by S V Hurn
Unfortunately for Magnus, the government he was stealing from was his own and, as a means of silencing him, he had been detained without trial or representation.
Brenda reached over the table for the memo they had received. “Did you read this?”
“Yes, I did.”
“So, what do you make of it?”
Magnus slowly stroked the three-day growth of his chin and said, “I believe, my dear, we are going to be in good company very soon.”
Brenda said, with a bit of uncertainty, “He is the reason we’re here; I just hope he is as smart as he thinks he is.”
“But from what I know of him, he lacks a certain amount of common sense and suffers from delusions of being magnificent.”
Brenda ran her hands through her thick auburn hair and scoffed, “Great, well I’m going to have to nip that one in the bud. I don’t much care for that kind of attitude.”
“Nor do I. But, as you stated, he is the reason we’re here. His discovery could most likely change the course of mankind, and I feel a bit more at ease knowing he’ll be a part of this team. No worries. If he concludes that he’s in charge, he’ll be sorely mistaken. As we both know, one does not want to get in Henry’s crosshairs. I hope he is back to his old self.” And with a chuckle he added, “When he’s fully functioning in his SELF.”
Brenda seemed pensive. “I hope he does get back to his old self after the procedure, because without him our mission is doomed before it gets started.”
“Let’s stay focused. That statement is filled with negativity. Let’s not go to the dark side of things just yet.
“Magnus, honestly, stick it your ear.”
“My dear woman, you must learn to control your emotions.”
“God, you’re a piece of work.” Brenda got up, kicked the chair back under the table, and walked out of the room wondering if she could tolerate working with this cast of characters for Christ knows how long. Being the only woman on this mission had caused her to reconsider her position, but her choices were limited just as much as the others on board for this insane venture.
Dr. Brenda Hyden was the architect of the first fully functioning human constructed of synthetic and human DNA hybrid. Her involvement in the Mars colonization project had put her in the forefront of her area of expertise and she was the first in her field to apply this technology to the discipline of 3D Bioprinting. She had revolutionized the use of synthetic DNA to mimic human DNA in order to create life. She had been able to achieve what everyone in her field had deemed impossible. Her answer when criticized, “God must be a woman, as women are the givers of life, therefore it would only make sense that a woman would be the creator of life from lifelessness.”
In her successive attempts to create an intelligent being from synthetic material with the upload of a dying woman’s consciousness, she had been placed under a great deal of moral scrutiny. So much so that all grants for continuing her work had been stripped away and she had been ousted from her constituency. At that point she turned to the underground scientific community where her work was welcomed. As a means to finance her project, she turned to the oldest profession on the planet. She had created a handful of synthetics with the appropriate upload from the part of the brain that held sexual orientation and desire . . . nothing more and nothing less. Her train of thought was simple really, just give them what they want. She had become the perfect Madame for the perfect female, perfect in every way.
Both the fact that she was at the top of her field and that there were issues with the legalities of her situation had brought her to the attention of the creators of this mission; blackmail goes a long way.
Brenda sat in her room flipping through the pages of data provided by her would-be captives and wondered how she had gotten herself in this unlikely predicament. She was being punished for thinking outside the box.
“God damn it,” she muttered under her breath. Convinced everything had been bugged, she wanted to be heard without it being obvious that she was aware they were being eavesdropped upon. “Those pricks are not giving me enough data on the alien DNA.” She thought, ‘I have what I need, but I want to be more enlightened on the true nature of this mission. This Dimitri character better be worth the trouble that they have gone through to get his project off the ground. What kind of person gets himself exiled to Siberia? Must have been a stupid move on his part.’ Brenda finished the thought, ‘Then again, most men are stupid and all of them are led around by their dicks.’
While studying the files of new data her inner thoughts were about Henry. ‘How could such a good person be a part of this predicament?’ They had only known each other a short time, thrown together in this heap of mishaps and unfortunate misfits.
