The GFN's first official act was to ban the creation of genetically modified plants and animals. Although a popular law at first, it soon became clear that the conditions that encouraged genetic manipulation, like drought, blight and insects, were still problems. After just two years the GFN revised the law to allow for “minor” genetic enhancements of seed and livestock. This opened the door for companies to create genetically modified seed stock again but the one ban that remained in place was the prohibition against creating crops that could not reproduce on their own. This seemed like a good idea at the time but it would have dire consequences later.
The problem with allowing genetically modified crops to reproduce is that they can cross-pollinate with compatible species—both domesticated and wild. This led to uncontrolled hybridization and the natural evolution of new species of common food crops. This was mostly a good thing since the cross-breeds typically manifested the most desirable traits of their parents—like rice that required significantly less water and yielded two to three times more grains per acre than any previous breed.
Inevitably, certain undesirable traits would also appear (like unusual smell, color or taste or lower than expected crop yield) but the typical response was to destroy those crops to prevent them from spreading. This seemed to work well enough early on but by 2050 it became clear that preventing unwanted hybridization would be an ongoing challenge.
It was these consequences and the fear of what might come next that prompted Lily Harris to give her speech against cloning and genetic manipulation of the food supply to the Global Federation of Nations in 2052. Given her role as Telogene's CEO, it was a brave (although some would say stupid) thing for her to do. Her company's stock had taken decades to return to its previous highs from before the famine, and Lily's speech slashed it in half almost overnight. It would take another decade for it to recover once again.
Lily's warning went largely unheeded, and the GFN did not ban cloning or genetic manipulation of the world’s agricultural and livestock food sources. It did, however, place limits on genetic manipulation and cloning of humans—including an outright ban on full body replacements when it passed the Human Dignity and Decency Act of 2055.
The HDDA was intended to protect humanity from rampant abuse of genetic manipulation and cloning technologies and ensure their responsible use. The Act defined the responsible use of those technologies as any application of cloning, genetic manipulation or therapy that improves health, mitigates or eliminates disease or increases lifespan while preserving or enhancing quality of life and it expressly prohibited the use of cloning or genetic manipulation technologies to return to life a person who died, or extend the life of a person beyond one hundred and fifty years from the time of birth.
Penalties for violating the act ranged from large fines and asset seizure to imprisonment or banishment to a mining colony. As harsh as these penalties were, tens of thousands of people have been convicted since the acts passage, although mostly for excessive life extension rather than resurrecting the deceased.
Aubrey has taken a huge risk, Evan thought. I hope she knows what she's doing!
The first case of human genetic mutation was reported just a little over ten years ago, on January 4, 2063, in Rio de Janeiro. Although born with five fingers and toes, the infant girl also had mottled green skin and golden eyes with vertical slits for pupils—the overall effect being she looked like a human-shaped lizard. Although sporadic at first, the genetic mutations swept across the globe like a virus.
Over the last decade, more than thirty million mutated babies had been born across the globe. Many mutations were considered harmless cosmetic changes, like the little girl in Rio, with many reported instances of unusual skin, eye or hair color. But the real horror began when children started being born with grotesque, animal-like features—including tails, snouts, fangs and even the occasional case of eyes on the sides of the head next to the ears, like a fish.
These same random mutations had occurred several decades before in genetically modified crops and animals and the results were devastating. Food crops either stopped producing or the food they produced became poisonous to humans. Once thriving species died off in droves—plants, birds, fish, mammals—it didn't matter, nothing seemed safe. The animal extinctions were so widespread that some likened the event to the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs—except this “asteroid” was man-made. Natural plant life didn't fare much better. Between the pressures of climate change and cross-contamination with genetically modified crops, Mother Nature was fighting for her life—and losing.
At first, the scientific community thought fertility treatments or genetic enhancement therapies were to blame and they most certainly played a role but the real culprit turned out to be the food supply. Humans had consumed genetically modified crops and genetically “enhanced” meat products for over six decades and all those years of eating human-engineered food finally took their toll on the human genome. It was generally believed that something in the food supply had triggered long dormant genes to become active and now those dormant traits were propagating rapidly throughout the population.
The situation grew progressively worse after that first case in Rio, with the instances of mutation increasing and birthrates dropping quickly all over the world. Scientists speculated that people were afraid to have children given the high instance of mutation but it soon became apparent that large numbers of people born in the last thirty years were sterile.
This realization spawned several religious sects that believed God was punishing mankind for its meddling with nature and that the end of the world was near. Besides organizing mass protests, these groups launched large-scale terrorist attacks against corporations and governments they blamed for the current situation—including Telogene.
And then there was the crash that killed Lily. According to the news reports, January 5, 2074 started just like any other day for Lily. She got up, ate breakfast, kissed Dylan goodbye and went to her office at Telogene's headquarters—just as she had nearly every day of the past fifty years. After checking in at the office, she boarded her hoverjet at a little after ten AM for a quick flight to Denver to meet with a client—she was supposed to be home for dinner. The plane took off into clear skies for the twenty-minute flight but ten minutes in it disappeared from radar. The plane crashed in the hills just north of Scottsbluff, Nebraska with no survivors.
