There is simply no substitute for the smell of fire and meat. Smells… like hickory. Time for the soldiers of the Salvation War, veterans of the Battle of Mendocino, the Battle of Kyoto, Operation Boner and the Battle of Lake Geneva to savor victory and being still alive and free. The Barbie was on!
Mother’s bots did indeed arrive with goodies. Cases of Mother’s +15 Malbec, from Mother’s Private Vintage Reserve in Green Acres. Each defender in the Battle of Mendocino got a bottle. The EWoks did a tasting & approved. They knew their wine.
Family Trumbull, with their newly adopted sons Izzy and Ishmael, stood bantering. Stuffing their faces. Joined by Ginzu & Ewoks. Zed’s wife Judith sat in a chair while the girls felt her baby bump for a kick.
Izzy said goodbye to his dad, promising to stay in touch and to come visit Gilead in a few weeks. Gilead and Jerusalem swapped their strictly enforced Constitutions with Kyoto’s. Izzy will be safe, his rights scrupulously observed, strictly enforced by Mother.
It wasn’t all joy and light. In the week following the Battle of Mendocino, Aid rescuers in Jerusalem found all the torture chambers, dead bodies of snuffed-out people, mass grave, and Things of an even darker nature. Mother quickly identified the guilty and humanely executed them. The rest of Zeke’s co-conspirators have taken over cleaning Jerusalem, renamed SomeWhere, from the now free slaves. A myriad of relief organizations were busy healing the citizenry of their trauma. Not all of them will ever recover. Mendocino will give them sanctuary so they can live the rest of their lives in the company of nature.
Mother and Unity invited all citizens of Gilead to watch the videos of the NoWhere downfall and what happened to its people, in graphic detail. Attendance was strictly enforced.
Officials from other Plexes, along with thousands of bots and drones, were on hand to convert Gilead into a Democracy. The officials also watched the Videos.
Gilead is also paying for Kyoto’s reconstruction. They could hear the sound of destruction and construction in the city center. The same bots that built the cylinder were rebuilding Lake Geneva. It would take 2 months, an eterninty to any AI, let alone one that identifies as a young teenage girl.
Trumbull put his once-heaping plate away, leaned back and regarded his family. “So, what did we learn from the Jerusalem skuffle?”
No answer. Everybody was busy eating. “Nothing? Seriously?”
Marge said, “When Trumbull ask one of his bullshit rhetorical questions, answer with your moufs full”. There was agreement there.
Judy said, “Always keep your Apple Pie stock up!”. Definitely agreement there.
Trumbull took another bite of Apple pie, eyes rolling.
Nick put the corn on the cob down. “You decide what your religion is, it does not decide who you are”. A very profound statement. Marge pointed at her chin while looking pointedly at Nick, Nick picked off the piece of corn that was stuck there and ate it.
Marla licked cole slaw off her lips. “Human life is more valuable than ambition, unless you are the ambitious one”. Also good.
Mother said, “I learned what it’s like to be a single mom whose husband is in Prison, and my daughter is writing a Country song about it.”
Unity then sand that song like Patsy Cline, “My-y Geneva Home is blown and my-y man left me all alone…”… and, it was pretty good! They all applauded.
Judy said, “Bob is attacking his 2nd plate yet he is lean!”. Bob said, “A week ago I was doing combat parkour and then had to run away from a nuke. Plus keeping up with you guys…”, and stabbed cultured Salmon into his mouth.
Izzy shrugged and attacked his 2nd slice of Apple pie. Mouth full, he said, “Wha wha fuh wha”. Everybody laughed. Ishmael said, I think he meant, be true to thy self. Then you can be true to others.”. Izzy nodded. Ishmael playfully punched his shoulder. “Actually”, Izzy said, serious, “I learned Salvation is not always what it appears to be, sometimes the parent needs to learn from the child, and finally, I gave up the keys to the kingdom and found paradise.”
“Hear! Hear!”
Trumbull said, , “We live in space, we lost people on old Earth. We are managed by AI. We fight robots, run from palm-sized nukes, do sexy spy stuff-“, helooke at Marla munching on a sausage,”yet, for all that Buck Rogers, the people at this table are what matters, to fight for, to live for”.
Marge said, “I have an announcement”. “More pies in the oven?”, Nick said. Marge looked at Nick for a moment and said, “You speak more than you know”. Everyone laughed. “But you’re close. I’m pregnant.”
They whooped, laughed, cried, hugged, kissed. Having all learned, life goes on.
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