“You got some power in you, brother. All that stuff you said about Christ giving His blood for you—you understand it. But you ain’t had no teaching.”
Chase sat on the end of the bed. The exoself ran through every branch of the underground. That world, at the moment, appeared safe. Well fed. Equipped. Transportation requests flowed through his mind. A branch in the EU had accepted thirty-two believers seeking shelter after a raid of church houses. No one was lost in the crackdown.
Everything Mel could see at her work station amassed in Chase’s head without any prompting. The Underground Church moved on in its quest to remain an entity apart from the obstructive forces of world government. Hidden, protected. In part by the programs brought to them by a transhuman. But surely it was God watching out for them.
Was the rest of the population to be left godless?
Chase shifted from Mel’s programs and the code uniting the underground, and locked into the workings of the WR. He’d been kicked out of this trail of information when Robert first removed the federal ownership of the exoself and placed it solely in Chase’s possession. But the exoself took a one-way street back to the Western Republic. That street was still open. Nothing had changed since Sparky took shelter in Mel’s old computers. Chase roamed the government programs at will.
The nearest detention center—the one with the awful machine designed to harvest gray matter—had a few new prisoners. Dissenters. Kirel was one of them. He might talk—tell the Feds all about Blue Sky Field. His file showed nothing but a medical report stating trauma to the brain resulting in short-term memory loss. A temporary condition being treated with techno-medical procedures. Kirel wouldn’t be out of his mind forever.
Chase shuddered as he attached a report demanding treatment cease immediately due to insufficient data supporting a positive outcome of the procedure. Then he prayed Kirel would never remember he’d been beneath an old museum in Herouxville.
He looked up to find Switchblade sitting beside him.
“Man, you been off on a trip or what? You got an update from Sparky?”
“Yes. Most of it’s good. Some of it’s troubling. I’ll monitor the situation.”
“Tell me if I can be of assistance. You serious about helping Amos, in spite of what our fearless leader says? Because I’m ready for a trip out of this cave.”
“Switchblade, if I get Mel to change her mind I want you to stay here. I’ll feel a lot better knowing you’re watching over Blue Sky Field.”
The big man huffed and shook his head. “I’d feel a lot better doing what Amos assigned me to do—watching your back.”
“I can handle a run to Gagnon. But before we plan anything I need to talk to Robert again. No point in putting Amos through that if the maker of the nanobots says it’s a waste of time.”
“This stuff just keeps getting weirder, Charlie.”
“Yeah. And useful. I hope.”
48
The command center buzzed with excitement. Eyes stared at Chase. The people knew their transhuman was back in full service. He could hear every whisper across the room. Sure didn’t take long for news to travel in this place.
Chase pulled up a chair and sat next to Mel at her work station. She lifted her gaze from the computer screen. No smile. Not even a welcoming gleam in her deep brown eyes.
“Mel, I can’t help it if people back at the Helgen can visit me through the exoself.”
She focused on work in front of her. “We shouldn’t have allowed the exoself back in. I didn’t know you were going to get another visitation right off the bat. We would have been fine without—”
“I’m a transhuman, Melody. Can you live with that?”
She dropped her hands from the keypad and swiveled in her chair. Her expression softened. “I love you.”
That ever-present giggle of teenage girls rippled through the space between Chase and Mel. He smiled.
“Can we go someplace a little more private?” He took her hand and rubbed her fingers. “I’ll leave the door open.”
She smiled at last and rose from her seat. She said nothing, but tightened her grip on his hand and led him down the hallway to her room.
He followed her in. As he said he would, he left the door cracked. But it made no difference to him—he took her in his arms and kissed her. “Can you?”
She seemed dazed, and said nothing before her lips met his again. Then she fixed her eyes on his. “Can I what?”
“Live with the fact that I am a transhuman.”
“Oh, that. Can you live with the fact that I’m not going to let you take Amos to Gagnon?”
He dropped his hands from her waist. “What if Robert says it will work? That it won’t harm either Amos or me?”
“That’s a big if.”
“Well?”
“You get me conclusive information about what might happen, and I will consider the two of us taking Amos to see Dr. John.”
“You’d leave your post? You’re the boss now.”
“Well, that doesn’t seem to matter to you. You’re going to do as you please. And I’m going to follow you wherever you go.” She cupped his face in her hands. “I just have a bad feeling, Chase. Like if you leave we might not ever see each other again.”
He took her hand and held it to his lips. “Mel, you’ve got to believe me. I will do whatever it takes to make sure that never happens. I can’t live without you.”
“Then don’t go.”
A young man pushed the door open. “Sorry to interrupt,” he said. “Amos seems to be getting worse. Mr. Sterling, your mother wants to see you.”
Chase pivoted toward the door and heaved a breath. “I’m coming.” He faced Mel. “Let’s go see him. He might not approve any more than you do, but I want to tell him.”
“All right, but—”
“I know. Robert’s got to show up again and give his approval.”
“I hope that crazy old doctor—”
“Mel, be nice. And don’t be afraid, sweetheart. Don’t be afraid.”
