Answer to the questions. Yes Michelle, she had a child at eleven, but her memories were wiped away. I forgot to explain why Jarod's voice cracked at fifteen, when it was obvious it was done earlier. It's just that seeing Jarod and Miss Parker looking at Faith's body in the episode "at The Hour of our deaths" — he was quite tall then and she hadn't grown much. His voice should have been older at that time. This chapter will explain it and how the Centre didn't know how Jarod stole the DSAs and the DSA machine.

CHAPTER EIGHT

The escape of Jarod was the worse thing that had happened to the Centre ever since the other eight Pretenders had disappeared. Of course, Raines had tracked them down, and had them killed. They died having checkups in hospitals, of a cold, of something that never should have happened except for the Centre research.

Manipulating the DNA structure of a cold cell could turn it deadly. Injecting a serum into a drink could kill a man. A checkup for a physical examination, taking a drink of water —the liquid inserted was deadly although colorless — that was all it took.

Jarod had stolen most of the DSAs except for one which they found hidden in the tech room and of course, the ones that Raines had in his office..

"What is it Raines?" asked Mr. Parker.

It was an unaltered DSA of Jarod at the age of ten. The boy was talking to Sydney and his voice sounded so unlike a kid. They listened with shock. Jarod was no longer a kid at ten. He was physically an adult, although he still had the boyish expression of that age.

"There are boys at twelve who already can have children," said Mr. Parker, "Their voices are husky. Turn up the sound."

"What's wrong with me Sydney? I have been inoculated against any foreign diseases, I take the nutritional supplement daily, I exercise well. And if I had a cold, you'd have one as well."

"It's known as going through puberty, Jarod."

"Why Sydney?"

The DSA showed Sydney's voice show concern. "Listen Jarod, your voice is changing. You mustn't let anyone know."

Now Jarod's face showed fright. "What does that mean?"

They turned the volume up higher and listened to Jarod's handler talk in a soft voice. "Trust me. You must keep your voice as it was before it broke. When you feel it happening, keep quiet. Otherwise, talk at a higher pitch."

"Okay Sydney."

The DSAs showed Sydney putting Jarod in his cell. It then showed Sydney talking to the hidden microphone. "I cannot tell Jarod that once his voice fully changes, the Centre will put him in Sublevel 20 or below. Right now, the Centre knows if Jarod refuses to do a simulation, they will say he's being obstinate because he's still young and excuse that, but if he's below, if he refuses, they'll kill him." They then saw him taking down some notes. After that the DSA went fuzzy.

"That was the time of the power failure in the general area. The DSA should have been longer. It only affected Blue Cove. Luckily the emergency power switched on, but we had to use regular film," said Raines.

"It appeared that Jarod fooled us all," said Mr. Parker. "We should have put him in the lowest sublevel before. Who knows who he was with. It's a good thing I ordered Sydney to keep him away from girls, and especially Miss Parker who had her menses at quite young."

"She had a child at eleven Unusual. Thanks to the special diet."

Mr. Parker immediately called for the technicians to come to the main office. He glared at them while they cowered. "What is the meaning of this? I wanted all DSAs to be altered."

"I'm sorry Mr. Parker, but this DSA was found later.

"We had to use regular 8 mm film at that time."

"Yes that was around the time that Mrs. Parker started to snoop around about those children. I want to see an unaltered DSA around that time."

The technician shook his head. "They've all been altered."

"What?" Mr. Parker's face grew cold.

"And Jarod has them."

"How?"

"I don't know."

They couldn't get anything more out of the technicians and so Mr. Parker and Raines went up into the Tower. Mr. Parker ordered that a through search of the grounds and also any open vents. They couldn't close them without endangering the life of the remaining Pretenders who were the children that Catherine Parker was unable to rescue.

Already, Jarod's supposed bank account was frozen —not that he would be able to use it for it was under the name of Jarod Russell and that was not his last name, not even that of his father. The Centre had made a bank account just in case the CIA or FBI or the local police started to snoop. They did it for all their Pretenders, make them think they owned something.

They also opened up Jarod2's luxurious room and recalled Miss Parker from Corporate, putting her in the field. The effects of showing Miss Parker the room and having Sydney lie that Jarod worked there, was as they wished. Thinking that Jarod was an ungrateful brat for leaving all this luxury, she was more than determined to bring him in, 'Dead or Live."

But they still couldn't explain Jarod's voice. Raines questioned Sydney whose excuse was, "Jarod was simulating to be an older youth. That was part of the exercise."

"Why Sydney?"

"To understand why children wish to act older."

They then showed him the DSA.

Sydney paled. "That's not Jarod."

"But that's his voice." Raines realized that he had made a mistake. He had shown Sydney the real Jarod and since the hypnotic gas had long since left the Centre air vents, the unaltered DSA showed the truth, not the fake. The evil doctor had to do something.

Taking a syringe from his pocket, he stabbed Sydney in the arm and with the help of two sweepers, took him to the Renewal Wing. He also called Mr. Parker, but not before giving the DSA to a sweeper. "Destroy this." And then he said to Willie. "Go to the Renewal office, plant a bomb there, set it to go when the doctor's on his break. If there's anyone there, it'll be collateral damages After that, kill the other sweeper."

"I will gladly." Willie then left.

"What's this about?" asked Mr. Parker.

"We all have to forget there was this DSA of Jarod. I also called the technicians who worked on and everyone had a making of this DSA."

Mr. Parker looked to see several men and women sitting on the benches. "I thought that the hypnotic drug was destroyed."

"This is a new version. It will wipe out the hour before and after the blackout. We of course will have to alter our calendars."

"But what of the rest of the Centre and their spouses?" asked Mr. Pariker.

"The doctor in the Renewal wing will take care of everything. I decided that Blue Cove went through an epidemic at that time. There's enough f left for two major hypnosis."

A few minutes later, Willie appeared. "I'm ready Dr. Raines. The other sweeper's been eliminated."

"And did you plant the bomb in the doctor's office?"

"Yes It will go off when he takes his breath."

"Good, and then we will not know anything about this incident."

A few hours later, a renewed Mr. Parker, Raines, Sydney, Willie, and the others left the Renewal Wing. All evidence of the DSA showing that Jarod had already gone past puberty at the supposed age of ten was destroyed, both in the minds and in the mechanics of the Centre. And a new memory of that time, of an epidemic that rocked the Centre and Blue Cove became the new reality.

However because of this, they forgot how Jarod smuggled the DSAs and the case out of the Centre, and how he escaped and that they would never know.