CHAPTER 2

CELGRO AND THE NEO-MITOCHONDRIA DEBATE

At quarter past twelve, we finally managed to pull up outside the local branch of the NCA. Larry double-parked, claiming "if I get a ticket, the NCA will pay for it" (though I wasn't so sure they would) and we all hurried inside.

Five minutes later, we were all seated in the conference room, around a large table I'm willing to bet was bigger than my bedroom. Munro sat on one side, the five of us on the other. Peter Munro was our connection to the NCA, and he supervised us to make sure we were "proper representatives of Australia's law enforcement." He was a big man, well over six feet and built like one of my aunt and uncle's Kenwood trucks.

"Well now, I suppose you're wondering why I called you here on such short notice."

Murmurs around the table. I'm glad I wasn't the only one who thought it strange.

"I'll make this short and sweet, I know you all have busy lives that I'm sure you can't wait to get back to. Young ones such as yourselves, so young and so free…"

His eyes took on a nostalgic quality and he started to ramble on about the wonder of youth. Larry coughed loudly, and it snapped Munro back to the present.

"Ah, yes, sorry about that. Getting back to the topic at hand, we've had an interesting development in the yearly audit of Celgro. You've all heard of Celgro, I assume?"

Nods. Of course we'd heard of Celgro, the biggest medical research company this side of the equator.

"Up until recently, all of Celgro's focus has been on the cloning of human organs, completely legitimate. But the word coming through now is that Celgro have embarked on a new project. They're apparently tampering with genetic manipulation, trying to create a new breed of neo-mitochondria."

I had to interrupt. "Sir, a new breed of neo-mitochondria?"

"That's what I've been told, don't shoot me, I'm just the messenger. So Celgro are to be the subject of your latest investigation. The codename of the project in question is Project Stella, and the man in charge is Stephen Dobson."

He passed around manila folders with short dossiers about Celgro, Dobson and the latest information on Stella. The photos of Dobson showed a scrawny man, about six foot tall, with brown hair and a short straggly beard.

"Keep an eye on Dobson. The NCA needs to know anything you can find about Project Stella, especially how far their genetic tampering goes. I don't mean to sound all doomsday, but they don't want a replay of the war, which is what they're scared of. The NCA want you guys doing the investigation, because you guys are the best."

I can't speak for the others, but I perked up a little when he complimented us.

Munro made a big show of checking his watch, then continued his little monologue.

"Well, you've been given the orders. As usual, you have the full investigatory powers and resources of the NCA behind you. You'll report back here in two weeks, with complete reports from each of you. I have to get going now, I'm a busy man, and you guys were late, like always."

I heard Graham trying to hide laughter. Guess he was happy again.

"So I'll see you guys out, and good luck with your investigation."

We filed out of the conference room, and back out to Larry's beat-up Mitsubishi.

"Celgro, eh?" Larry pondered.

"Yep."

"Interesting."

"So, what first?"

"I reckon we go home and start doing a little research."

"Agreed."

Did I mention all five of us lived together, in a medium-sized house in the outer-western suburbs? Well, we do. It sucks sometimes, but in times like this, it can be handy.

Within an hour I was curled up at home in front of my laptop. The Internet was always a good place to start, when looking for information. Behind me and in other rooms, I could hear Larry on the phone to Celgro, looking to set up a meeting with Dobson, Graham and Tamara discussing a schedule for watching Dobson, and Daniel making himself some lunch.

"Daniel, stop stuffing your face, we've got work to do!" I called.

"Aw, shut up Bec, you ain't my mother, you can't tell me what to do!"

"Yeah I can, Danny boy, so get to work!"

He rattled off a string of expletives in my general direction. I laughed and went back to my computer.

I kept finding general company information for Celgro, but nothing more informative. There were so many sites out there dedicated to Celgro and it's research, my brain ached at the idea of looking through them all. But an interesting listing popped up on my screen.

Secret of the Month (http://www.conspiracy.org/secret/jan2011/)

This month's best-kept secret is illegal genetic manipulation by the country's largest medical research company, Celgro. Sources inside Celgro say that the project, codenamed Stella, goes far beyond the reaches of the First Mitochondria Law…

"Hey guys!" I called. "You might want to take a look at this…"

In five seconds flat, four extra faces were crowded around the 14-inch screen. At these close quarters, I could smell the salami in Daniel's sandwich, it was making me hungry. I tried to ignore it.

