(Hospital Cruz de California Cruz de Brightside, 09:00 in the morning, January 10, 2019)
The door closed when the last one behind Director Addams, passing through the crowd of extra chairs brought to his office for the department heads. Addams said nothing, checking the sheet his assistant had given him until he came to sit at his table; silence dominated the room while Addams took a sip of his coffee cup, turning off the computer before beginning the fateful meeting scheduled.
"I'm glad to have seen that you all signed the privacy clause. I understand that everyone here is aware of the situation we are facing" The doctors nodded extremely seriously as Harald Addams expected of them given the situation. "Well, then we can start the conversation; know that I have disconnected all the cameras to be able to keep all this silent. The person who is going to enter through the door has come in strict professional silence, so I expect maximum cordiality back to him"
After writing a message on his phone, Addams turned to remain silent looking at the window, waiting for three knocks on the door in an annoyed expression. Without waiting for Addams to give permission, the less beloved person of Brightside entered the office removing a discreet hat and bowing to those present.
"Good morning to all, ladies and gentlemen" The surprise of the appearance of General William Black was greater among the attendees, who greeted him without raising their voice too loudly. "As you will know who I am, I will save that time so that you can return as soon as possible to your personal tasks. My brother Harald has already-"
"You call me brother, Black? You and Casc decided to stay with father, so legally you decided to separate yourself from mother and me" Director Addams turned his chair, getting up and walking to face the General. The resemblance between the director Addams and General Black had been commenting long and hard in the hospital since the first appearance of this on television, so having confirmation of the reason for the resemblance was appreciated for all present.
"Addams, please ..."
"You are right, today there is no reason to discuss decisions of the past and less with a war hero like you. Gentlemen, since we are going to live under this dome until the scientists from abroad discover what we already know, I have considered that the best option was to contact my little brother to be able to deal with this issue in the most discreet way without informing the authorities" Going back to sit in his chair, Addams moved to the side letting his brother take control of the table for a moment. "Gentlemen, as I swear on stage, my duty as the head of the dome is to protect the city of Brightside above all things. That includes about our own government as my superiors charged me with the fear that our inept president could unleash the collective hysteria with some of his statements or decisions.
That said, I know you've found out something about the NEPF virus ... or rather, its authentic nature" With a gesture from Addams the manager of Medical Management, Leo, stood up holding a report in his hands.
"Since the day the Department of Health asked us for the blood tests of the entire population, I prepared to secretly select a small group of doctors and pharmacologists to investigate on our own that mysterious virus. I dont think we've discovered anything that the scientists assigned by the Department havent already figured out ... but we've recorded everything in this report" Leo took a step forward, handing the report to General Black who began to read it over.
"Of course-" Addams pulled his brother out of his reading, forcing him to attend. "This would be until the beginning of the year ... precisely between day 31 and day 1, remember? It was the day of your great makeup speech enclosing us under a dome"
"Addams, please!-"
"OK, I'm going to stop once and for all. As you may have read, all this virus would be a mystery to us if it werent for ... you know what? We have invited the doctor who has documented everything and can explain it better. Go ahead, Dr. Theo"
Much more nervous than Theo had foreseen the previous night (completely awake in anticipation of the meeting), the gynecologist rose quickly as a flash in a position perhaps too military to be in front of a general. "Sir, yes ... sorry, I'm quite nervous. You will see ... on the 31st one of the pregnant women I am carrying gave birth to a rather peculiar baby girl"
"In what way, Dr. Theo?" General Black asked, leaning on the table with great curiosity.
"You see, although I have kept it a secret until now for fear that the government would try to do something ... the daughter of my patients isnt a normal girl. To begin with I have here all my report on childbirth ... if you want to take a look" Theo tried to move through the crowd of chairs without causing any ridicule, extending the report directly to General Black when the marabunta legs and legs of chairs made it impossible to continue with dignity. "As you can see-"
"Addams," Black interrupted the poor gynecologist, turning to his brother and forcing him out of the room. "Is this serious?"
