Evolution (14 page)

‘Formidable. A powerful female, I imagine.’

I laugh at his description of the woman who considers herself my mother. ‘I honestly don’t know how much real power she has, but she does try to control my life.’

‘Does she succeed?’

‘Not always.’ I think of the procedure I am supposed to have tomorrow that I’ve cancelled. She certainly won’t be pleased to hear that.

‘The thing is, Odysseus, my father and Stella would be furious if they knew I’d even talked to you or Isis. They don’t want me to have anything to do with my previous life as a mutant humanoid. I don’t really care that much what Stella thinks. It’s Father’s opinion I care about. He believes he has a lot to lose if it becomes common knowledge that he and his son were formerly mutant humanoids. I’ve already betrayed his trust by telling you my story. Don’t think I regret telling you. I don’t. It’s a relief to be able to talk about this change in my life to someone who – well someone who has known me a long time, someone I respect – but I do have to ask you to keep my secret. One day I’m sure it will all come out, but until that time can I trust you not to say a word?’

‘I promise I won’t tell anyone what you’ve told me – but I would like to read your journals, to find out in detail what you’ve been through. I’m fascinated by what’s happened to you, both as a historian and a friend. I can assure you if you afford me the privilege of reading them no one else will have access to them.’

He’s very persuasive. Every writer wants his work to be read, but most writers are also afraid of revealing too much of themselves. Yet without that honesty what is the point of writing at all?

Odysseus promises my journals will not be put in the public domain until I am ready and I agree to let him read them.

A call from Father to discuss my postponement of the vasectomy. He knows and respects Dr Atherton, the psychiatrist, and finally accepts my decision to talk to her first.

A little later Stella calls and screeches down the phone at me. I’m obliged to hold the mob-fone well away from my ear to avoid being deafened.

Odysseus must be able to hear every word so I feel obliged to tell him that as far as Father and Stella are concerned my visit here is to have a vasectomy but for me it was just an excuse to see Isis.

‘A vasectomy? Why? Have you got a girlfriend?’ he asks.

‘No. It’s preventative surgery. They are scared I might father a mutant.’

He raises his eyebrow. ‘And that would be a disaster?’

‘Not for me. For them, yes.’

‘Bit drastic to have that operation when you’re so young.’

‘That’s what I think. That’s why I’m not going to have it and that’s why Stella was screeching down the phone at me.’

He shakes his head slowly from side to side.

Time to change the subject. I suggest we have some coffee and cake. They make particularly good chocolate cake here and I’m becoming addicted to it.

Once we’re settled with our mid-afternoon treat, I ask him about Kali and he tells me that she has been quite depressed since returning to C55, but now Jaga has joined her she seems to have bucked up, determined to make a go of their new enterprise.

‘That was the first piece of advice I gave Athene in my new role as Chief Consultant, to try to get those two together. I’d seen Jaga’s enthusiasm for agriculture in C98 and although her attempts to use the warriors to plant crops and build cottages was misguided, I could see that her plan to cultivate a piece of land could be a worthwhile project. With Kali in charge of the logistics and Jaga overseeing the planting the project stands a good chance of success. Time will tell.’

Odysseus also tells me that Athene is trying to arrange for him to pay a visit to Oasis Museum. He’s looking forward to it.

‘Not only to see the exhibits but also to talk to the curator. I intend to invite him to come and visit our museum too so
that I can show off a bit and demonstrate what we mutant humanoids are capable of doing.’

I begin to think Odysseus and I will never stop talking but there’s a “ping” on my mob-fone. It’s Father asking me to check my pcms. For some time Father and I have been sending each other private messages by personal coded messages and have devised our own pers-code for this purpose.

I ask Odysseus to excuse me, leave him to finish the chocolate cake and return to the privacy of my room to access my mail. There are several pcms from Father. The first reveals an image of man, with a caption from Father.

Do you recognise this person?

I stare at it. A brutish face.

I send a message back.
Yes, he’s one of the men who arrested and humiliated me.’

A message flies back.
Are you sure?

Quite sure.

I sit quite still, remembering that big, ugly mug thrust into mine and the terror I felt as he manhandled me.

