by Drew Briney
“Part of me feels relieved,” he began, searching for words. “You have restored some of my confidence in our people, the people I have grown to love since I was a small boy. During the past few weeks, my life has been turned upside down so much I can barely recount what has happened. I have never seen treachery up close – these things have always rested in the pages of history, in the files on the database. To unravel a conspiracy, to see your loved ones killed, to see comrades killed in battle, and then to be thrown into the middle of another treasonous plot to take over this ship has been … in some ways, nearly unbearable. I think you understand that and I have great empathy for those of you who are only now learning what I have known for a seemingly very long time.”
Evelia had never seen Blaze wax so eloquent. He was no man of words but his golden heart was now being unveiled for all to see. It made her love him all the more. Almost immediately, she grew disappointed that this part of his speech was so short.
“We have before us a continuing problem,” Blaze began again after allowing an uncomfortably long pause to linger in the air like some foul stench that everyone could only unsuccessfully try to ignore. “Only a few of you wanted further investigation,” he said, looking slightly quizzical. I am not exactly sure what you may have wanted investigated further but as your new Captain, I want to make my first order one of compliance with your wishes – even though there were only a handful of you who requested more information. A few things may help us answer questions raised here today ... but the most pressing issue is the existing conspiracy. We need to find out who this so-called ‘Master’ is and what his intentions are now. So, before anyone leaves this room, they will be required to expose the upper portion of their forearms for all to see. Anyone with the conspicuous tattoo-burn mark will go into immediate holding for questioning. If anyone is experienced in the art of interrogation, please speak with me before leaving; as you have seen today, I am no expert in this field. And while I am on the topic … I apologize for not controlling my temper earlier; that is not befitting a leader. Also …” At this point, Blaze could feel that Evelia was influencing his thoughts and tried to relax so that she could more easily speak through him. She noticed the effort and it touched her to know that he was so trusting of her.
“As you leave, Evelia will assign each of you to a team. I understand that you are already rather overwhelmed with new responsibilities and a new environment so please feel assured that she will not be adding a heavy burden to your existing load … perhaps it will be weeks before anything is required of you whatsoever. However, it is imperative that we get a strong accounting of who is here today and that we get everyone assigned to different teams before we land on the magic woman’s home moon. We will notify you in the relatively near future who is on your team and what your assignments will be when we land.” Blaze paused to make sure that Evelia didn’t need anything further before continuing.
“Anyone who holds the rank of commander or higher, I would like to meet with you before we leave as well. It appears clear to me that Dr. Boyd kept many secrets from a lot of us … before I can lead the ship well, I need to have a stronger feel of who is in charge of which areas of the ship and what technologies you have developed in your various Orders that Dr. Boyd kept secret from my Order. Perhaps we can have someone who was in charge of updating the final database make a presentation to get all of us on common ground respecting these things. Whoever you are – and I apologize for not knowing who you are – please meet with me after this meeting as well. Lastly … well, at least for now … I want someone who specializes in history to look up Dr. Boyd’s personal journals to see whether or not he left any records that may help us better understand what may have happened with …” his pause was clearly one of introspection more than one of word search. “Let us find out what was going through his mind when this infertility thing started, when the genetic scientists split and when some left that Order, and why he felt it was necessary to execute so many of our friends and family.”
Feeling uncertain in his heart but not showing it, Blaze added, “If any of you would like to speak to me about something that you would like to have investigated further, you are welcome to express your feelings with me after this meeting.”
In some ways, Blaze quite naturally falling into his new responsibility right in front of everyone. In other ways, he seemed anything but power hungry. His first orders, his method of addressing the crew, and his open invitation for crewmen to express their concerns to him all showed his personal character more than his ability to lead a ship across several galaxies. But given the background of most of the crewmen, this weakness was more endearing than it was a liability. Only a handful of people discerned this trait as any weakness at all – and most of those people bore an insignia on their forearms designating them as individuals who required a more hardened leader to follow – and they already had one.
“SO YOU ARE FROM ORDER 4?”
“Technically, we referred to them as Units so I was from Unit 4,” Toka corrected in his habitual patronizing, academic tone. Sometimes, like right now, he tried very hard not to come across as arrogant but it was such a part of him that he really couldn’t hide it well - not nearly as well as he was at hiding the black star on his insignia.
“Right,” Blaze answered. “I am still getting used to that. We only referred to ourselves as ‘the Order’ and we really had no idea that there were other Orders or Units out there.”
“Yes … and unaware that you were only one of Dr. Boyd’s several social experiments,” Toka lazily answered, trying to sound engaged in the conversation but not doing a particularly good job. This may very well have been the most important conversation he had had in decades but his skill in politics and public relations was indisputedly poor. Like Blaze, he was very comfortable with more hostile activities. But seeing Blaze’s clear interest in what he was saying, Toka capitalized on the situation. “Have you heard about Dr. Boyd’s other social experiments?”
“No,” Blaze admitted. To be truthful, he really didn’t know what social experiments were. He could guess at the meaning but this was far afield from his education.
