Page 51 of The Champion
I agreed. “Yeah, that’s a nice thought.”
“What would our country be like?”
“I would want all children to have a high level of education like here in France.”
“Okay. But I have to say that I like the Motlander way of adjusting the education to fit the learning style of the child.”
“Hmm… fine, then we could bring that part. I would want a parliament instead of a ruler. Democracy is a given to me, and so is equality between men and women. The fact that the ruler in the Northlands has to be male is stupid.”
Freya nodded. “I agree. For me it’s important that our country offers freedom for people to be who they want to be. Children should grow up with loving parents.”
“But how do you know all parents are loving? With the French way you have professionals to bring up the children.”
“Then we run mandatory parenting classes or something, but babies should be in the arms of their parents and giving birth shouldn’t be forced in the first place. Children will go to school and be with professionals during the day, but at night they should be cuddled by someone who loves them.”
I smiled. “It’s a nice dream to create our own country.”
“Yeah, it is.” Freya leaned against me. “All we need is a place close enough that you could fly in and work with your team on a regular basis. I’ll bet we could get people from all around the world to join us and create a beautiful new country, don’t you think?”
It was as if my brain came to a shrieking halt. “Wait.”
“What is it?”
“If the Northlands gets the southern part of Europe, then who says we couldn’t ask for another part? There are areas outside the safe zone that are clean enough to live in. It’s been discussed in the past if we should do settlements away from the safe zone, but it makes better sense to grow our country a little at a time.”
Freya lifted her head. “Why not have settlements?”
“Because it’s complicated. As you know, we don’t have many drones. Flying equipment to another part of Europe was never an option as it would be too expensive. Expanding the safe zone is the logical choice.”
“We could find an investor to get started. Indiana talked about having a resort in Europe; maybe he would be interested in helping us.”
“Yes, he owes me a favor.”
“Indiana does? Why?”
“Because I didn’t report Banni for leaving the country when they smuggled him to the Northlands.”
For a long moment, we stared at each other, my heart suddenly beating like the soundtrack to an action movie.
“We could be together, Victor.”
“But what about the rules of no relationships?”
“That’s a French rule and we’re not talking about building a French settlement. Our country would be an independent country in Europe. I’m imagining a place where we can take the best from all three countries in the world and make our own rules.”
“How big would the settlement have to be?”
“I don’t know. We would need to get others onboard and grow from there.”
The bubbly sensation in my stomach felt like the times I’d had a breakthrough in my work. “We’re on to something. I feel it.”
Freya moved closer. “This could be the answer we’ve been looking for. We could have a whole life together, Victor, and create something extraordinary.”
“I would need a lab. My work is important.”
“Yes, but until that part is up and running you can always fly in to work with your current team. In the Northlands people commute all the time.”
“What would we call the new country?” I asked with an excited smile.
