Heir to the Nightmare

by J. J. Carlson

  “You really know how to make someone feel loved.”

  “As I said, I’m a scientist. I observed a threat to our national security, and I’m searching for a solution. It’s that simple.”

  Janson was reluctant to start a debate, but she saw a flaw in his logic and felt obligated to point it out. “What about Katharos? Don’t you think they’re a bigger threat than China or Russia?”

  “Katharos only serves to prove my point.” He tapped the palm of his left hand with his right index finger. “It’s a terrorist organization with relatively few people that managed to send the entire world into an economic recession and forever change U.S. foreign policy. For a period of a few weeks, Katharos had total control over global communications. Our best encryption was powerless to stop them, and it’s possible they could have ended us all in nuclear fallout if they so chose. And they did it all because of technology. We only managed to uproot their stronghold in Siberia with the help of our own technology…Four-seven-Charlie.”

  Janson wanted to remind him that it was DARPA’s technology derived from Project Lateralis that allowed Katharos to become such a threat in the first place. Instead, she shook her head and said, “None of this matters, not when it comes to Jarrod and I. The experiment is over. He won.”

  Wagner interlaced his fingers and rested his hands in his lap. “Now we have reached the core of what I wanted to discuss with you. I believe you were not properly equipped for your skirmish with Four-Seven-Charlie this morning. After all, he was designed for unarmed combat. And you, a trained markswoman, went into battle with nothing but a couple of pawnshop guns. I suggest we level the playing field.”

  “And how are we going to do that?”

  He reached into his pocket and withdrew a slim gray card. His RFID. “This card will give you access to most rooms within this complex. My security privileges aren’t what they once were, but I am still allowed inside the arms room.” He tucked the card into her palm. “Use it to retrieve a weapon that will pierce his armor…and kill him.”

  Wagner sidestepped her bed and accessed a computer terminal. He tapped the screen three times, and the restraints around Janson’s wrists and ankles snapped open.

  She sat up and closed her fist around the RFID. “What’s the catch?”

  “There is no catch—only self-preservation. If Director Torres discovers what I’ve been doing, he will lock me up and throw away the key. But if you kill Four-Seven-Charlie, I’ll have proof that Doctor Torres was harboring a fugitive.” A smile played across his thin lips. “To the power players in Washington, I’ll look like a hero.”

  Janson glared at him and shoved herself away from the bed. She quickly dressed in her metamaterial armor then took Wagner’s lab coat and put that on as well. Without another word, she ducked into the hallway and made a beeline for the arms room. She had no intention of betraying San, but she couldn’t pass on this opportunity to take Jarrod down.

  Turning her face away from a security camera, she grabbed a sniper rifle and submachine gun off the arms room wall. She tucked two boxes of experimental ammunition into the pockets of the lab coat and hurried out the door. Someone in the Operations Center was bound to notice her absence eventually, even with minimal staff.

  She slowed as she approached the elevator, and the door slid open. Wagner was inside, waiting to escort her to the surface. She didn’t speak—didn’t even make eye-contact. Accepting his help felt like shaking hands with the Devil, but she could deal with him later. All she had to do was whisper a few threats in the cowardly surgeon’s ear, and he would scurry away like a frightened rat. San, Eugene, and the rest of Hillcrest would be safe from his bureaucratic maneuvering, Jarrod would be dead, and she would finally be at peace.

  At least, that was the lie she repeated to herself as she left the building and stepped into the light of day.

  26

  Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs

  Syracuse, New York

  Lukas Woodfall gripped the steel railing as he mounted the last tier of steps leading to the massive brick building. He wore a baggy sweatshirt with the hood up, a wide pair of aviator sunglasses, and a false mustache. His palms were clammy as he grasped the handle on the ornate, cream-colored door and pulled. A passing student glanced in his direction; Lukas tucked his chin against his chest and scurried into the adjacent hallway.

