BLUE GENDER
"Children of the Blue"
17. Redoubt
Marlene rarely took her eyes off of Dr. Gamble. If those eyes had blades then the good doctor would've been sliced and diced and left in pieces to be picked at by the birds.
If only they weren't surrounded by red and white clad mercenaries with heavy assault rifles.
The air outside the redoubt was crisp and cool—the winds carried a chill across the tarmac. Inside, however, things were different.
The captives were taken through a massive vault-like entranceway and escorted into a bland room that was larger than but still seemingly related to a physician's waiting room.
And that's what they did—they waited. As they waited, Marlene eyed Gamble.
A knife slash from ear to ear--now that would be nice.
She was also aware of General Deeves. She had plenty of ideas for him, too. But they would have to wait. She was revenge-minded, but not stupid.
An inner door opened and several newcomers arrived. They were dressed in soft, silky robes and tunics that looked to be something the gods of Olympus might wear.
Furthermore, the Gods on Olympus might just look like these people—perfectly toned, youthful albeit not young, and near-perfect complexions from a variety of races.
They all looked pleasant and welcoming as they walked in line behind their apparent leader—a man who appeared to be in his mid 30s, bald by design, with tremendous muscle tone, a thick neck, and a diplomat's smile.
"Hello Yuji, Marlene," the man greeted. "I am Professor Ivan Gorski. Welcome to Elysium—"
"Where is my son?" Marlene interrupted and she did not share their host's friendly smile.
Gorski's smile faltered only in the slightest.
"Well, I suspect we will be unable to exchange pleasantries until you are convinced that young Takashi is safe and sound and unharmed. I suppose we can discuss matters as we walk. This way..."
Gorski and his followers—about a half dozen of them—led Marlene and Yuji into the heart of the complex. Yuji noted that they were all unarmed—he doubted they could be hiding weapons under such skimpy clothing. The mercs stayed behind. General Deeves and Dr. Gamble accompanied the group.
The Professor led the way, talking to them as they moved.
First they walked along a big, wide corridor. Then they entered the first of the two domes.
It was made of white stone—seemingly cut out of ivory for that matter. A massive ornate fountain flowed in the center. Stairs led upwards to decorative walkways that circled the open air of the massive dome.
Sculptures, artwork on easels, stone benches, plants and shrubs, and other touches made for the feeling of being inside some sort of hybrid park/museum.
"This is the Community Dome," Gorski explained as they moved through. He could not help but notice the sharp looks Marlene was throwing at Gamble.
Gorski continued: "There are about two dozen of us who live here—the remaining members of the science team that came here to weather the Blue apocalypse.
"We did more than survive it—we thrived."
Yuji was amazed at the site, as was Marlene (despite her anger and desperation to see Takashi).
Yuji asked: "How long have you been here? How long has it been like this?"
The Professor explained: "Let's see…it's been so long. I'd say we've been here for more than fifteen years. We went on line before Second Earth was even complete. Then again, my people were always several steps ahead of Victor, Miyagi, and the rest of them."
The people in the community dome were all as gorgeous and fit as Gorski's entourage and they all smiled and waved as the new arrivals past through.
"During your stay here," Gorski told them, spying another dagger from Marlene directed at Gamble, "You will be free to explore these main levels. You'll find plenty to do—express your creativity, try your hand at painting, examine our collection of rare wild life. The lower areas are restricted to authorized personnel but I'm sure we'll be able to get past all that soon enough."
Marlene asked, glibly: "What about access to the transports?"
They had noticed a line of air ships outside by the runway.
"I'm afraid," Gorski answered, "That it would be too dangerous to be outside for an extended time period."
"Why is that?" Yuji wanted to know.
Gamble answered: "There are Blue attacks every day—like clockwork."
"Blue?" Yuji wondered.
Gorski turned to explain and saw Marlene cutting into Gamble with her eyes.
"Um, Charles, perhaps it would be better if you excused us," the Professor suggested. "It seems you may be a source of agitation for our guests. Regrettable but understandable. I'm sure it will pass."
"Yes," Marlene quickly interjected. "I know exactly how we can get over it."
She pictured him lying in a pool of his own blood.
Gamble smiled politely and answered: "Yes, of course," and moved off.
The Professor continued: "There is a massive Blue nest to the southwest. They attack every afternoon. Usually about fifty to one hundred creatures. My calculations indicate that there is a cycle of breeding, hatching, and growth involved in the timing. They wait until they hit the minimum number of adult fighters and launch their raid."
"You don't seem overly concerned," Yuji noted. "I've seen Deeves' mercs in action—they couldn't handle that type of thing."
General Deeves grunted and explained: "This base has sophisticated automatic defenses to defend against both ground-based Blue and flying ones."
"How lucky for you," Marlene sneered.
