Terranovus

A full twenty-four hours had passed since that disaster and we hadn’t heard a word from Jack. We sent him messages, tried calling him and visited him and his family’s apartment but heard nothing from him. To be honest, the abusive and threatening messages Tommy had sent him probably had something to do with the silence but we didn’t really care that much.

Eventually a mate of Simon’s told us he saw Jack playing cards down at Jamie’s place so at least we knew the Toffs hadn’t arrested him. We agreed we’d leave him alone for a bit to grow some balls and apologise to us.

The next morning my legs were so stiff I thought I had grown wooden legs overnight. My muscles ached so badly I didn’t know how I was going to make it to dad’s annual work ball that night. Thankfully after a warm shower, some soft stretches and a day relaxing playing online games with Tommy and Simon as was able to walk without hobbling.

The day passed quickly and before I knew it, it was nearly 5pm and I was standing in front of the mirror looking at my outfit and shaking my head in disbelief. I hated dresses. I hated them with all my fury. They were tight, itchy, made my hips look huge and the thought of nothing but knickers protecting my yuha from the air frightened me.

The dress my mum had found for me was sort of nice ... I suppose? With scarce supplies and materials, beautiful items like dresses were expensive and hard to come by. Fortunately my mum was good friends with a seamstress so my dress wasn’t ugly. It was navy blue and made of some sort of floaty fabric that felt light and girly and it had lace detailing across the shoulders. It fitted nicely around my waist and flared out a little bit at the bottom just below my knees. Mum had found some silver heels to match the dress but I lied and told her they didn’t fit so I could wear my comfortable leather sandals instead.

I was squirming and pulling faces at the mirror when mum walked in wearing a simple but elegant dark purple gown that fell to the floor.

“Oh, you look so beautiful!” she exclaimed. She had her hands clasped together and her eyes were beginning to glisten with tears of happiness.

“Mum, do I really have to wear I dress?” I moaned.

“Shush!” she said. “You look lovely!”

I sighed and stared at myself in the mirror once again. Lovely? Ugh, give me pants any day. Thank goodness Simon and Tommy’s parents didn’t work for the Army, I could never never wear a dress in front of them without being ridiculed.

“Can I put my hair in a bun?” I asked mum hopefully.

“Definitely not,” she laughed, “instead, I thought you could wear this.” She opened her clasped fist to reveal a beautiful silver hair clip adorned with floral spirals.

“Where did you get that from?” I asked. Something so pretty and unique had to be worth a small fortune.

“It belonged to my great-great-great god-knows-what grandmother. I had completely forgotten about it until a few days ago when I was spring cleaning.”

I smiled and admired the clip – it was beautiful. I turned around to let my mum pull my hair up into an elegant half-up-half-down do. Once she fitted the clip, she clasped my shoulders and looked at me in the mirror.

“You look beautiful,” she said. I blushed a little and smiled back.

“Thanks Mum,” I said. At that moment my Dad appeared in the doorway wearing a tux. He immediately looked at us together and grinned ear to ear.

“Now aren’t you the prettiest ladies the world has ever seen,” he said.

“Dad!” I protested, cringing. Mum however smiled and leaned into Dad for a kiss. “Gross,” I mumbled.

A few hours later my father, mother and I were standing outside the Houses of Parliament. To be invited inside was such a privilege, an honour that couldn’t be taken for granted. Once a year, the Commander of the Army opened the doors of his home to the top Chiefs, Generals and Lieutenants in celebration of the years’ achievements - not that there was much to celebrate. But this year for a change the Commander had opened his doors to some lower rank but well respected Army employees too, which is why my family for the first time had been invited. And apparently this year, rumours had it, the Commander had a very special announcement to make. To say my Dad was proud would be an understatement. He only ever dreamed of attending this event.