Henry sat alone with nothing more than his thoughts and the white noise of the slight hum of the 3D printer. Feeling as if he had been drawn and quartered, pondering his life such as it was, he said aloud to the cold environment that surrounded him, “Where have I gone astray from my course in life? Oh, how one fumble turned into a landslide of effects that brought me to this dreaded place?” He chuckled at his arrogance. “Once upon a time I was full of life, full of piss and vinegar. What the hell happened to me?”
He thought back to his early days at West Point and his first love. Under his tear-stained face a small smiled emerged with thoughts of Rebecca, her short, bobbed silky black hair and big brown eyes. He laughed out loud, fresh tears flowing. “God, she was funny, always cracking jokes. Why the hell didn’t I marry her?” He sobbed and said aloud to no one, “She loved me. But no, I had big plans . . . what an asshole I was.” Brooding about his life up to this point in time, he said, “I had to be the big cheese.”
“Is there a big mouse?” Magnus had walked in on Henry’s proclamation. “Sorry, old man, didn’t mean to intrude.”
Henry wiped his face and said, “When you get close to the end, I guess you tend to reflect on your past.”
Magnus’s eyes glowed, compassion settling into the lines of his ebony face. “Yes, I imagine one would, to try and decipher if one’s existence made an impact on anyone else’s life, and whether it be negative or positive.”
Henry sighed, “I have nobody to tell me if I have or not.”
“So, talk to me,” Magnus said. “It’s not as if I have much else to do at the present moment.”
Henry had always been a quiet, private man, and opening up to a woman was one thing, but to do that with another man somehow made him feel weak. Frail as he was, he was not a weak man, not at his core.
Magnus sensed his hesitation and said, “I know of your past and I guarantee I think you are a respectable bloke. Brother-in-arms so to speak. You were a Navy SEAL Master Chief, a nuclear physicist, and Navy pilot turned astronaut. You will hear no criticism from me.”
“Damn Navy SEAL . . . sitting here sobbing like a schoolgirl . . . I never saw that coming!”
“You’re allowed. What we’re planning to do here requires a bit of adventurousness on our part in order to follow through with this mission.”
“You mean madness, don’t you?” Henry added, “We could live forever out there, seeking something that may not exist.”
“Yes, but I think it’s essential that we seek the truth of our existence in a positive spirit.”
Henry rubbed his eyes, exhaustion on his face and his body slumped in his chair. “I’m sorry I don’t share your enthusiasm, but I’m feeling wiped out and I think I’m going to lie down for a spell.”
“Of course. Would you like me to have Brenda help you to bed?”
“I think I can manage, but if you could ask her to give me something for the pain, I would appreciate it.”
“Will do. Chin up.”
Magnus said his goodnights and he was off to his room. He grabbed a book titled, Relativity and its Relevance from the shelf to do a little light reading.
Henry dragged himself out of his chair and said to no one in particular, “Friggin’ MI6,” as he managed to stumbl
e to his room without falling over in pain.
Once Henry was tucked in bed comfortably with Brenda taking his vitals, he asked, “How much longer do I have?”
Brenda truly cared for this man and held his hand as she said, “Not long now, baby. Don’t worry, I’ll be right here with you.”
“How much longer until my SELF is ready for upload?”
“A few more days ‘til the brain is completed, then I can get all your memories and consciousness uploaded correctly. Otherwise, I can only achieve a partial success rate. It’s a fine line, really. You must try and hold on. If it’s not finished, I won’t have enough functioning synapses in the new brain to hold enough data for a comprehensive upload.”
Henry, feeling the effects of the pain killer, gathered his thoughts. “Where are the cryogenic tubes, don’t we need them?”
Brenda held his hand tight, not knowing the answer. “We’ll have them soon, they’re on their way.”
“My SELF . . . how many . . . more . . . days?” Henry was asleep.
“Just a few my friend . . . just a few.”
