The Keras Genome

by Kurtis Eckstein

  The scientists were simultaneously both surprised and unsurprised by Noah’s statement.

  Dr. Anderson spoke as he tried to conceal their hidden agenda, not knowing Dr. Robinson had already shared. “Well, I’m sure Major General Wolfe doesn’t mind meeting that request. He was just upset that one of his best soldiers was put in the hospital.”

  Noah could tell Robinson was resisting the urge to roll her eyes. She helped move the conversation along. “Well now, Dr. Anderson, let’s see this man’s touch of yours.” She held up her hand indicating for him to go ahead.

  “Right. Let’s get some more of your blood Ms. Ross before you become too durable like Noah here.”

  Anderson did actually get the needle in Madison’s arm after a fierce struggle. Noah was surprised they hadn’t thought to ask him, but he didn’t plan on offering. Madison seemed amused too. She probably could have gotten the needle in herself better than the determined male scientist, since she was stronger now too.

  Dr. Anderson finally stood up in triumph. “There! That wasn’t so bad.” Robinson did roll her eyes this time. Anderson didn’t notice and continued. “But I think we should keep this syringe in, and just focus on drawing blood for a while.” Dr. Robinson sat down and began filling tubes again, while Anderson looked at Noah and continued. “And while I am very interested in trying to pin down your exact limits, we need to focus on Madison’s transformation right now. Clearly her durability has increased rapidly in such a short amount of time, which means we can learn a lot more from her at the moment. This may be our only chance to get the data we need to estimate your limits on things that we can’t easily measure…and our last chance to obtain blood containing the Keras genome.”

  Something seemed off to Noah. He understood that Anderson was primarily responsible for the so-called performance testing, and that Robinson was in charge of drawing and examining the blood, but did the military really only have two scientists working on this? Where did they take the majority of the blood after it was drawn? And why did Anderson seem more interested in performance testing than discovering how to create more Keras humans? Noah decided he would ask Dr. Robinson once they were alone with her again.

  The sound of a helicopter caught everyone’s attention. Despite being a military research facility, there had been no air traffic all day. Anderson immediately became very excited. “They’re here!”

  “Who’s here?” Noah and Madison both asked simultaneously.

  Anderson explained himself. “Well, we don’t have the right equipment on hand because we never imagined that Noah would be so durable – I mean bullets won’t even pierce his skin! So, I’ve asked for some specialized equipment from another location.” By the look on Robinson’s face, she hadn’t known that someone had shot Noah, but she didn’t say anything. Anderson continued. “Granted, I think we are going to use it on Madison here instead to monitor how fast her body is changing. We already know that the Keras genome transformation is linear, occurring at approximately three percent per hour. However, I believe that the changes in healing and durability are more exponential in nature.”

  “What does that mean?” Noah wondered.

  Dr. Robinson was the one to explain. “Imagine that you have $2 and it doubles every hour. In the first hour it only goes to $4, but by the tenth hour it would jump from $512 to $1,024. Now, imagine that the $2 was your baseline durability, increasing by over fifty-thousand percent in only ten hours.”

  Anderson seemed slightly annoyed by her simpler explanation. “Well, that’s not exactly how it works mathematically – I suspect the calculations for his actual durability are more complicated than that.”

  “I’m just explaining what you mean. Obviously, it’s more complicated.” Robinson retorted. “Anyway, Dr. Anderson don’t you need to go pick up your toys?”

  “Oh! Yes! I’ll be right back.” Anderson turned around and rushed out of the room.

  All three of them seemed to be relieved to have a break from the eccentric man. Noah used this opportunity to question Dr. Robinson.

  “So where are all the other scientists? Surely you two aren’t the only ones working on this. ”

  She only glanced at Noah, before resuming her focus on filling vials of blood. “You’re right. We aren’t the only ones. We have a much large lab where a team of over forty experts are running various tests. Dr. Anderson and I are just your point-of-contact. There are a lot more people in this building than what you’ve been exposed to. Technically, your very existence would be highly classified, if it weren’t for your rendezvous on live television killing a Keras.”

  Noah groaned. “Could you tell it was me?”

  She shook her head. “No. But the whole world is going crazy right now. The Keras were supposed to be a secret, but now everyone has seen them, along with what looks like a soldier in a red bandana killing them. Many people think it’s a hoax, like a really late April Fool’s joke, but the people who were there in person know better.”

  Madison was suddenly worried. “I wonder why my mom hasn’t called to check up on me.”

  “Communications are scrambled in this area. No one would be able to contact you unless they used a landline or a military channel.”

  “Do you think they would allow me to call my mom and let her know I’m okay?”

  Robinson seemed sympathetic, but firm. “Major General Wolfe won’t allow it. It’s too risky.”

  Noah was irritated again, “Did he forget we came here willingly?”

  The scientist was quick to respond. “It’s better that you don’t involve your parents anyway. You obviously can’t tell them where you really are, and you don’t want to give the military any reason to suspect they know anything.”

  Madison seemed pouty. “Still, I don’t want my parents to worry.”

  “If everything goes well with these tests, then you’ll only be missing for one night. I’m sure your parents will forgive you.”

