Origin

by Jessica Khoury

  “I couldn’t bring them here,” Uncle Antonio replies. “It was too…I have my reasons. Pia, you must promise me you won’t go back. Trust me. If you were caught…they’d take more than your dinner. These people are not to be played with, Pia. They’re hell-bent on getting what they want, and anyone who gets in their way is simply collateral damage.”

  I think of my talk with Uncle Paolo less than an hour ago, and B Labs, and Victoria Strauss’s threats about replacing the Immortis team, and I feel Uncle Antonio may be right. It makes me gravely uneasy.

  “Promise me, Pia.”

  “I promise”—to go back again. A hundred times. As many as I have to. I may become everything Uncle Paolo asks of me, but I’ll go back to Ai’oa just to remind myself that I am still human.

  “How do you get out without being seen?” I ask curiously.

  “That’s not something you need to know.”

  “Fine, then. I shared my secret. It’s only fair you share yours too.” I’m pouting, but I don’t care.

  “Pia.”

  “Sorry.”

  Sooner or later Uncle Antonio will go back to Ai’oa, if only to warn Eio not to come looking for me. When he leaves, I’ll be watching. After my conversation with Uncle Paolo today, I have a feeling he’s going to put an end to my “studies” with Aunt Harriet and therefore my cover story for my absences. I promised Eio I would come back, which means I need a new way out.

  Uncle Antonio is how I’ll find one.

  TWENTY-FIVE

  He leaves that very night.

  Does he really believe I’ll follow through on my promise not to go back to Ai’oa? If so, the scientists failed miserably at their mission of nurturing above-average intelligence in the elysia subjects.

  I watch him from a distance all day. When he leaves dinner, I tell Aunt Brigid and Aunt Nénine, who sit by me, that I want to go to bed early. Hoping that’s enough to cover my absence from the lounge or pool tonight, I sneak after Uncle Antonio.

  He stops in the dorm where his room is, and I wait in the stairwell for him to go back outside. I’m wearing the necklace Eio gave me, and the neckline of my shirt is high enough to cover it. Now I pull it out and hold it as I wait, the smooth contours of the carving already familiar to me.

  After several minutes, Uncle Antonio slips back down the hall, dressed in dark clothes. It’s easy to keep an eye on him after that. The many trees in the compound provide excellent hiding places for me as I shadow him.

  Several times he looks back to see if anyone’s around, but I let my reflexes take over. My eyes register his head turning almost before it happens, and I duck behind a tree or bush before he sees me. Finally he enters the building that stores the power generators. I wait several seconds, then slip silently in after him.

  The room is lit with red lights in yellow cages on the walls. The generators are huge cylinders that grind and wheeze night and day, providing electricity for the compound. Even if I were to yell, the rumble of the turbines would prevent Uncle Antonio from hearing me. It takes a minute to find him; he’s in the back corner, in the dark, fumbling with a metal storage cabinet against the wall.

  I hear a clunk and a long scrape as he pulls the cabinet away from the wall. Behind it is a door, barely visible in the shadows. It’s only as high as my belly button. Uncle Antonio opens it and disappears inside, then reappears to pull the cabinet back over the opening.

  Great. The thing looks heavy. But I have to try or else risk never seeing Ai’oa again. I wait a few minutes to give Uncle Antonio a lead, then grunt and strain and curse at the cabinet until there is just enough of a space for me to squeeze through. It takes another moment to find the handle of the door, and then more heaving to get the cabinet pulled against the wall.

  Once it’s done, even my considerable stamina is worn thin, and I have to stop and catch my breath. Really, would it have been too much to make me extra strong as well as extra enduring? I decide that as soon as I’m on the Immortis team, I’ll make it a priority to discover how to genetically enhance strength.

  The tunnel is damp and dirty, and I have to feel my way in the dark. I think of snakes and shudder, but I press on. Did Uncle Antonio dig this? Or was it installed years before, when Little Cam was originally built? I imagine that Dr. Falk’s paranoia of seeing Little Cam forcefully shut down might have been an impetus for such a tunnel. If so, how did Uncle Antonio find it?

  It’s not long before the tunnel opens to a trapdoor in the floor of the jungle. It’s covered with shrubs and leaves, which I’m careful to replace after I emerge.

  Uncle Antonio is nowhere in sight, but that’s not a problem anymore. I have my way out, and I know the way from here as well as I know the path from the glass house to the dining hall.

