Earth Keepers

by Jorge Alejandro Lavera

  He quickly collated the computer data and couldn’t help but stop and sit down again. He ran his hands through his hair and then raised his fists in the air over his head with a smile on his face.

  Yes, this was incredible. He had a pair that, between the two of them, had the total number of genes needed. He’d been close many times, but never had this much luck.

  He got up again and input the codes to access the treasure of Atlantis. He took the chest, which he opened delicately, and pulled out the capsules with the original nanites of Atlantis. He took out the dividing panel that hid the bottom part and could see Gea’s tiara and bracelets; next to them, an empty space and four more capsules, in a space for eight. He took one of the capsules out as carefully as if it had been a bomb. Now there were only three left in the chest, but of those only one more would work for this kind of experiment. If this one failed, like the others, he’d only have one chance left.

  He reviewed the names of the candidates. Raquel Säuger, Juan Carlos Navarro. He checked his computer and extracted all the information available about both of them. A lot of information.

  He stored the capsule carefully in a special case and contacted one of his agents.

  “I have a job for you.”

  “What’s it about?”

  “You need to talk to Gerardo Domínguez, a gynecologist. He has a patient, Raquel Säuger. At her next visit, he must implant an injection of a substance that I will give you.”

  “That will be expensive.”

  “It doesn’t matter what it costs. And the ampule I’m going to give you—if anything happens to it, it’s literally your head, understood? Yours, his, and anyone else who has anything to do with its loss. On the other hand, you can tell him that nothing is going to happen to his patient.”

  “He’s going to want to know what you’re doing.”

  “Tell him it’s vitamins. An antibiotic. A vaccine. Make up whatever, the point is to inject it and forget about it.”

  “And the patient?”

  “It’s important that she gets the injection. I don’t think violence is necessary, but she must get it. Is that clear?”

  “Very clear. The usual fee?”

  “Correct. Good-bye.”

  “I’ll keep you informed.”

  Tzedek rubbed his hands, satisfied. He very carefully transferred the contents of the capsule to a hospital ampule, the kind used to fill syringes, which his agent would take in a little while. The contents of the ampule, developed thousands of years ago, and conserved in stasis in a small capsule, had a very specific mix. Gea’s DNA, and a group of nanites with a specific mission: modify the DNA of the human ovaries to introduce that of Gea, override any type of hormonal contraceptive, cancel any type of immune response against the embryo and the fetus, and self-destruct at the time of birth. The result would be that the ovaries of the human would generate a hybrid of human and Atlantean, with the DNA of three people: the human father and mother, and Gea. Gea’s most important physical and mental characteristics would be there. Of course, for the baby to survive, it must have a basis of compatibility, which is what he’d been trying to achieve for generations. He’d learned that the hard way on the four previous occasions he’d rushed and tried to recover Gea. Unfortunately, the results had been three premature miscarriages and an ill-fated birth where the mother and daughter had both died. He hoped for better luck this time. This was the next to last sample.

  He didn’t even want to think about what would happen if he were left with no samples. That was unimaginable.

  Gea. His own daughter. He had to recover her. And he’d keep doing all the experiments necessary to achieve it. And when he achieved it, he’d keep going until it was time to use one of the last two capsules. The future of the world might depend on it.

  BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING

  Atlantis, Year 48950 of the reign of Metis

  “Metis, are you sure you want to do this?”

  “It isn’t that I want to do it, I must do it. We need new blood, and what better than our own DNA for this experiment.”

  “You know it’s failed several times. It isn’t pleasant losing a new member of the species.”

  “Tzedek, you know that we have better DNA than the other Atlanteans. Kings have their privileges.”

  “Even so, I’m worried. What happens if this experiment fails? You know very well what the price might be.”

  “I’m confident it won’t fail. I myself was looking at the engineering specifications and our lineages. We have what we need.”

  Tzedek sighed.

  “What do I do if some king throws down a challenge while you’re pregnant?”

  “Challenges are suspended for ten months. That’s the tradition. If anyone dares to defy me, just show them the fine print. It’s a situation so uncommon that no one does it, but there it is.”

  “So shall it be.”

  “Doctor, you may proceed.”

  Mederi took the embryo and proceeded to implant it in Metis’ belly. He also injected a special dose of nano-organisms which would accompany the development of the fetus, protecting it and modifying whatever was necessary for its growth.

  Atlantean engineering could do just about anything with genetics, and in fact fabricated all kinds of creatures, but for the growth of a new being, the best place was still the belly of a female. And if the creature is an Atlantean, the best option to diminish the risks of losing it was her Atlantean mother, the egg donor.

  Metis would have to rest for a few days, and when they confirmed that the implant had taken, she could return to normal activities.

  Every week she underwent a medical examination to confirm that all was going as expected and there were no problems or deviation from the plan. After four months, they started receiving telemetry from the new baby inside of Metis. Everything was going even better than planned.

  The pregnancy lasted ten months, like all Atlantean pregnancies.

  When the day arrived, precisely planned by the doctors, day three hundred seven of that year, Metis was prepared for the birth in the medical center. A large monitor permitted them to see in detail the work area and the parameters of the nano-organisms involved, as well as all of the data for Metis and her daughter.