Standing outside of the Houses of Parliament, I watched my Dad and his chest rise with pride. I smiled and felt happy for him. The Houses of Parliament, made of real carved stone, was incredibly beautiful and unique. Thick clear pillars stood positioned around the stone building whilst a fifty-story glass tower stood strong and proud on top of the pillars. It was an architectural wonder. When this Sector started to run out of space, they slowly demolished old “heritage” buildings and replaced them with sophisticated residential and office blocks. When all but this building had been demolished, the Government decided to build on top of it to preserve “history”. Whereas if it had been the Army’s decision, they would have torn down the Houses of Parliament decades ago. Got to love sentimental politicians.

“Let’s go,” smiled Mum and she grasped Dad’s hand and together set off towards the entrance. I went follow them but stopped as I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and saw Tommy looking at me rather nervously.

“Tommy?” I laughed. I was so shocked I couldn’t stop smiling. “What are you doing here?” He looked guilty and averted his eyes to the Houses of Parliament.

“It’s rather magnificent, isn’t it?” he asked. I laughed and shook my head.

“Good change of topic,” I said. Tommy mischievously smiled and his eyes flickered to my face, then hair, then shoulders, chest and hips, then back to my face. Feeling self-conscious, I deeply blushed and crossed my arms.

“I’m sorry, I just really wanted to see you,” said Tommy sincerely. I softly smiled and did a little twirl.

“Yeah? And what do you think?” I responded with sarcasm.

“You look beautiful,” responded Tommy. I felt myself beginning to blush again. This was a very different Tommy to the one I was used to.

“Are you saying I’m ugly without a dress on?” I retorted, desperate to recreate the banter relationship I was more accustomed to. Tommy rolled his eyes and laughed.

“You’re never ugly, always the opposite,” he said. I looked at him curiously and at that moment Tommy cleared his throat and decided to change the topic.

“Have a good night Tilly, let me know what the Commander announces,” he said.

“I will,” I replied. For a few seconds, unspoken words of bewilderment and hope flashed through us. I bit down on my lip and grinned to myself. Focus on the ball, I told myself. So I turned around and searched for my parents. They were standing near the entrance talking to someone my father must have known from work.

As I stepped away from Tommy and made my way back to the entrance, a part of me wanted to turn back and spend the whole night with him so I told myself another night perhaps. However, whilst I was walking, I couldn’t shake the feeling Tommy was still staring at me, without a doubt probably checking out my ass, which admittedly did look mighty fine in that dress. To prove my theory, I excessively swaggered my hips side to side and heard a burst of laughter from behind me. Yup, he had definitely been checking out my ass.

I re-joined my parents and after my dad briefly introduced me to his colleague, my mum took me by the elbow and excused us. Her facial expression filled with amusement.

“Was that Tommy?” she asked, surprised.

“I’m not talking about it,” I responded. Mum laughed and wrapped her arm around me.

“My little princess is growing up,” she sighed. I snorted at that and ignored her.

Together we made our way to the entrance and joined the queue for admission. I glanced up at the flags hanging above the archway and was immediately puzzled. Usually the Army’s flag hung from the poles but tonight a different flag hung.

“Mum, I’ve not seen those flags before, where are they from?” I asked. Mum looked up and studied them.

“If I’m not mistaken, I’m sure that pattern was the symbol of the country that use to belong to this land from over a hundred years ago,” she responded. She nudged Dad and he looked up at it too. He had a peculiar expression on his face and didn’t say a word as he stared at it.

It was odd. To still be proud of your nation and appear patriotic wasn’t a thing these days. The world was so multicultural. Everyone was interracial. Country borders didn’t exist. The quality of life was equal no matter what country you lived in – over populated, dirty, poverty stricken...

“Next!” called the attendant. We shuffled forward and Dad showed the attendant our tickets and IDs, who checked the documents, looked at us, then gave us a curt nod and motioned forward.

Excitedly, the three of us made our way through the glass entrance and through the grand double doors. Through the doorway, the reception room was magnificent. Everything had to be over a few hundred years old. It was like I was standing back in time. Marble flooring, wooden panels, hundreds of portrait paintings and an enormous crystal chandelier hung beautifully in the centre of the room.

