The Great Altruist (19 page)

           
Genesis turned from the clearing and vowed to never return. She soared high into the atmosphere and approached the borders of space and imagined if she should leave the confines of humanity altogether, never to set foot on Earth again. She was, of course, able to sustain herself on foreign worlds by gathering available elements from her surroundings. The knot in her stomach grew stronger the farther she travelled from her home world. Even now, as the sky turned black and the stars shone in their glory, the knot returned. If she were to leave, how long would she be able to endure the pain of denying herself what she most needed - to help people! So she opted for the only other alternative: returning to humankind and finding someone else to help. And maybe learn from the terrible mistakes she made with Jadzia.

           
No sooner had she descended to earth that she realized she had another choice before her: she could go back and save Jadzia’s life. But she dismissed the very idea as selfish. Jadzia was free to make the choices she did, even if it cost her life. For Jadzia, death would always be honorable if she died for the right reason. Only one problem remained: Genesis knew that Jadzia’s mission to alter the course of history had ultimately failed. There appeared to be no way to stop Hitler or World War II. But Jadzia would never accept that, not as long as she had air to breathe. If Genesis prevented Jadzia’s death, they would end up with impossible odds staring them in the face, and no doubt Jadzia would again choose death. Stubborn or courageous, Genesis knew where Jadzia would always stand when it came to saving her parents.

           
And yet, Genesis couldn’t shake the feeling that Jadzia’s life might still be savable. There was only one thing that Jadzia wanted and that was her family. To
rescue
her from the Nazis and return her to a life alone would be cruel to a girl so hopelessly dependent on her parents for survival. Jadzia’s choices needed to be respected. The only way Genesis could ever see herself violating the wishes of her friend was if she could ever restore a family to her. She would always need something more than friendship.

           
For the next few decades, Genesis returned to her original home, the stately tree where she had her first memory. Initially, she tried to avoid all contact with people. It didn’t last long. At night, she would often disappear into the stream and watch humanity from afar, ever hopeful that one day she would have the strength to appear before someone again and fulfill the noble quality of heartfelt altruism that guided her intentions - even if her methods needed work.

           
To prepare herself for helping anyone among humankind that needed her unique brand of assistance, she took it upon herself to learn all the languages on earth. The endeavor ate up years more, but she didn’t care; she couldn’t help anyone if she couldn’t communicate.

           
As the 21st century began, she set her eyes on a young man she knew she could help. The love of his life had just abandoned him. Filled with despair and afraid of a lonely life, he let his broken heart inform his future choices. For three years, he numbed himself to the world around him and allowed his grief to overwhelm his thinking. A single mistake, if fixed, might alter the course of his life.

           
Little did the diminutive time-traveller know, but James Grant would change the lives of everyone on earth. And as before with Jadzia, it would be all Genesis’s fault.

Part 2

Chapter 1

           
The young woman curled her body inside the metal cage that held her prisoner. Cold, stainless steel pressed against her pale, naked body as she shivered in fear. Masked men and women surrounded her, walked to and fro around the room, and shone bright lights from all directions at the girl. She tried to bury her head in her hands, but the metal floor reflecting the light made her efforts futile. Each day she tried to block out her senses, but the prodding and poking from the masked people never stopped. Worst of all, the incessant jostling and clattering against the cage had covered most of her body in bruises and sores.

           
Any memories she had of her early years were shadowy; she had no recollection of her parents. In fact, only the government that kept her confined knew where she came from; all evidence of the girl's existence was destroyed after her conception. She had no knowledge of it, but the scientists who hovered over her with needles of every shape and size were the same people who governed her creation. A barrage of injections replaced the pain caused by the bruises as needles pierced every region of her body.

           
The woman, who appeared to be about twenty-five years-old, often thought the injections would be easier to endure if she was the same size as her assailants. Her stature was that of a large flower; the cage she called home was too small to receive any privacy. She endured the same series of injections daily, but the pain paled in comparison to the abuse she suffered by night at the hands of the unscrupulous guards who had no shame in their unspeakable molestations. Her cries for help did nothing.

           
Once the masked people finished their tests, she collapsed and fell asleep.

