Genomorph

Chapter 61

CHAPTER 61

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2005
0200 EST

Karen and the rest of CTAG had spent the past eighteen hours scouring through the thousands of files that had been recovered from the house. They had amassed a substantial amount of evidence that showed beyond any shadow of a doubt that the organization had been planning to subvert the government of the United States since the early seventies. Every action they had taken was directed at securing Forerunner technology that would help them.

Karen had instructed the analysts to bring any file that mentioned the word Genomorph to her immediately. As she studied the files, she learned at last what the organization’s plan for her friend had been. They had realized from the start that turning the government into puppets would not be sufficient; the United States, despite its many flaws, was still a nation of people who loved liberty above all else, and no matter how completely they infiltrated the military, government and press, eventually there would be revolution. But an army of Genomorphs could put down any revolt. They had intended that Brandi be the mother of that army.

Though Karen had only a very rudimentary understanding of what had been done to Brandi, even she could see that their plan was based on a very large assumption: that any children Brandi bore would carry the warrior genes and any of the Forerunner genes that were also necessary for the transformation. Their hope was to eventually locate another candidate like Brandon, a male possessing the necessary genes, providing them with a breeding pair and eventually a second candidate for transformation.

There was much more information, even more disturbing, discussing methods of insuring multiple births to increase ‘production’. There had never been any real intention to use Brandi as an assassin or other type of operative; she was far too valuable as a breeder. The very thought made Karen feel sick.

The entire plan had one glaring fatal flaw; it rested on them being able to control, or at the very least contain, Brandi, something they had been unable to do. Her warrior genes had prevented them from controlling her, and the abilities they had given her provided her the means of escaping their clutches.

“Thank God for that,” Karen whispered, shuddering as she realized the future that could have awaited the girl she loved like a sister.

“Karen?”

Mira’s voice startled her, and Karen practically jumped out of her chair. Mira tried to restrain herself but burst into giggles anyway.

“Sorry, that was just so funny,” she said when she was back in control. “I have something to show you.”

“I was really involved, I guess,” Karen said as she rose.

“I haven’t seen someone jump like that since I caught my brother cruising porn sites on my computer,” Mira said.

“Ugh! I have developed a special loathing for porn sites,” Karen told her. When Mira gave her a quizzical look, she added, “Let’s just say I have a very good friend whose life was practically shaped by them.”

“That sounds like an extreme case of porn addiction,” Mira said.

“Not exactly, and it wasn’t her choice,” Karen said, earning her another look. “Maybe one day I can tell you all about her, or better yet introduce the two of you.”

They left the Pit and went to the server room. Mira led Karen to her station and gestured to the screen.

“We broke a major portion of the encryption,” she said. On the screen was a document consisting of a seemingly endless list of names and personal data.

“What is it?”

“I think it’s a record of every sleeper they programmed,” Mira said.

Karen stared at the screen as the list of names scrolled down. There had to be thousands of them, ranging from the highest levels of government in Washington down to the state and even municipal level. There were members of the armed forces and the media, as well as business and civic leaders. In many, the programming had been planted years ago, when they were just beginning their careers. Over time, others who were part of the plot because of their own greed for power had made sure these people were given the necessary opportunities and promotions to place them in useful positions.

The list included current addresses and occupations, as well as other personal data such as marriages and divorces. It detailed when and where the programming was introduced and to what level. Some were programmed simply to follow the party line once activated, others to take a more active role in the new regime. Many were just random, ordinary people who were programmed to watch and inform.

“My God, they were building their own perfect fascist state,” Karen said.

*****

Brandi was getting annoyed, which only added to her cold rage. So far, every security guard she had encountered had immediately dropped his weapons and gone to the cafeteria when she told him to. But despite the lack of resistance, she had been unable to find Mitchell. She had caught his scent a few times and finally tracked him to what had been Susan’s office on the first level, but he was gone by then, and so were Susan and Barbara. She was unsure why he had come there, unless he had become suspicious of them and/or had decided Susan, even in her programmed state, would make a useable hostage.

She left the office and searched the rest of the first floor, but could not detect her target, so she went back to the stairwell. He had to still be in the lab, so he had somehow gotten past her and gone back down. As she reached the second level, she felt it – power emanating from below. She immediately knew what it was; the GMU had been activated, and she also knew why Mitchell had come to the office. She virtually flew down the stairwell, leaping over the railing at the last landing and dropping twenty feet to the bottom floor.

As she reached the door to the GMU chamber, she could feel the power dropping as the GMU cycled down. Whatever had been done was over, and she lost precious seconds bypassing the security system on the door. She rushed into the chamber, determined to finish Mitchell before he could utilize whatever alterations he had forced them to make.

She was not at all prepared for what she saw; on the table in the crystal chamber was a pretty blonde-haired girl of perhaps fifteen. She was sleeping peacefully as her body continued to adjust to the radical changes made to it.