“Dr. Boyd wanted to create the ideal world. History is replete with communities of people trying to live the ideal society, trying to make their beliefs in utopia reality – but none of them have been able to live their peaceful lives without interference from the outside – at least not for more than a generation or so. Dr. Boyd saw that opportunity and decided to take it by the horns … so to speak.”
“But Dr. Boyd was only sixty, perhaps seventy years old. How could he possibly …” Blaze’s line of thinking was so far off that Toka had to interrupt just to get him on track.
“Actually, Dr. Boyd was nearing three centuries in age,” Toka corrected. Confused, Blaze wrinkled his brow in disbelief.
“But that is not possible. That would make him one of the pioneer survivors of the Third Holocaust,” Blaze began, crunching numbers in his head to make sure he was correct. “Their lifespans were …”
“Not what you’ve been told,” Toka answered simply. That quickly trapped Blaze’s attention and brought him back to his normal, teachable self. As the light bulb of understanding began to glow on Blaze’s countenance, Toka continued. “Genetic manipulation allowed people to live much longer life spans if they could afford the treatment,” he explained. “That is where Unit 4 became crucial to Dr. Boyd’s plans.”
“I am not following you,” Blaze confessed. Captain of the ship or not, Blaze was more than aware that there were a lot of things he did not know about this crew and where they came from.
“Okay, let me backtrack a little,” Toka offered. “Dr. Boyd had one very large unit after the Third Holocaust. He spent many years interviewing people to learn their strengths and their weaknesses so that he could place them in isolated communities that would be relatively like-minded. Meanwhile, he began building the Order compound that you saw destroyed not too long ago. He appoint
ed everyone to live in a particular community and then informed them that they would only be separated for a few years while they completed various tasks. However, after a couple of years passed, he staged some massive explosions outside of the compound – he was a great chemist you know?” Being the grammarian he was, Blaze immediately observed that the only two men from Unit 4 that he had met ended sentences with “you know.” He made a mental note of it.
“Then, he told everyone that someone from one of the compounds had blown up the other units – leaving only their unit. By further telling them that biological explosives were involved, it was easy to get everyone to believe that it was unsafe to leave their individual units. Thus, each unit believed it was the only surviving unit – that is, excepting Unit 4. Are you following me?”
“Yes,” Blaze answered. “It is almost unbelievable. It is …”
“Devious.”
“Precisely!” the young warrior chimed.
“Unit 4 housed the genetics team. Building upon what scientists have tried to master for centuries, we specialized in perfecting the human genome. While most everyone focused on physically perfecting our species, Dr. Boyd was consumed with the idea of mentally and spiritually perfecting our species. That is why he wanted the different units. The first generation of each unit was genetically modified to make the people more pliable, more receptive to suggestion. Then, they were systematically taught that a particular system of society was ideal and that they should do everything they could to create the ideal society – as the sole survivors of the Third Holocaust, they owed it to their posterity to create a utopian society. But each unit was given a different version of a utopian society to emulate. The second generation of each unit was given genetic treatments to undo the changes made to their parents so that they could think well for themselves, make normal, human decisions, and live relatively normal lives. In that way, Dr. Boyd hoped to learn which ideal society was actually ideal.”
“So which was it?” Blaze interjected, half fascinated and half flooded with disbelief.
“I would say that he seemed most pleased with your Unit,” Toka lied. Flattery never hurts. “But ultimately, there was something about each unit that was dissatisfying so he decided to start afresh. He handpicked people from each unit that he thought would be the most willing and able to try a brand new social experiment – one that took the strengths from every unit while eliminating their weaknesses – one that didn’t require any external genetic manipulations to get them to do what he wanted.”
This was starting to make sense to Blaze but several questions remained unanswered. “So what did Unit 4 have to do with all of this?” he asked.
“Good – we are back to that. Well … originally, we were crucial to making the first generation mentally pliable,” Toka repeated, “but after that, we began enhancing our immune systems, the five senses, resilience to stress, physiological efficiency, and our susceptibility to receive further genetic enhancements that would create the ideal race of people.”
“Are you suggesting that your job was to create the ideal race?” Blaze nearly mocked in disbelief – this sounded juvenile to his ears, like some child’s story – certainly, none of these technologies were really viable. Before Toka could answer, Blaze threw another question at him. “But Dr. Boyd did nothing to modify the people of my unit. We are all the same. We …”
“I’m sure it seemed that way to you,” Toka interjected in his un-charismatic monotone. “We modified the food so no one would suspect anything. Unit 7 was modified more than the others.” Toka paused for effect and let the words hang in the air for a very long time.
“You are unusually fast, Blaze. Your reflexes are ridiculously quick. Your ability to creatively respond to situations around you is prodigious. You heal quickly. Your muscle tissues make you unusually strong for someone of your build. Your eyesight is strong. Should I continue?”
