About Sisterland (32 page)

“Has that ever happened?”

“Not that I know. It’s worth trying to bring about, though.
Wait, I want to
show you something.” Goodwill disappeared into the bedroom, returning with a skin between her hands. It was Silence’s – the one that had been pinned to the bridge.

“Where did you get that?”

“A friendly peer slipped it to me after the raid. Cooperation, you see? Our cause has wide-ranging support.”

“Which cause is that?”

“I think you know, Constance.”

“This belongs to me. I’m Silence’s next-of-kin. The peers should have returned it to me.”

“Won’t you consider donating it to us? The Silenced will cherish this memento of her.”

“Does that mean you speak on behalf of the Silenced?”

Her eyes probed Constance’s. “I believe I do.”

The hairs on the back of Constance’s arms stirred.
The Ess was right. “And what is it the Silenced want?”

“Our sisters are full of vague yearnings. Shape needs to be given to them.”

Constance ran the ball of her thumb along the curve of Silence’s skin. It wasn’t like touching Silence: this was an inanimate object. She returned it to Goodwill. “Have it. I don’t want it. Silence removed it before she jumped – there was a reason why she took it off.”

Goodwill handled the skin with reverence. “To leave something of herself behind for us.”

“I doubt that. I suspect she didn’t want to hide behind her skin, the way the rest of us do. She knew they suppressed moes – turned us into sisters hatched from the same batch.”

“I can’t remember a time without skins. The memory-keepers have never spoken of it.” Goodwill set the skin on a side-table. “It’s like an icon. See how it turns the table into an altar. It makes me want to bow my head and pray.”

“Except there isn’t any formal prayer in Sisterland. We have no goddesses. Only one another.”

Goodwill caught Constance by the wrist. “Some say our sisters in the Nine make living goddesses of themselves.”

“They do.”

“Goddesses can be arbitrary.”

“They can.”

“And merciless.”

“They are.”

“The Nine must be replaced. Soon. Before it’s too late.”

Constance wrenched herself free, rubbing at the marks left on her flesh from the pressure of Goodwill’s fingers. “What do you mean, before it’s too late?”

Goodwill lowered her voice. “The Nine has a plan. Scientists have been working on it for years. It’s nearly ready to be rolled out. But it can’t be allowed to go ahead. Someone has to stop it.”

“What plan?”

“The Virgin Birth Project.”

Constance’s mouth flapped open. “The virgin birth was just a story!”

“But some stories are real. Not all of them are invented. Virgin births occur in the animal kingdom: they give some species a reproductive boost. Virgin birth is an evolutionary advantage – and the Nine is determined to harness it.”

“How?”

“The Nine believes people possessed the ability, but lost it. Virgin birth is mentioned in the legends of many ancient cultures. Gods were always disguising themselves and mystically impregnating maidens.”

“Those are just parables. They were used to suggest someone exceptional was born.”

“But what if non-sexual procreation happened in our earliest years on Earth, and gods tricked out as showers of golden rain, or lotus plants, or swans, were a way of trying to understand it? Isn’t it telling that when pagan myth coalesced with early Christianity, the virgin birth tradition survived? Christianity turned it into dogma, inventing a dove which pentrated the goddess they called the Virgin Mary. Babyfusion without men. It happened before – the Nine wants it to happen again.”

“Slow down, Goodwill! I can’t keep up!”

“OK, here’s how it goes. Sisterland’s scientists are studying parthenogenesis: a form of reproduction where embryos develop without fertilisation. It occurs naturally in many plants and in some invertebrate animal species – scorpions, bees, water fleas and aphids. And it’s been induced artificially in a few species, such as fish and amphibians.”

“The DNA differences between fish and people must be huge.”

“True, but the principle’s the same. Lately, their research’s led to a breakthrough.”

“It’s actually working?”

“All I know is they’ve progressed to testing it on mice and monkeys. Their DNA is close to humans’. So it’s only a matter of time before they start trials on women.”

“You mean a new form of assisted reproduction?”

