After two hours of interaction and quality time with Addison and Ronnie, Jamila and llhaesa returned to taping their interview. Taking their seats, Jamila poked a remote control to activate each video camera.

“Llhaesa, you are an avowed feminist. Why?”

Llhaesa answered without hesitation. “I mentioned the conditions of my world, and how my mum dealt with those conditions – she was a huge influence upon me. She remains a huge influence upon me; there could be no finer role model in life for a child.

My mum gave me an awareness of the issue, that the slights against us were unacceptable. I do not fear speaking publicly, and my music intertwines with my views on issues, on politics. I could no more walk away from one than I could the other.

Gender discrimination on Arrhazon in some ways was worse overall than here, but the challenge appears greater here – poverty on Arrhazon is an exceedingly rare thing. Children across the planet have access to excellent education, access to interactive communication.

Contrast this with the poverty here, with education in the most advanced countries still leaving much to be desired, where people still wake each day wondering where their next meal will come from.

With that backdrop, changing society to recognise women as equal in law and equal in fact will not be easy. No matter how I work and advocate, if women do not believe in what I believe, if they are unwilling to change – no one can or should force them. They have to find their way to a wish for change. If they believe others can offer assistance and request that assistance, then… I am certain many would offer to help.

With an end to poverty, with more education, with better health care, we will begin to change things for the better.

In this country, it is rather astounding that we have yet to reach the number of states needed to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. We have thirty-five, and only three more states must ratify in order for it to become part of the Constitution. I will work for that change once things begin to settle down.”

“Do you intimidate men?”

“I am unsure of your intended meaning, Jamila. Perhaps refine what you mean by ‘intimidate men.’ In what way do I intimidate – physically, intellectually, intentionally, or just as an inherent part of my personality?

“Now that you ask for clarification, I see the question is vague. I will run through the various possibilities you mention.

Do you intimidate men physically?

“I have not interacted with many men here as yet, so I cannot answer. On Arrhazon, yes, I guess I did. Some men are uncomfortable with taller women – it is that societal role thing. It most certainly is not intentional, well most times.

“Well most times…?”

“We will leave that alone for now, Jamila.”

“Intellectually.”

“I have never noticed, to be honest. I will say this – intimidating someone intellectually is not something I would knowingly do to another. I am a people person; I love hearing the stories of another, love hearing their views on life, and have no desire to impose or attempt to impose my will upon anyone.”

“Yet you are a formidable intellectual presence.”

Llhaesa shrugs as she gives her rebuttal. “Offering my viewpoint is just that – we all have our thoughts and views, our votes each count as one – and some of us have ideas we put forth on a given issue. Sharing an idea does not mean the idea need be accepted as truth, as the solution, or as anything. I hope such ideas prove a springboard to some solution, but it matters not to me that we use whatever idea I toss on the table. Thinking on an issue, sharing thoughts with others, discussing the various ideas – it is the process that is key.”

“Intentionally.”

Llhaesa smiles, thinking back to a few incidents on Arrhazon. “Yes, yes I have. I will not mention a circumstance, mentioning an incident is unfair to the parties involved. What I did was defensive and protective, not aggressive in nature. When someone is in danger from an aggressor who continues to threaten after inflicting a beating, when the victim is under such immediate threat, when authorities will not do a thing, I intimidated, and the threat ended for that moment.

I greatly prefer discussion and reason, and I abhor violence.”

“Do you have a vision for our world?”

Llhaesa’s pulls a wide-smile face, her mind fashioning an answer. “Essentially you ask ‘do you have some idealist’s vision of how our world should be?’ We all do – think of the Christmas cards that express ‘peace on Earth.’ We all would consider that a wonderful achievement. OK, it would be wonderful – how do we get there? Are we talking about how we might get there? Are we working at getting there?

Are we treating each other with kindness and respect? Are we going to stop judging people based on their skin colour, for their religion, if their partner is of the same sex, if they are from a different country, or in any of a countless number of ways? Change starts with each of us – be that me, or you, or anyone watching this interview. We make mistakes.

“Share with us an example of a mistake you made.”

Llhaesa well remembers her biggest mistake, and immediately begins to share. “I was visiting the offices of a group know as Equal Rights, Equal Genders. The organisation was located in a seven-story building, one essentially divided into two halves, with a common central lobby and atrium, with interconnected hallways.

There was a bomb planted in the building – where those who did this thought I would be on that day. For whatever reason, the one calling the meeting moved it to the other section of the building. The bomb went off, destroying the section of the building where we were to originally meet. I made my way to street level, and several people died in my arms.

It turned out I was injured – my leg was bleeding profusely. Emergency medical technicians brought me to the hospital, where I was treated and admitted, spending a day at the medical centre due to loss of blood. I arranged, without my partner or mum knowing – my mum spent the night to assist in caring for me – I arranged for a concert equipment set up in the park across from the Chief of Government’s offices.

I left our flat at sunrise on the morning after my release from the medical centre, without my partner or mum knowing, and went to this park. I played, shook the outrage out of me – the Chief of Government was behind that bombing – and called him out for the outrageous act, for murdering and injuring people.

