THE FOREVER GENE (THE SCIONS OF EARTH Book 1)

by Dean, Warren

  The medical facility was a surprise and she wondered whether Vi had been taken ill. But surely the Faerie Folk had their own medical facilities aboard their star ship?

  When she entered the dining room she saw not one, but two tall green-skinned figures seated at one of the tables. They were both wearing blue-green shimmer-robes. She recognised Vi immediately. The translator looked up to see her walking in, but didn't react other than to glance nervously at her companion. His long white hair hung around tapered ears which had thickened with age. As Qara approached the table he turned, and she realised that it was Physician Ti. She had seen him only once since that first day in Ulan Bator. He had walked past her during one of her visits to the facility in the forest. She had greeted him but he had ignored her, seemingly oblivious to her presence.

  If her reading of his expression was accurate, he was alarmed to see her. His gaze flicked to the doorway, as if looking for the camera crew which would usually be with her. Then he looked back at Vi, snapping his sharp white teeth together in a gesture of anger.

  "Who gave this reporter our location? And for what purpose? We have gone to great lengths to keep this matter out of the public eye."

  Vi did not respond but stared down at the table.

  Qara felt compelled to offer him some reassurance. "Please don't worry, I am alone and Carlo took precautions to make sure I was not followed. The translator has sworn me to secrecy and I have no intention of disclosing your presence here." She stopped, suddenly sensing that she had said too much.

  Ti stood up and glared at Vi. "So, it was you. I will assess your motives later. I must see how badly our security has been compromised and report this to the ambassador." He swept out of the room.

  Qara began to realise that there was more going on than she had initially thought. Whose house was this and why had Vi invited her? And why had she not told the physician?

  She looked at Vi, who continued to stare gloomily at the table. "I'm sorry, has there been some mistake? I thought you wanted me to come here? But the physician..."

  Vi looked up, the expression on her flat green face unreadable. "No, I am the one who is at fault. I didn't tell him you were coming. He would have forbidden it. I should not have invited you. Now I have put you in an embarrassing position."

  The chairs that Vi and Ti were using were bigger than the others in the dining room. Someone, probably that efficient looking manageress, had realised that the Faerie Folk would be uncomfortable lowering themselves onto ordinary chairs and had solved the problem by bringing in some chairs with longer legs.

  Qara dragged an ordinary chair over to Vi's table and sat down.

  "Well, I didn't come all this way for nothing and you brought me here for a reason. So start at the beginning and let's see if we can find a way out of this mess."

  Her brisk tone did not have the desired effect. If anything, the translator seemed to withdraw even further. "You cannot help me. I do not know why I called you. My duty is clear and expressing my feelings will not change anything."

  Qara began to get a little exasperated. "All of that may be true. But perhaps it is not. If you do not tell me what is happening, then neither you nor I will ever know. And you may not get another chance if the physician returns and throws me out of here."

  Vi looked up from the table. "Your logic cannot be faulted," she said, her large green eyes brightening a little. She straightened her shoulders and placed both of her long-fingered hands on the table in front of her.

  "I have already told you something of my personal story. I am unusual in my society because not many young females have the opportunity to leave the reproduction centres for another career. But having been permitted to join a contact expedition, I must accept the authority of its leader. If that leader decides that I must make a sacrifice for the good of the mission, then I am bound to comply."

  "So you have been asked to make a sacrifice which you are not willing to make," summarised Qara.

  "No, you do not understand. I have not been asked, I have been commanded, a command which has been ratified by the Ancient Council itself. And I am not unwilling to make a sacrifice which may contribute towards the continued existence of my race."

  Qara tried again. "You are willing to make the sacrifice but you are unhappy about it."

  "No, I am not unhappy. No member of my race would be unhappy if given the chance to fulfil such an important function."

  "Just because you should be happy doesn't mean that you are. When I was in London studying, I was where I thought I wanted to be. And yet, after I had spent quite a long time there, I realised something. A place cannot make you happy by itself. There must be something more. It could be a friend, or a lover, or a meaningful purpose for being there. I found that when my purpose for being in London came to an end, I was no longer happy to be there."

  Vi was silent for a moment. "You propose that there is a correlation between one's purpose and one's emotional well-being. Yes, my recent experiences support that. It offers an explanation for my sudden changes in disposition. I found my existence at the reproduction centre unfulfilling. Then, when I began learning to be a translator, I felt that I was pursuing something for which I had a natural affinity. As a member of the expedition I was able to demonstrate my superior abilities in this field. I have also experienced a status equivalent to that of a male. And now that I must revert to the existence I sought to leave behind, my emotional state has regressed to where it began."

  She paused again. "You are wise beyond your age to understand this so well."

  Qara was mildly embarrassed at having her own personal philosophy analysed and applied so seriously. But it seemed to help Vi make sense of whatever was happening to her.

  "Does this mean that you are no longer to be a translator?" she asked.

  Vi slowly drew air in through her teeth, making an eerily sibilant sound.

