Immortal (15 page)

The next in the long line of attendees
advanced. Another young man stepped forward, as he proudly held the
hand of his bride.

“Your Lordship, the Lady Taragon.” He said,
as his wife curtsied, and he followed with a shallow bow.

“Albert.” Said Roger. “How good to see you.
And the beautiful Madeline as well.” He smiled, nodded, and they
straightened from their bowed positions. A heavy set man in a dark
tunic stepped up behind the Premier and whispered into his ear.

“Sir. A moment if you please.” Roger finished
the conversation with the lovely young blonde lady dressed
immaculately in flowing blue and white translucent veils.

“Madeline, it will certainly be a pleasure to
partake of your reveal. I so look forward to it. Now if you’ll
excuse me. Duty calls.” He released her hand, and she curtsied
again, as she blushed. Her husband took her hand and led her away.
Roger turned, and stepped towards the door held open by his
Chancellor. “Well, what is it this time.” He asked impatiently.
“Someone forget to stack the sweet buns high enough? Or maybe the
cake is stale?” He said with sarcasm.

“Sir, I think you will want to hear this
right away. This way please.” Charles said with true concern. He
led Roger into the adjacent room and quickly closed the door.

“Well? What is it? What is so blasted
important-”

“Sir, forgive me for interrupting. Will all
due respect, you need to shut the hell up and listen to me.” A look
of pure shock swept across Roger’s face. “Sir we have a-”

“Shut the hell up? Did you just tell me to
shut the hell up? Who in the hell do you think you are!” He yelled,
as the anger raged in his expression and he approached the slightly
smaller man. “How dare you-”

“We have an intrusion, sir.”

“-speak to me like…an intrusion.” His
expression changed from anger, to mystification. “An intrusion?”
His anger had completely dissipated as he tried to wrap his mind
around what he had just heard. “What do you mean…intrusion?” He
asked as he walked towards the near wall, and slumped onto the edge
of the chair.

“Forgive me for my abruptness, sir. An
intrusion. In the harvesting ward of the farm, sir. Sub sector
six.”

“The harvesting ward?” His face went pale.
“But how?”

“We don’t yet know, sir.” Charles clutched
his hands behind his back, and stepped closer to the Premier.
“Guardian control is processing the data now to get those
answers.”

“Have they contained the intrusion?” Roger
asked, as he looked hopefully up at Charles.

“No sir. Not as of yet. So far it appears as
though several Guardian units have been incapacitated, but
the-”

“Incapacitated? A Guardian?” Roger asked in
disbelief. He began to shake his head. “But that has never
happened.”

“No sir, it has never happened…before now. It
is important that we contain this threat immediately, sir.”

“Yes, yes. Eradicate it.” He said, still
confused from the shock of the news.

“Sir. Eradicate it?”

“Yes!” Roger exclaimed, as anger flashed
across his face again. “Eradicate it. Catch it and harvest it.
Whatever. Just get this contained!” He said impatiently.

“Harvest ahead of schedule? Is that correct,
sir.” Charles asked calmly.

“Yes, damn it. Find and kill the bastard. Is
that plain enough?” He said angrily, as he jumped to his feet, and
approached him. Charles took a small step back, and then stood his
ground. His hands still clasped behind his back. “Well? Is it?”

“Yes, your lordship.” Charles responded.
“Quite plain.” Without further hesitation, he reached into his
pocket and pulled out a small communication device. “Guardian
control, proceed with eradication and harvesting immediately.” He
said into the unit. Roger rose and stood near the doorway. As it
opened, he turned back and said, completely calm now.

“And Charles…see to it that this does not
interfere with the Ball.” The thinly hint of a veiled threat
lingered as the two men locked eyes. Charles nodded compliance, and
Roger exited the room, and reentered the revelry from the main
ballroom. “Ah, Sinclair. So nice to see you, my good man!” Charles
heard the Premier exclaim, as the door slid shut and left him in
silence. Charles shook his head, and stepped towards the chair that
Roger had sat in only moments earlier. He bent down, and brushed at
imaginary lint where Roger had sat, and then took a seat. He
inhaled deeply. Suddenly a wall panel on the far side of the room
slid back, and a dark haired woman with a sharp expression on her
face entered the room.

