Feast

Chapter 1 - Present Day, 2026

Honor Westin gazed out the window of the electric E.W. train. The view had been almost nothing but sunflower fields for the last hour. A huge push of the sustainability aspect of the Change involved creating beauty where destruction had lived. So every wasteland, every meat farm and every deserted building had been done away with and replaced with something that stimulated the environment. The new train had intentionally been set through the fields, in place of what was a rarely used interstate bypass. The bypass had become less popular as it offered views of abandoned farming buildings and an eerie smell leftover from the decades of slaughtered animals, with the spoiled remains being thrown into the land and creeks nearby.
But the way it all looked now, you would have no idea what its history was, a mere decade ago being a place of death and decay, and now a beautiful pasture of life and color. In moments of reflection like this, Honor felt wildly proud of what they'd accomplished.
She closed her eyes and  enjoyed the way the train hovered above the tracks, making her feel weightless. It was an especially nice feeling, as she didn't often feel weightless. Honor constantly wondered if the Change had really been for the good of the Nation. The beauty of endless new sunflowers was hard to argue with, but of course it didn't stop there. 
It was obvious that things weren't better before the Change, but had they swung too hard the other way? Did they overshoot, and now it was just a matter of time before the new government would be overrun and things would be at risk of swinging back to an even more extreme version of how they were before? She felt herself grow heavy, even on the buoyant train, and started to stare down at her ring; she wore it every day even though she was no longer president. It was a constant reminder of who she was, what she stood for. Even if sometimes she questioned all of it herself.
She twisted it around her middle finger. It was supposed to have been fitted for her left ring finger, as a sign of her being married to her country, her heart belonging to her people. Of course she was able to marry if she wanted to, and she'd taken on a houseman after the Change. Not necessarily because she'd wanted one but to demonstrate the new way of life in the Nation.
She always thought of the ring as a beautiful way of labeling and honoring the presidency, and even in her moments of doubt, she would look down and admire the white-gold weaving, overlapping band, and the red, white and blue diamonds, all lab-made, not mined, of course. She was meant to have it resized for her ring finger, but her campaign manager, Jules, had given everyone a laugh when she said, 'Although, this way she could flip off any man she wants, and let them see right away who she is.' And then what started as a joke, led to her never having it resized, and proudly carrying it on her middle finger, with a cute little gesture to go along with it.
As she slipped it off, and laid it into her right palm, closing her fist around it, she -
'Madam Westin,' her assistant's assistant said. She was new, and young. Only someone who didn't know Honor at all would so formally call her 'Madam Westin'.
'Please, Honor,' Honor smiled and hid her annoyance.
'Absolutely Ma- Honor,' her assistant's assistant said. Stephanie, according to her nametag, was gritting her teeth. She was in the presence of Honor Westin acting like a total fool.
'Can I help you?' Honor maintained her perfect smile. More lines showed around her eyes and mouth than when she ran for office, the first time and the second time. It had all started only ten years ago, but it felt like a lifetime apart from where she was now. Normally this much change doesn't take place for one person, so no wonder it had worn on her.
'Yes, absolutely, Honor. We're approaching in just five minutes. I'll need to get you ready as our pick-up will be meeting us, and they're eager to get on the way as soon as we pull in.'
Honor already felt tired. 'Here we go, she thought.' She slid her ring back on her left middle finger and composed herself.