Brenda knew how important the cryogenic tubes were to the success of this mission, as they all did. She watched her friend sleep and pitied him for a moment, then said to him, knowing he couldn’t hear her, “Damn it, why didn’t they have that sorted out from the beginning? How do they expect us to survive in this dimension? That Russian bastard apparently doesn’t have all the answers.”
CHAPTER 17
Dimitri had been waiting for hours in this small, remote airport that had been used to transport mail and goods between his almost abandoned village and the southern region bordering China. Now he was finally on a private, government-owned jet sitting on the airstrip waiting for the worst of the snowstorm to pass in order to safely take off for Moscow.
He was deep in thought, going over the events of the last few weeks. I have been stuck in this frozen hellhole for far too long . . . how many years has it been? I must make sure I have constructed this theory correctly so I may claim my prize of freedom and redemption. The significance of this discovery is going to give me my old life back; the importance of it will give me the opportunity to succeed at achieving great new political status. While he was contemplating his future, the very young and attractive flight attendant approached him from the back of the jet, “Is there anything I can do for you sir?”
“Yes.” He undressed her with his eyes. “Champagne and caviar.” Dimitri knew he didn’t have to ask for the finest, it should be assumed.
“Right away.” She walked to the galley kitchen and she could feel his eyes stripping her naked.
Although Tatianna had grown accustomed to men making advances in her years in private travel services, most of them were respectable businessmen. She said quietly to herself while preparing his request, “This one is a pig and smells like a yak. I wonder how he is so important to have justified coming out to this hell?” She snickered and added, “How stupid must he have been to be sent here in the first place?”
When she had readied his request, she put the ornate silver tray on the cart and wheeled it down to her overeager passenger. Leaning over to place the tray on the table beside him, she politely asked, “May I get you anything else before takeoff?”
He had caught a glimpse of her bountiful cleavage and made his move. He groped her stockinged leg, “Yes, there is.” The implication was obvious.
She grabbed his hand and, contorting it slightly, said, “You may want to check with my father first, before helping yourself.” With that, she disappeared into the cockpit and shut the door. Dimitri was going to have a long flight, alone with nothing but his thoughts.
Edgar Heinz and Carman Mallia landed at Phoenix Sky Harbor just in time. Exiting the private terminal, Carmen looked up at the darkened sky and felt the electricity in the air. Carman noted, “The dust storms here are truly amazing, but I would prefer not to get caught in one. We need to get to the car now.” Wasting no time, they drove directly to Lifecor. The meeting with Alex’s business partner Stuart Kern had already been arranged.
The two men walked briskly through the parking lot. The dark grey sky had turned to an eerie yellow and the wind picked up with the smell of the approaching rain in the air. Lori stood just inside the lobby entrance to greet them. “Hello, you must be here for Dr. Kern. I will let him know you are here. Please have a seat . . . may I offer you anything to drink while you wait?”
Edgar, sounding overly pleasant said, “No thank you. What is your name, dear?”
“Lori.”
“Tell me, Lori, how many people currently work here?”
“She hesitated a moment and gave it some thought. “Eight . . . including myself.”
“And how many have decided to come into work on a day like today? The weather is quite disconcerting.”
Lori smiled and said, “Oh, this is nothing. I’ve seen storms with a wall of dust 365 meters tall. But today’s a slow day, so it’s just myself and Dr. Kern.”
“So, you still have to put in a full day?”
Lori giggled and said, “I think I might get to go home early today, since it’s Friday. I hope so, I have plans with a group of friends tonight.”
The inner door leading from the storage area swung open. “Hello. Great, you fellas made it through this muck. Offering his hand, Stuart said, “I’m Dr. Kern, and please call me Stu.”
“Greetings, Stu. My name is Ed Robertson and this Dr. Spiro Abela.”
“Hello, nice to meet you.”