"You arent seeing the photographs? This is totally true, brother. I've seen her with my own eyes" Staying in total silence, General Black took a deep breath and turned back to the doctors. "Gentlemen, if you can do me a favor, would you be so kind as to leave the office for a few minutes? I need to discuss something with my brother" The doctors obeyed at once, emptying the room with a speed that Black wanted for his platoon.Once the brothers were alone, the general closed the doors and took one of the chairs carrying it until he was in front of his brother's table, sitting with his arms crossed over it. "Addams, tell me this is a joke"
"Will, I wish I could ..." The general's expression was relaxed at each word of his brother, becoming for the first time in weeks one of concern. "But it's real. That girl is no longer a carrier of the virus, to the point that it can not be called a virus any more. Now it is part of her genetic code; and all newborns between her and today have the same condition"
"Are you telling me there are more 80-cm-tall babies out there in Brightside ?!" - Addams denied without saying a word, leaving his older brother even more confused while the director drew other identical reports from one of the furniture drawers behind him
"The condition of Anne Barlow Holm is unique to her, because while the rest of the babies also have the mutation inside, none presents any physical anomaly"
"What are you trying to tell me ...-"
"Exactly, the virus or rather the Anne mutation is the only one that has caused an effect since before birth ... so we must think that the rest of newborns have not yet activated"
"Mutation? This isnt X-men, Eddy! We cant-"
Addams hit the table with both hands, silencing his brother. "Will, you're a decorated war veteran. A hero for this nation to the point that they offered to act as a general in motherland even after returning from Iraq without one of your arms! You're better than this, brother, and I know you can see the situation as it is.
There is something within our children that, except in the case of Anne's unique condition, we cant detect until they are born! Something that if Anne has made her so charmingly big and with such an absurdly good health that we could send her and her mother home the day after the birth we must assume that it will cause similar effects in all children born after April last year ... that includes you and Evelyn"
"Are you telling me ... that the girl my wife carries inside, blood of my blood, can also suffer this mutation?"
"We have no way of knowing, because as we have seen in other cases after Anne, the mutation is only revealed once the baby breathes on its own. We also dont know if I can be only an effect on babies conceived on a specific date, because at the moment we only have the initial date with Anne Barlow Holm. You and your wife got pregnant in August, so there are still enough months to see how the situation goes" General Black said nothing, only thinking about his wife, his own daughter and the girl lying on a crib with respiratory support.
Anne seemed nothing more than an ordinary child, the only way to understand the magnitude of the situation was in the bottom photo where they had placed a crib with a normal baby next to her. "The boy in the photo was born 3 hours before Anne and it is totally normal, he is infected by the virus in the same way as you and me. According to the gynecology report Alex was conceived in early April, so thanks to Anne's pregnancy we can know that this only affects children born after April 7 ..."
"Which means that the virus started spreading that same day, I'm wrong?"
"Of course not, brother. I know you have orders from one of your superiors to keep everything that happens in this city a secret ... so now that we know what we have in hand, brother, we must decide. Do you want to become Charles Francis Xavier, Professor X of these children? Or will you be Senator Robert Kelly for them? Times change, brother ... and I think we are facing one of those changes"
Keeping silent, William got up from his chair and walked to the office window, opening slightly so that he could see the warm blue sky that the dome was projecting. The movement, so familiar to the brothers, almost caused Addams to fall out of the chair with laughter, being unable to not see his mother reflected in Will's gestures. "As you said, my superiors want me to hide the future of Brightside until there is a total change of government ... and for that reason they gave me total control of the mission to the point of being able to personally choose my men. I've sworn to protect this city with my life ... and that includes everyone, from you to Anne, brother"
"I expected you to say that, Will. If I remember correctly, you told us the same in the airport before you embarked until your first mission away from the United States, right?"
"I said that day, I'll say it today and I'll say it tomorrow. If I have to be someone, I choose to be the one who protects my countrymen. Who can assure to that kids that the sun will come out again ... and until that day, I will make sure that Anne and all the other children have a safe home where they can grow up happy until they can defend it on their own" Her brother's smile was enough to that General Black recovered the faith, returning to trust in his oath with all his strength.
"So ... X-men? You werent the one who laughed at us for reading comics?"
"Casc forces me and Lydia to go see all the possible movies in their movies, including that of superheroes. Have you been to see him at some point since you came back?"
