And may I say how delighted I am that you’re engaging the younger generation in this sort of important geopolitical issue.’
‘It’s the younger generation who’ll have to live in the world you’re building, Senator.’
‘You’re right, and that’s why I’m so thrilled that my daughter Jocelyn is visiting the country with me as part of the United Nations delegation.’
‘Can you comment on the recent defeat of the forces of the Republic of Bessapara by the troops of North Moldova?’
‘It’s a party, son, not a defence strategy meeting.’
‘You’d know, Senator Cleary. You sit on … is it five strategic committees now?’ He counts them off on his fingers: ‘Defence, foreign relations, homeland security, budget and intelligence. You’re quite the powerhouse to be sent to a party.’
‘You’ve done your homework.’
‘I have, ma’am. The North Moldovans are funded by the House of Saud in exile, aren’t they? Is this war with Bessapara a proving ground for an attempt to retake Saudi Arabia?’
‘The Saudi Arabian government was democratically elected by their people. The United States government supports democracy around the world and peaceful regime change.’
‘Is the United States government here to secure the oil pipeline?’
‘There’s no oil in Moldova or Bessapara, Tunde.’
‘But another regime change in Saudi Arabia might affect your oil supply, don’t you think?’
‘That can’t be a concern when we’re talking about the freedom of a democracy.’
He almost laughs. A little smirk peels across his face and disappears. ‘OK,’ says Tunde. ‘Fine. The United States would rather promote democracy than oil. OK. And what message does your attending this party tonight send about domestic terrorism back home?’
‘Let me be clear,’ says Margot, staring straight into Tunde’s camera, with a clear, level gaze. ‘The United States government is not afraid of domestic terrorists, or the people who fund them.’
‘And by “the people who fund them”, you mean King Awadi-Atif of Saudi Arabia?’
‘That’s all I have to say on this.’
‘And any comment on why you’ve been sent here, Senator? You in particular? With your connections to the NorthStar training camps for young women? Is that why you were chosen to come here?’
Margot does a little chuckle that seems entirely sincere. ‘I’m just a little fish, Tunde; a minnow, really. I came because I was invited. And now I just want to enjoy the party, and I’m sure you do, too.’