The Significant (69 page)

      
“Have him come see me,” Dr. Busen said.
“I know all calls are being traced and recorded now, so I’ll see him
face-to-face. We’ll figure out a location to move it and I’ll run tests. I can
handle the medical side if the other Elites can handle the programming side.”

      
“And you’ll find a way to shut her down
and keep me alive?”

      
“Yes,” Dr. Busen said, nodding. “We will
find a way.”

      
“Just promise me something.”
 

      
“What?”

      
“If her system gets weaponized again,”
she started slowly, “don’t worry about saving me. I would rather die than
witness that again.”

Chapter
Thirty-Six

      
One more month passed and Kailynn was
convinced that the world was falling apart. Part of the support for Gihron from
the Ninth Circle planets was withdrawn. While everyone was sure that meant
there would be a victory for Tiao, it was not easily won. The Gihoric army gave
their all in fighting Isa’s military. Since there were so many robotic troops
in the war, Gihron has no qualms about programming their ships and troops to
crash onto the surface of the planet, taking out several large buildings in the
process.

      
When they began attacking the surface of
Tiao, the Alliance planets quickly sent aid to Tiao, shocked at the brazen
attacks.

      
Surrounded by the Alliance ships and
facing the guns from Tiao, Gihron seemed trapped.

      
Kailynn was glued to the sofa in the safe
house every day. She slept on the couch, ignoring the bedroom entirely,
sleeping between news broadcasts. Her two-minute conversations with everyone in
close confidence with the Golden Elite were not nearly enough to stay as
informed as she wanted, which left her edgy and worried.

      
For one week, she could not reach anyone.
She got through to Rayal for ten seconds, just long enough for him to tell her
that things were in a crucial stage with the war and that he would call her as
soon as he had more information.

      
But Rayal never called her back.

      
Instead, Isa appeared at the safe house
one day.

      
“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”
Kailynn gasped, kissing the Elite as she walked into the safe house.

      
“I sneaked out of the capital,” Isa
chuckled, leaning down and kissing Kailynn again. “I got a later start than I
wanted,” she started, walking further into the safe house, taking Kailynn’s
hand and leading her to the sofa once more. “There will be a special broadcast
today. Come, sit down.”

      
“Special broadcast?” Kailynn repeated.

      
“Concerning the war.”

      
“Did we win?”

      
Isa used the remote to click on the
television and then took Kailynn’s hand, pulling her down to the couch as she
nodded with a smile.

      
Kailynn gasped and quickly joined Isa on
the couch, though she ignored the discussions about the upcoming message from
the Syndicate. She grabbed Isa’s collar and pulled her close, kissing her
passionately. She pushed the Elite back to lie on the couch, kissing her tenderly
as the Elite held her close.

      
When the announcer turned the broadcast
over to the Syndicate Building, Remus’ face appeared on the screen.

      
“Good afternoon, Tiao,” he started. “I am
broadcasting to the planet to announce that Gihron has conditionally surrendered
to Tiao.”

      
Kailynn felt relieved to hear the words,
her body relaxing as she rested over Isa, her eyes closing briefly at the
announcement.

      
“We will be meeting Gihron at the
negotiating table to discuss the terms of this surrender,” Remus continued. “As
always, the terms of this surrender will be made with the well-being of both
Tiao and Gihron in mind. These terms will be announced upon agreement.”

      
Remus continued to thank the people who
fought for Tiao, as well as the allies that sent aid. While he was talking,
Kailynn turned to Isa.

      
“What terms do they have for surrender?
He said it was conditional.”

      
Isa hesitated before speaking.

      
“All the terms are negotiable, as
always.”

      
“What terms?”

      
“They want us to stop the production of
Elites and turn the government over to humans,” Isa said quietly.

      
“Are you going to do that?” Kailynn
asked, not sure how she felt about the demand. The Golden Elite sighed heavily.

      
“I have not yet decided,” she admitted.
“But I am considering it.”

      
“You are?” Kailynn gasped, shocked.

      
“The life of an Elite is no type of
life,” Isa murmured. “And I don’t want to put another being through what I went
through when I was inaugurated. I don’t want another Elite beaten to death
because of rebellion. I don’t want another Elite to be tortured and tested to
prove that they’re created properly. It’s cruelty at its darkest.”

      
Kailynn pressed her hand to Isa’s face.

      
“What would happen if you stopped Elite
production?”

      
“Hard to say,” she admitted. “But I would
not completely turn over everything to humans immediately. I would have to
create a plan for slow integration to be sure that everything continued running
smoothly. However…”

      
“What?”

      
“Well, there might be another power shift
soon, anyway,” Isa said slowly, smiling thinly at Kailynn. The younger woman’s
eyes went wide once more. “To be honest, Kailynn, with the war over, and being
in the negotiation stage now, it’s very likely that Venus will focus entirely
on bringing me to heel.”

      
“What do you mean?”

      
“This is going to be a very delicate
balancing act,” Isa said. “I’ve also declared war on Venus. She is still
heavily-infected, much to the Syndicate’s annoyance, since so many things have
to be manually computed now. And I plan to make some changes.” She took a deep breath
and her arms tightened around Kailynn. “Venus is going to do everything in her
power to keep me from upsetting the system.”

      
“How can she do that?” Kailynn pressed.
“You already have her infected.”

