Unchanged (14 page)

But his unflappable demeanor never slips, even for a second. In fact, he
laughs
. It sounds completely genuine. I wonder if Dane has been training him as well or if he's simply a natural at this.

“You're right, Ms. Chan. It is fairly biblical. With good reason. When we set out to engineer the first human being ever to be created entirely by science, we wanted to choose a title that would serve to illustrate how connected we still feel to the higher power. We aren't trying to
replace
God with the projects we initiate at Diotech. We're trying to work in conjunction with God. God created Adam and Eve in much the same way that we created Sera and Kaelen.”

I can't believe what I'm hearing.

How many times have I listened to Dr. A denounce the Church, claiming that God is a fantasy? A made-up entity to explain things that were once unexplainable? He even told me that science is the “new God.” Except smarter and without the jealous nature.

Which means …

He's lying.

It's suddenly clear to me. He's lying right to Mosima's face. And to all of the viewers watching.

Does that mean I'm supposed to lie, too?

Dane told us to tell the truth. To speak from our hearts. To show the viewers how real we could be.

Dr. A seems to be doing exactly the opposite.

“Sera and Kaelen,” Mosima echoes. “Those are unusual names. Do they have any specific meaning?”

“Of course,” Dr. A says. “We don't do anything at Diotech that doesn't have
significant
meaning. It's our mission statement to make the world a better place. And to do that, you have to start with well-intentioned goals. Sera is an alternate spelling of the biblical name Sarah. We wanted to give it a modern twist. Sera was created first. She was our scientific miracle. Life created right before our eyes. It was quite a thing to see.”

Another lie.

Sera wasn't even originally a name. It was the sequence of genetic code that led to a successful life-form. Sequence: E/Recombination: A.

S:E/R:A.

I'm reminded of this every time I walk by that DigiPlaque in the hallway outside my bedroom.

“Kaelen was engineered a year and a half later,” Dr. A continues, “using a similar genetic blueprint as Sera but with some important tweaks made to give him his own personality and unique spirit. I named him after my mother. Her name was Gaelen. She died in childbirth.”

I never knew the origin of Kaelen's name. I'm not even sure Kaelen did.

And did Dr. A's mother really die giving birth to him?

After the last two lies, how can I be certain anything he's saying is true?

I turn to study Kaelen. The lamps from the stage glow under his handsome face. His mouth is frozen in a slack smile and his aquamarine eyes are sparkling as they stare downward in admiration.

There's simply no other way to describe his expression.

I've seen it on Kaelen's face in the past, nearly every time he looks at Dr. A. But I've never seen it quite so intense before. As though the world could explode outside this studio and Kaelen wouldn't even blink.

“I'm sorry to hear that,” Mosima condoles. “It seems natural childbirth is so risky these days. I suppose it's why many parents opt for alternate methods of bringing life into the world. Methods that I know you at Diotech have been pioneering for years.”

Dr. A nods, wiping hastily at his eyes.

Is he
crying
?

“It's been important to me that no child should have to unnecessarily lose his mother the way I did. The artificial wombs that we released into the marketplace have been extremely popular. Far more so than surrogates were in their heyday. Parents can now travel, work, stay out late, eat and drink whatever they want, while the fetus is safely at home, receiving all the necessary nutrients and care it needs to grow into a healthy baby.”

Mosima reaches out to touch Dr. A's hand. “I can see this topic is a sensitive one for you.”

He nods.

“My reports tell me that Sera and Kaelen were
grown
, for lack of a better word, in wombs not too dissimilar to those currently on the market.”

“That's correct,” says Dr. A. “Although, because Sera was gestated to full maturity at age sixteen, and Kaelen at age seventeen, the technology of their gestation chamber is significantly more advanced. The artificial wombs available to consumers gestate a newborn baby in the same forty weeks it would take a mother to carry the infant to full term. On the other hand, the more advanced womb used in the Genesis Project is able to birth a fully grown teenage or adult human in only thirty-seven days.”