As Blaze listened to Toka, he felt much the same as he had a number of weeks earlier when he had learned that there were other Orders – or Units – besides his own and that there were other survivors outside of those Units. He felt like a victim of some external master manipulator, a puppet. Even if these things were all true and even if the genetic manipulations were all desirable, he still didn’t like being an unwilling participant. Then, feeling a bit dense, Blaze noticed a glaring omission. “You said nothing about enhancing my intelligence,” Blaze tentatively, sort of, asked.
“Candidly, Dr. Boyd was concerned about making you a little too dangerous,” Toka lied. “There were several in your unit who were given intellectual enhancements. I’m sure it hasn’t escaped your notice that Evelia is particularly bright. We gained a lot of understanding as we tracked the progress of your unit,” Toka explained. “Some people’s genomes are more receptive to different kinds of manipulation than others. Dr. Boyd was brilliant in his own way but intellectual enhancements never seemed to make much difference with him – and not because he was innately brilliant,” Toka added. “Something about his genome simply wouldn’t allow him to become much brighter. He seemed to increase in intelligence a little bit – but never like he wanted.”
“Wow,” Blaze mumbled to himself. This was a lot to take in. Intuitively, he realized there was an important question to ask that wasn’t being addressed at all. He paused for a moment, waiting for some grace to bestow the golden question upon his mind. Then it came. “So, what was to be your purpose aboard this ship?” Blaze cautiously asked.
Toka determined that another lie would be beneficial. “We are in charge of everything biological on this ship. From those disposable thirst quenching drinking flowers to medical treatments to biological disposal to growing food, we are in charge. We manage all of that stuff – although other Units are assisting us in those endeavors. But as far as genetic manipulation, that has been pretty much left on the shelf. We are allowed to make voluntary modifications if people are willing to pay or trade for them but with that sort of system, nothing hugely significant is going to happen for anyone.”
“What do you mean?” Blaze prodded.
“Well … we are sort of limited to cocktail genetic enhancements,” Toka explained.
“I am not familiar with that term,” Blaze pressed.
“Oh, sorry,” Toka covered. To some degree, he was making this up on the spur of the moment. “Okay, it’s like this. Let’s say someone is a little short and they are self conscious about it, right?” Blaze said nothing in response, assuming the question was rhetorical. “If they are willing to pay for it – or offer me a reasonable trade – I can give them the added height that they want. And I can make it take a year so no one will notice or I can make it happen right away,” he added a little boastfully, forgetting his purpose. “Or, maybe they would like something more exotic like my eyes,” he suggested, pointing to his eyes.
Blaze was glad that Toka volunteered this information himself. The scientist’s eyes and eyelids looked almost identical to those of some bird of prey that Blaze could not identify. They were striking and surprisingly good looking on the face of a human but that didn’t stop them from being consistently distracting.
“Back in the Classic Age … and for thousands of years before that … people were always looking for new ways to modify their bodies – tattoos, piercings, stretchings, or plastic surgeries – people were involved in a myriad of different methods of modifying their bodies. Genetic modifications became popular not long after the first holocaust but they were too expensive for most people to afford so they didn’t become as widespread as most people would have liked. Then, after the second holocaust, cocktail modifications became much easier to administer and that of course made them more affordable. While increasing your intelligence, speed, strength, or lifespan continued to be quite expensive, giving you stronger teeth, better eyesight, a higher metabolism, or retractable fingernails became much easier.” As Toka made the last observation, he showed Blaze his fingernails – which were readily retractable just li
ke the magic woman’s nails.
Blaze was beginning to catch on and was feeling more relaxed about Unit 4’s involvement on the ship. “So, if I understand you correctly, Unit 4 is here to take care of biological things necessary on most any spaceship but it just so happens that you can use your skills and talents to help people on a limited basis at this point in time? You are only authorized to make cocktail enhancements to people whenever they voluntarily ask you to do so?”
“Exactly,” Toka lied again.
“Then I am not making any changes to Dr. Boyd’s orders at this point in time. However, I would like to know more about the history of genetic modifications that were made to the various units. Can you send me a link to that portion of the database?”
That took Toka off guard and his surprise was evident. Blaze was unsure why the question seemed so surprising. “Surely you know how to send links on the database?” he asked, guessing that maybe Toka might be one of those people who became so specialized in what he was doing that he didn’t know how to perform simple functions on ever developing technologies. Still, this seemed a pretty basic request that any child could perform.
“Yeah … well … sure I know how to send a link,” Toka began, still uncertain how to respond. “But … uh … well, to be frank, none of this information is on the database.”
“What? None of your research is on the database?” Blaze asked in disbelief.
“Oh no, lots of what we have learned is on the database,” Toka corrected. “But none of our genetic manipulations of the units are found on the database. None of Dr. Boyd’s social experimentation is on the database whatsoever.”
“Then where is it?”
“It’s nowhere.” Toka deliberately and dramatically paused before answering the question any further. “Unless you find information in Dr. Boyd’s journals that I don’t know about, the only place you are going to find that is right here,” he said, pointing to his own mind. Only a very few of us have any of that information,” he finished before adding, “Aria and I may be the only living people on this ship who know much of anything about it at all.”