Andrew Mackay - Infinity Claws

Two months after this formation, tragedy struck. Cape Canaveral in Florida disappeared, along with the rest of the state due to The Great Southern Flood of 2092. Four million people lost their lives and the nation lost its sunshine state. It proved to be an avoidable event. For the previous one hundred years, scientists had speculated that global warming would have this effect. The government chose not to listen.

Floridians fled to Texas, contributing to the density of that state’s populace.

On the recommendation of the governor at the time, the United States opted to split the state into North and South.

Despite the loss of Florida, The United States gained three states in the amalgamation of Chukaska and the division of Texas. Of course, the flag was redesigned to represent the fifty-two states and its convergence with Russia, hence the addition of the hammer (but not the familiar sickle, as it was deemed to be an outmoded tool.)

USARIC relocated their base to Cape Claudius in the state of South Texas.

Located on the southwest peninsula, it is the closest point to the equator that can launch vessels into space. One of the protocols in the Infinity Clause stipulates that no Russians may take part in any manned exploration. It was a stipend that caused no end of frustration to that particular nation—

“—Okay, that’s enough, Manuel,” Tor clicked his fingers. “We don’t want to bore the poor boy, do we?”

Jamie blinked rapidly, his little mind going into overdrive. “Wow.”

“Funny you should mention that, Tor,” Manuel flipped his pages and landed toward the middle of the book. “In conjunction with Pure Genius, I have been conducting research on evolution since my reboot. My findings have been quite curious. Would you like to see them?”

“Uh, okay?” Jamie pretended to understand. He knew it sounded scientific and serious, and that was enough for him.

“With your permission, I’d like to explain to you a concept I have named The Natural Order of Life .”

“Go ahead, Manuel,” Tor said. “But make it quick, we can’t stand around chatting all day.”

“Certainly,” Manuel rose into the air and beamed an image onto the floor. “Observe. The Natural Order of Things has long-since been a quandary for humankind. Life, hence, any living and breathing organism.”

A recorded holograph of a cat pouncing on a rat played out across the floor. Jamie waved his hand right through it in amazement.

“Thus, we can reasonably ascertain the following. Every predator has a prey, as exemplified in my findings.

For every name that appeared, a corresponding image floated next to it.

“Where the greater-than symbol is present denotes is afraid of . Broadly-speaking, the chain is as follows…”

Insect > Mouse

Mouse > Cat

Cat > Dog

Dog > Man

Man > Woman

Tripp and Tor took in the information with great expediency.

Jamie sat there, stunned. “What does that mean?”

“The Natural Order of Life,” Manuel explained. “However, the discovery was the reconciliation of the loop. Thus...”

Woman > Insect

“That’s quite the discovery, Manuel,” Tor rolled his eyes at Tripp. He lowered his voice enough for Manuel not to hear him. “He may need a bit more calibrating before we actually take off, by the way.”

“Yes, it’s good to see he hasn’t lost his sense of humor,” Tor chuckled and rubbed his hands, eager to leave. He looked at Jelly and raised his eyebrows. “I’ll be back soon. We just have a small matter of the acquisition of our new colleague to deal with…”

Dimitri Vasilov and Maar Sheck sat at the far end of the conference table chatting to themselves.

Jamie stroked Jelly as she lay on the other end of the table. She was sedentary for the time being, enjoying the final few moments she had with her owner.

Tripp sat with Emily, going through the final particulars of the contract. He flipped over to the final summary sheet.

“Just need your signature in triplet. Here, here, and here,” Tripp pointed at the three sets of dotted lines.

“Okay,” Emily hesitated for a second and looked at her son as he tickled Jelly’s stomach.

“Meow.”

“Are you quite sure she’s going to be all right?” Emily asked Tripp. She wondered why the two stern-looking men were at the other end of the table and disassociating themselves so blatantly.

“Yes, of course,” Tripp said, watching her sign the documents. “I will make sure of that, personally. You have my word.”

“I hope so.”

“You know, Emily,” Tripp tried to reassure her. “I have a son your boy’s age. I know how much Jelly means to him.”

Emily scribbled her signature as quick as she could and pushed the paper away from her chest.

“A very antiquated way of conducting business. Pen and paper?” She passed the pen back to him and watched the ink dry on the paper.

“It’s the way we like to do things. Some of us at USARIC haven’t quite shaken off the analog stuff just yet.”

Maar broke away from his conversation with Dimitri. “All good?”

“Yes, I think so,” Tripp lifted the papers in his hand and showed them to his superiors.

“Good,” Dimitri said. “So, I think we’re all done here.”

“It seems so,” Tripp added.

“Are there any final questions or queries you have for us?” Maar asked.

“You can’t tell me what the mission is? Where, exactly, she’s going?”

“I’m afraid not,” Maar said. “If anything goes wrong it would be bad news.”

“What if something does go wrong?”

“It won’t.”

“Right,” Emily said, not terribly convinced.

“But if it does, it’s better that you don’t know the details. Trust us, everything will be fine.”

Jamie stroked Jelly’s face. She loved every second of it. He looked up and tried his luck. “When does Opera Beta leave?”

“Two weeks from now, young man,” Maar said. “She’s due to return in at the end of 2120. How old will you be then?”

“Seven.”

The door to the conference room opened and Wool walked in with a silver plastic cage under her arm. “Hello, everyone. Hi, Jamie.”

“Hi, Wool.”

She offered the boy a smile and sat the cage onto the conference desk. “Is she ready?”

Jelly rolled over and stretched her hind legs out. Her tail flapped around. Jamie took a moment to watch her in action. A small, quiet movement he decided to commit to memory before she jumped to her feet and demanded one, last hug.

“Meow.”

Jamie held out his hand, fingers tucked together. Jelly ran her face along his hand, making a fuss of the connection. He held her head in both hands and looked her in the eyes. She had no clue what was about to happen.

“We’ll see each other again, girl,” Jamie whispered. The reality set in the moment the words escaped his lips. He began to tear up. Jelly wanted to know why he was so sad.

“Take her,” he said through his tears.

Jelly tilted her face, wondering why her friend was so upset. The drama set Emily off, too. “Oh God, please. Just do it.”

“Yes, of course,” Wool clapped her hands together and showed Jelly to the cage. “In you go, pet.”

“Meow,” Jelly looked at it and decided not to go. She approached the end of the table and tried to get Jamie’s attention.

“No, no,” Wool cupped Jelly’s face in her hand with deft expertise. She slid the cage up to her behind and pushed her back.

The cage door slammed shut, imprisoning Jelly. She clawed at the cage, trying to push it open.