Mosima lets out a low whistle. “Thirty-seven days. That is mighty impressive. Our advance team took some spectacular captures of that womb, which we're going to play for you now. Take a look.”

For a moment, I'm actually kind of excited. Are they really going to show Dr. Rio's lab? The one that's been locked up for more than a year? But as the image in my Lenses shifts, I realize they're actually showing the womb where
Kaelen
was grown. Not me. It's housed in a newer, more modern lab in Building 1 that was dedicated to the Genesis Project after Dr. Rio betrayed the Objective.

The cams zoom in on the large spherical capsule positioned atop a steel pedestal in the center of the room. They swirl gracefully around the breathtaking structure to give the audience a 360-degree view of the various tubes and mechanisms that make it work.

I have vague memories of the womb I was created in—mostly from the first few weeks of my life, when they still weren't certain I would survive, and I needed to be monitored twenty-four hours a day in Rio's lab. I can say with certainty that the contraption I'm watching on my Lenses now is definitely an upgraded version from mine, which nearly makes me laugh. Kaelen even got a nicer
womb
than me.

Of course, the chamber itself is empty now. At the time he was grown inside, it was filled with an orange gelatinous substance that served as his embryonic fluid.

I admit, it does remind me of the giant globe I'm currently standing in.

“Truly amazing,” Mosima chimes in, bringing the viewers back to the studio. “Now, that womb we just looked at, is it used only for ExGens or could it, perhaps, be used to grow a normal teenage or adult human being?”

“Although we've only used this particular advanced womb to bring our beautiful ExGens into the world,” Dr. A replies, “theoretically it could gestate any fully grown human being in thirty-seven days. All you'd need is a piece of DNA and our systems would do the rest.”

“Fascinating,” says Mosima. “So you previously mentioned that Kaelen and Sera were created from similar genetic blueprints. Does that make them akin to”—she circles her hand as she thinks—“brother and sister?”

Dr. A lets out a hearty chuckle. “Hardly! Their DNA is as unrelated as yours and mine. They are in no way familial. All humans, in fact, share 99.9 percent of the same DNA. What Sera and Kaelen have in common is their perfected genetic sequence and robust enhancements. In essence, they are made from the same mold, but contain very different materials. At their core, however, they are quite connected. Which is probably why they fell in love so quickly.”

Mosima reacts as though this is the first time she's heard this piece of the story. Even though I know it's not. “In love, you say?”

Dr. A's expression turns whimsical. I didn't know he was even capable of whimsy. “Yes. Very much so. In fact, we created Kaelen and Sera to be partners. In life and in love. They are what I like to refer to as ‘Print Mates.'”

“Like soul mates?”

“Exactly. A scientific soul mate, if you will. Literally made for each other.”

Mosima puts a hand to her heart. “That's lovely. I can tell you are a romantic at heart, Dr. Alixter.”

He lets out a sigh. “Guilty.”

“So.” Mosima turns serious again. “Is it safe to say that
you
are the brains behind this project?”

Dr. A pauses to reflect.

I feel myself leaning forward in anticipation of his answer. Will he mention Rio? The man he destroyed? Who is now absentmindedly snipping hedges on the compound, completely unaware of his own lost brilliance?

Will he give Rio
any
of the recognition he deserves?

“It's impossible for me to take all the credit,” Dr. A says, rubbing his chin. “Especially when so many talented scientists at Diotech headquarters contributed to the success of this project. But if we're speaking exclusively about who did the actual scientific ‘grunt work,' so to speak, of bringing these beautiful souls into the world, then yes, I suppose that would be me.”

Something hot starts to bubble and burst in my chest.

Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop.

I can feel Kaelen eyeing me from the adjacent sphere but I don't turn. This time, it's me who stares straight ahead. It's not fascination that holds my gaze. It's not admiration. It's not worship.

