Gall Force Fan Fiction ❯ The Day After ❯ And The Eternal Story Goes On... ( Epilogue )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Frederick_Herrio 
Anime/Manga: Gall Force Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Romance / Sci-fi | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 09.02.2004 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.2K | Visits: 612 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Gall Force Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Romance / Sci-fi | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 09.02.2004 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.2K | Visits: 612 | Status: Completed
Gall Force: The Day After
By Fred Herriot
450 Clare Avenue South, Welland, Ontario L3C 3B3 Canada
gorgo@timebomb.on.ca
**** **** ****
Based on the "Gall Force" series created by MOVIC.
**** **** ****
EPILOGUE - AND THE ETERNAL STORY GOES ON...
The week after the final battle between Solnoid and Paranoid.
The Gall Force returned to Nova Scotia after a night of celebration on Tahiti. The United Nations were quick to foot for things like hotel bills and food, which was good since many forgot to bring money. Fortunately, the natives who spotted the Solnoid equipment left helter-skelter on the beach believed a Hollywood movie production had come to town. With their presence accepted with stride, the Solnoids and Terrans unwind, daring to believe that after so long, the bitter war is finally over. What better way to personify that peace than the relationship forming (reforming?) between Born and Patty.
After they set foot on Canadian soil again, both Cattys proceed to New York to meet their mother. The sad news is relayed from everywhere else: all the Catty androids were struck with the virus the rebels transmitted. However, with their neuroprocessors intact, hope is there that somehow, they could be allowed to live again. Denise remains in Canada, praying that somehow, the woman she fell in love with will come back to her safe and sound.
* * *
A week later finds Denise Schultz in New York. Escorted by Len to the front entrance of the United Nations central building, they are met by a beautiful middle-aged woman with lavender hair and gold eyes dressed in a stylish power suit. "You must be Denise," she grasps the Canadian's hand. "I'm Catty Nebulart."
Denise blinks, staring at the Solnoid leader. "Wow! I can see where your daughters got their good looks from!" is the first thing that comes out of her mouth.
Nebulart flushes as she guides Denise into the famous tower behind her. "Come. Catharine's this way."
Denise blinks, then remembers that her Catty had taken the Terran name "Catharine." "It'll be strange to call her 'Cathy' instead of 'Catty.'"
"Well, the Catty from the first 'Starleaf' insisted on taking the name 'Catty Nebulart II,'" the Solnoid leader explains. "I have no problem with that. They are all my children. To have one acknowledge that even now makes me happy."
"How's Catty doing?" Len inquires. "She took her boyfriend's death real hard, you know."
"She's fine," Nebulart's eyes are hooded as she thinks about the pain her daughter is experiencing. "There is some sort of consolidation from this. When she was a disembodied android mind and Dawn still a Paranoid, they cyberlinked frequently, sharing their thoughts and dreams. In a sense, a part of Dawn will always live on in Catty."
"Thank heaven for that," Denise sighs. "If I lost my Catty, I'd kill myself."
Nebulart smiles at her as they come to a door. "Then you're in for a treat, Denise." Opening the door, she ushers Denise in. "Wait here. I'll get her."
Len and Denise walks into a small meeting room. Turning on the lights, the waitress turns...to see a human figure encapsuled in a storage chamber in one corner. Horror crosses her face as the person in there becomes familiar. "Catty!!!"
Now standing alone, her eyes closed, the last Catty android remains deathly still as Denise walks up. She is dressed in a white jumpsuit. Looking for some way to punch through the glass, Denise finds a door handle. Opening the chamber, she reaches out to Catty's face. Horror crosses Denise's face as she feels the skin. Room temperature. "No...oh, no!!" Denise backs away, tears in her eyes. "Catty, Catty, how could they do that to you...?!"
"I'm right here, Denise," a voice calls out from behind her.
Denise spins around to see Catty standing there, a light smile on her face. Like the deactivated android, she is dressed in a white jumpsuit. "Catty...?" Denise takes a hesitant step back.
Catty reaches over to grasp her hand. "I suggest that you get used to the idea of calling me 'Cathy,' at least in public."
