Farima: An Afrofuturist Sci-Fi Adventure (The Homo Maximus Saga Book 1) Page 11

  Pressing the AR buttons on her wrist, her black infiltration bodysuit morphs into a different outfit. A casual outfit that will be unsuspecting. The nanotechnology built into the bodysuit changes and transforming at the atomic level. She rushes over to Oba’s body and places the laser pistol in his hand. Acacia knows that since she wore gloves, they will never find her prints.

  When the C.O.M.M. soldiers rush around the corner and into the room, she stands hunched over one of the smaller consoles. She feigns fatigue, appearing to be out of breath. Captain Jeska leads them from the front.

  “Oh my! I’m so glad to see you’re here Captain!” Acacia says. She sells her story like the famed actors from the Isle of Akada where movies are made.

  “What the hell happened in here!?” Captain Jeska asks.

  “Dr. Oba, I don’t know, he must’ve snapped. I walked in and he was standing over the bodies.”

  The Captain, with his helmet on, looks to the soldier on his left and right, but doesn’t speak.

  “It appears he was trying to lower the shield,” Acacia says. She looks and notices a similar, but different group of C.O.M.M. soldiers entering the room. The way they walk is different. The way they stand and hold their MX-87’s is also different. Too much is going on for anyone to notice the deep-cover impostors.

  “He was successful in doing that… but it’s back up now.” The Captain says. “Dr. Buhari, Khalil, is on his way. You can explain this to him.”

  “And that I will, officer. That I will.”

  Chapter 12

  False Accusations

  Node One—Manay City, 2082—Isle of Khalil—Research Building

  Minutes Earlier…

  Natia sits on the edge of her bed. It’s late, very late, but she can’t sleep. There are so many thoughts and emotions racing through her head that her body refuses to settle down and get rest. She hears that annoying ringing sound in her ear again. It’s become an occurrence every night since she escaped Khalil’s SAR nightmare.

  I’ve never seen Khalil like this. He’s gone over the edge to a place I can’t follow.

  A still life-sized AR image of Adan floats in the middle of her modest room. It’s larger and more luxurious than the accommodations of the other scientists. It even has its own full kitchen. Yet it’s nothing like home. A desk on the far wall holds books on genomics, population genetics and other files on scientific research. Amidst the flurry of emotions, an image of Subject Alpha, the Homo Maximus, comes to her mind. The youthful, preteen face of the boy is etched in her memory. She wants to give him an actual name, but the weight of such a decision is too much for her to bear. Not with all that’s happening around her.

  The experience with her grandparents in deep SAR a week ago still perplexes her and the warning they gave about Khalil. After what happened to them right after a perceived victory decades ago, Natia’s eyes twitch at the thought of it happening to her. There is a trend of deaths from her grandparents to her parents. Her own mother was around the same age as she when Natia’s grandparents died.

  She rubs her eyeballs through the lid to make the twitching stop. Instead she feels the veins pulsating to the touch. Will Adan and I suffer the same fate if I try to take in Subject Alpha?

  She thinks about Khalil’s ultimatum, and what it will do to Subject Alpha’s mental development. It will confuse him and cause him to lash out, she’s sure of it. I shouldn’t try to resist the inevitable. I have done that from the very beginning to what end? Khalil has found a way to come out on top each and every time. Araba thinks I should reject the notion of ends justifying means. But it works for Khalil… even though it’s made him half-crazy. But most of that likely comes from the SAR he’s become addicted to. I don’t use SAR, so I should be fine, right?

  Years of indoctrination is hard to overcome for Natia. There was a time when she followed the Buhari Principles as if they defined her life. Now she questions everything she’s ever been taught.

  She looks at the palm of her hands and notices they’ve become sweaty. There’s moisture that’s building upon her forehead as well. She looks at the thermometer and can see it’s seventy-four degrees inside the room. Too cool for perspiration and that’s when she realizes her hands are shaking.

  I’m in over my head. I’m in over my freakin’ head!

  She rises and begins pacing around the room. There has to be a way to fix this!

