Botanicaust

she served as a translator between the Protectorate and the Elders at the Holdout. There were those on the Board who wanted to force the issue of conversion, and she could not allow her perceived impartiality to be compromised.
    Instead, she kissed Eily and then released her to board the duster. They ’ d located the child walking along the fence, and Burn Ops brought her in for examination. Thank God testing proved her free of foreign fungi or other Fosselite manipulations. But her existence had cemented the verdict against Vitus and the Fosselites.
    The Protectorate dismissed Eily to return to the Holdout, if she wished. The girl did not want to live in the city, and Tula couldn ’ t blame her. “ Ana needs to be able to find me, ” she whispered after she told Tula her choice.
    Sinuses stinging with unshed tears, Tula didn ’ t refute the girl ’ s hope. “ Be good for Levi. ”
    “ Levi is sad. ” Eily pulled on Tula ’ s hand, her dark eyes pleading.
    “ You ’ re both safer if I stay here. ”
    Eily gave Tula a last squeeze around the waist and darted up the loading ramp. Her black Old Order bonnet flapped from its strings behind her.
    Levi is with his people, with his son, where he belongs . Tula missed him more than she thought possible. And now, Eily was gone, too.
    Jaw aching with repressed sadness, Tula waved until she could no longer see the duster. She turned back to the Conversion Department and descended the stairs into Confinement. Her access privileges had been restricted — captured cannibals were not exempt from imprisonment and euthanization, and the Board was still unsure of her loyalty — but they needed her to translate. During negotiations, she hadn ’ t translated the Elders ’ assertion that no one would be making any conversions. Translator prerogative. She still didn ’ t trust the Protectorate to respect the wishes of the unconverted.
    With the new symbiotic fungi technology gleaned from Tula ’ s bloodstream, the Protectorate was making plans to spread even farther into unconverted territories. Burn Operatives would soon be free of the secondary medical complications of overdose. The outposts would be temporary stations, threatened by cannibals and unsafe for children who still required protection from UV radiation, but there was talk of building permanent structures once sufficient territory had undergone the Burn.
    The fungi in Vitus ’ s system had caused his ripening to progress and damage his chloroplasts beyond repair. With autoimmune suppressants, he would survive, but he would live out his days with skin as pink as a newborn cannibal ’ s. In the past, Tula might have been happy to see him euthanized, but no longer. It seemed fitting the Protectorate forced him to be a consultant in the Conversion Department due to his knowledge about Dr. Kaneka ’ s work. He would watch while others reaped the benefits of the Fosselite research.
    Tula reached her office and settled into the pool of fiber-optic light at her desk. The light had once been a welcome relief from the fluorescent lights in Confinement, but now it only teased her with memories of real sunlight. She adjusted her new black lab coat around her legs and reached for her gamma pad. A small box rested next to it. Attached was a card from Mo. “ I know you don ’ t want it, but take it anyway. Love, Mo. ” Inside, a plain gold ring, the color of his eyes. Closing her eyes, she sighed. She would return it as soon as her shift was over. Mo was … not Levi.
    From the cages below, the wail of a lonely cannibal child echoed from the brick walls.

    The Holdout
    Levi stirred the thin porridge and fed another bite to his son. Josef had grown worse as winter progressed. The geothermal heat exchange units could not hold off the cold seeping into the brick houses. The Blattvolk fires had collapsed several tunnels and destroyed a lot of their food stores. The pasture fire had spread to the hog barn and killed over half their stock, which meant not enough pancreatic enzymes for the sick children. As they moved past the winter solstice, the children at the Ward began to wane from hunger.
    In the next bed, Rachel Hulse helped her son to dress ; another young one succumbing too early. “ Maybe next Meeting you will be well enough. ” She spoke in a bright voice, but Levi heard brittleness behind the words. Her oldest son had been buried three weeks ago. Levi would have comforted her, but he didn ’ t have anything