Denise looks at the hand. She feels the heartbeat in the wrist, watches the skin change colour as Catty put pressure on her hand. But there was not the unyielding strength she exhibited as an android. What was going on here? Catty smiles. "I decided I no longer wanted to live my life as an android. Commander Dawn brought a solution with him when he came to Earth. It was intent just for his Catty, but we saw no harm in using it for ourselves."
Denise blinks as she takes in that information. "You mean to say...you're human?! Fully organic?!"
"Yes," Catty/Cathy nods. "Like you, I now have the ability to procreate. Also like you, I will age...and eventually die."
"Doesn't that scare you?!"
"It does, a bit," the Solnoid draws the Terran into her arms. "But as long as I have you, I believe there'll be no problems."
Denise wanted to laugh, to cry, to jump for joy. All that utters from her breath is, "Catty, I love you!"
They kiss...
* * *
"Well, nice to see you two back together again," Nebulart comments as Len, Catty and Denise join the other living physical double of the Solnoid leader in her office later.
"Thanks, Captain," Denise nods, staring at the woman beside her. Given the presence of the other Catty, she might as well start calling her lover "Cathy." "Oh, what about the others?!"
"They are now human as we speak," Nebulart relaxes. "All of them had taken the precaution of shielding their minds from viruses when they started working on the Internet. It did not protect their bodies when the rebels unleashed their virus, but their minds were intact when their sentiences were transferred to pure-organic bodies. For many, it was a good thing. Some are married, many others have boyfriends and the occasional girlfriend. They want to have children, too."
"Have you ever considered marriage, Captain?" Len inquires.
The Solnoid shrugs. "I've been quite busy aiding my people in their resettling on Earth to consider seeking a mate of my own, Leonard. But, if the chance and the right sort of person does come, I will be more than happy to consider it."
"I hope you do soon, Mother," Catty looks at her. "Unlike male Terrans, female Terrans have a fixed time by which they could bear children."
The Solnoid leader reaches over to cup Catty's chin. "And why should I have children, precious, when I've already got them?"
"Oh, Mother," the younger Solnoid is on the verge of tears.
Nebulart smiles, then turns to Cathy. "The reason I called you here is that I believe the time has come for me to consider a successor as the leader of the Chaos Foundation. I could not consider anyone else more worthy than both yourself and Catty."
The sisters gasp in disbelief at their mother's words. "Why, I...Mother, this is so sudden," Cathy shudders.
"I have to echo Cathy's statement," Catty adds. "Why us?!"
"Because the recent incident has proven to me that there are many among us who are dissatisfied with my position as Leader," Nebulart responds. "Perhaps it is time for a fresh perspective as we continue to integrate ourselves in Terran society."
Catty and Cathy look at each other. "Mother, I am honoured that you would consider us to replace you," the former pats her heart, "...but could you grant us a while for us to consider our own place? I am still in mourning," she nudges the black band around one arm, "...and I'm sure Cathy has to spend some time with her lover so they could get used to the fact that both are now human and could enjoy an emotionally satisfying life together."
"Yes, that is true," Cathy nods.
"I understand," their mother nods. "Take your time. But do consider it. I realize some may look upon you as mere copies of myself, but I trust you above anyone else. I could not think of the Foundation being left in better hands than either of yours."
Catty and Cathy look at each other. Like it or not, their mother knew them. They were hooked. What better chance to finally complete their work on the Species Unification Project than to help their fellow Solnoids adopt to Terran society? But this bait was barbed. "We'll keep in touch, Mother," Cathy leans over to kiss her mother's cheek.
* * *
"Mother is stupid!!" Barbara Scott exclaims as she meets with a group of ex-Cattys in a downtown New York restaurant later. "To actually consider one of us to succeed her?! Anyone still with hostile intentions would consider us no better than she!"
The other women nod. All save for Catty and Cathy had altered their looks as androids, and had chosen to maintain them when they became human. However, the only deference to their mother were the gold eyes. The only people without gold eyes are Terrans such as Denise and Len, who came to join the meeting. "Maybe it's time for the Chaos Foundation to go the way of Chaos itself," Denise muses.