49
Amos was worse, all right. Chase didn’t need to touch him to find that out. Mom leaned over him with a damp cloth. His ghostly white face was all that showed in the bed covered with multiple blankets. Breathing seemed harder than two hours ago. Open eyes gave the hint of a man wavering between hope and all-out terror. The pain must have grown worse.
Chase knelt by the bed and looked up at Mel. “Did we bring back anything in those medical supplies to help ease his discomfort?”
“Codeine. I’ll go get it.” She left the room.
Mom dropped the little towel into a bowl of water beside the bed. “Chase, I heard you got the exoself back.”
“It’s all there.”
“I don’t know how I feel about that.”
Chase shook his head. “I’m not sure either. But it’s me, Mom. It’s who I am.” He got up off his knees and sat on the bed opposite his mother. “Amos, can you hear me?”
The man grunted and looked at Chase. “Yes, son. I’m feeling a little better now.” He winced and his eyes shut tight.
“We’re going to give you something for the pain. But it’ll have to be in pill form. Can you keep it down?”
“Kinda doubt it. But we’ll give it a try.”
“Good,” Chase said. “Mel went to get it from the supplies we brought back from Gagnon. Amos, we need to talk to you about taking you there.”
“I told you before there is nothing the doctor can do for me.”
“You may be wrong about that, Amos. Remember how my leg healed? And Mel said I might have some techno blood flowing inside me?”
“I remember.”
“She was right. And I think my blood might be what you need.”
Mom’s eyes grew wide. “What on earth? You can’t be serious.”
“Mom, I talked to my doctor—the one who designed me.”
“He called you?”
“No, Mom, he didn’t call me. It’s complicated.”
>
“And what did he say about this foolish idea of yours?”
“Well, I didn’t get an answer. But I’m hoping to know for sure if it’ll work. And if it will, or even if there’s a possibility, then that trip to Gagnon might just save Amos’s life.”
Amos lifted his arm out from under the covers. He reached for Chase but his hand fell to the bed. “Son, why would you take a chance like that for a dying man? I’ve made my peace with this.”
“Amos, what would it hurt to try? If God wants you to go, then you’ll go.” Chase took the man’s hand in his. “But maybe He wants you to stay a while longer.”
Amos blinked and then stared at the ceiling. “You don’t know if it will work?”
“I’m hoping to find out soon. Will you do it?”
“I’ve always loved a good scientific experiment.”
Mel slipped into the room with a small pouch. “I’ve got it.” She sat beside Amos and took out a pill.
Chase lifted Amos’s head, who opened his mouth just enough for Mel to drop the pill on his tongue. Then she reached for a water glass and held to his lips.
Mom crossed her arms. “Melody, do you know what he’s planning?”
“Oh, yeah. Crazy idea. Might kill both of them. But hey, I’m just the leader of the worldwide command center of the Underground Church. And the transhuman’s girlfriend. My opinion doesn’t count for much.”
“Mel, take it easy,” Chase said. “I thought we’d reached an understanding.”
“You talk to that crazy doctor again?”
“Not yet.”
“Then you still have some convincing to do.”
Chase tightened his jaw, his eyes on Amos. “I’ll let you know what happens. Hang in there.” He headed for the door. “Mom, do you need a break?”
“I got one earlier. Can I just call you…you know, in your head if I need to?”
Chase nearly laughed. “Only if you have a coded VPad on you. Right now, Mel’s the only one who’s got one. You can’t summon me with your brain. Unless you got chipped since the last time we talked.”
She smiled and brushed the graying hair from her eyes. “I’ll just send for you.”
Chase nodded and left the room.
Mel was close behind him. “I’m going back to my station,” she said. “You gonna go try to conjure up your doctor?”
“I can’t do that. At least, not yet. Maybe the exoself will refine the program and allow it. For now, I’ll just have to wait.”
“Amos could die before Fiender shows up again.”
“Then it wasn’t meant to be. I’m going back to my room.”
Mel grabbed his hand. “We’ve got to do this together. No matter what happens.”
“You’ve got no argument from me. I’ll check in with you in an hour or so.”
“It’ll be supper time in an hour.”
“I’ll see you there.” Chase squeezed her hand, then let her go. He went to his room, shut the door, and sat in one of the chairs Switchblade had brought in earlier. And waited.
No amount of hoping or praying would bring the phantom of the man back. Maybe Mel was right. Maybe this wasn’t God’s plan for Amos. Or for Chase. “She’s right—it’s a stupid idea.”
He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and rested his head in his hands. Then a flash rushed through his mind. The line of code. A white coat materialized beside the table where the lifeless old laptop still remained. “Robert.”
“Yes, yes. I’m here, son. I had to exit the program earlier. That asinine man who chipped Kerstin blew into my office.”
“Young Dr. Jack. Does he suspect anything?”
“Nothing. And I’ve altered the exoself to disallow contact from any processors other than mine.”
“Robert, do you have a chip in your brain like the one Kerstin got?”
“Had it for years. It’s a bit antiquated and I don’t know how long I can maintain contact with the exoself. Getting an updated implant right now would only bring more questions than I care to answer. But rest assured, no one else can come in. If Kerstin tries it again, the exoself will not only disallow entry, it will wipe out her processor.”
