Earth, New York City

UN Headquarters

The silence in the UN General Assembly great hall was oppressive and tense. Michael’s face did not show any emotions, yet his heart was drumming in his chest.

Despite all Max’s predictions, there was one thing that could always be considered a wild card—the human factor. From his position on the speaker dais, he could see more than one mouth hanging open, and several world leaders were looking at one another in confusion.

“Excuse me, Leader Freeman, did you say… Antarctica?” The President of the General Assembly asked in a strained voice.

Michael nodded. “Yes, the continent of Antarctica in its entirety; including a belt of coastal waters extending twelve nautical miles from the baseline, as defined by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The Solarian Union would like for it to become our sovereign territory, in exchange for all we offered.”

That was the plan Michael and Max contrived a long time ago. The Earth was still the best place in the Solar System for sustaining life, and the advantages of having a large territory on the planet’s surface were incalculable. The first plan was to ask for a series of uninhabited islands, and territorial claims in several countries, but that would have been an extremely hard sell.

After hearing Ision’s story, Antarctica became a logical solution. Large domes could be constructed for climate control, not so different from levels on the station, and it gave them a connection to the Earth, making so many things less complicated. With the technology they controlled, it had unlimited potential. It was not as if the idea did not have a precedent. In 1867 the USA bought Alaska from the Russian empire at a great discount, at a rock bottom price of two cents per acre.

That is why they were offering so many things to the world, all of it was nothing but sweetening the pot. You cannot just ask for the entire continent, no matter how inhospitable it is, and expect world powers to give it to you. While it could theoretically be taken by force, using Hammers to deny access to anyone else, it was not something they even contemplated doing. Starting wars was not on the Solarian Union’s agenda.

He expected shouts, screams, and swearing; instead, as per Max’s predictions, the relentless questioning began. Luckily, Max has prepared him for every single one of them, and he cheated by using his CEI. They wanted clarification on some points, and what each one of them could gain with the entire deal.

The ISS2 will be owned by the Solarian Union, and all proprietary technologies built into it would be safeguarded. Regardless, every nation in the world could send scientists for a long stay, so they could perform all the experiments they want. However, every attempt to disassemble gravity plates or its power source would be severely sanctioned, and the nation of the perpetrator would lose all rights to ISS2 for the duration of ten years.

CEI implants will be made available as a finished product, the implantations will be performed by licensed hospitals by the physicians who would be required to undergo training on the Ascension. The Solarian Union was prepared to build a specialized hospital, in every country in the world, where such procedures could be performed. Although, life-extension treatments would be exclusively done in the Solarian Union hospital that would be built in Antarctica.

One of the principal points of contention everybody was concerned about, was the free energy deal, considering it was not entirely free. Each country would get a free trial period of ten years. After that time has passed, certain fees would apply, amounting to one-third of what those countries were currently spending on energy production. Even though the S.U. could easily provide it free in perpetuity, they needed leverage on a few countries.

After hours of answering questions, Michael was mentally exhausted. Thankfully, everybody decided to stop for the day and continue the meeting tomorrow. For that reason, the next few days he spent on Earth, in endless meetings and debates. Some were miffed that Michael would not budge from his stance that all scientific missions must vacate the continent, including McMurdo Station. The scientist would be welcomed in the new research stations the Solarian Union was prepared to build and manage. The McMurdo Station would be a new site for the future hospital. The plans for it were extensive and showed that it would be a small climate-controlled town under a geodesic dome.

The countries that initially opposed the whole deal were those that had official claims on Antarctica: Australia, Norway, United Kingdom, Chile, Argentina, France, and New Zealand. Therefore, Michael used the leverage, which was the point of that limiting time period from the beginning. The deal those countries would get would be an additional twenty years of free energy, for releasing all their claims to the continent. The USA managed to arrange a provisional side deal, where they were considering the exchange of the ruined Pagan Island, for a prolonged energy deal that guaranteed another ten years of free energy. The Solarian Union would, in that case, need to settle all claims of the indigenous people, by giving them a ton of money… or more likely—several tons.

