Waiting in the Shadows (11 page)

‘Do you agree to this, Simon?' Sakura asked him.

He nodded. For the rest of the journey he remained silent, gazing out of the window.

Soon they drew up outside the house. Ruby opened the front door and smiled at Simon gently.

‘Come in. I'm Ruby, a Non-Lab, like you. We have plenty of coffee and sandwiches ready! You've had quite an ordeal, Simon!'

After introducing the twins and Dette they all sat down in the lounge.

‘I think I know what happened,' Simon began nervously. ‘I know I went to the Centre on three occasions, when I was injured in serious accidents over the past few years. I suppose that on the last occasion I must have somehow wandered into the room where the Labs were sleeping. Somehow I got myself into one of those capsules and …'

He looked disappointed as Celia shook her head, ‘It couldn't have happened like that, Simon. First of all, you were too severely injured to get out of bed. And secondly, all the rooms containing Labs are under tight security.'

Simon looked puzzled.

‘I'm afraid you've lost me! At the Centre, in the … Mature Ward … you told me I
had
been there. Now you are telling me I can't have been there!'

Everyone was silent for a moment.

Celia gave a cough and began to speak, ‘This may be difficult for you to understand. And it may also come as something rather shocking. But, what seems to have happened is …'

‘No!' Simon interrupted. All of a sudden, his hands shook so much he slopped coffee on to the table as he put the cup down. He put his hands to his eyes.

‘I know what you are going to tell me!'

Sakura put her hand on his shoulder. There was a long silence.

‘Simon …' she began.

He took a deep breath and sat up.

‘No, let me say it and you can tell me if there's anything … different …

‘The … person in my dream, who woke up, walked around, saw you … he was the Lab. The one who slept in a capsule in there.

‘He fell asleep on the floor; it must have been the anesthetic. He was being prepared for the operation, wasn't he?
I have his brain, don't I?
'

Celia sighed and nodded, ‘Yes, Simon. The staff must have been lax; they must have set the dials incorrectly, which allowed him to wake up. There is no record of this. They must have covered up their mistake.'

Simon was looking down at his hands, ‘I have had three serious operations over the past few years. How much of me is … Lab?'

‘We could check through your records. But are you sure …?'

He looked up at her, ‘I want to know everything!'

Celia beckoned him to sit next to her. She turned to her computer screen and brought up his details.

He gazed at the screen and gave a harsh laugh, ‘Heart and lungs, kidney, left hand, both feet, pelvic bone. And I've got through two brains!'

He turned to the others, ‘I'm almost a Lab myself! How many others are like me?'

‘We have no report of any other donor experiencing such memories, so far,' Abel told him.

‘Oh God! This is awful!' he cried. ‘All those … people … just created so their body parts can be used for … people like me!'

He looked around the room, ‘This can't go on! We must stop it! Get this place closed down! Right now!'

Keith nodded, ‘We were hoping you would support us when you learnt of the true work of the Centre.'

‘And that you would help us to achieve this,' Sakura added.

‘I will, God help me, I will!' Simon said fervently. ‘Tell me how I can help!'

A week later Simon sat with his parents in the family lounge in the White House.

‘Do we have to talk about this right now, Simon?' his mother asked him. ‘Your father has only just come home after a gruelling two months! Can't it wait?'

‘No, Mom. I'm afraid this can't wait!' he replied. ‘I've got some news for you. Some rather shocking news!'

He told them of his trip to the Centre and how he had recognised the room where he, or rather, his Lab, had been. His mother was sobbing quietly; his father was grim faced as he drew to the end of his account.

‘So you see, Mom,' he gave a short laugh and spread his arms, ‘Not all of me is what you gave birth to twenty-one years ago!'

His father shook his head.

‘So you have memories that belong to this … other character?' he said slowly.

‘The only vivid ones are the ones in the Centre, just before the operation. But I find that I can do things, or I know things that I would have no knowledge of in my normal life. For example …' he walked over to the piano and played the start of a popular song. ‘My Lab was given pretty good musical knowledge during his development; I had about half a dozen piano lessons when I was nine, didn't I? Also, I discovered that I know a lot about European history; things I definitely didn't study at school. I thought it was a bit strange, but I assumed I'd picked up some facts from the TV or something.'

‘This girl …?' his mother began.

‘Sakura? Yes, she is also a Lab,' he told her. ‘All the people I met are, except for two Non-Labs, humans that is. But the Labs living free lives at the moment are not revealing their true identities yet. They will decide when they are ready to do so.'

