Dues of Mortality (41 page)

Kelmer
extracted a palmtop device from his coat pocket and fired up its 3D
panel. “This control allows me to adjust the power input
accordingly for the bioelectric stimulation. However, it is my hope
that once the implant is adapted to the patient’s own brainwave
patterns, the remote device will not often be necessary.”

Kelmer
inserted his fingers into the exploded panel and began manipulating
the interface. The camera zoomed in on the paralyzed patient and
after several overly-dramatic seconds, Cassius Tyler's head wrenched
backward in a methodical snaking motion until it settled in an
upright position. His back straightened and his shoulders aligned.
His knobby knees parted and his bony feet flattened against the
floor. His hands gripped the arms of the wheelchair and mightily
pushed him to a standing position. Tyler's mouth was wide open. It
looked like he was in the front seat of a down-sloping roller coaster
as unbridled joy battled to express itself through his fallow shell.
Such minor motion had become a painfully distant memory for him in
just the three months he’d been an invalid. Kelmer continued to
play his fingers inside the interface and Tyler’s left leg
raised gently, quaking in the air. Kelmer worked the panel again,
prompting Tyler to grab the support bars of the stationary tread.
Then, languorously and wavering, Tyler began walking the length of
the bars with the plump nurse facing his every step, looking poised
to do a diving catch at the slightest urging. When he reached the
end, Tyler did a proud about-face and repeated his journey until once
again he was seated in the wheelchair. Not once, during the return
trip, did he grab the support bars. After capturing the miracle, the
camera zoomed out from a teary, swollen-eyed Tyler and progressed to
a view of Richard Kelmer explaining the apparent success of the
demonstration.

As
the present Kelmer proudly watched the recording, the sound of his
own voice became whiter with every syllable. For in the background,
he noticed Dana Holliman remove her glasses and stroke her lip with
the frames. The gesture was subtle, but noticeable enough to any
viewer. Dana seemed oblivious to the camera, her eyes almost on fire.
It provoked a similar reaction in the flesh-and-blood Kelmer.

“
That’s
astonishing, Richard,” Glenda said.

Kelmer
blinked back to reality, clicking off the recording.

“
That
man couldn’t walk at all, before that implant?”

“
No.
Though, I must admit, Cassius was a p...particularly stubborn case.
He had a habit of spitting his apple juice on the nurses who tried to
start him on his physical therapy.”

“
It
seems something like that should’ve made big news in the
medical world.”

“
It
would have if I had been able to perfect it or at least owned the
patents. But the corporate heads don't operate without total control.
I...I wanted to dedicate more time to the implant, but Wallace
extended me only so much opportunity, insisting that I prioritize the
cloning projects. I thought I could win him over by convincing him
the implant was more practical. Since it didn’t carry any
controversial procedures or implementations, like the cloning, it
wouldn’t be subject to the same regulatory problems, and it
could be easily patented.” Kelmer paused, looking angry for the
first time. “Then not long after I presented this demonstration
to him, he mothballed it. He told me it would be too expensive to
produce as it was...and that he'd help me develop a less costly model
after we'd made more progress on the cloning.” He sighed
grievous. “I was so stupid. I handed him everything on a silver
platter.”

“
Handed
him what?”

Kelmer
squared his chest. “I...I helped Wallace manipulate tons of
genetic stock for the cloning projects. We created thousands of
replicated bodies in all different stages of growth. All we had to do
was have viable, sup...perior tissue samples. It had gotten easier
over the past few years, but the closer we came to not needing
surrogate mothers, the tougher the laws became.”

“
Surrogate
mothers aren’t necessary anymore?”

“
N...n...not
for Millenitech. It’s among its most closely guarded secrets.
I...I helped make it a reality so Wallace would reconsider the
improvements I...I was making on my implant. It was definitely
crossing the legal line. As if that meant anything to him.
E...everybody thinks the government made laws against human cloning
because it’s immoral or unnatural—that’s
b...b...bunk. They just don’t want somebody else beating them
to it! Who better to get in bed with than Wallace?”