The group continued to walk. They came to a large open bulkhead which connected directly to the second of the two large domes.
"This is the Great Hall," Gorski told them. "We use this for large gatherings to discuss issues, to announce new breakthroughs—sort of a city hall, if you will."
"I get the feeling," Yuji observed. "That democracy isn't big here."
Gorski smiled: "You're right. My followers expect me to lead. But this is the place where we share ideas. I think you'll find that many of your preconceptions are misguided, Yuji Kaido."
"I see," the sleeper mumbled.
"No, really," Gorski emphasized. "The doctor told me that you two often thought you were living in paradise in South America. Paradise? With disease and death? How can that be paradise? It may have been beautiful, but it was no paradise.
"This is real paradise. You saw my people—they are devoted to science and the arts. Here we don't just survive, we are exploring the limits of human capability."
"Paradise?" Marlene said. "A paradise that hires mercenaries, kills unarmed civilians and kidnaps little boys? A paradise that leaves a couple of Blue back up on Second Earth to kill the rest of our friends?"
"Admittedly," Gorski said. "The General's soldiers became somewhat overzealous at the village. As for your friends…some sacrifices must be made for the good of humanity.
"And that's what this is all about—the good of humanity. In a few moments I'm going to show you…I'm going to show you how important you two and your son are."
The Great Hall was just like the Community Dome in that it was white. However, it differed in that there was a raised stone platform on one end where leaders could sit and lines of beautifully sculptured benches where the audience could listen.
Other than passage to the Community Dome there was one other exit from this place, situated not far from the raised platform.
Yuji, Marlene, and their escorts headed in that direction.
---
"What we do here?" Gunther was annoyed. "We should be back at da shuttle getting out of dis place."
Gunther, Pistol, and Junker were in Amick Hendar's old office.
The three had rendezvoused at the shuttle after the Blue hounds had been dispatched. There they had geared up and were now well equipped for the station's denizens should they make another appearance.
Captain Junker explained: "Where we gunna go, Gunther? Can't follow Gamble's shuttle if we don't know where he went."
Amick's computer was still on, just as Marlene had left it several hours before. The files she had downloaded onto disc were on the screen. Junker was looking for information on this Professor Gorski and anything else that might help.
"Maybe we should be down in da 'Rolling Dunder' area pudd'in together shrikes for dis, ya?"
"Good idea there, G," Pistol said. "But do you wanna go splitt'in up?"
Gunther shook his head 'no'. He didn't like the idea of splitting up in that God-forsaken place. It was scary enough with all of them armed and together.
"Then," Junker finished. "We gotta do things one at a time, right? First this, then we see what kind of goodies we can get to the shuttle. Something tells me that if we do catch up to Gamble we're gunna need firepower."
"Ya," Gunther agreed.
"Okay, here we go," Junker made progress on the computer. "I've got the coordinates for the compound in Manitoba. Let's hope that's still where this guy is operating from. Here's some more info…here's the professor."
They looked at a photo of Dr. Ivan Gorski that dated back to before the days of Second Earth. The man had thinning hair, a potbelly, and slumped shoulders.
"According to this," Junker read. "The guy should be about seventy years old by now. Don't think anyone in that state is gunna go caus'in this kinda ruckus."
Junker read some more.
"Hold on, here's an interesting file. Looks like our Professor friend had a pet project, something called 'Second Son.' Let's take a looky here…"
Junker read silently. As he did, his eyes bulged in amazement.
"This has to be a joke," he muttered.
"What? What's that?" Pistol wanted more information.
Junker, in a state of shock, told them: "Jesus H. Christ on a Popsicle stick. This makes the Sleeper program look like Kindergarten stuff."
"What? What is it?" Pistol and Gunther both waited but Junker had one thought that raced through his mind.
"Marlene and Yuji are in more danger than they can possibly imagine. We gotta get down there. Quick. And yeah, we need a shitload of firepower."
---
Gorski led Marlene and Yuji into a dark room that had one large source of light in the middle.
They were in an observation area. That light came from a circle of raised, angled windows that looked down into what had been a large laboratory. It looked as if it had been converted into a child's playroom.
Marlene and Yuji pressed to the glass. Many feet below was their son, Takashi, playing in the middle of the carpeted area. Book shelves and toy chests, play chairs and tables lined the walls.
Takashi was sitting there, unaware of being watched. He was playing with some sort of plastic building logs.
"Takashi…" Marlene whispered but she knew that even if she yelled he could not hear.
"Over the years we have learned so much about the Blue and nature and what happened to the world nineteen years ago. We are close to the final solution for mankind and nature to live in harmony," Gorski explained but the two parents were only half listening.
"What's he doing?" Yuji asked as he noted that his son was using the blocks to build something. It looked like two twisting, thin towers, about three feet tall.
