Fractured Earth Saga 1: Apocalypse Orphan (14 page)

“I think he will help us if he can,” Haakon answered. “He seems to be a man of honor. He also seems lost. Some grave tragedy hangs over his head that causes him great pain. I’m sure he will return, and hopefully, the king can convince him of our need.” Haakon’s eyes fell on Nala as she watched the man leave, a slight flush in her cheeks. He scowled at her interest in the stranger.

Part 3

Super Human

Chapter 9

W
olf entered the dense forest, looking over his shoulder several times to make sure he wasn’t being followed. In a whisper, he asked, “Syn, is anyone near us?”

After a few seconds, Syn responded. “No, Commander. We are alone.”

“I need answers. Something is not right with me. Prep the medical computer for blood and DNA work. I want a full analysis of my blood as it is now compared to what it was before I went into space.”

“I will have the medical computer ready when you return.” After a pause, Syn added, “Commander, a low pressure front is forming over your area. I estimate in ten days the storms will break. I can go stealth mode and pick you up if you wish.”

“Go stealth, Syn, and head this way. Let me know when you are near.”

“Initiating pre-flight check, Commander. I will be at your position in seven minutes.”

Wolf glanced around and spotted a hill a few hundred yards to his right that would hide him from casual observation. “There’s a hill close nearby, Syn. I’ll wait there. Use my personal locator to pinpoint my position and then go to stealth mode.”

“I copy that, Commander.”

Wolf walked to a grassy area at the base of the hill and sat down. He was thinking about what tests to run when several DNA tests bubbled up in his thoughts. He didn’t understand how it was possible, but he knew how to run them and how long the results would take. Wolf was by no means a stupid man, but he had always been indifferent to science and book learning. He had done just well enough in school to pass. Now, all he had to do was to think of a problem and he knew the answers or how to find them.

“Syn, how far out are you?” Wolf asked impatiently.

“Not far, Commander. Four minutes and I will be in your visual range if you want me to turn off stealth mode.”

“No, leave it on. I just need some answers.”

“Perhaps I can help you, Commander. Ask me.”

“How do I know the formula for making stainless steel, or gunpowder, or a hundred other things?”

“That is easy, Commander. I taught them to you.”

“Taught me? When did you teach me?”

“Commander, you and I have been alone for fifty thousand years. I watched over you as you slept in cryonic suspension. I had to keep your mind engaged or you would have become vegetative and most likely died of a cerebral embolism. So I read to you. I read everything in the library…several times.”

Syn continued: “My computers have one thousand petabytes of storage capacity. Before Nomad impacted, I downloaded entire libraries from MBR, ISS, and the Savior spacecraft. By the time we were out of signal range, I had downloaded ninety percent of the known literature humans had acquired since the dawn of recorded history. I also downloaded most of the audio and video available. Although it was unproven in the past, the theory behind subliminal learning is that the subconscious mind is never asleep. It exists apart yet is integral to functions of the human body. Even while you sleep, the human mind is awake in a super-heightened state.”

Wolf gazed into the distance, studying the landscape of this primitive world as he listened to the feminine voice of a supercomputer built fifty millennia ago. He understood every word of Syn’s explanation, and he was amazed that he wasn’t yawning or his mind wandering off to other things.

“Psychologists long believed that the central part of the subconscious brain manifests in dreaming. In sleep, however, your state of unconsciousness is just that—a state where the conscious mind is inactive to a certain extent. In the dream state, you humans feel real emotions of fear, happiness, desire, love—all heightened to a level where you believe you are in those situations. Man makes vivid reproductions of the subconscious mind, taking from dreams and converting them to personal experiences. Through this, we know that the subconscious mind can absorb information viewed or experienced during the day. The applications for tasks such as learning and mental focus are astounding. You are proof that this works. Of course, it is a moot point now,” Syn explained.

“With subliminal learning, embedded messages pass through the conscious mind and into the subconscious. While you were in this state, the information I downloaded was sent to the storage areas of your brain, highlighted by my voice. I programmed your subconscious mind for that state by repetition of the information, and when I did that, you experienced an accelerated learning regime.”

“Shit. I understood all that.”

“I assumed you would. Commander, I can say I know you better than anyone else ever has, or ever will,” Syn declared in a peculiar tone that seemed proud, almost loving.

“Syn, that’s so human of you. Are you coming alive?” Wolf asked with a chuckle.

“Only you can make that happen, Commander,” the computer answered.

Startled by what he thought he heard, Wolf asked, “What did you say, Syn?”

“I said, I am less than a mile away, Commander.”

“Oh, I thought I heard something else.” Wolf looked in the general direction of the ship and saw a faint glimmer in the sky. If he had not known what to look for, he would not have seen the shuttle streaking towards him. Stealth technology had been developed by the military. It consisted of a series of nano-cameras and projections, and it was so unsophisticated it was scary. A series of wide-angle nano-cameras on the top of the craft projected the sky above on the bottom of the craft. This principle was employed all over the shuttle. It broadcast the right side to the left, the top to the bottom, and vice versa. It was almost seamless at low speed. At high speed, it flickered a little with the panorama. Wolf’s mind drifted to the cloaking technology’s minor drawbacks, and in a flash of insight, he knew how to enhance its effects. He would have to file that away until a later date.