"Well what are you waiting for?" Larry said impatiently. "Go into the rest of the article!"

The First Mitochondria Law was passed at the end of the war, in 2009. It states that genetic manipulation relating to the enhancement of mitochondria to form "neo-mitochondria" is outlawed without exception.

Mitochondria contain their own genetic code, independent from a cell's nucleus. Mitochondria are passed down through the maternal lines, and are the cell's source of energy by the process of cellular respiration…

"Aw man, I don't need a biology lesson…" Daniel complained. I quickly scrolled down.

Files obtained from Celgro computers indicate that Project Stella is in direct violation of the First Mitochondria Laws. They are currently working on modifying mitochondria to create a completely new type of neo-mitochondria, dubbed super-mitochondria. The new super-mitochondria will be five times more powerful than neo-mitochondria, which are already themselves ten times more powerful than the mitochondria we all currently possess. The idea of that much power is mind-boggling.

However, Celgro are programming special features into these new super-mitochondria. Rumor has it that owners of super-mitochondria will be docile, thoughtless. The power of independent thought, feeling or action will be entirely removed.

And what is all this tampering leading to? A new race of human being. The new species, tentatively named the Golem species, will all possess super-mitochondria. They will apparently be no threat to the human race, because they will be remotely controlled by an operating team. Their purpose will be to act as slaves, or manual labourers, doing the jobs that no human can or will do.

The integrity of the idea is being seriously questioned by your conspiracy.org correspondant. We all know the power of neo-mitochondria, we saw it in the war. Neo-mitochondria were created by a freak accident, and we were all glad to see their complete destruction during the Battle of Camperdown. Is this really a good idea? Only time will tell…

We read the article silently. There was more, but it was irrelevant.

"Well," Graham remarked, "this sure is some interesting information."

"But is it true? I mean, come on, this is www.conspiracy.org here, not exactly a reliable source."

"Ah, true, but it's a start. It's an idea. So Celgro's in the market for a race of slaves?"

"Why?"

"And more importantly, who's paying them to do it?"

"Good question. Who would pay a medical research company to create a new breed of human being?"

"A very sick and twisted son of a bitch, that's for sure."

"You got that right."

"This is going to be a repeat of the war, I can tell."

That was Tamara, sitting over in the corner. Four pairs of eyes turned her way.

"Bec, you know the power of neo-mitochondria. Could it be remotely controlled?"

I shuffled in my seat.

"I don't know, I never really thought about it. You guys know I can't really use them properly, I can't utilize their full power."

"But you can still use them, right? JC taught you how. Give us an example of what they can do."

She really put me on the spot. I looked around, searched for something to use in my demonstration. Grinning slyly, I concentrated hard and felt my neo-mitochondria start producing some serious energy. When I had enough energy, I released it. Across the room, Daniel jerked suddenly before dropping to the floor, as if he'd been hit over the head with a frying pan.

Larry laughed. "Nice. You knocked the guy out."

"Yeah, I know. He knows I don't really mean to hurt him, though. He'll come to in a second, I only hit him with a little frying pan."

"Frying pan??"

Down on the floor, Daniel groaned. I giggled.

"See, I told you so."

Tamara was leaning forward in her chair, her curiosity overcoming her.

"But what sort of power could you have if you knew how to use them properly?"

"I could probably wipe out this house in a split second with an inferno shot."

"No, I'm talking in terms of damage to a person."

"Well… you've heard of liberation, right?"

She paused.

"You could liberate?"

"No. I can't. With the right training, maybe. But at my current strength, no."

"So if neo-mitochondria can give a person or a thing the power to completely change their form, do you really think it could be controlled?"

Everyone was silent.

"I don't think so." Graham spoke up. He was deep in thought. "But what I do know is we're going to stop them, before they make any stupid mistakes like creating a race of people that could be the downfall of human existence."

"Agreed."

More silence.

"Well, guys, it's back to business. We need to find out if this is really what they're doing, and get some proof. Daniel, call Munro and tell him what we found."