“What have you done?” she screamed at the two figures behind the glass of the control room window. Susan appeared at the door, her face drawn and pained.

“What I had to do, Brandi,” she said, her voice low. “I couldn’t let you kill him out of hate.”

“You think I won’t kill him just because you made him a girl?” Brandi hissed, moving towards the chamber. Susan moved quickly and blocked her path.

“Evan Mitchell is gone,” she said. “That girl has no memory of him at all. She will awake with the ability to function, to speak, read and write and such, but she won’t have any memory of her past.”

“Then change him back,” Brandi said. She was shaking now, obviously struggling to maintain control, but of what Susan could not be sure.

“You know that can’t be done,” Susan said.

“He killed my parents,” Brandi cried. “I don’t understand how you can protect him … how you can do this to me?”

“I’m not protecting him; I’m protecting you,” Susan said. “You’re being driven by grief and rage; emotions you’ve never truly experienced as a female or a Genomorph. You are capable of tremendous destruction in your present state, but what you are very close to destroying is yourself. I won’t allow that … I won’t let you become the killer they tried to create.”

“I am a killer!” Brandi screamed. “My whole adult life has been about killing! I killed a dozen men just last week.”

“And I killed one. Does that make me a killer?”

Brandi turned at the sound of her own voice, saw her own image. On her own face, she saw love, and yet reflected in her own eyes, she saw a mask of hatred. It was like looking into a mirror that revealed an ugly, black abyss where her soul should be. Then Melissa smiled, a bright sunburst smile filled with love and Brandi dropped to her knees and began sobbing. Melissa walked over and knelt before her, reaching out to touch her face. Brandi pulled away and buried her face in her hands.

“Look at me, love,” Melissa said, pulling Brandi’s hands away.

“No, please,” Brandi begged. “I don’t want you to see me … not like this.”

“Love, I see you with my eyes closed,” Melissa said. “I see you with my heart and my soul; I feel you with every breath I take, and I will never, ever stop loving you, no matter what.

“Whenever you have taken a life, it’s always been to protect and defend. You are not a killer; you’re a warrior. You’re also only human, no matter what that machine did to you. You’ve told me many times that your emotions have been the hardest thing to get used to, and for the first time you felt real pain as a woman.”

“I wanted to kill him so bad,” Brandi whispered.

“No, sweetie, you wanted to hurt him,” Melissa said. “If you had only wanted him dead, you would have killed him in an instant.

“I know how you feel, love. I never told you the whole story of how my parents died. They were killed by a drunk driver; worse, he had been arrested for DUI before. When he walked out of the courtroom with a slap on the wrist again … I hated him. I wanted him dead … I wanted him to feel the pain that he’d inflicted on me. I thought of all the horrible things I would do to him if I had the chance.”

“Does it ever go away?” Brandi asked.

Melissa smiled. “I asked you that once, remember? Just as you told me, the pain fades with time, but it’s always a part of you. But you can let go of the anger and the hate; you have to.”

“I’ll try,” Brandi said.

“I know you will,” Melissa told her. “Now, you need to rest, love, you’re exhausted.”

Brandi sniffed and nodded her head. “I am tired. You look pretty wiped out yourself.”

“I could do with a little nap,” Melissa said.

Brandi rose to her feet and helped up Melissa, who seemed to be very unsteady. Brandi reached out and touched her cheek, and a look of concern clouded her face.

“Melissa, you’re freezing,” she said, turning to Susan. “Why is she so cold?”

Susan touched Melissa’s face and then checked her pulse. It was weak and thready, and she was obviously struggling to maintain consciousness.

“I don’t feel too good,” she said.

“I don’t understand,” Susan said. “Melissa, were you injured in the fighting?”

“She did something earlier,” Brandi said. “When I was fighting Mitchell, I was very weak, and he hit me with one of those damn cattle prods. It felt like Melissa fed me energy somehow.”

Melissa sagged forward, and Brandi scooped her into her arms. Her breathing became very shallow, and her skin took on a pale, pallid appearance.

“Mom, do something, please!”

“We have to get her into the chamber,” Susan said. Barbara nodded her head and moved back towards the control room.

Brandi carried the unconscious Melissa into the crystal chamber, and as she supported her with one arm, she scooped the still sleeping girl from the table with the other and then settled Melissa in her place. She lifted the girl who had once been Evan Mitchell and carried her out of the chamber, noticing the concerned look on Susan’s face.

“It’s all right, I won’t hurt her,” Brandi said as she carried the girl towards the control room. “What’s wrong with Melissa?”

“I can’t be sure until we run a scan,” Susan said. “I suspect she drained herself beyond a safe level when she helped you. Her body is now powered by the same energy as yours, but she doesn’t have the reserves you do.”

Brandi set the sleeping girl on the floor in the corner of the control room. As she turned around, she saw Matt Branch standing in the doorway.

“Matt, could you find a blanket or something for her?” Brandi said, gesturing towards the girl. Branch was obviously confused, but he nodded his head. Brandi was so concerned for Melissa that she did not even wonder how the SEALs had gotten down to the lab.

