Asterion (14 page)

“Don’t you have at least an inkling that all this was created and not just some random act of nature?”

Asterion thinks for a second. “I’ll give it some more thought. It does intrigue me and you and Christine believe in it.”

That is the first time Asterion did not say, mom and dad. Is it just growing up or a significant change in his personality and view of his self?

Burnsom is sitting behind his desk with a blank stare on his face. He hears a knock on the door and he smiles. “Come in.”

The door opens and Devin enters the office. “You called for me sir?”

Burnsom replies, “Yes son, please sit down. I know that the little incident with that creature may have caused you to doubt whether you would advance in this government or not. Let me assure you that no one could have anticipated what happened and I should have been more careful, but that’s what happens when you let your guard down. However, let us get back to the matter at hand. I understand that the creature is all grown up now.”

“Yes sir. He is an adult now and he is ready”

“Good,” Burnsom says with a smile, “We will take him when those two propeller heads aren’t around to protest. Asterion needs training so he can take his place as leader of the creatures. He also has to take orders from me and me alone.”

“Yes sir,”

“Now Devin, you will move up in the administration much quicker than most. I like to reward high achievers and you have delivered. You will receive a promotion to Assistant Secretary of Technology. Stan Thistle is getting old and he will soon retire from his post. As his assistant you will naturally be in line for his vacant position.”

“Wow, thank you sir!” Devin is wide-eyed and ecstatic. “You don’t know what this means to me.”

Burnsom smiles, “I know exactly what this means to you. Remember that all this depends upon your continued support and deliverance on this project and the other one. By the way, how is that one going?”

“Sir, our government researchers were successful at reverse engineering Taylor’s designs including Christine Summers’ contributions. My person on the inside, Trent, has transferred all the data, processes and procedures necessary to duplicate the processes in Taylor’s lab on a grand scale. To get the numbers necessary, we are duplicating the DNA engineering and replication processes on several instruments. Cloning will allow us to maximize the output of creatures and the creatures are all capable of procreating so we will have male and female versions. So far, Taylor does not know these creatures are fertile. We are at the stage now where we will only need a few weeks to a month to give you the army to control the masses and deal with our enemies.”

“Excellent,” Burnsom says with a savory smile, “I may have to give you my job when I retire.”

They share in a laugh and Devin excuses himself from Burnsom’s office. Standing briefly outside the door, he smiles and briskly walks down the hall and out of the building. Inside his office, Burnsom is looking outside the window. The reflection on the glass shows his beaming face. After a few moments, he begins to laugh aloud. He pauses, and with a content look on his face spins his chair around and facing his desk, begins to deal with accumulated paperwork piled up there.

In the break room, Taylor and Christine are making small talk when Christine perks up. “Where’s Trent?”

“Devin has him doing something else at another lab while we are in this slow period. You just noticed?”

“Well, with everything that has been going on I guess I focused inward and really hadn’t noticed. Should he be preparing for the next step?”

Taylor frustratingly replied, “As soon as Devin comes back from his “world tour,” I’m going to request that he get Trent back here. Otherwise, the project timeline will start to slip.”

Taylor and Christine gathered their belongings and returned to their apartments. They are a bit sad that they would not be as close and that Asterion is grown up now. That night Taylor joined Christine at her apartment.

Taylor lamented, “I’m worried about how the Christian community views me. They seem to think I’m some sort of Dr. Frankenstein.”

Christine replied, “They seem to think I’m under some sort of Svengali trance and I don’t know what I am doing. At least they think you are smart. They think I’m deluded.”

“They don’t understand. None of them knows the contributions you made to the project. Hey, maybe I could tell them that it was all your idea.”

Christine wrinkles her nose. “Not funny.”

“Okay, okay, just kidding,” Taylor laughingly replies. “But on a more serious note. What do we do if we meet up with a group of them? We are going to have to introduce the real us to them and preferably from a distance.”

“Yes, but how?”

Taylor looks up thoughtfully and says, “General John Sanderson was the commander over Northcom and now is the commander of the base in the South Central Province. We have to find out if he is the one mentioned in the documentary. I served under him when I was in the military and I know him personally. We need to contact your stalker.”

“He has a name you know.”

Taylor smiles, “Sorry, what is it again.”

“William Jacobs is his name. You don’t remember?”

Taylor shrugs his shoulders. “I’ve had a lot on my mind.”

“Oh, just you huh!” came the judgmental reply from Christine. “Don’t give me that innocent I didn’t do anything smile.”

Taylor drops the posture and apologetically replies, “Sorry dear.”

Christine laughs as she curls up on the couch beside Taylor. Watching the monitor they hold each other in silence, satisfied in the relationship that is building each day. Growing tired, they bid each other a reluctant goodbye and Taylor departs. Driving home he knew that she is the one with which he wanted to spend the rest of his life.

Arriving at the lab the next day, security is swarming over the whole facility. Taylor and then later Christine are scrutinized and challenged as they enter the building. There is a rope across the hall to the lab and the guard will not allow then to pass.

Taylor irritatingly says, “I’m the lead scientist. I have experiments in there.”

The guard monotonically replies, “I’m sorry sir, no one gets back there without clearance.”

“Clearance by whom!”

“Leader Burnsom,” is the stern reply.

Taylor looks around. “Where is Devin?”

From the break room he hears Devin, “Right in here.”

Taylor and Christine look at each other, enter the room, and sit at the table with Devin. Devin looks at them. “Security forces have gotten wind of a plot to destroy the experiment.”

