“Benjamin Greco, what has it been, almost twenty years since I’ve seen you?” Jessica asked.
“Jessica dear, you’re just as beautiful as the day I met you. That was almost thirty years ago,” Benjamin said.
“It has been quite a while Benjamin. What brings you to Macon, Georgia?” Jessica inquired.
“Well, I thought that since we’re having a grandchild together that we might could speak for a few minutes in a more private setting,” Benjamin said.
Jessica nodded at the hulking man standing beside the wheel chair. “It looks like you have a new personal assistant, Benjamin,” Jessica quipped.
“Yes, I’m afraid that Darian finally had to retire. This is Martin, he’s my driver, assistant, and security all rolled up into one man. He can push my wheelchair if you’ll lead the way.”
Jessica signed the security log and motioned for them to follow her. They took the elevator up to the third floor where her personal office was. After Martin pushed Benjamin into the office, he backed out and shut the door, assuming a position of watching and waiting in the hallway.
“Why are you here today, Benjamin? Every time you come to visit us there’s always some plot that you’ve concocted and you get Brett and I involved in it,” Jessica said accusingly.
“I’m here because your daughter and my son are going to give us a grandchild, Jessica. I don’t have any hidden agenda,” Benjamin replied.
Jessica looked at him suspiciously. “As a doctor, I have to tell you that you’re starting to show your age, Benjamin.”
“How should I look Jessica? I’m an old man. I’m eighty five years old and my body is giving out. My mind is still going full speed, but my body can no longer keep up with it. Liver disease, kidney disease, diabetes, you name it and I’ve developed it. All the money in the world can’t stop me from dying, I’ve been told. I have the best doctors that money can buy but it looks as if that isn’t going to prolong my life very much longer. It’s a shame, really. There’s still so much more that I wanted to accomplish before I die. I don’t suppose that you can share any of the information that you’ve learned from the intelligence called Odysseus, can you? My sources tell me that the alien Barbakath had perfected some ways of repairing the cellular damage that’s caused by aging. Supposedly, they could extend their life spans considerably.”
Jessica frowned. That information had been highly classified to keep it out of the general public’s hands. If it became street knowledge that the Barbakath had been researching such techniques then everyone in the world would be screaming for access to the fountain of youth. Jessica knew that information was in fact in the DNA Ark’s computers and was being pored over by biologists and physicians. At this point though, no one was sure that the techniques the Barbakath had developed would work on humans. They had not had time to conduct any experiments yet.
“I don’t know who your source is, Benjamin, but I’m afraid that I don’t know what you’re talking about. Even if such information did exist, I couldn’t release it to you,” Jessica said.
“I understand, Jessica. I was just kidding,” said Benjamin
“So, why are you here, Benjamin? Just spit it out and be done with it.” Jessica said.
“It seems that my son and your daughter have fallen in love. Your daughter is pregnant with my grandchild. I may or may not live long enough to see it or hold it. Regardless, I want to talk to you about some concerns that I have. Brianna’s pregnancy and that of the other female, Sarah I think her name is, seems to be a common subject on the daily newscasts. The first human babies to be conceived and born on another world are going to be quite famous. Brianna has cemented her name in the history of humanity as well, it seems. I guess she’s managed to do it without getting the notoriety that I did. I’m very concerned on how the Space Force plans on getting our grandchild off that planet and back down to Earth, Jessica,” Benjamin admitted.
Jessica sat down and sighed. “I’m also worried about that, Benjamin. No one is sure that a child that young can survive the G-forces that the crew will be exposed too when their ascent rocket blasts off from the planet.”
“I want you to know that I’ve established a trust fund of ten billion dollars for our grandchild. If it survives the trip back here to Earth, then it will want for nothing,” Benjamin told her.
Jessica was taken aback. “That’s very generous Benjamin, even from someone as rich as you.”
Benjamin waved off her praise. “The money means nothing to me now. I can’t take it with me when I die. Neither of my sons expresses any interest in running my financial empire so I have to spend it on something.” Benjamin laughed and covered his mouth as he had a coughing fit. After he got over it, he smiled. “There’s one other small reason I’m here, Jessica.”
“Here it comes, I knew it,” Jessica said sarcastically.
Benjamin ignored her. “As much as I know it means I’ll never get to see it, it would be nice if our grandchild could live a few more years on Elpis before attempting to come home. It might mean the difference between life and death for it.”
“How are you going to manage that Benjamin? There’s only one really good time window for the crew to return home in four years. The next window would be eight years later. They don’t have the supplies to stay another four years. I’m sure the crew will want to return home as soon as they get the first chance.”
“I disagree on the supply issue, Jessica. My sources tell me that the Elpis expedition is now starting to produce a very large portion of their food supplies for themselves. They have good shelter, power, and the other necessities they need to survive. There’s no reason they could not survive there for another four years,” Benjamin said.
“You didn’t hear me, Benjamin. The Elpis team will be returning in a little under four years. They were never meant to establish a permanent colony. Even if Jason and Brianna stayed behind with the child, they would have no ship to return in during the next favorable time slot.”
