“So … Stephen. Stephen?” The name stuck in Tristan’s head uncomfortably as it did in the clone’s, and seemed as disrespectful to him as it did to the memory of his dead son. So he asked, “What should I call you?”
“I called myself Stephen until I found out I would be meeting you, but I can’t very well call myself that now. While I share his exact DNA, I am not Stephen, but I do consider myself your son. While Mr. Wolfe has attempted to lighten the mood by calling me Stephen 2.0, I …”
“You what?” Tristan demanded of Wolfe, already knowing the answer.
“Sorry,” said Wolfe looking away guiltily, only now fully realizing he had been personally insulting his boss’ son for days, “I wasn’t at my best. It won’t happen again.”
In that instant, the former 2.0 knew he was only a name away from having everything he dreamed of and more. “Apology accepted. You did, after all, save my life and bring me here,” the new son continued, “I would like to go by my middle name, Patrick.”
“Yes,” agreed Tristan, “The resemblance is undeniable, but you are clearly your own man. Patrick it is.”
He wished he had said this more to Stephen. By the time he got around to it, the old Stephen didn’t care what he had to say anymore. Tristan felt guilty for failing his son, but they were eased by the prospect of a second chance.
The new father and son talked, each offering his own insights and contributions to the conversation while genuinely interested in what the other had to say. Tristan had imagined this kind of day with Stephen, but had long since let it go.
Wolfe offered to let himself out, but asked about personally leading the team to look for Josh back on Pangaea.
The elder Evans agreed, recommended two men from Wolfe’s old team, and told him to report to the New Seattle office in 12 hours for a briefing before takeoff. He was to have his written report of the Kronos mission ready by then.
Chapter 18
“Are you sure you have the right coordinates?” Nick asked the pilot and navigator as he looked out the window at open sea.
“Yes, sir,” was the reply from the navigator over the intercom, “We’ve checked the GPS, and double-checked with our own paper map on board. I’m telling you it’s not here!”
“Where’s the nearest island?”
“There are many within range, but if you’re okay with it I’d like to land in Papua. There are BioMek mining and manufacturing facilities there, and the island is very appreciative of their Uncle Tristan.”
“Understood. Let’s do it.”
Wolfe became aware early in his mercenary career that in the 21st century, large companies, not governments, held sway over smaller countries. The notes they paid were better than any country’s currency; it was backed by gold and platinum. The jobs and opportunities were real too. As ruthless as Tristan Evans could be in business, he regarded the people of islands like Papua, New Guinea, as partners and allies, not as commodities. He didn’t want to have to answer for making a government sell its own people out so he could have cheap labor. Both parties wanted the marriage to work, and they were in it for the long haul. If this could be considered a Lord-serf relationship, the serfs were very well-paid, secure, and happy. Politicians in large countries like the US would often beat their chests about military might, but they all knew they could not easily invade one of Tristan’s islands. The islands were small but everything on them was real. Tristan Evans’ money, his weapons, and the loyalty from the islanders were more real than anything the Western world had seen in over a hundred years.
While on the island, Wolfe was able to make full use of BioMek Horizons’ resources to quickly trace the missing plane to New Zealand.
Nick still had no idea his friend was dead, or that he had a clone, or that he and Gretchen were planning to be together forever. If he knew these things, he may have guessed they would find a nice island in the South Pacific to relax and plan their next steps. But knowing none of these things, Nick made no assumptions. He chose instead to access the records of the planes that were at Pangaea’s small airport. There were 41 planes: one freight plane, one commercial-size passenger plane, a few military-type fighters, and the rest were small to medium private jets. Sorting through the records didn’t take long, as only one plane was shown to have left the island after Nick and Patrick did—it was one of Kronos’ own jets. He found it strange that no one else attempted to leave Pangaea, especially in light of political unrest, possible civil war, and an apparent event that caused it to be swallowed up by the ocean. He knew someone would answer his questions in the next few days. He hoped that someone would be Josh Taylor.
***
The newly liberated clones of Josh Taylor and Gretchen Brooks were in Whangarei, in the North Island of New Zealand, or Te Ika-a-Māui. The temperature was milder and it was populated, not too densely, but it was definitely a major metro area with a good mix of Western and South Pacific Island culture and values. It was nice place to blend in. They could work, and have a nice start to their new life together.
Wolfe found the two at a small apartment in the city. The new Josh Taylor answered the door. Despite mentally preparing for this moment, he could barely look Nick in the eye. He felt like he had betrayed him simply by existing, even though he had nothing to do with the decision, or with the unfortunate circumstances of Josh’s death. Gretchen could hear him struggling and quickly joined him to give Nick the details of his comrade’s passing, and of the birth and life of his clone.
“I don’t know what to say. I suspected Josh was dead, but this is insane.”
Gretchen was indignant, “Love may be easy to find in the good old USA, but on Pangaea, the chance of it didn’t exist before Josh showed up. I used Kronos’ technology to create my Josh, primarily to protect me after I couldn’t save Josh, but I hoped he would choose me, and he did. Now all we want is our happiness. He could have gone with you back to New Seattle, but he wants to be with me. I don’t know how long we have but however long we live, we want to be together.”
Wolfe was still letting this new reality sink in and simply said, “Okay.” He then asked the questions he came to ask.
“What happened to the island?”
Gretchen started, “We waited for a few hours before taking one of the planes, and thought we would be there much longer, but the few people guarding the plane left all at once, going indoors and downstairs from there to the underground facilities. Soon everyone was gone. We made a break for the plane and right before takeoff, the ground began to shake. The runway was clear and we had no trouble taking off.”
Josh’s clone continued, “We circled around once we were in the air to see what was happening to the island and saw it splitting up into five distinct pieces—giant sections of the island. They floated away from each other quickly until there were miles between them, and then …”
Nick was getting impatient at this point, “And then … what?”
“And then they took off, up into the sky quickly, but not like rockets. The sections moved fast and without the giant rockets pushing them up like you would see on a normal Earth rocket. This was like nothing any of us have ever seen before. Gretchen swears she has no memory of it from Kronos, but it’s possible he could have kept it from the recruits and their clones.”
“But why would they take off after he died? Wouldn’t the secret have died with him?”
“Yes, unless he dealt with someone else for the technology.”
“Like who? BioMek? China?”
“Like aliens.”
The possibility had been on everyone’s mind but when Josh Taylor’s clone said it out loud, the phrase just hung in the air.
Like aliens.
“Did the island go into outer space?”
“Most of it did, but a small part went east, over the horizon. That’s one reason we went west. I hope you and your friends at BioMek can deal with whatever it is.”
Nick frowned, having no idea and said absently, “I guess we’ll find ou
t.”
THE END
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About the Author
Ross H. Henderson is the author of Science Fiction/Adventure stories, including The Eyes of Little Birds, Slaves of Pangaea, and the upcoming The God Class. He draws inspiration from classic writers of the genre Philip K. Dick and J.G. Ballard, placing his readers in strange and dangerous situations while asking questions about humanity, technology, and reality itself.
Before taking up writing, Ross was active in the Atlanta music scene, playing in various bands and producing albums. He has also booked and promoted events, including charity shows for Wounded Warrior Project.
Ross enjoys sci fi movies, art, history, and spending time with his family.
Slaves of Pangaea: The Second Nick Wolfe Sci Fi Adventure (Nick Wolfe Adventure Series Book 2) Page 7