Luca (27 page)

They are fully in each other’s minds. Nothing is hidden.

Luca sees the shallow ocean of rage resting beneath Rika’s words.

Picking up a potato, Luca begins to peel away the thin, brown skin. “Zero and Giraffe aren’t like the superintendent and the others at the Institution. Their minds are different, less complicated. Easier to—"

“Manipulate? All the more reason to kill them.”

Luca shakes her head. “They’ve changed. All I had to do was show them the
music
of the little ones. The flowers and bugs and animals. After Zero and Giraffe listened, after I opened their minds, their anger drained away. Now they only want to help us.”

“It was easy with my parents. They were so weak.” Rika finds a clear plastic container of water and sinks her hands into it. “I could show you how."

Luca see images of a man and woman falling asleep, calmness covering their faces as they slowly slip beneath the bath water’s surface. The two humps of fresh earth on the side of the house.

Currents and eddies form in the shallow sea of anger in Rika’s mind. It begins to flow and move.

“Zero and Giraffe don’t deserve to die,” Luca says.

“Of course they do. Anyone who can’t
hear
deserves to die.”

“Life is precious.
All
life.”

A long potato peel hangs suspended from Luca’s fingers.

“I see.” Rika chuckles as she pours water from the container over the rice. “All we need to do is help people hear the voices so they'll understand. Then everything will be fine.”

“Right.” Luca dices the potato into chunks. “Most people want to be good. You see it when you look inside their heads. But they get scared. Not enough food or money. They see other people get sick and die. That’s what happened to Mother. When Father died, she changed.”

“And decided to sell you to the Institution?”

“She was tired and afraid.” Luca’s eyes cloud over as the old memories rush in. “The money was gone. The food was running out. The Institution offered to pay to study kids like us, the ones who hear voices. They said they would take care of us.”

Rika puts her hand in the wet rice and washes it. “Why are you afraid to face the truth? You
know
the real reason why you’re mother dropped you off at the Institution."

Shaking her head, Luca wipes her eyes. “It’s not true. Don’t say it. Please.”

“After your father died, she lost her mind.” Rika pours off the excess water into another container. “She didn’t love you anymore.”

“No!” Luca’s white knuckles wrap around the handle of the knife. “She was sick. Her mind wasn’t working. There was no one to help her.”

Rika places the bowl of rice on the counter and stares out the window at Zero and Giraffe as they pitch a tent in the front yard. “You know that’s not true. I saw it. You saw it. When your father died, your mother blamed you. She thought you were a freak. She wanted to get rid of you."

Luca can’t hold back the tsunami of sobs that overtakes her body. “She was so sad. I tried to show her, but she couldn’t hear the voices."

“She didn’t want to hear.”

“No, that’s not true.” Luca wipes the tears away. “She forgot how to listen. I was too young to help. But now I know what to do. When I find her again, I’ll make her hear the voices. Just like Zero and Giraffe.”

“They’ll forget soon. They’ll get angry and scared. And then they’ll blame us.” Rika pulls a bottle of soy sauce from the cabinet. “They’ll start to think we’re crazy because we hear voices. They’ll make fun of us and think they’re better. They’ll forget how special we are. How different we are. They'll want to hurt us again. Put us in places like the Institution. They don’t know the
power
we have.” She pours the soy sauce into the pot of water, staining it dark brown.

As Rika reaches for a knife to peel potatoes, rage flares up in her mind. Her fingers wrap around the handle like a dagger. She lifts the blade to her eyes.

“No,” Luca says. “People are good. Like animals and plants and insects. They turn bad when they get sick inside.” Luca drops another peeled potato into the bowl. “We could teach them. We could show them. When they hear the voices, when they hear all the
life
around them, it heals them. Just like Zero. If we worked together, we could do it. It would change
everything
.”

Rika lowers the knife. “You left the village. You should have stayed with me. It’s been hard to be alone.”

“But we’re always together, even when we’re apart.”

“It’s not the same.” Rika gazes out the window. “We used to play together, but now you have other friends. You don’t have time for me.”

