Eye of the Storm
The room is silent, a cacophony of darkness weighing down on the individuals inside. All sat around the table, like the knights of old. The table is shaped like an oval, with metal plates in front of the men sitting around it. A hologram of something the men had little knowledge off, hovered before them.
"Akari, and Michelle K. Davis. Are your predictions… accurate?" An Englishman, with a rough accent spoke. His voice cared little for what was shown in front of him. Images of children, and some diagram or another showing their DNA.
"If we believe, what U-NASA has revealed. Then the surgery… benefits, have passed on to the children. Shall I go over them once more?" A man, Japanese. Thin and wiry with cracked spectacles added. He was the only one standing around the table.
"That won't be necessary. What you are suggesting is that we use the samples taken from the crew of BUGS2. Then make our own, Akari and Michelle K. Davis? Then build a ship to send them to Mars. Quite an expensive notion you ask, no?" A man, much larger than the rest with a beard as dark and grizzled as the room itself, with a Russian accent he asked. The Japanese man smiled, then cleared his throat.
"With the few samples we have left. I have devised a strategy that will allow us to get the most out of the few samples we have. While also experimenting on the success of our experiments. I have already discussed this with a few of you. Privately of course." A few men around the room nodded with others confused. "We have 6 samples of crew members from BUGS2, with the right amount of funding we can make children from these samples. The English representative has been given one sample and will be using a surrogate mother, to make the child. The representative from the United States. Has two samples, and will be using both samples to make one child with a surrogate mother. These will take up two of the control variables for this experiment." The Japanese man wiped sweat from his brow, and hastily took a sip of water.
"Its alright I can take it from here. Sweden, has taken one of the samples, and the rest were given to the Spanish and me. I, the Australian representative are collaborating with India to produce this child. Ours will be test tube born. Any questions?" This man spoke with a thick accent. Australian as he suggested and regally handsome. A little too young to be representing a country, but nobody questioned it.
"So the rest of us. Will we be carrying out our own procedures?" Said the Irish representative.
"Yes. You understand that these procedures must be carried out on infants? Our goal here is to see how the factor of age, and growing up with the surgeries affects the candidates for Annex II."
"But, by our calculations. Annex I won't be launching for another nineteen years. Why make a backup plan so early."
"Because Annex II is launching at the same time as Annex I. However the goals are very different, I suspect Annex I will be working on curing the A.E virus. Now what we are doing is very different, we will be trying to find ways of killing the Terraformars as well as setting up new life on Mars."
The men nodded in agreement. It was at that point they understood why the room was dark. Nobody could see the true faces of the other men, they were silhouetted in the darkness. So if any country wanted to betray the others they wouldn't know who to look for. These men may have been from varying social castes. From Teachers, janitors, to Government officials. Nobody knew. Which made this arrangement perfect.
"One last question?" A German woman spoke up, raising a few eyebrows in the room. "What if we can't get any samples to use for the experiment. Baby's with parents willing to have their children die are hard to come by. And I don't like the idea of forcing orphans into it either. So what would you have us do."
"The answers simple isn't it? If you own them, use them." The Russian bellowed making the rest of the people surrounding the table, uncomfortable. Yet everybody knew he was right. "You guys with the surrogates and the test tubes got it easy, eh." His continued a low chuckle, furthering the gripping tension everyone felt. Before coming to the meeting. Everyone was told not to trust anyone in the room. This mans presence reinforced that idea.
"Is that all?" The Japanese man asked looking around the room. Everyone nodded. "I will have the pleasure of seeing you all in 19 years I hope." Each delegate got out of their chair and left through separate exits.
All except the Japanese man. After each door closed. He pressed a button and the room lit up. In his hand. Lay a crumpled picture of a woman, whose belly showed signs of pregnancy. He stroked the photo tentatively, then scrunched it up without mercy.
A/N
This is an AU where some of the higher ups in U-NASA are creating a second Annex Project. Annex II is launched roughly around the same time as Annex I with a different objective and mission. There may be interactions later.