  "Are you familiar with the Forever Gene?"

  "The gene which prolongs human life?"

  "Yes, except that in my case it has been modified to shorten life. Once I have been treated, I will return to my reproduction centre to ascertain whether my fertility rating improves."

  "You mean, you have been asked to sacrifice your life?"

  "No, just part of it."

  "How large a part?"

  "I do not know, it is not possible to ascertain how much faster I will age until the treatment is complete."

  Qara paused to breathe, the cool air-conditioned air of the house catching in her suddenly dry throat. "When is this going to happen?"

  "Dr Herald's technicians are presently working on it in Boston. They were able to formulate my genome from the DNA tests which were done when we first arrived on Earth. It is expected that the modified gene will be ready by tomorrow."

  Ti chose that moment to walk back into the room. He was accompanied by a flustered Rebecca, who was apologising profusely.

  "I naturally assumed you were aware of the translator's request to have this young lady collected from New York. If there has been some breach of your security I take full responsibility."

  Ti had calmed down. "There has been a misunderstanding between the translator and me, which you were not aware of. I am satisfied that there is no harm done. But please, it is imperative for you to ensure that no-one else becomes aware of our presence here."

  Rebecca assured him that there would definitely be no further problems and marched off to keep her promise. Qara felt a bit sorry for Carlo, and anyone else who happened to cross her path.

  Ti turned to her. "I have informed the ambassador of your presence here and he seems to trust you. However he asks you to undertake to remain here until our business at this facility has been concluded. Also, all communications with your media channel are to be monitored by me while you are here."

  Qara decided not to ask what steps the ambassador might take to guarantee her silence should she refuse. The Faerie Folk had displayed no violent conduct at all while visiting Earth, and the
ambassador had often spoken of their non-violent way of life. Still, it was likely that a race which had survived for so long was both willing and able to make exceptions when circumstances demanded it.

  Ordinarily, she would not have agreed to any restrictions on her freedom to communicate. But in this case she would not be in a position to establish all of the facts if she wasn't prepared to compromise.

  "Physician, I am not here to cause trouble for you or to publicise what is happening here. As you can see for yourself, I have not brought my camera crew or any broadcasting equipment. So, I accept your conditions, but I warn you that I strongly disapprove of what you are planning to do here."

  "Whether you approve or disapprove is of no concern," he replied mildly. "You are merely an observer and I hope that you will not cause unnecessary difficulties. The translator is fully aware of the rationale for this trial and she has accepted her role in it. Now excuse me, I must make my own preparations for tomorrow's procedure."

  He left the room again and Qara was able to relax slightly. At least she had bought a little time to reason with Vi. She already knew that the direct approach wouldn't work, so she decided to get the translator talking about something else.

  "When we last spoke you were telling me about your home world. I remember you saying that you do not have motor vehicles, ships or airbuses like we do, but 'pods of various shapes and sizes which glide through the air. You promised to tell me more, but we didn't get the chance before you left for Bangkok. Do you mind if I ask you some questions now?"

  Vi looked relieved to move away from the unhappy subject of genetic trials. "I had forgotten how much you like to ask questions. What do you want to know?"

  Well, what are these 'pods made of, and what type of engine do they use? Is it true that they need no fuel?"

  Vi considered thoughtfully. "Before I answer those questions, I must tell you of an ability my race developed aeons ago. We did not originate in the star system we now inhabit. When our ancestors first arrived in the system, they found two planets which were immediately habitable. Primefall is a hot, dry world and Secondfall is cold and wet. But neither climate was so extreme as to discourage colonisation. In order to optimise their chances of success, the travellers split into two groups and colonised both planets. Thankfully, both groups survived and, within a few generations, began to prosper.

  "However neither planet had much arable land and, as their populations grew, it became necessary to look for more fertile planets. Two were identified; Ellipse, named for its pronounced elliptical orbit, and Azura, my home world. Because of its orbit, the seasons on Ellipse were wildly variable but, once the necessary climate adjustments were made, it became habitable. It is a strikingly beautiful planet and many settlers were attracted to it for this reason. Not much of nutritional value grew there naturally, but genetically engineered crops and stock beasts were introduced and thrive there to this day.

  "The continents of Azura were already liberally sprinkled with edible crops. Many of them were completely new to the colonists and it was decided that it would be beneficial to cultivate these alternative food sources. The problem was that the planet was constantly ravaged by extremely violent storms which regularly devastated crops and would be a menace to any settlement established there. So, its climate was also modified and it is now a well-populated world which supplies our civilisation with a great diversity of food.

  "The fifth inhabited planet is called Rim, named simply for its position at the edge of our system. It is a massive planet, much larger than the others we have colonised. When first explored, it was judged to be too cold and desolate to support colonists. Its gravity is twice that of our other planets and its natural temperature is hundreds of degrees below freezing. It is impossible to survive there without anti-terrain suits. However Rim is rich in minerals and researchers were sent there to investigate its potential as a mining planet. It was found that most of its minerals could be found in abundance on Primefall and Secondfall, themselves both mineral rich planets, and it would be unnecessarily expensive to extract them from Rim.