Mum nudged me excitedly, “look at the wood! I’ve never seen so much wood.” I glanced up and admired the wooden panelling too. Trees were nearly extinct these days because they don’t have a purpose, nor the land capacity. We now have air purifiers and paper is old fashioned.

Everyone was moving slowly through another set of double doors. I stood on my tiptoes to try and see above the bobbing heads but unfortunately I wasn’t tall enough.

“There’s nothing exciting to see,” said a girl approximately my age next to me. She looked rather bored and wore a gown made of a beautiful fabric that flowed behind her.

“I’m sorry,” I apologised and smiled, “this is my first time at one of these.” The girl looked at the ends of my hair that hadn’t been cut in over a year and down at my dress.

“I see that,” she stated, “I can’t wait for this to be over. This country is such a bore.” I was speechless and couldn’t believe it, who on earth did this girl think she was? I snorted and shuffled forward with the rest of the crowd, sniggering as my foot “accidentally” stepped on the train of her beautiful gown. I heard a rip.

“Ugh!” she shouted and went to lunge at me but I quickly dodged her and skipped ahead in-between two old men and re-join my parents.

“It’s beautiful,” stated mum. I looked out towards the ballroom that was now visible and gasped in surprise. Beautiful was an understatement - gold painted walls, marble flooring and dozens of crystal chandeliers. A main stage with a lectern stood at the back of the enormous room with a small dance area left bare in front of it. Scattered throughout the room were many circular dinner tables, each large enough to fit approximately eight people. A man wearing a uniform approached my parents and asked for our tickets, after checking them briefly he showed my family to our table. I stole a glance behind us and thankfully the girl I thoroughly did not like was directed towards another table on the other side of the room.

My family sat down at our table and I couldn’t help but pick up the fork next to my plate and gawk at it. Posh it was alright. It was polished brilliantly and had intricate detailing on the handle. I watched my mum stare at all the fancy dinnerware on the table and wondered what she was thinking; all this wealth and so many poor people just a few streets away? I studied the fork again and made a mental note to myself to pocket it at the end of the night and sell it at the markets tomorrow.

Quite quickly the room began to fill and others joined our table. Altogether there were eight of us: my parents and I, two couples and an elderly man. The couples seemed lovely and excitable, immediately they joined my parents in a conversation about this evening’s event. It was obvious it was their first time here too. As the only adolescent, I sat quietly with a soft fake smile on my face – adult talk did not interest me one bit.

Soon my interest turned to the old man sitting next to me clearly not interested in the chit chat the adults at the table were having. He sat with a frown on his face and kept glancing at his rather impressive gold watch. He sighed every now and then and was tapping his foot impatiently.

“I like your watch,” I told him. He looked at me as though he only just realised someone was sitting next to him.

“Thank you,” he grumbled.

“It’s an analog watch, isn’t it? I’ve never seen one of those, everyone wears Ingo’s these days,” I continued. This time the old man raised his eyebrows. Hardly any children knew the definition of analog.

“Yes it is, powered by solar,” the man said. He looked at me curiously, “what is your name?”

“Tabitha McKinley,” I said.

“Well Tabitha, it is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Alfred Windsor. I believe this is your first time here?”

“Yes, it is.”

“And are you liking it so far?”

My memory flashed back to the torn dress.

“Yes I am. It’s a privilege to be here and the architecture is beautiful,” I said.

“The architecture! Ha!” said Alfred amused, “now you are full of surprises, aren’t you? First analog watches and now an interest in architecture?”

“Yes, I’m at the top of my class in graphic communications. I hope to become an architect one day,” I explained blushing a little.

“Well,” said Alfred, “I think you’re going to enjoy the announcement the Commander will make after dinner then.”

“You know what the announcement is?” I asked surprised. I glanced at the rank sewn onto the shoulder of his army jacket and almost toppled off my seat in shock. He was a Sergeant Major. Of course he knew what the announcement would be. The old man smiled at my realisation.

“Oh yes I do and I think you will love it,” he replied. “Did you know architecture is one of the few forms of art left?”

“How so?” I asked.

