Immortal (37 page)

“I have failed you. In the last few minutes,
a sequence of events referred to as Failsafe has been activated. As
I speak to you now, missiles have been launched that will soon
arrive at my location. The Failsafe activation has also initiated a
countdown sequence which will result in a massive explosion and in
the complete destruction of New Sebastian. In a matter of moments,
New Sebastian will cease to exist. I implore you to take these last
few minutes that you have left, and consider your salvation and the
final disposition of your immortal soul.” Daniel looked down. Roger
stood motionless in absolute shock as the video returned to the
beginning and started again, and the message began to repeat. He
ran to the door of his office, not waiting for it to slide open,
and almost crashed into it, as it just barely opened in time. He
banged off the edge of the doorway, and almost lost his balance,
before he turned and headed for the elevator. He came to an abrupt
stop as he saw the specimen as she stood in the hallway in front of
him.

“You were disposed of!” He said in disbelief.
Rebecca stood still, eyes wide with fear, unable to move. He rushed
her and slapped her across the face. She fell to the floor from the
blow. He swung at her again, and missed. He kicked at her, and she
moved just in time to partially deflect the glancing blow. He
raised his arm to swing again, when he felt a hand grab his wrist.
He spun around and swung his injured arm at his assailant. The
bandaged hand glanced harmlessly off of Charles shoulder. Blood ran
from the exit wound in Charles’ chest. “Let go of me!” Roger
yelled, as he fought to get free of his grasp. Charles slapped him
across the face, and busted his lip and drew blood. “Let me go!” He
kicked Charles in the shin, and his hand released. Roger swung
wildly, and made contact with the side of his head. Charles fell to
the floor next to the wall. Roger rushed him, and kicked viscously
at the fallen man. “You son of a bitch! How dare you touch me? I’ll
kill you myself!” He yelled, as kick after kick landed into
Charles’ motionless body.

Suddenly a weight dropped down on him from
behind, as Rebecca leapt on his back and pounded at his head. He
grabbed a handful of her hair, and flipped her over him. She
hurtled down the hallway as she screamed. She landed hard, as the
wind was knocked out of her. He turned back to Charles, and froze
as he saw the control stick that pointed up at him. Suddenly,
Charles jabbed the control stick forward, and Roger could feel it
touch his tunic, and continue forward. He felt the fabric compress
against his skin, as the cold steel of the control stick continued
its movement. Then he felt the arc of electricity fire through his
skin, as it connected every neuron in his body, as each muscle
uncontrollably contracted. He felt his heart contract, and cease to
pulse. His eyes ceased to see. He fell to the ground. Dead. Rebecca
ran to Charles’ side as he lay on the floor.

“Are you okay?” She asked, as her tears began
to flow. He smiled up at her, and shook his head.

“You must get back to the village.” He said
in great pain.

“But how?” She asked.

“Take the elevator…” He began, and coughed up
blood. “Push the red button.” He coughed again and grimaced in
pain. “Go the end of the hallway…” He pulled his comm unit from his
bloody tunic, and shakily keyed a series of commands into it. He
coughed again as a spasm ran through him. He handed her the device.
“Follow it.” He said.

“But what about you?” She asked.

“Go!” He yelled at her, and pointed down the
hall towards the elevator.

“But-“ She began.

“Go!” He yelled again.

“And Adam?” Daniel continued. “The Failsafe
launch is confirmed. They are incoming.” He said sadly, as he
removed the black ring from his head and placed it in its holder on
the wall. He followed Jillian out of the room, and the door slid
shut behind them. Jonah stared at him with total disbelief.

“Sir.” He said, as his lips barely moved.

“No need to call me sir, Jonah. It has been a
long time. Good to see you again.” He said and patted him on his
uninjured shoulder.

“I thought you were-” Jonah began.

“Don’t even say it.” Daniel interrupted.
“Dead. You thought I was dead. I guess you haven’t quite figured it
out yet have you. Adam?”

“Jonah, you are actually quite right. He was
dead. Or maybe I should say he is dead. And in a way, so is Jillian
here. I guess if you get right down to it, So am I. By your
definition, all of us here at Speros are dead.” Jonah shook his
head, as he was overcome by confusion.

