Genesis Variant (Genesis Book 6)

by Eliza Green

  ‘Healthy fear keeps you from making stupid choices. To say nothing scares you reveals your stupidity.’

  Marcus was close enough to hit Clement, but his fear kept his clenched fists by his side.

  ‘I can see it in your eyes,’ said the Indigene. ‘Hold on to that fear, because you’ll regret the day you fight me.’

  ‘I wasn’t going to do anything, bottom feeder.’

  He pretended not to care, but he could feel Clement crawling around inside his head.

  He uncrossed his arms and slipped on his glasses again. He’d had enough of Clement’s mind games. He watched the able-bodied GS and those in hover chairs disappear from view inside the environ. He removed the glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

  This was just like working with Enzo Agostini all over again, sent to do recon on properties and people. Except Marcus had been able to stand the humans he’d worked alongside.

  This Indigene, not so much.

  ‘The feeling’s mutual,’ said Clement.

  Marcus cursed. ‘Now you can read my mind?’

  ‘Only when your guard is down.’

  Marcus raised the drawbridge in his mind. ‘Why are we even here, for fuck’s sake?’

  Surely Harvey and Ollie had a better use for him than to do these crap jobs.

  ‘To keep an eye on the new species.’

  ‘Why are you here? I thought you hated humans.’

  Clement stared at Marcus. His bright, blue eyes shone under the moonlight. ‘To keep an eye on you. We have our own reasons for agreeing to this alliance.’

  ‘Then why am I here?’

  ‘To keep an eye on me.’ Clement looked off into the distance. Marcus wondered what he looked at. ‘Do you wish to know what Buchanan and Patterson think of you?’

  Marcus already had an idea. ‘Not really.’

  ‘Patterson doesn’t even know who you are. You’re a faceless individual in a sea of ordinary. A nobody. You’re not even on his radar.’

  Marcus seethed at hearing that. The last time someone had called him a nobody, he had blasted him with a Buzz Gun.

  ‘Harvey is keen to control you. He knows you’re itching to break away but you can’t. He has plans.’

  ‘Plans?’

  ‘To take over the ITF building and become the new power in this land. Patterson doesn’t know. When the time comes, only a few will matter to him. You’re not one of those few.’

  Marcus paced. ‘Fuck! And you got that all from his mind?’

  ‘No. I overheard them talking to others on their communication devices.’ Clement smirked. ‘But I could be wrong. Harvey is familiar with our abilities. He could have planted the idea in my head.’

  Marcus was sick of people using him for their own gains. ‘Well, whatever the truth is, I won’t be anyone’s puppet.’

  Clement shrugged. ‘You could go along with his plans or you could help me and, in the process, achieve something I know you want.’

  ‘And what the fuck’s that?’

  ‘To become like me.’

  Marcus laughed. ‘I don’t know what you’ve been snorting but that’s the last thing I want. Read my mind.’

  He pulled up the memory of him torturing three Indigenes in an abandoned warehouse.

  Clement didn’t react. ‘Not like me, exactly. You want power, to become untouchable. I can help you get it.’

  ‘How?’

  Clement had to be lying.

  ‘Help our side to gain the advantage here. We want rid of the GS humans and the treaty. The humans don’t want to share power with us, so we’ll take it. Help us to get all three.’

  The idea intrigued him.

  ‘Untouchable, how?’

  ‘As in, physically stronger—’ Marcus made a face. ‘—than the humans who command you.’

  The idea made Marcus smile. ‘What do I need to do?’

  Clement stared into the distant landscape. ‘Fill Harvey and Patterson’s heads with lies. Start with the ones I’m about to feed you.’

  16

  Dressed in dark clothing and with air-filtration devices in place, Stephen set off running with Serena for District Eight. They passed through the environmental barrier of the closest hunting zone and ventured farther into the land with no treaty protection. District Eight was located a hundred miles north of their location, close to the human city of New Singapore. Between them was too much land without ITF protection.

