“Ah yes, this may come as surprise to you but most of these people are in fact clones. They are my most magnificent achievement; loyal, trustworthy and eternally young.” He faced the window and opened his arms wide as if to embrace his creation.
Jann was silent for a while as she tried to comprehend this vision. So Gizmo was right about clones after all. She should have known, it always was. The colonist that arrived at the airlock at Colony One must have been one of these. But why did he go there? Was he trying to escape?
Vanji turned back to Jann. “I know it’s a lot to take in. But give it time and you will begin to understand the society we have created here.”
Jann looked up at him. “I’m sure I will, but now I just want to get back to Colony One as soon as possible.”
“Ah… well, you see that is not possible.”
Jann stiffened, “What do you mean?”
He looked down and rubbed his chin. “Your arrival here has created something of a dilemma for us. Our existence here is secret and… well, you jeopardise that.”
“But how?”
Vanji waved a dismissive hand. “The how is not important at the moment. What is important, however, is your future here.”
“What? I’m not staying here.”
“That is not for you to decide. Trust me, there are those on the Council who demanded you be recycled. But since you are a Biologist I think you will make a great addition to our team.”
“Recycled? You mean… killed?”
“Not a term we use here. We have grown to treasure life, it is a previous resource on Mars. We do not kill, we recycle. You see, our philosophy here is that the soul belongs to the person but their biology belongs to the colony.”
“So what are you saying?”
“I’m saying that here is where you live now, until the time comes for you to be… recycled.”
CHAPTER 6: Biology
After her meeting with Vanji, Jann had been taken, under guard, to a different room further down the long corridor. She was unceremoniously shoved inside and the door locked. The room was like the corridor, hewn from the rock, a cave within a cave. It was spacious, but with few furnishings save for a bed, a desk and a seat. All of which were fabricated from bio-plastic. The ceiling was high and had the same lighting covering the entire roof. Again she had the disjointed feeling of being outside. She presumed this was now her room, were she would remain for the foreseeable future, however long that future might be.
On the table was a hand written note. Place your palm over the touch plate on the desk to activate.
“To activate what?” she wondered. Inspecting the surface, she found it to be smooth except for a small frosted glass plate in the side. She placed her palm on it and a 3D image of Mars projected upward and rendered itself just above the desk. ‘Welcome Dr. Malbec. Please relax and enjoy this presentation.’ The rendering of Mars grew larger and started to rotate. It zoomed in on the Jezero crater and then onto the location of Colony Two.
‘In the beginning…’ The voice-over commenced. It was a history lesson. Jann sat down and paid attention.
Since the mine was first established by the early colonists, over ten Earth years had passed. Initially they open-cast for metals and silica but eventually sealed the cave system and created a pressurised atmosphere inside. This single act radically transformed the place and, in many respects, as a Martian habitat, it was far superior to Colony One. It had heat from aero-thermal activity deep below the surface. The rock and regolith were free of perchlorates, toxic to life. And the millions of tonnes of rock above made a perfect radiation shield. No wonder Vanji regarded it as being the perfect crucible in which to forge his vision of humanity. The vast cavern that Jann had witnessed, from Vanji’s lair, was only one of many, a great many. What they had accomplished here was staggering. Not least the incredible advances that they had made in genetic engineering, particularly in human cloning.
Yet, the know-how to clone a human had already existed, at least in theory. However, it was the ultimate scientific taboo. No scientist in their right mind would touch it. The repercussions of such experimentation would, at best, destroy a career instantly. At worst it would come with a hefty prison sentence. It was banned outright. But of course, that was on Earth, this was Mars. ‘The only law on Mars is your own’. She remembered that first day in Colony One with Paolio, wandering around the bio-dome. “We’ve come a long way since then, Paolio,” she said to herself.
The presentation finished. Jann sat for a while digesting all that she had gleaned from it. What interested her most was, not so much what was said, but what had been left un-said. Even if Vanji and his team had successfully developed a human clone, it would be a mere baby. All the colonists she saw in the cavern were adults. So how was this possible? And the numbers suggested that there must be more than one clone of the same person. Multiple copies, all created from the same source.
Then there was the secrecy. No one knew this place existed as a functioning colony. Not even Nills. He seemed convinced that no one could have survived the great storm. Or was he also in on it, part of the conspiracy? He had tried hard to hide his own existence from the ISA crew, maybe he knew? But she realised this was not possible. Because what Nills knew, Gizmo would also know, and the little robot had scant data on Colony Two. She gave a thought to Gizmo, even felt a twinge of sorrow for it, tending to the garden in the vast bio-dome of Colony One — all alone.
Jann had no answers to any of these questions. So she turned her attention to examining the room. Specifically, how to get out. However, after a brief period of testing and prodding she gave up and lay down on the bed. She needed to think.
