Day One: Rescue
Tiny Caroline, age 13 years, was alert-sleeping in a cardboard box tucked behind a dumpster for shelter. She had fled to the streets to avoid her step-father’s recurring rapes and had been trafficked, Carrying a 4 month fetus of unknown parentage, she just wanted free of it and a safe place to exist.
A tiny drone, carrying a fast-food bag landed on the soggy cardboard. Instantly, Caroline was fully awake and in full panic mode. As she scrambled to her feet, the drone adjusted its position to continue to hover directly in front of her.
The drone spoke, “Your breakfast!” The voice was familiar.
The delicious smell of fast-food breakfast wafted over the starving child who hesitated to reach for the bag, suspecting it was a trafficker’s ploy and that she would be forced to pay with her body.
Two younger girls emerged from the cardboard nest, cowering behind Caroline. Two more mini-drones arrived delivering breakfast to the street girls. Seven-year old June immediately took her drone’s offering sat down on the damp ground and stuffed her mouth as if she feared the food would be taken away from her. Caroline and 10-year old Mattie followed suit. The three drones hovered around them.
A woman appeared at the end of the alley, Caroline recognized her instantly. It was Miss Hershey, her kindergarten teacher! Her’s was the familiar, kind voice that had spoken through the drones.
Knowing that she and her wards would be safe, Caroline wept.
Day One: The Rescuers
Miss Hershey was a participant in the Folding Games and acted in concert with the 2.7 billion on-line game players as they rebooted the world. Although most of the reboot happened digitally, many women such as herself volunteered to rescue those women and children who lacked digital access.
Her heart had been broken over and over as the beautiful and innocent children she taught went from the safety of her kindergarten classroom to the horrors of a world no child should have to face.
Julia Hershey had been a kindergarten teacher for just under 10 years and an avid embroiderer for twice that, when she attended an embroiderers demonstration at a costuming convention that featured both “traditional women’s work” and “games to define the future.” She had a great time, loved the game, and played it daily ever since. When the world’s women decided to implement the game world IRL, she volunteered to find and shelter the children she had had concern for over the years, the ones she prayed for, the ones she continued to hold in her heart, wishing them well.