Nisha and Rachel woke up early. They took a walk before having breakfast at their favorite picnic table overlooking the colony.
“There’s a steady stream of speeders heading out to Bok’s colony,” Rachel said. “Do you notice that?”
Nisha zoomed in with her eyepiece.
“Yeah, speeders and all sorts of other things I’ve never seen before are heading there. Most are leaving the colony and only a few are returning. And on foot. This reminds me of a migration of ants across the desert.”
“I’m looking at Bok’s webcam he set up on the hill overlooking his new colony,” Rachel said. “He has six towers built and they’re starting to build a bigger tower, like the ones that hold a million.”
“I guess this means his movement is gaining ground,” Nisha said. “What’s going to happen now.”
“We’re going to find out. I’m helpless to do anything about this. I hope things reach a peaceful equilibrium.”
I hope so too,” Nisha said. “What else is happening in the world this morning?”
“Well, let’s see. I’m seeing a lot of stories about scams.”
“Do you mean like The Telepath who claims if you give him all of your worldly possessions, he’ll telepathically link you to the Omanji?”
“That’s one of them. Here’s one where you can help the Yoots build their colony and you’ll get a share in their corporation. The minor problem is there’s no corporation.”
Nisha laughed.
“They have some nerve. What else?”
“Here’s one claiming they discovered how the Omanji generate power. He’s selling plans for a small, radiation-free nuclear fusion power plant which can power 20 houses for pennies per day with no risk. He claims anyone can build the power plant with parts from the hardware store.”
“That’s a good one,” Nisha said.
“Yeah, I know. Okay how about this? Some woman claims she got into the Omanji’s garbage and found some discarded food pellets and recreated them in her kitchen. Now she’s selling them for only $29.95 each to live to be 400 years old.”
“I like that,” Nisha said.
“Here’s one where a home builder claims to know the recipe for making that extra strong Omanji concrete. He’ll build you a house or patio made of it. The prices are four times the normal price.”
Nisha laughed.
“Okay, here’s a great offer. For $99.95 you get an ear implant which allows you to listen in on Omanji conversations.”
“How does this work?” Nisha said. “I used to be able to hear the static until they changed their frequency. Does this ear device only pick up the new frequency static?”
“I think that’s all the device does. You can buy the parts at the local electronics store for about four dollars according to all the fact checking websites.”
“Even if the device works, all they would hear is muffled meaningless sound,” Nisha said. “It’s all encrypted. The sounds I heard were only noise. They were patterns with no direct meaning unless you could decrypt them. I’m glad I don’t hear them anymore. So is Priya. I can’t believe anyone would pay to hear them.”
“Me neither,” Rachel said. “It’s funny because when I was a child, I remember laughing at the scams people would fall for. I thought for sure when I became an adult, my peers would be too smart to fall for them. However, here we are again.”
“Yeah, the same things happen repeatedly. What other news do you see?” Nisha said.
“Over 12,000 towers have been built in the Omanji colony. That houses 12 billion of them. They outnumber all the humans on Earth. Since the Omanji call Earth, ‘New Oma,’ maybe we should call it New Oma. I’m kidding. Let’s find out what else is happening. The desert town of Lancaster is being evacuated. The colony has used up all the land that used to be Edwards Air Base. The colony extends 30 miles east past highway 395, which is closed in this area.”
“That’s halfway to Bok’s new colony,” Nisha said. “Have you read any news about what our government’s been doing? I haven’t heard from the President or the General in days.”
Rachel searched for a while.
“No, there’s been nothing from them other than the usual economic, political, and defense stuff. I think ever since the Omanji walked into the halls of Congress; they’ve given up trying to do anything about them. At least publicly. Neither of us are insiders now, though they’re letting us do whatever we want. It’s not like the government to give us this freedom. I guess that’s because we’re the closest connection anyone has to the Omanji.”
“Yeah, I think that— Oh, Priya is contacting me. Hi Pree.”
“Mom, I’m at the new school. It’s exciting. I’m meeting many people I know from the social network and from our Omanji implant telepathic network. When we’re together, we talk telepathically. At the school, they make us talk out loud though. I’m making new friends. Approximately 3,000 of us go to school here. We’re in temporary housing and classrooms but that’s okay. We took many tests today so they can figure out where to begin teaching us. It’s going to be difficult because we range in age from 14-18.”