“Someone wants to kill Asterion?” Christine replied.

“Yes, He has already been moved. When we know more, we will secure a new location and reunite everyone at that location. Until then, Burnsom has ordered that each of you sit tight. Once the security detail moves out, you can return to the lab.”

Taylor knew that something is up and sternly demanded. “I want to talk to Burnsom now!”

“Not possible,” is Devin’s cold reply. “You have to understand something here. This project is the government’s property, not yours and the sooner you learn that the better. If you confront Burnsom with your complaints, you might find yourself in a bit of trouble.”

“What trouble? Are you threatening me?”

“No, I’m just concerned for you and offer advice that may be beneficial for you.”

Taylor skeptically replied, “Oh, okay, I get the picture.”

Devin starts for the door. “Hey, remember what I told you and why don’t you and Christine take a few days off before starting the next phase. You’ve each done excellent work here and you deserve a break.”

Still stunned Taylor and Christine look at each other in disbelief. Christine says, “This stinks. We better take the days off and think about our next move.”

“You’re right. We need to think about what we are going to do.”

Christine looks inquisitively at Taylor. “What are you planning?”

Taylor sighs. “I’m kind of afraid to voice it out loud, at least not until I think about the ramifications of my actions.”

“Then we are on the same page. Let’s get out of here.”

Taylor and Christine head for their apartments and meet later at Taylor’s place.

CHAPTER 17 - REVELATIONS

Taylor and Christine sit on opposite sides of the dining table looking at each other. Taylor begins, “If we try to find Asterion and rescue him from Burnsom we could be tried for treason, but if we let them to whatever they want to him, then we’ve abandoned him.”

“We can at least find out where he is and try to determine what is going on.”

Taylor laments, “They have a head start. They could be taking any number of routes to either D. C. or some other research facility. How do we even start?”

Christine smiles and takes a tracking device out of her bag. Showing it to Taylor, he sees a map of Asterion’s current location, direction and speed. “I thought it is a good idea to always know where he is at all times.”

Taylor excitedly replies, “We have two days!”

Loading up supplies in Taylor’s car, Christine gets a call on her cell. Taylor listens as she argues with the person on the other end.

“Listen, you have us wrong. We are not creating the devil. We are creating a better world for everyone. They duped us into thinking that the project is for that purpose and we now know that we were deceived. We are attempting to make things right and I need you to help.” Christine listens as the other party speaks and responds, “Okay, we’ll be in touch.”

Christine ends the call and turns to Taylor. “Okay, we’re not in the crosshairs. They have agreed to help us, but you know our lives will never be the same.”

“Who is going to help us?”

Christine responds, “I have a lot of relatives and friends that are Christians and they live all the way from here to Washington.” She turns and continues to load the car.

Taylor is impressed. “Wow, you are full of surprises.”

Christine smiles, “I get by.”

Taylor holds her tight. “We’ll get by together and what happens, well happens. We’ll trust God to guide us down the right path.”

Christine rests her head on his chest and exhales. “Yes.” After a moment, she looks up. “We better go. The car train heading east leaves in an hour.”

“You’re right. If only we could be together without our world coming apart at the seams.”

Christine sighs, “Yea, but at least we are together.” They hug each other tight for a moment and go back to packing the car. Looking at the apartment for the last time, Taylor and Christine speed off into the night.

Arriving at the car train, they get one of the last spots available. Taylor asks, “What direction are they taking Asterion?”

“Still heading to Washington, but they could stop at any of the military bases in between.”

“We’ll get off at a stop near the one they are closest to and hope that they stop for the night.” He turns toward Christine and admits. “How we get to him, I don’t know.”

“If we can let him know we’re coming for him, maybe he can escape on his own. He’s very powerful.”

Taylor looks at Christine. “More than we originally thought. I was going over some of the data and he’s sterile, but he has an abnormal amount of testosterone in his system.”

Christine looks at Taylor with a concerned expression. “Will he get aggressive?”

Taylor shakes his head. “No way to tell. He is the first of his species and there is no way to determine what a normal testosterone level is in his case. However, using similar species levels, he’s off the charts.”

Exhaustion and the rocking motion of the train soon put them to sleep as they travel into the unknown. The announcer calling out the station number awakens them. Taylor looks at Christine and says, “Fort Pershing!”

Christine replies, “Of course, the Rapid Strike teams are there. They know they will be secure there and ready for anything.”

Taylor adds, “And it avoids the obvious locations most people would think of, like Wright-Patterson or the deep underground base under Denver International.

“That leaves us out. But are they ready for Asterion? We’ll stay at a motel at the edge of the base. I’m hoping his nose is as good as I think it is for our sake”

“I hope he does not get hurt if he tries to escape.”

“I’m counting on Burnsom wanting him alive at all costs.”

Taylor and Christine sit on the balcony overlooking the base. Out in the distance they see a large aircraft approach the base. As it comes closer, it’s obviously Burnsom’s plane.

Taylor looks at Christine. “I guess this is his final destination for now.”

“We should have known he would be coming to see his new toy.”

In his flying office, Burnsom is celebrating with Jackson over getting Asterion away from Taylor. “Tom, this is a great day. We will soon have the leader of the legions of beasts, ready to command. They will fight for us. Our conflicts will be virtually bloodless. No one will oppose our actions and if they do, they will soon change their mind. The populace will never revolt against us. They may grumble, but they will accept austerity for safety and security without personal risk.”