Not one of those deals were binding, they were more of a theoretical nature until the final decision was made. The General Assembly was scheduled to meet in one-month, to put the entire deal to a vote.

That month was exactly what Max needed, to convince everyone that this was the deal of the century. He leaked recordings of the sessions immediately after they were over. So the people of Earth could understand what they could possibly gain… for nothing. A remote frozen desert at the end of the world was not something regular Joe cared about. Now, the life-prolonging treatments, CEI implants, free energy, unlimited Internet access—those were the things that would make the quality of his life much better.

For the entire month, Max did not let up, uploading new videos that favored the deal, using millions of user names to be on every site, every blog, steering the public opinion towards the preferred outcome. Was it ethical? Not exactly, but this was about getting results. As Jack often quoted, “If you’re not cheating, then you’re not trying.”

***

City-Ship Ascension

Geostationary orbit

Two things happened during that month of waiting for the UN decision that stirred Michael’s life. The first one was a few days after he got back to the Ascension when Max told him some news.

“Michael, the results of DNA tests for those samples you brought from the Vatican have come in.” The AI said, after entering his office.

“Were there any surprises?”

“Not with the angel DNA, as it matched the information that was already stored in the Knowledge Vault, but the demons’ DNA did not make any sense at first. Understandingly, these were ancient samples and not correctly preserved, but they provided enough data for some disturbing conclusions. In fact, I needed some advice from one of the geneticists that came with the first scientific group, and then he called a few of his colleagues to double-check the results. That’s why it took them so long to arrive at the most logical hypothesis,” Max replied.

“What was so surprising?”

“It always seemed odd to me that both races had wings as one of the most distinctive features, and there is a good reason for that. Demons are an extensively bioengineered artificial race, and I mean from the ground up. Someone used angels’ DNA as a base, and fused several species to it, creating a perfect predator. Michael, judging by the composition of their bones, those creatures’ were walking, flying, tanks. Your own bones were significantly strengthened, but that was done using artificial means, these things were born that way. That being the case, if you ever meet one in person, don’t try to arm-wrestle it—you would lose. For any detailed analysis, we would need a better-preserved specimen; ideally, one with some soft tissue attached.”

Michael looked at the AI. “That doesn’t make any sense, how could anyone have a sample of angels DNA to play with? Mikell and the refugees were the first of their kind to leave the Hemina system. Also, there would be no reason for them to put their DNA samples on those research probes they sent out.”

“I don’t know, and Ision is quite stunned too. We went through all the information we could dig up in the Knowledge Vault and there is not a clue to this mystery. We still have virtual mountains of old records to process, maybe there is some indication of the angels’ extra-solar activities.”

It was one more question to put on a long list. Max showed Michael the approximated strength of the demon when he was alive, and it presented an unsettling certainty. He was perfectly aware that if he was on Earth at the time when the hunts were conducted, his upgraded muscles and the skeletal system would be no match for this genetically engineered fighting machine. He hoped he would never have to face a member of that race, but in the back of his mind Michael felt a nagging feeling of unease, just from thinking that those creatures were roaming the stars.

Those questions would have to be unanswered, as there was no additional information that would shed more light on the riddle. Max promised to continue his search of the angels’ records, but for now, their focus was on earthly matters.

The second important thing was something he had been planning to do for a while, and in a way, it was more stressful than standing in front of the entire United Nations assembly. Just the same, with good preparation, strategic planning, and choosing the ideal moment, he believed that there would be a positive outcome.

It was not easy to organize the clandestine operation, some favors needed to be asked, and a spy in his adversary’s camp was essential. The mission of recruiting a spy went without a hitch, helped by the fact that the said individual wholeheartedly agreed with the outcome of the mission.

Finally, the D-Day arrived and Michael hoped that everything would go according to plan.

He already arranged that Elizabeth and he would have no obligation for that entire evening, so he left her a message that he had something to show her on the new space station, and that they should meet in the launch bay to board the Excalibur in a few hours.