  The village is quiet, like the night I first saw it from the trees with Eio. No feasting to greet Uncle Antonio. But then, there wouldn’t be. Uncle Antonio is even more a part of the tribe than I am.

  He must be meeting Eio, but where? I listen but hear nothing.

  Resigned to a long, hard search, I start scouring the jungle around Ai’oa. When I am in the area south of the village, between the houses and the river, I see a light to my left. Cautiously making my way through the trees, using every ounce of my skill to not make any noise, I find a hut tucked into the foliage that I’ve never noticed before. It’s out of view of the village and completely isolated, which is unusual for the Ai’oans. They thrive on close quarters.

  There’s one small window, and I sit with my back to the wall beneath it and listen.

  “I don’t care,” Eio is saying, and I smile at the anger in his voice. You’re getting the lecture too, huh? “I want to see her again. And again and again.”

  “You don’t understand the danger you put her in, Eio!” Uncle Antonio shouts. “You can’t possibly understand.”

  “I do. I know the story of what happened to you when they caught you trying to run away.”

  What?

  “What they would do to Pia would be worse, and for longer! They can’t risk losing her. Me, they just wanted to punish. But Pia is too valuable to risk. They would lock her up like they did me, but instead of a month, it would be years. Years, Eio.”

  They wouldn’t. They’d never do that to me! I swallow, but my mouth is dry. Would they?

  “She lives in a cage anyway. What difference would it make?”

  “You think you’re a big man, eh, talking like this? What would you do, Eio? If she was locked away because of you? Would you be able to live with yourself?”

  “I would climb the fence and save her.”

  “You couldn’t, it’s—”

  “I know what electricity is!” Eio’s voice is getting louder and hotter. “I am not an ignorant Ai’oan, Papi! Half of me belongs here in the jungle, yes, but half of me belongs on the other side of that fence with you and Pia!”

  “Look, son,” Uncle Antonio says, using his most reasonable voice, “I get it. I know what’s going on between you two, because twenty years ago, it was me. Me and your mother. And look…look how that turned out.” His voice grows thick. “It destroyed us both, Eio. Do you dare risk that? I know what you’re feeling. Trust me. I know. I felt it too. You think that nothing matters as long as you’re together, that nothing can harm you two or come between you because you’re somehow protected by your feelings for one another.”

  Feelings. Butterflies in my stomach. Eio’s hand over mine, pressing it to his heart.

  “You don’t know about us,” Eio protests. “You don’t know anything. I saved her, you know, from the anaconda.”

  “Very noble. But the men inside that compound are worse than anacondas, Eio. They’re a nest of vipers, and they won’t hesitate to sink their poisonous fangs into you.”

  I can’t bear it anymore. Eio shouldn’t have to take all of the heat, not for me. I stand up and poke my head through the window. “If you’ll recall, it was me who left Little Cam, all on my own. He had nothing to do with it.�
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  They both stare in shock. Their faces are red from yelling, and their noses are only inches apart. To my surprise, Eio is nearly as tall as Uncle Antonio. The resemblance between them is breathtaking. The same square jaw, hard mouth, dimple, and the same strong build. After all, Eio is descended from handpicked, cream-of-the-crop individuals, same as I am. Not perfect, I remind myself. But nearly.

  “Pia, you promised,” Uncle Antonio says in his low voice, which is even more dangerous than his loud one.

  “I lied. I can do that, you know. After all, I’m beyond morality.”

  “Where did you hear that?”

  “Can’t you guess?” I return, meeting his gaze squarely, and he sighs.

  We say it together. “Harriet.”

  I climb in through the window and look around. This is no Ai’oan home. It’s clearly something put together by Uncle Antonio and Eio.

  Pictures of people hang all over the walls, among maps and pictures of cities, oceans, mountains, and places I’ve never imagined. There are labels and stickers, boxes and transmitters. Radios, cameras, clothes. I pick up a book titled A Tale of Two Cities and stare at its picture of a man in strange clothing standing in a wooden cart, surrounded by an angry crowd. When I set it down, I pick up another called The Complete Works of William Shakespeare and give a short, bitter laugh. Beneath that book is a black leather one with the words Holy Bible inscribed in gold. That one’s in tatters—Uncle Antonio’s favorite, perhaps?

