The Recarn Chronicles- Omnibus Edition

by Greg Krojac

  Caitlin gave her mother a stern look, although there was no malice behind it, only jest.

  “Maybe. Maybe not.”

  That’s not even a maybe. You are.”

  Caitlin gave in and joined her mother on the bed.

  “OK. You win. Yes, I think I’m falling in love.”

  “I knew it. So, who is this Marcus?”

  “He’s a stockbroker. He says he deals in the future. That’s something to do with stockbroking isn’t it?”

  “Futures, yes.”

  “Anyway he must be very rich because he drives around in a classic Ferrari sports car. He doesn’t even use the Automatrix. He drives it himself. He’s a very good driver.”

  “You know that’s illegal, don’t you? I hope he uses self-drive when you’re in the car. I don’t want him taking any unnecessary risks with my daughter’s life.”

  “Of course he does, mum,”

  Caitlin didn’t like lying to her mother but it was only a white lie; not designed to hurt anyone.

  “Well, you’ve been seeing him for three months now and I think it’s high time that we met your boyfriend.”

  “OK. I’ll ask him.”

  “But we can’t meet him here, at home. We can’t let anyone discover that we work with the resistance. We’ll go for a meal somewhere. He’d probably prefer that anyway – neutral ground. Meeting your boyfriend’s or girlfriend’s parents at their home can be daunting. I know from experience,”

  Caitlin got up from the bed and tapped a control panel to the right of the mirror; in an instant, a perfect holographic image of herself stood in the corner of her room. She selected a button on a touch screen and the hologram was immediately dressed in a beautiful shimmering crimson satin dress.

  “I was thinking of wearing this one tonight, mum. What do you think?”

  “Can you make the hem a little longer? I don’t mean that you should cover your knees but it’s a little too short at the moment. You don’t want to give Marcus ideas.”

  Caitlin thought to herself that it was too late for that, but that was something her mother didn’t need to know. She pressed another button.

  “Is that better?”

  “Much better.”

  “What about the colour?”

  “The crimson’s nice, but how about a deep emerald green? That would suit you, I think.”

  Another button pressed and the hologram was now wearing a beautiful shimmering deep emerald satin dress, with a slightly longer hem. Karen approved and so did her daughter. Caitlin pressed another button on the hologram control panel, and the wardrobe door slid open allowing a perfect physical copy of the dress to be selected by the automated picking device and suspended on a clothes hanger by the dressing table. Karen stood up.

  “You’ll look beautiful whatever you wear, Caitlin. I’m going downstairs now to spend some time with your father. Don’t forget to arrange for us to meet this Marcus. I want to meet him and your dad needs to meet him.”

  “OK. I won’t forget. I promise.”

  ***

  Forty-five minutes later Caitlin trotted downstairs and stood in front of her parents, who had been watching a movie on Netflix. She knew that the best way to gain their attention when they were watching a film, was to place her hand between the screen and the beam that projected the holographic image onto it. Maurice paused the film, a little irritated, but thankful that she hadn’t interrupted a critical part of the story. He looked at his daughter.

  “Well?”

  “Well, I’ve spoken to Marcus and he’s willing to meet you at the Rookery restaurant at 8 pm on Thursday.”

  Maurice didn’t like the choice of words. ‘Willing to meet you’ sounded like they were being fitted into some busy schedule, at great inconvenience to Marcus. He shouldn’t be surprised that Caitlin’s parents wanted to meet him. It was a normal part of a relationship. However, he said nothing to betray his irritation.

  “That should be fine. I’ll have to check my agenda though. I’ll confirm the arrangements tomorrow.”

  A car horn sounded from the street and Caitlin looked out of the window.

  “The taxi’s here mum. I’m not taking my car tonight. We’re going clubbing. See you later. I’ve got to go.”

  Maurice un-paused the movie.

  “OK, love. Be good and have a nice time.”