"I don't know, he won't tell me," Gorski mused. "He's been working on it little by little since he arrived here."
Marlene and Yuji remained pressed against the glass. It was a relief to see Takashi. It was only a little more than a week, but it felt like months.
The Professor realized he didn't' have their attention so he spoke of Takashi to them: "Do not worry, we have done nothing to your son. He is unaltered, unharmed. We've taken some tissue and blood samples, but that's it. He is the same boy he was when he left your village."
Marlene corrected: "When he was kidnapped."
Gorski did not argue. Instead he tried to impress them with the knowledge he had that they lacked.
"Take the Blue, for example. Most of us just assumed they were insect-like creatures comprised of different types, such as choppers or tankers or springworms and more.
"But didn't you ever wonder why Blue would develop flying variations when they needed to reach islands or combat areas with heavy tactical air support from, say, helicopters?"
Gorski had Yuji's attention. Marlene was still staring at her boy.
The Professor went on: "How come such large creatures that could fight so well could be killed by simply killing the core?"
"I don't know," Yuji said honestly. "I just assumed it was like their heart or brain or something."
"You're close," Gorski said. "Let me ask you this—what's the easiest way to defeat an enemy shrike?"
"Kill the pilot," Yuji figured.
"Right!" Gorski was happy. "And that's exactly what you're doing when you destroy the Blue's core."
That did get Marlene's attention: "What? What are you saying?"
"The Blue aren't choppers or tankers or land whales," he revealed to them both. "The Blue is the core itself. The animals that surround them are essentially biological shrikes. That's why they evolve so quickly. Why did man progress from the Mark IV to the Heavy Duty Shrike?"
Marlene remembered and answered: "The Heavy Duty provided more fire power and enhanced armored plating."
"Right! Just as a tanker beetle provides better armor or a springworm is smaller and more flexible and capable of fighting in tighter streets or inside buildings."
"So you're saying," Yuji surmised, "that the core can exist separately from the Blue?"
Gorski shook his head and told him: "Not exactly. The Blue reproduce differently from us. We know that the core is not born by itself. Yet I believe the analogy still holds."
"I want to talk to my son," Marlene lost interest.
Gorski ignored her and told Yuji: "The b-cells in your body were the markers for a set of what some would call genetic abnormalities. But that isn't a fair description. After all, were the genes that caused longer-necked giraffes or gave wolves a keener sense of smell abnormalities? No, they were steps in the evolutionary process."
"I don't follow you," Yuji remarked.
"Victor was short sighted—he wanted to 'activate' your b-cells to make you into a better fighter. It worked for a time but was a short-term solution. I've been working on long term answers.
"Take, for example, the Double Edge. It was a shame it was destroyed so quickly."
"You left the Double Edge for me to find?" Marlene looked.
"Of course," Gorski said. "Just as I arranged for your 'poison.' Just as the General left the Houston coordinates in the transport's nav computer. Just as we left a swarm of Blue in close proximity to your village. This has all been part of a grand design since the beginning. All under my control. An experiment, if you will."
Yuji figured it out: "You knew Marlene would put me in the Double Edge to try and cure me and that it would activate my b-cells, especially when the Blue attacked."
Gorski shook his head: "No, it was about much more than activating your b-cells. I added some special…features…to the Double Edge. I was hoping that you would have undergone your metamorphosis by the time you arrived here, but I guess that wasn't to be. A pity."
"The b-cells gave birth to the Blue," Marlene noted.
"Yes," Gorski admitted. "While it is more complicated than that, you are essentially correct. But the b-cells also gave birth to Takashi."
"What?!"
"Yuji's genes—they are ultimately what the b-cells are all about. Those genes, combined with Marlene's own unique human genes, resulted in your son—Takashi. Your purpose, Yuji, was not simply to interact with some mystical light to end the rampage of the Blue, it was to have children. More specifically, to have children with Marlene Angel and her genetic code."
Marlene was insistent: "That doesn't make sense and, damnit, I want to speak to Takashi. Now."
Gorski approached the observation window. Takashi was down there, still unaware he was being watched, working on his building blocks.
"It's all about evolution—that's what nature is," Gorski told them. "Let me show it to you."
He nodded toward one of his compatriots.
A door behind Takashi Kaido raised open.
Yuji gasped.
Marlene screamed: "No! What are you doing? No—please don't!"
A slithering spring worm Blue with its disgusting vertical mouth, short jagged tusks, and multiple eyes moved into the room.
Takashi, his back to the creature and unable to hear his parents above, played with his blocks.
NEXT FACTOR:
18. Revelations
Takashi: "Quiet mommy…you don't want to wake it…the Professor says it's my brother…I don't think it looks like a person at all. Mommy? Why are you shaking?"