"As much as I wish I had not time, it's been a busy day preparing everything ... it's true that-"
"Yep, Casc have two assistants taken directly from the prisoner reintegration service. Dont bother investigating them, the Romero brothers came out of prison after a 20-year sentence for multiple robberies with perfect behavior and several career learned under their arms. It still seems a bit strange to me that being the owner of a movie theater and owner of a medium-sized production company Casc thinks that he need assistants ... you know how our brother is, he always thinks he's going one foot ahead without realizing that he is going towards a wall"
Will let out a necessary giggle, not only for him but for everyone around him. Returning to let the doctors in, the general began to mentally prepare everything they needed for the following years ... much more interesting than Will himself expected when he agreed to become the commander (although his rank remained general for the public ) of the mission in his own city.
(Park boulevard, same day 13:00)
"Well Anne, say Ahhhh ..." Theo asked the baby, who remained impassive in her mother's arms. "I know she's not going to do it, but can you imagine her doing it? It would be incredible…"
"Please, Theo. Let me work" Amelia pushed her partner aside, opening Anne's mouth carefully to check her throat. "The small redness of the day before yesterday has already dropped properly, in addition the skin is already firm and has good color, the weight and size of Anne is already increasing adequately and the neck is strong enough to hold sitting is sufficient indications to be able say that your daughter has already entered the normal growth stage" The doctor knocked Anne back on the couch, taking off her stethoscope and leaving it on her briefcase.
"Alright girls-" Alanna and Erika nodded swiftly as well-trained soldiers, sitting on the dining table so as not to disturb the medical team. "Let's start talking about what I cant see. How is Anne with her family? Does she behave well with more people in the room?"
The two mothers nodded at the same time as they had well spoken, taking Alanna control of the conversation while Erika took out her mobile and looked for video evidence. "Anne is following us properly with the look, from time to time she imitates our gestures-" Enumerating while she was counting on the fingers of her hand, Erika put a video to Amelia where Anne was sitting on the sofa in front of a blanket with two people hidden under.
After both people said the name of the baby, Anne was able to recognize and try to turn to her mother. The same video was repeated several times with the same result. "As you can see Anne can already recognize us by voice, to the point of telling us Ahh while smiling when she recognizes us!"
"Have you recorded a video test? Why?"
The doctor's confusion was unknown to the couple, who thought that recording experiments with their daughter would be a good idea. "You'll see ..." Erika tried to get by, going on to the next 4 videos. "It's just that Anne is so adorable ... she has such a beautiful voice ..."
"This isnt the weirdest thing I've seen parents do ... but I still have to ask. Alanna, you cried while recording these videos, right? I can see how the camera trembles and you sipping tears. It's okay, postpartum melancholy isnt uncommon among first-time mothers" Alanna's relief exhalation was all Amelia needed, getting up and letting mothers take their daughters. "We are going to give the finalized review for today, so we are going to fix the next one for January 21, in a week and a day. Remember that today is the first day that you can take Anne to the street, so take advantage that we have 25 degrees of temperature until eight o'clock in the afternoon, understood?"
The mothers nodded at the same time, offering the right hand to the pediatrician and Theo, who said goodbye and marched leaving the mothers in silence in the apartment, watching both as Anne waved her arms to try to be taken. "84 centimeters, huh? You start to gain weight and grow properly, my precious little sweety baby!" Erika laughed as she sat on the couch next to her wife, taking Anne and sitting her on her legs facing them. "And you my beloved wife, enduring the desire to mourn the entire revision ..."
Alanna took a deep breath, letting all the feelings overwhelm her suddenly and bursting into tears, causing Anne to cry back (whether it was empathy with her mother or not liking the noise). With each of her favorite girls crying, one on her lap and the other resting on her right shoulder, Erika could feel at home in a way never before understood.
...
Two hours later, with lunchtime already over and Anne taking a nap, a new matter was presented urgently through Alanna's laptop and a phone call, forcing the couple to sit down at the dining room table to be able to see everything properly.
An issue received in the form of plans sent by Velio. "Grandpa, we need at least three-meter ceilings ... at least," Alanna explained without raising her voice too loud, trying to make her daughter have the rest that night cries had not left her the night before.