Syn landed Atlantis and opened the door under the craft at the rear, between the wheels. Wolf ascended the ramp into the lighted interior and sealed the compartment.

“I am heading to the med unit,” he informed Syn. “I want to run DNA tests, starting with predictive and presymptomatic tests. I’ll use these to detect any gene mutations associated with disorders that appeared after my birth.”

“You forgot the password, and I know what the tests detect, Commander. What other tests would you like?”

“Sorry. Let’s run a complex Carrier test. Then run any other tests you can think of.”

“I will run multi-spectrum tests of your DNA to see what strands are affected. We will know in a few hours.”

A small handgrip extended from a slot in a polished lab table, and the grip had several small holes in it. “Place your hand on the grip, Commander. I need your blood to perform the test,” Syn directed.

Wolf grasped the handle. A moment later, needles shot out to extract his blood; but a buzzer sounded, signaling that the test had failed. The micro-needles couldn’t penetrate his palm.

“Commander, we have a problem. I can’t extract blood from your body. This will hinder all tests.”

Wolf thought about it and then bit hard into his tongue, drawing blood. He inserted and then removed a finger from his mouth, observing blood on it. “Extend a needle, Syn.” A small needle came out of the handle, and Wolf spat blood into a Petri dish. He placed the tray under the needle and it sucked up the blood and saliva.

“That’s enough, Commander. I have all I need. I suggest you rest for a while. Eat, wash, and sleep now,” Syn said with authority.

“Yes, ma’am,” Wolf laughed and followed the computer’s orders.

Thirty-four hours later, Syn softly called his name to awaken him.

“I’m up, Syn. What have you got?”

“It is not good, Commander. I show several mutations in your DNA. The MSTN gene and the FBN1 gene are the ones that concern me. Mutations of the MSTN gene cause the body’s cells to make little or no myostatin, which results in too much muscle growth. A mutation in both gene copies causes significant increases in muscle and strength. Both of your copies of the gene show mutation, creating your immense power.” Syn paused.

“What else, Syn? Tell me the rest,” Wolf said with apprehension.

“You have a form of fibro dysplasia ossificans progressiva. Your skeletal system is generating a massive bone structure because of this. For reasons I do not understand, you have it under control. While you were asleep, I performed an X-ray scan of your body, and I show your bone mass has tripled. Your chest cavity is enclosed in rock-hard bone. There is no longer any space between your ribs. The bones have fused together, making a ‘suit of armor’ over an inch thick to protect your vital organs.” Syn paused again.

“Please, Syn, continue. I want to know the good, and the bad,” Wolf said.

“Your FBN1 gene is also mutated. This gene provides instructions for making a large protein called fibrillin-1. These form elastic fibers permitting the skin, ligaments, and blood vessels to stretch. This allows your skin to cover the new muscle mass you are gaining.”

“I have Marfan syndrome?” Wolf exploded.

“Yes and no, Commander. Usually, FBN1 gene mutations cause Marfan syndrome. You have a form of it, but it is controlled. The mutations you are manifesting show an increase of fibrillin-1 protein in your skin. It’s causing a condition called stiff skin syndrome, characterized by extremely hard, thick skin covering most of the body. You have these abnormalities but none of the debilitating effects that usually accompany them. In other words, all of the good and none of the bad.”

“So, I am riddled with disease and mutated. How did this happen?”

“Speculation only, Commander. We were exposed to high levels of radiation for many centuries. Some forms of it even I can’t identify. This planet also has several gasses permeating the atmosphere I can’t identify. Your DNA changes are not in remission, but they will not require medical treatment to control them, which is odd. They are regulated perfectly, working in conjunction to make you unique—a superhuman. You should not get any larger than you now are, but with the reduced gravity, increased oxygen and nitric oxide, and other unidentified gases on this planet, you will continue to grow stronger. Your strength will be many times greater than a human male from your era, and I think it will further increase. Your skin is as hard as granite, and your bones are as sound as an eight-inch steel beam. I have calculated your new weight, and you have gained one hundred pounds. You now weigh three hundred and ten pounds.”

“What are the odds of me passing along any of those traits to my offspring…if I ever have any,” Wolf asked, a note of dejection in his voice.

“Unknown, Commander. You would need to run a Carrier test, but it can’t identify all possible inherited disorders and birth defects. We can also do pre-implantation testing to reduce the risk of having a child with a particular genetic or chromosomal disorder. That would be the safest way to make sure the defective genes are not transferred.”

“It’s moot at this point. Who could love me here?” Wolf asked sadly.

“I do,” the computer answered.

“Syn, you naughty girl! I love you too. If only you were real…” Wolf turned and walked from the room, feeling alone and defeated.

When he was out of earshot, Syn whispered, “Who’s to say I’m not?”

Chapter 10

W
olf pondered the results of his blood workup over the next few days, reviewing the tests again and again. He tried cutting, shooting, burning, and stabbing himself with no effect. He exposed himself to acids, poisons, and radiation. He was not trying to injure himself or commit suicide; he just wanted to see how sick he might become, but he seemed to be invincible. He could draw blood by biting his tongue, but within minutes, the wound disappeared. Determined to test the limits of his physical invincibility, he ordered Syn to take the ship to five hundred feet; then, he opened the rear hatch and jumped. He hit the ground hard, unhurt, but he broke a large boulder into pieces and left a shallow indentation in the soft earth from his impact.