PASSION FOR TINION (WIP Novel 120,000 words)
© Cupideros, October 21, 2006
CHAPTER 18: PUBLIC GOOD II--MOTHERS for the CONCERNED QUODARIAN CHILD
Four days hard work contained the Aden Valley lava flow. Queen Morah and Jaine felt relieved as they moved toward the Council Hall for their postponed meeting with Mothers for the Concerned Quodarian Child. Queen Morah wore her black long dress and her heels click against the steel floor hallways. Jaine's flats reveal nothing of her presence and her black pants and top gave her an ominous and powerful presence.
"What do these puritans want now, Jaine? I wrote them a check for their new facilities, we've assured them any rogue corporations left not supplying daycare would be monitored for results."
"My conclusion: they hate science!"
"Science! Is that what this is about?" Queen Morah stopped Jaine from going into the room. They stood outside the door and whispered.
"One of the mothers is distressed her eldest daughter is too wise and this same mother's distressed her youngest daughter's sweet naivete about life's going to be destroyed."
The two women stared in disbelief. They went in wearing big friendly smiles.
Queen Morah's chair remained empty and a chair to her left waited for Jaine to sit. Sitting closer to the top of the long oval council table two women: One wore a white ruffled collar. The other sat on the opposite side trying to hush her blonde, thirteen-year-old daughter in near tears, holding a standard brown plushie missing one brown eye. The older fourteen-year-old daughter wore the fashionable school uniform of Quodarian colors red, black and white checked skirt and black top. She had black hair.
On either side following those two women, groups sat mothers of various sizes and ethnic groups all wearing frumpy hairstyles. Each held their chin high, giving the airs they'd enter a filthy bar. Lomara had supplied a small female detachment to stand guard. Jaine went over talk with them about keeping the proceedings secret.
"Ladies. I'm sorry our meeting suffered delays."
In a surprise offering of softness they all said harmoniously, "We understand. You had other important matters. You've doing a good job. Thank you for helping our community of Hamburg."
"You are from Hamburg," Jaine said to the mother with daughters."
"Yes. This Greenhouse effect wrecking the planet."
Jaine sat down, "We've several scientist working on it."
Another mom said, "I don't understand why Quo has to sit in this meeting?"
"Quo sits in on all council meetings. One never knows with the 110-year-old war. Every piece of information could make a difference. I'd tell Jaine what happened anyway."
Jaine offered stoically, "We monitor council proceedings. We'd like to think Quo's open mind raises everyone’s quality of life."
The mother on the left began, "Our friend here is disturbed by her eldest daughter ‘s attitude."
Queen Morah feigned unawareness, "What is the problem? She seems like a confident girl."
"The girl scoffed. I told you this was ridiculous. I'm so, so embarrassed Queen Morah."
"Be quiet," her mom said, turning back to face Queen Morah. "As you seen, my eldest believes she knows more than me now."
Jaine added, "The teenage years are one of rebellion. Normal occurrence."
"Yes. But in this case, I'm afraid she might even be right. That's scares the living daylights out of me."
"What does she know, you don't?" Queen Morah offered kindly.
"I've never joined the Flying Doves," the woman said embarrassed. Her daughter smirked and tossed her blonde hair back and started tying a ponytail.
"Any woman can join the Flying Doves, we have older induction meetings."
"Well, if I did join, you'd think it solve our situation?"
"You mean the rift between you and your daughters?"
"Yes," said the woman closest to Queen Morah's right. "Her youngest daughter is constantly being teased."
"Teased horribly," said the mother of the daughters.
"I assure, you nothing so frightening happens when you daughter joined the Flying Doves."
"Then why all the scare tactics among the girls at school."
Jaine jumped in, "I too was scared," she directed her words more to the thirteen-year old and not the mother. "Rumors are more than exaggerated. I'm turned out fine as you can see."
One of the mother further down the table jumped in, "But we don't see what's wrong with her thirteen-year old daughter now. So what, she like romance novels, romantic movies, and plushies. What's wrong with that?"
Another mother spouted, "Science isn't everything. We're females--the nurturers of the species."