  "The planet was on the point of being abandoned, when a young researcher found himself trapped underground by a rock fall. His communication equipment was damaged and the rocks were much too heavy for him to move. The other members of his team could not find him. As his anti-terrain suit began to run out of power, he desperately tried to think of a way to move the debris blocking the entrance.

  "Unbelievably, some of the rocks began to move by themselves and he found that, the harder he concentrated, the more they moved. He was eventually able to clear a passage large enough to crawl through and signal his team. When he had recovered from his ordeal, he tried to demonstrate what he had done but couldn't."

  Qara sat, spellbound. This was not getting her any closer to what she really wanted to talk about, but she couldn't help but be fascinated.

  "After tests were conducted, it was found that the rock on Rim contains a metallic polymer unlike any material we have ever encountered. It reacts telekinetically to a sufficiently concentrated thought, but only when the thinker is significantly frightened. After more research, it was discovered that, when afraid, our bodies secrete sufficient quantities of a chemical which facilitates this telekinesis. I'm no analyst, so don't ask me exactly how it works.

  "To render the phenomenon commercially useful, our analysts developed a genetic modification to give us the ability to secrete the chemical at will. The modification was introduced into our entire population and, since then, we have all been born with telekinetic ability.

  "Our analysts had less success replicating the polymer. Despite their best efforts they were not able to reproduce its properties, so Rim remains the only known source of the polymer and this is what led to mining operations being established there. Fortunately, the planet is so large that the supply is virtually inexhaustible. It is very difficult to live there because of the cold and the gravity, so there are no permanent residents. Most of the inhabitants are miners who go there for limited tranches of time.

  "Our glide-pods are constructed of a lightweight resin similar to your carbon-fibre. The resin comes from trees which grow on Azura. Each 'pod is fitted with a receptor; a module infused with the polymer. The size of the module is related to the weight of the pod it is required to power. By telekinetically interacting with the receptor, the 'pod pilot is able to lift, direct, accelerate and brake the 'pod. There are also some manual controls which assist with regulating speed, course and height while in motion. Larger 'pods require two or more pilots acting in concert to lift and manoeuvre them."

  "Is there a limit to the amount of time a pilot is able to fly a 'pod? Do you ever run out of the fear chemical? How do you stop the 'pods from crashing into each other? What happens when...?"

  Vi emitted a sibilant sound through her teeth to interrupt the flood of questions. "My mentor, Master Za, is fond of saying that, if there is one universal truth, it is that there is a limit to everything. Except, I have now discovered, your ability to ask questions."

  Her green eyes had softened in a faint smile and Qara grinned back, appreciating the humour.

  "If you must know, yes, there are limits to the use of the telekinetic ability. It can only be used in conjunction with an object fitted with a polymer infused receptor. For example, there are receptors in the levitation-pods we use to reach the upper storeys of buildings. As our bodies tire, they produce less and less of the 'fear' chemical, as you call it. Fatigue also reduces our ability to concentrate enough to activate the polymer. So we are not permitted to operate a 'pod for longer than a prescribed period without rest.

  "Collisions between 'pods do occur, although they are rare. As you already know, each of us projects an aura which is sensed by anyone who comes within range. One of the side effects of the fear chemical is that its presence temporarily extends the range of the aura. The extended range gives 'pod pilots enough time to sense each other's proximity and to avoid each other. It is
an instinctive reaction. It is similar to the way that humans automatically avoid walking into each other when their paths cross."

  "Do you think that humans would be able to activate the polymer in the same way that you do?"

  Vi cocked her head, her long, bone-white hair shifting slightly along her shoulders. "That is an interesting question. I don't think anyone has considered the possibility. You will have to ask Ko about it."

  Qara was silent for a moment as visions of telekinetically powered vacuum cleaners and shopping trolleys crossed her mind. Hold on, what about telekinetically guided bullets or missiles? "No, I don't think that is a very good idea, perhaps we should keep it to ourselves," she said slowly.

  Vi glanced at her quizzically. "What do you think?"

  "About giving humans telekinetic powers? Oh, that is not what you mean."

  "No."

  Qara sighed. "On Earth we value individual freedom of choice above all else. It is a vanity which fuels a lot of misery and destruction. Humans make many poor choices. But we would have it no other way."

  "Why is that?"

  "Because it means anyone can achieve anything. It gives us hope. Each of us believes that his or her choices are the best that can be made in the circumstances. Our most venerated heroes are those who have made a success out of nothing but their own judgment."

  "Assuming that I had the choice, why shouldn't I participate in this trial? It is for the benefit of my entire race."

  "It is true that, even among humans, there are those who sacrifice themselves for the good of others. But a sacrifice should only be made voluntarily. You should not be commanded or persuaded to make a sacrifice. I do not like your lack of choice in the matter."