“You wouldn’t know this but centuries ago art was treasured. There were museums, art galleries, statues and all sorts. You’ve done History 106 haven’t you?”

“Of course.”

“Do you remember the historic castles and monuments the Government destroyed to make room for skyscrapers?” he asked.

“Yes, it was necessary due to the housing crisis.”

“Those castles were breathtaking. They were some of the architectural wonders of the world, perhaps after Angkor Wat, Machu Picchu and the Egyptian pyramids of course. Built so long ago by hand, with not one piece of modern machinery. Could you imagine dragging stone all over the country?”

Machu what? Those names were foreign to me. But I paused and thought for a moment. Building apartments was easy, we learnt how to in class. But a stone castle without any machinery? No wonder why everybody back then treasured their heritage buildings.

“Our world now is so focused upon building and finding space that other forms of art have been forgotten. Have you ever heard of a cinema or a theatre?” he continued.

“No,” I replied.

“They were large rooms in which you could watch a movie or real life performances with a crowd of people. People would buy tickets to watch entertainment,” he explained passionately.

“That sounds incredible,” I said. And it did! Real life performances?

“Yes,” agreed Alfred. “Art is a wonderful thing.”

I smiled at him and turned around to view the room, it had filled up quite quickly. Soon the first course of our meal was served. It was a soup of some kind, perhaps tomato, and was absolutely delicious. The bread served with it was warm and fluffy, it must have had some secret ingredient in it because it tasted five times better than any other bread I had tasted. I overheard a lady at the table behind me say the bread was made from a newly invented artificial flour.

The mains were mouth watering and I made sure to savour each bite. Chicken so tender, roast potatoes so crisp on the outside but fluffy in the inside with a huge range of vegetables served on the side. I flipped a long green vegetable on its side and admired its long stem and bulbous head.

“What’s the name of this vegetable?” I asked my mother. She looked over at my plate and saw which vegetable I was pointing at.

“I’m not sure, I’ve never seen it before,” she replied.

“It’s called broccolini,” explained Alfred. My mum peered over at Alfred impressed.

“Is it new?” my mum asked.

“No, it’s very old. They say it’s about to make a comeback,” he explained further. My mum looked impressed and thanked Alfred and continued with her meal. Whereas I continued to stare at the vegetable perplexed. Old vegetables about to back a comeback? Alfred had to be older than I thought.

Next, dessert was served in an array of mini tasters the table could share. Chocolate truffles, filled mini doughnuts, some weird jelly-like substances and hundreds of biscuits and cakes. I was truly and wonderfully stuffed.

Soon the tables were cleared, the room dimmed and everyone turned to the stage and fell silent. A light shone on the lectern at the front of the room and the curtains parted to reveal the Commander of the Army. The room cheered and as I peered through the other attendees, I saw he looked surprisingly strong for his age, approximately in his fifties. He walked forward towards the lectern with a purpose. His demeanour spoke authority and the room quickly and respectfully fell silent. This man wasn’t a celebrity, he was a Leader.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he began, “thank you for joining me tonight on this evening.” I looked around the room to find everybody looking up at the Commander with awe and admiration. He was not just our leader, he was also our saviour. Without the Commander of the Army our world would have collapsed long ago when the Government fell.

The Commander continued, “I hope you all enjoyed the delicious food tonight and took time to talk with your fellow colleagues and reflect upon this year’s achievements. Together, we have worked as one to maintain order and discipline in our streets. We have excelled in innovative engineering methods and found ways to use architecture and renewable energy to our benefit. I want to thank each and every one of you for your admirable determination, intelligence and vigilance through these hard times, which is why on this night of celebration, I would like to make a special announcement.”

At these words, the atmosphere within the room shifted to one of excitement.

“Before I make this announcement, I’d like to remind everyone that together we have worked incredibly hard to bring this world back under control. We have seen population growth come to a near standstill, watched this generation adapt and learn skills for the future and last, but not least, have stepped into a world where our scientists and engineers are capable of changing our world for the better. Which is why, without further ado ... I would like to introduce to you a project we have been keeping a secret these last few years - Terranovus!”