“Edgar said, “Thank you for seeing us on such short notice. I hope we are not keeping you from any early weekend plans.” With a wink in Lori’s direction, he continued, “I would say this lovely young lady is eager to call it a day.”
Lori shot a pathetic look in Stuart’s direction and said, “A bunch of us are driving out west for a concert tonight . . . would it be okay?”
“Sure, why not? I have everything tied up well, so go have fun and see you early Monday. We have a few patients coming in then, so going to be a rather busy week coming up.”
“Cool. Thanks!” Lori grabbed her things. She looked in Edgar’s direction with a smile and mouthed thank you. “I’ll be here bright and early Monday. ‘Bye, Stu. Nice meeting you guys.”
“Well, let me take you on the grand tour.” They walked through the secure storage area with Stuart on autopilot since he had given this tour to hundreds of potential patients over the years.
Edgar was asking, “Tell me, Stu, I’m most curious about the freezing procedure. What makes the process so . . . special?”
“Special? Hmmm, well first, the canisters themselves are simple really. We use a manufacturing plant in Wisconsin that builds them for us to our exact specifications. The basis of this technology is the same technology utilized for freezing any life form and has been used for decades. The canisters are designed exclusively for our method of cryogenics, which through the years has proven to be the only successful method of freezing and reviving individuals after many years of being frozen. The freezing process is quite lengthy and involved.”
The two men looked at each other and Carman spoke up. “Please, I would like to know more about the procedure. As a doctor, that fascinates me the most.” With a smile, he added, “We don’t want to take up too much of your time. I’m sure you are ready for the weekend.”
“Certainly. I’ll take you to the prep room next. That really is the most interesting part of the tour.”
They entered the frigid sterile room and there was a hint of death still lingering in the air. Carman asked, “What we would really like to know is can the reviving procedure be fully automated?”
Stu was taken aback by the question and deliberated for a moment. “Yes, I believe it could be. It would take some time to engineer and construct the mechanism for such a lengthy procedure, but I believe it could be done.”
“So, tell me, Stu, is this something you might be interested in doing?”
Again, Stu wa
s thinking, where is this conversation leading? “To tell you the truth guys, I’m not a mechanical engineer. I know the procedure, but as far as constructing such an apparatus, I would only be good as an adviser on such a project.”
At that Edgar and Carman exchanged glances. While Carman asked a somewhat more routine question to distract Stu, Edgar pulled a syringe from his inside suit pocket and plunged it into Stu’s carotid artery. Stu went down, unconscious in an instant, falling forward into Carman’s waiting arms.
Edgar said, without any remorse, “The effects are good for about twelve hours, so I think we have all we need. We should proceed to the airport and deposit our guest in his special accommodations on board.”
Carman gently lowered Stu’s limp body on the floor while Edgar grabbed a gurney that had been set aside awaiting the next patient. Both men lifted Stu onto the stretcher. Then Edgar headed to Stu’s office to find the keys to the building.
Rummaging through the desk, he glanced at the framed picture sitting on a shelf next to a pile of magazines and books. A lovely young woman was holding a child with an amazing resemblance to the man they were about to kidnap. For a moment Edgar felt a pang of guilt as he thought of the child growing up without his father. He was quite familiar with those challenges. Then he turned all the lights in the building off to avoid drawing attention to the fact that something had gone awry. He locked the main door to the entrance as he exited, got into their vehicle, and drove it around to the back parking lot. The two men then wheeled the gurney to where they could inconspicuously load Stu into the waiting car. At the airport they transferred Stu’s unconscious body onto the jet registered to a diplomat and took off without a hitch.
Upon arrival Stu would have no choice but to cooperate if he ever hoped to see his family again.
CHAPTER 18
The last few days had been hectic for Dorathy and Alex after the disappearance of Stuart. On the phone with Alex, Dorathy was trying desperately to hold down the fort and said with concern, “How are you doing today, my love? Still no word on the police investigation? Poor Tracey, how is she holding up?”