"To disband the organization?" Josephine Valmont, a Catty from Paris, stares at the waitress. "Is it still too soon?"
"I think it is," Diana Faulkner, from Liverpool, nods. "But, I dare say some would believe that ridding ourselves of the Foundation would force those still with anti-Terran feelings to reconsider."
"To grow up, finally," Lisa Tanner sips her cola.
"Exactly," Diana nods.
"But is that enough, Diana?" Mieko Suzuki, from Tokyo, interrupts. "I cannot help but think of the Greek legend of Pandora and her box. Our coming to Earth is much like Pandora's box being opened. Now that our people are here, our knowledge will become a part of Terran life. Without the Foundation, there will be no control for ambitious Solnoid...or Terrans, not to mince words...to cause all sorts of trouble."
Several other women nod reality at Mieko's warning. "And what happens when we grow old and die?" Chelsea Waller, Nebulart's personal assistant, adds. "Dreams, ideas, beliefs are information, just like hard facts. They will be transmitted from the current generation to future generation. Can we train our own offspring to carry on our task?"
"Do we have the right to do that?" Lisa adds.
Cathy sits back. They had come to a crossroads. Becoming human was a dream all her sisters had shared. Now that they were human, they realized they may not fulfill their responsibility to the Species Unification Project, just by the most basic of problems confronting humans: aging. "No, we do not," she shakes her head. "I for one want to put my past life behind me, live with the woman I love and enjoy a life where I don't have to worry about slaving myself to the Project. I believe we must trust our basic nature. Terrans, while they do have evil people among them, are basically good...and by our living with them, their nature will eventually disseminate to the Solnoids, not to mention their descendants."
"No one can place perfect trust in an organic institution, sister," Catty objects. "Chelsea has a point."
"So what could we do?" Lisa sighs.
Silence falls over the table as the once-androids contemplate the problem before them. Cathy looks at her hands. Human hands, with blood and adrenaline coursing through them. Cells living and dying, the cycle of life and death replaying itself within her as it did all over Earth. The Eternal Story, her mother called it. Life to death, death to new life. How could they give Earth an agent who can elevate herself above that basic fact of existence? To form a cult of watchers was dangerous. Like religions all over Earth, there would come those fanatics who would twist the basic beliefs they espoused for their own ends. That was no solution.
Denise leans over to whisper, "Your old body."
Cathy blinks. Of course! It was the most elegant solution of all. She knew what an android was capable of doing. She was just one...and unlike her sisters, it was in good shape. She looks to Catty. Her sister nods, having overheard Denise's suggestion. Cathy faces the others. "I believe there is a possible solution to our problem," she announces.
The others stare quizzically at her...
* * *
"That was brilliant," Cathy giggles as she and Denise make their way to the jet which would take them back to Halifax. "I can't believe the others went along with it!"
"Thank you very much," Denise kisses her girlfriend's cheek. "At least, you know that she'll always do the work."
The two make their way to their seats, then relax. Watching the jet taxi its way towards the take-off point, the once-android stares at the skyline of New York City. "One day, this will be the capital of a unified Earth," she muses.
"Give us a while before we think of that, Catty," the waitress leans against her. "Finally, we can go back to peace and quiet."
"How about marriage?"
Denise nearly falls on her face. "What did you just say?!" she stares incredulously at Cathy.
The lavender-haired woman reaches into her pocket and pulls out a small case. Inside are two engagement rings. "Denise, will you marry me?" Cathy proposes as she slips one of the rings on her lover's finger.
Denise stares at her. "I'd marry you in an instant, but I have to remind you that there are few places on Earth which recognize same-sex marriages."
"Canada is one of them, remember?" Cathy smiles. "And one of my sisters is linked with a group of Sensualists who took over one of your splinter evangelical movements and transformed it into a place where all religions, all beliefs are welcome. They do same-sex weddings, too."
Denise looks down. She wanted to live the rest of her life with this wonderful woman beside her, so what was wrong with her? "I do," she huskily sighs, leaning over to kiss her lover.