On the plus side, she now possessed the knowledge on how to kill the bacteria that had so devastated her life. Oxygen toxicity she knew, and had tried. But not in combination with low pressure. How could she have been so dumb as to not have considered it? She could have been home-free by now. But, there was no point dwelling on it. At least now she had it in her hand. It was her passport off this planet, her ticket back to Earth.
Yet, even with this, she was further away than when she started. Trapped in a nightmare, with no escape. “There must be a way out?” she thought. At least her mind was beginning to focus now. It was clear to her what her mission was. She would find a way to escape or be recycled in the attempt.
“What did that mean?” She wondered. Was it death or something half-way in between? Some form of termination that could only be conjured from the mind of a geneticist? It wasn’t something she wanted to experience. No, what she wanted was to go home, back to Earth, and be done with Mars and all its insanity.
So, her number one priority would be to find out as much as possible about the inner workings the colony. Second, would be to gain Vanji’s trust and to a lesser extent the trust of the Council. It was clear from her initial discussion with him that they were not all in favour of keeping her alive. Her stay of execution was prompted by Vanji regarding her knowledge as an asset. She needed to play along with this, and, in truth, part of her was fascinated to learn all she could about the experiments being conducted here, especially regarding cloning.
In the end, she realised she had little choice but be a part of Colony Two and try not to get herself recycled. She remembered Vanji’s words. ‘The soul belongs to the person but their biology belongs to the colony.’ A shiver ran up her spine.
CHAPTER 7: Homo Aries
Jann awoke to the sound of the door being opened. The light grew brighter and she sat up in bed with a jolt, her body taut, ready for action. The same two black-clad guards entered and took up positions either side of the doorway. They were followed in by a woman carrying a tray of food. Her head was lowered and she moved with a deft silence. She placed the tray on the desk and retreated, never once did she make eye contact. The two guards followed her out and locked the door again.
Jann relaxed her body, swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. “It must be morning
so,” she thought. She eyed the tray of food, picked up an apple and took a bite, it tasted good, so finished it in four bites. She was hungry. Better eat as much as possible as who knows when she would eat again. For someone who had lived the hunter-gatherer lifestyle for the last few years she was not accustomed to eating only when food was available. She cast her eye over the tray again. There were baskets of fruit and bread, a jug of juice and a small platter with what looked like paté. She lifted it up to examine it, sniffed and was pretty sure it was synthetic, probably grown in a lab. Jann put it back and decided the fruit might be the safer option, and picked up a pear. She noticed something odd at the bottom of the basket, and reached in to lift it out.
It was a small hard object wrapped in a paper-like material. She opened it, there was a note.
‘Our joy knows no bounds, now that you have come. Your presence amongst us fills us with hope. This token will keep you safe. Tell no one.’
Jann examined the object. It was a small hard white stone, carved into the shape of the bee-hive hut near Colony One. Its base was flat and etched on the underside was the word ‘Source’.
She turned it over a few times examining it. She could tell that it must have been carved some time ago as it was worn and unevenly polished, as if someone had kept it in a pocket. Dirt had accumulated in the crevices of the word scratched in to the base. It was a strange artefact, its meaning obscure.
She dressed, ate and was back examining the object when the door opened, in strode Vanji. She shoved the object into her pocket before he noticed.
“Ah, Dr. Malbec, are you ready for our little tour? I have something very special to show you today. Come.” He held an arm out toward the doorway for Jann to exit. Jann stood up and made her way into the corridor, sizing up the two guards, who stood some way back as she went. She reckoned she could take them, if she had the element of surprise as an advantage. Relieve one of the cattle-prod and the other would go down easy. But she would only get one chance at that, and now was not the time.
They walked to the elevator at the end of the passage and entered. “So where are we going,” asked Jann as Vanji pressed a code into a touchscreen.
“We are going to witness an act of creation, in the birthing room.” They descended, deep into the bowels of Colony Two. The doors finally opened to a short tunnel, opening out into a wide cavern. The roof had the same, all encompassing, lighting. Rows of horizontal glass tanks covered the floor. Each the size of a large bath and filled with a thick, opaque liquid. There was something inside but looked dull and formless seen through the fluid. Wires and tubes snaked in and around the tanks and they all glowed with a muted luminosity. They walked down between a row towards a knot of people gathered around one tank, all busy tending to their tasks. They looked about twenty-five. But, Jann doubted that was their actual age.
“Dr. Vanji, we’re ready when you are.” One technician broke away from the knot and approached them. She eyed Jann with a distinct air of suspicion.
“Excellent.” Vanji turned to Jann. “You are now going to witness the birthing of a new life-form.” He waved his hand at the technician. “You may commence.”
The technician retreated with a nod. Activity increased around the tank as the glow grew brighter and Jann could now make out the recumbent form of a human. Pumps activated and the level of liquid in the tank slowly decreased. She was close enough to witness the human break through the surface. It was male, fully adult, and also looked around twenty-five. Its entire body was covered in a thin wire mesh, various tubes snaked from its orifices.
