Uphill Battle
It takes fifteen hundred years to figure out the alarming way that Kindergarten is draining Earth’s natural resources. By then, Garnet and Rose Quartz and many of the others who were involved in the initial construction of Kindergarten have developed a connection with the planet, and they’re beginning to feel guilty for doing something this destructive.
“A rebellion?” repeats Garnet when Rose broaches the topic with her.
“Look at them,” Rose says, gesturing to the human village on the valley bottom. They are currently on the crest of the ridge, but no one within several kilometers of the area could miss the smoke coming from the human’s fires. “They may not be as advanced as we are, but humans are sentient and intelligent creatures, and you can’t find them anywhere else in the cosmos. If the Kindergarten continues, this planet is lost, and they’ll go with it.”
No wonder Rose brought her here. She wanted a living example to use for her sales pitch.
Garnet props her hands on her hips and raises her eyebrows behind her mirrored glasses. “I thought you were sent here to make sure the Kindergarten thrived?” She knows the answer to this question already. Bending the rules here and there is Rose’s style, but outright defying them? Garnet wants to hear exactly what she’s thinking.
“You know I was,” Rose says. “But all of the initial status reports about this planet were wrong. This place isn’t barren and empty; it’s a thriving, living ecosystem. We have an ethical duty to preserve this biodiversity, and I can’t turn my back on that. Not even for the Diamond Authority.”
Rose isn’t the only one who’s been feeling this way, but it’s the first time anyone’s said it aloud. Now that this view has been articulated formally, they cannot ignore it anymore.
“Hence the need for a rebellion,” Garnet says with a nod. “I’m in.”
She knows she’s signing herself up for an uphill battle. Eradicating Homeworld’s influence from Earth is far easier said than done. She knows that she will be branded as a traitor to her own kind—but Homeworld already wants her dead, so what’s the harm in antagonizing them a little bit more? Garnet doesn’t have it in her to fear something simply because it’s difficult, and she has no loyalty to Homeworld anyway.
Rose Quartz does a double take despite herself. Her charisma falters, just for a second. “What? Just like that?”
Garnet gestures to the village below. “Humans aren’t advanced enough to defend themselves against gem technology. The only ones who can are gems. Besides,” Garnet says. “This is my planet too.”
After a stunned pause, a bright smile lights Rose’s face. “Garnet, I think that’s the most you’ve ever said to me!” she says, her tone teasing.
“Don’t get used to it.” Garnet says it, and she even has her arms crossed so that she can continue looking gruff and intimidating, but she’s smiling too. Just a little.
Rose Quartz laughs straight from the gut, a rich sound that floats down to the valley floor. “Well, okay! That was much easier than I expected. Do you think anyone else will join us?”
Garnet adjusts her glasses, acknowledging the subtle reference to her future vision. “They can’t until we ask.”