There was no additional reference to the manhunt.
*
The perception of over four hundred citizens of Helena was markedly different from that of the general public. They were happy that there was no mention of the search, but somewhat concerned at the revelation that the Primedes more recent history was known, and that there was no elaboration of the detail. This unease compounded the shortage of serum during the critical period up to the first daughter being ready for infusion. It would be a nervous few weeks.
*
Bianca couldn’t wait any longer to report her find. She disturbed Christophe, who rubbed his eyes and yawned. A delayed reaction caused Bianca to blush. He kissed her passionately on the mouth, and then apologised. She didn’t seem to mind in the least. After checking the printout again and again, he marked the parent vial and suggested they proceed to initiate a culture.
“Christophe, I’m sure these creations have been tabooed. We must seek approval.”
“No, no, that is exactly what we must not do. It will get mired in procrastination. I have my doubts as to whether we will ever find Albert’s living fugitive cousins. This could save us weeks of fruitless effort. It’s a lucky break that we have again stumbled upon their profile. I’ll take responsibility. You clock out and go home. I’ll make sure the reports show that I was alone. For God’s sake I’ve done this before. Leave now.”
She returned the kiss and complied.
Christophe set out five separate extracts and added the maturation promoter to each in a staggered time schedule. He wanted to be able to terminate any if the template of the fugitives didn’t prevail over the alternate ones in the extracts. The first was such a failure, but the next hit the jackpot. The rest were destroyed. He couldn’t leave or relax until the embryo could be weaned sufficiently to tolerate oxygen. Bianca returned the next day to witness the accelerated hourly growth. Having heard about this was nothing like seeing it. Christophe whispered through his fatigue.
“I need a couple of hours sleep and nobody else must know of this. Lock the door and wake me at eleven.”
She was transfixed by the fast-forwarding process. It was truly alien. It was a male and had already begun to have eye contact with her. The conflict of wrongdoing with the thrill of creating life was highly addictive. There was a knock at the locked lab door. Her heart skipped a beat and she asked who it was. It was the janitor and she relaxed a little. “You’ll have to come back in an hour. I’m in the middle of a test which needs absolutely constant lab temperature and humidity. Sorry about this but I can’t help it. I’ll let you know as soon as I’m done.”
She heard the footsteps fading down the corridor. She then shook Christophe. “You have to get out of here with your new friend. It will be safe to return after five-thirty in the afternoon if the boy needs emergency laboratory care. I can’t keep people out of here without arousing suspicion.”
“Ok, I’ll take him back to my place. Keep your communicator handy in case I need you to bring something to me. It looks as if he is becoming less dependent on the pure nitrogen. I think we have pulled it off Bianca.”
She made it clear that he had pulled it off, and apart from getting the infant completely out of danger, she wanted no further part in the deception.
“It could be different between us Christophe if that’s what you want, provided you disclose the baby’s existence, at least to Harley.”
He nodded and left with his little parcel.
Chapter 36
Two more weeks had passed and the search had still not been productive, in fact Bianca’s DNA matching work had been cluttered with false suspects, and tedious ruling out of their genetic profiles.
Harley was embroiled in the squabbles over distribution of the increased stocks of vaccine and antigen. The process was dogged by the logistics of getting the stuff from sky stations to the surrounding cities and rural areas. In an act of desperation to smooth out the supply lines and the pent-up emotions, he proposed two actions. They carried a risk, but so did not getting the plagues stamped out. The first was to lift the travel restriction for humans so that they could help in localised regional distribution. The second was to commandeer significant capacity of sea freight to get bulk supply to regions without sky stations. The latter proposal would normally have precluded humans because of the long, uninterrupted periods of exposure to radiation. He was astonished when he was deluged with volunteers to help out. These people insisted that it was their choice to help sufferers of their own species, and threw Harley’s path to harmonisation back in his face. He eventually conceded to the pressure, and a temporary suspension of the use of biometric chips was authorised. He thought he felt good about this altruistic response from the human race. Cleopatra tried everything she knew to persuade him otherwise. Her last plea was to at least delay it until her search had reached the first bases of Vancouver, Portland and Spokane. Harley had been seduced by the selfless clamour of people to help their stricken kin.
This declaration was all the incentive Christophe needed to confront him with his new Primede friend, who had the same makeup as the fugitives. “This decision you have taken on lifting travel restriction without consulting others, who have always rallied to your cause, will come back to haunt you. You’re lucky that my discovery effectively makes Cleopatra’s search redundant. I have no regrets about creating another Primede, who can probably give us data on any agenda of the ones we’ve been looking for. He is almost ready for interrogation. I don’t want him confused with all of Albert’s actions or any information regarding the recent war. I intend to keep him isolated with whatever he has been programmed to do, and offer to help him. I’d appreciate you keeping out of my way, because I just might be able to stop you screwing everything up.”
