Genesis (The Exodus Trilogy) (15 page)

Isabella Solis remained quiet, and Thomas wondered what she was thinking. He felt nervous around her. She was an impressive figure, and even more so, considering she was the mother of the woman he loved.

“Your team has done a great job, Thomas,” Tina said, and Thomas turned his attention to her. “But you won’t stand a chance. And you know it. Those things are huge!”

Tina and Kenneth must think he’d gone bonkers, and there was no telling what Isabella thought of her future son-in-law. Havelar though, seemed to be considering something, and Thomas hoped the former governor would have some brilliant idea; he certainly didn’t. In fact, Thomas had no idea why he had said anything at all. He just felt so… useless, in the face of this overwhelming force.

“Wait,” Havelar said, “he’s right!” Everyone turned toward George Havelar, who looked alive again.

“We don’t need to worry about the size of the nukes. In fact, we don’t have to move them at all.” Thomas noticed Tina shaking her head slowly, while Kenneth and Isabella looked as puzzled as he.

“No,” Tina said, “it too dangerous. What if they get their hands…”

“They won’t!” Havelar said, affirmatively. When she didn’t budge, he continued.

“We do need some leverage, just like Thomas said.” He looked over at Thomas, and there was a fondness in the older man’s eyes, regardless of the fact that Thomas had been subverting him from the very beginning.

“I knew that young man was special…” Havelar said, almost too quietly for anyone to hear.

“If we control the nukes, they will have to listen. We can make demands. And I think they would comply if we let them have one of the continents. As far away as possible, of course.” Thomas felt a spark of hope kindling. This war wouldn’t be won on the battlefield; it would be won at the negotiating table.

“I will do it,” Havelar said. There was a spark in his eyes now, and the brilliance that had once made him the most successful businessman on Earth, and the de facto leader of the Exodus project, was back. The transformation was sudden; it was as though the old leader had found himself again, and now he was bursting with energy.

“I am the only one who can control the remaining nukes, and the access codes are right here.” Havelar pointed at his head.

“It can only be done from within the administration complex,” Thomas interjected. Havelar nodded.

“Yes. But you see, I think there might be a solution to that. Although most communication is disabled, there has to be a zone within the occupied area where some frequencies are still open. If I had access to those frequencies, I could relay a signal and establish a link. Once that link is in place, we only need a data burst of a single millisecond to activate the missiles. They could be controlled from the Stronghold, and there would be nothing they could do about it. We would be in total control then.”

“I guess it’s possible…” Tina said.

“There’s just one catch,” Isabella Solis said. It was the first thing she’d said since the discussion started, and everyone turned toward her.

“How on Earth are you going to get inside the building?”

Tina hammer

She had watched them both awake, and though they both had been heavily sedated, the drug wore off more quickly than expected. The parasite, Tina thought. It had some amazing abilities, and actually seemed to take good care of its host. Alas, she had also seen the negative effects of its control, and she hated it.

“So, in the end he saved your life,” Lisa said quietly. Tina nodded. Ben had lost control, killing the young messenger and almost killing both Lisa and Drew, but in the end, he had redeemed himself by protecting her. Just thinking about it made Tina choke up, unable to say anything. Thankfully, Doc Bowers was also there, and he was fully familiar with the story.

“He did,” he said.

“Now, you have to remember that Ben had been through a lot, even before leaving Earth. There are no indications that you two will lose control as he did.” Drew frowned at the doctor’s explanation, but said nothing. Tina had her own ideas, and she thought they would be better off without the parasite. Lisa, on the other hand, was nodding, with a faraway look.

“If we could only control it… You cannot understand what it feels like, to be able to do anything… But we need to control it…”

“No.” Drew cut her off. “It’s too dangerous. Who is to say we won’t end up like Ben?” Doc Bowers coughed lightly, and Drew waited for his response.

“Your wounds were fatal,” he began. “Both of you should have been dead long before we got you treated. But that didn’t happen. As it is, you will both recover from your wounds, bearing nothing but superficial scars. Which, I should point out, is nothing but a medical miracle.” The doctor paused.

“The parasite protected us, didn’t it?” Lisa said, and Doc Bowers nodded.

“Yes. You were extremely lucky. It is as you said, the parasites protected their hosts. Otherwise you would be dead.”

“And the parasite would have been dead, too,” Tina said.

“Exactly!” the doctor said. “In the interest of self preservation, the parasite protects its host. And here’s the thing, it didn’t fight the sedatives.” Tina didn’t understand, and when no one replied, Doc Bowers continued.