"Sheesh, they don't call you team leader for nothing. I just got knocked out by neo-mitochondria, but you want me to keep working. Yeah, ok, as soon as I finish my lunch, I'll call him."

"Good. Bec, keep looking for information. Graham, you start the stakeout on Dobson. Tamara, get on the blower to whoever you can to get some more information on Dobson, that profile told us jack."

"Yes boss…"

Everyone departed, leaving me alone with my laptop, still on conspiracy.org. I was lost in thought. Neo-mitochondria were supposed to be have been destroyed during the Battle of Camperdown, yes, it was true. I was the only specimen left alive. I shivered at the thought.

"Hello… earth to Bec…"

It was Larry, sitting in the chair next to mine. I snapped back into focus.

"Did you get through to Dobson?"

"Yeah, I did, and of course he denied any knowledge of Project Stella. I set up a meeting with him though, I'll be meeting with him this afternoon, at four."

I sat silently.

"Find anything else out about Celgro?"

"Nah, not yet."

"Here, give me the computer. Let's put my hacking skills to the test."

I was shocked. "You can't do that! We've got full investigatory powers, but we can't go romping through their computers! Not without a warrant!"

He winked. "Shhhh, no-one needs to know, if I find anything, I can just say I found it on the web. Now give me the computer."

I handed it over.

Straight away, he went to work, fingers flying over the keyboard. I had no idea what he was doing, computer hacking wasn't really my thing. I liked to stay on the legal side of the law, thank you very much. Within minutes he stopped. I craned my neck to see what was on the screen. It was a Celgro company memo.

From: Stephen Dobson

To: All members of Project Stella

Subject: Conspiracy.org's Secret of the Month

It has come to my attention that someone in this project has been leaking information onto the internet. (See http://www.conspiracy.org/secret/jan2011/)

I am investigating the matter, and when I find who is responsible he or she will be removed from the project and charged with treason.

S.  Dobson

"Heh, that confirms it."

"Yeah, but it's not proof of what they're doing out there."

"Why not? We've got the memo, and the page in reference."

"It's not proof. Plus it doesn't answer the question of who's hired Celgro to create the so-called Golem. I'll keep looking."

I left him there looking, and I went to find Daniel. He was in his room, still on the phone to Munro. I sat beside him, and listened to his side of the conversation. Argument, really.

"Have you even listened to a word I've been saying?… They're creating slaves!… What?… The NCA said that?… For real? Why?… That's a load of horse shit, sir…"

I winced.

"I don't care what they said, we need to check this out!… No, I don't see!… Fine." He sighed. "I'll tell the rest of 7A. Expect a call from Larry in about five minutes. He's gonna be pissed."

And he hung up on Munro.

"Yikes, what was all that about?"

"You won't believe this…"

"Tell me!"

"The NCA have dropped the investigation."

"What?? Why?"
"That's what I asked."

"Yeah, and you also told him his reasoning was a load of horse shit. I can't wait to hear it."

"That's just it, he didn't give me a reason. He just said the order had come from higher up to cancel the investigation, and it was his job to let us know we were off the case."

"That's weird…"

"I know! Ah well, we're off the case. Let's party."

I punched him playfully in the arm.

"Be serious, you dud, if they're dropping the case, it means they're not investigating Celgro anymore. Okay, list some reasons why they would stop the investigation, just like that."

He laid back on his bed.

"Okay, one. The info about Celgro was false, they're not really experimenting with genetic manipulation."

"We proved that one false already."

"Two. The Mitochondria law has been changed since this morning, so they're completely legit now."

"I doubt it."

"Three. Someone's paying the NCA not to investigate Celgro."

I zeroed in on that one. It sent a chill down my spine.

"That's some idea you've got there."

"Hey, I was only joking."

"But you could be right."

"Yeah right, like the NCA would take a bribe."

"I'm not thinking of a bribe."

There was a piece of information missing from this picture, something that would make it all fit. I knew what it was, but I couldn't think of it. Suddenly, it clicked. Everything made sense. Scary sense. I jumped to my feet.

"Get everyone together. I've worked it out."

"Worked what out?"

"Just get everyone together!"