Chapter 18 – Meeting with Sterling 

The last few days had really been a daze. Claire went from working at a small firm, making a living with her loving husband in the small town they grew up in to a key part of a company’s plan to up root the entire country’s way of living. She had enjoyed being reunited with Ben, and their weekend was like a wonderful fantasy life that she had gotten lost in.  Today though was the hard reality that there was much to be done. 

“Are you paying attention Claire?” a voice asked. 

Claire, coming out of her daze, shook her head.  "I’m sorry, can you please repeat that?” 

With a sigh, “Did you have any questions for Mr. Sterling before he begins?” Amalia repeated. 

“Oh. No, please go on.” She said to the older man before her. 

“Right.” Sterling said. “Go ahead Malinda.” He spoke. 

Malinda clicked a button that brought up a diagram of the country behind where Sterling was seated. It showed a few cities throughout the country. It showed a corporate logo where Claire presumed the headquarters was out west.  There was a matching one on the east coast, but in a different color. Between the cities, littered throughout the country and the two larger logos, were lines drawn between each city. 

“This is the country, as we have it today.” Mr. Sterling went on to explain how each side of the country was connected via a power grid they had built over the last decade.  Through ‘acquisition’ of towns they were able to streamline their process of connecting all the areas between. He also explained that as it stands today, they are separate from one another and entirely reliant on the reactors found at each headquarters. 

“You’ve built two?” Claire questioned. 

“Three.” Sterling stated. Nodding again to Malinda, a red star appeared at the area between the two power grids. 

“We are ready to connect the entire country, now that we have begun construction here.” The map zoomed in, showing her town next to a much larger portion of land, simply shaded in another color. “This is where we will develop and build, underground, the last piece of this puzzle. Once we have a connection across the country, we will have self-sustaining power for the next millennium.” Sterling said proudly. 

“But why here, why my home town?” Claire questioned. 

“Not for ease of access, mind you. We developed the interstate system to include your town on our route. We have had our eye on you for a long time Claire and now, with you as part of our organization, our plans can finally move forward. We want you to oversee the final installation and address any issues that can come up” Sterling stated, motioning for his jacket, coughing into his hand. 

Malinda brought his jacket over and helped him on with it. 

“This is for the betterment of all humanity Claire. It’s not some world take over scheme.  There are however people who will resist the old ways, and unfortunately, we don’t have time for that. I need you to work with us to get those that dissent to understand while also helping our engineers out with the final steps of creating the first ever self-sustaining energy resource in the world.” Coughing again, Mr. Sterling headed for the exit, “I’ll be monitoring results, don’t let me down, any of you.” He left, Malinda closed the door behind him, turning back to Claire. 

“He’s a brilliant man.” Amalia started. “He’s been tackling the energy crisis for years. He wants to see this go into effect in his lifetime.” 

“So, what, he is going to force it onto everyone, uprooting entire communities to get it?” Claire shot back. The whole plan sounded crazy to her. Why was this so important? Why was it worth destroying entire towns to achieve? She needed answers. 

“Look, I agree, it can be shocking at first. I can even sympathize with you. It’s why we have had our eye on you since college.  We knew we would need someone to bridge the two worlds.  We will still believe, to this day, that person is you.” Amalia responded. She continued to explain that they had found her plans at school. Surprised she had already finished them they thought they could make it work without her.  The tensions rising as they oppressively took over towns however, forced their hand into a more diplomatic approach. Claire, as she explained, is that answer. 

“This all sounds so inevitable. Fate, almost.” Claire thought out loud. 

“It’s not fate. We just need you to calm down the wimps while we do what's best for everyone.” Malinda said frustrated. 

“In a brutish way, Malinda is correct. We are doing this for all, and it would be much better for everyone if we could cooperate. Our efforts so far have led to only agitate more communities.” Amalia summed up. 

“Of course, they have.” Claire began. “Take this camp for instance. You have covered an entire park used by the community for decades. Did you even think about what that presence would do? Did you stop to integrate with the town at all?” 

Both of them were silent. 

“If energy was his plan from the beginning, why even mess with the growth hormone? Why make people more superior than others?” Claire prodded. “It seems the biggest issue is larger humans taking what they want, a problem he caused!” 

“Sterling wants to see the human race thrive in all aspects. Growth and energy independence both lead to a stronger nation. The only hold up is that, outside of yourself, we cannot bring others up to speed. It requires those today to sacrifice for the future.” Amalia explained. 

