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by Chris Gladstone

  Julian squirmed in his chair. Tiani's face dropped and crinkled as she tried to stop herself from crying.

  "I realise this is distressing news for you all, but I am unable to do otherwise." Nguma appeared distressed.

  "So, what do we do now?" I stood up and crossed my arms. "Jack?"

  "We have no choice." He turned. "We let Nguma do what he has to."

  "I will do my utmost to help you all through this difficult situation. I am very sorry, but I must act in the interests of my client."

  Inside my mind, a voice screamed, 'What about Kiera? What about my wife?'

  We wore blankets of despondency when we went to bed. Upon Nguma's insistence we grudgingly gave Gregory a pillow and blanket. With an apologetic expression, Nguma asked if we minded him keeping Gregory company as he believed he would find it reassuring. Armed with more pillows and blankets from storage, he left us. I think we wondered just whose side he was now on.

  Chapter 44

  Awake early, I tiptoed out to the deck to do some stretching and exercise. To my surprise, I found Nguma just standing up from the computer terminal. He beamed at me, and my heart melted.

  "You slept well, Luke, I hope?"

  Disarmed, I couldn't help smiling back. "Like a log, and you?"

  "Surprisingly well, my friend. I have just downloaded a series of tests to Jack's tablet. I will administer them to Gregory after breakfast. He tells me he slept well, apart from a troubling dream."

  "Mmm, I'm going to do some exercise to try get rid of some of the stiffness. The others aren't—"

  Jack popped out the door trailing Julian and Tiani. "The gang's all here, let's eat. Good morning, Nguma––Luke," Jack said, cheerily.

  After breakfast, Nguma took the meal I had fixed using the synthesiser into Gregory. He expected it would take several hours for his tests and a further couple of hours to digest the results. He promised to speak to us when he was finished.

  Jack occupied us with a mix of boring tasks––running hardware diagnostics on just about everything in our section. He assigned Julian and Tiani to spacesuits and became terse when they grumbled.

  We had agreed to Nguma taking Gregory into the living unit for the duration of the tests. Nguma reappeared about mid-morning.

  "May I have a word please, Jack?" His face held a charming and infectious smile.

  Jack looked up from his terminal, "Yes, Nguma."

  "Gregory has given me permission to access his genetic profile and his mental health files."

  "Really," Jack's face held the surprise I registered.

  "It would save time if I could view them in Virtual."

  "He's given you his code?" Jack’s face broadcasted disbelief.

  "Yes," Nguma hesitated, "I have gained his trust and he has confided much to me." He eyed Jack.

  Jack gestured with his hand to the terminal. "Be my guest."

  "Thank you, my friend. It will assist me greatly in my diagnosis." He sat and pressed the headband button.

  Jack waited until it was obvious Nguma had connected.

  "Right, time for a quick peek, Luke."

  Shocked, I stood and stared as he darted over to the other side of Nguma's console and sat down.

  "Jack? You're not serious." His headband was already engaging "Jack! You can't," I shouted––too late, he was gone.

  Julian and Tiani, hearing my shout, looked up from where they were testing suits. I motioned them to stay where they were. With puzzled looks, they returned to their work.

  Paralysed, and with the sound of my own heartbeat thundering in my ears, my mind was inundated with a series of what ifs. If Nguma came out before Jack would he guess what Jack was up to? What if Nguma ran into Jack while they were both inside? Great Universe––shaking myself loose, I paced around the console. Sweat began to run down my face.

  Ten minutes elapsed before I saw Jack's headband disengaging. I rushed over to him. "Are you out of your mind?"

  "Actually, yes." He put his fingers to his lips and stood up, grabbed my arm, and pulled me towards the bathroom. Once inside he said, "I've been rooting around in Williamson’s, or should I say Gregory's to be more precise, mental history––their combined mental history."

  My jaw dropped, and my eyes went wide. "Combined? What the Zark do you mean, Jack?"

  "They're one and the same, Luke, but that's strictly between you and me. Not a word to Tiani or Julian."

  "You had no right, Jack." I folded my arms and glared at him.

  "Desperate times call for desperate measures, Luke."

  At that moment, we heard Nguma call our names.

