The World After (5 page)

“That's good. We'll speak again at some point when we reach another safe house.”

“Roger that. Good luck. Over.” Calvin said.

“Over.”

A loud crackling noise followed; the big black radio fell silent.

“Is everything okay?” Taylor asked.

“Aye.”

“I would like to know more about your organization and exactly what's planned from here on.”

“Of course, but only after we enjoy a hot cup of green tea and eat something delicious that our host prepared for us.” After saying that, Jinhun led the way across the corridor to the door opposite.

They entered a small kitchen. To their right, it extended into a living room where a round wooden table with four chairs was placed amongst pots of house plants. Now Taylor was finally able to meet their host. A slim Chinese woman in her seventies was boiling an aromatic pan of tea leaves on the stove. The most amazing thing about her was that, despite her advanced age, her long hair was still as black as raven's feathers. She smiled at them, revealing three front teeth surrounded by empty space. While the two men sat at the table, she poured two mugs of steaming tea and brought it to them, despite Taylor's protests to help. Her wrinkled face was brightened by the jet-black eyes from which a strange warmth was emanating. The blackness of her hair and eyes was intensified even more by the white silk dress she was wearing.

“I would like you to meet my mum.” Jinhun hugged the old lady around the waist as she kissed his forehead.

Shimi Levy had just landed in Hong Kong, leaving William Grant behind in Brazil to investigate the incident surrounding Ian MacGeady's disappearance. The director of the ATU, as the Agency for Tracking the Untraceables was commonly known, was in no mood for customs. He stormed past the confused officers, who didn't even dare ask him questions or stand in his way.

Levy walked out of the VIP doors and, without any delay, got in the back of the indigo-colored limousine waiting for him there. Even before the door behind him closed, he barked at the agent sitting on the front seat next to the driver, “Report.”

The agent in his mid-twenties cleared his throat and quickly started, “We're searching for the refugees all over Hong Kong as we speak. At the minute, thermal scanning is in progress sector by sector. If they're still in the city, we'll find them. No luck just yet, though.”

The car joined the busy traffic and headed towards the heart of the city with its tall skyscrapers rising above all else and staring down at the crawling crowds.

The nervous agent continued, “We caught two Chinese, though. They helped in their escape and don't have brain implants. The interrogation convinced us that they're not part of the Yuyuan and are simply local renegades that were hired to help their escape.”

“The local authorities?” Levy's face was expressionless.

“The Chinese are very nervous. They acted too foolishly when they actually had them surrounded in the Audi, and now the main bosses of their Intelligence Agency are all over them.”

“And so they should be,” Levy remarked before his agent continued.

“They've been trying to catch Jinhun Sun for years, but now it's even more important as all indications are that the Yuyuan are preparing something big. The info is scarce, but it is very worrying nonetheless. From partially intercepted communiqués, it is easy to distinguish words like Apocalypse, free will, end of the New World Order and new era.”

“Just great.” Shimi Levy's cold eyes narrowed as he thought. “And what exactly is the role of Taylor Swansea in all this?” he added more to himself.

As the limo turned right and sped through the traffic control barrier, Shimi Levy order the driver, “Keep straight on. We're going to the Lab.”

The Laboratory for Genetic Engineering of Beijing Institute for Genomic was situated in a remote area from the coast suburb of Hong Kong, and the ATU worked very closely with it. This was the place where the first generation of genetically modified super humans was born, raised and educated.

“You have an idea, boss?”

“Oh, yeah.” A rare smile appeared on Shimi Levy's face as the limo overtook a small delivery truck driven by an old Chinese woman.

* * *

Carolina was sitting on the edge of a bed, her turquoise eyes staring into her father's eyes as he sat hunched up next to her.

The short trip by taxi to his mansion didn't help Carolina to come up with a plan of how to approach her father. When she walked in, she simply asked him to sit and blurted out everything she wanted to say.

“So you tell me that you're part of this raffish band, but why?” Ademar Gamejro interrupted the oppressive silence.

“We're not a raffish band, dad.” Carolina was already regretting her honesty with him. “Believe it or not, there are still people that remember what it was to be in control of your own destiny and to dream about the future. We have a clear idea of what future we want for ourselves and our children; and let me tell you, it's not the same as the future prepared for us by the so-called World Leaders.”

“But, my darling, aren't you forgetting something? It is exactly the changes over the past few decades that transformed our country into a superpower; it was previously one of the poorest in the world.”

