Alex and Kelly went to see Brainiac 5 in his office at the State Department about going on a space adventure outside the solar system. "There's this colony world not too far from here called Terra Nova. We'd like to go there," Kelly said brightly.
"I cannot allow that," Brainiac 5 said flatly.
"What? Your mission is to make us happy in this time. We want to go there," Alex insisted.
"Your mission is to stay alive, so Kara is happy," Brainiac 5 corrected.
"What's the big deal about Terra Nova?" Kelly asked curiously.
"The risk assessment is too high. You must understand that many of these worlds have diverse natural phenomena, animal life, and people. The risk assessment for the two of you is severe," Brainiac 5 said.
"According to the Galactic Federation State Department, it's classified as green," Kelly brought up.
"That's for...ordinary people," Brainiac 5 said condescendingly.
"Barney, the reason we're interested in this colony is that everyone is a woman. The murder rate is nearly non-existent, no firearms, no rape, and very little crime. It sounds like paradise," Kelly said.
"It's too dangerous for people like you," Brainiac 5 said vaguely.
"How can any world be off-limits to us? Aren't we part of the royal family? What goes is an empire if not even the royal family can't visit there?" Alex asked.
"How about another destination?" Brainiac 5 asked condescendingly.
"We have our hearts on this," Alex insisted.
"Denied," Brainiac 5 said finally. "Terra Nova is a sensitive development and even if the entire Imperial army escorted you, it would not be productive for either side. I control the economy, transportation, immigration, and customs."
"I'll have Kara overrule you," Alex threatened.
"Is that what you really think?" Brainiac 5 said dismissively.
Alex and Kelly exited his office in a huff. "Such an asshole," Alex shook her head dismayed.
"He must have a good reason," Kelly figured.
"He's just fucking with us," Alex sensed. "We will not be deterred."
"Alex, maybe we should slow down. How many people in the 21st century can say they've been to outer space or other planets?" Kelly asked her.
"It's all relative," Alex said. "Hey, you, if you wanted to go to Terra Nova, could you?" she asked a random male officer.
"Why would I?" he asked confused.
"Just, if you wanted to, you could, right?" Alex pressed.
"Yeah," he said obviously.
Alex turned back to Kelly. "He's messing with us."
Alex and Kelly met up with Mon in a bar. Unfortunately, Mon was already drunk as fuck when they arrived. "Mon, we need a ship to take us to Terra Nova," Kelly said gently.
Mon calculated that for a split second and then chuckled amused. "What's this all about?"
"Barney won't let us go. Says it's too dangerous for people like us whatever that means. I think he's just fucking with us, and we really want to go," Alex said.
"Barney is monitoring every single ship in the Galactic Federation. You're going to need a cloaked ship to smuggle you into Terra Nova," Mon considered.
"Is that a problem?" Alex asked expectedly.
"No, not at all," Mon grinned.
Terra Nova
Alex and Kelly boarded the USS Nemo Poseidon-class sub and warped to Terra Nova while cloaked. An escape pod was launched from the sub to land on the surface. The pod landed in the ocean. Alex and Kelly came upon the beach wearing casual black clothing. They entered a cave to use as shelter for the night only to encounter villagers.
"Humans?" the villager elder figured as she saw them both.
"Yes, we're from Earth," Kelly told him.
"Welcome, I take you to my village," the village elder offered.
Alex and Kelly walked a short way with the villagers. They were given an inn to stay at and food. "We're not really supposed to be here, but we have precious metals," Alex said to them.
"No need. You are our guests of honor," the village elder told them.
Alex and Kelly toured around the village. Despite being a mere outpost, it had all the amenities expected of the 31st century. It was perfectly clean, safe, and sustainable. The food was similar to 21st-century cuisine albeit vegan which Kelly appreciated. They noticed a local church with a priest who appeared as a woman. In fact, everyone in the village appeared as a woman. Alex and Kelly felt right at home.