  It hits her. A connection of certain dots forms a dangerous yet beautiful idea in her mind. She’s been wondering how Dr. Oba developed false memories for Subject Alpha based on Khalil’s real memories as fast as he had. A task that would take months to complete. She realizes she forgot about the old, defunded Legacy initiative. It wasn’t a project she’d been on, but Dr. Oba was, and he retains clearance over the research. At least the best parts that aren’t on the open-source network.

  Defunded, but not lost.

  The Legacy initiative was a failed attempt to erase traumatic memories. A group of scientists from Node Seven thought they could replace those memories with pleasant versions. Members of the Collective, though, thought it too invasive. Thanks to a careful smear campaign in the media, the project lost support at the Great Forum.

  But Khalil gave Dr. Oba his memories, I remember him telling me… and convincing me to go through the process too. I know what I’ll do, Khalil wants his screwed-up memories in Subject Alpha’s head, fine. I can connect my quantum sensor to the terminal inside the Ectogenesis Room. I’ll then upload Khalil’s memory and… reassemble it. I can mix in the memories of my childhood before my parents died into Subject Alpha’s mind. Subject Alpha will remember the “Battle of Charlotte” very differently from what actually happened.

  The idea sends a jolt through Natia’s body as her adrenaline pumps. It’s a long shot, but she doesn’t have many options.

  Natia knows what she’s planning to do shouldn’t be done, that it’s selfish and unethical. She’s gotten in trouble once for altering Subject Alpha’s DNA, but no longer cares. She feels the entire project at this point is unethical. They’ve lost sight of the original goal. Khalil claimed he wasn’t trying to subvert Project Maximus; she now sees that to be the lie it was.

  So this is her twist of the ends, justifying the means. Only she and Khalil have different ends. His violent and warlike, hers non-violent and peaceful.

  Natia looks again at Adan’s life-sized AR picture hovering in the middle of the room. You wait, Adan, we’ll have the family we’ve always wanted soon enough. We won’t have any child, but the smartest and strongest child to ever live. An exceptional child who will become a great man.

  Out of nowhere, a loud alarm rings throughout her room, snapping Natia out of her thoughts. She opens her door and can see red lights flashing in the hallway along with a flurry of commotion. The annoying alarm is louder outside her room than it is on the inside. Alicia, Araba, and Michael all open their doors, they were asleep when the alarm went off.

  “What the heck is going on?” Michael asks.

  Natia shrugs as a group of C.O.M.M. soldiers sprint past them and head upstairs. “Something is wrong. Let’s go see what’s happening.”

  An Hour Later…

  “There’s no possible way Dr. Oba worked alone. No way!” Khalil paces around the floor of the conference room in a fiery rage. The mood in the room is much different now than it had been a week ago when Khalil revealed the Farima to Natia’s team.

  Acacia stands in the shadows of the room with her arms crossed and her face is expressionless. Natia sits in a chair at the opposite end of the table. She rubs her eyes as a headache comes on. Everything that can go wrong is going wrong. The image of Oba’s dead body will forever be in her mind, and she knows it. He was a friend and she just can’t believe he’d commit such an act so close to the ‘birth’ of Subject Alpha. It makes little sense to her. That doesn’t stop Khalil from formulating wild conspiracies in his “augged out” head.

  “I wish he’d shut the hell up!” Natia tr
ies to keep her thoughts to herself.

  Khalil continues his rant. “No, no… he had help. I want to know which one of you put Oba up to this. I want to know what you have planned… now!” He screams to the top of his voice and no one is prepared to take that kind of accusation.

  “I told you, I was in my room, Khalil.” Michael Beverly says.

  “So was I… we all were.” Alicia backs up Michael and the rest of the team.

  “No, no, no. I’m not buying the lies from this team anymore. I know one of you put Oba up to this to make him look bad because I turned him against you and exposed your agenda against me and against New Manden.” Khalil says. His voice becomes high-pitched and shrill, which is unusual for a man with as deep a voice as his.

  The team remains silent with their heads held low. They’re fatigued, distraught and confused.

  “So no one is going to say anything?” Khalil asks.

  Still, silence remains.