  "Not a word, Luke." Jack guided me to the door.

  My mind whirled in confusion. On the one hand I desperately wanted to know what he'd found, but on the other I knew it was a gross betrayal of the trust Nguma had given us. My insides knotted, and my head began to throb. I just wanted it all to stop. I followed Jack.

  "Aah, there you are. I found myself thinking that you had stepped out for some air." Nguma's eyes twinkled.

  I swallowed nervously and made a monumental effort to look normal, whatever that was.

  Jack was his usual nonchalant self—calm, laid back and controlled. I envied him.

  Nguma cocked his head. "Is anything wrong, Luke?" There was concern in his tone and on his face.

  "Just…worried about Kiera…everything."

  He reached over and patted my shoulder. "If you would like to talk, Luke, I would be happy to listen."

  His face, filled with gentle concern, invited revelations. I almost weakened, but at the moment I couldn't trust myself not to tell all.

  "Thanks, Nguma, perhaps another time."

  "I would be happy to help you, my friend. I came to tell you that I've finished gathering my facts. I will go and analyse the results now. It will probably take me around an hour, after which I will discuss them with Gregory."

  True to his word, about an hour later we saw him escort Gregory back into the bathroom. Great Universe. Now I'm beginning to think of him as Gregory.

  Jack took my arm. "Let's talk, I think Nguma will be a while."

  After fixing us a cup of tea, Jack sat down to face me.

  "Do you want me to tell you what I found, Luke?"

  "Will it make any difference?"

  "Yes. I really think you need to hear it," Jack said, earnestly.

  "Okay," I sighed. I had no idea what he was going to say.

  Nguma's head appeared around the door.

  "Luke, Gregory would like to speak to you…if you are willing."

  "Is that just for his benefit?" It came out in a snarl. I immediately regretted it. "Sorry…" I met his eyes.

  They were full of sympathy. "I think you will find, Luke, it will benefit both of you."

  I hesitated.

  He walked over, placed his hand on my shoulder and asked in a soft voice, "Do you trust me, Luke?"

  I choked up. "Yes, Nguma. I trust you. I'll speak to him." I hurriedly wiped my eyes, and stood up.

  I followed him into the bathroom, and we sat down on either side of Gregory.

  "Luke has agreed to speak with you, Gregory, so please begin." He patted Gregory's hand.

  Gregory turned to face me. "What I'm about to tell you, Luke, is for your ears only. I need you to promise me you will not tell anyone else." He appeared calm, relaxed and in control.

  A plethora of mixed emotions welled up inside me, a good percentage of which was guilt. Guilt because I knew, Jack knew. I swallowed and nodded.

  "I need to hear you say it, Luke."

  "I promise."

  "I am not the same person you once knew as Logan Williamson. To be brief, Luke, because I wanted so much to be part of this voyage, I underwent extensive genetic modifications. The body you see me in now is a modified clone of Logan, but the genes responsible for his psychopathy have been removed. I thought I had altered my appearance sufficiently that you wouldn't recognise me. I obviously underestimated you, Luke," he paused and
glanced at Nguma. He gave a slight nod.

  "I did not harm Kiera. I also did not sabotage the unit she and your children were in. I am aware my previous self organised the body swap and the change in the location of Kiera and your children, but I don't know why. My new persona––Gregory—is horrified and mortified by what subsequently happened."

  Anger surged up through me and I had to grip the edge of the seat to stop myself from reacting. Through gritted teeth, I said, "I don't believe you."

  "Whether you believe me or not, Luke, those are the facts." He turned to Nguma. "Please help me, Nguma." His eyes held a pleading look.

  "He is speaking the truth, Luke––at least as far as the genetic modifications in the clone are concerned. Logan was a psychopath, Gregory is not. He is able to feel sympathy and empathy. He is experiencing difficulty in integrating and suppressing the persona of Logan, and this is something I have promised to help him with after we arrive. I have had experience of this problem before, particularly with psychopaths. The new persona of Gregory will gradually lay down new memories, and over time he will be able to lay the persona of Logan to rest"

  I couldn't contain myself any longer. "What about the persona of my wife? What about Kiera? What about the question of my body? What about…"

  Nguma abruptly stood, came over to me and placed both hands on my shoulders.