“That’s a relief. I almost got caught. The underground would have been compromised. I can’t allow that, Robert. Are you positive what you’re doing now is safe?”
“Yes, of course. You know how I feel about you, son.”
Chase wanted to put his arm around the old man’s shoulder. “I know. Robert, did you hear my last question before you had to cut out?”
“About your blood? Yes. I’m guessing someone is ill.”
“The leader here—the former leader—is dying. Leukemia. He had to step down and now he’s in bad shape.”
“The technology is so new, Chase. You’re the only man in the world with nanobots in his bloodstream.”
“Just give me your professional opinion. Would it make any difference at all in his condition? Would it matter if we didn’t have the same blood type?”
The doctor’s image varied a bit but rectified in a flash. “Blood type, for you, no longer matters. It’s the same as with your organs, which are made to be universally acceptable by any human being. Once we added the technology to your blood, it lost some aspects of its humanness. It regenerates with no specific type. A transfusion would not harm your leader. As to whether or not it would help him, I can only tell you that it would take over in his body the same way it has in yours. It would latch on to the organic blood cells and eradicate malfunctions. At least, in theory, Chase.”
“Then it’s a cure for all kinds of disease. That’s incredible.”
“In theory, son.”
“But you think it would work. Don’t you?”
“The data indicates that it should produce major, positive changes when applied to most conditions. Now that I know of its function in you, I’m hopeful that it will become a viable treatment. But son, the nanobots don’t regenerate. Your human blood still does, of course. However, this is not something you could do repeatedly. Once, maybe twice, but no more. Now that your organs and your blood are functioning together, doing this repeatedly might have dire consequences.”
“The recipient wouldn’t benefit,” Chase said.
“No, son. The donor wouldn’t survive.”
Chase drew closer to the image. “Robert, can you send the data to me? I mean, only if it can be done in an untraceable program. I don’t have access to the Helgen.”
“Do you remember when you contacted an old computer of mine to let me know you were safe? Does the exoself still have the code, or was it wiped clean after the first contact?”
Chase ran a scan of the coded trails of the exoself and found the connection. “I have it.”
“I’ll move the data to that location. Give me until tomorrow morning. Chase, this will be my last visit, at least for a while. They’re bringing in a new subject and I’m being forced back into the laboratory. Security will be too tight for me to try this again.”
“A new subject? They’re going to build another one, aren’t they? Another transhuman.”
“Yes, son. But he will be inept. I’ll see to that.”
Chase grinned. “Thank you, Robert. For everything. I miss you.”
“And I miss you, son. Maybe one day…”
“Maybe.”
The image faded away. Chase reached for the door, but stepped back and sat in the chair. Then he dropped from the chair to his knees. “God, thanks for this. It’ll work. But it won’t be me that saves Amos—I know that. I can’t save anyone. Only Jesus can.”
He stood up and swung the door open. A smile on his face, resolve in his step, he headed for the dining hall.
Meals waited on the counter for the evening’s servers to pick up and deliver to the tables. Mel sat on the far side of the room. An empty chair waited beside her. Chase made his way to sit next to her.
“I talked to Robert,” he told her.
“And?”
“Goo
d news. He thinks it’ll work.”
“I need—”
“He’s sending me the data. I’ll have it by morning. But Mel, we can take him at his word.”
“I know you trust him. But to me, he’s just the man who turned you into…” Her eyes showed the sorrow for what she almost said. “I need to see the data.”
“It’s coming. But I don’t think that’s the only thing you’re worried about. I have to ask you, one more time, if you can deal with what I am. I’m not the same man you once knew.”
Her lips curved upward and tears puddled in her eyes. “I know that. I didn’t love that man the way I love you.”
Her words took his breath away. Even lab-grown lungs had to respond to the unexpected confession of this lovely young woman.
She wiped her eyes. “I’m just so scared of you going off. You can tell yourself it’ll all work out, but the truth is that you being up top in the real world is dangerous. And you made a promise that we would never be apart again.”
He studied her face for a moment. “We need to talk, Mel. You’ve got to see the data before you let me go. Well, there’s something I’ve got to do too.”
“What is it?”
“Not here. Meet me in my room after I tell Amos the good news.”
“But Chase, he needs to understand—”
“I know—the data. Half an hour. OK?”
“Yeah, but aren’t you hungry?”
He grabbed a slice of bread from her plate. “This will do.” He left her there. Looking back, he met her eyes and held the sight of her. Then he headed out as he stuffed the bread into his mouth.
She had her stipulations. Well, so did he.
50
Amos seemed hardly able to comprehend what Chase had to tell him. Would he even survive the trip to Gagnon? Mom still sat at his bedside. She’d eaten her supper in the room and tried to feed Amos a bit of cooked apples. He didn’t take much.
Even through the pain and mental haze, Amos accepted Chase’s word that what they were about to do offered hope and promise.
“We’ll leave tomorrow night—around midnight,” Chase told him.
“The three of us,” Mom said. “Right?”
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