‘And you went to the Centre, alone with these strange people?' his mother clutched his arm. ‘My God, what were you thinking of?'

‘Mom! You are missing the point entirely! They are cloned humans created as spare parts for wealthy people! People like us!' Simon cried.

‘Look, son,' his father began, ‘if this is true …'

‘There is no
if
, Dad! It is true! I
saw
them! Sleeping in capsules! Rooms full of them!' his son interrupted.

He looked at his father. ‘It is essential that you get involved, Dad. And not just the US, but all the countries who have subscribed to the Centre. The Centre must be closed down immediately, and the Labs set free! As head of the States, you have a great deal of influence on the rest of the world.'

‘Why don't these … Labs … just walk free?' his mother asked. ‘Why does your father, or you, for that matter, have to get involved?'

Simon retold the background Abel, Celia, and the others had told him. How the managers of the Centre, plus the subscribers, were wealthy and in influential positions. The Labs still in the Centre were in a vulnerable position.

‘We need to approach this problem carefully so no one is put in danger, including the developing Labs.'

His father sat silently, fingertips placed together. Finally he looked up.

‘I need to make some phone calls. And book a flight to London as soon as possible,' he looked at Simon. ‘Get in touch with the leaders of these … Labs. I'll need them to accompany me.'

‘And me, of course!' Simon said.

‘No, son. I don't want you going back to the Centre. I'll take it from here,' his father said.

Chapter Twelve

‘We're always pleased to see you here, Mr Armstrong,' Sir Philip said as he shook his hand. ‘I'm delighted it's not to arrange medical treatment for your son this time! He's been quite a popular patient here over the years! This time you want a guided tour of the Centre? Though let me assure you, our plans to branch out in other countries will not affect any of our present subscribers.'

He turned to Abel and Celia, ‘And we have here …?'

‘My aides. They both have an informed knowledge of the Centre's background, Sir Philip,' President Armstrong told him.

‘Ah! Well, let me introduce our management team: John Baxman, Tony Vittori, Peter McClaren, and Penelope Chiswick,' he continued.

‘Could I just ask you all, are you fully aware of the nature of the work of the Centre?' the president said.

‘Of course!' Penelope said. ‘Here we have developed ‘the best of modern medical technology advancements for the betterment of mankind.'

Mr Armstrong nodded, ‘That's part of the Centre's manifesto, yes. But at what price?'

‘Oh, you haven't been listening to the gossip about how we should consider the feelings of the cells we use, are you?' John sighed exasperatedly. ‘Our meeting with the American company is taking place in three days' time! We just don't have time for this now!'

‘I'm afraid the takeover is not going to go ahead, Mr Baxman,' the president said softly.

‘But …? What …? You can't be serious! It's a multi-billion-dollar deal! We've been talking about this for months now! Don't be taken in by those “hug a cell” crackpot ideas! We're not going to throw this chance away, I won't let that happen!' Baxman spluttered.

‘Calm down, John. I think we had better let the president explain himself, before we decide if the takeover will go ahead or not,' Tony said tersely. He looked at Mr Armstrong.

‘Dr Miranda Cheung, the founder of this Centre, was a strong supporter of the good work done here initially. But we do know that before her tragic death she had raised issues with the moral ethics of creating near-human products to be used in the experiments carried out here.'

‘How do
you
know what Dr Cheung was concerned about?' Sir Philip asked him.

The president turned to Abel.

Abel cleared his throat, ‘Some of us were closely involved with Dr Cheung. She was about to demonstrate that these, as you put it, “near-human products” are capable of living independently away from the Centre.'

‘You mean the research items in the capsules in the Mature Ward?' Peter asked.

‘Yes, that's what they are! Items! Spare parts! Not human beings!' John spat out.

Penelope shifted uncomfortably. ‘But we were always told that they were nothing more than a complicated bundle of cells. Designed in human form …'

‘Exactly!' John fixed his eyes on Mr Armstrong. ‘How can you possibly be taken in by these … fictional flights of fancy?'

Abel pulled up his sleeve.

‘Welcome to my world, ladies and gentlemen,' he said softly, peeling off the plastic strip to reveal the tattooed code on his inner wrist.

‘You are a … a …? Oh my God!' Peter struggled to his feet, knocking the chair over backwards as he did so.

The others sat open mouthed.

‘Pull yourself together, Peter!' Baxman muttered.