Also on board the plane were Scott Jennings, her pilot and Bruce Wagner, Telogene's Chief Legal Officer. The bodies and wreckage were spread out over several hundred yards and the victims had suffered severe burns and multiple traumatic injuries. Investigators determined that the plane experienced rapid decompression at 13,000 meters and that neither the pilot nor the onboard AI were able to maintain control of the aircraft. The exact cause of failure was unknown.
Evan couldn't watch anymore, hearing the details of Lily's death was just too much for him to bear. Tears rolled slowly down his cheeks.
First Christina. And now Lily and Bruce. I don’t know how much more of this I can take.
He turned off the holodisplay, opened the window shade and spent the last hour of the flight watching the moonlight shimmer across the surface of the ocean just a hundred meters below him.
CHAPTER 7
APRIL 4, 2075 11:00 AM GST
GSSA Headquarters
Zurich, Switzerland
Aubrey woke up in a dimly lit room with a splitting headache. The room was three meters square with white walls, floor and ceiling. There were no decorations and just a small table with two chairs, a sink, a toilet and the small bed she was laying on. There were no windows and only one door that was closed.
Oh god, I'm in a cell.
She tried to stand up, but it took a minute of sitting on the edge of the bed before she felt stable enough to make the effort. Once up she stumbled the few steps to the table and sat down in the chair. In front of her was a glass of water, a spoon and a packet containing a white powdery
substance. There was no label but Aubrey assumed the powder was some kind of protein supplement. Her mouth was dry, and she was ravenous since she hadn't eaten since breakfast.
Was that yesterday?
“Date and time?” She asked the personal communicator implanted behind her right ear.
No response. She rubbed her fingers over her skin to confirm that it was still there. It was, but her jewelry was missing and she wore a white jumpsuit instead of her designer skirt and blazer. To make matters worse, they had replaced her expensive black pumps with white slippers.
Oh shit, this is bad.
She toggled her communicator off and then on again but the device did not respond.
Damn, she swore to herself. They must have disabled it somehow.
Aubrey gulped down the glass of water and then took the empty glass with the spoon and the packet of powder over to the sink and refilled it from the tap. One good stir and the powder dissolved. She sniffed it—it smelled like strawberry—and then gulped that down too.
Yep, strawberry-flavored protein shake. I hate these things!
She refilled the glass one more time, drank about half of it and then set the glass down on the small counter next to the sink.
Okay, let's review the situation. Dianne Merkel set a trap for me and I walked right into it. I am now in a cell God-knows-where and have no way to communicate with the outside world.
Just for good measure she gave the door a good tug.
Locked, what a surprise.
Her headache was fading, and she was no longer dizzy. She scanned the room again and confirmed there was nothing else in it except for two little black domes mounted in opposite corners of the ceiling.
Of course there are cameras, they are watching everything I do.
Aubrey sat in the chair facing the door and tried to relax. She didn't have to wait long, only a few minutes passed before the door opened. Dianne Merkel stood there with two men dressed in black suits close behind her.
“Wait here,” Dianne said as she entered the room. The door closed behind her.
“Oh Aubrey,” she said, “what a mess you have made. I gave you a chance to come clean but you decided on the hard way instead. May I?” Dianne sat in the chair across from Aubrey without waiting for a response.
“Where am I?” Aubrey asked.
“You, my dear, are in a holding cell at GSSA Headquarters in Zurich under a temporary order of extradition pending your country's review of its position in this matter. As per international law, I can legally hold you for up to thirty days while we finalize charges and jurisdiction. Given that you are guilty of multiple violations of the HDDA, I am quite confident that your Justice Department will cede jurisdiction to the GFN.”
“That's a bold statement. What proof do you have?”
“Let's just say that I have everything I need to make a case against you and your cohorts. Doctors Berkovic and Walker are already in custody and I have issued a warrant for Doctor Hao. I assume that he has your grandfather with him?”
They don't have him. Way to go, Doctor Hao! Aubrey made the most distraught look she could muster to mask her joy at hearing they hadn't captured her grandfather or Doctor Hao.
“I have no idea what you are talking about. Last I spoke with Doctor Hao he was in his office at Telogene.”
“And so the lies continue.” Dianne looked disappointed.
“I also have this.” The Secretary General placed a small silver cube on the table in front of Aubrey.
Damn, they must have grabbed Evelyn.
“And what is that?” Aubrey asked coolly.
“That is the data cube you gave Evelyn. We have already retrieved its contents and are in the process of seizing your assets…including those you transferred to Evelyn.”
Fuck!
“We have also frozen your shares of Telogene and have suspended your voting rights pending the outcome of your trial.” Dianne waited a few seconds for her last statement to sink in before she continued.
