Saven Deception (30 page)

I sense that last statement is an attempt
to deflect from his deliberate evasiveness, but I don’t push it. For now. “What
do you mean?” I lightly stroke his arm.

He closes his eyes momentarily. “Your
touch feels so good.”

I smile.

“Let’s park that one for now. What else do
you want to know?”

I smother a sigh and resist arguing. He’s
willing to answer most of my questions, and I don’t want to do or say anything
to disrupt the flow.

“How long have you been on Earth?”

“I spent a couple of months in Seattle,
and a little bit of time in New York, and then I transferred to the Mock-Up
Facility. I arrived there a couple of days before you did. Prior to that, I’d
only been on Earth a few times over the course of the last year with my father
on business.”

A profound sense of unease sweeps over me.
It’s on the tip of my tongue to confront him with the information Jarod gave me
before I remember I can’t let on about that. Instead, I attempt to tease the
information from him. “What business does your father have here?”

He scrubs a hand over his jaw. “Your
government is concerned at the depletion of natural resources on Earth, and
with the ongoing population crisis, they needed to identify a new energy
source. We have an abundance of naturally renewable sustainable fuel on Saven,
so my father negotiated a deal which provides your government with access to
those resources.”

He uncaps his bottle and guzzles water. I
sense he’s afraid to tell me the next bit, so I help him out. “What do the
Saven get in exchange?”

He licks his lips and I possessively
follow the motion. “The initial agreement was to allow us to secretly live
among you to study your mannerisms and ways.”

I sit up straighter, surprised. “Why?”

“I wasn’t going to get into this yet, but
…” He scrubs a hand over his prickly jaw.

“You promised you’d tell me everything,” I
remind him.

“And I will. But I’m terrified that you’re
gonna freak out.” He scans my face for any evidence that I’m about to lose it.

“I’m handling it well so far, aren’t I?” I
cock my head to the side.

“Yes. Amazingly so.”

“Well, then. Tell me the rest. I need to
know.” I clasp his soft hands and his fingers wrap around mine.

“When we take on other life forms, we
acquire certain traits of that race.”

I wonder briefly if that’s why he’s so
good at playing human. I quickly add it to my list for later.

“It’s changed us in ways we couldn’t have predicted.
At first, the changes were subtle, less altering, but then they became more
pronounced. Before we took on the human form, we had taken the form of a
different alien race. They were more advanced than us in a lot of ways, and
they looked almost human, so it seemed like a natural fit. But we didn’t
realize how cold-hearted and aggressive they were. It changed our people. And
not in a good way.” He winces and looks away.

“Logan.” I reach up and cup his face. “I
won’t judge.”

“You say that now …” His words die out,
and I wait patiently for him to continue. “This other race had no conscience,
no sense of right or wrong, no moral compass whatsoever. They did what they
wanted to do no matter the consequences. They vastly outnumbered us, so it
didn’t matter that they were killing each other over trivial things, petty
arguments, et cetera. But, for our people, it’s been catastrophic.”

My heart seizes as what he’s said sinks
in. “Wait?” I hold up a hand. “Are you saying you—your race, has no
conscience?”

“Yes. That was the trait we inherited from
that alien race and it’s destroying our future. People on my planet flare up at
the slightest thing, and they don’t hesitate to react violently or
aggressively. Manipulation, murder, and mayhem are commonplace on Saven.” He
climbs to his feet and starts pacing the floor. “It’s like second nature.
There’s no thought process involved. Our numbers are being rapidly depleted,
and if we don’t stop the downward spiral, then we’ll cease to exist altogether.
It’s been the main concern of our ruling family for the last one hundred years.
Striking this deal is our last chance.”

Goose bumps rise all over my skin. “What
exactly did our government promise?”

He plops down in front of me, dropping his
head into his hands. I try to prepare myself. After a few minutes, he refocuses
on me. “At first, the agreement was that we would covertly infiltrate society
and learn to live among you. This would give us the opportunity to study human
nature up close and understand human thought processes and human cognizance. It
was hoped we could use this knowledge to train ourselves to act appropriately
and to support the development of a serum that could be administered to our
people to help with the creation of conscience. But—”

“Back up there a second,” I interject.
“Was that what ‘The Experimento’ was really about? To allow aliens to mingle
with humans for study purposes?”

“Yes and no.”

“Can you elaborate?” I tuck my knees up
under my chin.

“My father provided resources to your
government to accelerate the building of Thalassic City so that we could move
our alien-human project along. And yes, the idea was that we would slot in here
and identify if aliens and humans could coexist peacefully. That’s essentially
why the cameras were installed. So your government could monitor progress, and
if it was successful, they would grant us permission to move more freely around
the Sovereign Northern States of America and we could come here in greater
numbers.”

