A Man of His Time
By NFalc
18
Dawn
The true battle, the one to destroy the Establishment, had ended by the time Ash and Kyra arrived. After discussing the matter, Ash, Kyra and I assumed that the two guards came to Cheryl in order to attempt another escape, hiding her away in order to preserve a small chance of the Establishment returning once more. It's ironic that by entering the room, they triggered the chain of events that led to Cheryl's death.
Dustin found his target soon after we split up, and killed her two minutes later with a single shot. He then joined up with Ash, and after five minutes of not seeing or hearing from me, convinced her to try and find me. Kyra had a similar idea, and the two women set off in search of me, eventually following the Establishment guards to the archives room, allowing them to save me just in time.
We found Jot's target with a single harpoon in her neck. Jot himself was nowhere to be found. Both of his duties were finished - he had killed the woman who had murdered his friends, and seen the end of the Establishment. I don't know if he is still alive, and I don't intend to find out.
There were many deaths that resulted from the battle, both Establishment and Truthseeker, male and female. The remaining Establishment women are still in holding, while the Truthseekers attempt to re-educate them. Ash had originally planned to execute the captured women, but I convinced her to do otherwise. It was my way of trying to break the cycle. So far it seems to be working, even if not all of the women we're holding are cooperative.
The Truthseekers, however, have other things to attend to than the former members of the Establishment. They're currently hard at work at setting up elections for the new government. The Truthseekers themselves are running as a party, with Ash as their presidential candidate, and her new husband Dustin as running-mate. According to the polls, they're currently favored to win by 70 percent of the vote. Whether they win or not, the couple are certain to be happy together. I don't think I've seen them apart since the battle ended.
I've also found a way to occupy myself. A few days after the battle ended, one of the Truthseeker technicians found a way to hack into the Establishment archives. Two days after that, she discovered a secret folder filled with text, images and sound. The oldest file we've discovered so far dates all the way back to the beginning of the Great Inequality, as it is now being called.
I've taken it upon myself to look through these files, and try to absorb as much of the history as I can. Certain aspects of it are meaningless to me; particularly the articles relating to specific celebrities, and a number of words which are anachronisms from another time (a quick side note - reading these history files has greatly improved my vocabulary). Still, I have begun to understand the rise of P-141, and how it led to the growth of flora and fauna which permanently changed our world.
I do have a life beyond poring over these old files. Kyra and I were wed nine months ago. I am still completely in love with her - sometimes I feel she may be the one person who understands me best. There is only one secret I have kept from her - that of my relationship with Mary. I think she already knows and understands it on some level, and bringing it up would probably just hurt her feelings, as well as damage our relationship. Some things are meant to be kept secret. I still think of Mary often, and what might have been. I still mourn her loss, even as I focus much of my life around Kyra.
Among the files I uncovered in the Archive was one detailing the Establishment methods for cloning humans. I decided to show it to an expert in genetics who was now working at the reproduction clinics. She discovered that with a little bit of tweaking, the method could be adjusted to simulate a genetic cross between a male and a female, with one crucial difference - it would have a small chance of creating a boy who could absorb small amounts of P-141.
I told Kyra about it, and she agreed that we should try it. In a way, it's having a child in the most normal way possible for us - Kyra has even insisted upon carrying the baby herself. We had the procedure done three months ago, and many people are watching it with interest. If we do get a boy who can absorb P-141, many say that it will be the first step towards making the genders physically equal once more. But boy or girl, I'm just excited to be having a baby, although I'm slightly intimidated at the idea of parenting a child who will be much larger than me.
Now I wake from a deep slumber, one restful and without dreams, and sit up to see my woman spread like a landscape before me, her belly just beginning to swell. Behind her, the first rays of sunlight are beginning to creep over the buildings, to slowly find their way to our window.
Can I truly forget everything that has come before? The horror and strife are my memories, they are part of me. I cannot let them go. But I can accept them. I can forgive, if not forget. I know I cannot linger on my past any longer. Dawn is breaking. I have a new life to lead.
I turn and face the day.
Giantess World
