Throngs of people entered the fifteen-story building crowned by the gold sign reading, Center for the RTL Headquarters. Most had no idea what RTL stood for.
Valets were running back and forth in front of the building, taking the next expensive car in the long line that circled the block before entering the curved driveway. Men in tuxedos and women in cocktail dresses emerged from their cars. Servers passed out champagne to those in the long line waiting to enter the building. Once inside, they entered a massive conference room with huge screens on several walls displaying the words Center for the RTL. A live five-piece orchestra played chamber music. Servers with trays of up-scale appetizers circulated the room as the attendees milled about, greeting business associates. Empty champagne glasses were promptly replaced.
Congressman Mitch Mitchell and his wife, Gloria, were a handsome couple in their early fifties. Mitch had been swept into his seat in Congress in the 2022 midterms when he was only thirty, running on a strict pro-life platform. As they stood talking to a billionaire contributor and his wife, the lights dimmed. A deep male voice reverberated from above: “Welcome to the grand opening of the Centers for the RTL. Now… here is the Founder and CEO, Dr. Celeste Rivers.”
A trim woman with intelligent green eyes and short dark hair framing her pixie face eagerly took the stage and walked into the spotlight. The screens around the room projected her image. Smiling. Beaming. Charismatic. She doubted anyone knew she was thinking about how needing a hysterectomy all those years ago in college had been such an unexpected blessing, leaving her free to pursue a Stanford PhD in engineering and accomplish what had become her life’s goal: to give all women in America a choice whether or not to bear a child. Now it had become a reality. Her heart beat in her chest with a combination of pride and excitement.
“Thank you all for coming,” she said, her voice strong and clear. “What you will see and hear today will amaze and thrill you. It is the beginning of an era of new freedom for all women! The letters R-T-L stand for ‘Right to Life.’ As of today, all women can embrace the right to life without relinquishing the right to control their bodies.”
The women involved with the project for the past ten years started applauding wildly. Others clapped politely but looked confused.
Celeste continued,