  “I will. And don’t wait up. ”

  Caitlin knew that saying that to her father was a pointless exercise. Ever since he’d almost lost her as a six year old child, her dad was very protective of her. Especially since the ten month spell when the family had thought he was dead and he thought that he’d never see her again. Of course, he worried about both his daughters but Michelle was much more streetwise and able to take care of herself than her younger sister. She was a field operative and team-leader for the resistance movement, her greatest achievement to date having been the capture of a clone who had given One Life valuable information about the progress of the soul-transference programme. Trudi 002, who, in her previous life, had been Recarn scientist Professor Ingram, was a clone with a serious grudge against the Illuminati and had been only too willing to tell Michelle and her team what she knew. Michelle and her sister were different as chalk and cheese and Maurice had no idea whom Michelle had inherited her tough streak from; it certainly wasn’t from him.

  ***

  A short time later Caitlin’s self-drive taxi pulled up outside a nightclub, The Jungle. It was very popular, full of celebrities and was very difficult to get into. There was always a queue to get in, and entrance often depended upon whether or not one of the two bouncers liked you. Many of the girls dressed specifically to impress the bouncers, wearing their most revealing and seductive clothes, but this only actually worked with one of the bouncers. The other was more interested in the men in the queue and a good-looking man with good dress-sense stood just as much chance of getting in as any woman.

  Caitlin and Marcus had no need to take such measures to get into the club. It was obvious to the bouncers that Marcus was a VIP; they didn’t know precisely who he was or what he did but he always turned up to the club driving a classic Ferrari and he was very generous with his money. His general demeanour and appearance, plus the fact that he credited each bouncer’s bank account with one thousand pounds every time he visited, guaranteed his welcome. Caitlin, as his partner, was also guaranteed entry as long as she was with him.

  Marcus was already outside the club, chatting with the bouncers when Caitlin arrived. Spotting her get out of the taxi, he joined her and the couple walked through the door into what appeared to be a genuine rainforest. Cloned Parrots and Macaws flew around above the guests’ heads and thick jungle foliage wrapped itself around semi-circular booths that allowed guests some privacy when they weren’t dancing. The music played in the club was retro – a genre known as ‘jungle’ from about 80 years earlier – and gave its name to both the club and its theme. There was a short escalator guarded by another bouncer which gave access to the VIP area. Marcus and Caitlin were waved through and they sat down at a table overlooking the main dance area.

  ***

  Downstairs, in the communal area, Max Wolzenik sat at another table. He didn’t go by the name of Wolzenik whenever he was out in the community; it was imperative that the name Wolzenik should never be uttered outside of the safe house in which he lived. His undercover name was Max Malkovich, a name he chose in remembrance of a now deceased film actor of the late twentieth and early twenty-first century. He was a little disappointed but not surprised when his first choice of Headroom was rejected. It would have been fun. Max Headroom was a British fictional animated AI character, whose TV programme Max had enjoyed in 1984, in a previous life, but One Life command had no knowledge of the character and just thought that the name sounded flippant. Max’s real name, Wolzenik, could perhaps be recognised by someone close to the Illuminati as being the name of a SIMP, a Recarn who was a One Life sympathiser, and who had disappeared from a resea
rch complex in November 2051. That SIMP had saved the life of a baby who was then named Max Wolzenik, as a mark of respect and gratitude, and without whom Max wouldn’t be sitting in The Jungle nightclub, drinking ice cold beer.

  The Jungle wasn’t the type of establishment that Max normally visited – it was far too expensive for him – but his presence that night had been arranged by the Businessman, the reclusive head of the One Life resistance movement. Ever since the Revelation in 2015, the Businessman had worked to oppose the Illuminati and ONP governments around the world, being one of the few people to have both the funds and the network to do so. He actually owned The Jungle and Max was on a very special mission.