“I really can't understand how you can be so naïve about all this.” Carolina's face was red as emotions surged inside her. “Can't you understand? We're just pawns in the hands of a group of people that a long time ago lost all contact with reality and, for that reason, decided to create one that suited their plans and desires. We're just an insignificant link in their long-term plan.”

Ademar Gamejro sat silent for a few minutes. His tired eyes fixed on the soft white carpet covering most of the marble floor in his spacious bedroom. He loved his job; but more than anything, he loved his precious daughter, his only child. “So the ATU wants to terminate me, eh?”

“Yes. Our experts decoded a brain implant taken from an operative agent back in Brazil.”

“I can't see the logic. Why me?” The Minister shook his head. “Nothing important is under my control and hardly anything significant is happening here in Greece.”

“I'm not leaving you here.” Carolina's voice was firm. “Especially when the Devil himself has his eyes fixed on you.”

“Aren't you being a bit melodramatic, honey? After all, the Agency only cares about order on the planet and all efforts are to maintain it. You're trying to touch me on a topic I know I'm sensitive about. I'm still very religious, but …”

“What but!” Carolina's voice rose to a crescendo, “Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't it you that taught me that?” She took a deep breath before continuing, “Apocalypse of John chapter 13, passage 1-18:
I saw a beast coming up out of the sea,…and the dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority…It was given to him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them. Authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation was given to him…I saw another beast coming up out of the earth…He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. He makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast… He performs great signs, even making fire come down out of the sky to the earth in the sight of people…He deceives my own people who dwell on the earth because of the signs he was granted to do in front of the beast; saying to those who dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast who had the sword wound and lived…It was given to him to give breath to it, to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause as many as wouldn't worship the image of the beast to be killed. He causes all, the small and the great, the rich and the poor, and the free and the slave, to be given marks on their right hands, or on their foreheads; and that no one would be able to buy or to sell, unless he has that mark, the name of the beast or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. He who has understanding, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is six hundred sixty-six.
”

Carolina was breathing heavily, overwhelmed by emotion when she finished citing the Bible.

“Please, stop.” Her father was unable to look her in the eye.

“How many times have you told me that free will is the greatest gift we possess?” she pressed on.

Ademar Gamejro rubbed his right wrist where his implant was. The majority of people had their implants right in the middle of the forehead, pretty much where, according to Buddhist beliefs, the inner third eye is. But the Minister had problems with intracranial pressure, and for that reason, like several other million people on the planet, he had his implant put in his right wrist.

He sighed and, lifting his eyes to meet the gaze of his daughter, he said, “Okay, I'm coming with you, but I'll have to write down a few messages to my colleagues and bosses.”

“What about?”

“I can't just vanish. I need to give them some explanation and leave instructions. After all, this country's economy is my responsibility. Don't worry, I won't mention you or where we're going.”

“How much time do you need?”

“Give me an hour.”

“Okay, I'll go and grab us something to eat. I need the fresh air.” Carolina hugged him. “Please, hurry up. We can't make the plane wait. We have to be at the airport on time.”

Five minutes later, she walked out of spacious house her father occupied. She failed to notice the fact that no servants were to be seen anywhere around as she walked out.

* * *

Taylor stood with his mouth half-open in front of a pair of strange machines which his companion had unveiled as their transport to Itanagar.

“What's this?” He passed his fingers through his red hair that was waving in the blustery wind. They were on a vast grass plain just off HK6 motorway. The two futuristic vehicles in front of them looked just like something that one would use to explore the surface of the moon.

“As I said already, these are all-terrain-vehicles,” Jinhun said. “We're not dependent on roads with them, although I must point out that on asphalt they can reach mind-boggling speed.”

Taylor walked slowly in circles around the nearest of the machines. It looked like a huge wheel rim with a single seat in the middle. The seat resembled those he had seen in F1 racing cars many years ago, but a few strange metal poles placed in specific holes around the metal inside of the rim suggested that the seat would remain in the same position as the wheel rolled over. On either side of the seat, there were two smaller wheels resembling the stabilizers on a kid's bicycle.

“We should reach the Base in three days with them,” Jinhun said. “Here's the supply compartment where we have enough food and water for a full week.” He pulled a metal ring on the rim that lifted a half-foot-wide door that revealed the storage compartment. It was stashed with supplies.

“How does it work?” Taylor asked, still walking around the two vehicles.

“In fact, it's extremely simple and at the same time genius. As you can easily see, the seat won't rotate with the rim; only the poles holding it will be changing their holes smoothly. The outside wheels help a lot with the stability and the maneuverability.”

“Will I be able to drive it?”

