Maddy can't seem to wrap her head around the fact that there's merely one more week left until she gets to go to Terra Nova. As thrilled as she is, she's also worried. If there is some sort of conspiracy going on with recruitment, they would act before the next pilgrimage. As Maddy walks home, she tries to relax. Mark was probably right, she tells herself. It's nothing.
Maddy makes her way up to the front door of their building and wonders exactly how pissed the new guy will be that she ran. She runs up to their apartment and bolts through the door. Josh, Kara, and Zoe sit on the couch together. They all jump when the door opens. "What the hell?" Josh asks her. "Why aren't you in school?"
"If you can ditch, why can't I?" Maddy shoots back at her brother, not in the mood to banter. She makes her way to the counter, sinking down on one of the stools and pulling out her Plex. Plugging in a data card, she starts sifting through the rest of the files she saved from the recruitment data base. When she copied them onto her hard drive, she didn't just save what was already there but instead created a mirror effect. Basically, whenever she plugs that data card into a device now, it will automatically update with any new files recruitment added to their actual storage. And the best part is, it can only be traced back to John's school account.
Maddy gets a glass of water as the files update. "What are you doing?" Josh asks tiredly, but Maddy ignores him.
"Hey, Kara," she says instead.
"Mads," Kara smiles in return. "It's nice to see you're doing better."
Maddy also gave a hello to her little sister before turning her attention back to her Plex. She grows rapidly alarmed at the numerous updates to her file from just mere hours before. Sitting down again, Maddy cautiously opens a thread. It is a reply to her test scores that had been sent out:
To Weaver,
I thank you immensely for reaching out and appreciate your patience. As you can imagine, it is not often that I come by electronical access out here - one of the few green places left in this world. Anyhow, I have thoroughly reviewed the previously sent material to the best of my abilities.
I unfortunately remember your preliminary dislike of my, shall we state carefully, identity crisis, but I am also very relieved that we were able to come to an eventual understanding. My late mentor – the glorified and egotistical man he was – never had the knack for complex mathematics as I do, nor would he ever have agreed to work with such a cause. However, despite my love for the environment, I'm not as excessively optimistic and can therefore see reality with a clearer and more unbiased mindset. That allows me to accept the situation at hand, not matter how grim that may be, and be prepared to move forward for the greater good.
In these times, it appears that the option for the greater good lies within you, no matter how controversial of an option it is. I support your mission so that history may one day look back and see that I was on the side of a revolution that, in the end, saved humanity. After all, what is the point in trying to save a few hundred when, at the conclusion, we could save hundreds of thousands?
It is with my allegiance in mind that I am excited to report that my analysis of the test results finds them conclusive. I state on my former name and the better known one I hold now that I absolutely find your test subject would be key in quickening the research being done by Lucas Taylor. He, of course, would be the best one to verify that this subject has the ability to aid him in his work, but seeing as Mira has lost track of him yet again, I hope my conclusions are an adequate replacement.
With these findings, I need no more convincing to stay here on this current hell hole of a planet any longer. As you may know, I have recently published another book, but that will be the last for this world. I promise to be ready for the next pilgrimage so that I may be certain anything of use is being logged properly at Terra Nova. As previously stated with my support of your mission, I have no conflict of interest within the situation; my only desire to explore Terra Nova stems from possibilities of medicinal discoveries within its forests, but you have my word I will have no objection to clearing out with samples when the fated hour is upon us.
In conclusion, I would like to reiterate my joy that you have found whoever was able to produce such answers to this test. This person will most definitely prove to be as asset of Lucas Taylor's agenda. While it is not my intention to tell you how to do your job, I would highly suggest securing this asset before the pilgrimage and obtaining contact with Mira to ensure that the exchange plan is full proof. I shouldn't have to tell you at this point that you will not want the tyrant they call commander to get his hands to him/her before your people. At least, since I will be a pilgrim myself this upcoming voyage, you will have someone competent for once on the inside.
Best regards,
Dr. Ken Horton
Maddy stares at the screen, trying to comprehend what she just read. It isn't the fact that the grammar of the letter is quite pretentious that throws her off but rather the information that the letter contains. She's supposedly an asset? To who? And what the hell do they mean by securing her? Not to mention that this letter was supposedly written by Ken Horton.
Maddy's head is so jumbled full of questions, but she is sure of one thing. Her conspiracy theory may not be that farfetched after all. In her opinion, if someone feels the need to justify their support of a controversial plan and then discuss how their involvement would allow them to go down in history as someone who saved humanity, it can't be that good of a plan. It sounds … sketchy, to put it lightly. It is quite revolutionist. But what is this plan exactly?
Shaking slightly, Maddy pulls open a blank internet tab on her Plex; after all, she has to start somewhere. She types in the first full name that stood out to her: Lucas Taylor. Maddy is surprised at the number of hits she gets. She briefly scrolls through the information on the internet to realize that he is Commander Taylor's son. The Commander Taylor of Terra Nova. The one that Ken Horton called a tyrant. Well, Lucas was his son at least. The most recent articles were reports that Hope Plaza released, saying that it was with a heavy heart the commander relayed during their last communication that his son joined those victims of the New World. But why then did Dr. Horton write as if Lucas is still living?
Maddy rubs her temple with her hand. Next, she focuses on Dr. Horton himself. Several things in his letter didn't match up. He had ominously referred to an identity crisis, a mentor she never heard him ever mention (and Maddy basically internet stalks the guy for fun), a former name. Maddy can't fathom how her beloved Dr. Horton could be involved with this madness.
