2199 Extinction

Extinction

The people whisper amongst themselves, they must be as curious as I am as to what the announcement is.

"Alright everyone, let's calm down." Malum pauses until the crowd is quiet again. "I'm sure you all noticed the little boy with me earlier."

He looks to his left and waves a female Talfarian over. She's holding a small toddler in her arms. She must be the Machin. She hands the child over to Malum, and the toddler wraps his little arms around his neck.

"I know you are all worried about the death of the Queen and who will assume the throne." he continues. "I want to assure you that the bloodline did not end with her. This little boy, here, this is the continuation of the Royal Line. All is not lost. This is her son. Her only child."

I'm suddenly hit with another memory. It comes on strong that I almost fall over backwards.

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"Why do I have to learn all of this anyways?" my nine-year-old self, asks.

"Because it's important. Because you are the future queen. Because part of being the Queen is understanding our traditions." mother says.

I roll my eyes but remain silent.

"Listen, tradition dictates that the oldest female child, of the Queen, takes on the position of ruler. That would be you."

"What if I don't want to be queen?" I ask.

"Don't want to be queen? Why would you not want to be queen?"

"Because maybe I'm no good at it. Maybe I'm tired of learning all of this stuff."

"Well then, the whole system would fall apart. The royal bloodline would end with me. There would be chaos, every Talfarian for himself. Is that what you want?" mother asks.

"No. But. Hm. What if you have another girl? Couldn't she take over, instead of me?"

"I guess she could. But let me ask you something. What if all I ever have is boys?"

I think for a moment. "Is that even possible?"

"Sure, it is. It's perfectly possible. I have a friend that has twelve children, all boys. And she's too old to have any more children."

"What would happen if you only had boys? What if I had been a boy instead of a girl?" I ask.

"Well, we could have made it work. There would, initially, be panic, but once the oldest married and produced a daughter, all would be forgiven."

"But why does everything depend on the girls and not the boys?"

"Because us girls carry life within us. The bloodlines begin and end with the life givers, us. Without us, the Talfarian race would die out. That's why girls are so important. Now, close your eyes and go to sleep. I know you are just trying to delay bedtime." Mother says leaning down and kissing my forehead.

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I'm back in the present in time to hear the panicked whispers of the people. The bloodlines can be preserved but not until my brother is old enough to marry. And law dictates that he cannot do that until he is twenty-one. That's nineteen years of uncertainty; if anything happens to him, before he produces an heir, our people would fall apart. Become nomads roaming the stars.

Malum calms the people, again, then continues. "That's not the only piece of news I have for you. The Queen was murdered. I had the royal doctors confirm it before she was prepared for The Burning. I have a source that tells me the Queen was meeting with a Copaie on the day of her murder. This source also tells me that the last one visiting with her was that Copaie.

But that's not all, Astra, former adoptive daughter of the queen, threatened to destroy both me and my son. She threatened to end the Royal Line. She escaped before anyone could lay their hands on her. My sources tell me she escaped to Soltu, to gather an army to attack and kill us all."

Malum is interrupted by the cries of horror coming from the crowd.

"But, as of two days ago, the entirety of the planet Soltu has been destroyed, the menace known as the Copaie have been wiped out. There are a few stragglers here and there, but not to worry, they too will be rounded up and their kind shall soon be extinct. Afterall, I am offering a twenty-five thousand credit reward to anyone who brings me a Copaie, dead or alive."

Saltu, gone? My birthplace? The planet of my inheritance? But that's impossible! I was going to go there. I was going to learn about my own people! My head starts to feel funny, and everything seems to be spinning. I grab the rock in front of me for balance.

"No!" I shout, coming out from behind the rocks. "Murderer!"

I can hear gasps of surprise from the crowd, and someone calling my name. I think it might be Amlican but I'm not sure. I can't think properly, my anger has gotten the best of me.

"First you murder my mother, and then you murder my people! An entire race dead and gone! You will pay for this! I'll make you pay for it!" I say, pointing my finger at Malum and walking towards him.

Malum takes a few steps back. "You can all see for yourself what I mean about her. She's dangerous. She probably set the Queen up, sent that Copaie to kill her."

"Why would I do that? I love my mother! I mean, loved my mother."

"How would I know the reasoning behind anything that a Copaie does? Maybe you did it with the mistaken thought that you would be able to take the throne. But you are not one of us. You never have been. And you never will be." Malum motions with his hands.

I feel a pair of hands grab each arm. "This isn't over, Malum!" I shout as the guards start dragging me off, stretched out in between them. I struggle and try to pull away, but the Dolokki guards are too strong, for even me to fight. But that doesn't prevent me from trying to pull away, and from loosing a shoe in the process.

"Oh, but it is, my dear. It is. Because in two days, you will join the rest of your Copaie buddies, in death."

I am drug back up the hill, towards the castle. I briefly catch the look of sadness in Amlican's eyes before the darkness swallows us. Poor Amlican, maybe in another lifetime, we could have married and had children. I am drug through the main entrance way, loosing the other shoe, still fighting the guards, down hall after hall, down the deep narrow stairway and thrown into a cell. The clinking of metal against metal, as the door slams shut, takes all of the fight out of me.