  The doctor injected a dose of medical nano-organisms and started to input orders into the computer. They did it with gestures on the hologram that floated to one side of Metis and also turning knobs on the equipment that surrounded her. First, he lightly sedated her. The nano-organisms provoked a chemical reaction that generated a discharge of sedative that made her sleep. Then he eliminated all the dangerous microorganisms from the belly area and anesthetized it. Mederi confirmed the data and commanded the computer to make a cut in the mother’s womb with the laser scalpel. With nanometric precision, layer after layer of skin and muscle were cut until he arrived at the amniotic sac. He delicately cut it and removed the baby from her insides while a small robot absorbed the liquid. They quickly cut and tied the umbilical cord, disposed of the amniotic sac and the doctor started the routine to repair the cut tissues. The nano-organisms repaired the incision until there was no sign that it had been cut. Then they started another routine and the skin and tissues that were now flaccid after several months of being under stress were contracting and recovering. When they cleaned everything up, it looked like there had never been an operation.

  Tzedek looked at his wife proudly. She smiled back at him. The doctors put her newborn in her arms, still stained with blood and amniotic fluid, wrapped in a soft cloth. The baby opened her eyes, looked at her mother and a light smile appeared on her lips. Then she looked slowly around, saw Tzedek and smiled again.

  Suddenly Metis made a face. Gea started to cry and Metis had a spasm of pain. Mederi quickly took Gea from her mother, while the medical hologram lit up in orange in different areas of the body.

  “Quick, put the baby in observation,” the doctor ordered, and they took her to a different medical area.

  Whil
e Gea was handed over to the people who were going to take care of her, the doctor concentrated on what the instruments were saying.

  “Mederi? What’s happening?” Tzedek wavered.

  “I’m afraid it’s the Anagnos disease.”

  Tzedek was livid. The new illness, discovered by Dr. Lalia Anagnos just a few hundred years ago, was wreaking havoc among the Atlanteans. There was still no agreement whether it was caused by an incompatibility problem between the new technologies and the basic biology of the Atlanteans, or if it was an out of control virus. Specifically, more and more, Atlantean mothers died when having a baby, many times together with the baby, and they couldn’t find an answer, or even a good explanation. The trigger seemed to be a hormonal trigger that started when they gave birth, but no hormonal therapy worked. The nano-organisms seemed to go crazy and ended up destroying the internal organs of the mother, causing her death.

  For the first time in history, the Atlantean population was slowly decreasing. The Atlanteans kept dying at their usual rate, whether by accident, suicide, or combat, but the women were afraid to incubate new babies. Few wanted to take the risk until the causes were well understood and they found a cure to this potentially life-threatening ailment.

  Metis knew the risks but had agreed to the process anyway out of love for Tzedek and to set an example. She participated in the process of designing Gea and she knew it was increasingly unusual for there to be new Atlanteans, and even fewer designed with as much care as Gea. Tzedek’s and her genes were mixed carefully and they also improved and added all the characteristics that they could create through genetic engineering. Gea would actually be the best specimen of Atlantean ever born. If she lived, of course.

  The doctor was working with the instruments for a long time, sending commands and changing the configuration of the nano-organisms every few seconds, and injecting new ones into Metis. The hologram showed orange zones that would turn green, only to show other areas turning orange. The doctor began to perspire when some areas turned brown. If they turned red, the damage would be irreversible and they would need artificial organs, in case they managed to compensate the organism, of course. He hurried to compensate for the problems, and after many minutes of struggle, the problem zones turned yellow and finally, little by little, all of Metis’ mapping zones were green until the hologram stayed that color.

  “Good work, Mederi,” Tzedek celebrated, slapping him on the shoulder, who jumped, startled.

  Metis opened her eyes and inhaled.

  “Is Gea okay?”

  Tzedek looked inquisitively and the doctor in the other section made a gesture of assent.

  “Yes. She didn’t have any problems. They are taking care of her.”

  “Good,” mumbled Metis, closing her eyes.

  The doctor dropped into a nearby chair. He was visibly wiped out. Tzedek knew he was the best in the realm. If it hadn’t been for his speed in understanding the affected areas and instructing the nanites to compensate for the damage, he would probably have lost Metis.

  The problem of the Anagnos disease was out of control. Atlantean society was more and more selfish. Tzedek remembered several eras before when the Atlanteans wouldn’t have had any problem offering themselves to be volunteers to find the reason for a disease. Today, however, that was almost impossible, to the point that they had passed laws to keep experiments from being carried out without the consent of those involved, which, of course, bothered him profoundly. His engineering profile and scientific curiosity were always in search of solutions, but he couldn’t do tests if they didn’t allow it.

  This time had been too close. He didn’t know what he’d do if he lost Metis.

  Suddenly, Tzedek had an epiphany. Of course the Atlanteans used their technology to modify and improve all kinds of wild creatures to adapt them to their needs. And there he had an inexhaustible source of material that, with a little work, he could make compatible with theirs. After all, humans didn’t have the rights or the protections of Atlantean law regarding conducting experiments.