Glenda
was astounded. “The government
knows
Wallace is trying to make human clones?” she asked

“
Maybe,
maybe not,” Kelmer answered. “It’s a “Don’t
ask, don’t tell” policy. But, they’re not stupid;
the generals and pencil pushers alike can see the potential advantage
in being the first country to have human cloning perfected.”
Kelmer pulled at his neck. “But even if Wallace is contracted,
I can’t imagine they know about...Dragonfly.”

“
Dragonfly?”
Xavier asked.

“
Yes.
I'm sorry...I...I'm getting ahead of myself. You see, one morning, I
discovered that some of my personal computer files at BioCore had
been compromised. I...I had stored some of my more recent design
specs there for the sake of convenience. I suspected Wallace right
away. I think he was getting suspicious of me when my work
slowed...but I was just putting in more off-hours on the implant. I
assumed he no longer trusted my results on the cloning projects and
thought I was holding out on him...but when I checked, I saw that the
files he’d copied were the updated specs on my implant, not the
cloning protocols. I...I was incensed. To demand my attention to his
priorities was one thing, but to steal my research out of petty anger
was...” Kelmer stopped to let the steam out of his ears.
“Anyway, I figured one g...good hack deserved another. Many of
the advanced encryption programs Wallace used were created by a team
from the university—colleagues of mine.” He paused.
“That’s when I found it.”

“
Found
what?” Glenda asked impatiently. She could barely stand it
anymore and was desperate for him to get to the point.

“
Dragonfly.
It was all there: how they perfected the cloning process, who the
clones were, and who had commissioned them.” Kelmer braced
himself as if what he was going to say next was either too painful or
too embarrassing. “
And
he was using a redesigned version of my implant to control them
.”

Glenda
and Xavier glanced at each other.

“
What
do you mean
control
them?” Xavier asked Kelmer.

“
My
implant is actually a very sophisticated n...neuro-computer. It’s
a leap forward in biocompatible nanotechnology. I...I built it to
become an integral part of the brain’s function, beyond just
patchwork for damaged neurons. It’s like nothing that has ever
existed.” For a moment, Kelmer’s bloodshot eyes expressed
what could only be described as pride. Then, just as quickly, the
spark dissolved. “It also gave Wallace exactly what he’d
been looking for—an access port to the cerebral cortex.”

Invisible
question marks flashed above Xavier and Glenda’s heads.

“
The
cerebral cortex is the area of the brain that primarily deals with
perception of sensations, memory, learning and reasoning,”
Kelmer explained. “Without its proper function, a person is
essentially nonhuman...thoughtless.”

“
Like
a blank slate,” Xavier said, enkindling with comprehension and
equal alarm.

“
Exactly.
The computer program I created builds a s...series of intricate
commands into data-streams that are designed to resonate with the
natural alpha and theta waves produced in the human brain. The
implant helps translate those waves into new neural patterns. So all
it takes is the proper program piped right into the subject. No
months’ worth of training or neurolinguistic programs or
tortuous brainwashing; just a straight feed.”

“
Training?
What do you mean training? Like military?”

“
What
else would the government want with them? They've been trying to
remove the human factor in their soldiers and operatives since time
immemorial.”

“
Why
call it Dragonfly?”

“
Dragonflies
are totems of rebirth in some a...ancient eastern philosophies. In
this case it's a highly inaccurate and deplorable misuse of
symbolism.”

“
Okay.
Well, Wallace's ignorance aside, does this Dragonfly work?”

“
It
still has its problems. Some test subjects didn’t integrate
with the program as well as others. Certain traits wavered in certain
brain types. Some would be more responsive to the physical attributes
like heightened reflexes, superior strength and flexibility, while
others melded more with the behavioral side of the program, like
excessive senses of order and precision. Wallace even developed an
uplink to program the clones remotely.”