My partner was quite unhappy with me, and she was right. I intentionally did not share my plan because they would have stopped me, knowing I almost died a few days before from loss of blood.

I took a deep look within in that moment, and realised the extent of my error, how it disrespected and harmed those I love.

“Was there a final incident that led to your exile? Was what you just shared the final incident?”

“No, I suspect the final trigger was a live interview where I directly challenged the Chief of Government, and outlined plans for a concert tour that would be extensive and quite politically oriented. They struck two days later.”

“Do you have children on Arrhazon?”

“No. We talked about having children, and certainly would have within a year or two, but they took me away before we reached the point of parenthood.”

“Would either of you have carried, or would you adopt?”

“I would not rule out any methodology, though what is available on Arrhazon is different than here. On Arrhazon, either of us could have carried a child the result of one of our eggs fertilised by the blood of the other. We talked about this approach, and considered a possible dual pregnancy scenario – where both of us would carry at the same time.”

Jamila looked intently at llhaesa, digesting this revelation. “That is an obvious difference in technology between our worlds.

Do you foresee this procedure being available here?”

“Yes.”

“You are a parent here, you fathered children while your genetic structure was masked. What is your relationship like with your children, and are there issues over how this all evolved?”

I cannot speak for our children, but the younger does not yet grasp the entirety and implications of what occurred. Our eldest is aware, she has asked questions, and will probably continue to have questions for quite a while into the future.

I love both limitlessly and unconditionally. No matter what happened to me, they are the children of Ronnie and I, nothing will change this, nor change our love.

I ask the world to treat them with kindness, and in a manner each of us on this planet wishes to be treated.”

“You are technically married to two women, one on Arrhazon, one here. How will you handle this?”

Llhaesa pulled a face that reflected an inner emotional pain. “Please know I love both dearly, in their own way, for different reasons. “Jahrae is my life partner, and my dedication is total. Ronnie and I are great friends, and we recognise our married relationship will end. Yet the relationship will continue on a friendship and familial level – she is as my sister, or mum – circumstances made us family. To be clear here, Jahrae and I will remain married, Ronnie and I will find an appropriate means of legal dissolution. We have talked at length on this, and we are of a nice place in our outlook.”

“We know some are after you because of the knowledge you carry – they see an opportunity for power and or money. How do you view this issue?”

“It would be disastrous to unthinkingly share technologies that this world is not yet ready for emotionally. I will not be a party to unwittingly triggering death due to some misuse of introduced technology – I would die before releasing such information.

As time goes on, we will carefully allow the introduction of some useful technology, but it all depends upon everyone, if change for the better happens. By that, I mean wars end, and the world comes together to work for a better future for all.

If or when others or I share this information, we will likely do so much like the open source methodology we see with computer software. There will be no profit for me or for anyone via holding exclusive patents – this technology will belong to the world.

“You mention others…”

“I am likely the only person here from Arrhazon, but contact is made given my presence. It is a matter or time before our worlds begin to develop diplomatic relations and begin to trade in commerce.

“How tall are you?”

“Now there is a fluff question! Using the American system of measurement, I stand just a hair under 6’2.”

“Tell us about your formal education.”

“What is there to tell? I have formal music training, but also a well rounded education from a fine institution, a school I love.”

“You graduated first in your class?”

“Yes.”

“Were you the equivalent of valedictorian?”

“Yes.”

“Did you give a speech?”

“Yes. And as is tradition at this music school, I performed.”

“Tell us about your speech and your performance.”

“I talked about our world and its future, of moving beyond the past, not having it weigh us down such that we let old occurrences create new animosities, new reasons to slight others. The past is the past – be aware of it, be aware of where we went wrong, of what we did right, but do not seek retribution for past issues. Instead, change what must change, equalise what is unequal, and use the past to inspire us into a better future.

Music wise, I stirred things a bit, actually. I played three traditional Arrhazon folk songs, and made use of the back playing, as well as a skater’s spin. I love doing both, and it caused quite a stir.” Llhaesa laughed at the memory of her unconventional but superb performance.

“You are classically trained?”

“Yes I am. In truth, I love all forms of music. My natural voice is raspy and raw, my trained voice reshaped to work through more formal expressions. I try to fashion music in new ways – respecting the old, but showing there are an infinite number of possibilities within music we have yet to explore.”

“We are reaching the end of our interview. Might I trouble you to play one more time?”

“I am always willing to play!” Llhaesa winked at Jamila, and once again moved to the keyboard, this time choosing to play classically. The piece lasted seven minutes, and showed the full range of llhaesa’s concert pianist without peer talent. After finishing this piece, she moved into a blues song that carried her unvarnished and raw voice, one stripped of its training.

With both songs, the love of music was evident in her playing. She was not only technically correct in application, but the music reflected the emergence of something deep inside llhaesa. Each note carried some subtle emotion, some slight difference that put her mark of individuality upon what she played and sang.

She closed with a rather raucous but catchy rock song, one that carried an edge of hope intermixed with a will to do. Her voice found heights above the rather loud emanations from the keyboard, a quick illustration – and lesson – that llhaesa’s voice – as with her thoughts and outlook – is not one easily suppressed.