“Sir?” She said, as she stopped abruptly in
the center of the room. She took a stance with her feet apart
slightly, and her arms to her sides stiffly.

“Yes, Amelia.” Charles responded, as he
lifted his head.

“Guardian control has confirmed the origin of
the intrusion.”

“Well. Let’s have it.” He said
impatiently.

“It came from the farm, sir.”

“The Farm.” He said. “As in a specimen from
farm?” Charles asked.

“Yes, sir. Data records show that it is
specimen one six mark one five Omega Alpha, sir.”

“Omega?” He asked. “Omega Alpha?” he asked
again, in disbelief.

“Affirmative, sir. Omega Alpha.”

“How many of that series are active?” He
said, as he rose to his feet. A look of concern entered his
expression.

“Unsure, sir. I’ll make a request to find
out.” She watched quietly as he crossed the room to the window. He
stood there, and silently looked out. “Uh, sir?” She began slowly.
“Is there some significance to the specimen’s genus?” She asked,
almost hesitantly.

“Hmm?” He responded, as he came out of deep
thought, but did not turn back to face her. He ran his hand over
his bald head, and let it come to a rest on the back of his
neck.

“Omega Alpha, sir. Is that significant?” She
asked. He brought his hand down from his neck, and let his
fingertips rest on the glass of the window as he still stared
outside.

“Let’s hope not, Amelia.” He turned and
looked back at her. He gazed for a moment into her hazel eyes, and
then cast his glance back outside. “For all of our sakes. Let’s
hope not.” He said in almost a whisper, as if he spoke to himself,
and not to her at all. She stood motionless for a moment, but with
nothing further offered from Charles, she looked down, hesitated,
and then looked back at him. She opened her mouth to speak, but
again hesitated. Then suddenly, without another word, she turned
and left the room. The panel slid closed behind her. Charles
remained at the window for a few minutes more. He was silent

His communication device vibrated, and he
pulled it out and read the screen. Amelia had sent him the answer
to his question. There were two Omega Alpha units that were active.
The message indicated that one of them had been the intruder. The
other Omega Alpha unit had been previously removed from the farm,
and was already in the harvesting ward. The last line of data
indicated that it had been harvested. He reread the message again,
and then pocketed the device.

“Harvested.” He said to himself. “Good.”

Vanessa and Jonah merged into the line that
entered the building, still arm in arm after their stroll. As the
line slowly surged forward, they saw and spoke to many friends and
acquaintances that had attended the Accession Ball as well. Each
couple was immaculately dressed, and bubbled with enthusiasm. Some
couples seemed much the same age, as did Jonah and Vanessa, and
some appeared to have a large variance in age. So far, Vanessa
noted to herself, that no one appeared to have the skin splotch
enhancement that she and Jonah had laughed about earlier, and she
was thankful that that particular enhancement had not caught
on.

“Jonah!” A voice called from behind them.

“Frederick!” Jonah turned and saw the tall
black man with bright red hair as he waived at him. He called back.
“Where’s Nancy?”

“Right here!” Frederick replied, as she
stepped to the side and let his small statured wife step up beside
him. She smiled and waved, the sleeves of her flowing dress falling
back to reveal the familiar suture marks of her recent skin
rejuvenation.

“Hey, guys!” Juanita said as she waved. “Wait
up!” Vanessa and Jonah stepped aside and allowed a few couples
behind them to pass by, until Frederick and Juanita had caught up
with them.

“You look fabulous, darling!” Vanessa said to
Juanita. “Turn around!” Juanita pirouetted, her dress fanned up as
she spun. “Wow! So when did you have it done?”

“Just, last week.” She pulled her sleeve up
to show them the suture marks. “That’s why you can still see
these.” She spun again. “Isn’t it amazing?” She asked.

“Beautiful. Just, beautiful.” Vanessa
responded.

“And check out Frederick’s new hair!” She
said, as she grabbed her husband by the shoulder and pulled him
down towards her. She began to run her hands through his red
locks.

“Amazing!” Jonah exclaimed.

“You’re a natural redhead?” Asked Vanessa, as
she laughed.

“Oh no!” Exclaimed Juanita.

