Tokashiki Island

To the southwest of Okinawa floats a small island of pristine beaches, elaborate coral reefs and crystal clear lagoon waters so pure one standing in them can see through all way to the bottom floor. Tokashiki Island was a small paradise consisting of a cigar-shaped landmass with a village and civilization at the north end and a remote area of jungles, beaches and cliffs at the south end. Now part of a nature reserve, the southern half of the island was kept isolated from the north to allow the place to remain true to its natural beauty. Life was easy here, and apart from a few cabins close to the shoreline there were few people around to spoil it. Travelers lucky enough to find this isolated haven would have plenty of opportunities to enjoy the bounty the island possessed, by sunbathing on the beach, diving in the near perfectly clear waters, or just enjoying the warm sea breeze as they walked through the palm trees.

At this particular time the southern reserve area was completely unpopulated save for a few security personnel, a couple of groundskeepers, and a chef and their assistant who supported the visitor cabins. Only one of the cabins was in use, and the couple staying there hadn't yet bothered to go explore the beauty outside as they were much too busy getting to know each other.

Patrick woke up on the tatami bed, covered by only a thin sheet. He moved gently to his left, careful not to wake the sleeping princess next to him. Rei had nudged against him, her eyes closed and seemingly deeply into dreamtime despite what he knew about her. She felt warm and soft against his own skin. He reached over to the right to get a flask of water and gulped it down, then laid back into the tatami mattress as he set the flask down and let out a long breath.

Well, that was exhausting. Exhausting but quite satisfying.

He looked down at Rei and smiled. Oh, at last we finally did it. Patrick brushed her hair slightly with his left hand and she responded by squirming a little. The same sheet that covered him also covered her, and he could see the silhouette of her naked body very clearly through the sheet.

Moving his hand down her body, Patrick gently felt her skin on his fingertips. A pleasure that no other mortal man may know, he realized. He wondered if her skin was perhaps the best thing about Rei, it was so supple to the touch as if she were an infant.

To get all scientific about it I suppose her skin's not nearly as old and exposed as a normal person's would be. Quite a nice side effect to whatever process that created her.

On the other hand, there was another set of organs in Rei's body that also pleased him greatly and he definitely wanted to revisit those parts of her again, as soon as possible.

The cabin itself was quite small, a bamboo shack consisting only of a small living and bedroom combination, and a rear area with a small bathroom and shower and a sink with a small refrigerator that was continually stocked by people Patrick never spotted. The staff here must have a lot of experience dealing with honeymooning couples, he thought.

A strong gust blew through the cabin's window, blowing the sheet slightly off of their bodies. Patrick suddenly sprang up to catch it from blowing away, and Rei woke up from her deep slumber. Pulling the sheet back over them, Patrick lay next to her as her eyelids slowly opened, revealing her deep red eyes, eyes that were looking at him.

"Good afternoon, Angel," he said to her.

"Good afternoon," she replied, and then they gently kissed each other.

"So," he asked, "are you recovered from all of that?"

"The wedding?"

"Um, well I actually meant what happened after the wedding."

"Oh," she said. "That."

"Yes, That."

Rei grinned at him, and nodded, but didn't anything. Instead Patrick pulled himself alongside of her, and Rei shifted so that she was sideways on the mattress facing him. The sheet was pulled down, and he could see all of her in front of him again just the way he wanted.

"What did you think about that?" he asked.

"That," she said, "was nice."

"Just nice?"

"Oh, very nice."

"We didn't waste any time, did we?"

"I was thinking at least you'd want to get to the island first," she told him.

Patrick grinned. "But that bedroom on the G650 is just so convenient."

"It was," she said, smiling at him again and brushing his chest with her fingers. She found his nipple and started to gently play with it as they talked.

"So anyway, what was it like?"

"You were there, Forri," she said.

"I was busy. And if I remember right you were actually pretty noisy."

"Was I?"

"Oh, yeah, Kinda glad that the jet engine noise was loud enough to cover up the commotion, otherwise what would the pilots think?"

"Quite enjoyable."

