Conception: A Post Apocalyptic Thriller (Perfectible Animals Book 1)

by Thomas Norwood

  Annie walked over to the window, and I watched the light shining off her thick, dark hair. I longed for the way things used to be between us, when we could talk together for hours, sparking one another’s imaginations, feeding one another with ideas. I realized how totally absorbed in work I was and how my obsession with keeping Annie alive didn’t allow me to enjoy the precious time I did have with her.

  All this time I’d wanted to share with her what was happening with Gendigm, but Bruno’s warning on that first day stopped me. I had no idea how much surveillance they had on me. I knew it was possible to hack into people’s coms, and although I had some heavy duty firewalls protecting mine, installed by Geneus to prevent industrial espionage, I wasn’t sure what they were capable of. Presumably if they had the money to take over Geneus they had the money for almost anything.

  “Let’s go and explore,” I said to Annie, wanting to escape from this claustrophobic room.

  “No. I think I’ll stay here and rest.”

  “I’ll see you later then.”

  I pushed the door a little harder than necessary and it closed with a bang behind me. I headed for the upper deck; I needed some space, some thinking room. Maybe I’d forced Annie into this trip. Maybe that was why she was angry with me. But it went deeper than that. She’d been like this for months. There was something else.

  I walked up a steel staircase to the roof of the ship and stood against a metal railing and stared at the horizon. The sun was low and glittered off the surface of the ocean to the west. Other people were up there too: young couples in pastel colors hugging one another in the breeze, a few older people clasping the rails and staring out at the ocean, that immensity which must have reminded them of that to which they would soon return.

  I wished that Annie was up there with me and that she was healthy again and that we could go back to our room together and make love together for days on end like we used to. I remembered the last real vacation we’d taken, before the flooding. We’d gone to Mexico and spent two weeks in a colonial hotel staring out from our balcony to palm trees swaying in the beach breeze. Every day we’d gone swimming and eaten seafood at the restaurants with their tables and chairs spread out on the sand.

  Half an hour later, when I went back down stairs and made my way to our room, Annie was half asleep on the bed and I sat down next to her.

  “Are you hungry? We should go and get something to eat?” I said.

  “Okay.” She sat up.

  I wanted to ask her what was wrong, but I was afraid that if we got into a fight then it could turn nasty. There was so much stored up frustration between us and I was so exhausted from everything that was happening with my project and Annie’s illness that if Annie got nasty, which she sometimes did, I might not be able to control myself. We were better off trying to be nice to one another and restoring some goodwill first, rather than dredging up all our anger and frustration. There was little we could do about our situation anyway.

  “Let’s go then,” I said.

  “Give me a minute.”

  I waited for her to change, and then we went down to one of the restaurants and sat through a tense meal.

  As we pushed back into our room, Annie said she was going to take a shower and disappeared into the bathroom. She pulled the blinds down across the windows and I heard the water going on. I hoped she would invite me in, but after a few minutes, when she hadn’t, I decided to leave her alone for a while. I needed some space, and by the looks of it she did too.

  I went back to a bar I’d seen near the restaurant and ordered a G and T. Before I knew it I’d had three and was onto my fourth.

  Just as I was ordering my fifth an attractive woman about my age sat down next to me. She smiled at me and I smiled back.

  “Are you here alone?” she said.

  “Yes,” I said, meaning that I was in the bar alone but realizing that might not have been what she meant.

  We started talking. She had just divorced from her husband, she told me, and was finally enjoying her freedom. They hadn’t loved one another for years, apparently, but they’d stayed together out of habit. It wasn’t until she’d caught herself one day with a handful of sleeping tablets and a bottle of whisky that she finally found the courage to make the change.

  “And how do you feel now?” I said, the room wobbling in a way I was sure wasn’t due to the ocean.

  “Better than I have in twenty years!” Her enthusiasm was infectious.

  Annie sent me a message then, asking me where I was.

  “Just let me go to the bathroom,” I said to the woman, Gloria.

  I messaged Annie that I was down in the bar, but she didn’t message back. I presumed she was still angry with me but that her worry for me had reached an intolerable peak. I wondered whether I should go back to her, but decided against it. I was feeling good for the first time in years.

  At 2am, I finally staggered back to our room. Annie was asleep, or at least appeared to be asleep, so I went into the bathroom and took a shower. When I lay down I put my hand slowly across onto Annie’s warm body and was relieved when I felt her shuffling towards me and pressing her back up against me.

  “Where were you last night?” Annie asked when I awoke.

  Harsh light was coming in the window and I wanted to keep my eyes closed, but forced myself to look at her.

  “I told you. I was in the bar.”

  “Who with?”

  “A woman I met there.”

  “So, you just pick up random women now, do you?” She had her hands on her hips.

  “No. We got talking. That’s all. Am I not allowed to talk to other people now?” I sat up and stared at her.