‘Yes, I am one of the “spare parts” you create here in the Centre. There are many of us who have been freed over the years.'

‘There were rumours of SPs escaping and becoming feral in the hills,' Tony said, ‘But we always thought it was just a local superstition! The police are convinced they're just a cover for local criminals. All those prisoners disappearing over the past few months! It would be handy to disappear if you were a prisoner, wouldn't it?'

‘You believed that even when one of us was briefly captured in Hambleton?' Abel asked him.

‘Oh, yeah. There was that, but then the boy escaped. Probably one of the local small-time offenders, stealing to feed his drug habit. We hear loads of those stories!'

‘And this is another story! Well done! You certainly got some of us going for a minute. Neat tattoo there!' John gave a harsh laugh.

‘This is not a story that is going to go away! You cannot silence my kind anymore!' Abel's voice was rising.

‘Let us remain calm. Shall we take a tour of the Mature Ward? One of the Labs has been readied for awakening,' Celia looked around the table and then held Abel's gaze. His shoulders were trembling.

‘How the devil did you get into the Wards?' Baxman glowered. ‘There are serious breaches of security here, Sir Philip!'

The team made their way to the ward silently apart from occasional mutterings from Baxman.

Penelope and Peter moved closer together as they entered the ward dimly lit with an orange light. There was only the gentle background hum of machinery as they stopped in front of one of the capsules where a man in a white coat stood waiting.

‘Stand back, please. We don't usually have so many people around when we awaken a Lab,' he told them. He nodded to Abel who turned a dial on the display at the top of the capsule. He waited a moment until the occupant began to stir, then he gently raised the lid.

‘Time to wake up, Gen!' he whispered softly as a young woman uncurled herself and stepped out of the capsule. She wore a short simple tunic that revealed strong slender arms and legs. She pushed her long black hair away from her face and looked around her. Abel took her hand and smiled, ‘Ready for a little walk?'

The woman nodded and looked around bemused, ‘I am Gen?'

‘Yes,' Abel showed her the code tattooed on her wrist. He held out his own wrist, ‘And I am Abe.'

There was a stunned silence as the two walked away slowly around the ward, Gen occasionally stopping to ask Abel a question.

The president was the first to speak. ‘Perhaps we had better adjourn to the committee room?'

‘I was just about to say that myself,' Sir Philip nodded.

Peter gestured vaguely around the room, ‘But … all these capsules … are they all capable of … coming to life?'

‘They are
already
alive,' Celia pointed out. She looked at the faces of the others; Penelope was clinging to Peter's arm, Tony was looking confused. Only John Baxman was staring stonily ahead.

Back in the committee room, there was a long silence. Celia gave out a cup of coffee to each of the other people, as they did not seem capable of doing this simple task themselves.

‘How can this have been happening? How did things go so far?' Peter shook his head.

‘But, don't forget, we are also saving lives! Enabling injured and disabled people to have a better standard of life! Let's not forget the good side of the Centre's work!' Baxman pointed out. ‘Look at your own son, Mr Armstrong – he would not have survived his last three accidents without the Centre's intervention!'

‘Yes, for those who could afford it, we have done a great deal of good work,' Sir Philip agreed.

‘And at what price to the Labs?' Abel added.

‘Labs?' Tony asked.

‘You called us ‘SPs: Spare Parts', a term we found unpalatable. We renamed ourselves Labs – those created in your laboratory, as opposed to your kind, Non-Labs – those created by normal human reproductive means.'

‘Where do we go from here?' Penelope shook her head, still feeling dazed.

‘Well, obviously the American deal cannot go through,' Tony said.

‘Yes. The Centre will be closed, immediately!' the president said.

‘Well if it must, better do it with least amount of publicity. Make the best of the situation!' John looked at Sir Philip. ‘We'll need to get our lawyers on to it immediately.'

‘What about all the … Labs … in the Centre?' Penelope asked.

‘Turn off all equipment before anything else wakes up, I would say is the best idea!' John had just put his coffee cup down on the table as Abel flew across the room and landed a punch squarely in his face.

Simon was back at the Labs' house that evening. All were watching the television.

‘I thought the Centre would be on the news tonight,' Leon commented that evening.

‘Just a brief account of the American deal falling through, no mention of why,' his brother said.

‘I can't get through to my father on his phone!' Simon looked frustrated.

‘It's a complicated situation. Celia has just phoned,' Keith told them, coming into the room. ‘They've only just left the meeting now. Their lawyers and the government are already involved. And one of the committee members has somehow ended up in hospital with a broken nose!'