      
“She’ll probably try to take me down
physically,” Isa said. “She’ll start attacking with force again. And for all of
Dr. Busen’s efforts, she has found occasion to work around his work and put me
down for a few days.” Isa closed her eyes. “I am hoping that you’ll support me
through this time. It’s going to be a very difficult time for all of us. I’m
going to need to carefully wrap up everything with Gihron and then I’m going to
turn my attention to taking down Venus.”

      
“…you’re really going to do it?” Kailynn
breathed.

      
“Yes.” Isa nodded. “It has been too long
as it is. It should have been done long ago.”

      
Kailynn stared at Isa, feeling awed anew
by her strength and determination. She could hardly remember the time when she
blindly hated the Golden Elite and the Syndicate. As she stayed draped over the
Elite, looking into her powerful eyes and feeling the words stirring excitement
in her belly, she felt as though she had the most powerful being in existence
under her, and the thought excited her.

      
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
Isa asked with a small smile.

      
“I’m just…” Kailynn shook her head,
smiling. “You really are amazing, Isa.”

      
Isa tenderly kissed Kailynn, smiling
against the younger woman’s lips.

      
“This brings me to my second
announcement,” Remus started. Kailynn turned to the screen, confused. Isa took
a deep breath, preparing herself. She knew, even before the words were spoken,
what would happen.

      
“This war has been very taxing on our
planet, on our resources, and on our economy,” Remus said. “Due to these
difficulties, Golden Elite Isa and the Syndicate have agreed that we must
provide every opportunity for our planet to build stronger than before. In
order to do so, we need a stronger foundation on which to build. For that
reason, we are offering citizenship to all Trids that wish to work with our
military building operations and our reparations committee on repairing the
damage from the war with Gihron.”

      
Kailynn sat upright, her eyes wide, glued
to the screen, her breath caught in her throat.

      
“Holy shit…” she choked.

      
“We understand the concerns of the public
at allowing Trid non-citizens to become legal citizens of Tiao,” Remus
continued. “However, all Trids will be afforded a medical exam, given a PIM
chip, offered schooling opportunities to reduce the illiteracy rate, and housing
within the southern districts of Anon. Other programs will allow for Trids to
travel to other portions of the planet to work in these operations.”

      
Kailynn turned to Isa, who was watching
Kailynn’s reaction with a small smile on her face. Kailynn let out a shuddered
breath and leaned back down to Isa, kissing her passionately, small tears
gathering on her lashes.

      
“As Trids become citizens, they will be
informed of the laws under Venus and will be expected to conform to those laws.
They will be subject to full penalty of the law should they not assimilate into
Tiaoian society,” Remus concluded. “This program will take effect on the
seventeenth of next month. In that time, all of Trid will be informed of this
offer.”

      
Isa flinched and backed away from Kailynn,
her face twisting slightly as she tried to move out from under the former
Significant.

      
“What is it?” Kailynn asked. When Isa
tried to wriggle out from under Kailynn, her face still contorted in
discomfort, she stood, allowing the Elite to turn over and go to her hands and
knees on the floor. “Isa?”

      
“Kailynn,” Isa started, trying to get to
her feet, “I’m sorry.”

      
“What? What are you sorry for?” Kailynn
asked quickly, starting toward the Elite, worried. “Are you alright?”

      
“Don’t touch me,” Isa said quickly,
backing away from Kailynn, her hand over her heart as she continued to cringe.
“Shit…” she choked. “You can’t touch me, Kailynn. Wait for this to be over.”

      
“For
what
to be over?” Kailynn hissed.

      
Isa let out a pained groan and sank to
her knees. She started curling forward, her hand twisting in the clothing over
her heart. Her breath came out in labored pants around clenched teeth. Kailynn
watched in horror as Isa curled forward until her forehead was pressed into the
floor.

      
Suddenly, Isa let out a cry of pain,
falling to her side and rolling onto her back, her eyes tightly closed and her
teeth set against screaming. Her back bowed off the floor and her body began
convulsing violently. Isa screamed in agony as she writhed against the cold
floor.

      
“Isa! Isa! What’s wrong?!” Kailynn cried.
She tried to start forward, but Isa let out another scream and a high, whining
feedback sound came from the alarm system in the house. The lights flickered,
surging with a buzzing noise. The television flickered on and off rapidly.
Kailynn looked around in horror, not sure what was happening.

      
Isa contorted, freezing in positions
occasionally, every muscle in her body tensed, her veins bulging under her
skin, her hands clawing at her chest. The Elite let out pained screams in
sporadic bursts.

      
Kailynn started forward once more,
kneeling to turn the Elite over, but Isa saw her hands coming closer and she
quickly shied away.

      
“Don’t!” she barked.

      
“What am I supposed to do?!” Kailynn
yelled, frightened tears rising to her eyes.

      
Isa did not respond, her body snapping
forward as a choked cry escaped her throat that turned into a loud wail. The
lights surged to life, blinding Kailynn briefly until a loud pop cracked the
air and sparks flew down from the light fixtures.

      
Isa screamed, her throat raw and the
sound causing her head to nearly explode.

      
Kailynn crawled over to her phone,
grabbing it shakily and, with shaking fingers, pressing the number for Rayal.
She shoved the earpiece in, adrenaline coursing through her body angrily.

      
“Kailynn,” Rayal said. “Is she with you?
Did you hear—”

      
“Rayal!” Kailynn cried, the tears choking
her. “Something’s wrong. I don’t know what to do!”

      
“What do you mean? What’s wrong?”

      
“I don’t know!” Kailynn sobbed. “Isa’s
screaming and having a seizure or something on the floor. The lights are
popping, I don’t know what the fuck is happening!”