"So you did enjoy it?"

"I did," she said. "A little…strange at first."

"What, having something inside there? Oh, but I had to do something first."

"Yes, open the gates so to speak."

"I'm sorry, did that come out painful?"

"Just at the beginning. It was much better by the end."

"When the flood came."

Rei giggled, "yes, when the flood came. That felt very good."

"Yeah, it did," he said and he kissed her again. The two of them turned on their backs and snuggled together on the tatami. Another gust of wind came and gently blew through the cabin and sluffed off the sheet, but this time they didn't mind losing it.

"Then that second time, when we got here."

"Yes, that was…revealing," she told him.

"Were you surprised? I mean the way you wanted to be?"

'Oh, yes." She looked at him with a more serious expression. "Did you study this at all?"

"Um, well, sort of. Yes. I read up on this a bit, you know. I just wanted to really find out how I could make you enjoy it a bit better."

She nodded and then got up from the tatami and kneeled in front of him, allowing Patrick to see the full view of her body. "Do you see then? Good studying produces good results."

"Spoken like a professional student. Or a scientist." She nodded, feeling him as she ran her fingers down his body.

"You seemed like you did some study of your own," he told her as he laid back and enjoyed the sensation of her touch.

"I did have the physiological knowledge already," Rei said. "I knew about the sexual response cycle, about erogenous zones, and about…"

"But that's all different when you're doing it," said Patrick.

"Yes, it is," she said at nearly a whisper, "and it was a very pleasant surprise."

"So, Angel," Patrick said as he reached up and gently guided Rei until she was on top of him. "What can I surprise you with now?"

She leaned forward and put her tiny hands into Patrick's large ones, their fingers interlocking. Rei moved so that her face was just above Patrick's.

Rei whispered softly to him. "Please just always be there for me. Always be there inside of me."

"I will," Patrick whispered back. "No matter what it takes, no matter how many dimensions I have to cross over, I'll be there. Always." They kissed, first gently and then deeply, and then they let their bodies melt into each other again. Rei then pushed upwards, her hands still locked in with Patrick's, allowing him to see and touch all of her, to have all of her without inhibition or restriction, to allow herself to truly be his.

"Rei," he said to her. "I'm sorry."

"Why?"

"I know…I know you want a child of your own," Patrick told her. "I know you wanted us to make one for you."

"That is true but I can no longer hold back on living the rest of my life," she replied. "What comes will come. Can we live and just be for a while?"

He reached up and felt her face with his right hand, as she took her own hand and placed it on top of his. "For you Angel, anything." Rei then smiled and leaned down, and then gave herself to him again.

Ube

In the center of a suburban townhouse complex was a non-descript two-unit house painted in white with faded orange trim. Some time ago the place was part of a trendy residential neighborhood but with time it had worn and blended into the rest of the city's residential neighborhoods. Still, it was a quiet locale with a river close by and reasonable walking distance to schools and the train station, even if aesthetically it did not stand out at all.

Gendo walked alone to the first story front door of Unit #1. Dressed in a modest brown sport coat, turtleneck sweater and slacks he didn't gather much attention himself. He rang the doorbell on the front, noticing that they owners still had not yet installed a video camera despite most homes having one by now.

Within a minute the door opened, and a twelve-year old boy peeked his head outside. "Hello?"

"Are your parents home?"

"Um, wait a minute." The boy then shut the door. Another minute later the door again opened, this time with a grey-haired middle aged man wearing glasses.

"Gendo!" the man growled. "What in the hell are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry to intrude," Gendo replied, "but I'm here on a matter of some importance."

"Yes, that's what you said the last time you came. We all know how that turned out." The grey-haired man wrinkled his forehead in consideration. "What is it?"

"Is your wife here?"

"Yes, does this concern her?"

"It concerns Yui."

The grey-haired man grimaced, realizing that it was unlikely he could just do what he wanted and slam the door in Gendo's face. Resigning himself to whatever mess his new houseguest was likely to come with, he invited him in. "Very well, come inside." Gendo promptly entered, removing his shoes and donning house slippers as he entered the main house.

