CHAPTER TEN

Raines felt as if his back was on fire. He had attempted to kill Jarod, but someone had shot his Oxygen tank. He didn't know who had done this, and why, but it was something to do with the Pretender.

Right now he was in the Centre infirmary getting the first of his skin grafts. Thanks to Centre science, there was no need to take them from parts of his body. They grew the grafts using stem cells and even though the Centre was completely evil and preferred embryonic stem cells because they only valued human life if it profited them, they had to use adult stem cells instead. This was a great disappointment for a Cabal who went out of its way to ruin families and separate children from their parents.

"So those spawn are going to grow," Raines fumed.

"I'm afraid so, sir. Some people don't deserve children."

"Well thanks to the Centre, we've secretly sterilized several men and women, and also stopped the birth of at least twenty undesirables. I am right now in the process of creating a birth control patch that will be disguised as a nicotine patch and so far I plan to introduce it in Kentucky and Tennessee. They marry young there."

"Good sir, I can't stand those hillbillies either."

"So how long before I'm mobile?"

"The skin grafts are getting along nicely," said the nurse, her face impassive and cold. She was the perfect Centre employee.

Through the viewing mirror, Raines could see his brother, Mr. Parker give a signal to the nurse who left.

"I'm sorry that I can't stay long," said Mr. Parker, "but our cameras recorded the encounter between you and Jarod. I particularly loved his plea."

"What is the point?"

Mr. Parker bent down. "It's about Jarod. I found out that you shot to kill. I would caution you against that procedure."

"And why not? We have enough assets for replacements. Jarod's DNA is in several containers."

"Jarod's sperm is frozen in only four containers, and we have only enough for one year."

"But what of the others?"

"You mean Ed's and those of the children who Catherine rescued and who you hunted down and killed against my advice?"

"Those."

"We have requests from our satellites in the United States, England, Canada, and Mexico that they will not accept any Pretenders unless they are from Jarod's DNA."

"So we give them Jarod clones." Raines coughed.

"No. We created Pretenders using Jarod and Pretender female donors via the test tube method. We didn't use surrogate mothers. I believe that it's best to ship in the original containers."

"I hope the recipients disposed of the container after the birth of the subject." Raines started to snicker at this point, but Mr. Parker moved his face in that peculiar manner of his which made one think he had some secret perversion in his soul. He then gave Raines his sternest look.

"The spawn need breast milk and besides there is a lack of cleaning staff in some of the Satellites, especially the one in Nebraska. I also want you to squash that rumor that going to Nebraska is synonymous to getting sent to Siberia. We've have had so many escapes from there. In fact, one of the Pretenders showed up in our main lobby last week, saying he'd rather die or get tortured than do sims in Nebraska." He paused. "I managed to have him shipped off to Nevada. Now we have reports that someone is gambling Centre funds. It appears that our staff is using this Pretender to make a little extra money on the side."

Raines hated this when Centre staff used Pretenders for their own purposes. He agreed that perhaps the Centre satellites were a little too lenient, but in Nevada, much of the underground facilities were also being used by the U.S. in case of a nuclear attack. It was the same in Montana, and New Mexico.

"I can get a missive out to the satellites."

Mr. Parker left for the door. "We can fulfill the order to London. The boy's five years old now. He hasn't seen the outside and we've decided to ship a daughter of Alex and another female Pretender along with him, the same age. Griffiths will be their handler and will keep them separate until they reach puberty." He said in a half whisper. "And then London can start on their Pretender production program."

"Didn't Ed have spawn here as well?"

"We shipped two of them, along with their appropriate companions, to our Centre quarter in Dublin and in Belfast. For some reason, I found out that they were like Jarod in that pretending didn't have to be learned nor was it necessary to simulate that part of their brain." He glanced at his watch. "I have to be at my appointment in half an hour."

Raines didn't like this. "Does this mean that all the not so good Pretenders were only pretending to not be as good as Jarod?"

"You can think what you like, but remember Raines, Jarod is not to be killed," The door then closed leaving Raines alone with the nurse.

Raines listened and then thought to himself, Well my son will not listen to you Mr. Parker. You are a weakling. He then waited until the nurse put some salve in his raw back. If I were in charge of the Centre instead of you, my brother, he thought, Jarod would either come back in chains or in a body bag. Then it would be either chained in the sim lab instead of being allowed to roam free or be thrownr in the incinerator, preferably alive. His face darkened with an evil leer in spite of the intense pain.