Callisto 2.0 by Susan English (e novels to read online .txt) 📕

milling around, expressions tense, everyone talking at once, and more were filing in—all the women who worked at Arcadia. Spotting Yasmin standing on the other side of the amphitheater seating, I 251

made my way over to her.

“Yasmin, what’s happening?”

She reached down and hugged me tightly, then released me. “I have no idea.”

Then the outer door to the metro station opened, and half of the Shambhala crew came in. I pushed my way through the crowd and over to the door. Naomi was there, and Andrea and Hadley, Jordyn, Kamana, Quinn, Raven, Mei Xing, and Tanya. I grabbed Naomi’s arm.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” said Naomi.

“We don’t know anything,” said Tanya, “we were just told to get on the shuttle.”

“Where’s the rest of the crew?” I asked. “Where’s Olivia? Where’s Pavani?”

“They’re taking the next shuttle, they should be here any minute,” said Jordyn.

“What about Diana and Izumi?”

“They’re on the second shuttle also,” said Kamana.

“I saw something on the news—” I began, but then the door opened again, and the rest of the orbital lab crew filed in, along with Diana and Izumi. I caught Olivia’s eyes.

She shrugged and shook her head. Then I saw Pavani. She was looking directly at me, her usually stoic expression replaced by concern and confusion. I stared back at her.

I heard Diana’s voice through the sound system, “Please, everyone, take a seat.” I turned toward the stage. Diana and Izumi were standing side by side at the podium.

By now, the park was full of women. I walked to the first row of chairs, directly in front of the stage, and sat down next to a woman I didn’t know. My heart was pounding in my ears. Someone brushed my shoulder as she sat down in the empty chair next to mine—it was Pavani.

“Calli, what’s this all about?” she whispered.

I shook my head.

Diana cleared her throat, and the amphitheater grew silent. All eyes turned to her.

“We’re all here right now, in this room together, because our little Foundation, of at most three hundred women, including here and on the Earth, has come under attack.”

She glanced at Izumi, then continued. “According to the World Court, we are the biggest threat mankind—and I am using the term mankind in a literal sense—has ever faced.” She shook her head. “If you look at human history, it’s the same story over and over. Like the ancient proverb says: those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. But it seems to me that no matter how much history we learn, it has always been one step forward, two steps back. There’s an overwhelming resistance to human progress. What did Einstein say? Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. ” Izumi touched Diana’s elbow. “Sorry, I suppose I’m rambling. Yes, we are a menace, because we are a model for the world, a way of living which threatens the very fabric of human society.”

Izumi continued. “It’s not the Foundation per se that is under attack, despite the criticisms, it is Diana and me. The World Court has deemed us terrorists, and there is a 252

battalion of soldiers on the way to the Moon as we speak to take us into custody.”

Shouts of protest filled the room. Diana raised her hand, and the voices subsided.

“The charges are crimes against humanity. The claim is Izumi and I financed and developed the warp drive with the sole purpose of wiping out all life on Earth, and the punishment for our alleged actions, if we’re found guilty, is severe.”

There was a collective gasp among the women in the room. I stood up. I couldn’t remain seated—the shock and outrage were too overwhelming. Diana looked straight at me and motioned with her hand for me to sit back down. Her eyes were sad but so full of love. I felt my heart breaking as I lowered myself to my seat. How could anyone in their right mind consider these two beautiful, peaceful, loving women to be a threat to humanity? They were humanity’s greatest hope.

It was I who had developed the warp drive—Hadley and I. This was all my fault.

And I was the one who told Amélie. If I hadn’t, then maybe all this wouldn’t be happening right now. I felt a surge of guilt shoot through me. Then I remembered Diana saying I was a pawn in a much larger game. No, this wasn’t about me. I focused on Diana’s words.

“We had hoped for a different outcome and didn’t expect things to come to a head so quickly,” said Diana. “We held back on publishing the warp drive research out of the fear that it could be twisted and used against us, but now it doesn’t matter. We’ve just released the complete specifications of the warp drive to the entire world.” Diana smiled at Izumi, a tired smile, but, as with the one she had bestowed upon me, full of love.