  Thankfully, the hallway was empty. Lukas had arrived during the middle of class, and most of the students were sitting in lecture halls. It was his first stroke of luck since he had left the safehouse in Seneca Falls that morning. He had thought that he had planned for every contingency and that reaching the university would be a breeze, but he soon learned that avoiding the watchful eyes of the NSA was a frightful task. He had no idea how Audrey could seem so calm when every computer, mobile phone, and traffic camera was a potential trap waiting to be sprung.

  He was certain his heart would give out if he couldn’t find help, and soon. Benjamin Tenley was his only hope.

  Though he knew which department his old friend worked in, it took Lukas several passes through the building’s confusing corridors to find the right office. At last, the gleaming brass nameplate came into view, and Lukas rapped his knuckles against the door. He wasn’t sure if the wizened professor would be in his office, but he was willing to take a risk. Tenley would be in his mid-seventies by now, and the old codger always enjoyed research more than lecturing.

  A few seconds passed, and Lukas was rewarded with the sound of rustling papers from somewhere beyond the door. He held his breath as he waited, listening to the scuffing footsteps. The door opened, barely making a squeak on its oiled hinges. Lukas recognized the man in front of him, though it had been more than three decades since he had last seen him, and the years had not been kind.

  The old man blinked and removed his thick bifocals to rub his eyes. “Lukas?” he breathed. “Could it really be you?”

  Lukas held a finger to his lips and checked over both shoulders. Facing Tenley again, he said, “Do you have any electronics in your office? Or a mobile phone?”

  Tenley didn’t seem to hear him and spoke with a posh English accent. “I can hardly believe you’re still alive, after everything that happened. What on earth brings you here?”

  Lukas pushed past him and searched the office. It was a small, comfortable room; the walls were lined with bookshelves and a pair of mahogany armchairs stood across from a wide desk. There was a single window at the edge of the room, and it was flanked by a pair of wooden filing cabinets. Lukas found what he was looking for on a small oak table, separated from the main desk. Kneeling, he unplugged every cable leading to the back of an outdated computer. Then, getting to his feet, he whispered, “Do you have a mobile phone or not?”

  “I don’t.” Tenley shook his head. “Of course, I don’t. What’s this all about?”

  Lukas continued his search of the room and, at last, let out a sigh of relief. He approached his old friend and shook his hand before settling into an armchair. “I’m sorry for my behavior—I’m sure it must seem strange. But there are eyes and ears everywhere, and one can’t be too careful.”

  “Are you…” Benjamin lowered his voice. “Running from the government?”

  Lukas allowed himself to smile. “No, old friend, Katharos is still on the offensive. But I am in need of your assistance.”

  The professor’s expression deadened. “Is that so? After all this time…you’ve decided I can be useful?”

  “Well, I…” Lukas lowered his gaze and stared down at his shoes. Years ago, Tenley had been a mentor to Lukas. The professor’s predictions of humanity’s bleak future had ignited a fire within him, eventually leading him to a meeting with Borya Tabanov. But when Katharos was eventually formed, Tenley was excluded from the ranks. It was his “lack of faith,” Borya had said, that prevented him from joining what would become the most powerful and visionary scientific organization in history. Deep down, Lukas had wondered if Borya had s
imply been prejudiced against the professor, who was a social scientist, not a true scientist in the most literal sense. And it was true that Benjamin mistrusted technology, believing that technological advances had made mankind weak of mind and body. To some extent, Lukas agreed with him—mankind had become weak, staring at LED screens for every waking moment and unable to perform basic arithmetic without the assistance of a digital calculator. But technology was a tool, only as evil as the man or woman wielding it. And Lukas had used it to create the ultimate cure for the sickness of the world: The C-Virus.

  “You have always been useful to me, old friend.” Lucas met Tenley’s gaze. “Without you, I would have been a ship without a sail, adrift on an endless sea. I never would have envisioned and brought to completion my greatest creation.”