He left a speechless Harley to get started. On the way out he was met by Cleopatra. They exchanged their various frustrations and she said something which resonated with him.
“I’m extending the search in one direction only as we can’t keep this circular net going if Harley’s travel permission renders it porous. We are heading to the East. It’s only a hunch, but it’s about all we have anyway. We have several reported sightings of a strange couple moving that way. They all said she was pregnant. The other common remark was that they looked and behaved more like brother and sister than two people in a relationship. They were asking for general directions to the mountains, yet they had no possessions and they never seemed to be looking for accommodation. Every interviewee thought it strange that a pregnant woman with no suitable clothing was verging on desperation to get to the mountains.”
“That is the best lead we’ve had yet Cleo, will you come with me to speak to my new friend?” He explained what he’d done, and that he had already told Harley of his intent. She agreed.
*
Harley’s travel concession had placed Wilson Kelly in a quandary. It could be manna from heaven if it was a permanent situation, but this was just a little too soon for a change of pace in every aspect of his objective. He couldn’t spare any more serum for converts, and none of the females were through the first pubescent stage, although at least one was expected at any time. Despite this dilemma, he felt that advantage should be taken of the groundswell of human assistance in local delivery of medication. Chicago, being one of four global distribution locations was perfect. He set the first part of the exodus in motion. The final count of converts was now five hundred and twelve. He instructed groups of roughly thirty to head to Chicago every two to three days. The population of the windy city was big enough to provide anonymity and the foster parents left with the children in the second group. He would stay to oversee the departures, and then he intended to join the last group to leave.
*
Christophe gave the new recruit the name of Judas, indicating he’d not lost his cynical sense of humour. He began with a very short précis, including Judas’ own ancestry.
“We will tell you more as we go, but we happen to know fro
m your kin, who have disappeared, that your distant ancestors are in a deadly struggle with another species. We can’t find them and they may have got into some kind of trouble. We agreed to help them but we think that we can only do that through you now.” He encouraged Cleopatra to describe the search activity and the sightings of the couple who were heading for the mountains.
Judas was about to speak but was cut off by Christophe.
“We appreciate the breathing difficulties you have, and that may be why they chose to go to altitude where there is less oxygen. They also said they could remember something important they had to do, but they never got around to telling us exactly what it was. We’re pretty sure it was something which could help your entire species, but we don’t have any specific data. Does any of this make sense to you?”
“There is something vague which I have to do, but that is all. I also ‘feel’ that it will become clearer. Is there anything else you can tell me about my ancestral species?”
Christophe was running on adrenalin. He didn’t want to disclose too much detail about the second trip to Ganymede, and especially its implications for Earth.
“Of course we can, as I said, we want to help. Your ancestors have been around for a very long time, and we think they have visited our world before my species evolved. They have been looking out for us ever since and it’s time we began to show our gratitude and repay them.”
“Yes, but I need something to help me work out what this vague task is. How did they help you?”
“Well, they assisted in bringing our species to its full potential. We have had to survive many potential extinctions and predators. Your people seem to have altered the direction or the rate of our development, and as you can see, we are by far the most sentient species on the planet.”
Judas pointed at Cleopatra. “But that is a different species to you.”
“Not really, we have many sub-species on Earth and Cleopatra is a part of our own development which is in another direction. We work very well together.”
“How did you first know about my ancestors?”
Christophe thought for quite some time before answering. He didn’t want to go further into the cyborg history. “The very first thing we noticed which led us to understand the caring nature of your people was in connection with their concern that our atmosphere was losing its ability to protect us from radiation.”
“Radiation, that is familiar to me, I don’t know why. How did they help?”
“The initial proof of their benevolent nature was triggered by an artefact they left on Earth. We actually found it before we knew about the existence of your people. We observed a magnetic surge from a device they must have buried to measure radiation levels. It sent a signal toward Jupiter.”
“That is helping me to clarify my thoughts. I think that this had something to do with what I need to do. Where is this device?”
“It was submerged in another part of the world, but we have excavated it. It is guarded carefully but it has been inactive since then.”
“That is what I have to do. I must go to it and make it send another signal. Thank you, will you take me there?”
“Certainly, but why do you think you have to do this, we can just get one of our people to do it for you.”