Izumi scanned the room. “We understand this is a shock for all of you. According to our sources, the troops will arrive tomorrow night, on a military vessel capable of massive destruction. So, we must act now. Diana and I have decided to go, to leave the solar system, probably forever.”

“We always had the vision of colonizing another planet,” said Diana. “Undoubtedly there are many of you who already came to that conclusion.”

I spotted Sasha standing behind the back row of seats. Her eyes locked on mine and she gave me a curt nod. I turned back to face the stage.

Diana gave us a wan smile. “Though we couldn’t imagine it would happen in our lifetimes, the distances are too great. We envisioned a generational ship.” She shrugged.

“We had so many plans. But now, with the warp drive, it’s a whole new game.”

Izumi looked at us, her expression soft. “You were chosen to work for the Foundation because of your expertise in your respective fields, but all of you are remarkable, innovative women, with the innate ability to overcome adversity, to work in a team, to create and cherish community, traits that will be invaluable in the new colony. The future is unknown, and there are no guarantees. We can only imagine what the challenges will be.”

Diana shifted slightly—and I turned my eyes back to her. “The Foundation will continue under the guardianship of Izumi’s mother, Akari, and she has agreed to come 253

live here on Arcadia. I know none of you have met her, but she has been the primary financier for the entire operation. Izumi is from the Nakamura family.”

There was a murmur of voices. The Nakamura family made its name by revolutionizing the hovercar and was the wealthiest family on the planet. No wonder the Foundation had an abundance of funding—the family owned almost ten percent of the world’s wealth.

“Your jobs are secure, or as secure as possible,” Izumi said, and once again the room grew silent. “The Foundation will remain dedicated to the same principles, and Nalah will continue with her the leadership responsibilities here on Arcadia.” I watched as a petite, dark-skinned woman stood and lifted her hand, then sat back down. “But for those of you who choose to do so, we invite you to join us.”

The ramifications were mind boggling. I couldn’t even begin to process them.

Pavani’s hand slipped into mine, and I squeezed it tightly.

“We considered staying to continue to fight this in the World Court,” said Diana.

“Our lawyers have been battling for months, but we now believe it is a lost cause, and there’s too much at stake, too much to lose. We have many enemies in high places. Our sources from Earth tell us troops are also on the way to destroy Shambhala, and that,”

Diana shook her head, “is unacceptable. The facts are clearly on our side, but since when has public opinion been swayed by facts?”

“But why didn’t you tell us?” Marta’s voice filled the amphitheater. She was sitting a few rows back from me, arms crossed tightly against her chest. “Why didn’t you tell me?

You know me, we’ve been friends since grad school. Twenty years.” I could see the pain in her face even from where I sat. She released her arms and scrubbed her face with her hands. Then she looked directly at Diana. “I love your vision, you know that, and I’ve always supported you. Why so many secrets? Why didn’t you trust me?”

I turned back to the podium to look at Diana, who laid her hand on her chest. “I’m so sorry, Marta. It was my decision not to say anything, to protect you all.” She paused, glancing at Izumi, who reached out and took Diana’s hand in hers. “But I see now I made a mistake. I’ve made so many mistakes, decisions I will regret till the day I die.”

Voices filled the room, everyone talking all at once. I stared at the two women standing directly in front of me.

Diana looked at Izumi and said in a low voice, “The biggest mistake of my life was trusting your brother, Hiroki. I’m so sorry, Izumi.”

“It’s not your fault,” whispered Izumi fiercely. “He’s a monster and he wants to destroy us. The spying, the lawsuit, the reverse-discrimination smear campaign, it wasn’t enough for him. He wants to see us burn.”

If I hadn’t been sitting in the first row, if I hadn’t been paying attention in that exact moment, I would never have heard them, would never have heard the name. Hiroki—

the horrible man who had manipulated Amélie, who wanted inside information on the work we were doing on Shambhala—he was Izumi’s brother! My mind was reeling, struggling to put the pieces together.

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Diana lifted her hand, and the room was silent once again. “We had a plan, but then everything got so intense. There’s no time now, but later we will have the chance to talk, I promise. If you come with us.”

I tried to concentrate on what Diana was saying, but a memory popped unbidden into my mind: Amélie’s description of Hiroki—his almost godlike beauty, a perfect human specimen, but so warped and twisted on the inside. Then another memory: my first day on