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Part I
3 Gwen
Boston, March 18, 2035"I am never going to get my head around this quantum entanglement stuff before next week's exam" Ilse said while looking worried at Gwen, "I am definitely not going to get anything above a C for this one"
Ilse was Gwen's best friend since not long after they both had started at the university. Just like Ilse, Gwen never really quite fitted in with the rest of the herd. They were outsiders, but both for very different, no even completely opposite reasons.
Most of the students here fell into one of a small handful of social subcultures aligned along political affiliations and social classes. Neither Gwen nor Ilse really fitted in well with any of these groups.
Ilse's mum had been the last president of the former United States of America and after the forced disbandment of the federal republic, the transitional prefect of over forty major east coast conurbations.
President Akira had been quite a controversial figure to start with. Being the first female president to come with a first lady was just the tip of the iceberg. Her running for president had started out as a huge joke, a way to get media attention for the fact that the 2025 Health Insurance Act allowed insurance companies to deny people, working in entire branches of industry, health insurance based purely on a moral framework.
After the revelations by the GNU Defense Alliance, however, there was substantially more dirt on any of the viable presidential candidates from the two large parties than on any of the single issue independent candidates. The most politically charged subject regarding her administration though had been the peace treaty with Pacific Union for Patents and Royalties.
Nine of the former fifty states were now official PUPR territory. Quant territory! The former federal and government had been disbanded and the remaining forty-one states had been divided up into sovereign conurbations existing under the protection of PUPR. A once proud nation was no more. Needless to say, Ilse's mum wasn't winning popularity contests for her role in all of this, and by proxy neither was Ilse.
Gwen, on the other hand, didn't fit in for completely different reasons. Both her father and mother were old-world nobility. Most of the old world nobility were highly thought of by the group that considered itself to be new world nobility.
Her father's side of the family had known quite some scandals and controversy. Gwen's granddad had been quite a scoundrel before he had met her grandmother. Her grandma had been not only a commoner, no, that would have been acceptable, she had been a widow with a young child: Gwen's dad. Gwen might have the proper titles, she didn't have the proper blood.
"Ilse, you know you could just ask, right? I will help you study if you want."
Ilse looked at Gwen, "I know, but I really don't have your brain Gwen, especially when it comes to math and physics. Quantum entanglement is just …."
As Ilse glanced to her right, she noticed Gwen was no longer walking beside her, she turned and saw Gwen standing frozen staring at something behind her.
"My God, it's Humphrey!" Gwen muttered and put her left hand to the right side of her mouth, "What in heaven's name is Humphrey doing here? Not now! Not now mom, please!" Gwen spoke in a trembling soft voice, leaving Ilse confused.
"What is wrong Gwen?" Ilse asked concerned. "Who is Humphrey?"
"My mum's bleeding butler! Mom knows about my exams! She wouldn't forget about that, she just wouldn't! Something is up. Something big is up Ilse, I need to go talk to Humphrey, I'll call you, OK, this is not good."
As Gwen darted towards the slender, well yet humbly dressed figure standing at the main doors, Ilse whispered: "Good luck Gwen."
"What the hell, Humphrey?"
"My lady?"
"What are you doing here Humphrey? Whatever it is, it is inconvenient! Did mom send you? Why didn't she call first?!"
"No time to explain my lady, the Baroness gave me orders to pick you up right away. I am so sorry for being this direct, but I need to humbly ask you to accompany me to the car straight away. Transportation is waiting for us at Logan Airport."
"Transportation? What exactly are you trying to tell me Humphrey? I can't go anywhere and mum knows that. I have two exams next week including quantum physics that I really need to study up for. I am not going with you, I can't. Please tell mom I couldn't come with you to Marseille Humphrey, tell her I can't spare the time because of my exams."
"My lady, I am so sorry for the inconvenient timing. I was not in fact ordered to take you to Europe. The family is to be relocated to a safe place. The Baroness was insistent that I was to brief you on our way to the California launch site. There is not much time my lady."
"Launch site?" Gwen shouted out in disbelief, "I don't understand? What in the Lord's name is mother up to? Why would she send for me to have me brought to a launch site? You make it sound as if we are in immediate danger. Is it really that urgent Humphrey? Could we at least drive by my apartment first? There are some books really need to take with me?"
Humphrey looked at the ground for a second before answering.
"It is PUPR, my lady. Florida has fallen to New Zion at a great price to the Pacific Union. They have deserted us, my lady. We have lost Florida. Both Louisiana and Mississippi are not looking good with PUPR having dropped out of the alliance. Please, my lady, there is not much time. We don't want to miss the transport. If I could please persuade the lady to step into the limo, I shall explain more on our way to the airport."
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