What he did not count on was how nerve-wracking those two hours would be for him. As a result, he paced in his office until Max had had enough.

“For Christ’s sake, you’re a grown man, a leader of an entire nation, so stop acting like a teenager before your first date.”

“You would act exactly the same if you were in my shoes,” he snapped at the AI.

“That’s why I’m so glad the biochemical slavery is over for me, only from this perspective can one see how messed up humans really are… it’s embarrassing.”

Michael did not even want to acknowledge that with a response.

“How long?” He said after a few minutes.

“Five minutes less than the last time you asked that question, so… a little more than an hour.”

“Damn.” He said and continued his pacing.

He met Elizabeth in front of the Excalibur, arriving there twenty minutes early; Max said that the walk would do him some good.

“Okay, Buster, what is this thing you need to show me?” She said as soon as she arrived.

Michael smiled and hoped he wasn’t sweating. “Remember that fancy date I promised you? It’s waiting for us on the space station,” Michael said and kissed her.

***

The S.U. Space Station

The spherical space station was getting closer to Earth, almost finishing its deceleration maneuver, and could be seen from the Ascension. It appeared as one more speck of light, but Michael spent a few minutes every day looking at it with hope.

Because of the reduced distance, it took no time for the Excalibur to carry them to it. The spaceship flew directly into the main level and continued to the region named Rivendell. He seriously hoped that no one would sue them since some parts were built in the exact image as the one in the movies. It was practically finished and those involved in the project had already claimed the best housing in the area. Michael did the same; the part of him that was a fan of the Lord of the Rings would have never forgiven him if he didn’t.

The Excalibur landed on the platform specially built for it, but craftily concealed in the ambiance.

“Michael, this is amazing!” Elizabeth exclaimed when they came out of the ship. “I didn’t realize they finished this entire sector.” She said and leaned on a guardrail, looking at the multitude of waterfalls, cliffs covered with bushes and trees, and vines hanging over elegant structures. He approached her from behind and put his hands around her waist. “Max helped a little by prioritizing this section. Come on, let’s eat.”

The tables were set on a nearby terrace that had a breathtaking view of the surroundings; the holographic sun was setting, painting the clouds in the sky with beautiful red and orange colors. Interestingly enough, the entire meal consisted of Elizabeth’s favorite dishes, a list provided by the well-informed spy, which happened to be Elizabeth’s sibling.

Throughout the entire dinner, Michael tried to act casual, despite his constant faster-than-normal heartbeat. He wasn’t sure if he tasted the exquisitely prepared food, constantly thinking and rehearsing lines that he was about to say.

“What’s up with you? You’ve been on pins and needles this entire evening.” Elizabeth said when she realized that he didn’t hear a word of the story she had been telling him, just nodding and agreeing the whole time. Even when she said the sky was falling and that she was thinking about shaving her head.

He looked at her with a gaze of fierce determination, the same kind of look Caesar most likely had when he crossed the Rubicon.

“Yes… It’s time,” he murmured, and got up from the chair, went around the table and kneeled on one knee in front of her. He took a small jewelry box from his pocket and opened it. Inside was a diamond engagement ring that Anna helped him choose.

“Elizabeth, I think I started falling in love with you the first time you shot your gun in my direction,” he said looking into her eyes. “You are the most remarkable woman I have ever met and I hope I can give you a happy future you deserve. I love you more than I can ever express with words…”

Michael took a deep breath, “will you marry me?” He finally said and waited for her answer.

Her eyes went from his to the ring he was holding as an offering and looked at it for a while.

Maybe it was the intensity of such a moment, but he felt as if every second lasted for hours, the silence was excruciating. He thought if he should check his CEI and see if he didn’t accidentally activate the Boost.

“I know that there are no certainties in —“

Michael would have continued with his fallback speech if his lips weren’t suddenly covered by Elizabeth’s.

She pulled back after a minute, and he saw tears running down her face, expressing her true feelings.

“Michael,” she put her hand on his face, “of course I will,” Elizabeth said and kissed him again.