“They need me.”

“They shouldn’t be here.” Rika stares at the knife. “Let me show you how. It’s
fun
.”

“No, Rika.” Luca drops the potato on the cutting board. “You can’t.”

Rika laughs. “And what will you do if I try?”

“They’re my friends.”

“Even Zero and Giraffe?”

“Yes. And I won’t let you touch them.”

39

HOSTILE TAKEOVER

The technical designer in her white lab coat edges closer for a good look.

“Beautiful.” Mercer slips into the survival suit and admires himself in the mirror. “I like what you’ve done.”

The woman in the black leather suit nods her approval.

“Will you be trying on the helmet?” the designer asks.

“That won’t be necessary.” Mercer draws his hands across his chest. “Are you sure the entire suit is woven from the same material that we used to construct the domes on the Japanese coastline?”

“Yes, sir.” The designer looks down at the slate in her hand. “Based on the confidential reports, once the Materials Department deciphered the atomic structure of the sample, they found the substance to be easy to manipulate and mold into various forms, from building materials to woven textiles. As if it were made for this purpose. For the past six months, they’ve been asking me where the sample came from. They still can’t understand why you won't authorize patent filings of any kind.”

Mercer steps out of the suit. “I was extremely clear in my instructions. All personnel involved in the fabrication process were required to sign confidentiality agreements. There is to be no public disclosure of any kind, including the filing of patent registrations. The material constitutes a strict trade secret of Genesis Corporation, and it is imperative that Genesis personnel are the only people on Earth with knowledge and control of this material.”

“That’s what I told them.” The designer folds the survival suit into a neat square. “But some of them insist that the material could net the Corporation billions in profits. I’ve already been bombarded with a long list of potential uses, beyond those that we’ve already tested.”

“Yes, I was afraid of that.” Mercer turns back to the hologram machine in the center of the room. “That’s why I’ve had the whole team under surveillance for the last three months. The results were predictable. A few team members have already stolen the specifications for the material and made efforts to market it to third parties. Mostly Brazilian crime lords. It seems they plan to leave the Corporation and set up shop elsewhere. Since no patent has been filed, they believe they will be able to use it for their own profit.”

Color drains from the designer’s face. “I wasn’t aware of any—”

Mercer smiles. “No need to lie.” He pulls a crystal jax out of his pocket. “You should have known of the consequences."

The door slides open. Armed guards rush in and surround the assistant.

“Put her with the others.”

The guards slip a while hood over the assistant’s head and pull it tight around her neck. She collapses into their arms without a struggle.

Mercer watches the guards remove her. “I take it you approve of my methods,” he says to the woman in the black suit.

“It’s not for me to approve or disapprove. Desperate times require desperate measures.” She walks to Mercer. Her fingers slide along the rough, black surface of the suit built for Mercer. “This material you found is incredible. Is it really resistant to the killer molecule?”

“With this suit, I could swim in a lake of that super-acid and be like a fish in water.”

“I can’t help but wonder—”

Mercer nods. “Why didn’t the civilization that invented this material use it to protect themselves?”

“Exactly.”

“Based on the records that were recovered from that little green memory chip, it’s clear. They stumbled on the formula too late.” Mercer points to the black lump on the table next to him. “They barely had time to manufacture this small sample to protect the chip.”

“Makes sense. Nice of them to leave it for us.”

“A supreme act of charity. The chip and all the rest of it. When you stop and think about it, it’s almost beyond comprehension why they would leave this for an intelligent species in a future they couldn’t even conceive of.”

“I think it’s simple.” The woman walks to the table and strokes the black lump. “They saw the destruction brought by the Cloud and knew it would be back. The next time around, they wanted to give Earth a fighting chance.”

“A sacred trust that I don’t intend to squander.”

The woman’s voice drops to a whisper. “As long as you’re in control?”

Her words are irritating, as is the woman, but Mercer can’t deny their truth or the superb work she does. If it weren’t for her or others like her, his LUCA project would be an impossibility. Besides, if she continues to stir his anger, he can always delete her name from the list.