“No matter how big you all get or small regular people get, everybody is still a person. You cannot simply trample their way of life simply because it’s ‘for the greater good.’ You need to use your strength to lift, not oppress.” Claire was almost preaching at this point, but it felt so obvious to her. She could not understand how these two women could not see how wrong their current strategy was. 

“So, make friends with them. That’s your big solution?” Malinda cut in. 

“What?!” Claire was stunned. 

“So, we come into town, make friends with everyone, find out what they want, and that’s that?” Malinda continued. “Why should we? I could take on five of your Ben’s. Why do I need to be nice to pathetic little Betas?” 

Claire’s face turned red. Saying nothing, Claire charged and tackled Malinda out of the tent, driving her to the ground outside. 

“Claire!” Amalia called out, following them. 

Claire grabbed a handful of Malinda’s hair, lifting her head from the ground, as she rose her fist in the air, she heard a voice call out. 

“Woah, woah, what's going on here?!” Ben came running up. Malinda and Claire both stopped, looking over at the smaller man. 

As he did, two other Alpha’s came to break up the fight, a man and a woman, both around Malinda’s height, jumped into break up the two women. Malinda was pulled off by the other woman while the man put himself in between the two brawling females. 

“She has no respect for anyone not in her eye line Ben. She needs to be taught a lesson.” Claire said, still huffing. Not usually an aggressive person, Claire is still reeling from the inevitability of all the change. Taking it out on Malinda felt both needed and satisfying. 

Malinda, shrugging off the Alpha woman, “If you think they are worth all the time, fine, come up with something that works fast, but I don’t answer to you and I won’t be a part of this coddling routine.” She snarled, looking down at Ben. “They are just weaker; we don’t need them.” 

Ben pieced together what was happening. The moment needed to cool down before anything reasonable could be said. 

Alphas like Malinda had grown up knowing they were top of the food chain. She exhibited that behavior, at Ben’s expense, numerous times. He knew she only cared about herself and respected only those who could keep her in line. A whole group of people with that mindset would simply steamroll over any opposition if it wasn’t considered credible. Impossible as it may seem, they needed to be convinced to find a gentler way of approaching their goals. 

As everyone stood around, cooling off for a moment, the looming figure of Cassandra came into view. She was looking up over her shoulder though, as she had a passenger on top. 

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“Breakfast was great you guys, but I am going to try and find Claire. I just have an uneasy feeling about today.” Ben motioned to Cassandra for help to get off the table, she obliged. 

“You sure about that man? It’s a big camp, with bigger people.” Phillip warned. 

Projecting his voice from the ground, “I’ll be ok. I assume they are having some sort of meeting, ill peek around in some tents until I find them. You ok here?” Ben asked. 

Looking over at Cassandra who was more playing with her food at this point, he responded “Yeah. I am fine right here.” 

Phillip watched as Ben headed out of the tent alone, he stopped at the exit checking both ways, and headed towards an Alpha across the path. “Seen a tall gorgeous blonde, about ‘yay’ big?” He asked, motioning as high as he could. 

“I believe they were seen on the other side of camp.” The alpha woman responded, pointing over Ben’s head. 

“Thanks!” Ben answered. 

Ben was out of sight. Phil laughed to himself. 

“What’s so funny?” Cassandra said, finally putting her fork down. 

“Ben. He’s so comfortable in this new ‘world.’ I just can’t get over the fact people are as big as... well as big as you.” Phillip motioned with his hands up and down, drawing a frame around Cassandra. 

“This big?” Cassandra quickly rose up from the table, using her hands as if she were showing off an outfit. 

“Exactly. I just haven’t had the best experiences to date. The big guys and gals don’t seem to care to much about us and treat us more like we are in the way.” Phil confessed. 

Cassandra looked down at Phillip for a moment. She saw in him as the complete opposite of her situation. The culture shock they both were experiencing was very real. For Phillip it was a change in the way of life. She felt almost as if she were responsible for it. She wanted to at least ease his concerns, if she could. 

Putting her hands down on the table, surrounding Phillip, she looked down at him. Phillip stared back up, quietly. “I think we both have a lot of changes we are dealing with, and I want to make you a deal. You show me all around where you live and how you all do things, and in exchange I’ll beat up anyone that gives you trouble.” She asked, flexing her arm. 

Phil was shocked. While Cassandra had already been the coolest Alpha he has met, he didn’t expect such a proposal. It was exciting in fact. 