And this one?

And there is the other thug. No mistaking his coarse features.

Yes, that’s the other one. Who are they?

Orlando Wolfe’s henchmen. I have no proof as yet that Wolfe is behind the incident, but we have arrested them both and are playing one off against the other in the hope of extracting a confession. I have people working on them.

What methods are being used to “extract” a confession? What does “people working on them” mean? Torture? Can’t be. Father wouldn’t be party to anything like that.

The next pcm says he has found out that Orlando Wolfe is on his way to Hos-sat. He thinks he may be looking for evidence to see if I had an operation here to remove my mutations.

He’s on to us, Michael. There’s no doubt about that. I’ve
informed Mr Spencer and his team not to divulge anything. I’m sure they wouldn’t, but Wolfe can be very persuasive.

Officially, his office says he’s going to Hos-sat on quite another matter. As you may have heard Isis has given birth to a complete and Wolfe intends to stop the child being taken back to Earth. He says it’s not right for a complete to be brought up by mutant humanoids. Michael, I’ve decided to come too and join in the proposed meeting with the surgeon, Mr Spencer and the paediatrician, Dr Carter.

I suggest you keep a low profile. Don’t let Wolfe know that you’re in Hos-sat. Better that you and I don’t meet either. As you will appreciate, we must be very careful not to arouse suspicion at this time.

The third pcm informs me that Stella will be attending the meeting too. As the managing director of Worldwideculture she says she wants to welcome the first baby born to a humanoid for twenty years.

Michael, it’s difficult for me to admit this, but I don’t believe that’s why she’s coming. There are lots of reasons for my mistrust but I can’t go into them now. I’ll discuss everything with you when you are back on Oasis.

I suggest you keep a low profile as far as she’s concerned too. All this cloak and dagger stuff isn’t my style, as you well know, but I feel that I must be at that meeting to keep an eye on what is going on and to intervene if necessary.

One more pcm.

One of my informants believes that Wolfe has a spy in Hos-sat, so do be very careful what you say to anyone who was not part of the original team.

A lot for me to think about: the lack of trust between Father and Stella, Wolfe’s plotting and the possibility that he has a spy here.

A good thing I came to Hos-sat to look after the interests of Isis and her baby. No way will I allow them be separated.

I cannot take part in the meeting, but I must know what is said in it so that I can act accordingly.

I’m about to call Gemma to help me, but change my mind. Better not to involve her. Instead I go to see Janey and Moira, part of the original team.

I’m lucky. They’re on a break. I tell them that my Father is on his way.

‘He’s already here,’ Moira says cheerily. ‘He’s with a couple, a smooth-looking individual with sleeked-back hair and a woman made up to the nines.’

Why does she think that Wolfe and Stella are a couple?

‘Where are they?’ I ask.

‘In Doctor Carter’s consulting room and Mr Spencer is there too. Do you want to join them?’

‘I don’t think I’d be welcome, but I do want to hear what they’re saying.’

I explain that I would like to have access to an adjoining room where I can set up my portable computer and hack in to the conversation.

Moira bites her lip, unhappy at the word “hack.” ‘I’m not sure I want to be party to something like this.’

‘Father knows about it,’ I tell her. This is not quite true. Well, not at all true actually, but surely the end justifies the means.

‘Oh come on, Moira,’ says Janey. ‘This is our Michael. You know he wouldn’t do anything wrong.’

I explain to them my concern about Isis’s baby and that my real reason for being here is to make sure she’s safe and goes home with her mother.

This wins Moira round and she takes me to a room adjacent to the doctor’s consulting room, unlocks the door and leaves me to set up the necessary coordinates so that I can eavesdrop on the meeting.

I adjust the sound and picture until I can see and hear what is going on in the next room. I haven’t missed much. They’re still introducing themselves.

Orlando Wolfe asks Dr Carter in his steely voice if he is sure the child is a complete.

‘I’ve examined her thoroughly. There are no signs of any mutations.’

‘In that case you must give her up to us,’ Wolfe says in a voice that would freeze an equatorial forest. ‘A complete must not be brought up by mutants.’