Alex and Kelly toured around the countryside, hiked the cliffs, and enjoyed the courteous village people. It was truly heaven for them. After a few days, they went to another village by boat. Due to them being different, Alex and Kelly became celebrities on Terra Nova. At first, the villagers figured Alex and Kelly were merely "good friends" or "roommates" but then a few villagers spied them kissing and being affectionate toward each other on nature hikes.
"We're being watched," Alex noticed two spies in the distance.
"Let them watch," Kelly smiled and gave Alex a kiss.
This was not out of the ordinary as both males and females appeared as women and were difficult to tell apart. In casual conversation, Alex slipped that she was pregnant. With Alex obviously not the male one, the villagers assumed Kelly was, instead. However, Kelly asked all sorts of questions about women's health care at the local clinic, used female restroom facilities, and had a more feminine attitude than Alex. It soon became apparent to the villagers that Alex and Kelly might be...homosexual.
Those with homosexual or queer tendencies made themselves known to Alex and Kelly and formed mini-LGBT study groups away from prying eyes. One gave Alex a confession on the beach.
"I denied my sexuality to the authorities," Kichi revealed. "Stamp on the rainbow flag with our foot. Just once, just lightly, so I did."
"Okay," Alex said not thinking this was a big deal.
"But other members of my family refused. They were placed in straw, put on a stake, and lit on fire. I could not abandon them, so I watched them die. But when I saw you, I thought maybe there is hope for a change," Kichi said. "In my dreams now, the fire is no longer so bright."
"Holy shit," Alex gasped.
"I cannot confess my sin to the priests. They will imprison me or kill me if I reveal who I am," Kichi said mournfully.
"You've committed no sin," Alex assured her.
It wasn't long before the police arrived in the village with rumors of LGBT activity. A number of people in the LGBT study group were arrested by village snitches. In the town square, the police captain addressed them all. "We've been informed that some of you like this poor wrench here are homosexuals, sodomites, lesbians," she said.
"But we do our duty to the state. We worship God at the church," the mayor said in defense of the village.
"I am well aware that you are mostly good people. We only want to hear about those who embrace the outlawed sexualities and those who hide them. In time, we will know who they are. Then, you will all be fucked. But if you tell us, you will be given a ration bonus."
The villagers said nothing to that. "Don't look so scared. Let's give them three days," Sonja said, the planetary governor. She was dressed in an Imperial uniform with a general's rank.
"In three days, I'll raid the fuck out of this village," the police captain threatened.
Alex and Kelly saw the scene from a distance. "This is fucked up," Kelly said dismayed.
At the LGBT study group, Kelly was resolved to leave. "No one should suffer because of us."
"We are not afraid to be persecuted, and we will never surrender you," the mayor said adamantly.
"No one is going to die," Alex said resolved.
"It will no matter if you go or stay, so stay," the mayor insisted.
"They could come back and destroy the entire village if we stay," Alex said seriously.
"We have no choice. It's the only right thing to do," Kelly agreed.
"They must leave. Only that way we will be saved," one spoke out.
"You can't say that. They've come to teach us how to love others and ourselves. We can't just give them up!" another said passionately.
"They put us all in danger. We wouldn't be in such trouble if they never came," the other one argued.
"We must protect them as our guests," the mayor declared.
"Alright, we'll stay," Alex relented.
The next day, the police captain came back and forced four alleged lesbians to come forward and stomp on the rainbow flag. They reluctantly all did so. "I noticed your breathing was heavy. Sup with that?" the police captain demanded of one.
"What? No, I'm straight as an arrow," the mayor said unconvincingly.
"Oh, really?" the police captain doubted. "Then, kiss this," she said taking out a giant wood carving of a penis. Alex and Kelly winced as the mayor struggled with the task. The police officers pushed the lesbian mayor closer to the wooden penis. "Spit on it, kiss it, suck it," the police captain ordered wide-eyed.
The lesbian mayor shook her head and refused. "You're a queer," the police captain determined.
Three of the four ultimately failed the test. Kichi was the one to fail and she fled the village into exile.
