To Touch the Stars (Founding of the Federation Book 2)

by Chris Hechtl

  She trembled but didn't say anything.

  “I backed you. I supported you! The Neos, the … damn it, woman! What the hell were you thinking! I drew the line and said no further and you waited until I wasn't looking and danced over it. You did it out of spite!”

  “That's not true!” she said indignantly, voice rising. She fought to control herself.

  “Oh no? You thought you knew better. You! You thought the rules didn't apply to you! That it was okay! That what, I'd overlook it forever?” He demanded. “What the hell were you thinking??” He demanded, hands on his hips.

  “I knew what I was doing,” she said, knowing it wasn't enough of a defense. “They are fine.” She bit her lip, not ready to admit her difficulties with Yorrick.

  “Fine? Fine??” He demanded, hands apart. “They are freaks!” Her eyes widened at his scathing vehemence. She felt dismay and disapproval and didn't hide either emotion. “Geniuses yes, but freaks! If the world finds out, do you know what they will do to them? To you?” He threw his hands up in despair, making her take an involuntary step backwards. “There is a reason genetic manipulation of humans is forbidden! You don't play God! You had no right you arrogant bitch!” His fist slammed into the end table, making the sculpture bounce and hit his hand. “God damn it!” He snarled, batting the sculpture across the room. The glass shattered against the wall. She flinched again, then turned to stare at it.

  “Your mother gave that to you,” she said softly in rebuke after a long moment.

  “So what,” he demanded, voice cold. His fists clenched over and over until his knuckles turned white. His jaw set.

  “It isn't the only thing she gave you,” Aurelia said, voice moving from subdued and contrite to something else. He turned to look at her. “I only altered some of the genes. Others were already done.”

  He blinked at her in confusion. “You …”

  “Done long before I was born,” she said cutting his confused protest off. He froze, staring dumbly at her. She nodded to him with those expressive eyes. She picked up her tablet and then typed in the file header, then the encryption key. Then she tapped a command to send it to the main wall screen. Her head turned, and he tracked her view to the screen.

  His medical file was there. He pursed his lips, then she typed another key in and his genetic profile opened, then his pediatric file. He frowned, bewildered at what he was seeing. He didn't understand half of it.

  “You passed on a lot. The template was there, I just … tweaked it. Updated it. But if you don't believe me anymore, if you don't trust me, read it for yourself,” Aurelia said quietly. She pulled up the notes. He grunted, eyes tracing back and forth.

  He found out some history he hadn't expected. His father had been sterilized when he had been contracted testicle cancer in his twenties. His mother had gene engineered him, as well as Bret Castill, a few of the Irons family, and other people. She had taken a skin sample of his father then engineered it with one of her eggs to form a fetus, his fetus.

  He'd thought they had been experiments, but realized there was more to the story as he continued to read on. Yes his mother had been arrogant, high handed like his wife, but she'd loved him. Aurelia loved the kids too; she'd never do anything to harm them he realized. Not intentionally, he reminded himself. Slowly his rage faded.

  From the look of the file … some of his mother's patients had been altered in the womb or before insemination to protect them from a genetic form of autism or other brain related issues. She had redirected the genetic patterns to develop geniuses, not idiot savants.

  “This … still doesn't … it can't be real,” he said finally, shaking his head in disbelief.

  “You still don't believe me?” Aurelia said looking at him with a bit of pity. “Here,” she said as she accessed an encrypted file. She hit play, and he watched silently as his late mother's video image went on to explain what she had done in a message to him. “I hope you never find this out, dear, I love you. I don't want you to hate me. Me or your father. But your father was sterile, and we both carried the genes to cause brain defects. I tried to conceive you naturally but we had so many problems with what would have been your older siblings,” she closed her eyes in pain. “I had to abort them,” she said, voice leaden. “All four of them. In desperation I turned to what I knew best. I knew I could fix it. Fix you. And I did! I … well …” she shook her head helplessly. “Anyway, it is done now, and it worked. You are here in the world, healthy and beautiful. The question before you now is where do we go from here?”