“It's very simple. You won't have any problems. In fact, once you try it, you'll find how amazing it is.” Jinhun grinned. “The feeling is beyond compare. The tires have a built in automatic system that controls their air. This gives them the opportunity to adapt according to the surface. We can drive over almost any type of terrain, from desert sand dunes to marshes.”

“I don't understand how it works.”

“Okay, here's an example: if we're traveling through a rocky terrain, the pressure in the tire automatically lowers and the softer touch allows the whole vehicle to travel smoothly, even the sharpest rocks are not able to cause any damage. Accordingly, the moment the tire detects motorway underneath, it inflates. The speed we can reach on such a surface is simply phenomenal.”

“How fast can it go?”

“On asphalt, we almost fly, two hundred miles per hour.”

Taylor's eyes narrowed in amazement. He couldn't imagine how he would feel safe inside the relatively open seat that was just a foot above the ground if he was moving at such a speed.

“What fuel will we be using?” he asked another question.

“The engine is even more amazing. You can call it completely ecological. It runs on water which, with the help of a powerful laser, is disintegrated into atoms that collide with each other in the tube you can see right opposite your seat. This generates the energy that sets the whole magic in motion. It's very efficient, a liter of water is easily enough to cover five hundred miles.”

“It is really impressive. Who invented this thing?”

“I told you, we have all kinds of geniuses in our organization. In fact, without exaggerating, I can say that the best scientists in their specific spheres are all part of the Yuyuan.”

“How many of these you have?”

“Only three for now. But believe me, you've seen nothing yet. We have many other interesting toys.” Jinhun smiled. “But let's get moving. We don't want to be detected. I've had enough of chases for one day.”

“Couldn't agree more.” Taylor looked at his companion seating himself and fastening the three secure belts, copying him he did the same.

Just as the two strange-looking vehicles rolled parallel with the motorway over the grassy fields, a helicopter scanning all cars and their passengers flew over the busy road, following the traffic that was heading out of Hong Kong.

Shimi Levy was crossing the car park of the Laboratory for Genetic Engineering of Beijing Institute for Genomic. The building in front of him looked ugly with its concrete body and sharp edges. It looked more like a bunker than an ultramodern science lab with its angular shape and brownish color. A person accidently passing by would never in a million years think that, inside the walls of this place, unimaginable things had been happening for over a decade.

There weren't many aware that the main director of the ATU was a frequent visitor to this place. Even fewer people knew that the main finances for running the lab were coming from the same source as those that kept the Agency going.

Shimi Levy wasn't familiar with every detail of the research and experiments going on behind the walls of this facility, but what he knew was more than enough to send a shiver down his spine every time he was there. He felt a strange mixture of respect, admiration and fear of what the Chinese scientists were doing inside the hideous-looking building. Many times, he wondered how the general masses would react if all the experiments were to be made public.

The Laboratory for Genetic Engineering was created at the end of 2013. From its opening, the scientists started their so called 'game with the genes.' In 2014, the primary project of the lab was launched – finding and isolating the gene of human intelligence. The biggest contributor to this project, of course, was the Chinese National Bank; but a third of the finances came from the FED – Federal Reserve of the USA. With such powerful and wealthy support, it took just over a year for the gene to be isolated after numerous, not-very-humane procedures on over two thousand Chinese kids were performed. The Chinese didn't have time to waste. In the autumn of 2015, a hundred Chinese women became hosts to babies, the embryos specially modified and enriched with the gene that was just discovered, plus the well-known genes that were supposed to ensure the physical features of the children. So, at the beginning of June the following year, the first series of 'super kids' was born. All prognoses suggested that, by the age of fifteen, these kids would have the intelligence of Einstein, the physique of Supermen and the fitness of a twenty-year-old American soldier.

Shimi Levy had nearly crossed the whole length of the car park when the metallic door used by the scientists working there opened; a slim Chinese man dressed in a white lab coat came out to greet him. Director Levy immediately recognized in him the modern Doctor Mengele, the gene-genius doctor Yao.

“It's very nice to see you so soon back here, my friend.” The slim Chinaman in his sixties grinned, shaking the hand of his guest.

“I can see you're still in good health and in high spirits.”

“We're shaping the new look of the world these days.” Yao's yellow teeth grinned, his snake-like eyes mockingly watching Levy. “If our current progress continues, we should be able to build a better society and perfect leaders for it very soon.”

“Glad to hear that your ambitions remain as gigantorous as they always were.”