"Three meters isnt like 9 feet with something? What? That almost 10 feet?! Honey, Ulyses says three meters is almost 10 feet! That's a lot higher than it sounds, honey ... If we're talking about Anne coming to measure like NBA player-"
"Grandpa" Alanna interrupted again, bringing the phone to her mouth despite the speaker being activated. "Call it mother's intuition combined with Amelia's forecast ... but Anne is going to stay close to the world record if not overcome... A higher ceiling is just to ensure ..."
No one answered for a few seconds, the couple listening as Velio spoke with whom they both believed was the architect. It was not until the clock struck 16:05 that Velio answered the call again. "Erika, I want to ask you too before deciding anything. Do you really think that 3 meters isnt enough?"
Looking at her wife, Erika took a breath because what they were going to ask for was a big investment from Velio, a much bigger one than Erika could have thought to see the budget of what the reforms would cost. "If you allow me, Mr. Velio ... It's not just mother's intuition ... the height forecasts are just forecasts, but that doesnt mean we can deny the obvious-"
"Damn, Erika! You are my family! I dont need a speech as if I owned the bank! Tell me clearly: Do you think Anne is going to measure more than three meters?" Velio's anger brought even more shame to Erika, who tried to hide her redness from her cheeks. (Uselessly, because Alanna was already touching her wife's cheeks with a smile from ear to ear)
"I believe it, Grandpa Velio. I firmly believe it"
"You see? Just to call me grandfather instead of sir I am willing to pay roofs of 5 meters and more. I cannt hide how big my lovely ball of cuteness is, so the least I can do for her is to give her mothers the ideal home to take care of her as she deserves! I'm going to talk to the architects to reach an appropriate agreement, you can stop worrying ... the great-grandfather takes care of everything!" Without saying goodbye or anything, Velio hung up the call leaving the couple breathing in relief. More than by Velio, the reason for the relief is that Ulyses was there to control the over-excited grandfather.
"We made a deal with the devil?" Alanna asked as the teapot water began to boil, getting up to make tea for both.
Erika didnt dare to answer looking at the computer the initial plans, the only Velio was going to let them see until the house was complete. A house completely paid in exchange for Velio and Ulyses who took care of everything ... a terrible bet if it werent for the wife of Ulyses was the hired designer, and with almost 30 years of experience in the profession Alanna and Erika trusted her. (Not in vain, the idea of r03;r03;using one of the cabinets as for the double bed was hers)
"Deal with the devil? I dont know ..." Erika finished saying once she got enough confidence to close the pdf. "But I know that although we will not regret the deal, we will have to make a lot of changes, especially in terms of aesthetics. I dont want a house full of doorbells like your grandfather's mansion ... to all this, who is watching her?"
"The son of Ulyses, if I'm not mistaken. In the end, going to Los Angeles against his father's decision has freed him from all this ..." Alanna sat down again at the table, this time next to her wife's seat, leaving tea cups between them. (Changing coffee for tea was not the smartest decision, but since it had been authorized by Theo Alanna had decided to take advantage of it at all times)
The heat of the afternoon came through the window while the couple enjoyed the tea in company with each other, a strange heat for January but to which the inhabitants of Brightside had to get used to. Every day every telephone in the city receives a message indicating the time of sunrise and sunset, the temperatures throughout the day and night, the speed and amount of wind and humidity throughout the day; allowing things like having windows open for the day in midwinter
What was before, the boulevard around the park or the park along the boulevard? A question quite done in Brightside, which unfortunately to this day remained unanswered. Anyway, Liberty Park was one of the 3 parks that until the arrival of the dome made Brightside stand out among the other cities of northern California.
The city was founded by three brothers architects in the early 1920s, who designed the skeleton of what today would be the center of the city, a first equilateral triangle with the town hall in the middle of everything. The three brothers were very fond of traveling, learning and adding what they saw and learned in their travels to their designs; all this ended up culminating in the magnum opus of each: Three parks in each corner of the city, three giant parks to replicate different architectural styles and around which later the city will continue to expand.