  An hour ago, Laura had contacted him, saying she and Bill wanted to discuss their meeting with Ollie Patterson. While Stephen wanted to hear Bill’s side of it, he’d put the meeting off until he and Serena had spoken to Gabriel and Margaux. Bill had offered to drive them both there, but Stephen didn’t want to be seen with a human and further stoke the Indigenes’ mistrust, even if it was just Bill.

  ‘What’s Gabriel going to say when we get there?’ said a panting Serena.

  Stephen kept a steady pace with her even though he could run faster. ‘The same thing we have, that this is more serious than we first thought.’

  It worried him that Indigenes from District Eight had been spotted near New London and were working with local humans. This showed just how far these splinter groups had recruited.

  ‘I thought the peace treaty would be a good thing, but it has only fuelled suspicion,’ she said through a flurry of breaths.

  ‘The concept behind it still stands. But the treaty created gaps and those with different intentions want to fill them.’

  ‘Is that what’s happening here?’

  Stephen was sure of it. ‘Yeah.’

  A short distance off to the west, Stephen saw the now familiar white tarpaulin covering the GS 100 environ that contained their power-stealing machine. Stephen stopped suddenly, forcing Serena to skid to a halt. This close, he tried his envisioning ability.

  ‘Anything?’ said Serena.

  ‘I can’t see them—future speaking, I mean.’

  Serena concentrated on the west. ‘We’re too far out for my influence to work. I’m worried that if I try, it will be me that falls under their spell, not the other way around. They were created out of my code. They must have my abilities.’

  They ran again. Stephen picked up the pace to put some distance between them and the GS 100. ‘I agree. They used the genetic information from your creation and improved on it in ways we know little about. We must not take for granted any change in their behaviour, no matter how small.’

  I agree, said an out-of-breath Serena.

  They kept to the hunting zones as much as possible, marked by a translucent, shimmering environmental field. Occasionally, when the zone ended, they had to exit into unprotected territory. While Bill had assured Stephen they would not be harmed if the military caught them beyond the hunting zones, it was the vigilantes Stephen worried about most.

  He and Serena could outrun any human threat. But an Indigene vigilante? That posed a different problem.

  The environmental barrier made his skin prickle as he slipped from safety to danger, and back to safety again. It carried on like that for another seventy miles until Stephen spotted the visible entrance to District Eight that had been built above ground. The peace treaty no longer required them to hide the locations of their districts with rocks and camouflage. But a handshake agreement rarely stopped violence and the elders still took precautions.

  Serena slowed her approach to the door set into the tall rock face. The door was made from omega, the strongest rock on Exilon 5, and covered in a metal shielding. An electrical charge coursing through the door nipped at Stephen’s skin. Amid the irritation, they both looked up at the scanner set into the rock face. The scanner projected an ultraviolet light that only Indigenes could see. It scanned their forms before it disappeared, taking with it the electricity.

  The door slid open and Stephen followed Serena inside to a stairwell that tunnelled deep into the earth. The door closed behind them and they descended the stairs until they met a second door, also made from omega. The s
econd door opened and Stephen felt the familiar light resistance of the environmental barrier as he passed through.

  A young, male Indigene waited.

  Gabriel is waiting for you both in Council Chambers, he said. I’ll take you there.

  The hostility from the young male rolled off him in waves.

  We know the way, said Stephen.

  The male nodded and left. Stephen and Serena took the south route to the Council Chambers. Serena’s aura was a calm blue, he noticed, with a hint of yellow uncertainty.

  Both he and Serena had been here before, but this was the first time either of them had felt anything other than respect. He walked faster, keen to hear what Gabriel had to say.

  The tunnel layout, similar to home, made District Eight feel familiar, but this district gave off a different acoustic vibe. Stephen grazed his fingers along the tunnel wall and felt the strong thumping that attuned to the negative mood of the Indigenes. The farther into the district they ventured, the harder that thumping became. Stephen glanced at a surprised Serena. What had happened here?

  They reached the Chambers to find an open door and a space inside twice as big as the one in their district. Gabriel had turned the chambers into his and Margaux’s private dwelling. According to Gabriel, it was the only place where they could find a sliver of peace in the district, and the only place the district could get a break from Margaux. She had a habit of meddling in the minds of others.