‘Why not?’ Father asks.

Fantastic question. Wow! Am I glad I decided not to have the vasectomy!

‘Imagine how she’ll feel as she gets older surrounded by those creatures on Earth,’ says Wolfe, his mouth turning down at the corners.

‘Hang on a minute,’ says Father. ‘You’re on the integration committee. I thought you were in favour of mutant humanoids and completes sharing the same space.’

‘I’m open-minded about it. I said we should give it a chance. Judging from the first experiment of mutants on Oasis it’s a scheme headed for disaster. Anyway, back to this case. We have couples on Oasis who, for one reason or another, find it difficult to conceive. It would clearly be better for the child if one of these couples were to adopt it. We all know that it would have a better quality of life on Oasis than on Earth.’

‘We know nothing of the sort,’ says Father. ‘A baby needs its parents.’

‘Not necessarily its biological parents,’ Wolfe declares. ‘Research shows that adoptive parents who genuinely want a child are often better at parenting than natural parents who don’t. This child was not planned. How could it have been? Mutant humanoids believed they were barren.’

‘The child has not been rejected.’

‘Yet.’

A close up of Father’s face, taut, tight-lipped. ‘This is a wanted baby. Isis is thrilled to be a mother.’

Yes, she is, I think. Totally thrilled.

‘Is there a known father?’ asks Wolfe with a note of sarcasm. ‘I understand there’s a lot of promiscuity amongst the mutants in the compounds.’

‘His father is a warrior in C98,’ Father says. ‘I repeat, this is a wanted baby. We cannot in all conscience take her away from her legitimate parents. I’m sure Stella agrees with me. She knows more than I do about the situation.’

Stella hesitates and I see from her face that it is by no means certain that she does agree with Father. This a shock, but I am reminded of several instances when she has shown, if not fear of mutant humanoids, at least distaste: an incredible reaction from someone who professes to be dedicated to Worldwideculture and the well-being of humanoids. Not to mention her knowledge of our family history.

‘Well,’ says Stella speaking very slowly. ‘The girl is OK. Not the sharpest knife in the drawer perhaps and very young to be a mother; but I’m sure she would love the baby and care for it to the best of her ability.’

She pauses and runs her tongue round her blood red lips. ‘The Father is a different matter. He is, as Alexander says, one of the so-called golden warriors in C98. In fact he is one of the ten members of the advance guard who came to Oasis uninvited and landed up in the museum. You will remember that the warriors were returned as part of the treaty we made with Earth when the new CEO was appointed. Since his return, the warrior has been behaving oddly. They say it’s post-traumatic stress disorder but that is a term borrowed from the past. In this context the label is meaningless but there is certainly something unstable about him.

‘One interesting fact,’ she goes on. ‘He hasn’t been to visit his partner here in Hos-sat, even though the leader of the compound gave him permission to do so. I’ve observed this young humanoid on my special website and believe there is something very wrong with him. Mentally. I would want to know more about his state of mind before allowing this humanoid near any child.’

Lies, all lies. She’s the one who is mental, not Dionysus. Father looks shocked, as well he might. He expected Stella to support his argument in favour of the parents – mutants or not.

I note that Stella doesn’t refer to any mutant humanoid by name. She prefers, as always to keep things impersonal. What kind of person is she to have so much control over the humanoids on Earth? I feel like bursting into the neighbouring room and confronting her. She’s so cold, so unfeeling, my would-be mother.

Mr Spencer, the surgeon, speaks next. ‘May I remind everyone in this room that I am in charge of Hos-sat. Any decision to take the baby away from the natural mother without her permission or mine is not going to happen.’ Wolfe opens his mouth to interrupt but Mr Spencer continues, ‘unless it can be proved beyond doubt that bringing up the child on Earth would be detrimental to the baby’s well being. For the moment therefore the baby must remain with the mother until something is resolved.’

Father gives a sigh of relief, looks at Stella and smiles, but his smile soon disappears. She is not looking at him but at Wolfe and they exchange a look that implies complicity. What is going on? Father’s face turns pale. He clearly didn’t expect this reaction.