Chapter 239
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When Eve was a child she had been afraid of going to the dentist. Her mother assured her that, like most things in life, the dentist's office was a lot less painful than people imagined. The exception was giving birth, it was more painful than most women imagined. That might've partly explained why Eve had no brothers or sisters. And now it seemed that she was going to experience it first-hand. Eve had chosen to be pregnant, she felt she had no right to turn back now. She had no idea who the father was. A number of male prisoners and guards were giving their blood, matching it against Eve and other pregnant prisoners. George Mason had always said they were trying to divert or destroy ELE. Eve still prayed that this could be done. But even then, Eve would have to explain to her child one day.
April seemed to both drag on endlessly, and move too quickly. The current war to end all wars seemed to be almost over. With pope Peter II in critical condition cardinal Matthews was organizing peace conferences, but in some cases it was too late. In Sangala the Bawa had seemingly been completely wiped out, save for a few trying to pass for Askari. Matthews did get one concession. Pregnant Askari women would have to prove their own ethnicity before being admitted to an Ark, but not the ethnicity of their baby. On April 20th Israel and Pakistan signed a peace treaty. The Arks, and the oil for fuel, would be divided up between the two countries, each country choosing for itself a selection process. With the American civil war collectivists were desserting, even attempting to defect, in large numbers. Mason accepted this, Zoey Allen filmed their statements for propoganda. Sadler showed some of these statements in the theatre, and they were allegdly treated pretty well in Washington. Whether any of them were accepted into the Arks seemed to be anyone's guess. After the war finally ended Eve expected to be released, she just wasn't sure what kind of world she'd be released into.
It seemed that president Mason was putting defectors to use. Zoey Allen and a few loyalist directors were making a movie. The plot involved collectivist prisoners who atoned for their treason by accepting a dangerous mission, destroying Douglas' chemical weapons. They were using actual collectivist defectors as actors for realism. With her experience Eve wondered if she could've been used for this movie. But she said nothing about this outloud. Eve had heard some comment on the defectors who made statements, what the P.O.W.s wanted to do to them. It didn't escape her attention that prisoners who worked closely with colonel Sadler had to be placed in protective custody. Eve had her baby to think of, she couldn't place herself in jeopardy. This movie likely wouldn't be complete before the war ended. Too late for wartime propoganda, but maybe for reconstruction.
Although Dr Weber had asked, Eve didn't say who her baby's father was. He wasn't suprised, Eve probably wouldn't have said if she'd known. Amongst pregnant prisoners, the patriots and collaborators didn't get along. On the morning of April 23rd Eve heard some noises outside. When she woke up her cellmates told her to stay out of it, this was none of her business. When it finally died down they told Eve what that had been about. Two pregnant prisoners, one patriot and one collaborator, fought each other to the death in a knife fight. Eve had seen some barbaric things over the last two years. But this, pregnant women killing each other. This shocked Eve in a way that was still fresh. When she saw the loser'sdead body, her baby also dead at this early stage, Eve prayed that people never learned who her baby daddy was.