  He needed to get close to the humans and keep his real intentions secret. In the end, he didn’t need other Atlanteans raising moral objections and complicating his work. There were subjects who even professed that humans had rights like the Atlanteans. Ridiculous.

  CHALLENGE DAY

  Atlantis, Year 49550 of the reign of Metis

  Throughout the ages, the Atlanteans had developed an efficient system of government. The queen, or the interim king, had absolute power and the last word in the realm. There was a council made up of the twelve kings and queens of the regions of Atlantis. Every ten years, the council could decide to bring down and replace the queen, but it had to be unanimous. It had occasionally happened. They weren’t dramatic cases. Generally the ruler herself admitted that she couldn’t rule as she should and accepted the removal with no problem.

  It could also happen that any citizen who wasn’t in agreement with how the queen governed, and couldn’t convince the council of their objections, could challenge her to combat. If they won the fight, they would take her place for an interim period. This kind of challenge was very unusual, given that the queens were usually the best Atlanteans and the best trained and equipped for ritual combat, so anyone who challenged her had very little chance of coming out alive.

  Combat for the throne was to the death, but the challenged ruler could stay out of combat by resigning her position and thus ensuring her life, something that had never happened. There were no civil wars in Atlantis. If a king wanted to fight others, he had to do it in person, risking his own life.

  Today was the day of challenge. As in all of the decades of her long reign, Queen Metis prepared for it, but this time she saw that someone was actually waiting to challenge her.

  Metis stood up and with a gesture, silenced the crowd that was half incensed, half protesting, and booing.

  “On this day of challenge, state your name and your issue before the throne.”

  “I am King Azaes of the Third Kingdom of Atlantis and I challenge Queen Metis Sartaris to a duel to the death for the throne!”

  The protests from the crowd became deafening. Metis had to gesture again to quiet the noise.

  “The law is clear that King Azaes has the right to challenge me to a duel...”

  Tzedek, who was close to the throne with Gea, quickly went to Metis’ side. In a murmur that no one could hear, he said in her ear:

  “Metis, you don’t have to prove anything. Your reign has been one of the longest and efficient of all time. No one will remember you badly if you retire now.”

  “You don’t have faith in me? Do you think that Azaes can beat me, husband?”

  Tzedek brought his hands together in a fist.

  “I know you are better, but I saw your training. You yourself know that you didn’t end up perfectly well after the problems you had with Gea’s birth.”

  “Even so, I know I’m better. Besides, you say that no one will think badly, but you know it isn’t true. If I refuse this, I’ll be out of political life. And you know how much I like it.”

  “Are you ready to die for it?”

  Metis thought for a moment.

  “Yes,” she answered, simply.

  Tzedek breathed in deeply, started to say something else, but contained himself.

  “You’re better. You’ll win,” he conceded, kissed Metis on the lips and went back to where he was before.

  “I accept the challenge! Present the referees!”

  The referees were in charge of keeping an eye on the combat, making sure they followed the rules and declaring the winner. By law, there must be two, a woman and a man, who were not friends with the rulers. Several candidates among the Atlanteans who had official authorization for it immediately presented themselves. It was a profession with quite a bit of well-paid work, since there was combat not only between kings but for many reasons. The referee was an important part of the combat rituals. Metis pointed to a man and Azaes acce
pted him, nodding his head. Then Azaes chose a woman, who Metis accepted.

  Metis handed her electromagnetic weapon to the nearest custodian and ordered them to check King Azaes, who was doing the same. Metis took her long hair and put it into a ponytail that she tucked into the back of her breastplate to get it out of the way. With her right hand, she pulled out the only weapon that she was allowed to use in combat, her ritual sword, from her belt on the left side, and she went to the ceremony platform. Azaes did the same and they were immediately surrounded by the guards who formed a wide wall to separate them from the crowd. The referees stayed inside the circle, but at a prudent distance from the rulers.

  The ritual sword was beautiful, and deadly. Two feet long, double-edged, and an Atlantean alloy of carbon steel, tungsten and titanium. It was designed in such a way that the edge was not stopped by any type of nano-organisms. It was light and sharper than a razor. The main difference was always in the hilt. Metis’ was made of gold, to give it more weight and therefore more strength to the blow. Azaes’, on the other hand, was the same alloy as the blade, so it was ultralight. His strength depended on his muscles.

  The referees gave the signal. Metis and Azaes started moving around each other. He flexed his muscles, putting on a show, but Metis was not daunted. She took the sword in both hands, to which Azaes began to say sarcastically:

  “What, you don’t have the muscles to hold the sword with just one...”

  Metis took advantage of the moment of distraction to jump forward and brandish the sword at Azaes’ body. Taken completely by surprise, he could barely raise his own, and could not deflect the blow. There was the sound of the strong blow of sword against sword, and of it hitting his body. Azaes yelled out in pain, jumping back. His arrogance was gone and a wave of fury came over him. He re-evaluated his fighting technique, and also took his sword in both hands. Metis moved forward again and delivered a blow from above. If he hadn’t deflected the blow with his sword, she would have split his head in two.