  Acacia steps forward out of the shadows. “You all better speak up if you know what’s good for you.”

  Vocal protests erupt. The loudest of all from Natia.

  “If you were smart, you’d shut your mouth right now, or I’ll shut it for you.” Natia springs up and storms around the edge of the table and approaches Acacia close enough to smell her breath. “You were the one who found him right! You tell us what’s going on, you conniving devil!”

  One of the C.O.M.M. soldiers knocks on the door and Khalil opens it. He hands Khalil a small data cube and exits, before inexplicably nodding to Acacia of all people.

  Khalil speaks aloud. “It seems the soldiers could recover some security camera data we thought was lost. When Oba lowered the shields, he also uploaded a virus onto the island’s servers and attempted to delete the camera footage. He was able to knock out our comms though. We’re working on getting that back online.”

  “Good. This should set the record straight.” Natia says before stepping away from Acacia. What was that nod about, I wonder? Natia thinks it strange that Acacia and the C.O.M.M. soldier nodded to each other, but no one else seems to have picked up on it.

  Khalil walks over to the table which has a cube drive and places the cube in the opened slot. All of a sudden, a virtual AR image fills the room and Dr. Oba is seen sneaking throughout the halls on the first, second and third floors. They see the image of Oba killing the two guards that stood at the door before opening fire on everyone in the Shield Room.

  That’s not possible. It just isn’t… why Oba?

  Natia can’t believe what she’s seeing. She looks around the room and sees the shocked faces of her team members. Tears run down Araba’s face as she covers her mouth with her hand. Michael shakes his head and wipes the corner of his eyes. Alicia’s jaw is wide open in disbelief as well.

  “It’s… it’s doctored. Has to be.” Natia says under her breath…not necessarily meant to be heard.

  Acacia hears her, however. “I’m afraid it isn’t. Our C.O.M.M. soldiers have a tough job. Let them do it. Do you seriously think they’d doctor a video? For what? For who? Accept the fact that you hired a cold-blooded killer Natia.”

  Natia walks back over to Acacia and slaps her in the face. “I told you to shut your mouth. The next time, I’m using a closed hand… not an open one.”

  Khalil ends the video, and the lights came back up. “Ok, Natia, go back to your seat!”

  “What did you just say to me?”

  “It seems I can’t depend on you to handle this, so I’ll take matters into my own hands. Everyone will be interrogated starting with you, Alicia.”

  “I don’t have to say anything to you without a lawyer.” Alicia protests.

  “We have AR comms to call your lawyers, but you can’t use them. Blame Oba for taking out our communication relay.” Khalil says.

  “Khalil, please don’t do this.” Natia pleads with her once-sane mentor. “Oba acted alone trust me.”

  “I can’t do that, Natia,” Khalil says when as Acacia steps over to him and whispers something into his ear. “Matter of fact, the C.O.M.M. soldiers have interrogators with them. We’ll be interrogating all of you at once. If you don’t like it, the Worker’s Council will be made aware of your earlier treachery and your careers will be over.”

  “You don’t get to define what happens to us, only The Collective can. What are you? Some kind of ‘dictator-in-the-making?’” Natia pushes back.

  “Ah, so you want The Collective to know you lied to them at the Great Forum do you? Tell me again when they agreed to allow you to alter Subject Alpha’s DNA using quantum biology?”

  “I have scientific leeway. You know as well as I do that every little piece of Subject Alpha wasn’t 100% approved beforehand.”

  “Fine, as soon as the comms are back online, I’ll establish your virtual meeting with The Collective myself. I’m sure they’ll want to hear about it.” Khalil taunts.

  Natia remains silent.

  Everyone looks to Natia, who is all out of options and counter-arguments, except one. “Khalil, I need to upload your memories into Subject Alpha before it’s too late. Did you forget? He’ll be born any minute.”

  Khalil’s face shows that he’s forgotten all about their agreement earlier. “That’s right. Ok, Natia, you do that. Michael, Alicia and Araba follow me.”

  “I’ll need Araba too,” Natia says.

  “Why?”