  This is a collection of illegal items that Uncle Antonio would never be allowed to have in Little Cam, a collection with one theme in mind: outside. Are these things he had smuggled in through Uncle Timothy, or did he find them on his own? As far as I know, he’s never been beyond Ai’oa.

  “Where did it all come from?” I breathe.

  Uncle Antonio looks about to burst. “You—it’s—aaaagh!” He throws up his hands. “It’s taken a lifetime to collect all of this. And as soon as they discover you’ve been sneaking out, they’ll find it all and destroy it.”

  “Who dug the tunnel?”

  “I don’t know, someone showed it to me.” He blanches. “Pia! Someone will see the cabinet—”

  “Don’t worry.” I wave a hand. “I pulled it back in place.”

  “It’s not a game, Pia!”

  “Isn’t it, though?” I’m feeling reckless and wild. There’s too much in my head—Uncle Paolo’s passionate lecture, the tears, Uncle Antonio’s secrets being spilled like stones from a jar, Eio…feelings.…“Maybe it’s a game from beginning to end. Birth, life, death. Only, some of us get to play forever.” I cock my head and study a picture of a blonde woman trying to keep her skirt down as she stands over an air vent. “Does that mean I win?”

  “Pia, you’re talking nonsense,” Uncle Antonio says nervously.

  “So what if I am?” Nonsense is good. It’s meaningless, harmless. It’s like Uncle Paolo’s dreaded chaos. Maybe reason is neater and more orderly, but nonsense is freeing. If you spoke nothing but nonsense, no one would ever expect anything from you, right? You wouldn’t have to meet expectations. Wouldn’t have to pass tests.

  “Why did you try to run away?” I ask.

  He runs a hand through his hair. “I was scared. I knew if someone figured out what I was doing, Larula and Eio would be the ones to pay, and I had to keep them safe. I thought if we ran…But I didn’t even make it outside the fence. They caught me red-handed, bags packed and everything.”

  “They locked you up?” I whisper.

  “You say you saw the closed wing of B Labs?”

  My mouth opens, and for a moment I can’t speak. My worst fears, ones I’d never even dared to voice, are confirmed. “So those rooms are for people? Why would they have such rooms, Uncle Antonio?”

  “In case…there was ever another incident. Accident.”

  “Alex and Marian.”

  “Yeah, Alex and Marian. I was ten when they ran, you know. They were several years late in conceiving; it was something of a joke among the lower-level employees, I recall.” He sighs. “They were mad about each other, those two. Even I saw it, and I was just a kid. They were always together, completely inseparable. Then the news came—a baby on the way. Everyone could breathe easier, knowing the plan was still running smooth. Then they ran.”

  “Why?”

  “Good reasons.” There is fear in his eyes again. “They almost made it, too. Not like me. Huh.”

  “What happened to them?” I whisper.

  “Mixed stories. Some say their pursuers shot them. Others say they strapped rocks to their feet and jumped in the river. Drowned themselves and the baby girl too.”

  His intended mate. What went through his head when he heard the news, a ten-year-old boy living among scientists, destined to father an immortal? “Surely they weren’t murdered.”

  Uncle Antonio sighs. “I don’t know. I don’t.”

  Silence falls. I have more questions, but I’m afraid to get any more answers. The night has already been too revealing for comfort. But I have to know one thing.

  “Why did they run, Uncle Antonio? What would be worth killing themselves over?”

  He doesn’t answer for a while, but fiddles with a radio. Nothing comes through but static. Eio watches too, waiting silently and rubbing his thumb absently over his lip. Finally Uncle Antonio shuts off the radio, but instead of answering, he just studies me and scratches his chin as if he’s forgotten there’s no longer a beard there. I’m about to repeat my question when he finally speaks.

  “Pia, I want you to leave Little Cam. For good.” He faces me squarely. “And I want you to leave tonight.”

  TWENTY-SIX

  I don’t know whether to laugh or run. I look at Eio and find that he’s looking at me as intently as Uncle Antonio. It’s obvious how he feels about the idea. He said pretty much the same thing to me earlier today.

  “Are you—are you serious?” I ask.

  “I am extremely serious,” Uncle Antonio replies.

  “Leave Little Cam? Just like that?” I snap my fingers. “You are serious! What in the world—”

  “Pia, I need you to understand something,” Uncle Antonio interrupts. “This isn’t some whim. I…I’ve wanted to say this for a while.”