  "Be calm, Luke. Be calm."

  "I can't. What about the chips? Does he know what's on the chips? Does he know where Kiera is? Why did Logan leave that note?"

  "I don't know, Luke. There are some memories the persona of Logan hides from me. I don't know why he left you the note. I don't know what it means or where Kiera is. Please believe me, Luke. I want to help you. I…love…loved Kiera."

  There were tears in his eyes. I began to believe him.

  "Tell Luke what you feel about the chips, Gregory," Nguma coaxed.

  "Although I can't tell you what's on the chips, I have a strong feeling something dreadful will happen if you access them." His face held sincerity and something I never saw in Logan—honesty.

  "Are you willing to let Nguma remove the chips so Jack can examine them?"

  Gregory's eyes went wide, he clenched his fists and said, "It's happening again Nguma. What do I do?"

  "Stay calm, Gregory. Take some slow, deep breaths, as I have shown you." Nguma breathed with Gregory, and before my eyes, over several minutes, he became calm and relaxed.

  "Keep breathing, Gregory. I need a brief word with Luke."

  He turned and, taking my arm, guided me over to the corner. He didn't give me much choice, holding me in a firm, unrelenting grip.

  "Logan's persona surfaces when Gregory is threatened or becomes agitated. It is some sort of defence mechanism. He is conflicted and confused, Luke. For all our sakes, be gentle with him. Can you do that for me?"

  I took a deep breath and another before answering him. "I'll try."

  He patted my shoulder. "It is enough, my friend." He guided me back to Gregory.

  He had regained his composure.

  Nguma gently explained to Gregory the importance of finding out exactly what was on the chips. Gregory, finally persuaded, agreed to them being removed. Nguma assured him it was the safest way for Jack to examine them, to determine exactly what they were without causing any damage. Nguma further persuaded him to have a twilight sleep anaesthetic to keep Logan's persona at bay. Gregory agreed.

  We left Gregory and went to tell Jack the good news.

  "Do you want to do the procedure after lunch or are you too tired?" Jack asked.

  "I am not tired; after all, I have been asleep for a long time. I still feel refreshed. I am happy to proceed this afternoon." He regarded us expectantly.

  "Excellent. The sooner they're out, the sooner we can find out what's on them."

  Jack sounded so confident, but I had doubts. Experience had told me nothing was ever straightforward as far as Williamson was concerned.

  After lunch, Nguma disinfected the table and covered it with a sterile surgical sheet. He drew up some anaesthetic into the dispenser and disappeared into the bathroom with Julian. He re-emerged a few minutes later with Julian carrying the prone form of Gregory. Julian carefully laid him down on the table. Jack ran the scanner over him to locate the chips. He found them just beneath the skin underneath Gregory's right arm pit. The small scar was still visible. To be sure, he checked Gregory's identity spherule was where it should be—on the back of his neck just under his skull. It was.

  We left the room while the surgery was being done to minimise contamination. Nguma had kitted himself out with one of the disposable surgery kits from the emergency medical supplies. It also contained a basic set of sterilised surgical instruments, swabs etcetera and all the necessary paraphernalia.

  Five minutes later, a triumphant Nguma emerged bearing the two bloodied chips in a kidney dish. They were specially coated to prevent immune reactions from the recipient, just as the identity spherules were.

  Jack inspected the dish and whistled. "Bloody hell, they're big." He picked up the marble sized spheres, and after carefully rinsing them, dried them with a paper towel. "I'll have to take these down to the lab to access a chip reader. I can look at the internal schematics and find out exactly what I'm dealing with. I may be some time. If it gets late and I'm not back, go to bed and get some sleep. I'll go and suit up now. Julian, could you pressurise the lab please, it's located on deck six." He marched off to the suit storage area.

  Nguma, Tiani and I gravitated back to the living unit table, now free of the surgical equipment. Julian had lifted Gregory back into the bathroom. We'd laid him on pillows, covered him with a blanket and had made him as comfortable as possible as one could be on the floor wearing handcuffs. Nguma had advised us to keep him restrained for the time being.

