Page 140 of The Ruler
“Oh?”
“I should have listened to you. It’s just very hard to imagine until you experience it yourself.”
“You’re right.” I leaned my head against hers with a knot in my chest. “And there’s still a lot that I’ll never learn to understand or appreciate.”
“Like their music,” my mother suggested with a telling smile.
“Yes, and their hunting, swearing, and violent tournaments.”
She nodded solemnly. “Do you think you can change them?”
“Yes,” I said softly. “I think wearechanging them, just like they’re changing us.”
“But those barbaric ways, how do we get them to give them up?”
I gave her an innocent smile. “Remember when I spoke in the council and I suggested allowing a group of selected Nmen to visit the Motherlands and break down prejudices?”
“Yes, I remember.”
“I think that’s what it takes. They have this warped view of us and think we operate without free will like an ant farm or brainwashed chickens or something. We need some of them to come and learn to see the beauty in our way of doing things.”
My mother looked worried.
“Don’t you think the idea of Nmen in the Motherlands is less scary now that you’ve met some of the men? You liked Finn, right?”
My mother nodded. “Oh, Finn’s a charmer for sure, and very funny in a crude sort of way.”
“See, if we let him and a handful of other guys experience the Motherlands that would help break down boundaries. Maybe let Finn do an interview in the media and let Motlanders ask him questions.”
“I like that idea.” My mother swung her head toward the school building. “If this becomes a success, we could send a film crew to follow the work you do here and inform Motlanders about the project.”
“Give us six months,” I said, feeling hopeful that by then we would have integrated the children into one strong group.
Boulder’s drone landed and we craned our heads curiously to see who Boulder was bringing this time.
Christina got out and reached her hand up to help one girl at a time jump down on the ground. I recognized them from their files. Five girls between ten and fifteen stood nervously close to Christina and looked around.
As agreed, Archer, Magni, and Marco, the new assistant, were to keep in the background while Kya, my mother, and I were the girls’ official welcome committee.
“Let’s go say hello,” I said and let go of my mother to greet the girls.
“Welcome, may peace surround you.” I went directly for the tallest girl in the group because I was curious about Shelly Summers, a girl of fifteen who was apparently a genius.
“May peace surround you,” she said politely and looked from me to my mother. “You’re Councilwoman Pearl and Chairwoman Isobel.”
“That’s right, and you’re Shelly Summers,” I said softly.
“My mother has spoken highly of you both.”
“Thank you – we hold much respect for your mother as well.”
“This is my sister Rochelle.” Shelly nudged her sister forward and Rochelle shyly greeted us.
The two girls didn’t look alike. Neither of them were very pretty but Rochelle had clear baby skin while Shelly suffered from a bad case of acne and some seriously bushy eyebrows. My conclusion was that Shelly wasn’t vain or focused on her looks, because eyebrows could be trimmed and acne was easily treated if you were willing to dedicate the time. This girl, it seemed, would rather study – and I could relate.
We greeted the other three girls. Mila was an adorable blonde ten-year-old with big dimples and sparkling blue eyes. She was a little reserved but I had no doubt she would steal the hearts of all of us quickly.
Paysey was Mila’s opposite in looks with her brown eyes and dark hair, but the two of them had already bonded on the journey here and were holding hands.