  “That I should leave?” I whisper. My stomach flutters from nerves or fear or anger, or maybe from all three.

  He nods. “I didn’t think the time would come so soon. I wanted you to be older, more experienced. But here we are: you, me, Eio. Alone in the jungle, and the time is ripe. Eio, remember that journey I sent you on? The one you thought was a fool’s errand?”

  “The city.” Eio’s eyes widen. “You mean—”

  “Yes, I do.” Uncle Antonio turns back to me. “Eio is to take you, Pia. He knows the way; he proved that already. He’ll take you to Manaus, and after that…” He shuts his eyes and rubs his forehead. “There are so many details I haven’t planned yet. But you’re smart—”

  “Uncle Antonio,” I start, but he doesn’t pause.

  “And you’ll figure something out. Just get to Manaus for now. You can’t stay there long; eventually they’ll search there. You have to run, Pia, run far and long. Find somewhere safe—”

  “Uncle Antonio—”

  “I wonder if I should have told Harriet about this. Maybe she could help…I must say, I imagined I would be the one to sneak you out, introduce you to Eio. And all this time, you two have—”

  “Uncle Antonio, I am not leaving Little Cam.” I stand with my shoulders high and fists clenched. He finally stops talking and stares at me as I continue. “Why are you saying all of this? You honestly expect me to leave everything behind? My home? My family?”

  “Pia.” He seems blindsided by my response. “I thought you understood. You saw the cells in B Labs. You know about the terrible tests everyone has to take. And the secrets, the lies—what did you think—”

  “Yes, I know all about those things,” I reply. “And, okay, I’ll admit it: they
made me wonder. But are you telling me those are the reasons Alex and Marian killed themselves? They’d rather be dead than…what? Be lied to?”

  “No.” His back is stiff now. Eio watches with silent, heated eyes, his arms crossed over his bare chest. Uncle Antonio presses one fist into his other hand and twists it back and forth as if he wants to punch someone and just can’t figure out whom. “That was part of it, yes, but not the reason.”

  “Then what was it? You want me to leave behind everything I have ever known, but you won’t tell me why?” I pick up the Shakespeare book with one hand and slap it with the other. “‘Ignorance is the curse of God; knowledge is the wing wherewith we fly to heaven.’ Isn’t that how it goes? I can’t fly if I’m ignorant, Uncle Antonio!”

  His eyes bulge a little. “I—I can’t—you don’t understand, Pia. If you knew, you…I can’t do that to you.…You have to know that nothing good can come of Little Cam! Don’t you feel it?”

  My own voice chills me when I answer, “I came of Little Cam. What does that make me?”

  He sighs heavily. “That’s not what I meant. Of course you’re the only good thing to come out of that place. But, Pia…agh! Maybe I should tell you, maybe that’s what it’ll take.”

  “Then say it! Why can’t you say it?” I plead, feeling tears burning the corners of my eyes. “Why did they run, Uncle Antonio? What is Uncle Paolo hiding? What is so terrible about Little Cam that you can’t even tell me what it is?”

  “Pia—” Eio starts, but Uncle Antonio cuts him off.

  “Every time you come out here, you flirt with the idea of leaving forever. Don’t you? I know I did.”

  “Then why didn’t you?” I challenge.

  “Because of this!” He jerks up the sleeve of his shirt and turns over his arm. There’s a small scar on his forearm that I’ve never noticed before. “They did more than just lock me up when I tried to run, Pia. They planted a tracking device under my skin, hiding it so deep under arteries and veins that if I tried to gouge it out, I’d kill myself in the process. If I ever disappeared, they’d activate it and hunt me down within hours. That’s why I can only visit Eio at night, when they think I’m asleep. That’s why I can’t run. That’s why I have to send my only son to be your guide, to give up forever the only good thing—besides you—that I can account for in my life! Pia, there is evil in Little Cam. The truth would destroy you if I told it to you. I can’t put you through that, and I won’t. You have to trust me. Would I do all of this—give you Eio—based simply on speculation? I know what really goes on behind those lab doors. I’ve seen it for myself. After you were born, it ended for a while. But now they’re starting it again, bringing in new subjects, beginning the whole process from square one. You can’t be here for that, Pia. You’re not who they think you are. You’re not one of them. You can’t do the things they ask of you.”