Duluth / A Keeper of the Lost Cities Fanfiction

Duluth / 21

What stood in front of Sophie and Dex was large and took up the majority of the floor space. As they approached, Sophie could make out some kind of barrier on the edges of the square object.   Inside there was a projection of hilly terrain, with buildings and structures nestled among rivers and trees. The buildings were actually quite underwhelming, many of them ugly. It took Sophie a second to realize that they weren't Elvin. 

They were human buildings. 

Surrounded by walls. 

"What is this?" Sophie immediately questioned, turning to the far corner of the room, where the twelve councilors stood, some shocked by her interruption. But most of them looked... nervous? Or pitiful? Maybe reluctant? At that moment, Sophie wished she had Keefe's ability to read the room and to predict the reaction to Sophie and Dex's presentation. 

But the answer didn't come from the councilors; it came from behind her. 

"A new enclosure in the Sanctuary," an oily voice spoke with a smirk weaved through the statement. Sophie whirled around. Dex let out a curse. 

In the opposite corner, Fintan stood with his hands wrapped in a sparkly glow, acting as a kind of handcuff. He straightened as Sophie's gaze landed on him, giving her a smile that made Sophie gag. "So good to see you again, Sophie." He turned back to the councilors and said, "I told you I knew where she was." 

Sophie was prepared to see Fintan, but now that he was in front of her, her mouth dried out and any words that she had prepared for the group floated away. It looked like Oralie was suffering from the same situation; she was wearing a dark blue dress with her hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. She didn't even look like Oralie.

"Sophie," Bronte let out. "What are you doing?" 

Sophie glanced down at her watch.

51:48

"Is this what I think it is?" Sophie asked, getting closer to the model. "Are you going to move humans to the sanctuary?" 

"Nothing has been decided yet-" 

"This isn't enough room for seven billion people." There were hundreds of buildings, maybe thousands, but that still wasn't enough.

"You're proposing to murder most of the planet," Sophie deadpanned to Fintan, who was beginning to look more and more gleeful. 

"Not murder," Fintan corrected. "Euthanize. What is murder is what humans are doing to this planet. War and unending violence towards each other and the planet is unacceptable. We all share Earth, but all humans are concerned about is who is at the top of their hierarchal systems. It's time that we stepped in." 

Sophie whipped her head back to the councilors. "You're listening to a criminal who killed Kenric talk about violence? He has no room to talk." 

Councilor Terik stepped forward, joining Sophie and Dex at the model. "We understand the hypocrisy that Fintan is presenting. But we can't continue to ignore the crimes that humans are committing against this planet. Soon the damages done won't be able to be undone, and then we will all pay the price." 

Sophie looked at the model again, picturing her human family living in one of those structures. If they made the cut. "Humans may commit atrocities, but you can't ignore the other end of the spectrum. Dex?" 

49:02

Dex pulled the device he had tweaked out of the bag, adjusting it while Sophie pulled out the developed pictures that they had grabbed before leaving Duluth. She walked up to the councilors, ignoring her pounding heart. "Take these," Sophie gave them all stacks of pictures, moments that she had captured at the park and around the city.