"Why are you telling me this?" Logan was aghast.
Gen inwardly cringed, but no hint of it showed outwardly. "The best lie is 99% true," she explained. "I /am/ Max's Manticore predecessor. My foster mother /did/ rescue me from the institute when I was 14 months. You probably saw the records of the fire when you checked up on me." At Logan's slow nod, she continued. "I /did/ grow up in Wisconsin with a dozen cousins. But you know that Manticore doesn't let go of its prototypes easily, even the flawed ones. They tracked my mother down when I was 16."
She looked at the ruined outline of the city. It was close to midnight, but a nearly full moon pierced the clouds and etched the tallest buildings in silver.
"I spent 2 years in intensive rehabilitation, Manticore-style. I was useless as a soldier, but that didn't mean I had no value. They originally tracked me down to keep me out of anyone else's hands. My genetic code could be the Rosetta stone for scientific research. Not the tell-all that X-5 DNA would be, but such an advance in technology as to jump-start the process. Once they had me, though, they weren't about to let me go to waste. Not in these economic times."
She could almost feel Logan's eyes boring into her back, and she turned to face him. "I am as strong as Max, but more brittle, in so many ways. All that Lydecker had to do to ensure my cooperation was to take me back to my high school and ask me which one of my cousins was going to mysteriously disappear. I cracked like an egg, Logan. Two weeks of sub-tapes and limited food rations and I would have assassinated the president if he'd asked me to. Two years and I was considered ready to be a useful espionage tool under low supervision. For four years, I've been on a long lead; one of Lydecker's personal operatives in the Seattle area. Every other month I am permitted to see my mother, who lives in a gated military community in Idaho."
Logan looked as if he were trying to decide whether or not to feel pity for her, but Gen raised one finger to him. "You asked me why I'm telling you this, and I didn't answer you. I want you to know what I'm giving up by doing what I intend to do."
Gen walked to the television and tapped the screen with her splinted finger. "I wasn't lying when I said that Eyes Only was a personal hero. Lydecker never discouraged morality, he just discouraged morality that interfered with his agendas. Streaming Freedom Video was something to which I could attach a certain amount of faith. I never believed in God; I was built in a lab and my creators never attained holiness in my eyes. I never believed in politicians. Conflict of interest when you are regularly required to bribe, seduce or, in extreme cases, kill them. Eyes Only... You, were doing something I could believe in. Something that I could, probably, never be asked to act against. Lydecker pushed me past every single moral barrier I ever put up. I even betrayed family for him, but I swore..." Gen's voice broke for a moment and she wondered if there were new, genuine, tears on her cheeks. "I swore that I would never act against Eyes Only."
She looked down at her hands and tried not to think about the times before. Lydecker, testing her, finding her weaknesses, turning her strongest points into her shame. Her youngest cousin, just six, found 'accidentally' strangled in a swing-set. The mental anguish of being responsible for the death, but so disgusted at herself for being so weak... so brittle. Tears were trained away. Guilt was motivation. Jobs were non-negotiable. No one had known about her personal obsession with the independent news-hack; Gen hadn't wanted to hand Lydecker any more information to use against her, more 'habits to break.' His way of breaking habits was effective, and Gen could feel traces of her humanity ebbing with every hard lesson that Lydecker felt obligated to teach her.
At sixteen, she had been appalled by the ideas of lying, killing or sex as a tool. Just one year at Manticore and these ideals were swept aside like so much sentimental garbage. Lydecker was not pointlessly cruel, but he did see Gen as an expensive purebred; if not of show quality like his X-5s, at least a valuable tool which needed harsh training to reach potential. He never abused any of his kids, he even felt a sort of affectionate pride for them, but he never viewed them as people. Ferociously intelligent, useful and clever, but never with regard to their own free will. Independent thought was discouraged unless bent towards Lydecker's goals, and even then, not actively supported. And his idea of discouraging something was swift and immediate correction: punishment, and subliminal tapes, perhaps a round of particularly demanding training.
Gen realized that the silence between herself and Logan had stretched taut. His eyes were an agony of confusion, dread and hurt. "What will they do to Max?" he asked finally.