The interior of the older man's home appeared dated with older-style furniture and not much in the way of decorations, the reflection of the inhabitants' simple tastes. Gendo was directed to a couch in the living room while the man called for his wife. His young son stood by, staring at Gendo as he sat down.

"Dad," the boy asked. "Is that Shinji-kun's father?"

"Yes, it is," said the man. "Now go upstairs to your room and please don't listen in." The boy did as he was told, still looking at Gendo as he climbed the stairs to bedrooms above.

Walking in from the kitchen was a woman in her fifties, dressed simply in a button-down collared shirt and flower-pattern skirt, and wearing house slippers like the others. To Gendo her face had a hint of Yui's beauty, but age had taken its toll and she looked relatively plain with dyed black hair and lines around her eyes. "Gendo!" she said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I needed to discuss something with you," he replied.

The wife turned to the husband. "Perhaps I should make tea?"

"Don't bother," he scowled. "He won't be here long." The couple then took places opposite Gendo from another couch.

The wife started first. "I suppose I should ask how Shinji-kun is doing. It's been a while."

"He seems to be doing quite well," answered Gendo. "All things considering."

"All things considering, indeed!" said the older man. "Considering there was much you didn't tell us."

It was a resistance that Gendo has expected. "There was much I could not speak of. The stakes of what we were doing were extraordinary. Frankly I had no where else to turn but yourselves."

"Had we known exactly what you were up to," said the old music teacher. "We would have had second thoughts about the whole matter, even considering the money that was involved."

"I believe you were at least well compensated," Gendo told him. "And you kept your end of the arrangement without flaw."

"Where is Shinji now?" the wife asked.

"He has a new life, with a new identity and a new family. I'm sure by now you've probably heard of him."

"Do you mean the young cello prodigy that came from Hakone?" said the teacher. "Don't think me a fool, Gendo. Once I heard him play on the New Year's Eve concert on TV I knew immediately who he was."

"As I said, he's moved on," Gendo replied. "As have I."

"So then," the old man asked as he narrowed his glance, "how can we help you?"

Gendo turned to his wife, Yui's older sister. "I believe Yui left with you her viola, the one she played in high school."

The woman was somewhat startled. "She had given it to us long ago," she said. "Ostensibly it was for us to fix the strings, in order for her to start practicing on it again. But she was gone by the time we had repaired it."

"I know," Gendo said.

"Gendo," the woman said, "it's all I have left of her. Please don't take it from me."

"I won't," he said. "But I just need to see it for a little while, that's all."

Yui's sister turned to her husband. "I suppose it won't come to any harm," she said. The older man crossed his arms and thought to himself for just a moment.

"Fine. It's downstairs in the workshop."

The music teacher led Gendo down a single flight of stairs to a basement room in the house. The single room was set up like a small music studio, with various string instruments mounted on one wall including a few cellos as well as violins and violas. There were two chairs and two music stands as well, for the students the teacher would occasionally instruct in the house. Reaching into a wooden cabinet on one side, the older man pulled out a polished wooden viola that was contained in a black folding case of its own, and handed it to Gendo with two hands.

"I'll leave you to it," he said as he started back up the stairs. "Just place it on the cabinet top when you're done with whatever you're going to do." Gendo didn't reply back, but instead just held the instrument until the old man had finished going back up.

Gendo gently let his finger travel the surface of the viola's body, knowing that once his beloved had gracefully and lovingly played this piece with her own hands. The instrument was in excellent shape, with nary a scratch and with its strings fully in place. But what Gendo needed was inside.

There was a small cabinet with a flat surface on top that served as a workshop table, and Gendo gently placed the viola there. He then turned on a reading light that was nearby. Very carefully, he turned over the instrument so that the strings faced the flat surface. Then he took the viola and gently shook it.

After shaking it a few times Gendo didn't see anything come out. Like violins, violas have "F-holes," carved grooves on the front surface that modulated the sound of the instrument. This was a long shot anyway, Gendo thought to himself. Undaunted, he tried again.