“You’re off to a great start.” Nisha said.
“Sophie loves the school too. I wish Amy could be here, but I’ll visit with her at winter break, and we’ll talk all the time. Oh, I gotta go. We’re getting our lists of classes we can take. I notice genetics is in there.”
They disconnected. Nisha glanced over at Rachel with tears in her eyes.
“I’ve lost her for sure now. She’s making new friends and they don’t talk audibly. She has everything in common with them and nothing with me.”
“This would happen anyway, it just happened sooner,” Rachel said. “Except the telepathy part. She seems to be happy, and she loves you, so don’t worry.”
“Logically you’re right, but I can’t be logical about Pree after what’s happened to her.”
Yoova opened their tent door.
“Yoova, you’re here!” Nisha said. “Are you getting ready to move up to the redwoods?”
“Yes. I’ve seen images of the redwoods, but now I get to experience them for real. The sunlight here is too bright. My eyes want the soft red sunlight of Oma, but this will do. I hope you can visit me. You helped me. You’re my friend forever.”
“I will visit you. I’ll bring Pree and your plants too. From what I understand, trains leave from here every day which will bring all of you up to your new redwood colony.”
“Yes, I’m leaving in one hour. I came by to say goodbye for now. We never say ‘goodbye’ without saying ‘for now.’ We will stay connected.”
Yoova rubbed her nose in a circular pattern on Nisha’s forehead and Nisha did the same without asking what that meant. She did the same thing to Rachel. Yoova walked away, looking back every so often.
Nisha turned to Rachel.
“She’s so cute! How can any being, be that cute?”
“I don’t know. Her cuteness is simply a fact.”
“Everyone is leaving and it’s all changing,” Nisha said. “I don’t like it. Only two months ago, we had such a nice daily routine. We enjoyed school, work, dinners together, homework, and weekends at the beach. Now it’s all gone. Even Bok is leaving.”
“Yes, but better times may lie ahead. Evolution is happening before our very eyes.”
“Good point,” Nisha said. “I’m glad this happened. Kind of.”
They smiled.
“Now you found new friends and many alien species to learn about. Those plant-things point at you as if they’re following you around. They’re a dream come true for you.”
“Thanks Rachel. You’re my real friend. I’m not sure what I’d do without you during the most stressful event in our lives. Your logical side balances my emotional side.”
They heard the whooshing sound of Bok’s speeder passing by and stopping in front of his tent. They rushed out as Bok and Beedee stepped out.
“Hi guys, how are you doing?”
“Things are going well except Bok disagrees with me about how the colony should be set up,” Beedee said. “I think we should elect nine leaders just as the elders do in the colony. Bok wants to do things differently than the elders. He needs six months to set things up as he wants before Election Day.”
Yes, this is my idea and my movement, so I should be able to make the rules.”
“Be careful Bok,” Nisha said. “You’re starting to sound like the Esteemed Elders who rule as they wish. Don’t make the same mistakes.”
“I don’t want that.”
“Be careful what you do Bok,” Nisha said. “There will be millions living at your colony soon. They need to think they’re part of it. They’re young and used to having no say, but they’re at the age where they’ll want a voice in what happens.”
“What should I do? I used to know everything, but now I know nothing.”
“That’s because you’re dealing with politics now, not science. You need to study the history of your governments, so you don’t repeat mistakes. Since you like some of the human forms of government, study those too. Avoid the totalitarian forms.”
“Okay, I’ll do that right now.”
“Beedee, I think Bok may need your help even if you disagree,” Rachel said.
“I understand,” Beedee said.
“Thanks. Now we’ll go study politics,” Bok said.
They flew off in the racer.
“They seem rushed, don’t they?” Rachel said.
“Yes, they hold the weight of their world on their shoulders right now,” Nisha said. “I’m not sure how they’re going to govern millions of teenagers who are on their own for the first time in their lives. These Omanji teenagers have 300 IQ’s and they’ve been disconnected from the collective awareness too.”
“I don’t know how he’s going to do it,” Rachel said. “We better keep a close eye on this. I think we should set up a new tent for us near Bok’s colony as a precautionary measure.”
Nisha agreed and by nightfall, they had set up their new camp with several dozen other researchers near Bok’s colony.