Yao just giggled at his guest's play with words and, with a demonstrative bow, invited him inside the facility. The door closed very quickly once they stepped in. After a few routine implant scans, Shimi Levy followed his host down the long, straight corridor that took them right into the heart of the laboratory.

Every ten feet of the way, there were white doors on either side of the narrow but very high corridor. With all walls, floor and ceiling also perfectly white, a person could feel pain just staring at this interior for too long.

“So, what is the reason for your quick return to visit us? I didn't expect to see you for at least another month,” Yao asked as they made their way amongst the crowd of other scientists wearing white overalls busying around.

“Urgent matters, as always.” Levy hated this building. All this whiteness and the strong artificial lights hanging above bedazzled him every time he had business here. “How is the experiment with the chickens going?” He tried to show interest, knowing that Yao was always eager to share his progress.

As far back as 2007, it was discovered that the supreme predator that once ruled our planet – the T-Rex – had developed, for some strange reason, into a chicken. The overwhelming proof that these small domesticated birds have the basic DNA structure of the giant predator stunned the scientific world. Very quickly, this discovery was followed by numerous others, suggesting that what had survived in terms of dinosaurs had evolved into birds.

Of course, the Chinese and their ambitions meant that, the moment the laboratory was up and running, Yao and his crew started searching for ways to awaken the sleeping genes of the T-Rex. Shimi Levy knew that, to start with, the results were chickens with sharp teeth, birds with dinosaur tails, five hundred pound brooders and many other freaky creatures that had a lifespan of a day or two. All this was achieved by manipulating the sleeping T-Rex gene in chicken embryos. It seemed only a matter of time before the unlimited resources of the Chinese government were rewarded with more stable results.

“You can't even imagine how close we are, my friend,” Yao responded. “In fact, I'm about to treat you to an amazing presentation that is part of the same project. We just last month achieved the most amazing results. As you very well know, all one needs is to take any bird and work with its DNA while turning its evolutionary clock backwards and here we go, dinosaurs again.”

Doctor Yao turned left when they reached an identical corridor. After reaching the third door on their right, he opened it and invited his guest in.

They found themselves in a spacious and surprisingly well-furnished room. Five leather loungers and a heavy mahogany table stood in the center; the wall opposite was a window behind which there was an empty square room of similar size. Doctor Yao made himself comfortable in one of the arm-chairs. Shimi Levy had no choice but to join him. His voice was firm when he said, “I'm here to talk with you and I don't have time to waste.”

“The Yuyuan, ah?” Yao released another of his irritating giggles.

“What do you know?”

Yao filled two glasses of crystal clear water from the pitcher on the table. It was nearly seven years earlier when the price of fresh water officially surpassed that of petrol. Since then, drinking water was becoming rarer and rarer.

“I know a thing or two that might be of interest to you, but I'm not sure what my benefit will be from sharing it with you, my friend.” Yao giggled again.

“I really don't have time for games, Yao.”

“You're aware that the scientific achievements and knowledge of the scientists from this so-loved-by-you Yuyuan can easily rival ours. I personally learn a lot from the odd invention of theirs captured. You see, if we're the future, they are the past; if we're white, they are black, or it might be the other way around actually.” Yao giggled again at his own joke. Shimi Levy thought for an instant that madness was the only expression in the man's eyes.

“Yes, but something has changed recently.”

“That's right, the Yuyuan are trying to turn the poles. It seems they're eager to dictate the show very soon. As far as I know, they're planning an apocalypse, and in my opinion, the one non-political organization that can achieve such thing is them.”

“But how?”

“You see, I have a theory, but this is just what I would do if I was them.” Yao emptied his glass and filled it again. “The main characteristics of the New World Order for which you and I worked so hard to make reality are…” He paused. Levy was getting inpatient, but he forced patience from himself while the Chinaman kept talking slowly. “Basically, the pillars of the modern world are constant supervision of every individual, gathering of data from chips and implants, constant satellite surveillance of every inch of the planet's surface and manipulation of the masses with the help of messages designed and distributed by supercomputers. You see where I'm going? Computers and satellites, what do they all need?” Shimi Levy remained silent and simply stared at the man talking to him, “Electricity!” Yao finished.

“So, you're trying to tell me that this bunch of bastards have found a way to neutralize our satellites and computers?”

“Maybe, I don't know. This is just my theory.” Yao's attention was drawn to the sound of a door opening behind the window in front of them. He shouted excitedly, “Oh look, it's starting!”

Through the door, five heavily armed soldiers, all wearing the distinctive colors of the Chinese Special, Military Unit entered.

“What's this?” Shimi Levy asked.