Soon thereafter, the three lesbians were placed on a cross on the beach. As the tides came in, they slowly drowned to death. It was not instant as the tides were not nearly high enough to go above their heads. Rather, they all died from hypothermia exposure, dehydration, and respiratory exhaustion over the course of a few days. The purpose of this execution type was to give the convicted maximum time to repent while torturing them. Alex and Kelly watched the execution dismayed.
"This is all Kara's fault," Alex said angrily.
"I think a lot of people are at fault, Alex," Kelly said wide-eyed.
The three were eventually taken off the cross and burned by the police.
Alex and Kelly went to the highest elevation they could find to send a signal to the USS Nemo which was supposedly in orbit. Upon arriving at the top, Alex sent the signal to come and get them. "Time to get the fuck out of here," Alex said urgently.
The USS Nemo didn't respond but the Terrans were able to detect the signal and found them quickly. "Well...shit," Alex realized as they were surrounded by the police.
Sonja eyed them amused. "You, two, have caused me a lot of trouble. So unnecessary. Just make a little effort to understand our point of view. We don't hate you. You've brought this on yourselves. And you can rid it of yourselves if you want to."
"Yeah, bullshit. How can you be a planet of queers and be this homophobic?" Alex demanded.
"Queers?" Sonja scoffed. "You only look at appearances, secondary sexual characteristics. Males mate with females and females mate with males to procreate. You thought you could come here and be queer because everyone looks female from your point of view, didn't you? But, it's not that difficult to tell males from females here," Sonja said.
"But why?" Kelly wondered.
"It's hot. I'll give you time to think it over and give me a reasonable answer," Sonja evaded.
Alex and Kelly were brought to the Terra Nova capital city and placed in a prison yard. Alex and Kelly were separated into different group cells. Alex found herself among other so-called sexual deviants. She reassured them of what was to come. Alex was then made to talk to Sonja and other Terra Nova council members in the middle of the prison yard.
"Your trip was long. There were many dangers. The power of your determination touches us greatly. We know you have also suffered greatly. We do not wish to add to your suffering. And the thought that we might do so is painful for us, too. The queer theory you bring with you may be true in your time, but we have studied it carefully, thought about it over much time, and find it is of no use and no value in Terra Nova. We have concluded that it is a danger," Sonja said.
"The truth of sentient rights is universal on all worlds, all races of people. The right to love who we wish, to marry who we wish, to have children who we wish is a universal sacred right. The truth is the truth whether it be in the 21st century or now," Alex argued.
"But everyone knows a tree which flourishes in one kind of soil may decay and die in another. It is the same with a queer tree. The leaves decay here. The buds die," Sonja said.
"It's not the soil that has killed the buds. It is you," Alex said accusingly.
The Terra Nova approach to dealing with Alex was to make all the prisoners but Alex work hard in the rain. The prisoners were made to dig holes even as the water filled them and then get the water out of the holes. Alex was familiar with this tactic and was not shaken. When that didn't work, the Terra Novas waited until it was sunny and dry and brought five prisoners into the prison yard in front of Alex.
"This is just a formality. Just one step will do. We're not asking you to do it sincerely. Just putting your foot on the thing won't betray your queerness or your people," Sonja said to them. "I don't really give a shit about this. The sooner you do it, the sooner you'll be out of the sun."
A rainbow flag was then placed before the five prisoners. "It's only a flag. Put your foot on it," Sonja ordered.
One by one the prisoners refused. "Take them all back except one," Sonja ordered. The four prisoners were then brought back to their cells. The remaining prisoner hung out for a while until he was suddenly beheaded by a guard's sword. The prisoners freaked out as the head rolled around in the prison yard.
Alex winced at that but didn't feel she was in any actual danger.
"This is what happens to queers! But I will show you an example to avoid such a fate. Bring her here!" Sonja ordered. A random prisoner was brought out. "See how simple it is? Step on it," she ordered.
The random prisoner stepped on the rainbow flag. There were a few gasps at this. "See how super-easy, barely an inconvenience that was?" Sonja said to all the prisoners. "Now, get the fuck out," she said to the random prisoner. She ran to the gate and was allowed to leave.