“Do you really think that this issue only affects two children, Jessica? There are only two on the way now. What about after that? Don’t you think there will be more pregnancies? That means even more young children to worry about,” Benjamin said.
“Brianna said they are hoping to use the alien facilities to manufacture a birth control injection so there won’t be any more pregnancies,” Jessica replied.
“Why?” asked Benjamin. “Why stop having children?”
Jessica laughed. “Unless you’ve been totally cut off from the news Benjamin, there’s a strict limit to the number of children that a woman can have. Earth cannot support a population anywhere as large as it used to. I’m sure that government rules would include children conceived and born on another planet that’re returning here.”
“You just hit on it, Jessica. If they return here there are quota limits. There’s none for the planet Elpis,” Benjamin explained.
Jessica stared at him incredulously. “Are you saying they should stay there and not come home!” Jessica exclaimed.
“That’s precisely what I’m saying Jessica. Let them be the first permanent colonists.”
“Brett would throw you and your wheelchair out of the window, regardless of your bodyguard, if he heard you say that,” stated Jessica. “He wasn’t happy that Brianna went on the expedition to start with. Since he found out she’s pregnant by your son, he’s really upset. The thought of her never coming home would kill him.”
“It doesn’t seem to bother you as much, Jessica, why?” Benjamin asked.
“Brianna is a grown and very independent woman. I’m proud of her, and if she’s happy where she is, that’s enough for me. I miss her terribly, but I have no right to insist that she stay my little girl forever. She and I both feel that what she’s doing there on Elpis is very important and worth the sacrifice. Besides, I get my weekly video message from her. That helps me tolerate the separation.”
“Jessica, I made my fortune not out of greed, but with the de
sire to leave a legacy. I have always wanted to do something to help mankind. I know that I’m not generally regarded as a very thoughtful philanthropist. Sometimes, I’ve had to take the bull by the horns and do what I felt needed to be done. That’s made me a very un-popular person.”
“I think that’s an understatement,” retorted Jessica.
“Hear me out, Jessica. You’ve probably heard that the Space Force is building a new low orbit station and selling Space Station Alpha to a private industrial group. I’m the head of the group of investors that bought that station. We’re going to develop an industry out in space mining and refining the many asteroids that exist out there. It stands to be immensely profitable. Unfortunately, I won’t live to see that come to fruition. There’s one more project that wish to see started before I die, Jessica. That project is the establishment of a permanent colony on the planet Elpis.”
“You may get some resistance from the government on that, Benjamin,” Jessica stated.
“It doesn’t matter. In accordance with international law, nobody owns any planetary body in space. Anyone has the right to go out there and do what they want. I am thinking about spending the remainder of my fortune to establish a permanent colony on Elpis. Even as we speak, plans are underway to send fifty men and fifty women to Elpis to start a colony.”
“Just when do you plan to accomplish this, Benjamin? And most importantly, how does it involve Brett and me?”
“The expedition will launch at the next window in just under three years. The plans for this endeavor were actually started back when we launched the seed ships. We have been going through a crew selection process and building the components of the ship for several years now. This won’t be a motley crew, Jessica. It will consist of people of above average intelligence that have passed rigorous genetic testing for any problems or diseases. This will be a chance for the cream of the human race to start a new world. It’ll be another chance for us to start over without all of the baggage from the past.”
“If you’ve already been developing your plans, what do you want from Brett and I?”
“We need you to provide us with the technology for the regeneration tanks. There won’t be room on board the colony ship for animals. They’ll have to be regenerated from DNA or embryos after the colonists’ arrival. My sources say that you have used the information from the alien technology to develop the ability to retrieve life forms from the DNA ark without a surrogate needed. I need you to teach my specialists how to do this and provide the digital DNA for us to repeat this process on Elpis,” explained Benjamin.
“Why in the world would we help you again, Benjamin? We’re very grateful for the financial support you have given us over the years, but we’ve paid for it dearly,” Jessica said.
“Because, these colonists just may keep your grandchild alive and safe Jessica, that’s why. They will arrive as the original Elpis crew is leaving. Jason, Brianna, and the child can stay behind with them. When the child is old enough to survive a trip into space, then they can come home if they want. If not, then they can stay and help establish the colony on Elpis. My hope is that after the colony is established, that every four years when the planets are aligned, additional colonists that have passed the rigorous screening process can be sent to the planet. While old Earth here suffers and dies from the colder climate, a new world can be awakened there,” Benjamin said.
“Do the governments of the world know about these plans?” Jessica asked.
“They’ll be notified in due time,” Benjamin informed her. “We’re not doing anything illegal. Our right to go and colonize Elpis is protected by international law.”
Jessica sighed. “Every time you hatch one of your schemes we get sucked into it, Benjamin,” she said accusingly.
“Just think of it as helping our grandchild,” Benjamin said.
