by C M Dancha
"Have you seen the early edition of the Beobachter or listened to the news this morning?"
"No, Raul. But I have the feeling I should have."
"Here, look at this."
Raul spread the front page of the Beobachter in front of Rollie. Even though it was in German, Rollie could make out enough of the headlines to realize the lead story was about a massive explosion and fire at the Opulenz apartments.
"My God, that's where Sophia lives."
"I know, Rollie. Don't you remember that I found her place about a week ago?"
"That's right. I forgot. What else does this say?"
Raul was fluent in German, so he read the highlights of the article.
"A massive explosion was reported by the doorman at about 9:30 p.m. last night. The explosion was followed by an intense fire which destroyed all the apartments on the third and fourth floor. Even with the automated sprinkler system, it took the fire department several hours to extinguish the fire. The cause of the fire is unknown, and a final list of victims has yet to be compiled and released. Two people of interest are being held for further questioning. One of these is..." Raul pointed to the name in the article.
In bold, capitalized letters was the name Klaus Ekstrom, CEO of Phoenvartis.
Rollie's eyes went back and forth between the print and Raul. Raul already had close to ten hours to digest and think about the consequences of this event. Rollie was in an early phase of doing the same thing. His first thought was to blame himself for not going up to Sophia's apartment. If he had, she might still be alive. It was so predictable that something bad would happen between Sophia and Klaus. How could he have ignored all the warning signs? He should have taken at least some precautionary steps to make sure she was returned safe and sound to her apartment.
"No wonder Klaus wasn't here this morning. Raul, I blame myself for this. I could have walked her to the apartment rather than drop her at the entrance to the apartment building. What a stupid thing for me to do."
"Yeah, you could have taken her to the apartment and gotten yourself blasted to smithereens. Besides, we don't know yet that Sophia was killed. Wait for the official report from our buddy Milkweed before hanging yourself from the nearest lamppost. Okay?"
"Yeah, fine. But it sure doesn't look good for Sophia."
“What did she have to say last night, Rollie? Even if she's dead it's still important I know who she was working for. In fact, whoever it was might be responsible for her murder."
"You're right. She's working for a revolutionary group called the Black Cross. They offered her a ton of World Credits to do something, but she wouldn't tell me what it was."
"Why wouldn't she tell you?"
"Because I turned down an invitation to run away with her. She said that if she told me what they wanted her to do then I would become an accomplice and be subject to prosecution. Or maybe she meant I'd be subject to retaliation by the Black Cross. Frankly, I don't know what the hell she meant."
"Interesting. Damn, I wish she had at least given you a clue to what she was up to."
"Raul, the only thing that makes sense is they want something involving the ReLife project. I don't know exactly what, but what else could it be? There's nothing else going on at the company which is even close to the importance of ReLife."
"You're right. What else did she have to say?"
"That was about it. Raul. No, wait. She knew about the death of Maxine and Callie. And she told me about a group of non-executives within the company who wield enough power to get people fired. Supposedly, the ring leader is Klaus's assistant, Helga."
"Rollie, both of those things are old news. I'm surprised you didn't know about this group."
Rollie felt like an idiot not knowing about Helga's group. "I must walk around with my head in the clouds."
"Did she say anything else?"
Rollie gazed into the air and tried to squeeze out the last bit of information. He was forgetting something. Then it came to him. "One last thing. Sophia was the reflection in the CR47. You know the reflection in the stainless steel?"
"Really? What was she doing in the lab?"
"She claimed that she came in a few nights and was curious about the cloning equipment. She wanted to see it, so she went to the lab and that's when the recorders picked up her reflection."
Raul thought for a moment, twisting and turning this bit of information. "What a bunch of bullshit. She might have been curious about the CR47, but she wasn't looking at it because of curiosity. She was looking because her mission for the Black Cross has something to do with ReLife. Think about the care she took to avoid the recorders. If it wasn't for the reflection no one would have known she was there. You are right, Rollie. The Black Cross wants to get its hands on the CR47. At least, that's my guess."
"Wow. You think they will try to take it?"
"Could be. Or they want access to it for their own purpose. Either way, I'm putting round-the-clock guards on the lab, starting tonight."
After speaking with Raul, Rollie was mentally drained. In less than an hour he discovered his boss was a suspect in a murder case, his ex-girlfriend was probably dead, and a radical group was planning some type of espionage involving the ReLife equipment. And to top it off, he was most likely the last person at Phoenvartis to become aware of the gang of thugs who manipulated the system for their own benefit.