  Max stood up and walked into the throng of dancers, taking up a position where he could observe Marcus and Caitlin without being seen. If Caitlin spotted him she would no doubt want to know what he was doing there – she knew it wasn’t his kind of place. She also knew that he wasn’t a fan of this retro-music and wouldn’t believe that his being there was a coincidence. She would probably think that he had been sent to spy on her by her over-protective father. It would never occur to her that Max was more interested in watching Marcus and that her father neither knew nor cared that he was at the nightclub.

  He peered between a couple dancing energetically in the middle of the dance floor and took a good, hard look at his quarry. It’s said that the eyes are the window to the soul, and Max needed Marcus to look directly at him whilst at the same time not focussing on him. There was no danger of Marcus recognizing him, since Thomas, Marcus’s previous incarnation, although he’d been directly responsible for Max’s near death as a baby, had never seen him before. Marcus would have had to deliberately concentrate on looking into Max’s eyes if he himself were to be able to see past the veneer and identify Max’s previous host – a casual glance wouldn’t be sufficient. Had he done so, he would have seen that Max was the new incarnation of Ray Greenway, a terminally ill employee of the Illuminati, who had volunteered to take part in soul transfer experiments. Thomas had double crossed him, sending the new baby that now hosted Ray’s soul to be incinerated. Luckily for him, the lab technician tasked with his destruction had had other ideas.

  Max had the advantage here; he could focus on Marcus’s eyes and see into his soul, and know who Marcus really was, and Marcus would be none the wiser. He’d first been taught the skill as a child, by his adoptive father, and had thought it really cool. It was just like watching video on demand as various moments from the target soul’s life appeared to him, like a very vivid dream floating through his mind. It was a surprise when the sound cut in – he hadn’t been expecting sound as well as vision. His father could have warned him but it had been much more fun for Wolzenik senior to say nothing and watch his son’s reaction.

  Max gulped as Marcus’s eyes gave him up. He had had no idea whom he would find behind those piercing blue eyes but was shocked to find that the soul within belonged to the Pindar himself. He quickly finished his beer and made his way to the exit. There was no point in staying any longer; the music was annoying him and he’d seen all that he’d needed to see. He should report back to the Businessman without delay.

  CHAPTER TWO

  08:30 Sunday 22 September 2069

  Maurice was expecting the doorbell to ring at any moment but he still nearly jumped out of his skin when it happened. He was to be taken to a mystery location to meet the man behind the silhouette – he would meet the Businessman face-to-face. Only the selected few, principally those who actually worked at One Life HQ, had seen the man. He wondered what the Businessman looked like. Was he tall or short? Was he thin or fat? What ethnicity was he? Was he old or young? He had to be old, didn’t he? He’d been in sporadic contact with Maurice for over twenty-five years. But Maurice was only fifty-six years old. That wasn’t old. Maybe he was young. There was no real reason to think that the Businessman had to be any older than him.

  The SUV was waiting outside for Maurice. It was pretty luxurious inside, a top of the range model. From his previous experiences with One Life vehicles, Maurice knew that it couldn’t have been an off the shelf model, and it wasn’t. It had a lightweight bulletproof-skin and a curious looking black metal box behind the driver’s seat which restricted the legroom of anyone who might be sitting behind the driver. Maurice turned to a designer-suited man who was sitting alongside him in the back of the vehicle.

  “Can we move this metal box? Put it in the luggage area or something? It’s a bit of a nuisance, to be honest.”

  “It’s part of the vehicle, Maurice. It’s bolted in. You’ll just have to live with it.”

  “What is it then?”

  The man checked with the front seat passenger, who was clearly the leader of the group.

  “Can we tell him, boss? He is one of ours, after all. And he is going to meet the big man.”

  The front seat passenger nodded.

  “His security clearance has been upgraded to double A plus, so I don’t see any harm in it.”

  The man in the front passenger seat, Zafar, turned and stretched out a hand to introduce himself.

  “Hi, Maurice. My name’s Zafar, and I’m a senior aide to the Businessman. That box, that’s the security box. It contains the electronic system that keeps us safe. The holographic camouflage generator, the pulse gun inhibitor, the missile warning and deterrent system…”

  Maurice stopped him in his tracks.