In the southwest we have the Bright Hill Park, inspired by the Chapultepec Forest (Mexico City); to the southeast the Crystal Cove Gardens, inspired by the Kamala Nehru park (Mumbai); and last but not least Liberty Park or Park Boulevard, unique in the city for being inspired by two different parks, the Tiergarten (Berlin) and Central Park (New York).
And what better place than the park near the couple's apartment to celebrate Anne's first street exit?
"It's time ..." Alanna stated while opening the text file on her mobile, reviewing the list of everything necessary. Anne's cart was filled to the brim with everything the couple thought necessary to carry two emergency jackets (a thin one and a fat one in case the dome's temperature regulator system broke down) even knowing exactly what was going on to make 23 degrees of temperature. "Erika, your work is the most important next to Anne's. Can I trust you, my love?"
"Dont hesitate for a moment, my beautiful," Erika confirmed with a smile on her side, firmly grasping both wheels of the cart. Anne looked from side to side, not getting to understand why her mother smiled so much but at the same time enjoying that her bed was placed to keep her mother always in the spotlight. "Let's not waste time, open the door!"
Alanna grabbed her bag and the extra backpack with possible useful objects for Anne, opening the door and hurrying out to press the elevator. 5 floors later, the couple stood in front of the door of the building with Anne still entertained with her stuffed animal (another one of megaman, one that Erika tried again to pass as a gift without any success), both mothers breathing deeply before opening the door of the building.
Slowly and with a combined maneuver so that the trolley didnt suffer any fright, Anne stopped all movement in dry. Suddenly something new behind her mother shine, something that the baby had never seen attracted her attention, something that Anne could not understand.Alanna and Erika looked at each other, enjoying the curious face of their daughter. "Do you think she understands that it's not really the true heaven?" Erika asked caressing her daughter's cheek, trying to keep the pacifier close to Anne's mouth in case it was necessary to use it.
"To begin with, I'm still not sure that she understand who her grandparents are and who her great grandparents... And besides, if I didnt know it was a dome, I would not know either that isnt heaven ... it is an absolutely amazing projection" Alanna stroked Anne's other cheek, enjoying how a pair of clouds crossed the projection of the sky giving a sense of depth. "We're going to be moving little by little, okay darling?"
Erika nodded, starting to walk as slowly as possible ... but meeting her daughter's whimpering instantly. "No no no!" The marriage jumped to the moment, rocking the cart as slowly as possible to try to calm Anne down again.
"Waaaa ..." The whining was constant, not ending in tears but staying in the doors.
"Come on Anne, let's smile..." Erika sang almost unconsciously, leaving the wheel of the cart to lean over her daughter and kiss her lips and forehead. "Come on, my life, let's smile ..." Erika's gesture was not enough to calm the baby, forcing Alanna to also lean over her daughter.
Two women completely leaning over a cart in the middle of the sidewalk, attracting the attention of all the customers in the cafeteria across the street.
In the middle of trying to calm her down, Erika leaned slightly more than adequately on the cart, moving the short distance of 1 inch forward. Of course that could only mean one thing.
"WAAAAA!!" Second to second, the crying intensified, making the mothers more nervous that in a desperate attempt they decided to combine their minds in a single plan. Keep pushing the cart until Anne gets used to it.
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
"Dont stop!" Erika shouted nervously and scared, checking Anne's face for a possible allergic reaction. (Paranoia)
"Dont you dare to stop! At some point she will start to like it!" Alanna insisted by starting to hyperventilate, fearing for her daughter's mental integrity. (Paranoia +2)
The race continued until the end of the street (scarcely 30 meters traveled in 4 minutes), where blinded by Anne's fear and crying, the couple ended up crashing against a lamppost. The collision was extremely slight, since the marriage was going at walking speed ... but for them as if it were a multiple accident of formula 1.
Alanna and Erika watched in slow motion as the stroller Anne tapped softly, causing the baby to stop crying completely. Panicked, the couple took Anne in their arms, inspecting everywhere while the baby smiled with her mouth half open, staining her clothes with random drops of saliva.
"Is ... she okay?" Alanna asked, leaving Anne sitting in the cart. With just a second of sitting, the baby's expression creased again.
