The Impossible Future: Complete set by Frank Kennedy (mini ebook reader .txt) 📕

males, four females. We can begin procreation in weeks, through both natural and artificial systems. Will two more hybrids make a vital statistical difference?”

She hated Frances the most. A cold chill preceded the woman.

“You dismiss them by calling them hybrids, but James and Rayna are incredible specimens. Analyzing their genome to understand how they sidetracked the programming will be worth the investment.”

Emil shook his head. “We know why they are non-compliant. James was the original prototype. Rayna received the same package. We had concerns about the Mentor program then refashioned it before infusing the other eight. A clear denominator.”

“So, that’s it?” She spoke to everyone. “You plan to kill them?”

Again, she heard conspiratorial asides while eyes looked askance.

Marshall took point. “Understand our position, Ophelia. This is a fragile maneuver, both militarily and politically. We are about to dismantle two presidiums and remove a First Admiral and Rear Admiral from the Guard. The uproar will echo throughout the Chancellory, here and off-world. When evidence reveals the existence of the hybrids and the extended-life prototypes, factions will scramble for control. Others will demand the extermination of these projects. And you thought The United Green was influential?

“We have no choice. This will require a delicate balance. Chancellors have been on edge since Hiebimini. They need little motivation to turn on each other.”

Emil wrapped an arm around her. She always hated his touch, never gave him what he wanted.

“We hope you understand this is for the best. You will have full administrative control over the hybrid education program.”

Her stomach roiled. “Emil, he’s your son. Frances?”

“James was a calculation,” his mother said, devoid of emotion. “I’m sure the Major will see it done quickly and without pain.”

“Of course,” he said. “One head shot each before they suspect. Anything more methodical, we take a risk.”

She cupped her hands over her head.

“We sentenced them to a childhood in exile. They suffered untold horrors becoming creatures we made. Now they have a chance to fulfill their purpose. But we’re just going to kill them.”

“Yes.” Marshall tapped his amp. “Excellent summary. On a related matter, Emil, we need to detain your son Valentin as well.”

Emil flexed a brow. “Pardon?”

“I should have brought the matter forward sooner. Perrone threw us for a surprise when he reassigned Valentin to his command. If your son were not on Earth, he never would have joined this business. He will be detained and disciplined alongside Perrone.”

“On what charge?”

“Murder. He executed unarmed men outside the interdimensional fold, and he killed two men during the action on Seneca, both of which were illegal.”

“Under Perrone’s orders.”

“Which were illegal. A soldier of the Guard may refuse illegal orders. If we plan to convict Perrone, we must produce those who followed his orders. This happened on Earth, not a colony.”

Emil took steps toward the Major but maintained his stoicism.

“The Guard has performed illegal actions without consequence for centuries. You have the power to make Valentin’s role vanish.”

“The power, but not the desire. Everyone must sacrifice. I did not take part in either operation, but I have lost any chance of promotion to the Admiralty and will be forced to retire after the inquest. You will have one less son. Ophelia will have two less hybrids. Balance.”

“One less?” Frances scratched under an ear. “The Magistrate General will not call for death in Valentin’s case?”

“He’ll serve two years confinement to think about his next career. I will dispatch a discrete team shortly. If Valentin is with the hybrids, I hope he does not make any unfortunate choices. We cannot tolerate another variable. Understood?”

The Bouchets nodded and invited the Marks Presidium to café in the botanical gardens. They do it with ease, Ophelia thought.

Emil suggested Ophelia go for a swim next door to calm her nerves as they completed the business. “You still enjoy it. Yes?”

“I do. Send me the ship’s data. I’ll await your word.” She softened her tone for them. “Eighty percent is a high success rate.”

Emil took his wife’s hand. Frances nodded.

“You will be a sufficient teacher, Ophelia.”

Unbelievable, she thought. One son about to be executed and another going to prison, and you couldn’t care less.

Ophelia strained a smile but stifled her rage. This wasn’t over.

53

T HEY TOOK A RIFTER TO VALENTIN’S PERSONAL SUITE, but they didn’t say a word during the two-minute ride. Valentin insisted on silence, and James assumed why. He tossed around strategies in his head, considered probabilities given what his growing insights told him about the compound. Yet he never took his eyes off Rayna, whose heartbeat rang clear and whose blood flowed hot inside him though he only held her hand. The air between them smoldered with the scent of the union they both craved.

He saw the triumphant moment in his mind – the two of them together in every way. More than love. More than intercourse. A destination out of reach for ordinary humans: The sharing of energy more than a million years old.

James remembered his vow to Michael and Sammie: He’d kill the Jewels then take his own life, for the good of all humanity. Now, he recognized how naïve Jamie Sheridan was. A damn fool. James intended to save the Jewels. For the good of all humanity.

First, he needed to reset his focus on the here and now. Without quick action, thoughts of the future would be moot.

Valentin tapped his amp outside his suite; the door disappeared long enough for the three to enter. James muzzled his amazement as his eyes befell what might have been his own in another life.

The suite was a smorgasbord of every luxury befitting the prince of a Chancellor king. Beneath a live panorama of the sky outside the tower, the suite featured a sauna, a multi-tiered training station, virtual battle simulators,