  He grunted.

  “I want you to live a full life son. A rich one, without this hanging over your head. Honey, put it behind you,” she implored, staring into the camera beseechingly. “Don't get a superiority complex. Use it to better all of mankind,” she said, wiping her eyes. “If you do, I'll … I'll tan your hide!” she growled. That made his lips twitch in a subconscious smile. She turned and smiled when a child's cry sounded. “That is you right now. From the sound of it, you are hungry. I've got to go dear. I love you with all my heart,” she said and then reached out and cut the video camera off.

  “I guess you have a lot to think about,” Aurelia said as she left the room.

  -*-*-^-*-*-

  Jack spent several days sleeping in the guest room. He avoided her whenever they were home. Sometimes he would come home late after she had gone to bed, something he rarely ever did. The first night Aurelia cried herself to sleep. She writhed, wondering why she'd done it. Was it all worth it now? She turned, one hand caressing his empty side of the bed. No, she thought, not if it cost her everything she loved. She fought the resentment down. She resented that he couldn't see what she saw, didn't understand. That he was so closed minded about the situation. She was only doing what was right! She wanted what was best for their kids! Couldn't he see that?

  She sat up and then pulled her feet up and wrapped her arms around her knees as she rested her chin between them. He … she sighed. No, she had made a promise to him, and he remembered it. It wasn't just what she had done, tampering with nature. Nor was it the tampering with human genetics … at least that wasn't the whole problem. It was a violation of … of trust, she thought, then the tears flowed freely once more.

  -*-*-^-*-*-

  When the kids started to notice their estrangement, Jack relented slightly. He was still cold and distant with her, but he didn't immediately vacate the room when she entered.

  Little Wendy finally brought them back together. The precocious little girl tricked Jack into the living room while Aurelia was there, then each of the kids sat on them to keep them from retreating. “You two are having a fight; we get that. We're not blind,” Wendy told them, hands on her hips. Yorrick and Zack both nodded.

  Jack grunted. His eldest son was heavy.

  “People do that, or so I've been told. But this has gone on long enough,” she said, eying her parents. “Out with it.”

  “It …”

  “Don't tell us it is an adult thing,” Zack growled, eying them both. “I am in college now, remember? Yorrick is about to graduate high school. I think we can handle an adult conversation,” he said. “Despite our age.”

  “It's complicated,” Aurelia said, fighting tears. “Mommy did some bad things. Things she promised she wouldn't do.”

  “She did more than that,” Jack grumbled. His daughter put a tiny finger to his lips.

  “Hush. Let her talk.”

  Aurelia poured out the story to her audience, hesitantly at first, unsure how they would take it, how much they would understand. She expected revulsion but was secretly elated at their children's composure. The kids were shocked at first, but then amused. They joked about super powers. Yorrick pranced about, making muscles and posing.

  That made Aurelia freeze like a doe in a set of headlights. The kids … they could easily get themselves or others killed. The superiority … the superiority she'd passed on to them, not just in their genetics but of the thought of themselves as bet
ter than others … Aurelia shot Jack a horrified look, she finally understood what he had been getting at. He gave her an “I told you so” look.

  One of the greatest things he'd worried about was their mental balance. His and theirs, thought he felt fine. Normally when you increased intelligence there had to be a tradeoff. When IQ went up, the subject's mind became withdrawn from external stimuli, treating that and social interaction as unimportant. Therefore their EQ, their Emotional Quotient suffered in proportion to their increase in IQ. When he'd read his mother's notes, he'd found that Ursilla had found a way to balance the two while increasing IQ. It was well over his head, but it had apparently worked. He was living proof.

  He hadn't known he was better than 99 percent of the human race however. He'd gone through his life thinking he was normal, just a couple points above average. Now though … what would the knowledge do to the kids? How could they keep them from being arrogant? So smart they were stupid?

