Out of Sight – Chpt 1

They did it in secret at first. It was the only way to ensure the integrity of the intended outcome.

Getting the girls to volunteer was easy, and word of mouth spread quickly and quietly. You were either for the cause or you weren’t, and females had a way of flocking together with like minded females.

The brilliant Dr. and Dr. Moss, “The Doctors Mosses” as their small staff jokingly called them, had taken what they’d learned, created a product, funded it’s manufacturing and were performing the procedures themselves, free of charge to the girls.

They came to stay for a week when it was time. That was the hardest part for the girls, disappearing for a week. The staff helped, posing as researchers studying the local [wild life, wetlands, flora and fauna] looking for extra hands to count butterflies or collect water samples.

“We’ll be camping in the woods, of course, for at least a week. They’ll be unable to charge devices or contact you, but we have a satellite phone in the event of emergency.”

Parents are all for science and “good experiences”, especially for their girls, it wasn’t hard to get permission.

Not all the girls were minors, of course. Although the young ones did get the knack of it first and let’s face it, they’re the ones who were most vulnerable.

In ten years time, more girls had them than didn’t, that’s how good the operation was.

By then, science is publishing articles about bionic arms and legs that can be controlled by your brain, but still no one is close to what the The Doctors Mosses have done.

And it’s starting to make a difference. Governors are taking credit, of course. First, more convictions, but then less instances overall.

I started on the staff about four years in. I was there when Charlie came through but I didn’t remember her as a girl. Some you do, you know. The ones whose lives are about to be immediately changed forever, those you remember.

I got mine when I was sixteen. It changed my life, that’s why I came to work for the cause.

It’s was freedom. It gave me confidence and strength. It made me feel safe, in a country where women have never been safe.

I suppose we should have known that it wouldn’t last forever. Not everyone can keep a secret, and poor Charlie paid the price.

We keep her here with us, now. We take care of our own. I’m only talking to you now because of her. Because of all the girls like her, like me.

It’s not over, you know.