“Now, my friend, you'll see a demonstration of our newest achievement. Even our Prime-Minister is yet to see it.”

“Are the soldiers drugged?” Shimi Levy noticed the vacant eyes of the men in front of him.

“Just a little, to disorientate them for a short time. Otherwise, it would be impossible to get them inside willingly if they knew what they'd face. In a few minutes, they should be back to their senses.” Yao drank a big gulp of his water while Shimi Levy looked at him. He was ready to swear that the scientist was having an erection as he stared with hungry eyes through the glass.

“You must know that these are not ordinary soldiers. They are all injected with a special gene that makes their muscles grow bigger.” Yao talked while his eyes remained fixed on the five men. “I'd say they are around three times stronger than a normal soldier, and the number of red blood cells in their bodies is about five times higher than in yours and mine.”

At that moment, the two comfortably seated men noticed that the eyes of the soldiers had cleared. It took them only a quick glance at their surrounding before a new expression of horror and primitive fear appeared on their faces. They formed a circle, their knuckles white from gripping the machine guns in their hands. Suddenly, three dark figures emerged from the ceiling, landing in the middle of the men and dispersing them. Shimi Levy's eyes widened in disbelief.

“Meet our latest experiment – orangutans that had their DNA modified and also several medical procedures that increased their intelligence.”

For the next ten seconds, it was nearly impossible to see through the mass of bodies behind the glass. All that was heard were the weapons, the desperate screams of the men and the strange grunts of the three creatures. After that, silence descended on the other side of the glass, only guttural growling was to be heard.

Only now did Shimi Levy have a better chance to examine the three creatures. All five soldiers lay motionless on the ground in pools of blood. It would be hard to call the tall, standing figures orangutans. They hardly had any of the orange hair on their chest and face typical of their species, but the features of the face and everything else indicated that these were primates. The more astonishing thing for Levy was the fact that all three of the creatures had in their hands knives. They were very skillfully chopping the bodies of the already dead soldiers with bloodthirstiness unnatural for their species. The white, until recently, walls behind the glass were colored red. There was also lots of blood on the glass itself as the three creatures kept stabbing angrily at the lifeless bodies for another minute or so.

Doctor Yao pointed at one of the animals. A closer look from Levy saw two gunshot wounds on its left leg. Blood slowly dripped on the floor as it stabbed the nearest soldier another six times before standing up. Suddenly, the biggest of the three creatures turned his head sharply, his big nostrils sniffing the air. Very quickly, his cold eyes fixed on the wounds of his bleeding brother. A slight nod of the head was enough for the third orangutan to jump over the injured one and, with a quick cut to the throat, end his life.

“These are just killing machines,” Levy exclaimed.

“They definitely are. Their efficiency, decision-making and ability to use their hands are amazing. Just try to imagine the damage these beasts can cause to a regiment of ordinary soldiers. Unfortunately, we still can't use them. There is a slight problem controlling them and making them follow commands. But I'm sure we'll sort that out in a month or so.” Yao giggled again.

“It was a really impressive show, although I must say I nearly threw up. But I really want to talk business now, because time is not my friend at the minute.”

He stopped talking as the door behind the glass opened; the two blood-covered creatures that had been turned into monsters disappeared into the darkness, leaving an awful picture of death and destruction behind them.

“How can I help you?” Yao said.

“First I want you to tell me all the information you have from your government about the Yuyuan and their apocalyptic intentions.”

“My dear friend, the fact that you're the director of the ATU and representative of one of our main sponsors does not give you the right to ask me for such kind of classified information.”

“On the contrary. You know I'll get what I want one way or another.” Levy's steel eyes remained fixed on the small scientist, with Yao shrinking even deeper in his armchair.

Yao fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat before mumbling, “I don't know much. I'm more interested in my research.”

“The latest information,” Levy insisted.

“What I'm about to tell you is not official, but certain individuals in our government are worried that the rebels have found some way to destroy the outer atmosphere satellites, a computer virus or something similar. As I told you, they control and distribute all the electricity we're using.” Yao drained his water before adding, “In the last few months, our soldiers have had much more frequent clashes and encounters with numerous ultramodern machines owned by the Yuyuan.”

“All-terrain vehicles, choppers and motor boats, I know about that.”

“The thing is that my government is extremely worried about how advanced some of this technology is. As you know, over four hundred of the brightest brains on our planet are the core of the Yuyuan, so there is growing fear that some much bigger project is to be set in motion by the organization.”

“So your government believes that a potentially destructive attack on the satellite and computer system is about to happen. What about all the defensive programs and algorithms we have?”