  Noah was surprised. “You really think they will just let us walk out of here tomorrow, without resistance?”

  The scientist was quiet for a moment as she chose her words carefully, “All I’m saying is that by tomorrow morning, there’s really nothing they can do to stop you.”

  Chapter 19: Tragedy

  Dr. Anderson eventually returned with a cart full of scientific instruments. Of particular interest was a device with a thick spike that measured the pressure resistance of an object. Anderson used the device regularly on Madison’s free arm while Dr. Robinson drew a few tubes of blood every five minutes. Within an hour, Madison’s body had forcibly pushed out the syringe, and that was the end of the blood draws. It didn’t take much longer for the pressure instrument to max out as well.

  Despite the setbacks, Anderson had gathered enough information to use to eventually calculate the rates at which a Keras human’s durability increased. Anderson then used another machine to more accurately estimate the changes in Madison’s improvements in reaction time. She had to press a button in response to the various stimuli, measuring her clicking in microseconds.

  Finally, after Anderson was satisfied with the new data collected, he led them back to the hanger to continuing testing Madison’s improvements in strength and speed. Robinson stayed behind to continue overseeing the blood tests. Among the scientific instruments Anderson had with him was a radar gun used by police to catch people speeding. He used it to test Madison’s max speed – she could already run 44 MPH, which was well above what was possible for even the fastest humans.

  The military hanger was now completely empty except for them, so Noah was the one to help add more weight to Madison’s barbell. The metal plates were as light as styrofoam, as he easily readjusted the weight in increments of twenty-five. Anderson noted that while Madison clearly had a rapidly increasing weight limit, she could seemingly do an infinite number of reps at her max.

  This revelation caused Dr. Anderson to want to see if Noah could lift the three-ton wrecking ball. It had already b
een positioned just outside of the hanger with the massive ball hovering barely a foot off the ground. Noah got under it and attempted to lift the huge piece of steel, but he was unable to. For the first time, he felt fatigued trying to lift it. Irritated by his sudden lack of energy, and by the fact that it felt like the wrecking ball was defeating him, he used his blood to effortlessly lift it high into the air before letting it rest barely above himself again. Noah was glad when the fatigue disappeared after a few seconds. They then headed back into the hanger to continue testing Madison’s speed and strength.

  Dr. Robinson eventually showed up around 8 PM to watched them work, having nothing left to do herself. By the time it was almost 10:30 PM, Madison’s max speed had jumped to 79 MPH and she had already maxed out on the amount of weight the barbell could hold. Robinson had suggested they take a break in a few minutes, before leaving briefly only to return with several cups of coffee for everyone. Anderson and Robinson had already figured out what Noah and Madison already knew – that she would complete her transformation around 2 AM, and both scientists intended to stay until it happened. They wanted to know about any unseen changes she experienced.

  They were also curious when Madison would develop the hemokinesis that Noah had. She had lied to them when they had asked if she could control her blood like him. After discovering from Dr. Robinson that the ability to transform another person into a Keras human might only be temporary, Madison and Noah had both agreed it would be best not to let them know, in case Anderson figured out what Robinson already knew.

  As they all sipped on black coffee, Madison suddenly grabbed Noah’s arm, staring blankly into space. “Noah.”

  He looked at her urgently. “What’s wrong?” She didn’t respond immediately, and he saw that it looked like she was going to pass out. He tried again. “Madison, what’s wrong?”

  All of them looked concerned as they waited for her to answer. Finally, she slowly refocused her eyes and looked at him. “I’m really tired.”

  Just as Noah was about to ask if she wanted to lay down, the coffee fell out of her hand, and her knees buckled. In one swift motion, he released his coffee, letting it fall too, and scooped her up in his arms before she hit the floor. She was completely unconscious.

  “Madison?” He urgently looked at Dr. Anderson. “What’s wrong with her? ”

  Robinson seemed concern, but the eccentric scientist looked more curious as he spoke calmly. “Tell me Noah, what time did you fall asleep last night?”

  Unsure of how this question was relevant to Madison passing out, he answered. “I was awake until about 3 AM, and then I fell asleep until 6 AM.”

  “Were you wide awake until you fell asleep at 3 AM?”

  Noah nodded in confirmation.

  “And how deep was your sleep?”

  Noah realized where he was going with this. “I slept like a rock. What are you getting at?”

  Dr. Robinson seemed confused too, as Dr. Anderson began to explain himself.

  “Well, I did some rough calculations on the changes in durability, and what’s interesting is that around hour thirty, which is just three hours before the transformation completes, the numbers really skyrocket off the charts. I think this is her body’s normal response to such a drastic change on the molecular level.”

  Dr. Robinson now seemed to be more curious about her colleague’s calculations than her concern for Madison. “Just how high?”

  Anderson became overly excited again. “Now you see, that’s the amazing part! If these calculations are correct, then within the next two hours her body will be able to withstand the impact of a nuclear bomb, and by the time it’s done these numbers indicate her durability will have increased to withstand over two-thousand nuclear bombs! It’s a miracle of evolution! ”

  Noah was glad they were so excited about math, but he was annoyed at their lack of concern for the unconscious angel in his arms. Attempting to make it clear he was annoyed, he asked, “So are we done for the night?”