A few days later, Alex was brought in before Sonja for a chat. Alex was given new clothes, an air-conditioned room, and an alcoholic drink. Alex easily recognized this as the "good cop" routine. "It appears I have neglected you, princess," Sonja said with false sincerity.
"Appears so," Alex rolled her eyes.
"I was away on business. There, I heard of a story of a governor who had four concubines: Lucy, Glinda, Bella, and Tammy. They were all beautiful, but they fought with each other continuously. So, the governor sent them all away and peace was restored again," Sonja said.
There was a long awkward silence. "So...what the fuck are we talking about here?" Alex asked finally.
"The governor is Terra Nova, and these concubines are lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders. Each of them fought each other and destroyed the house in the process. So, now you know why I must outlaw queerness."
"As I see it Terra Nova is married to one of these concubines. You're all trans," Alex noted.
Sonja chuckled at that. "Our ancestors through gene therapy altered how we appear today. We didn't choose to look this way. We were born this way. What defines males and females is not outward appearances but chromosomes, gametes, and sex organs. To be trans is to desire to transition from one sex to another. We have no such intent."
"But if you were to go to Earth, that's how they'd label you," Alex said obviously.
"They're mistaken through ignorance. To be trans is to have the intent to change sex, not the appearance," Sonja argued.
"The fact that you don't make efforts to correct this alteration by your ancestors makes you automatically trans," Alex said argumentatively.
"We cannot correct the mistakes of our ancestors. The Church forbids gene therapy for purely elective reasons," Sonja replied.
"Yet, you still enjoy its privilege," Alex pointed out.
"What privilege?" Sonja scoffed.
"You don't have male aggression, so your crime rate is lower, and you don't have wars," Alex said. "You have a much more nurturing society. Before the Church, you were a people of science, tolerance, and acceptance. You were a utopia."
"We're not trans. Try again," Sonja said condescendingly.
"You're all lesbians," Alex said. "Your females could have gone to Earth and married real men, but they don't."
"Terra Nova females are forbidden to go to Earth or marry male humans for this reason," Sonja said smartly.
"You're all actually bisexual then—all of you. Men and women look the same and given enough time and passion, anyone can be attracted to anyone. No one is attracted to someone purely for their junk," Alex said.
"Reasonable people know to only look for a relationship with someone of opposite genitals here," Sonja said.
"You can't tell me your level of attraction for a male or female isn't the same, because everyone looks female," Alex said exasperatedly.
"Only you can't tell, because you're blind as fuck," Sonja said angrily. "Queerness is barren. We have low sperm counts and females desire careers. We constantly struggle with fertility. If we allow your queerness to infect our population, our culture, and our way of life will be over. You came here to enjoy our uniqueness in the galaxy but now you're doing everything to make us go extinct."
Alex was brought to the coast in nice clothes after being well-fed. "Sit down, enjoy yourself, princess," Sonja said to her. "I'm sure the air must feel good."
"Sorry, excuse me, what is this shit? Good cop routine, trying to soften me up, kill me with kindness?" Alex guessed. "You want my body to betray my heart. That's what you're waiting for, isn't it?"
"Not at all," Sonja lied.
The two chuckled with each other for a good while with insincere laughter. "Fuck yourself," Alex said finally.
"We're actually here because I want you to meet someone. She's a human lesbian, like yourself," Sonja said wickedly.
"Kelly," Alex realized.
Kelly and some queer prisoners were marched toward the sea out of view of Alex and Sonja. "I want to talk to her," Alex demanded getting up. Sonja's guards stopped Alex from moving. "I demand to speak to her."
"Don't worry, she knows you're alive. We told her you have abandoned queer theory and are straight now. She didn't take it well," Sonja smiled.
The queer prisoners except Kelly were then placed in heavy straw binds. "I wonder what they're saying to Kelly. Maybe, if you give up queer theory, they won't have to die. But what she doesn't know is that these queers have already abandoned their lifestyle and we're still going to execute them," Sonja said.