"Yes," said a third mother, "We disagree with the educational system. It's too hard on girls this young!"
"Wait. Wait," Queen Morah said, "One at a time. First off, we women and I include you amongst my sisters and friends. We know what old Earth history was like. The paternalism, the false attempts to fixed the equality between the sexes."
Jaine said, "Even by the destruction date of old Earth, things hadn't changed. Women comprises less than 35 percent of every industry, except the abandoned soft industries like secretarial, childcare, journalism and teaching. Do you want you daughters to return to that?"
"No we like the theory women can do anything. We don't like the application of that theory."
"And the application falters where in Mother's for a Concerned Quodarian Child's collective opinion?"
"We think they start too young."
The mother of the daughters nodded. "It's too young."
One mother way down the table but very vocal said, "Give them time to smell the roses. The girls will come around. I'm a scientist myself."
"Did you join the Flying Doves?" Jaine asked.
"Why yes. What scientist woman would refuse to join it? But this youngest daughter doesn't want to be a scientist."
Queen Morah said forcefully, "What of our advantage over the Galans. It's only because we can put twice as many scientist in the labs and fields and corporations we've an advantage over them."
"But Galan women are happy. They stay at home, raise their children. They don't have to work. They gain positions of authority."
Queen Morah thought about that big fat check she wrote last week. "And I'm suppose to support more daycare amongst the corporations holding out, and it is not too many of those, you agree?"
They women all agreed.
"This money I spin on raising women who might decide to give up the illusion of perfect marriage."
"But women get married all the time."
Jaine offered, "They don't contribute while they are obsessed with dating and boys. The studies prove it."
"A couple more years."
"Sixteen."
Queen Morah began to get frustrated. These women didn't understand how fragile women's position in the universe was at all. They took it for granted OGR's work behind the scenes. "You women might not even be in your positions today, if not for the Quodarian education system. Galan women captured find it fascinating and envy our system and here supposedly loyal Quodarians want to destroy it."
"Not destroy, transform."
"Modify."
"No!" Queen Morah said, "You want to turn back the clock. You want Quodarian brainpower to dwindle. You don't know it and you should, but a girl's brain develops faster than boys do. She's capable of this type of work. She wants to apply her maturity and energy but in the old systems, old Earth's system, we stifled that girl's power"
"By sixteen," her brain will have lost thousands of cells," Jaine said. "Those cells could have passed on the information to her permanent memory."
"A girl is less afraid at fourteen than sixteen," Queen Morah snapped.
"Even with those points, you're creating different women." The lead mother said at the top of the table. "Women God may not even approve of."
The women nodded.
Queen Morah grew angry, "The Goddess didn't give girls those early advantages to be thrown away because of God! You realize how much time, many distractions will come when a woman has children? Do you realize how hard it will be to study at the pace, she can now while young?"
The women cowed in silence.
"Ladies. We understand your plight. You have daughters struggling under the educational system. But did the Spartans throw out their system because it was too hard on some of their young men? When have you ever heard a man say, "No son, you watch this romantic movie; forget your studies, so you can marry a fine lady?"
Jaine said with sarcasm, "How many women here are divorced?"
None raised their hands.
"You know why that is?" she fired.
They remained silent.
Jaine continued, "Because men know the majority of women are smart and able to support themselves. They find educated women fascinating."
"Men are mental creatures," one woman sitting next to the fourteen-year-old daughter said.
"Psychology behind young men changing begins when they encounter new young women," said Jaine.
The women found this a revelation.
"Those men you married were created by your scientific grandmothers and great-grandmothers before them. So don't sit back and say, the education system is making it hard on your daughters. Because in the long run, when it's all said and done, the educational system created a heavenly spot on earth for women and girl."
Jaine added, "Anymore questions?"
The women remained silent. Then one spoke up, "But this marriage to Lord Tweezer is ridiculous."
Queen Morah nodded, "Don’t you think I know that, but the Prophets see a solution for the ... Greenhouse effect if we do marry and have a child."
All the mothers erupted in righteous indignation and refusal.
Jaine shouted above them all, "Queen Morah didn't invite you into her personal life. Meeting adjourned!"
end chapter 18
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