Goodwill’s smile was crooked. “Oh, something far more radical than that, Constance. I mean artificially created embryos. And if embryos can be manufactured, then sex can be determined, too. I wouldn’t bank on too many baby boys making the final cut.”

“Wouldn’t they be needed, still, for labour?”

“For a while. But I think the Nine would find a way round that. Why take the risk? Safer to use machinery, or women with lower IQs. For all their talk about universal sisterhood, it’s still an unequal society. Ask the women who work in dine-alls and easies.”

“Or matingplace.” Constance thought of Unity.

“Exactly. No, gender selection can only mean one thing. Men will become obsolete.”

Constance became aware of a succession of movements, low in her stomach: a light drumming from the inside. Could this be what they called the quickening? She slid both hands inside her clothing, trying to communicate with her baby.
I’ll keep you safe.
Hoping it was a promise she could stand over. Goodwill was still speaking, her words rushing towards her, but darkness claimed Constance.

Chapter 27

Constance resurfaced to find herself on the floor of the twoser, Goodwill kneeling beside her. She held a water tube to Constance’s lips, and Constance drank greedily. Drops of water left a series of stepping stones smudged on her tunic. She struggled to rise, but Goodwill pressed her down.

“You need to stay horizontal a little longer. You fainted – you’re probably still woozy. I’m going to make you some ocean tea.” Joints creaking, Goodwill huffed to her feet and bustled about.

When she was resting on a chair, nursing her drink, Constance said, “I’d like to hear some more about the Nine’s plans. I promise not to faint. I don’t know what came over me.”

“It’s your condition. Devotion used to take dizzy spells when she was babyfused. You need to be aware of the tendency over the coming weeks. It’s not a good idea to live
alone right now. I’m surprised you aren’t in
communityplace.”

“That’s been stopped.”

“Really? How odd. I wonder what’s behind that? Anyhow, we could make space for you here. I’m sure we could rearrange the furniture and fit in a pop-up.”

“No.” Constance was blunt. “Now I know about the faintness, I’ll keep something sugary close at hand.”

“You’ll need medical authorisation. Sugar substances are only allowed under licence.”

“Of course, but I’ll be able to cite health reasons. What else can you tell me about this Virgin Birth Project?”

“It makes you anxious, doesn’t it? Your empathy is unusual. Can I ask, is it a spontaneous moe?”

Outed, thought Constance. She avoided the question. “At Shaperhaus, I’ve heard whispers about a science programme. They talked about the evolution of the female gender. I had no idea they meant a world without men. What if it weakens the stock?”

“True. Genetic diversity would be halved. Men have more physical strength, for example – that’s important to the gene pool.”

“How do we know something fundamental in what it means to be human wouldn’t be lost?”

“We don’t. But the Nine thinks its policies are not just beyond criticism, but beyond error. If Sisterland proceeds with the Virgin Birth Project, it can never be reversed. We’ll have tampered with something intrinsic to the natural order.”

Constance pulled her legs up to her chin, and rested one cheek on them. “I saw statues of goddesses at the Sistercentral.”

“I’ve heard about them. I’m told there’s something majestic and awe-inspiring about each one, no matter which obsolete religion she represented. You’re fortunate to have seen them.”

“They had a physical presence. I understood why people knelt before them. Goodwill, some of those statues probably came from outside Sisterland. I never realised Sisterland isn’t
worldwide till I saw an Outsidelander. He was in
Sistercentral. He looked different to our men. Less tamed.”

“You saw him?”

“Briefly.”

“One of the Silenced told us about him. She works on the Sistercentral staff. What was he like, this Outsidelander?”

“Alert. Inquisitive. Confident. He didn’t know to be afraid of Sisterland. Yet.” Constance subsided. Her last sight of the Outsidelander had been of someone striding towards an ambiguous fate. “I might try to stand now.”

Goodwill helped her to her feet, and watched as she walked around the room. “Are you looking forward to being a source?”

Constance glanced up from her feet, smiling with more animation than she had shown so far. Goodwill’s hands reached out, wanting to respond to it, but a wobble made Constance look back down at the floor. Goodwill let her hands drop.

