(Ephesus West, Montecito, California)

Daniela awoke to the sun streaming through the curtains and the sound of a power leaf-blower outside her pristine room at Ephesus West. The incongruous sound was somewhere out in the distant gardens. She looked at the time and realized at ten o'clock in the morning, she had slept deeply and too long. It was understandable after such a phenomenal day and night somewhere there on the hilltops of Montecito. As she quickly showered and dressed, she thought about her long drive ahead, back up to the Bay Area and the life which had been patiently waiting for her to resume for well over two weeks.

She contemplated clearly her decision to take the generous offer she had been given by the four extraordinary women whom she had dined with the previous night. And she felt no lessening in her resolve to do so. It would take some tactful conversations and effort to clear the way with her parents and former job, but she was confident her promise both to herself and the Penthesilea Sisterhood could be kept.

As Daniela collected her few things and placed the priceless gift she had been given to present to Nicasio into her bag, she left the room and started down the hall to the main area of the house. She was met in the hallway by Aisha, carrying a tray of coffee and croissants towards her room.

"Did you sleep well, Daniela?" As usual, the housekeeper sported a cordial smile.

"Oh yes. Too well, actually. Where are . . ."

"Everyone left today. Our guests were shuttled over to Santa Barbara. To the airport. They have business in San Francisco early this morning."

"Oh I see. And . . ."

"Dr. Vasiliou joined them. But she'll leave the City to fly back to Athens. Sometime this evening. She told me to wish you well, Daniela. And to take care of your needs as long as you would like to stay here."

"Thank you, Aisha. But . . . I really need to get back on the road."

"Well at least come to the kitchen with me and have your coffee and breakfast. I know Emel wishes to see you before you leave."

Daniela followed Aisha to a large cooking area where she took a stool at a long pastel countertop. It was lined with stainless steel kitchen appliances and cupboards. As she sipped her coffee and looked around the well-lit facility, Emel entered, carrying a class of juice. She was comfortably dressed in jeans and a white cotton blouse. There was still something of the young archaeologist in her which Daniela had seen in the nostalgic picture the day before—the fateful photo from her dig in Turkey, taken over a decade ago. The eyes of the woman now before her were still vibrant and there was the hint of Middle Eastern features to her face which suggested she was, indeed, the former Turkish –American student from Yale.

"I see you have found the place we all love to hang out in," Emel said, smiling. "I trust you slept well, Daniela?"

"I did. Thank you. It's so . . . peaceful here. I'm used to the sounds of the City."

"We all remember those sounds. It's still an amazing place, San Francisco."

"Yes, I suppose it is. Right now though, I would trade it freely for the forests and gardens you have here."

"Well it did take some getting used to. Especially after living in the East."

"I can imagin that was an adjustment. So much of your life must have been about that. . . changes."

"It's all been a great adventure. More fulfilling than I can even describe to you. Every day is full. Full of work . . . and also full of satisfaction. But all of us can say that. Once we made the commitment to jump into this . . . a world you now share."

Daniela could see from Emel's wonderfully expressive face that she was being sincere.

"Now . . . before you get back in that cute little car of yours and drive back on the freeways north, I want to share some things with you in the Library. Things you should know before you begin this new adventure working with us."

Daniela picked up her coffee and looped her bag tightly over her shoulder.

"I'm ready now to begin. Please . . . lead the way."

Emel smiled broadly, obviously pleased with Daniela's show of enthusiasm.

As they walked back through the house and out into the morning sun, Daniela could see other areas of the grounds and gardens which were had not been so illuminated in the afternoon the day before. Once again amid the flowers and lush green she could make out the figures of several women in the distance dressed in camouflage fatigues, blending almost perfectly with the foliage which skirted the tall walls of the estate.

As the two of them approached the main door of the Archives and Lab building, Emel looked blankly into the small checkpoint window for security clearance. Daniela did the same and the system blinked green. It obviously remembered that she was now one of them. As she too was afforded access to the sanctuary, Daniela could only imagine what was kept inside as sensitive information and records.

Emel brought her into the library with its unattended sun-lit tables. As they passed by the packed shelves of notebooks and texts, she felt some trepidation nearing the corner glass-enclosed room which Daniela now knew contained Penthesilea's environmentally protected remains. She felt the strange compulsion to go inside and look again upon the face of that remarkable woman, of which all of this new world surrounded. She had after all, as a single person inspired such energy and dedication for so many centuries beyond her death.

They passed the glass cubical and moved over to the chairs in front of a large-screen desktop computer. Emel switched it on and as she had done before for Daniela, she quickly scrolled through many envelopes of digital files. She arrived at a photo of what appeared to be a hospital room with equipment and monitors lining the walls. There were several women standing in the photo wearing sanitized surgery suits and masks. They looked on with interest into monitors connected to a box-like structure on a lab table.

"I want you to be aware of several things before you return north and begin your tenure working with us, Daniela."