“No, I don’t get it. What the hell are you
talking about?” He said, both confused and now angry.

“Daniel here, did die. He died in New
Sebastian just as you thought. In fact his body is still there. The
man you see before you is the new Daniel. Follow me please, we
haven’t much time now.” He said as he led them back to the
elevator. “When it became apparent that he would eventually die,
Daniel and I talked, as we often did in those days. I advised him
of my research progress. You see…” He began as they entered the
elevator and the door slid shut. “When I first got here, Daniel
tasked me to find an answer to the organ replacement solution that
New Sebastian used. He disagreed with it from the beginning, to the
point that he himself only submitted to rejuvenation for truly life
threatening issues. When he had learned that I had made dramatic
headway into nanomechanical biophysiology, he agreed to help.
Between the two of us, working via satellite link, we were able to
build our first prototype.” The door slid open, and they exited the
elevator. “Jillian, here was the first. The first human of her
kind.”

“So she’s a clone.” Said Jonah.

“Oh, no. Not in the least.” Daniel said. Adam
led them down another hallway, to a door which slid open as he
approached.

“In here please.” He said, as he stepped
aside so that could enter. One by one, Jonah, Jericho, and
Gabrielle entered. The others remained in the hall. Suddenly the
door slid shut. Jericho leapt at the door and started to bang
against it.

“Hey!” He yelled. “Let us out of here!”
Gabrielle stepped up beside him and began to bang on the door as
well.

“Adam!” Yelled Jonah. A video screen came to
life inside the room.

“Please be calm.” Adam said. There was no
smile on his face now.

“Let us out of here right now!” Jonah yelled
to the screen, as Jericho and Gabrielle continued to beat at the
door.

“Please be calm. You are in no danger, and I
suggest you do not use your weapons inside the room. To do so would
mean certain death for all of you. I apologize for your temporary
captivity, but please rest assured, this is for your own
safety.”

“Damn it, let us out of here.” Jonah
said.

“Jonah. Please listen to me, as we do not
have much time left.” Adam pulled a comm unit from his tunic, and
suddenly the image on the screen in the room changed. The view
shifted from a straight forward view of Adam, Jillian and Daniel,
to a closer view of just Adam’s face. The background behind him
changed as he began to walk. “There are incoming missiles as we
speak, and in a matter of minutes they will explode overhead.” Adam
said.

“Then let us out of here!” Jonah yelled
again.

“The floor you are on. The very room you are
in, is specially shielded against these incoming missiles. You will
be safe, I assure you.”

“But what about you?” Asked Gabrielle.

“Our safety is not a concern.” Adam replied.
“Now please. Calm down and let me complete what I must say to you.”
The background surrounding his face continued to change as Adam
walked.

“Go on.” Jonah said, with Gabrielle and
Jericho now both huddled next to him as they watched the
screen.

“Thank you, my friend.” Adam replied, as a
slight smile entered his expression again. “We…the residents of
Speros…are not human in the traditional sense. And no, we are not
clones. Far from it in fact. We are mechanical beings, with the
exception of our brains. What passes in us for intellect is a
collection of lab grown brain tissues, and microscopic computers,
working together to form a human personality, utterly
indistinguishable from a normal human, but operating at a much
faster rate.”

“You’re like Guardians?” Asked Gabrielle.

“Very good, Gabrielle. Yes, like the
Guardians in a way. Instead of replacing the failing organs of a
human, we created a completely new type of life form. And we did so
without harming anyone or anything. And then, at the appropriate
time, when the human form could no longer survive, we transferred
the consciousness of our human form into the new mechanical
body.”

“And what happens to the real you?” Jericho
asked.

“That life form ceases to live. Not
immediately, and not by our hand. Jillian’s body lived for almost a
year afterwards, even in its poor degraded state. She sat with it
every day. Talked to it. And did the best she could to ease its
passing. When it finally did pass away, we committed the body to
the sea. It was both a sad day, and a day of hope. Jillian lived
on, with no further worry about mortal illness or physical
failures.”