  Dr. Anderson started to answer. “Well…”

  Robinson immediately cut him off, speaking to her partner. “I’ll stay with them to make sure nothing significant happens, but we should let them get some rest.” Noah recalled that she had more information she had promised to share with them.

  Anderson hesitated at first, but then agreed to her plan. He gathered his things, thanked them for a ‘wonderful’ day of experimentation, and then bid them farewell.

  Robinson sighed at his eccentric behavior, and then led Noah with Madison in his arms back into the facility. She took them to a large empty closet that had been decorated with two fold-out beds and a chair. The room was well lit with a bright lightbulb in the ceiling. Noah got onto one of the beds, still holding Madison, and leaned up against the wall with her unconscious body curled up in his lap. Robinson closed the door and sat in the chair.

  Noah began to speak. “Dr. Robinson, I just wanted to say thanks for…” But she suddenly cut him off.

  “Please, you can drop the formalities. Call be Gabriella.”

  “Uh, right. Gabriella. Thanks for all your help.”

  “You’re welcome, but now I really need to share with you some bad news.”

  “Bad news?” He was concerned, wondering what she thought classified as bad .

  She continued. “First of all, I need to tell you about some recent information we discovered about Riley Sullivan. You’ll understand why I’m telling you this in just a moment, so bear with me.”

  Noah nodded in agreement, holding Madison’s resting figure against his chest.

  “They found her mother’s body a few days ago, deceased of course, abandoned in the woods near where she had moved from. They also found her father’s body dead in a closet in the apartment they had moved to in your city. The military confiscated both cadavers, and it was determined that Riley’s father had some Keras genomes in his blood. I suspect that the Keras were able to control him long enough to move Riley hundreds of miles, to get close to you, but then he died from the foreign agents in his body.”

  “What do you mean?” Noah asked.

  “Remember the unique characteristic we haven’t been able to identify? Well, I think it’s important to the Keras because without that characteristic, most humans would die before they can make much use of them, controlling them for only a day or less, compared to being able to control Riley indefinitely. This also means that humans without this characteristic die before the transformation can be completed.”

  Noah was abruptly concerned about Madison, looking down at her. Was she really going to be alright?

  Gabriella noticed his reaction. “Yes, you are correct in thinking that Madison likely doesn’t have that unique characteristic, but I think she will still be fine. ”

  “How do you know?”

  “Well, first of all, the reason I know she doesn’t have that unique characteristic is because neither the Keras nor Riley paid any attention to her. With all the millions of people within hundreds of miles, they were only concerned with you. However, the reason why I think she will be okay is because she was infected from you rather than a Keras.” Noah looked at her questioningly and she continued. “To illustrate what I mean, I’ll use an example. When a baby is born, they virtually have no immune system. This is why breastfeeding is so important, because the mother’s milk actually has antibodies in it that protects the baby from diseases. What happens is that the mother is exposed to the same germs as the baby, and then her body makes the ‘ingredients’ necessary to protect the baby from those germs. So, if Madison had been infected by the Keras ‘germs’ directly, she likely would have died. However, since it happened from you, she was exposed to the ‘germs’ while simultaneously being provided with the necessary ‘ingredients’ to protect her from dying.”

  Noah nodded to indicate he understood.

  Gabriella continued. “In reality, it probably isn’t quite that simple, but that’s basically how I think it works. Now, back to Riley, I w
anted to talk about this mind-control thing.”

  “What about it?”

  “Well, I can’t imagine that the real Riley is truly dead. Either she has somehow been brainwashed, or even more scary is that she might be trapped inside her own body while the Keras control her like a puppet.”

  Thinking back to the previous day, when Riley had woken him up and driven him to school, he suddenly wondered if the real Riley had been deep inside watching helplessly while something else controlled her body. The thought disturbed him. For all he knew, she may have been trying to reach out to him, asking for help. Yet he had been oblivious to it.

  “Do you think it’s possible to free her from it?”

  Gabriella looked at him for a second before responding. “Consider this Noah. Somehow, you either resisted it, or else were able to break free of it. So yes, I do think it’s possible, but I have no idea how it might be done. However…” She paused then before continuing. “You would potentially be freeing her from a living hell only to bring her into another living hell.”

  Noah was confused. “What do you mean?”

  “Riley’s dad was killed by the Keras, and it’s possible that her mother died by her hand. Furthermore, there’s evidence that the Keras may have forced her to self-harm, even shooting herself with a gun, in order to test the limits of the new Keras human they had created. Granted, as you know firsthand, she quickly became too durable for further testing.” Gabriella thought for a moment before continuing. “So, what I mean to say is, if you did free her from her prison, you would be bringing her back into a world where she had witnessed both of her parent’s die, along with memories of torture. But then again, you had lost your memory, so maybe she won’t remember anything either.”

  Noah nodded to indicate he understood the seriousness of the situation. After some thought, he said, “If I can figure out how to free her, I will. I hate to be the one to bring her back into a nightmare, but being trapped inside of her own body is probably a worse nightmare if she’s conscious inside there.”