There was a businesslike tone to Emel's voice. A greater seriousness about her, not seen before.

"Alright. I appreciate anything you share with me."

"You are seeing in this picture a historical moment. It was taken at our genetics lab facility near San Diego. Almost twelve years ago now. It was the day our researchers observed the first cell growth from Penthesilea's implanted DNA into our female host."

Daniela could make no sense of the numerical data on the equipment screens which the women in the image seemed intent to monitor. The sophistication of the lab in the background nevertheless impressed her. Another photo was selected by Emel, again taken in the lab. It featured a box-like structure on a laboratory table, connected to a number of instruments with a glass portal on its lid for observation. Again a masked researcher stood by it, posing more proudly now.

"We were able to microscopically witness the cellular development of Myrsini's earliest growth as a synthetically fertilized egg. This was the completed phase before the donor egg was placed into a live womb. The woman carried it throughout a full term of gestation. These pictures historically record the first successful human cloning process."

"That is really amazing," Daniela expressed.

The next photos came in quick succession.

"These are the periodic screen captures of sonograms, monitoring Myrsini's embryonic development as she went full term."

Following these were photos in a birthing room of what was obviously a hospital. They showed the live birth of a child assisted by several female obstetricians. What followed were a series of time-laps pictures of the infant Myrsini developing into a toddler and soon a young, healthy prepubescent girl. The photos magically captured the evolution of an adorable child, carrying the features which Daniela unmistakably recognized as the elusive adolescent Myrsini. It was an astonishing thought to Daniela that this very young lady was somewhere in the midst of the estate, enjoying herself while being groomed as a future leader of some unimaginable capacity.

"I am showing you this miracle, Daniela, because I want you to know the joys of our achievements with Myrsini."

"I see it. And it is just unreal. And very moving."

"But I also want you to be aware of some things not fully known even to our most loyal members of the Society. Some issues which might prove to be constraints to our cause and evolution."

Daniela was puzzled as to what Emel was referring to. She saw the concern on the woman's face and realized her tone was more cautionary.

"I don't want to go into the technicalities, as few of us totally understand them. But as you may know the genetic cloning of a human from DNA materials of another is still unprecedented. It had been successfully performed on other mammals in the past."

"Yes I know."

"And while our researchers were able to perform breakthrough work . . . mainly the process of duplicating genetic coding from long dead cells into a synthetic material viable for reproduction . . . they were unable to change certain fundamental problems with any cloned organism."

Daniela remained silent. She waited to hear the unfavorable details about Myrsini's unnatural creation.

"Any cloned organism can only receive duplicated DNA as a facsimile. That information which controls the new life's development and growth . . . the very structure of the new organism, is received in its form at the age of the donor."

"I'm not sure I . . ."

"We estimate Penthesilea's age at death to be around twenty-four or five years."

"OK. You mean when she was . . ."

"Yes. When she died of her battle injuries at Troy. What I am saying, Daniela, is that Myrsini has the genetic coding of a young woman in her mid-twenties. Though she is healthy and has developed marvelously, she could begin to show signs of any inherited diseases or other genetic outcomes of aging some twenty-four or five years earlier in her life."

"Which means . . .?"

"That Myrsini might not live a full life, as you and I are programmed to do, considering our own more normal genetic coding."

The idea of this was a shock for Daniela. She tried to imagine how it could eventually affect this robust, intelligent young girl's life."

"As you know, we have anticipated significant social changes involving the Sisterhood when Myrsini grows older. It would be when she takes an active role in these causes and the leadership of them. Certainly when she fully embraces the essence of her own amazing heritage . . . that is the . . . extension of Penthesilea."

"Yes."

"Well we're not exactly sure how these biological imitations I've explained to you will affect this or her future life. There is no way of predicting those outcomes. No matter how bright and progressive the individuals are on our genetics team."

"I see."

"Daniela, I am sharing this with you in the strictest of confidence. So that you'll be aware of these facts but not make them generally known . . . at least not yet in your efforts with our public relations campaign."

"But doesn't the society already know about . . ."

"No. Nor are all of them even aware of Myrsini's miraculous existence. There are only a certain number of influential women in our Sisterhood who followed her development with such elation as we have. We have met with them over time in places like San Francisco . . . to show them her amazing development."

"I see."

"This is only because those women were close enough to the origins of the research or the initial funding of our genetic endeavors around the remains of Penthesilea. Many loyal women working hard for our overall progress on every continent still are unaware of what we have done in this regard through genetic engineering. They do not yet know of this phenomenal breakthrough or how significant it is to have orchestrated Penthesilea's . . . actual return."

"Wow. Yes I see."

"We have managed through the latest technological means . . . and some experimental methods of our own, to bring about the realization of the Amazon queen's own original promise. Her wishes for her clan, and all women beyond, to flourish. It's the fulfillment of that distant hope she and the Amazons had envisioned back in her own lifetime."