After a few different searches, all of which turn up nothing, Maddy types in a specific phrase from the letter: "my late mentor – the glorified, and the egotistical man that he was". She is surprised to find a video link come up. Maddy chews on her thumb nail as she watches the video. It is several years old and was filmed at the release party for Dr. Horton's latest book at the time and one of Maddy's favourites, The Atlas of a Long-Forgotten World, back when he was momentarily living in a city.
"Dr.!" one of the reporters called. "You have been very vocal about all the opportunities Terra Nova has to offer, but you have yet to involve yourself with the great discovery. Why is that, and do you plan to join a pilgrimage in the future?"
"Terra Nova is a great opportunity for all of humanity," Dr. Horton replied with confidence. "It is the greatest discovery of mankind to date. Terra Nova is salvation for a species that has almost drove itself to extinction over greed. However, the voyage to that salvation comes at a price – a one way ticket, unknown dangers, and limited communication with the present. While I fully intend to travel there in the future, I also intend to finish up my work here. I want to document this world for the future generations of Terra Nova so that the past will hopefully never repeat itself. And when I do get there, I intend to continue research that can be used to the advantage of those still here."
A different reporter asked, "When you do leave, will Mr. Fickett be joining you?"
Dr. Horton glanced at the man by his side, his assistant. "That would be nice," he answered shortly and vaguely, "but there are limited number of seats. Time will only tell, but once you work with someone for some many years, you get to know them. Andrew Fickett has been a great help to me and if he doesn't go on to Terra Nova by my side, I'm sure he will have no trouble securing another position here. After all, he has learned from the best."
Andrew Fickett rolled his eyes slightly. "One may only hope for the best for the future," he said with a nod. "And if I've learned anything from you it's your contagious optimism for humanity," he told Dr. Horton. Fickett raised an imaginary glass and toasted, "To my mentor – the great, the glorified, and the egotistical, the latter of which being a descriptor the truly good ones shouldn't bare, yet here we are." Everyone, including Dr. Horton, laughed jovially, and the doctor shook his head at his assistant as if it were a joke.
However, as Maddy watches the video, she freezes. Why would Dr. Horton describe his mentor the exact same way that his former assistant described him? Maddy then searches 'Ken Horton mentor'. She finds a quote by him saying, "I will never attribute my success and drive to one person. I've cherished and admired many professors and fellow colleges throughout all my years, but the only single person who deserves recognition for my accomplishments is me. That is not said to sound arrogant but rather reflective. The greatest mentor I have is my former self, for, just as anyone, I learn from my mistakes, which allows me to grow as an individual."
Maddy does not believe what she is reading. How could she have for gotten that quote? She used it in a school paper in like fourth grade. "The greatest mentor I have is my former self, for, just as anyone, I learn from my mistakes, which allows me to grow professionally as an individual." That is one of Maddy's favorite quotes from the scientist! She loves the self-confidence her little elementary-school-self had found within it. And now it is there, in existence, as proof that Ken Horton never claimed to have a mentor. So who exactly wrote this letter?
Maddy turns her attention to Andrew Fickett, the former assistant who actually gave the description. She searches every database she can think of, but it is as if the guy fell off the face of the earth just before Dr. Horton left for his trip to South America the other year. Well, Fickett and Horton were both the same height, age, and build. Before Horton left for the trip, he'd been in Cambridge. Suddenly, feeling both inspired and scared, Maddy searches for all crimes committed in Cambridge in the time leading up to Dr. Horton's departure. What if Andrew Fickett wasn't the one to fall off the face of the earth? What if it was Dr. Horton?
Maddy's falters when the top search result appears: "Cambridge Man Found Dead in Milton County Park – Detectives say the eyes and hands of the victim were severely mutilated before the body was disposed of, rendering traditional identification methods useless."
Everything clicks into place as Maddy reads that title. The identity crisis the letter writer had referred to must count for him killing Horton and assuming his identity. He gave his anonymity up when he used the exact same language to describe Horton as Andrew Fickett did previously.
The writer of this letter is Andrew Fickett, and Ken Horton is dead. This revelation makes Maddy feel dizzy. She thinks back to reading "Horton's" latest book the other week, the first to be published by him in years, and being disappointed that his traditional humor seemed to vanish and that his writing style seemed much more pretentious. She hadn't thought twice and tried to write off her disappointment. She was blinded by her admiration of the scientist.
But now Maddy feels sick. She is sure that Andrew Fickett is the current Ken Horton and that Ken Horton is dead, but she has no proof. She doesn't even have the letter considering she only obtained it by hacking into government files. And the evidence she does have is circumstantial, though compelling.
Suddenly inspired, Maddy stumbles over to the ladder and bolts up into the loft. "What's up with you?" Josh asks. Maddy continues to block him out and she feverishly searches through her belongings for her most beloved possession – when she was younger she had written a letter to Dr. Horton and he had actually responded. Securing the real paper in her hand, she flies down the stairs back to the kitchen table. Hand shaking, Maddy holds her letter next to the scan from the recruitment files.
The signatures don't match.
Maddy gasps aloud. The signature on the letter Dr. Horton wrote her a several years back and the one on the letter on the screen in front of her are not the same. Dr. Horton really is dead. Her heart beats rapidly.
If Ken Horton is dead and has been replaced by an imposter who is conspiring with an unknown Weaver guy who has some control over or ties with Terra Nova Recruitment, there really is a conspiracy going on.
Maddy thinks back to the letter … "I am excited to report that my analysis of the test results finds them conclusive … I would like to reiterate my joy that you have found whoever was able to produce such answers to this test. This person will most definitely prove to be as asset of Lucas Taylor's agenda … highly suggest securing this asset before the pilgrimage …"
There sure as hell is a conspiracy going on. And Maddy is somehow in the middle of it.