"Save the 'I dos' for when we get there," Cathy growls.
Both women laugh as the jet takes off...
* * *
Catty's eyes open.
The android performs an immediate self-diagnostic as air fills her lungs. All systems come on line, returning nominal readings. She slides her hands over her body. Stepping out of the programming chamber, she notices that clothing and identification have been prepared.
It would be strange being alone, she muses, dressing. All the Catty androids who survived Sigma Narse had placed a little of their own minds in her, the parts of their minds which remembered their lives as observers for the Species Unification Project. Now, they had become mortal, willing to live their lives to their conclusion, whatever Fate had in store for them. She would outlive the last pure-born Solnoids. But did that really matter now?
Ahead of her was an unending road. Pandora's Box, the part of her which was Mieko Suzuki warned, was open. The technology and the knowledge to make it possible was unleashed. Those who would end the Eternal Story in a flash of death and destruction were out there. Perhaps not born or created at the present time, but they would always be there until the day humanity accepted as faith that war, that killing, that hatred itself was not the final solution to resolve differences. Until that day came, Catty had a mission. Humanity had come a long way. It still had a long way to go.
Preparing herself, Catty opens the wallet. Her identification declared her to be Catty Ray Caraway, an independent journalist. Press credentials and an American passport are also there, along with a list of contact numbers for Chaos Foundation offices around the world. Noting the cheques and monetary notes, she walks out of the Foundation's offices in the United Nations, proceeding on her eternal journey...to write her own Eternal Story. Crossing the plaza, the android stops, then looks up to one office. Watching her go is Catty Nebulart. Catty sighs, tears flowing down her cheeks, as she waves good-bye. Her mother, also crying, calls out. While the noise doesn't penetrate the glass, the message is clear.
I love you.
Turning, Catty walks to the curb, hailing a taxi. A cab comes up. The driver is Pakistani, his tongue one of many languages in Catty's communications subroutine. "Good afternoon," she smiles.
Surprised that this pale-skinned woman with the curiously shaded hair could speak his language, the driver turns his hack onto the street. "Where to, miss?"
"Where?" Catty sighs, looking at the skyline of New York. "Anywhere," she smiles to the driver. "I want to see everything. I've got all the time in the world..."
*** Never The End ***
By Fred Herriot
450 Clare Avenue South, Welland, Ontario L3C 3B3 Canada
gorgo@timebomb.on.ca
**** **** ****
Based on the "Gall Force" series created by MOVIC.
**** **** ****
EPILOGUE - AND THE ETERNAL STORY GOES ON...
The week after the final battle between Solnoid and Paranoid.
The Gall Force returned to Nova Scotia after a night of celebration on Tahiti. The United Nations were quick to foot for things like hotel bills and food, which was good since many forgot to bring money. Fortunately, the natives who spotted the Solnoid equipment left helter-skelter on the beach believed a Hollywood movie production had come to town. With their presence accepted with stride, the Solnoids and Terrans unwind, daring to believe that after so long, the bitter war is finally over. What better way to personify that peace than the relationship forming (reforming?) between Born and Patty.
After they set foot on Canadian soil again, both Cattys proceed to New York to meet their mother. The sad news is relayed from everywhere else: all the Catty androids were struck with the virus the rebels transmitted. However, with their neuroprocessors intact, hope is there that somehow, they could be allowed to live again. Denise remains in Canada, praying that somehow, the woman she fell in love with will come back to her safe and sound.
* * *
A week later finds Denise Schultz in New York. Escorted by Len to the front entrance of the United Nations central building, they are met by a beautiful middle-aged woman with lavender hair and gold eyes dressed in a stylish power suit. "You must be Denise," she grasps the Canadian's hand. "I'm Catty Nebulart."
Denise blinks, staring at the Solnoid leader. "Wow! I can see where your daughters got their good looks from!" is the first thing that comes out of her mouth.
Nebulart flushes as she guides Denise into the famous tower behind her. "Come. Catharine's this way."
Denise blinks, then remembers that her Catty had taken the Terran name "Catharine." "It'll be strange to call her 'Cathy' instead of 'Catty.'"