Matt nodded and left the lab. Brandi watched as Barbara deftly manipulated the control board and felt the familiar hum as the machine started once more. The scanning beam passed over Melissa’s unmoving form, and Susan and Barbara studied the readouts. When Susan turned to face her, Brandi knew it was bad.

“What do we have do?” she asked, not waiting for Susan to speak.

“Melissa needs energy; her reserves have dropped so low that her body can’t sustain itself, and they are not replenishing fast enough,” Susan said. “Both of your bodies are powered by the energy from the machine, the energy used to transform you. When you expend energy, you replenish it by taking in food and to a lesser extent over time. When you enter Zen sleep, you replenish it even faster.

“Melissa was never altered by the GMU; she’s not complete. When she fed power to you, she exhausted her nano-cyborgs, and because she has no built-in reserve they are shutting down.”

“But she’s here now,” Brandi said. “You can complete the bonding.”

“The components on the GMU that created you are damaged,” Susan said. “It needs those to fix this.”

“We’ve been trying since you escaped to repair the Genomorph Module,” Barbara said. “The truth is, we’re not even sure which part of the machine it is.”

“Are you telling me Melissa is going to die?”

Susan’s eyes were brimming with tears as she said, “Brandi, I don’t know what to do … she’s fading, and we can’t stop it. If we get her to the infirmary, we can try to feed her intravenously, but I don’t think it will be enough.”

Brandi did not speak; instead, she walked over to the console and placed her hands on it. The link formed almost instantly, not just with the GMU but with the entire network of Forerunner computers. In a microsecond, her mind was opened to the entire database, only a tiny fraction of which had been translated and studied. It was far more data than even she could absorb, and had anyone else attempted it, they would surely have died or at the very least suffered catastrophic brain damage. Brandi screamed as she felt a pain like her head was about to explode, but she did not remove her hands.

“Brandi, what are you doing?” Susan asked, stepping over to try to pull her back from the panel.

Brandi shrugged Susan’s hands off and said, “Melissa is not going to die!”

Brandi was not anyone else; she was a Genomorph, and as soon as the connection was established, the computer recognized her as such. The pain in her head lessened, and every display screen in the control room lit up and began flashing text in English.

Genomorph Alpha detected … Genomorph override authority recognized … initiating self-repair of Genomorph module….

In the chamber outside, the machine’s hum began rising in volume. The conduits carrying the purple plasma began pulsating, and lights flashed across various components of the GMU. A few seconds later, the displays flashed a new message.

Initiating repair sequence for Genomorph bond mate … Codename: Melissa ….

Susan and Barbara watched in awe as Melissa’s energy readings began climbing. Energy flooded the chamber and saturated Melissa’s body.

Repair complete … downloading DNA profile for subject Melissa … initiating transformation sequence ….

Melissa’s body began to change, her hair darkening and her figure returning to what it had been before the bonding. It only took a few minutes, far less time than it had taken to transform Brandon, but Melissa was already female, so the transformation was basically cosmetic. Once her form was restored, a new message appeared.

Transformation complete … physical appearance of subject Melissa restored … unable to fully restore subject due to insufficient data … DNA not related to physical appearance remains unchanged … behavioral modifications to brain structure have been corrected according to supplied parameters ….

The hum of the machine lowered slightly and Brandi removed her hands from the console. She staggered back and nearly fell, but Susan caught her and supported her until she regained her equilibrium.

“Whoa, that took a lot out of me,” Brandi said. “I have to go into the chamber with Melissa to finish the process. Just press the flashing pad when I’m on the table. When it’s done, we’ll both be out for a while.”

“Brandi, are you sure about this?” Susan asked. “We’ll still know so little about this bonding.”

Brandi nodded. “I’m very sure. I know everything about it now. I’ll explain everything later, but don’t worry; we’ll be fine.”

Brandi left the control room and walked over to the crystal chamber. Once inside, she slipped onto the table next to Melissa and clasped her hand as she lay back. Susan pressed the flashing touch pad, and the machine began humming loudly once more. Brandi closed her eyes, her mouth forming into a smile as she slipped into sleep. The process continued for about fifteen minutes, and as the machine began powering down, the display flashed a final message.

Genomorph bonding complete … Final data matrix downloaded into Genomorph Alpha … Codename: Brandi … Genomorph Protocol fulfilled … Genomorph Module will now be permanently deactivated ….

“What?” Susan exclaimed. “What does that mean?”

As if the machine heard her, a new message appeared.

This unit has fulfilled its programmed function, the creation of Genomorph Alpha … Codename: Brandi ... continued functioning of the Genomorph Module represents a danger to human development … Genetic Modification Unit function will not be impaired ….

In the GMU chamber, there were a series of bright purple flashes, and several components simply vanished. The hum of the unit faded to nothing as it powered down fully, leaving the two young women sleeping peacefully in each other’s arms.