asked.
“In the oxydomes. Have you never been in one?” Issy asked, masking the shock that crossed her face. “I can’t imagine living outside of one.”
“The outside is all I’ve ever known,” Gaia said.
“You are a true skim, aren’t you?” one of the other women asked.
“Yes, I am. My name is Gaia. I hope we can all be friends, no matter what our backgrounds, now we are here on Karal. We’re all in this together.” She smiled at the other woman, taking in her appearance.
“Sonia. And I guess we can be friends. Whatever these aliens have in store for us, I’m sure a good laugh and a joke isn’t one of them. He told me to shut up and be quiet on the space station.” She nodded at Rikka, who ignored her, going to talk quietly to Okil instead.
“They aren’t used to women,” Berni said quietly.
“In the same way you aren’t used to men,” Sonia laughed, making Berni blush furiously.
“None of us are,” Gaia said, sticking up for Berni, who looked about to burst into tears. “If we were, then we wouldn’t be here. We all know part of the lottery rules is that we have to be pure.”
Sonia laughed raucously. “Some of us are purer than others.” She winked at another woman, who grinned back at her.
“Less said about that the better. I’m Yolla,” the other woman who seemed to have drunk too much giggle juice, said.
“Hello, Yolla.” Gaia didn’t have chance to say anything else before Okil was talking again, his voice full of authority. They all turned to look at him, except for Sonia, who was making a pouting face at Rikka.
“You know, he might just be the one to make me a new woman,” Sonia said under her breath, making Yolla giggle again.
“If I can have all of your attention,” Okil said again, glaring at Sonia and Yolla. “The trials will begin now.”
“Trials?” Sonia asked. “No one said anything about trials. I thought we were just going to go to live with a man. Or whatever it is you call yourselves.”
“Most of you will, but one of you won’t.” Okil’s look made it clear that they needed to stop messing around. “First, you will be expected to show us your intelligence, strength, and other capabilities so that Rikka here can decide which female he is to take with him on his deep space mission.”
“So he can choose what?” Berni squeaked.
“Someone has to go with him into deep space and find a new Earth,” Gaia whispered.
“Not me.” Berni looked as if she were about to pass out, her face going deathly white, and she swayed on the spot. “I have no desire to leave Karal. Not now I’m here. I can’t.”
“Don’t worry, Berni. I think he will need a woman with more courage than you possess, little mouse,” Sonia teased.
Gaia put her arm around Berni. “If you are chosen, you will be safe. Once you are carrying a Karalian child, they won’t let anything happen to you.”
“Because of the child.” Berni said weakly. “But I have to conceive a child first and that means sleeping with one of them, I never realised they would be so … big.”
Sonia and Yolla collapsed into laughter, while Okil stood with a neutral expression on his face. The only sign of his growing anger were the red flashes across his skin.
“OK. Stop it. We have to listen to what Okil has to say,” Gaia said sternly to the others. “This is why we are here. Finding a new Earth should be important to us.”
“Then you go,” Sonia said, pushing Gaia forward. “The rest of us are quite happy to stay here.”
“We did not ask for volunteers,” Okil’s voice boomed. “There are rules on Karal that have to be obeyed.”
“And if we don’t?” Sonia asked.
“Then you will live here behind these walls for the rest of your life …and you will breed with as many Karalians as we choose.”
Tension filled the women around her. “You mean we will be used as breeding machines? But that was not what the lottery said.”
“You are not ruled by Earth now. The