“Prove it,” Agent Whitney said. Neither he nor the rest of his squad lowered their weapons. They all kept their aim focused on the two women sitting in the diner’s booth. Both were pale; the lean one wore an all-white suit, the other one wore a matching black suit.
“What kind of proof would you like?” Dana Sharp – the woman in white- asked. She lifted a glass of water from the table. A small black hole appeared above the glass; then, it moved down around the glass. The drink was replaced with a filled wine glass in her hand. “Water into wine?”
“Speaking directly into your mind again?” Her voice filled Agent Whitney’s mind; it was a foreign, invasive thought. Exactly like the elders described.
“Just the fact that I’m here with my assistant should be more than enough proof for an Earth that monitors its population so closely.” Agent Whitney had to admit she had a point. He assumed most people would panic when suddenly surrounded by armed soldiers in a public space. She seemed to be expecting them as if she knew her presence would be noticed. He had no idea where the two women came from. Whether she was who she claimed to be or not; she still had amazing capabilities. Agent Whitney guessed if she wanted him and his men dead, there was nothing they could do to stop it. He relaxed his weapon and nodded at the rest of his men.
“Wise choice,” Dana said. “You’ll be thrilled to know you’re at the right place at the right time. I’m a busy woman, so let’s talk about why I’m here,” she gestured at the seat in front of her booth.
“I’m not fond of the methods your society has chosen to control your population,” she said.
“I knew you weren’t God,” Agent Whitney said. He looked Dana in the eyes. “If you were, you’d know that God made the rules; we just follow them.” Dana smiled.
“I know what I did,” she said. “We’re talking about your society, not me.”
“No one can get pregnant if we reach the population limit!” he said. “What else can we do to keep the Human race going? Wait for people to die naturally? Our elders already live hundreds of years and that’s only getting longer.” Dana sighed.
“I can see now that I was too hopeful,” she said. “It seems humanity, in general, is less intelligent than I thought. A God shouldn’t have to explain her designs; but, you folks are just too simple.”
“I put the limit on this Earth to encourage you to think about expanding; to encourage exploration. Why do you think I gave you longevity on top of the population limit?” Dana asked. Agent Whitney had often wondered about that. It seemed like a cruel joke, but now he was able to see its purpose.
“I’m putting you and your men in charge on this Earth,” Dana said. Her assistant stepped forward and placed a small white briefcase on the table. She opened it, then stepped back again. The inside was lined with red velvet. Six rectangle shapes were hollowed out and holding what seemed to be transparent glass cards.
“Sacrifices stop immediately. The limit only applies to this Earth; with these you’ll be able to access other Earths. At the risk of over-estimating you again, I trust you have some ideas of how to make use of that information,” Dana said. Agent Whitney nodded.
“Yes, my God,” he bowed his head. Dana sighed.
“God is a title that feels rather weak; Please, call me Ms. Sharp.”
