Ofe!
By Rafeeat Aliyu, first published in AfroSF: Science Fiction by African Writers
In futuristic Nigeria, a seemingly innocent dinner party at the home of a wealthy scientist turns into a nightmare. Three women join forces to rescue the others with their special abilities and newly-acquired weapons.
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Plot Summary
Jemila was disowned by her parents for a relationship they considered inappropriate, after which she moved to Nigeria and began working as a data thief. Based on a random selection process, she is unexpectedly invited to a gathering at the house of Halliday, a famous scientist, in order to celebrate his newest invention. Jemila is glad for the opportunity to steal more data chips from the wealthy attendees, but she is surprised to see Detective Bolanle there as well. In the past, Jemila had risked her life to provide key information that helped Bolanle close a case that she was working on. The two women converse briefly, and Jemila disappears into the bathroom to copy the data onto her personal drive. In the bathroom, Jemila experiences a strange vision - women, all dressed in fancy cocktail dresses, locked up in cages as a masked stranger roots around their bloody insides. She exits the bathroom hurriedly, trying to convince herself that it was not real. Jemila attempts to leave the party, but is stopped by the AI security. She runs into a woman named Chigozie, who reveals that the vision she saw in the bathroom was an unintentional 'distress call' - Chigozie has the ability to look into the future, and she is certain that Halliday means to harm them all. Now convinced that they are in danger, Jemila nervously goes to the dinner table with the rest of the guests but makes sure not to consume anything. Meanwhile, Bolanle is carrying out the assignment she was sent for - taking photographs of a weapon called Shango 4680. There is a commotion, and Bolanle sees Jemila and Chigozie running towards her. Jemila's 'ability' is to teleport between places that she is familiar with; when Halliday corners the women and forces them into his laboratory, she hatches a plan to escape. Halliday reveals that aliens made contact with Earth and reproduced with humans in order to save their dying breed, and that the offspring of these unions were blessed with special abilities that could be harvested to help the rest of the population. Jemila begins to teleport the unconscious women out of the chamber one by one, placing them in Bolanle's getaway vehicle, while Bolanle herself holds off Halliday and his security guards. Ultimately, they are cornered - Bolanle fires the Shango 4680 weapon and a lightning bolt incinerates most of Halliday's personal guards. He warns the women that this is not over, but Jemila quickly teleports Bolanle out of there. They catch their breath and try to process the events of the night.
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