           
When she awoke a few hours later, the girl was disoriented and still groggy. A group of scientists gathered around the cage. One of them tried to measure her height by poking her to straighten her legs.

           
“Nine inches and shrinking still,” the one said to the group in German.

           
“Impossible! We isolated the growth gene weeks ago,” another replied.

           
“Still,” yet another said, “she’s getting stronger.”

           
“How strong?”

           
“We need to upgrade the cage.”

           
The scientist ripped his mask off and pounded his fist against the cage. The girl toppled against the bars from the shock and cried. “Again?” the scientist reacted. “Why can’t you control her strength?”

           
“Isn’t that what we wanted, sir?” the other replied.

           
“Yes, but not so strong we can’t control her!”

           
The first scientist interrupted. “We need to fix the shrinking: a nine-inch girl isn’t what the Fuhrer had in mind. We need to get this right – especially if we mean to breed her. One almighty soldier is not what we need.”

           
“Yes, sir,” the other scientists said in unison.

           
The group turned to leave but one of the scientists lingered behind. After the door closed, he knelt to the girl’s level and smiled as kindly as he could manage. He almost lost control of his emotions at the sight of her condition. The girl stopped crying immediately but did nothing to wipe away her tears. The man beckoned the girl towards him, but she backed up against the cage instead.

           
The man whispered. “I’m a friend, my dear.”

           
She remained silent.

           
“I know these men have been vicious and I don’t expect you to trust me,” he said. “Can you speak?”

           
She nodded cautiously.

           
“I know. That is but one of my many gifts to you. See that no one knows of it! To most, the perfect soldier doesn’t need to speak, only to listen.”

           
The girl looked back at him with wide green eyes the color of rich grass after a rain.

           
“If you were meant to only be a soldier,” the doctor said, “they’d be right. But you are meant for so much more than that. You don’t know it yet, but you will do great things in your life.”

           
“Why are you doing this to me?” the girl asked softly. There was no way to be sure she would receive an honest answer.

           
“I can’t tell you that now. I promise, child, when you are finally freed from this awful place, you will not wonder ‘why’ anymore.”

           
“Why not?” she said.

           
The man smiled kindly once again. “Because you won’t remember any of this – or me.”

           
The girl cocked her head to one side curiously.

           
“Just as I’ve given you a voice, I’ve given you freedom; and yet, these are just the beginning of my gifts to you. You will have great strength, both in body and mind. You will possess a love for others and a compelling desire to help those in trouble. But you will have more than just the will – you will also have the way, a means of helping those in need.”

           
“I don’t understand,” the girl said, finally pushing her long, red hair out of her face.

           
“I know,” he said, extending a small finger between the bars of her cage for consolation. “They want you to create chaos and war, but I won’t allow that. They don’t know this, but you will soon be incapable of revenge. Whatever time and place you escape to will be far grander than this miserable place. Moreover, you will never need to return. You will only remember enough to remove the fear you feel now.”

           
“Who are you?” she finally asked.

           
He only smiled. “You might say I’m your father. And yet, I cannot give you a name as the Fuhrer has already chosen one for someone of your...uniqueness. Your name will be Genesis.”

           
“But won’t I forget that too?”

           
He chuckled. “Very clever girl.” He removed a tiny syringe from his pocket. “Do you see this?”

           
She nodded.

           
“When I inject you with this, a powerful drug will permanently imprint on your mind only what you need to know about yourself. Whatever treasures lurk beneath, you will need to discover on your own.”

           
She approached the door to the cage and remained still as the man gently injected the syringe into her arm, but nothing happened.

           
“You’ll feel its effects soon enough.” He looked behind him as a loud noise came from outside the laboratory.

           
“Come,” he gestured toward her, “you need to leave now.”

           
He removed a key from his belt and opened the door. The man gently lifted her up, placed her in his shirt pocket, and held his coat together.

           
“Please be quiet, my dear,” he said.

           
The man carried her to the door of the laboratory and into the hallway. It was silent. A moment later, alarms sounded.

           
“Oh, no,” he muttered. He looked down at Genesis. “They’re tracking us, or more to the point: you. No matter – where you’re going, they cannot follow. I may have given them my people’s technology to the wrong people, but that’s my problem. Besides, I’ve kept the best parts for you.”