“Wow, that is a tempting offer. Hanging out with a pretty girl on the town? It almost sounds like you are asking me out on a date.” Phillip joked. He felt incredibly comfortable around her, and while he wasn’t sure how his joke had landed, he wasn’t worried about how she might take it. 

Standing up and putting her hands on her hips. “So, what if I am? Nobody has shown me around town and I have never had a proper date.”  

Stepping back, Phil was visibly scared from such a large showing, even if Cassandra meant it as a joke. 

“Oh Phil, I didn’t mean to scare you, I was just kidding!” Cassandra said, coming in trying to ease his fear. 

“No, you just shocked me. Nobody has taken you out on a date? I couldn't believe that, just look at you.” Phillip responded, doing the hand framing of her again, but in a much slower and deliberate way, as if checking her out. 

Cassandra immediately blushed. All of her. She was so taken back by his compliment that she couldn’t hide it. Without asking, she lifted him up and gave him a huge hug, twirling on her heel. Phillip was actually scared this time, but at the same time, very excited. 

“Why don’t we start on a walk of the camp here, and then we can head out into town. Perhaps you could show me where you live?” Cassandra asked, pulling Phillip away from her chest. 

“Well, you can literally throw me around if I say no, so I guess I am going with yes.” Phillip said, tapping on her hands around his waist. 

“Oh, I am so sorry. I get so excited sometimes I forget. I swear I am working on it.” Cassandra apologized. 

“If there was a giant woman to swing me around like a stuffed animal, I couldn’t imagine someone better.” Phillip joked, trying to assure her it was ok. 

“You keep this up, I may never put you down Phil.” Cassandra said, with a flirtier tone. 

At that moment, other Alpha’s began filling the tent for lunch. While they filed in noisily, Cassandra secured Phillip with her arm against her chest and looked to make her way out of the tent, the same way Ben left. 

Getting to a clearing, Cassandra looked down at Phillip. He was surveying the area to get his bearings. “How about up here?” Cassandra asked, as she lifted Phil up to be on her shoulders. Grasping his legs, he was secured up behind her head. 

Taking in the new higher perspective, he looked around for a moment when they heard some shouting. “Let's head over there and see what's going on!” Phillip urged her. 

“Sure!” Cassandra said, half jogging towards the yelling. She felt Phillip bouncing on her shoulders just slightly. It felt amazing having this little man trust her. He was fascinated just being around her, and honestly, she found herself fascinated with him. She was excited for their time on the town. 

Phillip was bouncing on the red heads shoulders as they cruised through the tents. Her long fingers wrapped around his legs combined with the wonderful smell of her head, Phil ignored the fact they were breaking most human land speed records as she briskly made their way through camp. He was much more concerned about the thumping his heart was doing being this close to the tall beauty. 

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“I think we are almost there...” Cassandra said rounding the last tent before the clearing. 

The sight of Phillip riding on Cassandra’s shoulders was not lost on anybody. Ben was simply astounded, Claire and Malinda were half snarling at one another, Amalia was on her phone as always and the two remaining Alphas just took in the juxtaposition of an Alpha and Beta just simply being around one another, playfully.  

As Cassandra approached, she attempted to break the awkward silence. “Phil is going to show me around town, anyone else want to come?” 

Everybody remained silent. 

Satisfied she had waited long enough, “Alright then, you had your shot, ready to go Phil?” 

“Let’s start off headed that way!” Phillip said, laughing and pointing past the city hall building. 

Cassandra and Phillip walked off laughing and chatting. 

Breaking the silence in the crowd. “That is what we need. Genuine interest in one another. Not this militaristic approach of efficiency and inevitability.” Claire said to the group. 

“Hey Ben, want to come by my playmate again?” Malinda glared over at Ben laughing. 

“Enough.” Amalia stated. “Claire has a point. Let's get lunch and we can reconvene soon. Ladies.” She started to walk away. “And gentlemen” She continued, acknowledging Ben before she went back to her phone. Her and Malinda walked off, the other two Alphas left as well. 

Intended or not, her small gesture was the first time she acknowledged him. Perhaps there was some hope. 

Claire scooped up Ben and put him up on her shoulders. “Hey if we hurry, we might be able to catch up. They don’t know it yet, but they may just help us make this whole ordeal a net positive for us all.” 

“Then lead on milady!” Ben said, pointing in their direction.