‘Abel, I suppose!' Johnny said as his brother shrugged.

‘Celia said there are many difficulties ahead. The first one is finding a place for the Labs still in the Centre to live,' Keith continued.

‘What other problems are there? Why hasn't the story been made public yet? Why aren't the Labs free?' Simon asked him.

‘Celia didn't have time to go into everything on the phone. She will fill us in on the details later,' he paused. ‘She is going to reside at the Centre for the foreseeable future. Both she and Abel feel it would be in our best interests, and those of all previously freed Labs, to continue under our present IDs until the future of the Labs is clear.'

It wasn't until the following week that Celia and Abel visited the house late one evening.

Dette first hugged Celia then Abel.

‘We have been so worried about you!' she cried.

Abel smiled and patted her arm. His face looked pale and drawn.

‘We knew things would take time, but there are so many issues that had not occurred to us.'

They all settled themselves down in the lounge.

‘Well?' Keith looked at Abel.

‘Where do I start?' he sighed. ‘We have insisted accommodation for the Labs still in capsules at the Centre is completed as soon as possible; so a compound of prefabricated housing is being erected in the grounds,' he looked at Celia. ‘We have also insisted on a decent standard of accommodation and facilities for the Labs who will live there initially. Fil and Valerie, who is a Non-Lab worker at the Centre, have arranged a team of Labs to care for the Labs in the Nursery Ward until they reach maturity and then they also will be freed.'

‘What about those in the Caves?' Keith asked him.

‘They will join the newly freed Labs in the compound. It is better that you and all the Labs already living within the community do not reveal your true identities at the moment. There are so many legal issues to be addressed. We now have several lawyers involved, and the government, too, of course!'

‘Why hasn't the whole story been made public yet?' Johnny asked him.

‘As one of the committee members said, “we have opened a huge can of worms!” The lawyer representing the Labs has prioritised establishing us as a race. That will give us a much stronger standing. The lawyers representing the subscribers have two main issues: whether they have any rights to ownership of the Labs they funded to be created, and also whether they are entitled to compensation and a refund of the fees they have already paid. Especially if, as they now know, Non-Labs were sometimes used to replace the Lab organs. That brings me to the next point: as leader of the Labs, I am to be tried for the murder of the Non-Labs which we substituted for the Labs. Oh, and I am also accused of causing actual bodily harm to John Baxman.'

Leon let out a long whistle.

‘The government are hoping to resolve some of these issues before making things public. There will be a backlash from certain members of the public about the Non-Labs we used as replacements. And are we going to be accepted by society? Or be the freak show of the decade?' Abel spread his hands.

‘Is there anything we can do to help?' Ruby asked him.

He gave her a smile, ‘All we can ask you, Ruby and Simon, is to continue to support us Labs as you have done up till now! We're going to need all the Non-Lab friends we can get!'

Keith gave him a grin, ‘Finally, Abel! You are beginning to appreciate the help our Non-Labs friends can give us!'

Abel bowed his head in acknowledgement.

A week later the story was finally released to the public. International television stations and newspapers were buzzing.

Celia read the article that appeared in a national newspaper:

DARK SECRETS OF THE CENTRE REVEALED!

Over the past week, the residents of Hambleton and other small towns near to the Advancement of Medical Technology Centre have watched as over a hundred prefabricated buildings were delivered to the site. Yesterday the arrival of one hundred military personnel aroused further curiosity.

Two weeks ago the takeover bid of the Centre by the American company, Medicfrontier, was unexpectedly called off at the eleventh hour.

We are finally able to reveal the truth behind the scenes. A story that sounds more like science fiction than real life in this sleepy English town.'

The article went on to give details of the secret medical advancements that had been developed at the Centre. It also included comments by government officials.

Celia quickly read through the article in
The Times
and phoned Keith.

‘So it is finally out in the open,' Keith said. ‘Isaac just phoned to tell us that they're holding a press conference at ten o'clock at the Centre, to be shown on BBC One. The Prime Minister, Sir Philip, and Abel, who has been released on bail, will be answering questions.'

Keith, the twins, and Ruby were in front of the television at one o'clock.

The Prime Minister was asked how medical developments had got this far without any questions being asked.

‘Well, the government were given to believe advanced stem cell research was taking place here. We were not informed at any stage that whole organs, never mind complete human-type bodies, had been created.'