  “That's not how it works,” Jack finally said, brushing Wendy's hand aside. She pouted but he wasn't looking directly at her for once. “You are smarter yes. Like me. You are developing faster than others, yes. You are immune to many diseases; I'm not sure about your muscles and other issues.”

  “Mostly normal,” Aurelia mumbled.

  “Right.”

  “Oh,” Yorrick said, face falling into a disgusted pout.

  “So, we're like Tony Stark? Ironman? That'd be cool we can make armor and …”

  Jack shook his head vehemently no which cut their excited chatter off. “No, you are our kids. The thing you need to keep in mind is, out there,” Jack pointed to the large wall screen that doubled as a picture window. “Out there people are superstitious, paranoid, and very much aware that anyone who is better than them is a threat. They don't tolerate it. They will resent it. I think all three of you have read up on World War II by now, right?”

  The kids nodded.

  “Remember the Nazis? Or the white supremacists in America? Or all the other idiots that thought they were better than the rest of the population?”

  “Yeah Dad, but we really are better,” Yorrick insisted.

  “In a small way,” he measured his fingertips apart in front of the lad. “Better than some people. There are others that are just as smart as you through natural genetics. Like I was trying to point out, don't go putting a chip on your shoulder. Someone will come around and knock it off. And if you get really uppity, people will resent you. That will turn to hate and fear. Then they'll come after you,” he said, voice darkening. He held up a warning finger. Zack sucked in a breath.

  “People hate others who play God. It is an unforgivable sin.” He said, drawing the word out and seeing the flinch Aurelia gave. “For a long time, I supported your mother with the Neo projects. It violated just about every ethical standard, but as long as she didn't play God with the human genome I turned a blind eye. We went down that road once with the enhancement project and I shut it down hard. I made sure others reviewed her work, and she was careful not to cause pain. She was smug though, and she did violate protocol a few times. I didn't slap her hand hard enough it seems,” he said shooting her a dark look. Aurelia looked away, blinking away tears. She wiped at her eyes. “When the Neos were smart enough to want their freedom, I put in provisions that they get it,” he said, looking at his wife once more. She nodded.

  “But that's not enough. She couldn't leave well enough alone. She had to push since she thought she knew better than anyone else and that is where this conversation started. We all like to think we're different, but in the end instinct takes over. We can't stand someone being better than us. It is in our nature, not just to be competitive, but to resent that smug superiority. To feel threatened by it, because it endangers our future, and our children's future.” That last shot seemed to go home with Aurelia. She ducked her head, rubbing at her arm and biting her lip.

  Wendy's eyes went wide. He nodded. “That's right. The mob rules. They hate things that are different, and those people who think or act like they are better make themselves a target. Your mother tampered with things she shouldn't have,” he said, noting Aurelia look down and bite her lip. “She's done with that. She broke her word to me.” Aurelia flinched. The kids looked at her, upset that she was upset. That their father was so angry. “I'm deeply disappointed in her. I'm taking steps to make certain she never does it again, even if I have to shut down the genetics labs and burn them all to the ground,” he said, voice growing cold and dangerous.

  Aurelia sucked in a breath. She finally realized a lot more people could lose out on her stupidity. Or her smug superior better to ask for forgiveness and permission attitude. She opened her mouth to protest but saw the iron in his eyes and body. He wasn't going to listen to a thing she said she realized. Not anymore.

  “But Dad! What about the Neos?!” Zack protested, eyes wide.

  “It's not fair to punish them for what mom did. I don't see what she did was wrong but …” Yorrick looked uncertainly to his mother. “If anything they are innocent.”

  “I'll think about it,” Jack said.

  “I can … step back. Step out of the labs,” Aurelia offered quietly.

  “Some form of punishment does seem appropriate,” Wendy said, playing the arbitrator. “Don't make hasty decisions when you are angry. You taught me that. Burning it all down is extreme,” she said, looking from her mother to her father.