  “I work faster with her… that’s why.” Natia lies through her teeth. She knows she’ll need her companion for what she’s about to do.

  “Fine. Whatever. Everyone else… time is of the essence.” Khalil waves for Alicia and Michael to follow him out of the door. Acacia is the last one out and she looks back at Natia and of all emotions… devilishly grins and waves goodbye as Natia closes the door behind her.

  “That woman is dirty. I know she is.” Natia says. She looks over at Araba who is visibly shaken and can’t control her muscle spasms. “We’ll make it through this, Araba. You’ve got to believe me.”

  Araba nods her head but doesn’t speak. “Let’s get this over with. After this, I’m done with Endonis… at least for as long as that maniac Khalil involves himself with it. We are being falsely accused and held against our will.”

  “I know. Let’s just get to the Ectogenesis Room.”

  “Natia,” Araba says, “I want you to know you’re awesome as hell. Your composure, even after this has happened, you’re the leader we need right now.”

  Natia’s heart warms with gratitude. She grabs Araba by the arm, and pulls her close and they share a deep embrace. Natia can hear Araba beginning to cry.

  “We’ll overcome this struggle, Araba. Trust me.”

  In her head, Natia isn’t sure how much she actually believes that.

  When they arrive in the Ectogenesis Room, Natia and Araba go to work. Natia uses Dr. Oba’s memory data-file given to her by Khalil from the Legacy Initiative files. She takes an extension that Alicia built for the quantum sensors and connects it to her device on one end and the terminal on the other. The terminal in the room is a quantum computer itself. The computer projects an AR image, and the sensor recreates the memory around her. Natia and Araba look around as if they’re in the middle of a war-torn city during the revolution.

  “Change this immediately, Nat,” Araba pleads. “You’re the only person I’d ever want to be with in a situation like this.”

  “On it,” Natia responds.

  Using the quantum sensor, Natia reassembles the memory around her. She is a painter, and this is her canvas. The smoked-out buildings are now pristine. The destroyed street now appears ready for cars again. The sounds of birds chirping replace the sounds of bullets. Up ahead, Natia envisions Adan walking down the street with a child between the two of them. They are happy. This is the way her life should be going right now. She chose her career over her family, and while she can’t change the past, she can engineer a new future.

  “The Battle of Charlotte, more like the beauty
of pre-revolution Charlotte,” Araba jokes.

  Natia agrees that it’s beautiful, but not perfect. They wouldn’t have the time to perfect it. There were cracks in the memory. Subject Alpha may still have nightmares when he goes to sleep. She doesn’t want to go through with this but is more fearful of what Khalil will do if she doesn’t.

  Natia shows Araba how to upload the files into Subject Alpha’s mind. She decides to take a nap for a couple of hours at least while Araba works on Subject Alpha. A comfy beige sectional rests in a tucked away corner of the room. Her breathing is becoming heavy, and her chest has tightened because of the lack of sleep. If she doesn’t sleep, Natia feels she will collapse. So she plops onto the sofa and sinks into its heavenly cushions.

  Four hours later…

  Neither Michael nor Alicia have returned yet.

  Natia awakens and sees Araba standing with her back against the wall. Visibly nervous and antsy. Natia also notices that a strange group of C.O.M.M. soldiers watch their every move ominously from outside the room. They can see inside through the transparent walls that surround the room itself. They are fixated on the ectogenesis chamber that has Subject Alpha. It bothers the two of them to no end.

  “These guys are coming off like creeps,” Araba says.

  “You aren’t lying.” Natia agrees, sitting up.

  “You know they’ve been standing there motionless for three hours now? Ever since you took that nap on the bench over there. They’ve just been staring me and the chamber down like they’re obsessed with it or something. Like they’re in some weird trance.”

  “Well, Khalil’s reassembled memory has been uploaded. So now all we do is wait.” Natia says while thinking to herself, “what else could go wrong?” As soon as she thinks that, Subject Alpha’s completion meter goes from 99% complete to 100%. The ectogenesis chamber begins beeping and buzzing. The chamber cracks open and the lid lifts up before laying open on the opposite side.