"Yes. It's so unbelievable."

"But it's also something we must be very careful to express or reveal to a skeptical and soon . . . possibly hostile general public. A public which could see our work as a threat on some level. Even revealing our amazing progress to the scientific community is something we have cautiously been reserved to do. As are the archaeological discoveries we made years ago leading in part to this great achievement."

"I understand your concerns, Emel."

"We are still uncertain how and when to reveal all of this to an unpredictable world. Your work with our public relations division at the Otrera Institute must be mindful of this while our efforts become more transparent and the society no longer operates in secrecy."

"Yes. It's a huge responsibility. I can see that."

Daniela felt her face now flushing with anxiety.

"But as we told you . . ." Her hostess now smiled and her eyes became once again soft and reassuring. "You are never alone. You will be working with many of the best and brightest women in the world on this . . . as with any of our projects."

She began scrolling again for pictures throughout the many files in her archive. She came to a photo of a large field where stood in formation what appeared to be several hundred troops, dressed in battle fatigues and holding crossbows diagonally against their chests. Upon closer inspection, Daniela could see they were all women's faces.

"This is a picture of one of our training camps located in the western United States. You see here a graduating class of women volunteers who have completed our most rigorous combat program. They have finished extensive training in hand-to-hand combat, siege logistics, and tactical rescue mission techniques. They are ready and willing to be deployed as a strike unit where ever we feel they need to go to assist our sisters at risk in the world. They are active on all continents now in places where women can be in particular danger or kept in any form of slavery."

"Amazing."

"Where ever excessive brutality or abuse threatens females, we are poised to protect them. And so many of our sisters today are often helpless to these conditions. This is a very active campaign and we are initiating training camps in numerous locations abroad.

Daniela remained in silent contemplation as the next pictures were flashed onto the screen. They showed what were obviously rescue missions of young women and girls. Of them being freed from incarceration or slavery. Several of the pictures were taken in the heat of action where physical fighting during a mission was evident. Other photos were of the miserable venues where young females were kept. They were shown n rapid secession in front of Daniela. There were even a number of disturbing close-up photos she was briefly exposed to depicting the emaciated bodies of female victims. Bruises, lacerations, broken limbs, and in some cases the shocking facial disfigurement of some women were recorded in these images—all showing the inhumane damage many females had sustained at the hands of their tormentors. In several cases Daniela had to look away in revulsion and disgust.

Emel turned off the monitor and turned to her. "I only wanted to show you a very small sample of this archive, Daniela, for two specific reasons."

"Alright," she said, struggling to regain her peace of mind.

"What you were exposed to is happening daily in the world. This we have known for years and it has existed for millennia. The brutality against females, young and old, has been one of the society's key areas of concern since its earliest conception. We are only now fully equipped to take on this problem actively and with resolve to see it cease. As I told you, our strike force is active and making the difference for many women who no longer must endure a life of torture. Either physically or emotionally."

"Thank god," Daniela whispered to her, still visibly upset at the montage of abused women she saw only a few moments before.

"Yes. But as it seems necessary . . . it comes to us at a cost."

"What kind of cost?"

"We are all human. Capable of our own intolerance and brutality when we have the chance. And especially when we have the means and rationale to be more powerful."

"I'm not sure I . . ."

"We women can be aggressors too. Just as the Amazons were fierce warriors. They were formidable on the battlefield. Feared and respected by their male opponents. You see, we can also be brutal in our revenge and retaliation . . . if allowed to be. Many of the men currently who carried out these acts on women have been sought out by our special forces and subjected to savage punishments themselves as a response for their own brutality. This has not . . . cannot be our lasting intention."

"OK. But it's a natural reaction to . . ."

"Yes. But a vendetta culture cannot be allowed to take hold of us. And it has, unfortunately in some cases, already been observed. It's occurred when our armed forces are deployed into these rescue areas, or just in the aftermath of them. Some such missions have been unfortunately carried out strictly as campaigns of revenge resulting in the death or serious injury to the male or males who abused or murdered females. This could become even more problematic and it threatens our image as a society for women's peace and prosperity."

"I see. But you also must have many women who see those missions as justified. They must be glad when the men who do these things to women . . . receive the same violent treatment."

"Yes, Daniela. Unfortunately many women, as well as men feel that way. But it is not something we should embrace through our society for the good of the world."

"Yes. You are right."

"In any case, I want you to be aware of this growing concern of ours as it will impact your goal of positive public relations."

"Of course. I will be mindful of it."

"You see, as the playing field becomes more even for women through their dealings with men . . . and the threat of male superiority on a physical ground is diminished . . . the dynamics can change in so many ways. This was a reality the ancient Amazons were the first to experience. And there's no doubt that this reality will come back universally and affect all of us."

Daniela silently considered for the first time the potential abuse of the power Emel spoke of. It was a force she was now intimately aware of and obviously growing by the hour.

* * *