The First She ✓

1 : one

d e d i c a t i o n

Dedicated to my friend Rachelle Mills for believing in me when I didn't dare to.

THIS STORY WAS REWRITTEN WITH NEW SCENES. THE NEW VERSION IS FREE ON MY WEBSITE: www.lutionary.com

"You can't do it."

Kira squinted at the fine print on the manual and then at the bolts and screws that cluttered her kitchen floor.

"I'll be fine," she replied.

"This is a man's job. Just hire someone to fix it for you."

"Mom, if I found out how to get a PhD, then I think I can figure out how to put nails in a block of wood."

Most of their arguments were of the same nature. Her mother was always speaking down to her, trying to guide her toward her prophecy of failure. As twisted as it was, Kira was sure that she hoped she ended up in her shoes– divorced, bitter, and stuffed with an equal amount of bullshit and botox.

"Why don't you call the nice young man I met at church?"

Kira rolled her eyes in beat with her screwdriver. "I'm not interested," she replied with a voice as cold as the tile floors she sat on.

"You're almost twenty-seven. You need to start a family."

"I will."

"You will, yes, but not by using a sperm donor and giving birth to a stranger's child. That is ungodly."

Kira continued to twist the screw in place, refusing to be broken down. "We're in the year 2203. You really ought to be more open-minded."

With a huff of defeat, Dana turned and click-clacked her way out of the apartment. Kira didn't bat an eye over her tantrum. It was her uterus, and she'd do whatever she wanted with it. Artificial insemination was the perfect way to get pregnant without needing a relationship. There wouldn't be a man in the picture, because Kira needed no man.

A cry for attention made her drop the screwdriver and reach for her cellphone.

"Hey, Cherry."

"Hi, Einstein. Why don't you come over to the facility? I have a surprise for you."

Kira looked down at the pieces of the table that were still awaiting arrangement. Choosing to procrastinate instead of dealing with the mess, she stood up and sought out her purse.

"Sure. I'll be there in thirty minutes."

— • —

"Welcome back, doctor."

Kira tossed a smile at the receptionist as she placed her palm against the censor. Within a second, the pad read her fingerprints and granted access to NASA's headquarters.

After engineering a device that could translate every language on Earth as well as learn ones that it didn't recognize, she was swarmed with awards. Cherry was also an engineer, but she was far more seasoned since she was fifty years old.

She took the elevator to the engineering department and knocked on her friend's office.

"Einstein has arrived," she called out.

The silver door slid aside into the wall and revealed Cherry's face, which was wrinkled with both age and joy.

"You need to clean this place up," Kira chuckled as she stepped over the multiple boxes that littered the entrance. "I won't hesitate to sue if I fall."