45.- Natla Technologies, part II
A decaying Karel arrives at Natla Technologies Aksaray. He feels it, he can no longer contain his halves together. Such is the effect of Croft's use of the Sanglyph on the Sleeper. A team of doctors surround him and anesthetized. An emergency surgery is performed to recover the decaying body, and it's successful, for the most part.
And so, a few days later Karel wakes up. As if nothing happened. No postoperative recovery. He is the VIP lounge of Natla Technologies Aksaray, and he feels it for the very first time in a long, long time. HUNGER… HUMAN HUNGER… His craving for the blood is temporarily gone, but he now knows what yogurt tastes like. For him, it's a blessing. But for them, he hopes they know what they are doing.
"Congratulations on your surgery," Natla says through a videoconference. "I'll be flying to Aksaray to follow your evolution on the field." Karel sits down a bit. "My other half, what did you do with it?" Natla asks. "We removed it and put in cryogenic conservation. It will be carried to the Lost Dominion for further investigation. There is much work to be done in order to improve the Nephilim race." Karel laughs. "Are you sure, madam?" Karel asks. "You can't improve a Nephilim. But I'd love to see you try."
"We'll see..." Natla says. Then she plays a video on the Karel estate. "Do you recognize this boy?" she asks. "Trent…" Karel says. "What about him?" "He has the blood sign, and you don't," Natla says. "He'll keep the gate open." Kurtis is in a quite different state. His body is just not the same. It has been turned into a man machine, his body mass increased by half… "He's a survivalist now," Natla says. "And he among others, shall be the future of mankind."
"How do you do that?" Karel asks. Natla is displaying the modified Kurtis Trent as a prototype soldier, capable of being cloned and hatched. "Such was the advancement of human technology," Natla says. "At least until humanity decided to promote wimps. We are now in a similar age of advancement, yet we seem to keep devolving as species. It shouldn't happen like this." Now, Karel thinks Natla has something interesting in mind. The question is, can she manage an angel?