I fidget with the laces on my sneakers,
quietly contemplative. “Was that their only agenda? Or were they always
planning on building those worker colonies for the lower classes?”

“I believe that was always part of the
plan.” He clenches and unclenches his fists.

“You believe?” I’m skeptical.

“I’m not privy to all that’s discussed
between my father and your government. Far from it,” he snaps. I’ve definitely
hit a nerve.

“But aren’t you a prince or something?” He
looks amused and that irritates me. “Don’t mock me. I know nothing of royalty
let alone
alien
royalty.”

He looks suitably reprimanded. “I wasn’t
teasing. It’s just … refreshing to hear you speak so casually about my status.
I’m used to everyone on my planet being so damned stiff and serious around me.
It’s a welcome change.”

While I’m wondering about his title and
what exactly it means, I’m far more inquisitive about the whole lack of
conscience thing, and he hasn’t properly explained what it is that our
government has promised his father. “Tell me what our government has done. I
already know from your reaction that it’s not good. And I recall snippets of
the conversation between your dad, our VP, and the commissioner last night.
What have they done?”

“The scientists on our planet are
confident they can create a serum to resolve the issue, but even with our
intelligence and superior technological and medical prowess, it will take years
and years to develop it. In the meantime, how many more of our kind will be
killed? My father—in his wisdom—asked his advisors for alternative options. And
they found a viable one.” He pauses to take a drink and I swallow a few timid
sips from my own bottle. “There’s no way I can describe this that’ll make it
sound any better.” He looks pleadingly at me.

Reaching out, I rub his cheek and he holds
my hand to his face.

“I don’t agree with it, but I’ve had no
choice. My father has discovered a much faster way to create a conscience in
our race.”

He stops and steadies himself. I wait with
bated breath.

“We have discovered how to remove a
human’s conscience and take it for ourselves.”

My throat pinches. “What?” I’m certain my
face betrays the revulsion I feel.

He removes my hand from his face. “It has
to happen on a one-to-one basis, but it can be done. It’s being done, as we
speak.” A shard of pain blazes across his face. “It’s the real reason why we
are here. We were all instructed to identify a human of our choice for this
purpose; to form a bond with that human with that end goal in sight.”

“You can’t be serious?” I’m pretty sure
I’m rocking the whole deer-in-the-headlights look right about now.

“Unfortunately, I am. It’s part of the
reason why I was trying to keep my distance from you.”

My head is spinning with the implications
of his previous statement. All my thoughts are consumed with Jenna. About how
much she has changed. Immense fear for her wellbeing negates all other
concerns. “When the alien removes the conscience, what happens to the human?”

The way he looks at me terrifies me. “This
is the worst part.”

I brace myself.

“If the conscience transfer is completed
correctly, then the human loses their freewill and they become docile,
servile.”

That statement is abhorrent to me. But not
as much as what he’s left out. “And if it isn’t completed correctly? What then,
Logan?” The words fly out of my mouth like a battering ram.

He stares pointedly at me. “Then the human
dies.”

“No!” I shriek, jumping to my feet. “No, no, no, no, no!” I
pace back and forth, gnawing on my fingernails. Logan stands uncertainly in
front of me. “That’s what he’s done to Jen, isn’t it?” My eyes silently plead
for denial but Logan nods despondently. “You knew! And you let it happen! How
could you?!” Tears leak out of my eyes.

“There was little I could do without
drawing attention. I wish I could’ve been more direct, but with the cameras and
Dante’s constant spying, I couldn’t risk telling you out straight. When I
advised you to tell her not to sleep with him, I’d hoped it would be enough.
But she was too weak-willed. I didn’t want this to happen to her, but I won’t
apologize, Sadie, because keeping you safe is my number one priority.”

I shove him and he lets me. “Can we stop
it?” Tears course down my face.

“No. You can’t undo the deed. They’ve
already slept together. ”

I stop crying long enough to pose the
question. “What’s sex got to do with it?”

“Everything.”

I tense and sniffle at the same time.

“Here,” he says, digging a tissue out of
his pocket and handing it to me. “Sit back down and I’ll explain.”

Gently placing his arm around my waist, he
guides me down alongside him. While I’m still furious, I lean into him for
much-needed strength. This is all too much.

“Father stumbled across it by chance. And
they’ve been experimenting with human females for months now to try and
ascertain exactly how it works.”

The image of Commissioner Williams that
last night at home springs to mind. “That’s why they’re abducting those girls
from the Outer Circle?” All the pieces suddenly click into place.

He holds me at arm’s length. “How do you
know about that?”

I can’t let him know anything about
Jarod’s true identity. “I was late home one night after work and I saw
Commissioner Williams kidnap a couple of girls. I later found out that it was a
regular nightly occurrence. I didn’t know why until now.”

