Page 1 of The Ruler
CHAPTER 1
Crisis Meeting
Pearl Pilotti
Kamikaze.
The word looped in my head and I tasted it.Kamikaze.
A Japanese word describing the pilots who sacrificed their lives for the greater good of the empire during World War II.
I had learned about the phenomenon in school; studied it with fascination just like I had studied martyrs throughout history.
Altruism.It always came down to altruism.
A phenomenon humans couldn’t put sole claim to, since animals sometimes sacrificed themselves for the benefit of the herd too.
And now it is my turn, I thought while listening to the troubled councilwomen debating what to do about the Nmen’s kidnapping of one of our priestesses.
Gathering all of the one hundred and one council members of the Motherlands was rarely done. We lived spread out across several time zones, and in my seven years serving the council, nothing had ever been urgent enough to require a crisis meeting like this one.
Normally, we dropped in and out of our virtual town hall according to our time zones and the scheduled agenda, and only something as formal as an inauguration of a new member would reach a hundred percent attendance from the council members.
“We cannot ignore this declaration of war,” Councilwoman Jenna Mcfulham argued firmly. “If we don’t show the Nmen our strength we’ll be under attack soon.”
More arguments followed; as I watched all the women dressed in the traditional red councilwoman’s cloak I wondered, like I had so many times in the past, what they wore in real life. For us to meet inside virtual reality was a practical solution, since we never had to leave our hometowns. With the mood-reader in front of me, my avatar gave an accurate representation of how I looked in real life, except for the cloak of course.
The one hundred women, of all ages, colors, and geographical locations, were speaking out of order and overpowering one another, making this not only the most disorganized meeting I’d ever experienced, but also the only meeting where people didn’t use soft voices and express themselves with gentle words.
“And what do you suggest we do? Surely you do not wish to start a war with the Northlands,” Patricia said.
We didn’t have countries any longer, the reason being that the Toxic War that almost destroyed our planet four hundred years ago had been started because of a “them and us” mentality. The Motherlands covered every inhabitable part of the world and was separated into ten areas named by color. The only exception encompassed the areas formerly known as Alaska and Canada, now called the Northlands. Our council didn’t rule over that area simply because after the war millions of men had refused to be ruled by women and gathered there. Eventually they were cut off from the Motherlands by a massive wall to protect us from their barbaric ways.
“So far we’ve seenoneabduction – but it could be the first of many,” Jenna pointed out with a loud voice. “Just like before the peace treaty.”
“How is it evenpossible?” Sheana Rene, a dark beauty, asked. “How did the Nmen cross the border without detection?”
“The borders are being searched for breaches as we speak,” a young council member interjected but she was interrupted by Juliana Hernandez, a more senior member who spoke with a brittle voice.
“The Nmen have kidnapped a priestess. Apriestess.It’s a breach of the peace treaty, and we can’t possibly sleep at night knowing that those monsters have one of our sisters! What if they abuse her? They are cannibals, and we should eliminate the threat,” Juliana demanded and her unprecedented hard tone made me blink as endless voices rose to respond.
“Order.” Chairwoman Isobel silenced all the members by cutting their microphones. She was both my mother and the most senior in the council, holding immense respect among all the members. “This is an unusual situation but we will handle it with calmness and logic as we do everything else. Force and violence have never been our way.” She pointed to Juliana, the woman with the shrill voice, to signal that she was giving her back the floor.
“And what about their demands?” Juliana asked, wringing her hands nervously. “Are we going to meet the Nmen’s demand and give them the woman they seek?”
“We couldn’t possibly,” Naomi Gray, a tall woman, objected. “If one of their women has escaped we should give her sanctuary here in the Motherlands. In fact, I suggest she come to live with us in the Purple Area.” Naomi spread her arms to make her point. “The Nmen willneverfind her here on one of our islands.” The Purple Area included what had previously been known as Australia, New Zealand, and the surrounding islands. Patricia had a point.
“What do we know about the North-woman who escaped?” Sheana asked, and that was my cue to speak up.
“The woman’s name is Laura Aurelius, and she passed into the Motherlands this Thursday around noon. As the closest councilwoman, I was notified immediately and gave instructions for her to be taken to a secure location here in the Green Area.”
“Councilwoman Pearl, did you speak to her?” Isobel asked me in a formal tone, even though everyone here knew I was her daughter.
“No, not personally, but I was told she had come with the desire to learn martial arts.”
“Martial arts…” The words were repeated as echoes among the women, and confused looks were exchanged.
“Yes, martial arts, and that’s why I arranged for her to be taken to the most highly praised sensei I could find.”