  Jack frowned and waited, collecting his thoughts. “It's perfectly natural to want your kids to be better off,” he said slowly. “To want them to grow up healthy, smart, educated, the works. But not like this,” Jack said, turning to look his wife in the eye. She was pale, clearly shaken. “We'll talk more, but there are definitely going to be some changes.”

  “I understand,” she said quietly, nodding. “I … I even agree with them,” she said, eyes downcast.

  “It will be a long time before you ever earn my trust again. A long time,” he emphasized. He saw a tear fall.

  “I know,” she sobbed.

  He sighed as the kids suddenly got upset. He scrubbed his face. “But I'm not going to close the door. Not completely. We'll … we'll figure it out,” he said gruffly.

  She wrapped her arms around him blindly and then cried on his shoulder. He let out a long exhale and tentatively hugged her back.

  “It's going to take time,” Zack said, looking troubled. “Come on. We've got chores and homework to do,” he said to his siblings. They nodded and left quietly.

  -*-*-^-*-*-

  The next morning Aurelia went to work only to find her access had been revoked. Her files and access to the kids’ files had been rescinded. She wanted to protest but didn't. Security quietly escorted her back to her quarters. It was mortifying, humiliating to her. She was given observational status half way through the day.

  “Jack, can we talk,” she murmured to him when he came home just before dinner.

  “About what?” he asked.

  “I …” she rubbed her arm in a self-conscious act to support herself. “I … don't know what to say other than I am sorry.”

  “You should be.”

  “What am I going to do here? I can't … I can't be in a cage,” she said, head down. Zack passed her to set the table. He put the plates down and then walked out.

  “I don't know yet. I said if you violated your word to me, if you played God I'd stop you. Obviously I failed to keep a close enough eye on you. I can't make up for what you have done. But I can stop you from ever doing it again.”

  “I …”

  “You can work as a consultant with the Neos. Neo scientists will monitor their own future from now on. They have agitated that for a while now.”

  “Can I see them?” She asked.

  “Of course. You can look but you can't touch. Go ahead, visit, talk, whatever. But you are done playing God. I mean it.”

  “I … I'm sorry,” she whispered.

  “Sorry isn't enough. It is however a start,”
he said. She nodded as the kids came in with the casserole and drinks.

  “It's time we got back together as a family,” Wendy said firmly. That made her father crack a smile. She turned to her father and then pointed at him. “Go wash up,” she said.

  “Yes ma'am,” he said dutifully in an amused voice. Yorrick snickered. Even Aurelia smiled as she helped them finish setting the table. Maybe … just maybe they'd be all right. Different, but okay. They'd have to take it one day at a time.

  -*-*-^-*-*-

  Hannah found out she was the new head of the Neo project when she noticed her access privileges had changed and Aurelia was nowhere to be found. When she called Aurelia, the other woman told her in a strangled voice that she was having an unscheduled “staycation.” She wasn't sure for how long. It was however giving her time to bond with the kids more.

  That explained why she hadn't been needed for sitter duty lately. Not that the kids really needed it now; Zack was old enough to care for his siblings just fine. But she liked to come by and play games with them, and she knew they loved the games.

  She stopped by later that afternoon. Doctor Lagroose was in her bummy clothes, gray sweats with her hair up in a ponytail. She'd been working out, the sweat smell was a dead giveaway.

  “I thought you'd stop in,” Aurelia said, eying her.

  “When you didn't want to go into details, I figured it was one of those things that needed explaining face to face,” Hannah said, setting her tablet down. She sat on the couch. “So? Spill,” she ordered.

  Aurelia snorted, then nodded. She reluctantly filled her in on the general estrangement, but not a lot of the details. From the sound of her story she was glossing over half the details, but Hannah realized the Neo projects were in for a shock. “You are going to have to … work with them. With the Neo community leaders more,” Aurelia said.