“You’re the first person to ask me that,” said Constance. “I didn’t think I’d be ready, but now I realise I am. The Shaper Mother was right, all along. She organised the permit for me. She said it was what I needed.”

It occurred to Constance that at least her babyfusion licence had allowed her to know Harper. With mating-free reproduction, no woman would have a reason to be with a man again. And then men would be gone altogether. She swallowed, and felt her way towards a seat. If she had a boy- baby, his future would be bleak.

Which reminded her. She’d been sent to probe Goodwill. Otherwise, her own future was bleak, too. Here was an opportunity to earn credit. All she had to do was report back to the Shaper Mother that Goodwill had first-class contacts – in the peers, because a member gave her Silence’s skin; in Sistercentral, because she knew about the Outsidelander; and in the laboratories, because she was well-informed on virgin-birth tests. This was valuable information.

Except Constance didn’t want to betray Goodwill. Even if she had an agenda, as a leader of the Silenced.

“Why have you told me so much, Goodwill? You know I work for the Shaper Mother – what’s to stop me denouncing you?”

“Nothing. My fate’s in your hands.”

“You’re remarkably relaxed about it.”

Goodwill hooted, the folds of flesh beneath her chin wobbling. “Do you think I’m worried about myself? My anxieties are for Sisterland. Constance, the facts of what lies ahead for Sisterland are nasty. But facts matter less than what people choose to believe in. And the Silenced are longing to believe in her.”

“Do you believe in Silence?”

“I believe in turning situations to advantage. We don’t have many cards to play compared with the Nine. We’d be foolish not to make something of Silence.”

Constance gave a grudging nod. She knew Silence had wanted her gesture to mean something.

“Let me share a secret with you. If a sister can learn not to care about what happens to her, it’s liberating. It frees her up to do anything.”

“Don’t you care what happens to you?” asked Constance.

“Not much.”

“How do you reach that state?”

“By believing in something greater than myself. How about you, my dear? Could you believe in something bigger than Constance?”

“My baby. That’s what I believe in.”

“Your baby. Understandable.” Goodwill’s tone softened, becoming more playful. “You know, you get that gap in your teeth from the man Devotion mated with. It’s something I’ve always noticed about you.”

“You knew him?”

“I arranged for the mating.”

Constance was astounded. “Why have you never said anything to me about this?”

“I knew Devotion wouldn’t like it. She can’t bear to think about mating. It makes her feel unclean. And there’s a complication, something she doesn’t know about.” A beat. “He was my brother.”

Constance stared at Goodwill, hardly able to comprehend what she was hearing. “Your source was allowed a second babyfusion?” Her tongue fumbled the words.

“No, she only babyfused once. He was my twin. We shared a womb.”

Turmoil swirled through Constance. Unexpectedly, she had been given the answer to a question nagging at her for some time. Now, she knew the identity of her father – Goodwill’s twin brother. Her brain teemed with whys and hows, but she was unable to verbalise them.

Goodwill watched, sympathy in her eyes. She seemed to understand, and began answering the unasked questions. “My source told me about it shortly before she discontinued. She fretted about it, towards the end. Perhaps that’s why she let me in on her secret. I almost wish she hadn’t, because it preyed on my mind to think I had a brother who grew up without knowing about me, or vice versa. It took me years, and many false turns, but eventually I tracked him to matingplace. I made it my business to befriend the Mating Mother there. And then I began calling in favours. When Devotion was licensed to babyfuse, I arranged for it to happen at the matingplace where he was based. Next, I persuaded the Mating Mother to let me check their records – files are kept to prevent incest. I chose my brother for Devotion. The mother was surprised: she said he was no longer in his prime, and a younger meet would be more suitable. I used that as an excuse to look him over, and managed a brief conversation. He was blindfolded, of course. Still, we talked for maybe ten minutes. He had hands like my source, and some quality in his voice reminded me of her. I never truly knew my brother. I saw him only once, spoke to him only once. I didn’t even dare to tell him I was his sister. But he babyfused with Devotion, and you were the result. Which makes me your –”