It's an emotion I only recognize once it's fully coursing through me, boiling my blood and souring my tongue.

Disgust.

Suddenly I feel as though I can't breathe. The curved walls of this egg are closing in on me. I glide my hands against the surface, searching for a lever, a button, a latch. Anything!

I can't do this.

I
can't
do this.

I push against the glass, checking the integrity of the construction. But I already know it's synthoglass and that means I'll never be able to break through.

And even if you could
, a voice in my head demands,
where would you go?

They'd find you.

I brush a fingertip across the genetic implant—the tracking device—on the inside of my left wrist. The voice is right. The satellites would locate me in seconds.

But I'm not trying to run away. I'm not trying to escape again.

I'm trying to get
home
. Back to the compound where I belong. Back within its safe walls and the anonymity of its isolation.

Are you okay?

A ping flashes across my right Lens. It's from Kaelen.

I glance over at his sphere to see he's still staring at me, concern etched into his face. He must be able to sense my panic. I want to reach out to him, to fall into him, let him wrap me up in those strong arms. He would make everything better. If he were next to me now. If I could touch him.

I'm about to send a response when the interview beneath us suddenly comes back into focus.

Mosima is speaking. “Well, you must have seen the droves and droves of protesters outside of the studio this morning when you flew in?”

Dr. A sighs. “I did, indeed.”

“I've never seen such a strong opposition in all my life. Is it safe to say you have a few enemies out there?”

Dr. A smiles wryly. “Yes. It saddens me greatly. But what important figure in history who sought to do things differently wasn't met with resistance? It took Christopher Columbus seven years to find a country willing to financially back his new route to India. Everyone thought he was crazy. Martin Luther King Jr. was killed trying to change the way we think. Would I love for everyone to be on my side? Certainly. Will I stop moving forward just because they aren't? Of course not.”

“Well put, Doctor,” Mosima approves. “I think the question on everyone's mind, however, is …
why
? Why create these two superhuman ExGens? Are you saying that we normal humans aren't enough?”

“Not at all,” Dr. A is quick to reply. “I'm simply of the opinion that if we
can
become better, why don't we?”

“Care to elaborate?”

Dr. A crosses his legs and leans back in his chair. He's ready for this question. It's the one he's been preparing for from the very beginning.

“Look around you, Ms. Chan,” he says in a relaxed but formal tone. “The world is at war.
We
, as human beings, are at war. With disease, with climate changes, with natural disasters. Last year the POK virus wiped out two million people across the globe. Two months ago, Hurricane 981 wreaked havoc on the east coast. Mother Nature is trying to destroy us. We have to evolve. And fast. We don't have time for natural evolution to take its course and make us stronger and more resilient. We won't last that long! The next step in human evolution is through
science
. We have to fight back. And the only way to do that is to make
ourselves
stronger and more resilient. To become more like Sera and Kaelen, who you will soon meet and marvel at for yourselves. I created them to show humanity what our true potential is. To show us that we don't have to lose these battles. We can adapt. We
can
fight back. And more important, we can
win
.”

Dr. A has managed to affect every single person in this studio and, I'd venture to guess, in the world as well. Mosima sits back in her chair, staring openmouthed at him. Activity in the control booth has died down. The technicians appear to have been lulled into a semitrance. Even Crest and Dane—who have heard this before, who work to achieve this every day—are visibly moved by Dr. A's conviction.

And me.

I feel every muscle in my body unclenching. The bitterness in my mouth dissolving. The heat in my blood gradually simmering and cooling.

Dr. A's passionate words have reminded me of why I'm here. Why we're
all
here.

The Objective.

I don't think he's ever described it so eloquently before. So persuasively.

This is what it all comes down to. Saving the human race from extinction. If it takes a few small lies to get us there, who am I to complain?

Who am I to judge Dr. A for a little necessary manipulation? If it saves us in the end, it will be worth it.