“You see, if it were truly a parasite, it would have fought the sedatives, as they put the host in a vulnerable situation. But it didn’t. Which tells me it’s learning. Also, it tells me we can develop a cure, or rather, something that lets the parasite or whatever we decide to call it, live, while protecting the host from harmful influence. And the first thing we need to do is make sure it doesn’t control the mind of its host.” Drew raised a hand to get the doctor’s attention.

“Look, I… I’m glad to hear you may be on track of some kind of cure. I don’t trust this thing, but if we can keep it in check, I guess that’ll have to do. Whatever happens, I guess we’ll always be different. I just don’t want it to
change
me, you know what I mean?” Tina looked at this young man who had gone through so much and still lay there with a sparkle in his eyes, determined to remain true to himself.

“What if we have children, will they be carrying it, too?” Lisa asked, and Tina looked at the doctor, who scratched his chin.

“Truthfully? No way to tell. We’ll just have to deal with that whenever it comes.” He cocked his head at her.

“I would suggest you wait a few years though, young woman,” he said. Lisa giggled, and Drew grinned at her. There would be all kinds of questions when it came to the parasite, and most of them would have to be answered sooner or later. And of course, all this had happened because three kids had decided to remove their facemasks, to breathe freely. It would only be a question of time before others did the same thing. Or had an accident, causing them to breathe the Aurora air, letting the parasite into their respiratory systems, infecting their bodies, festering on their minds. They needed to know the consequences, both here and now, and in a generation. Because it would happen again, one way or another.

george Havelar

George Havelar felt a trickle of sweat run down his back as he approached the enemy soldiers. He was careful to keep his hands up high, palms facing the soldiers. No sudden movements. Someone shouted—Chinese? He couldn’t tell; he was awful when it came to languages other than his native tongues English and Spanish. He had tried to learn Russian once, but gave up after two classes. He just didn’t have the ear for it. He couldn’t tell Russian from German, which he was told were pretty damn different from one another.

“Don’t shoot. I am Governor George Havelar, and I speak for the Aurorans,” he said, as loudly as he could, but careful not to shout. No need to frighten them, in case they didn’t speak English.

He noticed some of the soldiers taking up positions, watching the surroundings woodland, while three of them came toward him. Two of them were covering him with rifles, while the third—obviously the one in charge—gestured for him to get down. At least that was his interpretation of it, and what he would expect. Havelar knelt, all the while keeping his hands high, clearly visible. The one in charge stopped a few meters in front of him, while the two other men continued until they were right next to him. One of the men shoved him roughly to the ground, and the other kicked him in the side, forcing the air out of him. Havelar braced for another kick as the two men shuffled their feet to kick him again. The one in charge barked an order, and the men held back. Havelar quietly thanked him; he was no sissy, but he wasn’t a young man anymore, either. He didn’t care if they hurt him, but if he was badly hurt, he wouldn’t be able to get inside the administration building in Fort Andrews.

The soldiers hoisted him to his feet, and he winced from the pain. Still, nothing seemed broken, and as he stood, he didn’t feel too bad. The leader motioned for him to follow him, and he started walking, with the two guards next to him, rifles held ready. The man in charge spoke into some sort of communication device, and after a few minutes, he stopped and faced Havelar.

“You Governor Havelar, yes?” he said.

“Yes I am,” Havelar answered. He held his breath, the tension tearing at his resolve. But he would see this through, one way or another.

“High Commander want to speak to you,” the man in charge said before he turned and started walking again. Havelar looked at his back for a few seconds before he followed. So far, everything was going according to the plan. He felt a prickle of bad conscience for deceiving the others back at the Stronghold, but he’d seen no way around this. Their plan was unrealistic, and it would do nothing to secure the future generations. He had made mistakes, granted, but he was still the only one with the vision to think more than a decade ahead. As far as he could tell, they honestly believed they could threaten the Chinzhoi. He almost laughed at the notion. One of the oldest human cultures back on Earth threatened by two nuclear weapons. It was almost laughable. So he had sneaked out of the Stronghold, passing the outposts easily as everyone was watching the entrances to the south; nobody expected anyone to sneak through from the north.

His feet ached. These oversized boots were necessary, but he’d rather be without the discomfort. But what did it matter? It was all just temporary; once he reached Fort Andrews, neither the bruises from the kicking or the blisters on his feet would matter. The thought made him smirk.

As they reached the town perimeter, they were met by a group of soldiers, one of them clearly outranking the man he’d considered to be the one in charge so far. After a few orders that sounded like gibberish to him, the ranking officer turned to him.