  “The missile warning and deterrent system?”

  “We have to be prepared for everything, Maurice.”

  “Yes. I suppose so. But it seems like overkill for an SUV.”

  “Unfortunately, it’s necessary. There are a lot of people who would like to see me dead.”

  Zafar handed a small bag to the man sitting beside Maurice.

  “Now, I’m sorry about this, but we need to give you an injection.”

  “Injection? Why?”

  The man alongside Maurice grinned.

  “Because we can’t let you see where we’re going or how we get there.”

  “But I have security clearance double A plus. That’s good isn’t it?”

  “Yes Maurice, it’s very good. But it’s not good enough that you can be conscious for the journey. You’ll be out for a few hours, and there’ll be no harmful collateral effects. When we arrive you’ll just feel like you’ve been in a deep sleep.”

  “But I don’t like needles. I have a phobia. I panic and thrash about.”

  “We know. Nobody likes needles, Maurice. That’s why this injection is needle-free. Tell you what, if it hurts, I’ll let you punch me in the face when we arrive. A free shot. Lots of people would love that opportunity, I’m sure.”

  The injection was administered and Maurice really didn’t feel a thing. For the next few hours, he slept the sleep of the dead. He was totally unaware of being carried onto a private jet, he had no knowledge of the thunderstorm that the aircraft negotiated after about three hours of flight, and he completely missed seeing the beautiful view of tropical mountains and waterfalls as the plane made its descent to its destination.

  ***

  Some hours later he felt some liquid being forced between his lips and woke up suddenly, spluttering.

  “Ergh! What is that stuff? It’s disgusting.”

  “That’s wake-up juice, Maurice. We’re here, so you have to wake up now. Did the injection hurt? Do I deserve a punch?”

  “No, it didn’t hurt. But that stuff you just made me drink was bloody awful. I should be allowed to punch you for that alone”

  Maurice looked around him. He was in a jungle clearing, surrounded by trees and the air was filled with the whoops of jungle birds and the shrieks of monkeys. He left the plane and took in his surroundings for a moment.

  “Where are we, Zafar? This place is beautiful.”

  “This is the Businessman’s private island and One Life HQ.”

  “How come the Illuminati doesn’t know about it?”

  “The main reason is
that nobody can see it. The holographic camouflage dome sees to that.”

  “But what if the system goes down?”

  “If the main system goes down, then there are back-up systems that come online. Don’t you know anything about IT security, Maurice?”

  “I know all I need to know, thanks. I know to keep an anti-virus program on my computer.”

  “Then, think of this place as having the best anti-virus protection there is.”

  “What does it look like from the air then?”

  “Anybody who comes near just sees the ocean – no island.”

  “What about if a ship bumps into the island, because it can’t see it?”

  “There’s a severe storm generator which forces any potential intruders to divert.”

  “Fascinating.”

  Two young women, both dressed in white cotton jumpsuits approached the team. One of them, Anita, a brunette, spoke.

  “Good afternoon Mr Boone. You have no luggage, I see.”

  This was the first time that it had occurred to Maurice that he had only the clothes that he stood up in. He hadn’t packed a suitcase because he had no idea that he would be going further than fifty or so miles. He certainly had had no idea that he would be staying overnight somewhere, let alone travelling halfway round the world. He smiled at the two women.

  “Apparently not.”

  The blonde, Andrea, took him by the hand.

  “No matter. There are clothes ready for you in your room.”

  Maurice and his two escorts, each holding one of his hands, like parents walking with their young child between them, made their way through a palm-tree arch to a very stylish accommodation complex that owed a lot of its design to oriental temples. He thought that he should probably not tell Karen about his welcome and walking hand-in-hand with Anita and Andrea. It felt good but it didn’t feel right. He was led inside by his stunning companions and guided towards a door that was completely in keeping with the external decoration. The brunette placed her hand on a scanning device and the door slid open.