Gen closed her eyes, weary and not just a little frightened, but determined. "Nothing," she said very quietly. "I'm going to get her out of there. Lydecker pushed too far this time. I won't be his any longer, and I won't let Max suffer because my crisis of conscience was a few hours late."
She opened her eyes and bored into Logan. "But she will need you very badly when she comes back. I don't have any illusions about the fact that they will scare her and demoralize her and I have already delivered the harshest blow by betraying her." A picture of her mother's face flashed before her. Betrayal was such a multi-faceted stone. Sometimes Gen believed that her mother thought that she had betrayed Gen by allowing herself to be good-behavior insurance. She wondered briefly if Lydecker would kill the kind woman who had raised her, and tried to convince herself that death was better than life as collateral. And if Gen's break were clean enough, perhaps Lydecker would believe that he could accomplish nothing with her family's death.
Gen took up one of the pads that resided beside Logan's computer and sat down with a pen. "I need you to find out the pattern of traffic lights between here and SeaTac. Can you get yourself and Max a passport by tomorrow? What about a European Union visa? Also, I need a double dose of adrenaline to get the rest of the drugs out of her system. She will have burnt most of it off, but the extra help will give her enough reserves to get out of here in one piece. How much of your money is liquidable, or accessible outside of the US? Your position is more than compromised at this point, and Lydecker will take your interference personally."
Logan blinked and obediently picked up the phone to call his contact for the fake passports. "I liked you better as the sweet, uncomplicated Gen. You were much less demanding."
Gen smiled at him grimly. "That Gen hasn't truly existed in 6 years. Now I'm making a list of genetic problems that have shown up in the other X-5s, and their treatments, as well as a list of Lydecker's other operatives and support bases throughout the country. These won't be complete, as I wasn't in a position to know everything, but they will help you out. I'm also going to arrange Kendra a new place to live and get Original Cindy a new job. Not all of my contacts have been Lydecker-approved."
Logan had the gall to look suspicious. "This is a pretty major reversal on your part," he said.
Gen met his eyes, still writing in neat, perfect line. "Just a reversal back."
*********
Thank you again, for reviewing! I'd love to know what you think of Gen at this point. Sympathetic character? To wishy-washy? Thanks! Ellen
http://www.ellenmilliongraphics.com
Gen inwardly cringed, but no hint of it showed outwardly. "The best lie is 99% true," she explained. "I /am/ Max's Manticore predecessor. My foster mother /did/ rescue me from the institute when I was 14 months. You probably saw the records of the fire when you checked up on me." At Logan's slow nod, she continued. "I /did/ grow up in Wisconsin with a dozen cousins. But you know that Manticore doesn't let go of its prototypes easily, even the flawed ones. They tracked my mother down when I was 16."
She looked at the ruined outline of the city. It was close to midnight, but a nearly full moon pierced the clouds and etched the tallest buildings in silver.
"I spent 2 years in intensive rehabilitation, Manticore-style. I was useless as a soldier, but that didn't mean I had no value. They originally tracked me down to keep me out of anyone else's hands. My genetic code could be the Rosetta stone for scientific research. Not the tell-all that X-5 DNA would be, but such an advance in technology as to jump-start the process. Once they had me, though, they weren't about to let me go to waste. Not in these economic times."
She could almost feel Logan's eyes boring into her back, and she turned to face him. "I am as strong as Max, but more brittle, in so many ways. All that Lydecker had to do to ensure my cooperation was to take me back to my high school and ask me which one of my cousins was going to mysteriously disappear. I cracked like an egg, Logan. Two weeks of sub-tapes and limited food rations and I would have assassinated the president if he'd asked me to. Two years and I was considered ready to be a useful espionage tool under low supervision. For four years, I've been on a long lead; one of Lydecker's personal operatives in the Seattle area. Every other month I am permitted to see my mother, who lives in a gated military community in Idaho."
Logan looked as if he were trying to decide whether or not to feel pity for her, but Gen raised one finger to him. "You asked me why I'm telling you this, and I didn't answer you. I want you to know what I'm giving up by doing what I intend to do."