  Two mattresses lay side by side on the floor in the open space. It had no bookshelves, unlike Pierre’s old space. A timepiece sat next to the beds. A table had been shoved up against one wall before the beds. There was a board on top with a set of drawings, or possibly blueprints, pinned to it. Stephen and Serena entered the space to find Gabriel and Margaux arguing in silence. The wild gesturing and expressions on their faces gave Stephen his first clue. A third Indigene stood off to the side. He turned to look at them when they entered. He was around Stephen’s age, with striking, blue eyes similar to Serena’s.

  He nodded at them. Stephen caught Serena staring at the male.

  Don’t get any ideas, teased Stephen. I’ll fight him to win you.

  Serena turned to him. No, his eyes... they’re so blue, like mine.

  I noticed that too.

  Serena tickled Gabriel’s mind—the telepathic equivalent to a tap on the shoulder.

  The tall elder turned fast, his eyes wide. ‘Ah, you’re here. Give me a minute, and shut the door.’

  Stephen obeyed Gabriel, who turned back to his wife. ‘You can’t do that. It’s too dangerous.’

  ‘It’s only dangerous if you don’t know where to look. I do.’

  ‘But what if you get caught, Margaux? I mean, it’s one thing to watch them, quite another to pry. I can’t control the younger ones and it will only get worse.’

  Margaux folded her arms. ‘I’m not doing anything to them. Besides, they’re young; they’ll get over it.’

  Gabriel grunted and turned away. ‘Talk some sense into my wife.’

  But the erratic-minded Margaux appeared to be lucid. This was possibly the most lucid Stephen had seen her.

  ‘What’s going on?’ said Stephen.

  His envisioning ability, if it wasn’t broken, should have given him a glimpse of what Margaux had done and what she planned to do.

  He thumbed at the male Indigene. ‘And who’s this?’

  ‘This is Clement,’ said Gabriel. ‘He has managed to infiltrate one of the human groups near New London. I trust him.’

  Clement nodded and Stephen’s gaze found Gabriel again.

  ‘The young are restless and Margaux is taking matters into her own hands,’ said the elder. ‘There is massive unrest here. You probably feel it too. She thinks that if she eavesdrops on the younger adults’ discussions about joining the splinter groups, she can use their strategies against them. I tried to tell her it’s pointless and dangerous, that what she’s doing is risking Clement’s infiltration. The young despise rules and her interference will only push them to rebel against our district’s order.’

  ‘That’s why we’re here,’ said Stephen. ‘Some from this district travelled to New London to meet with human groups there.’ His eyes cut to Clement. ‘I guess we know who at least one of them is. What are the human groups planning?’

  ‘It’s not clear. They have paired each of us off with a human. They have expressed an interest in power and the GS 100. I don’t know what they want with the latter.’

  ‘How do they propose to get that power?’

  Clement shrugged. By driving a wedge in the peace treaty for starters.

  ‘What about this human you’ve been paired with?’ said Serena.

  ‘They call him Martin Casey. He is a lowlife from Earth, but an idiot. A different name flashed in his mind and he showed me an image of him torturing Indigenes there. But he has an overactive imagination, so I can’t say if he showed me that to scare me or if it really happened.’

  Even idiots can be dangerous, said Stephen. We shouldn’t rule him out as a threat.

  ‘I agree,’ said Gabriel with a sigh. ‘The young in this district are uneasy and I don’t know what to do about it. So far, none of them have been recruited to the New London group, according to Clement. But still, something big is happening here.’

  ‘When did it the unrest start?’ said Serena.

  ‘About the time the GS 100 crawled out from their caves and showed the world what they are. But it probably started long before that. We’re just feeling the effects of it now. Those on the cusp of adulthood listen to their peers more than their elders. Tradition is being cast aside in favour of smaller groups with younger voices.’

  ‘How young?’

  Gabriel shrugged. ‘Those too young to know what the peace treaty meant eight years ago. Now that they’re adults, they view the treaty as a bad thing that represses the movements of our species.’