He needed to lie down and rest before everyone reconvened in the cloning lab. Maybe another mood-altering drink from the cafeteria plus a couple hours' sleep would make the world a little brighter. He bought a Lyfte carbonated drink and headed to his office. The drink contained a combination of drugs and natural ingredients which altered the parts of the brain responsible for depression. One bottle of Lyfte would be enough to change his brain balance from depressive to happy and positive.
At 12:30 p.m., Ingrid woke him from a slumbering sleep. The Lyfte plus sleep had worked. He felt much better, ready to attack whatever the future held.
Rollie was the first to arrive at the lab. He greeted Helmer who was on the last watch. "How's it going?"
Helmer had a big smile on his face which was an obvious, non-verbal answer to Rollie's question. "Look for yourself, Rollie."
Even though Helmer's body language screamed success, Rollie was still apprehensive as he approached the CR47 and looked through the shatter-proof glass. Seeing Maxine in the incubator had been impressive. This was incredible. Lying prone in the CR47 was a perfectly formed man of over six feet in length with shoulder length hair and naked as a jaybird. Rollie estimated the replicant's age at late-forties.
Rollie was mesmerized by this new human. He knew what the CR47 was supposed to do, but seeing a finished human clone took his breath away. Of all the people at Phoenvartis associated with ReLife, he was the main person responsible for what he now viewed. He had conceived the idea of ReLife, figured out how to make the incubator work and babysat the entire project from start to finish. In an odd way, he considered himself the father of this replicant.
Within a couple of minutes, Raul, Claude, and Helmer were standing quietly next to Rollie viewing the replicant.
Rollie broke the silence. Everyone on the ReLife team knew what had to be done next but Rollie thought it best to repeat the instructions. "Okay, guys. Let's get ready to transport our new friend to the primate lab. Same procedures as we used for Maxine. We'll put him under for ten to fifteen minutes. I don't want him waking up in a hallway or in the incubator. The lab will be scary enough to wake up in but at least it's been remodeled to feel like the inside of a house."
"Claude, will you and Raul bring the stretcher over to the side of the incubator? Same lifting procedure as we did with Maxine. Two guys lifting his shoulders, one on his feet and one under his midsection."
When the CR47 shut down, everyone on the team performed exactly as instructed. When the clone was on the stretcher and ready for transport, Raul said to the team, "God Almighty. Do you believe this? I wonder who he is?"
<
br /> Claude was wondering the same thing. Mr. Slice had told him the clone was going to be a woman. If this was a female, it was the first one he had seen with male genitalia. Something was wrong, and he needed to contact Slice. But first, he needed to play along and act like the rest of the team members who were excited and full of themselves.
Preview of The ReLife Project;
Volume 2 – World War
Dissatisfaction with the World Council has led to economic depression and mass protests. The World Council is frantic to find the missing host samples which can reproduce their former leader who they believe can salvage their grip on society and reign of terror. Their representative, Sedgewick Slice, is desperate and resorts to kidnapping, torture and murder to find the missing samples.
Rollie Sweats realizes that Grandma LeeLee’s clone is a legendary Founding Father of the old United States. The president’s heavy consumption of red wine doesn’t hinder his ability to learn the last 350 years of history and revive his leadership skills.
Rollie and Raul Hakala know that they have very little time left at Phoenvartis. They fear that their lives are in jeopardy from the crazed Sedgewick Slice. With a small group of accomplices, Rollie and Raul flee Zurich and head to a safe-haven where they can plan their future.
Although Grandma LeeLee has died, she and The Almighty have a different plan for Rollie and his group. They are to become the major force in the fight against two evil forces, the World Council and Black Cross.
War erupts. All three factions vying for world domination are led by a larger-than-life clone from the past. It’s a struggle of economic, political and spiritual ideologies. Freedom and capitalism battle against socialism and fascism.
Follow this exciting confrontation to the surprising conclusion by reading The ReLife Project – World War, Volume 2. Revised February 2019
I try not to ask much of the reader other than enjoying the story. However, if you can find ten “free” minutes in your busy life to write a review of this book and encourage your friends to read it, I would be grateful.
About the Author
C.M. Dancha lives with his wife and puppy in Florida. After retiring, he decided to “put-to-paper” the characters and stories which had been percolating in his head for over 40 years. His first 6 books were published in the past four years with another 7 novels scheduled for release in the next 4 years. Upcoming books will run the gamut from a religious, action-adventure trilogy to murder mysteries featuring his favorite protagonist, Mick Danger.
