Becoming Terran,
Our story thus far: the unnamed young Fulani woman has caught the attention of Tolliver (a trillionaire), and he hires her to spy for him. Part 1 is here https://mrw.5-cent.us/?p=379, and the previous excerpt is at https://mrw.5-cent.us/?p=396
Chapter 2: BEGINNING TRAINING
Over the next week, Francoise and Amelie were given immunization cocktails, the paperwork was arranged, although the two of them understood little of all this at first, and were asleep from the effects of the shots for most of that time. Within weeks, they were in Paris, where one of Tolliver’s main corporate offices was located. Francoise waited with Amelie in their hotel room, sometimes coming into the offices, where she would sit and study what information she had been given. Along with clothes, she had been allowed to bring a few things from Africa, including a musk oil her mother had worn a few times. They had also given her a modern phone, and a quick lesson in how to use it. She spent a lot of time trying to understand who Tolliver was, and the world into which he had brought them. The days went by until he finally called her into his office.
A man and a woman were sitting there. The woman, a stern expression on her face, her hair a bland brown, looked at her. “We will be putting you and your sister into accelerated learning. We expect she will be ready for university level in three years. You will receive an intensive version, and will be at university level in about a year.”
“May I ask why the accelerated learning?”
“So that you can understand better what you hear, so that you can tell what is important and what is not,” Tolliver said, and Francoise nodded.
The woman reached up and handed her a media. “This has all the information you will need to begin. Read the introduction, and show up in the location it provides tomorrow at 0800.”
“Oui.”
The man, older, a little gray in his dark hair, wore a sports jacket and a shirt with an open collar. He rose from his seat and walked around her, looking her up and down, like a laboratory subject. After a couple of minutes, he turned to Tolliver. “I don’t see any problems. We’ll want to run several tests, but I think she can be done within two months.”
She looked at Tolliver curiously, and he said, “Do it, then. Francoise, we’re going to do some minor genetic modifications that will fit you better for the purpose for which I intend to use you. Your skin will be a bit lighter, your hair will be lightened, the curls looser, your bust larger, and your immune system will be jacked up, which will also give you immunity to several common drugs.”
She said, in her emotionless manner, “As you wish, m’sieur. Will this just be for me, or for my sister as well?”
Tolliver looked at the man, who said, “Non. We will wait for puberty to begin before we make modifications to her genes.”
Tolliver nodded. “By then, we’ll see how well you deliver results.” She nodded. He looked at the two and said, “That’s all.” They rose and left, shutting the door behind them. Turning back to her, he handed her another media, colored red. “You will begin studying this. Marsden is your first target. When you’ve finished, let me know what you see in this, and anything else you can speculate on.” He paused and sniffed. “The perfume you have on, I like it.”
“Oui, Phillipe.” He nodded again, and turned to reach for a bulky AR headset. She started to leave the room, but he called to her. “You said your mother died at that hotel. What happened to her body?”
Puzzled, she looked at him. “They cremated all those who died, to prevent the disease from spreading. I have her ashes in a small urn.”
“Did you want them sent home for burial?”
“Oui. I had intended to do so.”
“Do it. Here’s a charge number.” He handed her a slip of paper. “That will be all.” She left the room.