Joan Ascends

Chapter 38 Change is here

After my friends exit the car, Officer Ben drops me off at an apartment not far from the Space Needle.

"Justus's father said that this building is secure, and I checked it over myself. I'll also be patrolling the neighborhood and keeping an eye out for any suspicious activity," Officer Ben assures me. "Apartment 108 will only open for your retinal scan."

"Thank you."

I hobble inside the dingy apartment complex, and find the apartment. When I step inside, I find Jo in the sparsely-furnished living room, watching a vid on her tablet.

Her eyes meet mine and she jumps to her feet. "You survived."

"I'm like a cockroach. Hard to kill," I quip, clutching the back of a chair for support.

Jo helps me settle onto the couch and then goes to the little kitchenette in the corner of the room to grab me a drink and bagel from the ancient dispensers.

I gratefully sip at a sweet drink and nibble on the bread. My stomach is in knots from going so long without much food.

"You don't have to talk about what happened if you don't want to," Jo says. "Do you need any immediate medical attention?"

I shake my head. "I've been through worse."

"Flo will get you in the incubator as soon as we can sneak you over to the Chrysalis. Right now it's buzzing with people. The movement has more volunteers than we can handle. Evolved and Throwback."

My eyes flicker to Jo's tablet, and I recognize the scene on screen. It's live footage from my funeral. My hands shake as I remember my vision of this moment all those weeks ago. I never imagined that I would be alive to watch it happening in real time.

Jo turns up the volume on her tablet as Harriet makes her way to a podium on the stage. She's pale, and her face is tear-streaked. Looks like we both made good use of those acting classes at Seattle Secondary.

"Thank you all for coming today," Harriet says, her voice low but resonant. "We're here to honor our friend and hero, Joan Fasces. Joan was a person who was determined to pull this world into the future—even if it meant dragging some of us kicking and screaming. She fought for equality before she was misclassified as a Genetic Replicant, she continued that fight during her time as a Throwback, and I know that if she were alive now she'd fight even harder knowing that she was Evolved after all.

"But ultimately it isn't Joan's Status that matters—it's her character. So many people espouse honorable values, but Joan lived them. She was the first to put herself in danger to protect others, and the last to give up when she was fighting for what she believed in. That's why the best way we can honor her is by doing better for our city and our country.

"This day might mark the end of Joan's life, but it is only the beginning of her legacy. Because this is the start of a better, more just world for us all. Joan can't fight any more battles for us. So, we'll have to fight for her legacy together."

"Turn it off," I rasp, wiping tears from my eyes.

Somehow, I know that Harriet's words on stage were for me, as much as they were to further the cause we've been fighting for. In spite of my mistakes, my best friend still sees me as the best version of myself. And because of her, I have the opportunity to make that version a reality.

~ ~ ~

A couple of hours after my mock funeral, people arrive at the safe house in small groups, starting with my parents. I let Mom and Dad hug me for as long as they want, and for once I don't compare the warmth I feel in their arms to what I felt with Addie.