Exercising unusual self-control, he says nothing.

She glances at the ceiling, avoiding his steely gaze. “So little time before death falls from the sky.”

“The closer we get, the more important the secrecy of our project becomes.”

“And the more difficult it becomes to maintain it.” The woman stops and gently clears her throat. “That’s why I came. To inform you of a matter with the Chinese.”

Mercer’s eyebrow lifts. “Trouble?”

“Nothing we can’t handle. But it has been costly.”

“Tell me everything.”

“It seems that one of the regular dumping flights out of Beijing happened to pass over your installation of domes in Fukushima.” She walks to a window. “You know how touchy the Chinese can be about territorial matters. They think they own all of Japan. A report on the domes found its way back to the Ministry offices in Beijing. Inquiries were made of the puppet government in Tokyo, but nobody seemed to know anything about the massive purchase of land made by Genesis Corporation a few years ago.”

“We paid good money for that worthless dirt.”

“Yes, I know.” The woman presses her hands against the glass and stares at the City below. “Corruption has taken over the East. The distinction between private and public sectors is all but lost. It’s hard to tell whether the corporations are running the government or vice versa. No one can be trusted. It’s nearly impossible to find out who to pay off.”

“What’s the bottom line?”

“Despite our best efforts, we may have paid good money for the land in Fukushima to a party that had no right to sell it.” The woman turns to look at Mercer. “The Chinese have threatened to go public with their knowledge of the domes. They don’t yet know the ultimate purpose, and they haven’t yet managed to link all of this to the Cloud. But it’s only a matter of time. They’re poking around. Asking questions. It gets increasingly difficult to fabricate convincing lies.”

Is this how it all ends?

Mercer’s hands harden into fists. As his pulse spikes, he struggles to keep control of his breathing and his voice. “And what do you propose to do about this . . . situation?” He draws in a deep breath.

“Don’t worry.” The woman smiles. “I've already dealt with it. All inquiries have ceased. Permission has been granted at the highest level for you to proceed. It’s a dead issue.”

Exhaling, Mercer reaches for a drink to calm his nerves. “How were you able to do it? Sounds much too easy.”

“Oh, it wasn’t easy.” The woman turns and leans her back into the window. “The Chinese were demanding, as always. I had to make a sacrifice.”

“What sacrifice?”

“The whole of Genesis Corporation.”

Mercer chokes on his drink. Blood rushes to his face. “Explain.”

“Genesis Corporation will become a wholly owned subsidiary of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. But don’t worry. I negotiated a special clause that delays the effective date of the deal until ten days from now. By then, none of this will matter.”

It takes Mercer several minutes of silence to absorb the news. Long enough for him to ingest a double dose of the blue liquid and consume an entire lemon, section by section. By the time he’s done chewing, he is calm enough to respond.

“Why didn’t you bring this to my attention earlier?”

“It only happened today. There wasn’t time to consult you. The Chinese aren’t patient. They demanded an immediate answer."

“In that case, well done.” Mercer feels a sense of equilibrium return to his mind and body. “Ten days from now, there won't be any People’s Liberation Army. It’s a non-issue.”

“I assumed you would approve.” The woman allows a slight smile.

Mercer senses that below her matter-of-fact efficiency is a yearning for revenge for the years she has toiled beneath him doing what he couldn’t stomach doing himself.

The little blue molecules flood Mercer’s brain, replacing stress and rage with clarity and acceptance. “Let’s move on to another topic."

“Of course.”

“Are the invitations ready for tomorrow?” Mercer says.

“They are.” The woman walks closer. “They will go out just as Earth passes through the outer reaches of the Cloud and makes the Mesh go crazy."

“And transportation?”

The woman nods. “All arranged. One way flights for two thousand lucky people from around the world to the facilities in Fukushima.”

“And what is your opinion?” Mercer asks.

“Of what?”

“The two thousand.”

The woman sits on a black sofa and crosses her legs. “Based on exhaustive analysis, the group is young, genetically robust and possesses the skills and knowledge to reboot civilization.”