- This is the thirteenth.
- Thirteenth? I did not think there were so many...
- See this spectacular specimen! It is stronger than the
others.
- Should we work better on it? Their useful life is not
very long, as far as we know.
- Yes, it's true. But this one seems to have more than the others do. Let's
look at it more carefully. It is our responsibility to select only the best of
the best and this one seems to be one of them. It will need more careful
attention.
- The Supreme must know. Are we calling him or reporting directly?
- Neither. We're not going to do anything yet. We have to be absolutely sure
before anything else. If we make a mistake now, the Supreme annihilates us and
you know what happens next.
- I know and I do not like the thought of
it. But we have to keep this secret just between us. We must separate it from the
others or it will be discovered, before we can be sure of anything. It calls too
much attention. If someone sees it…
- I have an idea. Let's take him to the Stellar Station. There it will be well
analyzed and we will be able to check better all the details before it is
ready. I know very well who will take great pleasure in helping us evaluate,
investigate some details and even take care of him…err…it, in the meantime.
He looked seriously at the other man, who soon realized who he was speaking of.
- And what do we do with the others?
- The same as always. Soon they will be prepared, but they will have the same
use of so many others, that were produced before them.
- We'd better hurry then, before somebody comes in here.
Better wait till everyone leaves. Meanwhile, we segregate these others and send
them forward. We cannot arise any suspicions. If we take too long to dispatch
them, the others will think there is something wrong happening in here. We must
also complete the reports and confirm the count.
- I'll do that, so we can handle the rest
of the things later.
- OK. I'm going to close the lab to make sure we have no inconvenient surprises.
We'll be back later.
***
The day had begun normally, like every other, in a routine without surprises. The
Stellar Station was virtually deactivated, with just a few features still
working and had not been visited by many people so often, so it was easy for
the two scientists to go unsuspected.
The Thirteenth was safe. They did not know for how long, however. They had to
be steadfast before presenting it to the Supreme, or they knew they could be
sent to one of the least significant lines.
They had reached their positions
within the structure because they were wise. They also knew that others before
them, who had gone wrong in the selection, had been forgotten in the Glacial Station,
on the other side of the planet, where the anomalies were studied and the
vaccines for the next generations developed. Although it was an important job
in the application, the conditions were restricted and uncomfortable. It was a
rather cruel fate with a very short prospect for the future. It was the reward
for the errors. A second error would be punished more severely.
The Supreme was rigid and devoid of feelings. Things had to work perfectly. As
in a vintage wine, the selection was
very judicious. Only the best could be sent to him, who would then approve,
classify and define their destinies.
The two of them came together and went straight to the depressurizing room.
After changing their uniforms for sterilized clothing, they went to the Council
room where their hostess was awaiting. She received them with evident
satisfaction.
- Well? What do you say about it?
- He's practically perfect. I've never seen one so well done and vigorous.
- Then we got it right. We can take him to the Supreme.
- You were right, yes. But there is a small, but workable, problem.
- Small…?
- Problem…?
They both looked at the woman, who smiled at them and as she got up, she asked
them to accompany her.
***
- Workable? How can this be a workable
problem? We will be damned...
- Calm down. I said it was workable, did not say he was presentable to the
Supreme.
- And now? What will we do? If we are discovered, we will be in a dreadful trouble!
- Dreadful? Is that word still used?
The man laughed. The other looked confused. He had no idea where the colleague
had taken that term from and was not going to ask. He was more concerned with
how to solve their little “workable” problem.
The woman, with deep green eyes, spoke before being asked.
- We must get him out of this station,
before anyone finds out we have him here. It will not be easy to hide him for
long.
- And where can we take it to? We do not have many
alternatives.
- Him… He’s not a thing… We have but a few alternatives. One
is the Glacial Station. Someone who is there owes me a big favor.
- Oh. No. We cannot accept it.
- And what are you going to do? Take him to the Supreme? Leave him here?
- It's a very high risk. And we will not have guarantees that we will be
successful.
- Let me handle this. He can never be brought back here, anyway, unless we find
a way to sort this out. I’ll speak to the Supreme.
The two men did not know
what to say. The woman had put them in check and they had no better
alternatives.
***
- I cannot accept that, Leona. You know he's
unpredictable and no less dangerous.
- He's my brother. I spared his life in the face of a
crime punishable by death… or, at least, a life sentence. He will not
hurt me. I need to talk to him.