  Benjamin waved a hand dismissively. “And what creation is this? An exotic disease for you to unleash in Liberia? Perhaps a synthetic chemical that can be added to Nigeria’s water supply and—”

  “No,” Woodfall interjected. He took a half breath and exhaled through his nose. “No, nothing like that. What I developed is much more… permanent. It is also humane—a design aspect I hoped you would approve of.”

  Tenley crossed his arms and leaned back. “Please, explain.”

  Lucas nodded for a moment then interlaced his fingers. “I remember an article you once wrote in cooperation with the United Nations. You claimed that it was man’s destiny to spread across the earth, slowly poisoning and pillaging every available resource until the ecosphere was completely toxic. You hypothesized that such a fate was unavoidable unless we as humans endeavored to evolve our thoughts and ideals. Without the responsible distribution of wealth, healthcare reform, and selective childbearing practices, we are doomed to our fate. And I read between the lines, to the true convictions hidden in your heart. You believe the only answer is forced sterilization, and it’s a belief we have held in common for some time.”

  Lukas shook his head. “But we both know it is an impossibility; humans have evolved an instinctual desire to reproduce, and trying to suppress that instinct will always be met with bitterness, then anger, then violent uprising. No amount of propaganda, or indoctrination, or veiled threats will overcome that basic instinct. It has to be accomplished with a biological agent. An agent that didn’t exist. That is, until now.”

  Lucas had Benjamin’s full attention, and the old professor leaned forward to show it. “You’ve cooked something up in your labs, haven’t you?”

  “I have.”

  “And it’s…effective?”

  “It causes bilateral destruction of the fallopian tubes in one hundred percent of our test subjects.”

  “Interesting.” Tenley stroked his chin. “How does it work?”

  Lucas brightened, thankful for the opportunity to discuss his pride and joy. “It works by rewriting the human genetic code, turning the immune system against the female reproductive system. Which is not inherently impressive—I’ve developed far more advanced sterilization techniques, including a vaccine that erases all maternal instincts and the desire to procreate. What is truly magnificent about the C-virus is the method of distribution. The weapon is carried by bacteriophages—tiny viruses that normally attack bacteria. They outnumber all the bacteria on our planet ten to one, and they cause over a trillion trillion infections across the globe every second. The phages carrying my weapon are highly contagious and will reproduce in nearly any organism on the planet. They are, however, completely harmless until they come in contact with specific markers found within human cells. At that point, they will mutate and began to spread rapidly, rewriting the DNA of every cell they come into contact with.” He grinned. “Once my weapon is released, there is no way to stop it. It will spread across the globe on the membranes of common bacteria. And it is nearly undetectable, even when the host becomes infected.”

  Lukas shrugged. “It is possible that a treatment could be developed that would stop the host’s immune system from attacking her reproductive organs, but it would have to be administered within hours of infection. And there will be no way to eradicate the phages from the face of the earth. Bacteria and other prokaryotic organisms are far too prevalent.”

  “This weapon sounds like it would mean the end of the human race.”

  Lukas nodded. “The population will decrease dramatically. But I believe a portion of the population will be immune to the weapon’s effects, and that immunity will be passed along to the next generation. The survivors will rebound quickly, taking advantage of the abundant resources and infrastructure left behind by their parents or grandparents. They’ll breed like rabbits, and we’ll be right back where we started within a few centuries. That’s why I have been reluctant to unleash the phages until now.”

  Benjamin stood and crossed the room, gripping the back of his chair and then a bookshelf to steady himself. He stopped at the window and pulled the curtains aside. “I expected more from you, Lukas.” He watched a pair of students striding along the sidewalk, hand-in-hand. “You used to be so passionate…so optimistic. What happened to you? What you’re talking about is worse than genocide…it’s extermination.” Glancing over his shoulder, he added. “If you use this weapon, who will be left to inherit the earth? The starving, poor, and ignorant survivors, chosen at random to become the new stewards of our planet?”