“I didn’t know anything about that until
recently.” His expression darkens. “They’ve been taking girls and bringing them
to Sector Twenty to conduct experiments.”

I shiver uncontrollably. “What type of
experiments?” I ask the question though I’m positive I won’t like the reply.

“At first they were forced into sex with
alien males.”

“Oh my God.” I clamp my hands over my face
as nausea whips through me. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

“Sex is the key to the conscience
transfer,” Logan continues, purposely ignoring my abject horror. I don’t think
he knows how to handle me like this. “But all the girls were dying, and the
transfer either didn’t happen or the Saven only retained the conscience for the
first few days. By experimentation, they’ve discovered that the sex has to be
consensual for the conscience transfer to hold. So now they let the girls
develop proper relationships with Saven males, and when they cross the bridge
into a sexual relationship, it’s by choice.”

I’m sickened to the pit of my stomach, and
it’s hard to look at him. While I understand this wasn’t his decision, and
there was much he was apparently kept in the dark about, he knew enough, and
he’s done nothing to stop this.

“I want to be sure I’ve got this
straight,” I say in a colorless tone. “If the sex is consensual, and there’s a
proper bond, the human becomes submissive and the conscience transfers to the
alien, and where the sex is non-consensual, the human dies and the conscience
doesn’t transfer permanently, or at all. Is that correct?”

My eyes saturate his. At least he has the
decency to look guilty. “That’s correct.”

“And our government knows this? This is
their agenda for the underwater colonies?” If the VP and commissioner were at
the meeting last night, then they’re clearly in collusion on this plan.

“They were somewhat appalled at first, but
once my father sold it to them, they were happily on board.”

My stomach lurches to my toes.

“Your government has said these new subservient
humans will make the perfect worker of the future. As they won’t have any free
will of their own, they will follow orders and do as they are instructed
without any protest. That’s why they’ve accelerated construction of the other
underwater cities. Once this latest round of testing has been completed, and
the scientists have confirmed that the process works, they intend to send all
residents of the Outer Circle to Sector Twenty for processing, and from there,
they’ll be transferred to one of the new underwater colonies. My father is
ecstatic because it means aliens will absorb human conscience in their
thousands, and it should stop the killing on our planet.” His tone is clipped.

He risks a glance at me. “Everyone wins,”
he adds bitterly.

Everyone except people like me and my
family, my fellow Medi-Tech workers, Jenna, Fern, Jarod, and every other star
who has been duped into participating in the sham of “The Experimento.”

I can’t believe our government has sold us
out like this. That they are preparing to herald in a new era of modern-day
slavery, aligned to a despicable alien deal.

I’m not so sure
their
conscience
hasn’t somehow been sucked dry.

My fear for Jenna has a new ally: fear for
myself.

This is what lies in store for me, the sum
of my future. If things were bleak before, it isn’t a patch on the hideousness
of my fate now.

I hop up and dart to the corner of the
cave. Bending over, I expel the contents of my stomach.

Logan rubs a hand up and down my spine,
but I wave him off. I straighten up and face him. “I’d rather die than accept
that fate.” Stepping around him, I make toward the exit.

“Sadie, no!” He spins me around.

I attempt to brush him off but his hold is
firm. “Let me go, Logan.”

“That’s not going to be your fate! I told
you I’d take care of you and I meant it. You won’t be forced into that.”

“No?” I gesture between us. “Then what’s
going on with us?”

“That’s something else entirely. Come back
in and I’ll explain the rest.”

My head is throbbing, as if a flock of
angry birds is pecking at my skull. I can’t stomach anymore. I need time to
digest what I’ve learned so far before I can consider dealing with anything
else. “I can’t listen anymore.” I shake my head. “I … there are no words.”
Horror-stricken, I look up at him.  His face shows a mixture of emotion, but I
don’t want his concern, or his pity, or the futility of his guilt and shame. “I
want to be alone right now.”

I expect him to argue but he relents
without question. “I understand. But I’m taking you home. I don’t trust Dante
and I won’t leave you unsupervised.”

“Whatever.” With zero energy left in me to
fight, I allow him take me home. But I draw the line at letting him into my
apartment. I’ve no clue how I feel about him now. I’m both numb and
hypersensitive in equal measures, and I don’t know whether to push him away or
pull him closer.

He isn’t happy to leave me alone, but I’m
insistent that I need head space to work out how I feel about all this stuff.
Reluctantly, he obliges.

Lying on my bed a little while later, I
stare at the pristine white ceiling praying for some kind of heavenly
intervention. Some signal to prompt me on the right path. I’d try a tarot
reading, but I’m way too emotional right now. Everything’s so messed up. When I
volunteered for “The Experimento,” I’d felt it was my only chance at improving
my lot in life. Although Vin hasn’t updated me on my application for the
available government positions, I’m not so sure now that I actually want it.