Gen walked to the television and tapped the screen with her splinted finger. "I wasn't lying when I said that Eyes Only was a personal hero. Lydecker never discouraged morality, he just discouraged morality that interfered with his agendas. Streaming Freedom Video was something to which I could attach a certain amount of faith. I never believed in God; I was built in a lab and my creators never attained holiness in my eyes. I never believed in politicians. Conflict of interest when you are regularly required to bribe, seduce or, in extreme cases, kill them. Eyes Only... You, were doing something I could believe in. Something that I could, probably, never be asked to act against. Lydecker pushed me past every single moral barrier I ever put up. I even betrayed family for him, but I swore..." Gen's voice broke for a moment and she wondered if there were new, genuine, tears on her cheeks. "I swore that I would never act against Eyes Only."
She looked down at her hands and tried not to think about the times before. Lydecker, testing her, finding her weaknesses, turning her strongest points into her shame. Her youngest cousin, just six, found 'accidentally' strangled in a swing-set. The mental anguish of being responsible for the death, but so disgusted at herself for being so weak... so brittle. Tears were trained away. Guilt was motivation. Jobs were non-negotiable. No one had known about her personal obsession with the independent news-hack; Gen hadn't wanted to hand Lydecker any more information to use against her, more 'habits to break.' His way of breaking habits was effective, and Gen could feel traces of her humanity ebbing with every hard lesson that Lydecker felt obligated to teach her.
At sixteen, she had been appalled by the ideas of lying, killing or sex as a tool. Just one year at Manticore and these ideals were swept aside like so much sentimental garbage. Lydecker was not pointlessly cruel, but he did see Gen as an expensive purebred; if not of show quality like his X-5s, at least a valuable tool which needed harsh training to reach potential. He never abused any of his kids, he even felt a sort of affectionate pride for them, but he never viewed them as people. Ferociously intelligent, useful and clever, but never with regard to their own free will. Independent thought was discouraged unless bent towards Lydecker's goals, and even then, not actively supported. And his idea of discouraging something was swift and immediate correction: punishment, and subliminal tapes, perhaps a round of particularly demanding training.
Gen realized that the silence between herself and Logan had stretched taut. His eyes were an agony of confusion, dread and hurt. "What will they do to Max?" he asked finally.
Gen closed her eyes, weary and not just a little frightened, but determined. "Nothing," she said very quietly. "I'm going to get her out of there. Lydecker pushed too far this time. I won't be his any longer, and I won't let Max suffer because my crisis of conscience was a few hours late."
She opened her eyes and bored into Logan. "But she will need you very badly when she comes back. I don't have any illusions about the fact that they will scare her and demoralize her and I have already delivered the harshest blow by betraying her." A picture of her mother's face flashed before her. Betrayal was such a multi-faceted stone. Sometimes Gen believed that her mother thought that she had betrayed Gen by allowing herself to be good-behavior insurance. She wondered briefly if Lydecker would kill the kind woman who had raised her, and tried to convince herself that death was better than life as collateral. And if Gen's break were clean enough, perhaps Lydecker would believe that he could accomplish nothing with her family's death.
Gen took up one of the pads that resided beside Logan's computer and sat down with a pen. "I need you to find out the pattern of traffic lights between here and SeaTac. Can you get yourself and Max a passport by tomorrow? What about a European Union visa? Also, I need a double dose of adrenaline to get the rest of the drugs out of her system. She will have burnt most of it off, but the extra help will give her enough reserves to get out of here in one piece. How much of your money is liquidable, or accessible outside of the US? Your position is more than compromised at this point, and Lydecker will take your interference personally."
Logan blinked and obediently picked up the phone to call his contact for the fake passports. "I liked you better as the sweet, uncomplicated Gen. You were much less demanding."
Gen smiled at him grimly. "That Gen hasn't truly existed in 6 years. Now I'm making a list of genetic problems that have shown up in the other X-5s, and their treatments, as well as a list of Lydecker's other operatives and support bases throughout the country. These won't be complete, as I wasn't in a position to know everything, but they will help you out. I'm also going to arrange Kendra a new place to live and get Original Cindy a new job. Not all of my contacts have been Lydecker-approved."
Logan had the gall to look suspicious. "This is a pretty major reversal on your part," he said.
Gen met his eyes, still writing in neat, perfect line. "Just a reversal back."
*********
Thank you again, for reviewing! I'd love to know what you think of Gen at this point. Sympathetic character? To wishy-washy? Thanks! Ellen
http://www.ellenmilliongraphics.com