“So, Governor Havelar. I am pleased to meet you,” he said, extending his hand. Havelar took it. The handshake was firm, but not too hard. He looked at the officer’s eyes; they were steady, unwavering. This was a man used to being in charge. Still, he doubted the man was in charge of the entire invasion force. Such a man wouldn’t deign to meet his enemy out here in the open. No, this was a commander of men, but a soldier. He had to keep moving up the ladder in order to get where he could actually produce the result he was after.

“You say you speak for the Aurorans,” the officer said, and Havelar nodded.

“Yes I do.” The officer smirked and cocked his head.

“So, Governor Havelar, why are you here?” George Havelar set his jaw and puffed out his chest. This was the reason he had sneaked out of the Stronghold in the first place. The others didn’t see that this was the only option, that every other path would destroy them all. He knew, though, and he had always put his goals first, never popularity or being liked. He knew he might be condemned for this. He might get a place in the history books, but a place of shame and dishonor. But Havelar didn’t care. He’d always walked his own path, followed his own convictions. And it had brought him further than any human being had ever reached. Why should he change now? He looked the officer in the eye and spoke slowly, firmly.

“I have come to negotiate the terms of our surrender.”

Thomas dunn

Thomas was frowning as he walked through the Stronghold, carrying a heavy bag over one shoulder and a rifle slung across the other. In less than half an hour, he would follow Tina south toward the outpost, with no other plan than to wait for the signal, indicating that Havelar had managed to transfer control of the nukes to him. That part of the plan was still in effect, or so he hoped. Havelar had sneaked out this morning, and Thomas hoped it was just the strain of the situation that had made the former governor leave without notifying one of the others. He hated to think of the alternative. He didn’t trust Havelar, and wouldn’t have put it past him to abandon everyone else if he could broker a deal with the Chinzhoi, leaving him on top of things again. Thomas still believed his team might have been able to infiltrate Fort Andrews, but everyone had thought Havelar’s plan had a better chance of succeeding. That was
if
the man still did his part. He didn’t know Havelar’s agenda. In the current situation, they probably had a common interest, but Havelar was a man known to do whatever it took to achieve his goals.

His frown gave way to a big smile as he saw Maria walking toward him. She was smiling, as well, and there was something… radiant about her. They embraced, and Thomas noticed her hug was a bit tense, and she squeezed him a little harder than expected. It was as if she didn’t want to let go. No wonder, since they’d barely seen each other since that night… He sighed, wishing he could stay with her.

“You really ought to see it, the cave, I mean,” Maria said when the embrace ended. Thomas knew about the Akhab, but with the war, there was never enough time to learn more about these fascinating creatures.

“What do they think about us?” he asked. The Akhab seemed a peaceful group, and seeing how humans fought among themselves had to be disturbing to such a species.

“Actually, they seem to like us. For some reason, they know a lot more about us than you’d think,” Maria said.

“Yeah. It’s as if they were used to humans. I know about the murals, but it’s just too fantastic to believe that they have actually been in contact with humans before,” Thomas said.

“Well, it seems their ancestors have. And even more astonishing, I believe there might be Akhab on other planets, as well. They seem to have some sort of telepathic communication amongst members of their species—star sentience, they call it—that gives them some kind of collective memory.” Thomas frowned, not sure what to believe.

“But how is that possible?” he asked. “They don’t seem technologically advanced. How could they even consider the concept of interstellar communication?”

“That is a mystery,” Maria acknowledged, “but there is an even greater mystery. The murals depict humans, there’s no way around it. The way I see it, I cannot possibly think of any other explanation except that the Akhab must have come here, to Aurora, with those humans.” Thomas shook his head. It was mind-boggling. But as interesting as the Akhab were, he couldn’t think of anything but the woman in front of him. He noticed the glow on her face, the cute dimples just outside the facemask, the smile within the transparent plastic. She was so stunningly beautiful! He must have looked foolish, because she seemed to notice. Her smiled broadened, and her eyes were sparkling. And there was something… secretive about her, something he hadn’t noticed before.

“What are you not telling me?” he asked, nudging her. She looked down and avoided his eyes. Her smile never left her lips though.

“Do you love me?” she asked, out of the blue. “I mean, truly love me, like… Could you see yourself starting a family with me?” Thomas was lost for words; he hadn’t seen this coming, although his feelings for her had been deepening for a long time now.

“I… You know, I’ve been doing this for so long… Spying, plotting, scheming…” he said, unsure how to proceed. She didn’t say anything, though, so he forced himself to try to explain.