  “No.” Lukas sidestepped past the desk and put a hand on Tenley’s shoulder. “The earth will be guarded and cared for by a new species—one greater than our own.”

  Tenley blinked and shook his head. “What are you talking about?”

  Lukas hesitated. “You have to promise you will never share this with anyone. What I am about to say cannot leave this room.”

  Benjamin put a hand over his heart. “I swear it.”

  Lukas chewed his lower lip. “Katharos succeeded where many have failed. We perfected the human genome, erasing deformities and replacing them with unsurpassed strength and intelligence. We called our new species Homo aeturnum, which means ‘eternal human.’” A glimmer passed through Lukas’s eyes. “This new species is superior to our own in every way, including longevity. They will be immortal, Benjamin.”

  The professor remained silent for a long moment, pondering the weight of Lukas’s words. He took a deep breath and stared once more through the window. “With even a doubled lifespan, mankind would have nearly limitless potential. We could achieve so much, go so far.” He frowned. “But…how will you control population growth?”

  Lukas smiled. “Every Homo aeturnum will be born sterile, whether male or female. Katharos, or however the new world order comes to be known, will decide who is given life, and when. We’ve also collected tens of thousands of human embryos to ensure genetic research can continue, though I don’t believe the genetic code we’ve created can be improved upon.”

  “Have you created one already? Does an immortal man or woman exist, even now?”

  Lukas shook his head. “Only in fetal form. One is being carried by the former Empress of Katharos, Emily Roberts, though I can’t say for certain if she is still alive. There are six more, growing within artificial wombs in an underground Russian laboratory.” Lukas pursed his lips. “Sadly, I can’t say for certain if they are viable, either. But the code is what matters, and it has been duplicated on several dozen computer servers around the world. All I need is access.”

  “A true, master race…” Tenley breathed, still watching the students passing beneath his window.

  “Indeed. But it is a race doomed to extinction without our help. Without the ability to reproduce, Homo aeturnum will eventually die out. I need to secure their genetic code, and I need to make sure they have a world worth inheriting.”

  Benjamin gave a single, resolute nod then turned toward Lukas. “What can I do to help?”

  “I need a place to stay tonight. And tomorrow, I need you to bring me to a laboratory in Manhattan. From there, I will be able to access the genetic code and activate the weapon.” He rai
sed his chin and looked Tenley in the eyes. “Without your help, I will be caught by government agents. But together, we can usher in a new dawn for humanity and create the world we dreamed of long ago.”

  27

  Rockwood, Pennsylvania

  The SUV slowed to a crawl as the tires moved from pavement to gravel. Eugene tapped a button on a computer tablet, and the screen lit up with color. It depicted visual, radiographic, and sonographic information gathered by a sophisticated sensor attached to the undercarriage of the SUV, allowing him to peer through the soil ahead of them. If Katharos had buried mines or other defensive measures in the gravel road, he would know.

  “Clear for the next thirty feet,” Eugene said, rubbing his eyes. The road trip to the Katharos weapons cache had only taken a few hours, but it felt like much longer. It wasn’t the miles or even the stress of the mission that had drained him; it was Janson’s sudden arrival at Hillcrest that morning. He couldn’t get the image of her scarred face and black eyes out of his mind. Her hatred had driven her to mutilate her body—tearing trenches into her skin and injecting herself with chemicals and nanomachinery. But he didn’t blame her; he blamed himself. If he had been honest from the beginning and told her that Jarrod was alive, she wouldn’t have felt so alone. Maybe if she knew that he and San were there for her, she would be on this op right now, watching his back.

  He stifled a sigh. There was no one he trusted in combat more than Janson. Not Eli, nor Yuri, nor Jarrod. Especially not Jarrod. As gifted in warfare as Jarrod was, he had been conditioned to fight alone. And an unpredictable wolf was a danger to the entire pack. That’s why Eugene had assigned him to overwatch, though he wasn’t optimistic that the bio-engineered supersoldier would follow his orders.