Jessica knew she was being manipulated and railroaded by Benjamin. She wanted to believe what Benjamin told her, but she was having a hard time. Rightfully, she had every reason to be suspicious considering the past involvement that Brett and she had experienced with Benjamin.
“Maybe, let me talk to Brett about it and think on it, Benjamin. That’s all I can tell you, right now,” she said.
“That’s all I can ask,” said Benjamin. He held out his hand. “Here, you may find these interesting,” he said.
When Jessica held out her hand he dropped a micro storage chip in her hand.
“Those are photos and videos of Jason and Allan when they were little. You didn’t get to see but a few pictures of them when they were young,” Benjamin explained.
“Why would I want these?” asked Jessica.
“So, you can see what our grandchild may look like,” said Benjamin. “Look at the ones of Jason. Then look at your own images of Brianna at that age. It may give you a good idea what our grandchild may look like.”
Benjamin turned his wheelchair and rolled himself to the door. When he opened it his assistant came in and started pushing him toward the exit. He paused and called back to Jessica. “Look at the photos and then think about what we’ve talked about Jessica.” He waved as he left the building.
Jessica went to the window and watched Benjamin struggle to get in his private limousine. She went over to her office computer terminal and plugged the data chip in. The computer analyzed the chip for any computer viruses and indicated that it was clean. She told the computer to begin and she was rewarded by a slideshow of photographs of Benjamin’s twins. The earliest photos were of them as infants. The boys kept increasing in age in each photo and the slideshow continued. Suddenly, Jessica remembered what she had been working on when Benjamin arrived. She told her terminal to secure itself and she went back to the lab to see how the engineers were doing in the construction of the re-generation tank.
…
When Benjamin arrived back at his private jet, he waited until it was in the air before he told his PA to make the call. When the connection had been made, he said, “As we expected, the information we obtained was correct. The aliens were working on a life extension project. They also have the plans for the re-generation tanks there at the DNA Ark project.”
Benjamin listened to the voice on the other end of the channel. “You’re sure that she placed it in a terminal for the Ark mainframe computer?” Benjamin listened a moment. “Excellent, initiate the code sequence. I’ll be arriving back home in about seven hours.”
…
On Jessica’s desktop terminal, the tiny data chip that Benjamin had given Jessica received a coded digital radio signal that instructed it to de-scramble and initiate the computer program that had been cleverly enmeshed into the digital information of the photos that it contained. One of the world’s most clever computer hackers was now an employee of Benjamin Greco and he had developed the Trojan program. Neither the program, nor the way that it was hidden had ever been used before. No security or anti-virus detection program would have known how to detect it. The program inserted itself into the DNA Ark projects mainframe and hid itself in the myriads of photographs of specimens that resided in the data banks of the computer. After the program had inserted itself into the targeted system it removed all traces of itself from the data chip and wiped the data chip clean of all its files.
Tomorrow, the Trojan would start sending out photographs of various specimens to universities all over the country. The receiving universities would think nothing of the information coming in from the Ark project as this was done all the time. What was not known, outside of a small circle of people working for Benjamin Greco, was that the images being sent had other data hidden within them. That data would include all of the information that had been relayed to the Ark project from the computer intelligence called Odysseus on the planet Elpis.
There was already a crack team of geneticists and researchers standing by in Bolivia to take that data and analyze it. Their job was to find a way to keep their elderly benefactor alive for a long time to come.
Chap
ter 53
August 1st, 2047
Columbia, South America
Diego and his wife Antonia watched in frustration and helplessness. Alvarez, one of the henchmen of the local drug boss, poured gasoline on Diego’s home and set it ablaze. They had already set his field of corn on fire and poured diesel fuel on top of all the grain that they had harvested and placed in the silo.
Diego was struck by the irony of the situation. Ten years ago, it would have been soldiers of the government’s anti-drug force that would have been raiding his farm and destroying the coca plants that he grew. He had grown the plants and sold them for a decent income. In return, he had been treated kindly by the local drug lord. The soldiers would come, beat him, and destroy his crops. Estefan’s men would come and give him money to replant the coca and replace what had been destroyed. Now, it was the drug lord’s men doing the beating and destroying because he was growing corn and potatoes instead of coca. The market was much better now for food staples rather than illegal drugs. Since the outsider star had come, the weather had grown colder, and there was a huge demand for food.
Tears streamed down his face as he watched his house and fields burn. Alvarez, the leader of the local enforcement gang came over to where they had tied Diego to the post. He grabbed Diego’s face in a meaty hand and forced Diego to look at him.
“Estefan is very unhappy with you, peasant. You used to be one of his favorites. When you replant, you had better make sure that you plant what Estefan wants you to plant. If we have to come back again, we won’t treat you so gently.”
“You have destroyed everything,” cried Diego. “I have nothing now. No seeds or anything. I don’t have coca cuttings to replant. Even if I did, it would take years before the leaves could be picked. We will starve and die. Besides, it has gotten colder and drier. The coca does not grow so well.”
Blue Planet Rising (Pebbles in the Sky Book 2) Page 35
