The Girl With Green Scales: A Gen M Novel

Chapter 10: The School for the Genetically Superior

Darkness descends as the hovercraft skims across Restitution River. I mistakenly think we're headed to Jupitar City. Instead, the hovercraft veers north of the cluster of steel and glass buildings; their lights shine in the distance as the vehicle slows then stops alongside a stone pier.

"Welcome to Jupitar Island," Golden Boy says.

My welcome is quieter than my sendoff. A lone woman stands on the quay. Given how important every Manifestation is, I'd assumed my arrival would be a bigger deal. I walk down the hovercraft's retractable ramp and step onto the dock. I look at Golden Boy. He leans on the hovercraft's railing and gives me a thumbs up. I guess this is as far as he goes.

I muster my courage and join the woman waiting for me. In the glow of an overhanging light, she assesses me as I assess her. She's dressed in bright orange with matching lipstick and curly, clownish hair. Her face is powder white; the skin is pulled unnaturally tight, giving her an ageless quality.

"Lilianne," she says in a crackling voice. She makes no move to hug or shake hands.

"Are you my new mother?" I ask.

"I'm your adaptationist. Haven't they," she gestures toward the boroughs, "told you anything?"

"Just this," I say, showing her the rumpled Manifestation pamphlet.

She rolls her eyes. "Is that still in circulation? I've told them to update it, but they never listen. Then, when you children arrive completely unprepared, who has to sort you out?"

The silence drags.

"You?" I offer.

"Exactly! Well, second thing first. I'm Ms. Karuthers. I'm charged with your reducation."

"Reducation?" I ask.

"Yes, re-education," she says.

She walks. The fans on the back of the hovercraft start up, and it pulls away from the dock. My scuffed heels clatter as I hurry after Ms. Karuthers.

"There's a lot for you to learn," she says, putting her hands about my shoulders to force me to keep pace. "About the laws on Jupitar Island, how the adoption process works, how to fully Manifest your powers, and, of course, dating. You'll need a license before engaging in the latter, which won't happen until your genes have settled. By then I expect you to have completed the relevant study modules."

"Modules for ...?" my words trail off.

She looks at me candidly with her orange gaze. "Mating."

My cheeks burn. I try to reach for the wisdom jar in my mind, but my brain's frozen.

We get to the end of the dock and walk along a pathway of interlocking brick with weeds poking through. Floating globes light up as we approach. One burns out and thuds to the ground.

"Lilianne, Supergenic dating is complicated," Ms. Karuthers explains. "Certain power combinations can be fatal during copulation or pregnancy. Once your chromosomes have stabilized, we'll screen the database for potential partners. Your testing records indicate you identify as female, which conforms with your birth gender, and you are preferentially attracted to boys of your own age. Is that right?"

"Yes," I say, not sure where this is going.

"All of that may change as your body and brain develop. Or not. This is your on-the-go," she says, handing me an electronic device that fits into my hand. I was never allowed to touch Amma's or Appa's.

"Your roommate will give you a tutorial on you how to use it," Ms. Karuthers says. "The sooner the better. Now let's see what we have to work with. Your hand, please."