“But if that’s the answer-” Gabrielle
began.

“It is not the answer.” Adam replied. “It was
simply a direction that our research took. Jillian and I built my
body, and transferred my consciousness into it when the time came.
Daniel was a little more difficult. We transferred his
consciousness from a great distance, but when his mortal body
finally died, he knew that he lived on here, just as you saw him
earlier.”

“But if it has been so successful, then why
isn’t it the solution?” Jonah asked.

“Because for all the technology that we have
discovered and created…we are not human. We can never be human. We
cannot taste. We cannot smell. And though we can tell if we grasp
something too hard or too soft, we do not have a true sense of
touch. I do not know how Jillian’s skin feels. Whether it is soft,
or rough. Warm or cold. You see, though we are conscious, we are
not truly alive. We cannot love. You’ve seen my face today. I
smiled, I frowned. At times I looked confused. They are all
preprogrammed subroutines executed by my emotional programming. My
expression relayed those emotions to you.” His expression turned
sad. “But I could not feel them.”

“So if you are not the solution. What is?”
Gabrielle asked.

“Why…you are. You and Jericho are the answer.
And all of the children born since then.”

“But the other children are back at New
Sebastian.” Gabrielle exclaimed.

“Yes. And they are safe.”

“Safe, until they are butchered for the next
rejuvenation.” Jonah replied.

“Oh no.” Adam replied. “They are quite safe.
The Guardians are loading all of the residents of the village
aboard the ship as we speak. There will be no more rejuvenations.
Once we had confirmed that the launch sequence had been activated,
we sent execution instructions to a dormant virus that had been
implanted in their systems years ago. Even as we speak, the
rejuvenation systems have been destroyed, and their programming has
been irreparably erased. The machines that track and store the body
parts are busily destroying that product. As of this day, this most
shameful of all human histories has come to an end.”

“And what about the babies? The tiny babies?’
Asked Gabrielle.

“The embryos? They are safe. They are being
loaded aboard as well.” Adam replied. “As is the implantation
equipment. And they will remain so, until each of those fetuses has
been implanted. Each of them is a new human being, and fully
capable of natural reproduction.” He paused. “If you are looking
for a solution. It is with them.”

“Why aren’t you in here with us?” Asked
Jericho.

“Because this part of human evolution must
end as well. There is only one future for mankind. One successful
future. And it lies in your hands.”

“If we’re safe here…what will happen to you?”
Gabrielle asked.

“To us? We will simply cease to be. And with
it, the methods used to create us. The incoming missiles will soon
explode over head, emitting a powerful electromagnetic pulse wave,
which will permeate most everything around, and leave us
inoperable. We have shielded certain systems from this pulse. The
food factories, the lower floors where you currently are. The
library and the growth chamber. The control room and the databases.
They are all protected.”

“T minus 60 seconds.” Came Daniel’s voice,
and Adam turned away briefly.

“Thank you, Daniel.” Adam replied, and turned
back. He smiled. They could hear a door slide open, and suddenly
the image was much brighter, and wind blew through Adams hair.
“Jericho. Gabrielle. I give you the future. It is in your hands
now.”

“T minus 45 seconds.” Daniel said.

“And Jonah?” Adam asked.

“Yes?”

“It was good to see you my friend.” Adam
said.

“T minus 30 seconds.”

“But why must you die?” Jonah asked.

“They must be free of our influence. Of our
technologies.” Adam replied. “They must learn how to live. How to
love. How to be free. They must do it without us. Without any of
us.”

“T minus 15 seconds.”

“They must not be contaminated by our
mistakes. They must learn to raise their children into adults, that
will have more children. It’s not that difficult really.” He
paused, as he looked at them. “And God blessed them and said to
them, be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue
it.”

“T minus zero.” Daniel said.

“May God bless you, my children.” Adam said
to Gabrielle and Jericho. Suddenly his image went extremely bright,
a loud boom sounded, and the screen went blank. The room vibrated,
the lights flickered, and then darkness enveloped them.