  “Not when you invite me away for the weekend and then disappear you’re not.”

  “I thought you wanted some space. We haven’t exactly been getting along very well recently, have we?” I shook my head and looked down.

  “And whose fault is that?”

  “I don’t know. Whose fault is it?”

  I’d learned over the years that as often as not I was just as much to blame for situations which I initially held Annie solely responsible for, so I tried to stay open to that possibility now. Blaming her for her illness, which I often wanted to do, was not going to help either of us.

  “Yours, Michael. It’s your fault. If you weren’t having an affair then none of this would be happening.”

  I turned up to face her. We locked eyes and I shook my head. “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m talking about the affair you’ve been having. With Sophie I presume. Ever since that stupid gathering you went to you’ve been creeping around like a guilty teenager.”

  “What do you mean creeping around like a guilty teenager? I’m not having an affair with Sophie or anyone else. I told you about the gathering, and nothing happened.”

  After watching Sophie and the other woman go into the bedroom that night, I’d turned around and walked downstairs. When I got home, I’d recounted to Annie the whole situation and she’d laughed and called me a coward, but now it seemed that she didn’t believe me.

  “Well what the hell have you been doing then?”

  I suddenly realized what was happening and I burst out laughing.

  “What the hell’s so funny?” Annie stood there in her bathrobe, arms crossed.

  “Oh Annie. Come here. Sit down. Please.” I patted the space on the bed next to me but she wouldn’t budge.

  “What is it, Michael? Tell me?” She was trying to remain firm but her voice had softened.

  “You’re right. I’m sorry. There is something I haven’t told you. But it’s got nothing to do with Sophie or any other woman.”

  “What is it then?”

  I realized that I was going to have to tell her everything. I hoped that Gendigm wasn’t listening and, if they were, that they would forgive me this one betrayal of their secret or at the very least consider me too useful to dispose of.

  I told Annie everything th
at had happened with Bruno and Gendigm, and she stood there in disbelief and then sat down on the bed beside me, facing me.

  “This sounds way too dangerous, Michael. I don’t think you should be working with these people. You don’t even know who they are.”

  “I know. But we need the funding. Without it Klaus will shut the project down.”

  “So let him.”

  “I can’t. I don’t want to lose you.” I took her hands. I could see the relief but also the new fear in her eyes.

  “And I don’t want to lose you! I don’t want you risking your life for some shady organization. Who knows what they’ll make you do?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean – once they’ve got you working for them they could ask you for anything. Why so much secrecy? Something’s not right.”

  “Maybe. Maybe not. What choice do I have?”

  “We can go away together. Leave the country.”

  “What about your disease?”

  “Let me go, Michael.”

  “I have to give it a try. I can’t just let you die.” I squeezed her hands tightly. “And it’s not just for you, Annie. It’s for everybody with your disease. With any disease.” I knew that Annie would never agree to let me do it for her alone, but maybe this would convince her. She put her face in her hands and I put a hand on her back. “It’s our only choice.”

  “I’m so sorry,” she said. “I’m so sorry I’ve been acting like I have. I really did think you were having an affair.” She shook her head and laughed and looked at me straight in the eyes, begging me to forgive her.

  “It’s okay,” I said. “I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  TWO DAYS LATER, I walked into my lab, whistling. I used to whistle all the time, but over the last few years my desire to whistle had waned. Catching myself at it again made me smile and I pumped out a bad rendition of “Greensleeves” that I’d picked up from my grandfather.

  I stood at my office window and looked out over the city, seeing my own face in the window and seeing my father’s face in it. It was cloudy and a strong breeze was blowing the leaves off trees. I liked autumn. Even in this concreted-over and virtualized world there was still something ominous about it which stirred deep emotions in me: the desire to prepare for the oncoming winter.

  My overlay showed a message waiting and I brought it up. Klaus had called a meeting. This was it. He was finally going to tell everyone he’d accepted HGM’s offer. If all went well, we’d have the funding for the rest of the project by the end of the month, and within six months we’d have our modifications to the immune system ready.

  Half an hour later, I was seated with the directors of Geneus. I was surprised to see that Jan wasn’t there but realized this acceptance of defeat was probably going to be difficult for Klaus, and he no doubt want to keep it in-house.

  Klaus stood up before us, his barrel chest strong in his tailored gray suit.

  “Thank you for coming in,” he said. “Today we have some very important news for you. It’s something which is going to affect the entire future of our company and that many of you may not be very happy about. I myself am not so sure it’s the right decision but I seem to be left with little choice. If any of you decide that this company is no longer the place you want to work once the decision has been finalized I will completely understand.”

  Why would anyone want to leave? The terms that HGM had proposed were beneficial to everyone.

  “Before I say any more, though, I’d like you to hear from Anthony. He has been the one instrumental in securing this deal.”

  Anthony? What the hell did he have to do with this? I saw the smug look on Anthony’s face and suddenly my pulse quickened.

