Charger Chronicles 3: Charger the God

by Lea Tassie

  But Charger R/T found no threat. He released Dean, who crashed to the ground, landing in a crumpled heap. As quickly as Charger R/T had risen, he disappeared, leaving the people dazed and confused. Pennington was picking herself up from where she had landed, begging forgiveness from her god and blaming herself for the outcome. Dean felt that he had pressed his luck far enough and retreated, hurrying to return to the genetics lab. He had a more than adequate sample.

  The assembled medical team began replicating and increasing the stolen tissue, preparing a sample to introduce to the woman still held hostage in a stasis chamber. Dean described the process and techniques used by the medical team members working on Reanna and this was shown on computer monitors for councilors who watched. After some time, the woman seemed to respond positively. The team hit a few stumbling blocks along the way but, ever determined, they increased the amount of the genetic sample from Charger R/T and tried again.

  After several hours, Dean concluded that nothing further could be done, and it was now up to his patient to either survive or die. Three days passed before Reanna opened her eyes. A crowd of unfamiliar faces stared back at her.

  Reanna managed to ask a single question, "Where am I?" then slipped back into unconsciousness. Now things went downhill for her. After several days, Dean finally had to admit that Reanna was in a deep coma. He decided it was best to let her remain dormant. After a month of pressure from the council to either allow this woman to die or revive her, Dean grudgingly agreed to let Reanna die.

  However, just before the commencement of the procedure to humanely end Reanna's life, a second heartbeat was detected. The medical staff were shocked. What had happened was unclear, but Reanna, a virgin, had become pregnant. This was truly alarming, because the laws now permitted only genetically controlled and engineered births to create new humans.

  The common story of unwanted births had long since passed into history; the longevity program saw to that. As well, all children born were subject to rigorous controls to prevent diseases and defects from undermining the populace.

  Dean prevailed on the council to let Reanna live until the baby was full-term. The child appeared to be in perfect health, but his mother was still in a coma and Dean once again acceded to the council's decision to allow her to die.

  That Reanna was a virgin mother had not gone unnoticed by Pennington and her followers, however. The fact that the medical doctors were preparing to allow the birth of a natural child into society was greeted by this group as miraculous.

  "Science be damned!" Pennington shouted from the pulpit of her small field church, where Charger R/T once resided. "This blessed birth of a child from our god, Charger R/T, cannot be disputed, and to a virgin, no less!" The followers of Pennington, or Pope Paul, since she had retaken that name, cheered wildly.

  "I told you, my beloved faithful, that we would receive a sign! This is the true son of god, born to our world and not to an alien race. We are the chosen people!" The fanatical followers packed up their belongings and began camping out in the medical lab's facilities, praying and praising their god for the deliverance of a son.

  Violence and killing had also long since vanished because of the genetics program, for it had become nearly impossible to kill a fellow human being. This meant that the police force no longer existed, since there was no need for them. Thus the medical facility was left to defend itself from the encroaching fanatics. After Pennington's first encounter with Dean and the medical staffers, she decided to recall her most devoted follower from missionary service.

  Cardinal Abarth knelt before his Pope and kissed her ring, then rose to his feet and asked, "How can I serve the church?" Pennington commanded her followers to leave her presence, for she wanted privacy with Abarth. Pen explained at some length the mission she wanted Abarth to take. She wanted the child.

  Abarth felt a moment of joy at this command from his pope, for he had long wanted some way to get back at Charger R/T. Abarth still felt slighted at what had happened when they first met. He had asked Charger R/T to kill him, but the demon refused. Capturing the demon's son might force him to assist with Abarth's twisted plans for revenge against humanity.

  ***

  "So what are the plans for this genetic throwback?" the nurse asked Dr. Smyth as she tidied up the room where the infant lay sleeping.

  "I really wish the staff would stop referring to this child as a genetic throwback; it makes him sound like a Neanderthal," Dean snapped, losing patience.

  "Well, it might help if you gave him a name instead of a number. Genetic throwback is easier to say then 195KG-87BL2," the nurse replied with a smile.

  "Dart!" Dean blurted.

  "What?" the nurse asked.

  "Dart!" Dean repeated.

  "Dart what? I don’t understand?" the nurse replied, looking confused.

  "Call him Dart," Dean said, as he looked at the boy's chart.

  "That's an unusual name. Why Dart?" The nurse had become fond of the baby and was truly interested in his welfare.

  "I had already thought of giving him a name, and I cut up pieces of paper with names on them and taped them to the wall in my office. I was using a dart to try to hit a name and kept missing, so I think it’s easier to just call him 'Dart' and scrap any further attempts." Dean looked a little sheepish, embarrassed about his assault on the hospital's wall.

  "'Dart' seems fine." The nurse looked unimpressed with the good doctor's ability to choose a proper name.

  The responsibility for Dart fell to Dr. Smyth. He wasn't quite sure what to do with it, since he had decided never to marry and was living the life of a bachelor.

  "It is, after all, your experiment, and we feel that the boy is better off in a home rather than in foster care," the councilor said to Dean over the communications line. "Besides, we here at the ministry have more pressing matters to deal with. There are entire towns and cities in need of repair and, what with the general craziness of people, we have our hands full."

