Meanwhile, in Femlandia...

I stared down at the casket – purple with gilt silver edges. She was beautiful, even in death. But it couldn't bring her back. My grandmother was gone. I felt as hollow as the body that once housed her vibrant spirit. I brushed away the tears, trying to be brave.

“Artema.” A light touch on my shoulder told me it was Mother standing there. “Come,” she whispered.

I took a final look and slipped out of the viewing room where the other women had gathered to say their goodbyes. I followed Mother down a long hall to a side room. She opened the door noiselessly and we entered.

“Sit down.”

I did so. With Grandmother no longer reigning, Mother was heir to the throne of our colony. My parent – and queen. If obedience was in order as a child, even more so now.

“Listen. Grandmother is not dead.”

“Grandmother is not – ” I stared at her as if she'd gone insane. Hadn't she just been in the room with the body? “Your Majesty,” I began respectfully.

“Shh,” Mother warned. “It's a replica. She's been screen printed with 3D technology. Don't ask me how I know. There's not enough time to explain.”

“Then where is Grandmother?”

“She's held captive, with the others.”

“The others? Then all those recent deaths weren't real?”

Mother nodded.

“But why?”

She glanced around the room. When she spoke, her voice sank even lower than before. “Zeus,” she whispered. “He is jealous. He is taking them to a higher planet for some unknown purpose.”

“When?”

“When his quota is complete. You are the last one left on the list.”

“No!!”

“Shh,” she warned. “You must leave and reunite the kingdoms.”

I sank back in my chair. “That's not going to be easy."

I knew the story. When I was no bigger than a rosebud, there had been a terrible battle of the sexes. It started out between the King and Grandmother. It escalated until all the men and women in the realm were at war with each other. Husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, daughters and dads, sons and mothers, boys and girls.

Life became impossible for all of them. They couldn't coexist as before. Men banished women from the colleges. Women exiled them in turn from the workplace. The divorce courts weren't able to handle all the cases. So Zeus made a decree. The men and women would be segregated – forever. The men kept the country and gave the women the wealth. Grandmother and the rest were then exiled to the planet we now inhabited. Femlandia had been our home ever since.

“It's not that we need men,” Mother stated. “This isn't about who of us is weaker.” She spoke the truth, but I thought I detected just a hint of longing in that statement.

“You miss Dad,” I suggested.

“I don't.”

“You do.”

“I don't.”

“You – ”

“Stop,” Mother commanded.

And I remembered who she was. “Your Majesty,” I began, realizing what I had done.

“No. It's not that. It's just that the god is accomplishing his purpose. Not only did he cause fighting amongst men and women, but now we're arguing with each other. That split between the King and your grandmother – it was started intentionally by Zeus. He wanted a divided nation. I realized that when these mysterious deaths began occurring. He wasn't satisfied just to separate men and women. He wants to force us apart too.

“Our genetic technology is advanced enough to grow our numbers alone. We don't need men to exist. And we will rescue Grandmother and the other women. Our army is the best. But none of our techniques can defeat his original design. The royal courier has brought me news that the other kingdom is being treated the same. You must find the men.”