Chapter 28
TWENTY-EIGHT
The vision of Fairwell rapidly bled away from us as we soared outward, over the ocean.
I stared back at it, through the rear window, feeling a strange sense of loss.
It wasn’t my home, but it was now the only familiar place I had in the world, and as we sped away from it toward the giant mass of waves, it felt closer to home than I’d thought possible.
Home was a strange thing. Once immovable, now something fleeting and relative.
I could only feel selfishly thankful that Jessie sat with me. I felt the tenseness of her knee next to mine, and reached out to touch it. She placed her hand on top of mine, providing some sense of calm.
Neither of us spoke, we just stared ahead at the vast universe of water unfurling before us. Even Anna and her brother, who acted as pilot for the journey, were quiet. It really did seem endless.
And, apparently, it could provide all the resources one needed to survive, if one just had the knowledge and ability to harness them. If only more people could have escaped to the ocean, perhaps many more would have survived the End. More than the elite founders of Fairwell.
I wondered if there were any other islands which contained survivors—islands which weren’t under Fairwell’s control and somehow had managed to survive and thrive on their own, the way we had in the jungle for centuries. Surely, there had to be others who had figured out life on the ocean as well?
Or had many of them also been victimized by plunderers? Hayden, from what I’d gathered, hadn’t had any solid base, just lived aboard ships for most of his life, I guessed stopping occasionally at docks. And even he, somehow, had been targeted.
How did the nomads even get their resources?
From what I saw of them, their equipment didn’t look nearly as advanced as Fairwell’s technology.
But still, where did they get it? Where did they build their machines?
Did they have any solid base at all to call home?
Surely, they must have places where they kept supplies and equipment.
They must have commandeered some kind of laboratory as well, in order to create that deadly gas.
They appeared to be organized. Which meant they must have some kind of leadership structure.
An entire organization set up just to tear other human beings down. Who could imagine forming such a mission?
Despite my doubts and unanswered questions about Fairwell, at least they had done some good. We were still alive. We weren’t starving. There was at least the hope that we could somehow make a better life for ourselves in the future.
It occurred to me then that targeting a force as toxic and destructive as the nomads surely ought to be the priority of Fairwell’s outreach department.
After all, the nomads were a huge cause for why people required Fairwell’s assistance in the first place.
They had been the reason we needed help, as well as why Hayden needed it.
Surely, if they were combatted and weakened, that would render a large portion of Fairwell’s outreach unnecessary?
It pained me to think about what ifs—but if the nomads hadn’t been around, or as strong and able as they were, none of this would have happened.
We could have continued to live in our home, our beautiful protected, sheltered home for centuries more into the future.
We wouldn’t have lost everything our founders had built.
We would still have our culture preserved, our precious library, our museum of artifacts and irreplaceable memorabilia, our homes, none of which were perfect but all of which we adored.
We wouldn’t have lost any of it.
There might be others who would need assistance, unrelated to the nomads’ activities, but surely if the plunderers were thwarted, it would solve a significant portion of the problem.
It would mean many like us could be left on their own, to continue living as they wanted to live.
Free to make their own rules and system of governance.
And Fairwell could focus only on those who were incapable on their own and desperately needed their society.
If the nomads were weakened or eradicated, it would also mean that the world would be a less dangerous place in the future, if somehow we wanted, and were able, to leave Fairwell.
I glanced at Anna and could no longer contain my thoughts.
“Excuse me. Can I ask a question?”
Anna looked back at me with a raised eyebrow. “Of course.”
Jessie also looked at me curiously.
“You’ve talked a lot about the concept of outreach, extending support to those who need it and so on, but I’m obviously still not clear on a lot of what it involves, including what your strategy is.
I guess a large part of your efforts must be directly channeled toward the root of the problem: the nomads? ”
There was a moment in which she paused to consider my words. She looked at me thoughtfully, and I was struck then for the first time how she resembled her father with that expression. Then her lips curved into a mild smile.
“You’re smart, Tani. Perhaps smarter than I gave you credit for.
I like that. And you’re right. That is a huge part of our efforts, especially given the increased activity of the nomads recently.
” She shifted in her seat a little, to be in a better position to observe me.
“Do you remember when we arrived at your colony? I recall I mentioned then that we had been tracking the group of nomads that attacked you, for some time. It’s how we were led to your base and were able to intervene. ”
I nodded slowly, vaguely recalling it, although I hadn’t gleaned much detail from that time given that my helmet had been leaking green gas into my lungs. I did remember that one of Fairwell’s hover ships had given chase to the nomads, driving them away.
“Truth be told,” she went on, “we have begun an all-out war with them.” She paused, as if for dramatic effect.
I gazed at her. “What do you mean by war, exactly?”
“I mean we now have a full-time team dedicated to discovering their bases. As soon as we find one, we move in, and… let’s just say, make it uninhabitable. The more we crush their resources, the less ability they will have to continue plundering others.”
“Why do you think they do it?” Jessie asked suddenly. I turned to see her with a disgusted expression on her face. “Why have they made a life out of hurting others?”
Anna exchanged a glance with her brother.
“We don't know exactly. To date, I have never met their leaders.
But I suspect the origins of their existence came from something like desperation.
They figured it would be easier to steal what they don't have.
We don't know where in the Old World they originated from, but perhaps it was easier to get access to machinery than food or other means of sustenance.”
“And that became their culture,” Gerard added.
“If you could call it that,” I said.
“In any case,” Anna went on, “they’re proving more difficult to track down than we originally anticipated.
They’re smart, and they have dedicated their lives to this behavior, so obviously they have gotten good at it.
But,” she added after a pause, “today we are headed for a hot spot.” She smiled slowly, in a way that put me at a strange unease.
“Our team located what we believe is the first equipment base we’ve found so far. That's where we're headed now.”
I stared at her. “Are you serious?” I’d had no idea what was going to happen today, but somehow I hadn't expected this kind of mission to come so soon.
“Yes,” Anna said. “It was a happy coincidence that the discovery coincided with your entrance to our leadership course. And I really think this will be the perfect way to get started. Don't you agree, Gerard?”
Gerard glanced at her and nodded. “Absolutely.”
“You’ll be thrown in at the deep end, as they say,” she chuckled. “But don't worry. Experienced people will be with you, us included.”
“Wh-Where is the base exactly?” Jessie asked.
Anna’s gaze returned to the front window, and then she glanced at the time on her e-ring. “You'll see,” she said. “These little pods cover ground much faster than the hover ships. We’ll be there in less than an hour.”