  "But…" Dean started to protest, for he had no idea how to be a father. Before he could express this concern, the councilor's voice interrupted.

  "We feel that your work to date has been exemplary, and would hate to have to downgrade your pay and status in the medical community. And it's unthinkable that such a brilliant mind could be sent to some off-world colony where life is harsh and unkind. Don't you agree?"

  Dean ignored the implied threats. He agreed to the terms the council proposed because he genuinely felt responsible for the baby. It was, after all, his work on Reanna that had led to this birth. Dean could not understand the mysterious process which had resulted in Reanna conceiving a child merely from being injected with genetic material from Charger R/T. The idea of a virgin getting pregnant was just nonsense, anyway. There had to be a medical explanation, and he was determined to find it.

  Thus Dart spent his formative years living safely under the compassionate care of Dr. Smyth. The only bad thing that happened was a weekly extraction of genetic material drawn from the boy so that Dean could continue his research into Reanna's case. But that was not painful, merely inconvenient.

  Dart didn't find growing up particularly difficult. He was a bright and inquisitive child, and loved to laugh. He did, however, have to deal with the fact that he was an oddity in school. He was not genetically smart or strong, he was not good looking or athletic, and he was, at best, below average in comparison to the others. The children he saw in class every day all grew at the same pace as he did, but Dean made it very clear that a day would come when Dart would see his friends stay young while he grew old.

  Dart was twelve and quite naive when he had his first encounter with Abarth. It happened just outside of school and, had it not been for a few kids who took pity on Dart, his life would have turned out very differently.

  Pennington had tasked Abarth with retrieving Charger R/T’s son. They wanted to guide and control his development, to what end was never made clear. Just after classes, when Dart was walking
across the school yard, Abarth approached and said that he had come to take Dart to his father. Young Chelsie was quick to notice what was going on, and called for her friends to tell a teacher.

  Dart had never realized that Chelsie liked him. She was extremely pretty and very smart. Dart didn’t think that such a girl could ever be interested in him, so when Chelsie came to his rescue, he was perplexed.

  Chelsie was from a rich family and, at age twelve herself, well-equipped with all the current technology for communication and protection. "I called Dart's dad and asked if you were to retrieve Dart for him!" Chelsie called out as Abarth had Dart by the arm and was leading him across the field. "He says he doesn't know you and is calling the school authorities!" she added. Abarth thought it best to retreat and, seeing a few teachers now approaching, quickly made himself scarce.

  "You shouldn't just trust people, you know," Chelsie scolded Dart, as she led him back to the school to wait for his dad, who was now on his way. "Just because we live in a safe city does not mean that you're safe. That's what my dad always says," Chelsie continued, not noticing that Dart was stunned with the attention he was getting, nodding foolishly and grinning. "If it hadn't been for me, I think that guy might have hacked you to bits!"

  Chelsie continued to lecture Dart, but he didn't take offence. Dart was, for the first time in his life, in love. Chelsie was tall and her hair was cut short and sporty, she wore artfully applied makeup like a grown woman, not painted on thick like a child. Dart was so engrossed in what Chelsie was saying that he paid little attention to the questions the teachers were asking.

  Chelsie noticed and smiled happily at the rapt attention Dart was giving her. Bravely, she took Dart's hand and said, "I think it best if I wait with you till your dad arrives. I don't want you to wander off and get kidnapped." When Chelsie spoke, she usually added a little giggle, which Dart found very attractive.

  Dr. Smyth arrived in a panic, fearful for the child he had chosen to raise and care for. He whisked Dart off in the transport before he could be introduced to Chelsie, causing Dart to complain bitterly all the way home. Dean repeatedly apologized to the heart-broken Dart and promised to find and thank Chelsie as soon as he could. But Dean had a larger problem to deal with.

  There had been many changes in humanity when the longevity program became a success and, at first, some were almost not even recognized. Humans with longer life spans found that death had been almost defeated. It took quite an effort to kill someone. There was no longer a need for a police force, or for armies. No one ever got sick, so most hospitals had shut down. The effect of long life snowballed through society. Increased prosperity meant that working became, for many, merely something to occupy one or two days a week.

  Dean felt there was no way to protect Dart, now that there were no longer any child services. Dart was a natural human child, unaltered and all too mortal. Dean had to deal daily with Pennington’s fanatics camped out at the research facility, and was now painfully aware that they had tried to abduct the boy. He had thought of moving from city to city to stay out of potential trouble, but his research was too important. This brazen attack made him reconsider his decisions.

  Pennington and her agents wanted the boy because he was just that, a normal, human boy, the first natural human birth in quite some time. Even though Dart was technically birthed from a deceased mother, he had not been genetically created, which made him special. Dean decided, after much thought, that he would approach the council and request that Dart be given the rights of the longevity program, for this would ensure the boy's survival. It would make Dart nearly immortal, like other humans, and this might dissuade the church from pursuing him.