  Just what Stephen had feared. ‘That’s one way to look at it, Gabriel. The other is that the treaty gives us a freedom we never had before.’

  ‘But we can’t venture outside of the zones,’ said Gabriel.

  ‘Bill Taggart assures me there will be no penalties if we do.’

  ‘That’s hardly progress, Stephen. I hate to admit it, but there’s some sense to disbanding the treaty.’

  ‘What? No. The treaty protects us from extinction.’

  Gabriel paced the room under the watchful eye of Margaux and Clement. ‘Okay, not disband. Perhaps renegotiate? Margaux and I are too far removed from the newest generation. Even you and Serena are dinosaurs to them, so that also rules Clement out. The young blame us for their restrictions; they believe humans have no rights to this planet. All it will take is the right word in their ears for the treaty to fall apart.’

  Clement spoke. ‘I don’t know much, but some males from this district align themselves with the policies of the group I’ve infiltrated.’

  ‘How many from this district are in your group?’ said Stephen.

  ‘Ten in total; just me from here.’

  ‘Are you the only undercover Indigene there?’ said Serena.

  ‘That I know of.’

  ‘What do the other Indigenes in your group want to achieve?’

  Clement shrugged. ‘They want to break apart the treaty. The humans want the power the ITF have. That’s all I’ve learned from the followers. The leaders have found a new way to block me from accessing their thoughts.’

  But the answer didn’t satisfy Stephen. ‘Then what?’

  Gabriel sighed and shrugged.

  ‘That’s why I follow the younger ones!’ said Margaux.

  Gabriel stared at his wife. ‘And it’s dangerous.’

  ‘Not the way I do it.’

  Margaux folded her arms and Gabriel grunted. Stephen probed her thoughts but Margaux placed a new block on her thoughts, preventing him from accessing them. She was through discussing it.

  ‘Is there anything we can do here?’ said Serena. �
�We could try speaking with the young, gauge the level of their hostilities. I could influence them, get them to open up.’

  Gabriel shook his head and walked to the door. ‘Clement has already tried.’

  How? said Serena.

  ‘Oh, didn’t I tell you? Clement has your ability. Well, part of it anyway.’

  ‘Excuse me?’

  ‘He was changed using your DNA.’ Gabriel watched her. ‘I thought you might have guessed from his eye colour. You’re the only two Indigenes with blue eyes that I’ve ever met.’

  Serena touched Clement on the arm. ‘Is that true?’

  ‘My files state I was changed shortly after you. My influence does not reach very far. I can only influence the person next to me.’

  Serena shook her head and smiled. ‘It’s nice to meet you, Clement.’

  Clement bowed. ‘And you. Gabriel and Margaux speak highly of you.’

  ‘But not me?’ Stephen huffed. ‘Thanks, Gabriel.’

  The elder responded with a laugh and a wave. ‘Your head is big enough as it is.’ He rested his hand on the door. ‘Go back to your district. You can’t do anything here. I’m sorry you’ve had a wasted journey, but I’m worried your presence will only fan the flames of anarchy. I’m sure you felt it coming in.’

  Gabriel opened the door and a rush of emotions hit Stephen as word of his and Serena’s arrival spread.

  ‘I’m sorry, Gabriel. We’ll leave immediately.’

  Stephen and Serena walked back to the exit amid a disturbing level of increased whispers and new collusions.

  ‘What the hell, Stephen? Another like me?’

  He felt her giddiness flutter against his mind. Another, indeed, with the power to influence who he liked.

  Where would it all lead?

  17

  Twenty-four hours ago, Simon’s machine had acted as a conduit for the Nexus to heal Tanya’s frail and withered body. She had looked fitter, stronger and had walked around unassisted. Simon and those whom Tanya had picked to assist her had brought the rest of the Elite to the machine to repeat the process. Each session, the white light had passed through the concentration of energy at the machine’s centre, curled around the Elite’s arms in a rope-like fashion and passed its healing energy to them. Their bodies, on the precipice of death, had kicked and fought against their predisposed demise but the Nexus had restored them to a state where they had control over their bodies.