"Well, the Catty from the first 'Starleaf' insisted on taking the name 'Catty Nebulart II,'" the Solnoid leader explains. "I have no problem with that. They are all my children. To have one acknowledge that even now makes me happy."
"How's Catty doing?" Len inquires. "She took her boyfriend's death real hard, you know."
"She's fine," Nebulart's eyes are hooded as she thinks about the pain her daughter is experiencing. "There is some sort of consolidation from this. When she was a disembodied android mind and Dawn still a Paranoid, they cyberlinked frequently, sharing their thoughts and dreams. In a sense, a part of Dawn will always live on in Catty."
"Thank heaven for that," Denise sighs. "If I lost my Catty, I'd kill myself."
Nebulart smiles at her as they come to a door. "Then you're in for a treat, Denise." Opening the door, she ushers Denise in. "Wait here. I'll get her."
Len and Denise walks into a small meeting room. Turning on the lights, the waitress turns...to see a human figure encapsuled in a storage chamber in one corner. Horror crosses her face as the person in there becomes familiar. "Catty!!!"
Now standing alone, her eyes closed, the last Catty android remains deathly still as Denise walks up. She is dressed in a white jumpsuit. Looking for some way to punch through the glass, Denise finds a door handle. Opening the chamber, she reaches out to Catty's face. Horror crosses Denise's face as she feels the skin. Room temperature. "No...oh, no!!" Denise backs away, tears in her eyes. "Catty, Catty, how could they do that to you...?!"
"I'm right here, Denise," a voice calls out from behind her.
Denise spins around to see Catty standing there, a light smile on her face. Like the deactivated android, she is dressed in a white jumpsuit. "Catty...?" Denise takes a hesitant step back.
Catty reaches over to grasp her hand. "I suggest that you get used to the idea of calling me 'Cathy,' at least in public."
Denise looks at the hand. She feels the heartbeat in the wrist, watches the skin change colour as Catty put pressure on her hand. But there was not the unyielding strength she exhibited as an android. What was going on here? Catty smiles. "I decided I no longer wanted to live my life as an android. Commander Dawn brought a solution with him when he came to Earth. It was intent just for his Catty, but we saw no harm in using it for ourselves."
Denise blinks as she takes in that information. "You mean to say...you're human?! Fully organic?!"
"Yes," Catty/Cathy nods. "Like you, I now have the ability to procreate. Also like you, I will age...and eventually die."
"Doesn't that scare you?!"
"It does, a bit," the Solnoid draws the Terran into her arms. "But as long as I have you, I believe there'll be no problems."
Denise wanted to laugh, to cry, to jump for joy. All that utters from her breath is, "Catty, I love you!"
They kiss...
* * *
"Well, nice to see you two back together again," Nebulart comments as Len, Catty and Denise join the other living physical double of the Solnoid leader in her office later.
"Thanks, Captain," Denise nods, staring at the woman beside her. Given the presence of the other Catty, she might as well start calling her lover "Cathy." "Oh, what about the others?!"
"They are now human as we speak," Nebulart relaxes. "All of them had taken the precaution of shielding their minds from viruses when they started working on the Internet. It did not protect their bodies when the rebels unleashed their virus, but their minds were intact when their sentiences were transferred to pure-organic bodies. For many, it was a good thing. Some are married, many others have boyfriends and the occasional girlfriend. They want to have children, too."
"Have you ever considered marriage, Captain?" Len inquires.
The Solnoid shrugs. "I've been quite busy aiding my people in their resettling on Earth to consider seeking a mate of my own, Leonard. But, if the chance and the right sort of person does come, I will be more than happy to consider it."
"I hope you do soon, Mother," Catty looks at her. "Unlike male Terrans, female Terrans have a fixed time by which they could bear children."
The Solnoid leader reaches over to cup Catty's chin. "And why should I have children, precious, when I've already got them?"
"Oh, Mother," the younger Solnoid is on the verge of tears.
Nebulart smiles, then turns to Cathy. "The reason I called you here is that I believe the time has come for me to consider a successor as the leader of the Chaos Foundation. I could not consider anyone else more worthy than both yourself and Catty."