"Tell me, were you born fucked up or did you have to work on it?" Alex asked angrily.
"What we really want is for you and your so-called wife to be the ones to abandon queer theory, to be an example for others. We don't really give a shit about these peasants. We want you to give us what we want," Sonja explained.
The queer prisoners were loaded into boats one-by-one except Kelly. "Take me, please!" Kelly shouted unaware that Alex was nearby out of sight. The Terrans ignored her and then dumped the queer prisoners into the water where they promptly drowned.
Kelly went into the water to rescue them but quickly found herself over her head. "Kelly can't swim...she's black," Alex said panicked. Alex was forced out of view of Kelly so she couldn't see what was happening. "No, Kelly, no!" Alex shouted.
"Terrible business. Just...terrible," Sonja said with mock sympathy. "You don't deserve to be a princess. You let your ego and sense of honor and integrity get other people killed. You're a real hero."
That night, Alex had constant nightmares with no knowledge of whether Kelly was alive or dead. When she was awoken in her cell, she fought with the guard and had to be dragged into a carriage where she was paraded through the streets as a queer prisoner. The townspeople mocked and shouted at her as she went through. "Do all you like, it just gives me more pride," Alex said to Sonja.
"You're a good woman, Alex. You will not let others suffer for your sake," Sonja predicted.
That night, several queer prisoners were bound up and hung upside down where they would die a slow painful death. The bodies twitched every so often. Sonja placed the rainbow flag in front of Alex. "Fuck it," Alex sighed and stepped on the flag. Immediately, Sonja's people took photographs of the event. The queer prisoners were then sent back to their cells.
Immediately, Alex was given an apartment, nice clothes, and a job. She was to inspect all marketplace items. "Queer...not queer...queer," Alex said softly as she went through the random objects.
Sonja was gleeful that she had purged the planet of queerness. "Good news. I know a woman who has died. You will be married to her male partner and be a stepmother to their daughter."
"What the fuck?" Alex said under her breath. She still held out hope Kelly was still alive.
"A woman works best when she's not alone. Remember, you were defeated by me. Welcome to Terra Nova," Sonja said victoriously.
Alex impulsively grabbed Sonja by the throat to kill her. Sonja signaled for her guards to defend her. They pointed their laser rifles at Alex and looked for a good shot. Alex didn't care as she squeezed harder. Within a split second, Mon teleported next to Alex and then teleported them both out of the room at the same time Sonja's guards fired. Sonja got hit in the crossfire several times and was killed.
Mon teleported Alex to the coast. Alex immediately saw Kelly alive and well. "Kelly!" Alex shrieked and ran over to her. Mon smirked as Alex and Kelly embraced and kissed each other.
Rome-Earth
Pope Barney addressed a perpetually large crowd in St. Peter's Square from his balcony. Next to him was Mara and several cardinals. On the ground were formations of priests and behind them was the large civilian crowd. "They that are whole have no need of a physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners," Pope Barney quoted.
There was a long pause as the crowd took that in. "The Church is a hospital for the sick. So long as one is admitted to this hospital, they are under the protection of the Church for the mission of the Church is not to punish but to save," Pope Barney declared.
Some of the priests and people in the crowd frowned as they wondered if Pope Barney was becoming too liberal. "However, there is no protection for the sick...outside the Church," Pope Barney clarified.
"Amen! Amen! Amen!" the crowd shouted repeatedly.
The priests smiled approvingly and basked in the joy of the crowd. Pope Barney then turned back inside having said what he needed to. His speech was sent across the news media of the entire Galactic Federation. Realizing what he meant, those of queer orientations across the quadrant rushed to be recorded as sick and in need of Church counseling to receive criminal immunity.
Author's Notes: A role reversal of Silence, a movie about the brutal persecution of Christians by the Japanese. I feel Alex and Kelly are at their best when dealing with opposition as opposed to being insanely cuddled as they were in CW SG. I wanted some high-level irony in a world that is basically all women in appearance but is extremely homophobic. I also felt the need to release this episode before this month is over because I'm either sympathetic, an asshole, or both.