Xavier
blinked. “
Holy shit, a
remote-controlled
person
?”

“
Jones,”
Glenda said bluntly. She'd just been walloped by a major flashback.
“Jones was one of them.” She threw a look at Kelmer.
“Richard, how long did you say it took to create one of those
clones?”

“
I
didn't. Did I?” Kelmer shrugged. “But it had gotten down
to a week by the time I left. I...It can be difficult because you
need highly viable and preferably varying sources of DNA, to get
through the filtering process. A few strands of hair or a dollop of
blood simply won’t do it. You need a well of fresh DNA to go
back to until the process registers a non-defective clone.”

Xavier
watched Glenda immerse in thought. “What makes you think Jones
was a clone?” he asked her.

“
When
I first met Jones, it was his first day back on the job after a
week's vacation,” she answered. “He'd reorganized
Roberts's desk with precision neatness. When he started flipping out
back at the motel, it seemed like a deadness came over him. It was
like he wasn’t human.”

Xavier
turned to Kelmer. “Did you know Wallace had a bottled cop,
doctor?” Xavier asked him.

“
No.
Though I'm not the least bit surprised,” Kelmer answered.

“
Well,
I sure as hell am. How in God's name does a guy manage to replace a
cop with a mindless clone without anyone noticing?”

Kelmer
looked at Xavier more worried than ever. “That’s kind of
where it gets worse.”

“
Once
Wallace a...a...announced he was going to build BioCore, everybody
began pooling their money to commercialize their research, especially
the hospitals and universities,” Kelmer said. “He came in
like a tornado—sucking up everything, from entrenched companies
to the small startups who barely got a f...foot in the door. It was a
major means of insuring his access. When...he c...created the
BioCore, he merged the major local hospitals; the biggest, of course,
being the Cleveland Clinic where people from all over the world come
to seek treatment—foreign dignitaries, famous personalities,
rich and influential people from just about everywhere. With Wallace
given such free reign over Cleveland's medical community, he could
create a palette of genetic material that would make the CIA sit up
in awe.”

“
Oh,
my god,” Glenda said breathless.

“
Hold
on,” Xavier said. “You’re saying Wallace hasn’t
just been perfecting cloning, but he’s been creating clones of
international VIPs?”

“
I...I
don’t know if he has or if he’s just planning to,”
Kelmer said. “The cloning process that...I...I helped develop
still has to go through a number of filtering stages to weed out the
defects. The process has a tendency to over-activate DNA, which
causes previously recessive genetic flaws to crop up even in the
final stages. I’d imagine he wouldn’t risk taking things
that far unless the clones were more reliable. However, given what I
got from his encrypted files...I can’t be sure.”

“
I
don't understand. If you didn't know about Jones beforehand, then why
did you tell Glenda to avoid the police?”

“Because
of Miles Gabriel, Wallace's lawyer.
Not
long after I started working for M...Millenitech one of its lab
technicians was badly injured after safeguards failed because Wallace
had cut corners with a contractor. The technician later decided to
file a civil suit against Wallace for negligence. His case was pretty
strong and had the potential to do some real damage to the company's
stock value. A few days later, the lab tech's sixteen year-old
daughter was pulled over while riding in a car with some friends. She
ended up being arrested for possession of three ounces of
Halloxiphen.”

“
What?”
Glenda asked.

“
Technical
term for H-ball,” Xavier answered. “Three ounces would
have been enough to get her locked up until she turned twenty-one.”

“
Four
kids in that c...car and she was the only one arrested,” Kelmer
said. “Her father met with Wallace in his office the next day
where he agreed to discontinue the civil suit. Two days l...later the
charges against his daughter were dropped.” Kelmer paused,
disheartened. “Everyone knows Gabriel has cops on the take.
That whole police scandal back in Cleveland? It's nothing compared to
what Gabriel knows. Wallace owns the
business
world and Gabriel the
legal
.
Together they're unstoppable and there's no place they can't reach.
After seeing the names on the list, I know that now.”