The sisters gasp in disbelief at their mother's words. "Why, I...Mother, this is so sudden," Cathy shudders.
"I have to echo Cathy's statement," Catty adds. "Why us?!"
"Because the recent incident has proven to me that there are many among us who are dissatisfied with my position as Leader," Nebulart responds. "Perhaps it is time for a fresh perspective as we continue to integrate ourselves in Terran society."
Catty and Cathy look at each other. "Mother, I am honoured that you would consider us to replace you," the former pats her heart, "...but could you grant us a while for us to consider our own place? I am still in mourning," she nudges the black band around one arm, "...and I'm sure Cathy has to spend some time with her lover so they could get used to the fact that both are now human and could enjoy an emotionally satisfying life together."
"Yes, that is true," Cathy nods.
"I understand," their mother nods. "Take your time. But do consider it. I realize some may look upon you as mere copies of myself, but I trust you above anyone else. I could not think of the Foundation being left in better hands than either of yours."
Catty and Cathy look at each other. Like it or not, their mother knew them. They were hooked. What better chance to finally complete their work on the Species Unification Project than to help their fellow Solnoids adopt to Terran society? But this bait was barbed. "We'll keep in touch, Mother," Cathy leans over to kiss her mother's cheek.
* * *
"Mother is stupid!!" Barbara Scott exclaims as she meets with a group of ex-Cattys in a downtown New York restaurant later. "To actually consider one of us to succeed her?! Anyone still with hostile intentions would consider us no better than she!"
The other women nod. All save for Catty and Cathy had altered their looks as androids, and had chosen to maintain them when they became human. However, the only deference to their mother were the gold eyes. The only people without gold eyes are Terrans such as Denise and Len, who came to join the meeting. "Maybe it's time for the Chaos Foundation to go the way of Chaos itself," Denise muses.
"To disband the organization?" Josephine Valmont, a Catty from Paris, stares at the waitress. "Is it still too soon?"
"I think it is," Diana Faulkner, from Liverpool, nods. "But, I dare say some would believe that ridding ourselves of the Foundation would force those still with anti-Terran feelings to reconsider."
"To grow up, finally," Lisa Tanner sips her cola.
"Exactly," Diana nods.
"But is that enough, Diana?" Mieko Suzuki, from Tokyo, interrupts. "I cannot help but think of the Greek legend of Pandora and her box. Our coming to Earth is much like Pandora's box being opened. Now that our people are here, our knowledge will become a part of Terran life. Without the Foundation, there will be no control for ambitious Solnoid...or Terrans, not to mince words...to cause all sorts of trouble."
Several other women nod reality at Mieko's warning. "And what happens when we grow old and die?" Chelsea Waller, Nebulart's personal assistant, adds. "Dreams, ideas, beliefs are information, just like hard facts. They will be transmitted from the current generation to future generation. Can we train our own offspring to carry on our task?"
"Do we have the right to do that?" Lisa adds.
Cathy sits back. They had come to a crossroads. Becoming human was a dream all her sisters had shared. Now that they were human, they realized they may not fulfill their responsibility to the Species Unification Project, just by the most basic of problems confronting humans: aging. "No, we do not," she shakes her head. "I for one want to put my past life behind me, live with the woman I love and enjoy a life where I don't have to worry about slaving myself to the Project. I believe we must trust our basic nature. Terrans, while they do have evil people among them, are basically good...and by our living with them, their nature will eventually disseminate to the Solnoids, not to mention their descendants."
"No one can place perfect trust in an organic institution, sister," Catty objects. "Chelsea has a point."
"So what could we do?" Lisa sighs.
Silence falls over the table as the once-androids contemplate the problem before them. Cathy looks at her hands. Human hands, with blood and adrenaline coursing through them. Cells living and dying, the cycle of life and death replaying itself within her as it did all over Earth. The Eternal Story, her mother called it. Life to death, death to new life. How could they give Earth an agent who can elevate herself above that basic fact of existence? To form a cult of watchers was dangerous. Like religions all over Earth, there would come those fanatics who would twist the basic beliefs they espoused for their own ends. That was no solution.