He shook somewhat more vigorously the next time, trying hard to loosen up something but without damaging the instrument. It took another thirty or more seconds but finally something dropped out. A single black hair floated from the F-hole and onto the flat surface.

Sensing success, Gendo again shook the viola and was rewarded another two tiny hairs. After another couple of shakes no more came out, but he had what he needed. Gently settling the viola down, Gendo then reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small plastic bag and tweezers. Carefully he took all three hairs and dropped them in the bag, and then sealed the bag shut. He pocketed the small bag in his jacket.

After making his leave with his former in-laws, Gendo walked over to a black Lexus sedan that was parked down the street from the music teacher's house. Leaning on the car was Moria Wellington.

"How did it go?" she asked him.

Gendo didn't answer, but instead handed her the small plastic bag. "Send this to Doctor Bernard Foch at The New Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He'll know what to do."

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Old Bernard sat in his easy chair and smoked his pipe as he lay back while paging through various test data on an LCD book reader. A half-full glass of amber-colored cognac was also nearby. After an enjoyable time in Japan as part of his young associate's wedding Foch was ready to return to his own work at the laboratory and anticipated some catch-up work in preparation for what he expected would be an intensive workload, which was just the way he liked it. Curled up on his lap was Tabris, Rei's cat, who was again being housesat (and very spoiled) by the Fochs while his own parent was away. As he was reading, Bernard made very sure to give Tabris a good petting which kept the black kitty purring and satisfied.

The doorbell rang and his wife Beatrix went to answer it, checking the camera monitor first next to the front door.

"Who is that, Madame?" asked the old scientist.

"Delivery service," she replied and opened the door.

Standing at the doorway was a young woman with the uniform of a package courier service. She held a LCD terminal and a sealed envelope in her hand.

"Good afternoon. Is a Doctor Bernard Foch here?"

"That's my husband," Beatrix replied.

"Then this is for him," said the courier. She handed Beatrix her terminal and allowed her to review before she signed for the shipment. "From Japan."

Beatrix studied the shipping record carefully, surprised at the sender. "I see. We'll take it, thank you." She signed with a stylus and then returned the LCD terminal to the courier, who then presented her with the envelope. "Have a good day," the woman said, who then turned around and returned to her vehicle.

Closing the door first, Beatrix studied the envelope, noticing that there were warning stickers of BIOLOGICAL MATERIAL ENCLOSED posted to the outside. As Beatrix was also Bernard's chief lab attendant, she knew the importance of what might be inside.

"What is it, Madame?" asked Foch from his chair.

"Something from a Dr. Gendo," she replied, opening the courier envelope. Inside was a second envelope that was carefully sealed, but that Beatrix was able to open with a skill knife she obtained from a desk. Foch himself carefully picked up Tabris and lay him to the floor and laboriously got out of his chair.

Opening the second sealed envelop Beatrix carefully pulled out the contents: a single zip-locked clear bag with three small black hairs inside. There was no note or other identifying information.

"A particle specimen bag," Beatrix told the old scientist, "with human hairs."

Old Bernard's interest was suddenly piqued, and he hurried to his wife's side as quickly as he could. She handed him the small sample bag and he closely examined it, straitening his eyeglasses as he did so. Bernard knew immediately what the bag contained, and its true importance.

"Mon Dieu!" he exclaimed. "God bless you, Commander!" Foch rushed to the desk to fetch his car keys.

"What is it, darling?" asked Beatrix.

"Intact hairs from our little Rei's originale," he told her. "Likely with her intact DNA."

Beatrix realized what that meant. "We can start the process again! This time with originating cells!"

"Please make sure the cat's well fed," Bernard asked his wife as they both got ready, "as we may be at the laboratory quite a while tonight."

And that's the scene that many of you had waited so long for! I admit I probably spent more time on that section than any other, if to figure out how to properly get it down on paper without being too awkward. Hope I did well.

We are nearly done. As of this writing the novel is complete, I have but one remaining chapter to polish up which I will post up very, very soon.