"And check that S.O.S. from east Africa!" Martha raced through the staff room, her attendant fighting to keep pace. "Keep up, Jane!" She tried. "Those reports ready?"
"They are..." Jane handed the reports over. "And these." Her face was a mask of criss-crossed colors from the thousands of monitors all around them. "You have a meeting in ten."
They entered a busy hallway, stark white in contrast to the whirlpool that was the staff room. "These are confirmed." Martha scanned the second set of documents. "These... I'll take a closer look later."
"Excuse me, miss. But how can you keep this up?"
This was the first time the girl had asked a genuine question. Martha was curious. "That's a very general question, Jane." Martha stopped in the hallway, people walked passed without looking at the pair.
"Yes, ma'am. I'm sorry, ma'am."
"That wasn't a reprimand, Jane. It was an observation. Go on."
"Well... it's just.. you're so efficient and precise. Your decision making is the stuff of legends. I can't believe you actually deemed me worthy enough to talk about a non-work subject. And -"
"Gods..." Martha rubbed her temple. "The stuff of legends, Martha? Really? Is that what people say about me? Gods!"
Martha stood with an expressionless grin, unsure of whether she was being chastised or complimented.
"I'll tell you this much. You were worthy the moment you stepped into this bunker. Understood? If you are working by my side you can never doubt yourself. As for that decision-making nonsense. It's just that, nonsense. As far as humanity has come, predicting the weather is still a matter of instinct."
"Instinct?"
"What? Did you thought i was going to chat with you in the hallway all day?" Martha resumed their previously established pace. "I won't give you all the answers, you'll have to figure them out for yourself."
"Yes ma'am." Martha was glowing from the exchange. So much so that she almost forgot Martha's appointment. "Four minutes for that meeting."
An audible sigh escaped Martha as she took a sharp right at an adjacent hallway. "Let's get this over with, what was it again? A Warder? Might actually be a productive stint for once. Come now, Jane, don't slack."
The room they entered was like a mini version of the staff room. It had monitors instead of walls, and each was displaying different weather aberrations as they were forming. In the middle lay an empty table, behind which lay a man in a tattered gray robe with a gray blindfold.
The Warders creeped Jane out, but Mrs. Martha seemed to respect them. So she held firm, and didn't let her displeasure show on her face.
"Warder." Martha gave the man a quick bow of the head. "You've got five minutes, sir."
"Ah." The Warder's lips did not move. Instead, his voice came from somewhere inside his robes. It wasn't digitized either, or at least not poorly. It sounded like an actual, human voice. "Your reputation proceeds you, Mrs. Tides. I'll need less than five minutes.
"Earth i on a collision course with disaster. By the time you figure this out it will be too late. I was sent here by my clan because they believe in you."
"And you don't?"
"I am reserving judgement."
Martha stared at the man for a second, then held up her hand. The blind man put a chip in her palm which Martha placed in her port. Jane was flabbergasted that Madam Martha would put a stranger's chip inside of her with such ease. She had such faith in the Warders?
Martha's eyes started glowing for but a second. She then removed the chip and took the chair opposite the Warder. "This is disconcerting, Warder."
"To put it mildly." The robed figure said.
It was quiet for some time, Jane had never witnessed such quiet. In truth, it lasted not a full minuted.
"P." Martha said. "Pretentious ramblings by a bunch of mad men. You are dismissed."
As she got up the Warder bowed his head. "Thank you."
They left the room without another word. "Was it that bad?" Jane asked.
"Worse. Those fools have gotten old and complacent. What a bunch of nonsense. Huh."
As the two of them continued to go about their day, Jane couldn't shake the feeling that she was missing something. She applied for this position because she wanted to learn from the best. And that exchange with the Warder went completely over her head. However, every time she would prompt Martha about she would get the same answer. It annoyed her.
Until Martha turned in a decommission stairway that was getting maintenanced. "You dense girl?"
The spite in Martha's tone made Jane flinch. "Ma'am? If I've done anything to offend please -"
martha slapped her clear across the face. "The fate of the world is at stake and you can't stop babbling about it, is that it? you excited?"
"Ma-ma'am?"
"First lesson, Jane. Everything in this bunker is being monitored and recorded. Except, in here." Martha tapped her port. "What did I tell you earlier about predicting the climate?"
"That... that it's instinct." Jane said rubbing her cheek.
"Exactly!" Martha took Jane's hand and was rubbing her reddening face. "The brass upstairs cannot fathom what we have to deal with. But you have to. You must,"
"Ma'am?"
"The world is indeed ending, Jane. And no climate model will predict it. No forecast will foresee it. If we bring it up with anyone we will get dismissed, fired, and persecuted."
"Because we tried to save the world?"
"Because politics." Martha looked at Jane with such intensity the girl took a step back. "Now tell me. Are you just here as an opportunist? Or do you want to learn how to save the world?"
Soon enough, Jane's cheek stopped stinging.
Thanks for reading! 😗
I appreciate any and all feedback - we're all trying to become better writers here.
This was a 5 minute freewrite hosted by @mariannewest.
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Stay safe and take of each other! 🙌
PS: This really did take me around 7 minutes to write. The more I've done these challenges the faster I've gotten. Who would've funk'd, eh? Super cool. 😁
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