Denise leans over to whisper, "Your old body."
Cathy blinks. Of course! It was the most elegant solution of all. She knew what an android was capable of doing. She was just one...and unlike her sisters, it was in good shape. She looks to Catty. Her sister nods, having overheard Denise's suggestion. Cathy faces the others. "I believe there is a possible solution to our problem," she announces.
The others stare quizzically at her...
* * *
"That was brilliant," Cathy giggles as she and Denise make their way to the jet which would take them back to Halifax. "I can't believe the others went along with it!"
"Thank you very much," Denise kisses her girlfriend's cheek. "At least, you know that she'll always do the work."
The two make their way to their seats, then relax. Watching the jet taxi its way towards the take-off point, the once-android stares at the skyline of New York City. "One day, this will be the capital of a unified Earth," she muses.
"Give us a while before we think of that, Catty," the waitress leans against her. "Finally, we can go back to peace and quiet."
"How about marriage?"
Denise nearly falls on her face. "What did you just say?!" she stares incredulously at Cathy.
The lavender-haired woman reaches into her pocket and pulls out a small case. Inside are two engagement rings. "Denise, will you marry me?" Cathy proposes as she slips one of the rings on her lover's finger.
Denise stares at her. "I'd marry you in an instant, but I have to remind you that there are few places on Earth which recognize same-sex marriages."
"Canada is one of them, remember?" Cathy smiles. "And one of my sisters is linked with a group of Sensualists who took over one of your splinter evangelical movements and transformed it into a place where all religions, all beliefs are welcome. They do same-sex weddings, too."
Denise looks down. She wanted to live the rest of her life with this wonderful woman beside her, so what was wrong with her? "I do," she huskily sighs, leaning over to kiss her lover.
"Save the 'I dos' for when we get there," Cathy growls.
Both women laugh as the jet takes off...
* * *
Catty's eyes open.
The android performs an immediate self-diagnostic as air fills her lungs. All systems come on line, returning nominal readings. She slides her hands over her body. Stepping out of the programming chamber, she notices that clothing and identification have been prepared.
It would be strange being alone, she muses, dressing. All the Catty androids who survived Sigma Narse had placed a little of their own minds in her, the parts of their minds which remembered their lives as observers for the Species Unification Project. Now, they had become mortal, willing to live their lives to their conclusion, whatever Fate had in store for them. She would outlive the last pure-born Solnoids. But did that really matter now?
Ahead of her was an unending road. Pandora's Box, the part of her which was Mieko Suzuki warned, was open. The technology and the knowledge to make it possible was unleashed. Those who would end the Eternal Story in a flash of death and destruction were out there. Perhaps not born or created at the present time, but they would always be there until the day humanity accepted as faith that war, that killing, that hatred itself was not the final solution to resolve differences. Until that day came, Catty had a mission. Humanity had come a long way. It still had a long way to go.
Preparing herself, Catty opens the wallet. Her identification declared her to be Catty Ray Caraway, an independent journalist. Press credentials and an American passport are also there, along with a list of contact numbers for Chaos Foundation offices around the world. Noting the cheques and monetary notes, she walks out of the Foundation's offices in the United Nations, proceeding on her eternal journey...to write her own Eternal Story. Crossing the plaza, the android stops, then looks up to one office. Watching her go is Catty Nebulart. Catty sighs, tears flowing down her cheeks, as she waves good-bye. Her mother, also crying, calls out. While the noise doesn't penetrate the glass, the message is clear.
I love you.
Turning, Catty walks to the curb, hailing a taxi. A cab comes up. The driver is Pakistani, his tongue one of many languages in Catty's communications subroutine. "Good afternoon," she smiles.
Surprised that this pale-skinned woman with the curiously shaded hair could speak his language, the driver turns his hack onto the street. "Where to, miss?"
"Where?" Catty sighs, looking at the skyline of New York. "Anywhere," she smiles to the driver. "I want to see everything. I've got all the time in the world..."
*** Never The End ***