“Now, as a gesture of goodwill, I would like to give you one more chance to tell the truth. Where is Doctor Hao and where is Evan Feldman?”
There is no way I am giving them up. They don't have proof until they have Papa and if I know Doctor Hao, he will not let that happen.
“As I said on our call, I appreciate your good will but I can't give you information I don't have. Are you sure that this isn't a big misunderstanding? Isn't it possible that someone accessed my grandfather's engrams but that no cloning took place? Perhaps Doctor Hao knows what's going on. Hell, maybe he had a family emergency and had to leave suddenly?”
She paused for a response but Secretary Merkel was clearly not impressed.
Aubrey continued. “Regardless, I am not saying anything else until I speak with my attorney, Geoffrey Wagner. I would also like to speak to Evelyn Wu at the earliest opportunity.”
Dianne Merkel grimaced and stood up from her chair.
“Alright Aubrey,” she said, “we’ll do it your way. Your attorney is already here but Evelyn is extremely busy and won't have time to take your call. You wouldn't want to hear what she has to say anyway.”
Dianne placed her hands on the back of her chair and leaned forward. “She works for me, Aubrey, and she has for a very long time.”
That last statement pierced Aubrey like an arrow and it showed on her face.
“Thhaa…that can't be.”
“Oh yes, my dear, it can and is. Evelyn Wu is an Overwatch agent, and she works for me. I was thrilled when you promoted her after your mother died. I always believed you would need someone to keep an eye on you and to try to steer you down the right path.”
“But…I thought she was my friend.”
“Oh but she was, she was a great friend to you. Probably in more ways than you'll ever know but in the end, she had a job to do and this time you crossed the line one step too far.”
Aubrey slumped in her chair. Oh god, this can't be happening—it can't be true.
Dianne took a few steps toward the door before turning back to face Aubrey.
“And one other thing. I lied to you earlier when I said I had met your mother just a few times. She and I were friends for more than three decades and it breaks my heart to see you in this situation…just as I know that it would break hers. That is why I gave you every opportunity to make this right, Aubrey. I don't want to see your mother's legacy ruined any more than I want to see your career destroyed. I am trying to help you here but you have to help me first.”
Dianne knocked twice on the door.
“Give that data cube to your lawyer so that he can review what you gave us,” she said as the door slid open. “It's unlocked. Speak to him and think about what I've said. You have until midnight tonight to give me Doctors Feldman and Hao. After that I can no longer help you, nor can I help you if they get caught before you turn them in.”
Dianne stepped into the hallway.
“Think about it…but think quickly,” she added
The door closed behind her with a hiss and a whir as the locks engaged.
Aubrey sat there for several long minutes considering her situation and the revelations that Secretary Merkel had just made. Her mom and the Secretary General friends? She had known they knew each other, but she had never heard her mother call Dianne Merkel her friend, and Evelyn Wu an Overwatch agent? If that was true then why hadn’t she informed on her before? This wasn’t the first time Aubrey had pushed the boundaries of the HDDA, and on top of all of that, how did Doctor Hao escape Dianne's trap, especially if Evelyn was helping her?
I have to talk to Geoff.
She wasn't sure how much time passed but it seemed like forever. The cell door eventually opened and two men in black suits escorted her down a long hallway to an elevator where they took a short ride up. The display on the elevator console started at "B2", a basement sub-level and stopped at "14". They exited the elevator and walked down another hallway to a big set of double doors. Inside was a large c
onference table surrounded by tall-backed black leather chairs.
The wall opposite her was glass, and it perfectly framed the Zurich skyline outside. It was a bright, clear day, and she was happy to see the sun; especially since, until just a few minutes ago, she was unsure whether she would ever see it again. There were two sets of double doors, the one through which she had entered and another to her right at the other end of the room. Besides her escorts, she noticed one other person in the room. A tall, handsome man with sandy brown hair sat at the conference table.
She didn't even know Geoff Wagner existed until he called to offer his condolences two weeks after the crash that killed her mother and Bruce Wagner, his father. Like her, he was an only child, the product of Bruce's first marriage, and was well off financially. He worked as an attorney at a law firm in Zurich even though his father had left him a fortune in Telogene stock. He and Aubrey spoke via video call almost every day for several weeks and she found she enjoyed talking to him.
Not only was he good-looking but he was a good listener, and he had the same calm and consoling demeanor as his father. Aubrey offered him the Chief Legal Counsel job at Telogene almost on a whim and was pleasantly surprised when he accepted. Since then, they had become best friends. And if Aubrey had ever needed a best friend who happened to be a lawyer, it was now. Aubrey rushed to greet him.
“Geoff! Oh God, I am so glad you're here!”
He stood up from his chair as she approached. She threw her arms around his neck and he returned the hug, lifting her slightly off the ground. After a few seconds, he let her down.
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