  He ducked out to check on Gregory and soon returned. Apparently, he was still dead to the world, and he probably wouldn't wake for another couple of hours. We sat around talking and were soon joined by Julian. We learned Nguma had emigrated from Nigeria as a child and had studied medicine in Canada. He had met his wife, Teresa, when they'd both been attending a course in neuropsychiatry prior to graduating. She had chosen the research path. Nguma had gone into general practice with a side specialty in neuropsychiatry. During his first lifetime, he had become interested in psychopaths, an interest he still pursued. His wife had done extensive research into the condition.

  Time flew by. Jack hadn't returned by ten, so we decided to get some sleep. I went out to the deck with Julian to see if there'd been any further progress. He'd been communicating with Jack roughly every hour, apart from the last couple of hours. Jack had found the process so draining he'd decided to grab a couple of hours sleep. He'd only just woken up. The process of examining the chips was proving frustratingly slow and laborious. Because they were unique, he'd decided to use extreme caution to find out as much as possible prior to any interrogation attempts. Julian decided to stay up for another hour.

  I was still awake when Julian tiptoed in, grabbed a pillow and laid down on the floor near Tiani. I couldn't relax, my mind kept going around and around wondering what was on the chips. Did one of them really hold Kiera's consciousness? What would we do if it did? Possible consequences spun around my brain, and I found myself becoming increasingly more agitated. In the end, I got up and crept outside to the computer terminal. I sat in the chair and buzzed Jack. The wall clock showed a minute past midnight.

  "Julian," he said, irritably, "I told you not to bother me."

  "It's not Julian, it's me." I ran my fingers through my hair.

  "Luke, I'm doing my best, these things are…" I waited. Jack gave an enormous sigh. "They're so bloody complex. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to find out what's on them without damaging them." I could hear the exhaustion and desperation in his voice.

  "What about examining them via Virtual?" I asked, after a long silence.

  "After what Williamson said?"

&
nbsp; "Look, I'm prepared to take the risk, even if you won't."

  A long pause followed. "I…bloody hell, Luke. This is a bloody nightmare."

  The strain in his voice tugged at me.

  "I'm coming up."

  "That's not…" I cut him off because I knew he was going to say not to come. I left a message on the screen for Julian so everyone would know where I'd disappeared to.

  Within a couple of minutes, I was in the airlock. When I was half way up in the lift some twenty minutes later, I realised that in my haste I hadn't sighted the floor plan for deck six. I had no idea where the laboratory was located.

  We'd all taken a tour of the ship prior to being put in suspension. It had been quick and superficial, and my memory of it was hazy. Lack of sleep was making me stupid, I realised. Great Universe, I hope I am able to raise Jack. The ship's decks were huge, long, complex affairs, and certainly not the place to go wandering about in the dark. I was still berating myself when the lift arrived at deck six and the door opened. An avalanche of light flooded in, and I could see passages heading off in all directions. Julian had obviously turned on all the lights for Jack when he'd come through. He'd left them on, uncertain as to when Jack would come back.

  I flicked to gen com, hoping Jack hadn't turned it off.

  "Jack! Jack, I'm on deck six, but I haven't a clue where to go." I waited––silence. I tried again.

  "You shouldn't have come," Jack said, in an angry tone. "I've a good mind to leave you to wander around." I kept quiet and so did he, but finally, he said, "But I'd worry you'd get yourself into trouble, and I wouldn't be able to concentrate. If you look at your wristband screen you'll see a little FP in the bottom left-hand corner, tap that and the floor plan will come up on your HUD."

  I did as I was told, and a schematic spilled into my visor. I noticed a blinking green dot and realised it was indicating where I was. "Use the little keyboard, and tap in C lab. See you shortly." He cut me off.

  Feeling chastened, I followed his instructions. Presently, a map with the route to the lab clearly marked popped into view. It appeared close by. I exhaled slowly in an effort to release the tension that had built up. I turned and walked down the appropriate passage. Soon, I was outside the airlock door clearly marked C lab. Once I reached the inside of the lab, I stripped off my suit and gulped in the fresh air. Jack didn't look up from his computer screen until I was standing beside him.