“No, I am sorry, I should explain; I have things to do before the signal is sent.”
“Oh I see, but maybe we can help with that as well.”
“That would be very much appreciated. I have to work out how to do it first. Can you make another copy of me?”
Christophe was beginning to see a pattern. “That is easy, but why do you need to have another individual like yourself?”
“I have to make more of me by doing things with this second friend.”
“Right, I think we refer to that as having a family.”
“Yes, it is clear now, I need to have a big family before my people can come and collect me. Will you make this individual now?”
“Yes of course, just come with me.” He told Cleopatra he was going to see Harley again with Judas. She nodded in resignation. Christophe said she should head to the East as she had already planned. “I’ll catch up with you. I’m sure you are on to something, and we still need to find them.”
He didn’t go to see Harley. Judas was curious about almost everything he saw, even the DPB. He was instantly dematerialised. Christophe joined the search with Cleopatra without Harley ever knowing of Judas’ elimination.
*
The two of them followed the convoluted trail to Helena and were sure they had the right place when one of the residents disclosed the couple had been given a mountain retreat by Wilson Kelly. On further questioning, the resident described the humanitarian act of fostering all seven children, after Jake had taken his own life. They pinned down Kelly in town and asked him to show them the graves. He obliged, but was horrified when Christophe asked Cleopatra to get two of her units to exhume the bodies.
“I’m afraid you don’t know what you are dealing with Mr. Kelly. Now where are these children?”
“They aren’t here any longer. Many people, as you must know, are helping in distribution of medicines. This town’s population has been decimated by volunteers leaving. I think most of them will have gone to help in remote rural areas where the transport links are not so efficient. I know many of those who have already left were going south.”
Christophe thanked Kelly and told Cleopatra that he would accompany the bodies back to the lab and get Bianca to make absolutely sure the profiles were matched. She took her search to the south after Kelly had assured her that he knew at least one family and two of the orphaned children had headed that way. He had no idea where the others had gone. Kelly was relieved to see the back of them, especially as he had been contacted by one of the families from Chicago. They claimed that Deborah, their foster daughter was sick. He asked about the symptoms. He had to go to Chicago.
Harley was furious when Christophe confessed what he had done. He was a little more circumspect when the matching printouts proved that the fugitives were dead. He slumped into semi-depression when the seven children were disclosed, and flipped back to anger at his own stupidity in lifting the travel ban. The device in the Rift Valley was the only thing which now lay between the galactic Primedes and their seed on Earth. Christophe at last got him to agree to destroy all of the vials they had brought from Ganymede, and he added another request.
“We need to do the same with the rest which are still there. Nero, Beethoven, and Anton can do it. Send them now.”
It was arranged and Christophe headed for the Rift Valley because he didn’t trust the locals to stay alert, especially if they had no idea of what could happen, or just as importantly, when.
Chapter 37
When Christophe finally got to the Rift Valley and communicated the need to destroy the device, he was ushered away from the site. He was then told in no uncertain terms that he had no jurisdiction there. The City state principle had been welcomed, and furthermore it had become the number one tourist attraction on the planet, following the free travel period. It had occurred to their leaders that infrastructure was badly needed to cope with the demand. In fact, there were the first green shoots of a return to capitalist mentality in this region.
The wrangle eventually escalated back to Harley. Contact between them produced more unpleasant exchanges, but changed nothing. Christophe tried to cut the session short and insisted that he wanted to help out in guarding the device.
“That isn’t really what you want to hear is it? Well Harley I’ve spent so long on preventing this invasion that I am simply not moving. I’m staying for as long as it takes, I hope that is now crystal clear.”
The months rolled by without incident and Cleopatra had never found a single clue as to where the children had gone. Christophe eventually called it a day after six months, believing that the real threat had died with the fugitives. He returned to Tacoma.
Wilson Kelly had completed the in
fusion process with Deborah and now he could turn his attention to the Rift Valley. Jake had told him that the children would interbreed when they were approximately fourteen years old. He was instructed not to prevent this. Kelly passed this on to the foster parents and signed up for a sea-going job, distributing medicine.
Arriving on the other side of the Atlantic, he found the travel situation to be even less controlled than back at home. Public transport got him to where he could at last see the target. When Christophe had eventually left, it sent an unintended message to the local guards – the threat had been neutralised. They became even more lax, and took bribes of You2Me for unauthorised entry. Kelly gained access very late at night and input the data he’d been given by Jake. His proximity to the device was fatal. There was only a two second interval to get clear and he’d never been told about it.