“No, blonde actually.” Frederick answered,
and then laughed. “Well most recently…grey. Thought I’d try
something different this time. You like?” He asked Vanessa.

“Love it!” She replied, and ran her own hands
through the hair on the side of his head. “You’re a bit taller too,
aren’t you?” He laughed.

“Just a bit. Very perceptive.” He said.

“Did you have both done at the same time?”
Jonah asked.

“Sure did. Nothing like one stop shopping.”
Frederick replied as he laughed. Their place in line had almost
reached the building’s entrance. Vanessa stepped through the
doorway as she followed the line in front of them. They walked a
short bit in a narrow hallway that gradually became smokier as they
approached the end. Each of them breathed deeply of the bluish mist
that jetted into the hallway from the edges of the doorway at the
end, and instantly their hearts began to beat a bit faster, and
their senses began to heighten. A feeling of well being and
excitement rolled over them in waves, and they began to hear the
sounds of music as it blared from within the building ahead.
Finally they stepped through the last doorway, and the mist began
to clear.

Multicolored beams of light danced in time
with the heavy beat, and Jonah felt a bit light headed from the
mist he had inhaled. He held firmly to Vanessa’s arm to both steady
himself, and make sure he did not lose her in the crowd. His vision
cleared a bit and as his focus returned he could see the sea of
bodies as they danced in rhythm with the music across the great
hall. Each of the walls of the great hall had live images of
dancers from the floor, blown up ten times life size, as some of
them elegantly danced in time, and some violently moved with the
beat. Solid light beams appeared to pulse from wall to wall, across
the vast vaulted dome ceiling. Multicolored bursts of light seemed
to emanate from all over the room. Occasional showers of mist came
from the ceiling, and drifted down into the crowd. Music surrounded
and engulfed them from every direction.

“Now this is an Accession Ball!” Juanita
yelled to Vanessa, as Frederick came up behind her and wrapped his
arms around her, his eyes reflected the effects of the mist.

“Let’s go girl!” He yelled, as he released
his hug, and grabbed her hand to lead her into the sea of writhing
bodies. She let herself be led, and turned back briefly.

“See you guys later!” She yelled as they were
swallowed by the crowd.

“Excuse us.” Came a voice from behind Jonah.
He turned to see the couple behind them emerge from the mist, hand
in hand. He moved to the side and allowed them to pass as he still
held tightly to Vanessa. He wrapped his other arm around her and
bent close.

“A drink?” He asked.

“Absolutely, my dear.” She responded, and
turned to lead the way to the banquet area. They wove their way
through those couples that were not dancing at the fringe of the
throng, and came to and passed through a shimmering wall of air,
and suddenly the loud music became a muted hum. On this side of the
shimmering curtain, revelers were relatively quiet as they moved
through a coordinated maze of tables. As they passed, there were
piles of food in every color and flavor. Jonah grabbed a piece of
white meat and began to nibble, as Vanessa grabbed a red sweet bun,
and took a bite or two before she tossed it into the slot in the
floor next to the table. Jonah’s partially eaten white meat went
into the same slot, as he reached for a piece of brown meat.
Vanessa snatched an elaborately decorated piece of cake, took a
bite and offered it to Jonah.

“Not now. The sparkle water is just ahead.”
He said as he eyed the first of the sparkle water fountains. Well
taller than either of them, each multilayered fountain had streams
of colored liquid that poured from layer to layer, as it foamed
into the bottom and was lit up from within. The light pulsed in
time with the muted hum of the music from the main hall. As they
approached they each grabbed a glass from the table’s edge, and
partially filled their glasses from adjacent streams. Jonah took
the first taste. A sip at first, then he drained his glass.

“Ah.” He said, and exhaled. “Good stuff.” He
exclaimed, and refilled his glass at once. She sipped at hers as
she gazed around the room. She took another sip, tossed the glass
into the slot beside the table, and moved ahead to the next table.
Jonah followed. He drained his glass again, and tossed it into the
slot. They each grabbed another glass, and filled it from separate
streams with the brightly colored red liquid from the next
table.

“Nessa!” A voice called from further up the
line. Vanessa looked up to see a scantily clad young woman as she
frantically waved at her. An elderly man stood at her side looking
stately in his white tunic. She waved back, and turned to
Jonah.