  Getting these rights for Dart was not as easy as it sounded, for the laws and council had decreed, just after Dart's delivery, that genetic alteration before birth was acceptable, but must be denied to the living. Dean would have to fight the courts for the right to let Dart have what everyone on Earth already enjoyed. Not until many years later did Dart win the right to become a full member of the human race.

  As Dart grew up and was forced to switch schools again and again to maintain his safety, he never forgot Chelsie. So the day he heard from her again came as quite a surprise. It was only a week after graduation when Dart received a message on the network. Chelsie had tracked him down and was inviting him to a small café for coffee. He found the offer impossible to refuse. The look on Dart's face said it all as he met the most radiant woman he had ever seen. Chelsie had grown into a beautiful woman, well-educated and kind. "I just can't get over it. It's been ten years since I last saw you," Dart said as he tripped over his tongue, trying his best to sound intelligent. "You look incredible."

  "Thank you, that's so kind of you to say," Chelsie replied as she sipped on her coffee and snacked on a small dry biscuit. She always felt uncomfortable acknowledging her appearance, but found it easy to forgive Dart. He was still the same awkward kid she remembered. Dart never had any difficulty in placing both feet in his mouth.

  "I have decided to remain this age for the next few years, just to see if I like the results," Chelsie said, as she flipped her hair away from her large blue eyes. Looking across the table at Dart, she asked, "What about you? What age will you choose?" A benefit of the longevity program was the ability to remain static in age, and one could remain a certain age for as long as one wished.

  "I'm afraid I won't get a choice," Dart replied. He was mesmerized by Chelsie's beautiful face. "My father and I are having some success at convincing the courts to grant me the right to be genetically altered, but the process is slow and we have recently learned that some of the court members might be affiliated with that church."

  "Church? What church?" Chelsie asked.

  "Well, you remember that guy that tried to kidnap me? He belongs to this fringe group that calls themselves a church, and they want me for some reason. My father has tried to explain it, but I still don't fully understand the reasons." Dart looked rather sheepish since he was embarrassed by the whole ordeal. "But, when I do get the longevity program approval, I guess I will be like you, able to pick an age. I think I will pick fifty. Guys always seem to look their best at fifty."

  The afternoon flew past in conversation before the two parted and went their own ways. They dated several more times before Dart finally became brave enough admit to Chelsie that he liked her a lot. Chelsie was more cautious. She said she didn't want to be in a relationship with someone who might not be right for her. She rejected Dart's affections for quite some time, but his persistence eventually won her over and they started dating more often. They eventually married and Dart's father, Dean, was very proud of his adopted son and his new daughter-in-law.

  Dart had no way of knowing that Chelsie was a member of Pennington's church and that her affections were manufactured.

  It was in the second year of their marriage that Chelsie started to question whether or not she could continue to participate in the charade. Her congregation was not pleased with Dart's unwillingness to attend church even though several invitations were extended. Chelsie was increasingly pressured to force Dart to attend. Otherwise the congregation's plans to coerce to their service the son of their god, Charger R/T, would fail.

  Dart was not a religious man and he had little use for friends, for few had ever accepted him. He held no opinion on religion and made no effort to learn. He was content to let others believe as they wished while he simply chose not to participate. On the few occasions that Chelsie made a fuss about Dart's unwillingness to do things her way, Dart simply smiled and escorted her to the door of the church but no further.

  Slowly developing the strength of character to do the right thing, Chelsie began to question the church. She was uncomfortable with being asked to prostitute herself for the benefit of a few leaders bent on developing a political agenda for the church.

  The couple were in the habit of having a quick coffee and snack at the café where they first dated, but this Tuesday morning
would be different. "Dear, I have something to tell you. I'm hoping you will understand and not be too angry," Chelsie said, as she lowered her head in shame.

  Dart replied to his beautiful wife, "I doubt there is anything you could ever do to upset me. I'm the luckiest guy in the world."

  "I have been deceiving you…"

  Dart started to object but Chelsie held up her hand and said, "Please let me finish. Years before I found you again, my family joined the church, the same church that Abarth attended. He's the man that tried to kidnap you. I'm not sure how it happened, but we came to worship you. To us, you are the son of a god. In thousands of years, you are the first divine being born of a virgin impregnated by a god. This is of incredible importance to the church."

  Dart tried to interrupt, but Chelsie, now sobbing, continued. "I was told to get to you. I'm a whore for the church!" She broke down and cried, her small delicate frame shaking and shivering.

  Dart again tried to speak, but now Chelsie had a case of verbal diarrhea. "I'll understand if you hate me, I'll understand if you can never forgive me, but please, I want to be with you, please, give me a chance. I have told the members of the church and my family that I won't continue to help them. They are wrong to try and capture you. I won't let them." Chelsie wept uncontrollably, while other people at the café were now silent, engrossed in watching her. Dart tried several more times to interject, and was thwarted at every turn by Chelsie's guilt and shame as she rambled on.

  Finally, desperate to gain a foothold in the conversation, Dart slid the coffee cup close to the edge of the small table until it tipped and crashed on the floor. The shock of the cup shattering interrupted Chelsie's rant, and Dart had his moment to speak.