"No no! Take Anne out of the cart! We have to check her head, arms, legs ... everything!" Erika was quick, picking up Anne again and checking that the baby was back to smile again.
The couple looked at each other for a few seconds, going up and down Anne, checking how her expression was changing as her ass reached the cart. The confusion was evident, only stopping at the sound of something metallic hitting the ground followed by huge flash of purple light.
"Ahhh!" The couple began to scream in fright, protecting Anne as much as possible.
"OH GOD! There were people there! Sorry!" A voice that made them both tremble and that Erika thought she remembered began to scream, approaching marriage at full speed. "The idiot of my brother has dropped the floodlight without wanting to ... Miss Erika?"
Quickly (still slightly blinded) Erika turned to where the voice came from, remembering the owner of such a voice too grave for the world. "Carlos?" Erika looked up, seeing behind the assistant. The fence at the back entrance of the Torna cinemas was open, the trailer of a truck wide open with Oliver still on it.
"Yes! It's me, Carlos Romero! Are you OK? Can you see correctly? How many fingers ... oh my god, you where here with your daughter! Oh god, sorry! Let me call an ambulance!-"
"No need Carlos ..." Erika grabbed him by the wrist, preventing him from running away while Alanna made a quick check to see if Anne was following her properly with her eyes. After verifying that Alanna was also fine, Erika turned to Carlos again, trying to calm the big guy. "We're fine ... it hasnt been stronger than a flash from a camera ..."
"Even so, I feel guilty, I thought I could take the three boxes and the floodlight at the same time ... Allow me to offer you something as an apology-"
"CARLOS! how could you drop the BA Floodlig-" Cascadio started shouting as soon as he went out to the loading and unloading area and saw the scene, running to the spotlight to check that it was not broken. "How can you ... oh god ... Erika! Why do we always have to see ourselves in these circumstances?!" Cascadio ran as much as the suit allows, pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket and offering it to the couple to dry the tears caused by blinking so fast.
Accepting willingly, Erika wiped her wife's tears first before going with her own. "Are you OK? How unfortunate that the only floodlight that runs on batteries has fallen ..."
"Yeah... it's been bad luck, yes ..." Alanna confirmed while leaving Anne in the arms of her other mother, offering her hand to Cascadio. "You must be Cascadio Black, thanks for the free one-year pass"
"Dont say it, please. Every time I feel that I owe you more and more ... Is your daughter okay? I have the cell phone right here, I was dialing to call a provider, so I can quickly call the hospital if-" Alanna denied taking a load off Cascadio, showing her how smiling Anne was in her mother's arms. "I covered her quickly when I heard how that thing hit the ground ... can I ask what use a purple bulb has? It's the first time I see one so bright"
"It's for a concert that we're going to give in a couple of days in the underground multimedia room ... or at least pretend to give. With all this dome the Shepherd have chased away the singers I had hired ... I've already paid all the necessary material, so I'll keep it just in case" The anger in Cascadio's voice was as clear as Erika had explained, making Alanna smile. It was good to meet a businessman as sincere as his grandfather from time to time. "I am very sorry girls, it has been a pleasure to see you and I am sorry for the accident but we have to store all this in the basement. The truck is from the Travelers and we have to return it before nine ... I dont like to inspect my goods, but I guess that with so many jobs for young people generated to have the Travelers as intermediaries between shipments from abroad and Brightside is not at all wrong"
"Precisely Alanna's little cousin has started working with them!" Erika added as she returned to try to seat Anne in the cart without much success.
"Seriously? I'm glad, living under a dome will have to bring something good to the Brightside youth! If you excuse us, ladies ... remember that the next time you come I invite you to a good dinner as an excuse for today!" Cascadio said goodbye to the couple, joining Carlos and Oliver in the truck unloading.
"You see what a good person he is?" Erika smiled as she searched with one hand for Anne's pacifier, carefully wiping it against a wipe and giving herself to her beloved daughter to avoid more drooling than necessary.
"Yep! I'm glad to see that there are still good people in Brightside!" Alanna and Erika continued walking along the sidewalk, with Anne in her arms to save herself from crying. What had started as an exit to the park had become a return to the street without the need for the couple to talk about it beforehand.