When the last of the fluid drained away the sides of the tank detached and started to rise upwards, high into the space above. The technicians gathered around the body, removing tubes and wires in a well practised routine, all the time getting feedback on bio-status from monitors. After a few moments they all stood back down. The lead technician then turned to Vanji. “He’s ready.”
“Excellent. You may proceed with the kick.”
Again the technician nodded, and signalled to the others.
“All clear?” A chorus of confirmations echoed around the platform and the body looked to Jann to be zapped with a high-voltage charge. Its back arched, muscles contracted and it shook, and banged, and vibrated for a few seconds before lying still. Steam rose from the body.
“Again.” A technician shouted.
For a second time the body was racked with a high-voltage jolt, but for longer this time. Finally it stopped and there was a moment of silence. His fingers twitched, his back arched and he took in a long hissing breath. The technicians moved fast, he kicked and shivered and shook as they gathered around him; probing, testing, analysing. They glanced up at a large monitor; checking stats, verifying data, monitoring readouts. His eyes were wide and frantic, they held him down as one of them jabbed his neck with a syringe, he quietened down. They stood back and inspected the monitors.
“Subject’s physiological and neural data looks excellent. We can proceed with processing.” With that the technicians started cleaning him before finally lifting him onto a waiting gurney and covering him with a thin sheet. When they were finished they wheeled him off.
Jann stood in mute silence, all the time clutching the totem that had been given to her at breakfast. She felt it in her pocket and rubbed its smooth face with her thumb, it comforted her. Vanji turned to her as she watched the huddle of technicians wheel the subject out of the birthing chamber. “You have been privileged to witness the creation of life itself. A new colonist to add to our ever-growing population.”
Jann was speechless, what could she say that could in any way sum up her emotions. In the end she simply said, “Holy crap.”
Vanji threw his head back and laughed. “I fully appreciate your shock at witnessing this event. For the uninitiated it must be a surreal experience.”
“So what happens to him now?”
“He will now be processed over the next few months until he is ready to join our community.”
“Processed?”
“Looks can be deceptive. He may seem fully grown, and in many ways he is fully grown, but his mind is like that of a small child. New members require counselling and processing before the full potential of the mind is realised.”
“But how can you create a clone so fully formed, so complete?”
“Would you like to see how it is achieved?”
Jann thought about this for a minute. She had just witnessed the creation of a new life, the moment it became cognisant, and that new life was the product of science. Not of nature, per se, but by the genius of one man, Dr. Ataman Vanji. He had stolen the secrets of the gods, the knowledge and ability to create life. Part of her felt it was something not right, not natural, not moral in this power. But, the scientist in her was fascinated. How was this even possible?
“Show me.” She finally said.
Vanji looked at her with an intense stare for a moment. Then he slowly smiled and said, “I was right about you, you have the soul of true scientist, that insatiable desire to know and understand. Come, let me show you.”
They walked back along the rows of tanks until they came to a laboratory area. Here a tank took central position. It was filled with the same opaque viscous fluid but Jann could see it was empty. From around its base ran a myriad of wires and tubes into various machines and systems of indeterminate function.
“This is where the magic begins.” He waved an arm along the length of the tank. “In here we introduce the biomass. It is a biological suspension of stem cells and nutrients. Into this primordial soup we introduce the zygote. It is then stimulated using a complex radiation process with a specific harmonic frequency modulation. This accelerates the cell division process and as each cell starts to define itself, it gathers to it the raw materials, the stem cells it is surrounded by, and utilises these to speed-up the process of growth.”
Jann touched the side of the tank delicately and peered in. “How do you create these stem cells, I m
ean, there are so many?”
“We grow them, and we also recycle.”
Jann stepped back from the tank with a jolt. “So that's what you meant, the soul belongs to the human, but their biology belongs to the colony.”
“You must understand, this is a barren planet, life is precious here, nobody should needlessly die. It would be a waste.”
Jann put her hand into her pocket and clutched the totem. “Are you creating genetic replicas of all the colonists who came here?”
“Not quite. You see it is quite a traumatic experience, for an original human to come face-to-face with their clone. So we have only cloned those that are no longer alive.”
“But they must be over a hundred people here?”
“Our total population is nearing two-hundred.”
“So there must be multiple clones of the same person?”
“Yes, there are secondary, tertiary and even quad clones. These do not experience the same emotional trauma at meeting their twin. But we are now embarking on a whole new phase. We are now creating hybrids.”
“Hybrids?”
“Yes, a genetic mix of different colonists. You see clones are a complete genetic replica of their host. But with hybrids, we can introduce biological variation and new genetic enhancements. You see, Jann, we are creating a whole new species of human. We call this new species Homo Aires.”
Colony Two Mars: A SciFi Thriller (Colony Mars Book 2) Page 4