- We have not heard of him in years... Why the urgency
now?
- It's a personal reason.
- However personal it may be, he must not be brought back
here.
- I will not bring him back here.
The Supreme did not like
the idea, but he had a lot of respect and affection for the woman. He knew she
was coherent and very responsible. He had endured her decisions and spared the
life of her brother, who had murdered her lover, in front of her. He was sent
to the Glacial Station, along with the scientists, who developed the vaccines
created from the development of a prototype studied by their father.
- You know I do not like this idea at all. If anything
happens to you, I'll be responsible.
- No. I'll be the only one to blame. I'm going to prepare
for the transport.
Leona took the experiment
with her and went where she was meant to solve the small problem, which was
caused by another small problem. At the Glacial Station's transportation
terminal, the alarm went off, announcing the arrival of visitors. A man with very
deep blue eyes approached the room and waited a couple of seconds to see the woman
he knew well materialize. Only she was not alone.
- Leona! What a great surprise! What good winds bring you
here?
The chief scientist was
still the same as he had been when he was in the main building. It had been his
choice to move to the Glacial Station, so he would have time, distance from
problems and inadequate questions, as well as space for his research,
development and production of the vaccines.
Besides the young
scientists who came with him, he had, under his wing, some workers brought from
the cloning center and, to his agony, the only outcast he knew in that world.
The man at the Station, by exile, was very different from the other individuals
of that base and time. He seemed completely out of context and functions. But
at least he was alive. The chief scientist kept him under constant
surveillance, but the initial rebellion behavior had diminished over time. The
man seemed much calmer than when he had been sent to the base and had adapted
to the duties assigned to him. As time went on, he achieved the level of trust
and confidence necessary to work in the logistics of shipping and storing the vaccines
for the inhabited stations.
The chief scientist
turned off the power field at the transport terminal and stepped forward.
- I see you brought someone over.
Leona smiled and greeted him, but there seemed to have a cloud upon her head and face.
- Look at this specimen. We first thought he was the most
perfect sampling to be proud of, but look at this.
- Ah! I see.
- We could not take him to the Supreme, until we were
absolute sure he was presentable and now we can no longer do it for this
obvious reason. And leaving him there would be the same as admitting we had
made a big mistake.
- And what can we do?
- I hoped you could help me decide. I have an idea and I
need your help to put it into practice.
***
- I cannot accept it, Leona. It's very dangerous.
- But it's our only option… besides...
-The chief scientist's eyes widened. He could not admit
the other alternative. He was trapped. Either he accepted one thing or another.
In any case he was in check.
- I cannot take care of him. I have too much work to do. I'll
have to find a way...
- I think that might be easy to deal with. The logistics
manager owes me a favor.
- Oh. No. No. No.
The little man was
afraid of the consequences. He could not accept such a responsibility.
- Let me handle this.
- Leona, that's very risky. If anything happens, we'll be
both responsible.
- I know. But what can happen? We are dealing with
something that does not exist, after all...
The man looked at the
visitor with a little concern. She seemed too cold in the face of that problem.
That was not the Leona he knew.
For some reason it
seemed to him that there was something behind that mystery. He just hoped it
was not a problem for him and his future at the Station. He considered his work
and his position with great appreciation. He was not at the Glacial Station
because he was banned or because of demerit, but by choice. The legacy of
Leona's father, which had been improved throughout the ages, was his greatest
pride. He was living proof that the vaccine was effective.
And so was she.
The scientist, Leona and
her brother, before all the others, have been the ones to test new versions of
the vaccines voluntarily...
Now there was a
mutation... a problem to be studied; a riddle he still did not know how to
solve.
The old scientist looked
at the clone and set it on the laboratory table. He unwrapped it completely
from the sheet that housed it and said.
- Let us then try to unravel this mystery.
Leona smiled and said
she was going to see her brother. She had things to deal with. She knew there
was another alternative, but it was not time to mention it.
The old scientist came
and went back to the object of his attention. He was no longer interested in
the conversation Leona was going to have with her brother.
- So, my boy, how did this happen to you? Was it a side
effect of the medications in your body?
The pale creature looked
at the little man with quiet eyes and almost no expression shown on his face.
The man began to examine the experiment and decided to take blood samples to
analyze the mutations in his DNA. Before making any decision, he had to know
what he was dealing with.
On the other side of the
building, at the end of a long corridor, Leona had a very firm idea in mind,
hoping it would work properly...
