HEALING THE EARTH (FOUR)

A very dramatic and wasteful process of capturing women. For just two dissident women, General Colten had to get out a jetbus and an army of no less than fifty men. This is really a very expensive capture process. He only wished the women could be used to produce more than one baby. At least each gave five strong baby boys or smart baby girls. All of that would only be worth all the expense and effort he had put into bringing them to the White Wall.

The plane began to make a faint hum as its claws began to leave the uneven ground below. General Colten stared at the chaotic scene outside the window expressionlessly. All those luxuries were gone. NYC is very beautiful, where he once spent his school holidays with his parents to have fun. Back in that place he could find a lot of entertainment. Toy shops, bookstores, restaurants with very delicious food stood there in rows. It's a shame that all those luxuries have disappeared along with the ferocity of a few people who are more concerned with their egos.

"They have been well taken care of, sir."

"Add their names to our database of women. Clio Yilmaz and—"

"Vella Huck."

The soldier gasped. He cursed his stupidity for accidentally interrupting General Colten's words.

"I'm sorry, sir."

"How is Vella Huck condition? Are the injuries serious?"

He ignored the frightened stares of his soldiers and kept his eyes on the window which now offered a view of the extremely arid desert in the north.

"She has several broken bones in her fingers and wrist. Some of her ribs were cracked because she was crushed by the rubble of the underground tunnel wall. But there were no serious injuries to her head. We've scanned her entire body and the wounds on the surface of her skin are just normal scratches that don't require stitches."

"What about the fever?"

"She was dehydrated and had a fever due to her body's reaction to her fracture. She will be fine after being injected by the alpha serum. The bones will be perfectly fused again after three days."

"Good. Tell doctor Bryce to give her a nano treatment to speed up her body's recovery process. She must immediately undergo an isemination program in the laboratory. How about Clio?"

"There were no serious injuries to the woman. She just fainted from the laser gun."

"Good. When she wakes up, you guys watch her. Don't let her mess up again."

"Copy that, sir." The soldier gave a curt bow and walked away leaving the general alone in his cabin.

Just as the door closed and the hissing sound disappeared, General Colten shifted his gaze from the window to the rest of his spacious and luxurious cabin. Everything is dominated by black and silver, colors that match his personality. An Ailanthius Altissima symbol carved from pure white gold was pasted on the cabin wall. It is a big tree. Immortal tree. General Colten wanted his new world to grow and develop like the tree of immortality. The tree had grown in his yard ever since this world was filled with war and chaos. Not a single object or toxic substances that damage the tree. He remained firmly there, withstanding all the damage that occurred around him and being the only tree that still existed after the great war occurred.

General Colten averted his gaze from the symbol of his country and stretched his slightly stiff neck. He moved to the mini bar in the corner room to get some wine and pour himself. He needed to drink some wine to relax the tension in his muscles. Today is quite tough. It wasn't the heaviest, but the girl was draining a lot more energy than he expected. He should have punished his entire army for failing in today's operation. There are still a lot of Centurions hiding out there. And it's a shame because they got so few women from the Centurions during the hours of searching around New York City. They should be superior to the Centurions with all the advanced weapons they have.

Had he not stepped off the plane and disguised himself as one of Hyperion's soldiers, he would have surely lost two precious women to be the mother of his children. It's a shame that his mighty soldiers managed to be fooled by a naive woman like Clio. The woman would have almost escaped if he hadn't ambushed her in the tunnel first and tricked her into a traveler's story.

While enjoying the wine, General Colten smirked at the thought of Clio's face looking disappointed and hurt. She was deceived. The girl is too easy to trust strangers around her. Just because he pretended to save her from the Hyperion army, Clio immediately gave him her trust. Clio would be the three hundredth woman to be the mother of his babies. So far he has had two hundred pregnant women and the rest are still under observation under Doctor Bryce's supervision. He hopes that Clio can be directly used to contain his seeds. A woman should fulfill her nature as a mother. He wasn't going to let women roam out there and put themselves at risk for war.

The sound of the door opening and a soft hiss echoed throughout the cabin. Commander Feron entered the cabin, his face grim and stiff.

"You forgot your manners, Feron?" General Colten continued to sip his wine without turning to commander Feron who was standing stiffly by the door.

"I'm sorry, sir. I've knocked repeatedly. There's no answer." Commander Feron looked so tense. He stared intently at his general's face, observing every change in his expression, which remained flat. It seemed that he would not be punished for his impudence.

"What are you doing here?"

"I've heard the details of the failure in today's operation. I'm sorry that you have to step in to sort things out."

"I killed two of your soldiers in the underground tunnel. They wanted to hurt the women."

"They deserve death. I will punish all eagles one and two."

"Do as usual." General Colten grinned over his shiny wine glass. "Raise to two thousand volts."

Feron knew general Colten was ruthless and insane. The electrical energy of two thousand volts would make the soldiers' bodies more than just electrocuted. Their brains will be roasted, and maybe some of them will die. Or it was his real purpose, to kill soldiers the general no longer needed. And leaving only formidable soldiers who are invincible.

"I want a report on the Centurions. Any recent updates about them?"

"After today's operation, we managed to get twenty women in total. Eighteen women had arrived at the White Wall and were in the examination hall. Some of Centurion's men camped around NYC died, and the rest escaped."

"Find those people who ran away. Maybe they can become my soldiers, or if they are too much trouble, just throw their bodies into the white river. My croco haven't had fresh meat in a long time."

"Noted. Owls three and four will be moving in tonight to find the rebels."

"Good. Never let me down, Feron. You are my favorite commander."

"I am not going to. Tonight I will be with them. And please forgive the stupidity of my soldiers today."

"There is always a second chance to make amends for the first."

It was something his father had taught him years ago. When he made a mistake, his father always gave him the opportunity to correct his mistake. But that was after he had gone through a long painful sentence. He would not be a formidable general without all the things his father had taught him.

"If you have nothing more to say, you can leave, Feron."

"There's something else. Doctor Bryce just called me, you're being asked to go to his lab and upgrade your serum. Twenty-five women who had your sperm injected last month just had miscarriages."

"They have to repeat the insemination procedure next month. I've been pushing Bryce to develop a serum that's permanent for me. He also doesn't have to harvest my seeds every two weeks for the insemination procedure in the lab. That's troublesome. I have a lot of work. I can't just lie around all day in the lab while the doctors are doing their job picking up the seeds." General Colten snorted. He could already imagine what would happen to him after this. Lay down on the gurney and allow the skin to be pricked by Doctor Bryce's syringes.

"He may be able to, but it will decrease the quality of your seeds. Look what happens when you don't upgrade your serum, twenty five women miscarry. Even though the fifty women who got your seeds two months ago are fine, and are now going through the process of getting pregnant peacefully. You shouldn't be late in upgrading your serum."

"Don't ever advise me about that, Feron. You better get out."

"You are our only hope, sir. You know for certain that the main reason humanity is almost extinct is not only because the number of women is decreasing, but because the remaining men are infertile."

"I know. You don't have to remind me, Feron."

Everything that commander Feron said only made General Colten feel his burden was getting heavier. He has a great responsibility to restore human civilization. Years of nuclear war left behind radiation, which left the remaining men infertile. Some men who might have survived radiation did not survive doctor Bryce's boosting serum. Serum that is injected into the bodies of Hyperion army makes them infertile. General Colten was the only one who survived after being injected with the boosting serum many times. Even Hyperion army only needed one injection of boosting serum for their lifetime. While general Colten needs to upgrade his serum many times to keep his body prime and strong.

"Don't worry. Our earth will heal soon. Better and stronger."