How can I work for the very authorities
who wish to enslave my neighbors, my co-workers, my friends? And how can I work
for a government who thinks human morality and integrity is something that can
be sold? And at such a high price?

But we are expendable. The lower classes
always have been. Having an army of obedient slaves means much more to them
than protecting the very essence of mankind. They put us in Thalassic City with
a butt load of aliens, for God’s sake, not caring whether they obliterated us
overnight.

However, the alternative doesn’t bear
thinking about. I shudder as I visualize losing my conscience, and my free
will, and try to picture a lifetime as an indentured servant to a government
I’ve come to despise. I didn’t lie when I told Logan earlier I’d rather die
than let that transpire. I meant it. If that’s what fate has in store for me,
then I’ll find some way to take myself out of this world.

My thoughts twist dark as despair cloaks
me in a shroud of helplessness.

I would do it. Kill myself. If it comes
down to that.

The revelations that Logan is an actual real,
living, and breathing alien and aliens exist among us, pales in comparison to
the other truths. That says it all really. Out of everything I’ve learned, it’s
actually the easiest truth to accept.

Far easier than accepting the horrendous
betrayal of humanity at the hands of other humans. Especially those humans
charged with running our country, those who have sworn an oath to always act in
our best interests.

Jarod is right.

The rebels are right.

This government has to be stopped. Sooner
rather than later.

I bolt upright. Perhaps the rebels can do
something to halt this! I haven’t heard the rest of what Jarod intended to tell
me. If the rebels are aware of the alliance—and the existence of the
aliens—then maybe they already have something in mind. I need to find out what
they have planned.

***

I’m knocking on Jarod’s door in vain. He’s clearly not
there, and I rushed out without my comm-clip. Pushing my palms into my
forehead, I grunt in frustration.

“Sadie?” a voice asks behind me. “Are you
okay?”

It’s Vin. What I want to tell him is, “No,
Vin. I’m not okay. The world has gone to shit in the blink of an eye. Aliens
walk among us, but they’re the least of our worries because our corrupt
government has sold us all out. Handed the very essence of what it means to be
human to a bunch of highly intelligent alien freaks masquerading as humans.”

But of course, I don’t say that. “Yeah,
I’m fine. I was looking for Jarod but he’s not in. I’ll come back later.” I try
a one-shouldered shrug but my muscles are corded so tight, it comes off as if
I’ve some kind of deformity.

“I was actually hoping to catch up with
you. Do you have time to talk?” He thrusts his hands in his pants pockets and
rocks back on his heels.

“Sure.”

We walk silently to Vin’s apartment. Once
he unlocks the door, he ushers me in, pointing silently toward the table. I
plop down while he messes about in the kitchen. Five minutes later, he sits
across from me, placing two cups, a pot of coffee, and a plate of cookies
between us.

He watches me carefully as he pours the
steaming hot liquid into my cup.

“What?” I shift uncomfortably on my chair.

“Have you been feeling okay today?”

“Mm. Why do you ask?”

“I spoke with Jarod earlier and he was
acting a little strange.”

I try to remain outwardly calm. “How so?”
I pour a dollop of cream into my coffee and swirl it with a spoon.

His stare is probing and I squirm under
his inspection. “I was of the opinion that Jarod and you were going on an …
adventure of sorts last night.” He takes a sugar cube from the bowl and drops
it into his cup. His eyes never waver from mine. “Funny thing is, he’s no
memory of what he was doing last night though he clearly recalls the
conversation we had two nights previous regarding his plan.”

He knows where we were last
night!
If Jarod confided in him, then that means he’s
also connected with the rebel movement. Logan warned me not to say anything to
anyone, but can I trust him? After all, he does appear to have a black belt in
deception.

Trust the alien or the human?

Who is a friend and who is a foe?

My head physically hurts from mental
contemplation, but I
am
adept at keeping things close to my chest, and
that’s the tactic I decide on until I know more.

“What did he say he had planned?” I dangle
the carrot. If he gives
me
something, then I’ll give
him
something in return.

Vin looks contemplative as he pierces me
with a serious look. “I’d like to speak candidly with you. Jarod says you are
trustworthy, and I know he intended to bring you into his confidence last
night.
Can
I trust you?” He breaks off a piece of cookie and pops it
into his mouth.

My eyes dart around the room. “Perhaps
it’s not wise to speak candidly here.”

“I can assure you that it’s safe to freely
talk.”

I carefully choose my words. “Are you a
member of the same organization as Jarod?” I sit up straighter in my chair.