  “Thank you, everybody.” Anthony stood up and looked around the room before going on. “As you all know, Geneus has had financial problems for quite some time now. Up until a few weeks ago we only had one option – and that was to allow HGM Industries to take over the company. Although this would have helped the current project and those involved in it, it was not going to be the best course of action for Klaus, who was going to lose his place as majority shareholder. I myself have been working hard to secure other lines of funding and just recently have managed to gain a meeting with the Defense Department who have come to see the great possibilities that our technology could provide—”

  “Hold on a minute,” I interrupted, but Anthony put his hand up to silence me.

  “Questions afterwards, please, Michael,” Klaus said.

  “As you know,” Anthony continued, “Australia is in an incredibly vulnerable position at the moment, with a possible civil war on our hands, and Indonesia, who desperately needs land and resources, very close to our doorstep. The Defense Department believes that biological warfare could be a real possibility if a new world war were to start, and that we are better off preparing for that likelihood rather than relying on old conventions that outlaw it. The world is changing and if a war takes place it’s going to change beyond all recognition. Anyway, the long and the short of it is that the Defense Department has asked us for a meeting. Klaus and I will be going to see them on Thursday. Michael will also be coming, if he agrees.”

  I sat there in silence. I could not believe what I had just heard. Was Klaus really so desperate that he was considering this? Everything I thought I had achieved over the last few months had just collapsed from under me.

  “Are you really in agreement with this?” I said to Klaus.

  “What option do I have, Michael?” He held his hands out.

  “We had an option.”

  “To lose my company? That’s not an option. The Defense Department will provide us funding for our research rather than requiring a share of the company.”

  “I haven’t worked on this project for years just so we can use it to kill people. And you know as well as I do that once we start working for the government they’ll put a stranglehold on this company so tight you might as well not own any of it.”

  “We’re not going to kill people, Michael, we’re going to save them,” Anthony said. “If the Indonesians decide to use bio-weapons on us how many of us do you think are going to die? Do you think they’re really going to care if they wipe out half our population?”

  I shook my head and took deep breaths.

  “I think it’s a very reasonable idea,” Zhao said. “The Defense Department has the largest budget of any governmental department. Working with them will provide almost unlimited funding to our projects. Many great technologies have developed from military experiments. It’s a win-win situation for everybody.”

  “What is it exactly they want us to work on?” Masanori said.

  I had hoped that Masanori at least would back me up in this, but maybe he didn’t really care.

  “Well, we’re not quite sure,” Anthony said. “I suppose we’ll find out at the meeting.”

  Speculation swirled around the room as to what they would want us to work on and how our technology would be deployed.

  “Are they interested in our cooperation research?” I said. “Surely that would be beneficial to the military.”

  “I did mention it to General Savage, my contact there, but he didn’t seem to pay it much thought,” Anthony said. “It’s the somatic modification of the immune system that they’re really interested in.”

  “How much funding will we get?” John said.

  “Hopefully, whatever we need,” Anthony said, clasping his hands together.

  I had to do a mental and emotional about-face as quickly as possible and start showing as much enthusiasm for this project as everybody else seemed to be. Masanori knew as much about our processes as I did and I was certain that Klaus would put him in charge of our department and get rid of me in a heartbeat if it came to it. Klaus and I had a good relationship, but business was business. With a Defense Department contract in his hands, his company would be safe and well-funded, for a little whi
le at least. Not only that, but he was patriotic enough to believe that working for the military was the right thing to do.

  All I knew was — as soon as we started working for the military we were never, ever going to come up with a cure for HIV-4. There was a vaccine available for it now. Why would they bother?

  That night, I went home to Annie. I didn’t want to tell her until the decision was final, but I knew that the deal was as good as done. Our technology would help the military in so many ways, especially if bio-warfare was a risk.

  Annie was cooking dinner, drinking white wine and listening to classical music when I arrived. She was smiling when I came in, but as soon as she saw my face she put her glass down and switched off the music.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Not really.” I went over to her and hugged her as hard as I could.

  “What’s wrong?” She stroked my hair.

  “It’s all over.”

  “What’s all over?”

  “They’ve gone to the military. Klaus has sold out to the fucking military. We’re going to be working for them from now on.”

  “What do you mean? I thought it was a done deal with HGM Industries?”

  “They’ve been working away on this behind my back. Anthony somehow got a meeting with the Defense Department, and I’ve got to go up there later this week.”

  I was shaking with anger and Annie led me over to the sofa.

  “Sit down. It’s alright. It’s going to be alright. Something else will come up. You can take your research somewhere else.”

  “I’m going to have to. We are so close. I can’t believe it. After everything we’ve done, to come this far and have it all go to shit.”

  “You’ll find a way. Something will work out. And if not, sometimes we have to accept things as they are.”

  “Not this, though.”

  “Even this.”