Tilly sat fidgeting behind the terminal. Her hands rested on the keyboard, but she pulled them off again. "You're sure it's her?" she asked.
"Yes," I said. "She knows you. She sent me design notes for your gene model. Look, she just signed in."
On the screen was a blinking cursor and the word "Hello" next to Kelly's chat room ID.
Tilly put her hands on the keys again and began to type. "Hey. It's me, Tilly."
"Tilly, honey, I've been so worried about you. I'm so glad you're safe. How are you doing?"
Tilly's fingers hovered over the keyboard for a few moments before she started typing. "I'm still having trouble believing it's really over. Did Norm tell you what happened?"
"Yes, though not all of it, I think. Is he there?"
Tilly smiled wryly to herself. "Yes, he's looking over my shoulder, and he says 'hi'. I'll tell you more about it when I can, but not right now. So, how are you? What have you been doing?"
"I'm okay, under the circumstances. I'm doing government work, and it really sucks. They're having me evaluate and catalog genetic research documents. Believe me, it could be worse. I've heard stories of some of the things being worked on by my former colleagues. Not all of them are true, I'm sure."
"We have a lot to catch up on," Tilly typed. "I've missed you, mom."
"Look, the only time they give me any privacy is when I go to the bathroom. I've got about five more minutes before someone comes looking for me. Ask me anything you want."
I let the two of them have their privacy to converse. Wendy and Nissi were sitting together on the sofa, and Wendy moved over to make room for me. Once things had settled, one of the first things that Tilly had asked is if she could speak to her mother. She knew that I had been in contact with her from listening in to my conversation with Wendy. It had taken two days to arrange the meeting, but Kelly had been ecstatic in her messages to me.
Tilly came to find me after she was finished. "Thank you, Norm," she said. "I still can't believe you were able to contact her."
The movie that was running on the TV suddenly winked off, replaced a moment later by a view of an empty podium with the seal of the president on the front of it. A voice over announced, "We interrupt this program for a special announcement from the president of the United States."
Stansy came running in from her bedroom to stand behind the couch. President John McCain approached the a podium, flanked by secret service agents and trailed by aides and various officials. He was all business, sparing only a brief smile and nod to members of the audience. He placed a small stack of papers on the podium and unfolded a pair of reading glasses from a breast pocket, then began to speak. "Good evening, my fellow Americans. It is with a heavy heart that I stand before you tonight. Today marks nine years since the Rot was first unleashed upon our world. It has been more than seven years since this administration passed a resolution to ban the genetic engineering that spawned that horrible plague.
"In that time, we have done everything we can to reverse the often horrifying effects of the runaway genetic tampering of the previous half century. We, the American people, have worked to mitigate the damage, not just to our food supply, but to our very way of life. We have extended our welcome to the victims of genetic engineering to bring them back into the fold of humanity, and up to this point have given them every opportunity to do so. Many have accepted that offer and been made whole. Others have rejected it. In so doing, they have rejected their humanity and declared war on all of us. This, we can abide no longer. As president and by the authority of the Emergency Executive Powers Act, I hereby declare that all genetically modified humans currently at large are guilty of treason against the United States."
He paused, and a smattering of applause went up, but quickly died down as he surveyed the audience soberly. "It is a decision I did not come to lightly, and not without regret. However, as a gesture of goodwill and of mercy, any genemod who willingly surrenders to the custody of local or federal law enforcement within the next six months will receive a full pardon for his or her crimes, contingent upon undergoing voluntary reversion of genetic modification. After that grace period, the full force of the law will be brought to bear. Consummate with that order, individuals found to be guilty of aiding and abetting genemods will receive stiff penalties for their actions, up to and including capital punishment. We will search door-to-door if we have to, until each of them is found and brought to justice.
"Once more, I do regret that we have come to this point, but the way forward is clear. The human race cannot survive another Rot. It is time to bring this unhappy chapter of our history to a close. It is time to take a stand against those who would bring humanity to its knees, those who would try to usurp our rightful place as masters of this Earth. Thank you."
The shot switched to a wide-angle view of the audience standing and applauding as Mr. McCain turned and walked from the stage. The secretary of state came forward to field questions from the press.
"Holy shit!" Nissi rasped, getting to her feet. She turned to me. "Norm, did you catch that?"
"Escalation," I said, remembering Sasha's words from weeks earlier.
Her brow furrowed. "What?"
"Never mind."
"We are well and truly fucked," Nock said.
Stansy just covered her face for a moment and walked away, muttering curses.
I saw that Tilly had gotten up and wandered over at some point in the speech. She was staring silently at the screen.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
"I'm fine," she said. She looked for a few moments more and seemed to shake herself out of whatever she had been thinking. "Stan, how are we doing on the user authentication code?"
She and Stan went back over to the terminal and got to work, and Stan looked happy for the diversion. I looked at Nock, who seemed intent on avoiding my gaze. He flipped through the channels until he found one where they weren't talking about the announcement.
I could understand a little of what they were going through. In an instant, our fortunes had flipped. I still faced a long prison sentence for my crimes. The genemods faced execution. They would remain alive only as long as they could remain hidden.
