of the teen. "Julian could do it." The mask went away and Caesar leaned over to pick up his toga. "It's been taken care of."
Donovan was horrified. His mouth fell open and he stammered for a few seconds. "My lord, what …"
"Please, doctor," he said. "I'm not evil. My nephew lives. Constance, however," he tilted his head, "does not."
Ryall nodded and closed his eyes. "And me, lord?"
Caesar smiled. "Look at me, doctor." When he did and saw the Caesar's face, he worried even more. "You're not going to die."
Donovan swallowed hard and then licked his lips. "I'm not?"
Caesar shook his head and then snapped his fingers. "Remember how I said I suspected the Dorians and BBM? Their cloning and all that?"
"Yes, lord."
Just then, at the far end of the chamber, the door opened. A very tall, dark-haired man entered. He was stunning to look at and the doctor knew exactly who it was.
"Dr. Donovan, this is Ouranos." The man nodded. "He'll be helping you on the Project from now on." Ryall lowered his head and nodded slightly. "And by 'from now on,' I mean until the end of your life."
XXX
AHLJAELA
146 Years Before the End
"Name?" the foreman barked.
"Rovil," the man said. "Rovil … Karnaeda."
The foreman wrote it down and waved him on.
Hundreds shuffled through the cramped hallway. They made a few turns before spilling out into a large assembly area littered with cots and bunk beds. He stopped and swept his gaze across the floor.
"It's a mess," another man said.
Rovil nodded. "My father once told me they had beds in rooms."
"Used to be," the man answered. "Senior staff gets those now, since the expansion. We get this."
He moved forward and took an empty cot on the far side of the room. He sat down on the edge and watched people go by. The same man from before sat on the cot opposite Rovil's and pointed.
"This is your first time here."
Rovil grinned nervously and looked down at his small bundle of clothes. "Yes. First time in a factory. I've worked on my family's farm for years."
The stranger nodded. "It won't be so bad. Listen to people and do what you're told. Be careful. You'll do fine." Rovil nodded and the man asked, "Your father … does he still work here?"
"No," he said. "He died a few years ago." The stranger shook his head once and turned to adjust his bed. "The farm hasn't been doing well so I had to get a job here."
"You and everyone else, son."
Rovil turned and lay down on the cot. He stared at the high ceiling and cursed himself. He was talking too much already. "Don't say the word 'coalition,'" his mother warned, "and don't use your real name."
The job was too important to the family. He couldn't mess this up.
XXXI
OURANOS
145 Years Before the End
Ouranos moved around the table to the control panel. He pressed a few buttons and then looked up at the circle.
A single light glowed steadily and then made a complete sweep of the shape. As it passed, it whispered, using the sound for further sensory input.
He nodded and returned to the table. As he sat, he lifted the circle and the neat tangle of wires and circuits attached. He swiveled over to the golden housing and lowered the components into position. He reached into the neck and snapped a few leads into place.
"Is there … anything I can do?"
Ouranos turned and looked at Dr. Donovan. The man was harried and tired. He seemed to have aged ten years in the last two. He was supposed to be aiding Ouranos with the Life Extension Project, but …
"No. Not right now."
He clicked the circle onto the face of the golden housing and pushed it away from the edge of the table. He connected cables from it into a large collection of electronics and processors nearby.
"Tell me, doctor," Ouranos said. "How does the Caesar plan to get organic bodies for himself if Tiberia is so hopelessly behind on genetics, medicine, …"
"I've talked to Caesar about all of this." Donovan shook his head, "More times than I can count."
Ouranos looked up from the circuits. "And his response?"
"'Advance us, doctor.'"
Ouranos nodded and moved a magnifying panel into place above a processor. "He's the emperor … he can take what he needs from other nations." He glanced at Ryall and then back to his work. "He took me."
"Don't think the thought hasn't crossed his mind." Donovan leaned against the wall. "He's still worried about the Senate, to a point."
"I see." Ouranos clicked something into place. "Politics was never my strongest subject."
The doctor drank some water and asked, "Did you have some other idea?"
"I do." He straightened up in the chair and then lifted the golden shape from the table. "The time isn't right, though." As he manipulated wires, he asked, "How go your efforts with the prefects?"
Donovan shook his head. "They are either ready for a box or already in them. Of course, they want puppets like Caesar's for them to operate ..."
"Hm."
"But that takes more time than I have." Ryall sighed again.
"This will help in many ways."
Ouranos pressed a button in the middle of the electronic mass. A few servos sprang to life and a tiny light on each processor panel began to glow. The single blue light in the circle stuttered for a moment and then began to sweep counterclockwise around the shape. It whispered as it moved. And then it spoke.
"Standing by." The voice was clear and feminine.
Donovan moved away from his corner and looked over Ouranos' shoulder. "Amazing."
"Thank you."
Ryall cocked his head and said, "You know, I think I would give it an intentionally mechanized voice. It's a bit disconcerting for it to sound so human."
Ouranos nodded. "Maybe."
"What are you going to call it?"
He lifted the golden head higher and watched the blue eye sweep on and on. Ouranos smirked and said, "Cyclops."
XXXII
GAIA
145 Years Before the End
She looked up at the sign. "Pausa," it read. Her shoulders slumped and she kept walking.
Dawn would arrive soon. The BBM compound was near.
"State your business," a guard said. The flashlight shone in her face. She shielded it from her eyes for a moment and then stood straight. "My God," the man mumbled.
He guided her behind the barricades and into the facility. Another guard brought her a coat and they led her across the field to the main doors. She stopped and looked at the tree.
That's where she and Ouranos were taken.
"Are you alright?"
She didn't say anything. She started walking again and entered the compound.
The next hour was a blur. Ushered down hallways to medical facilities and labs. Sleepy-eyed doctors flashed their lights in her eyes to check dilation. Technicians scanned her body and read their devices. She never said a word.
"Gaia?"
She recognized the voice. She looked up and saw Dr. Karin Baraz. Her face was pale and her mouth was hanging agape. Gaia nodded once.
Baraz immediately hugged her. "I can't tell you how glad I am to see you." She stopped squeezing her and sat down on a stool nearby. "How are you?"
Gaia didn't answer.
"When did you last eat?"
Her voice cracked, "Three days."
She snapped her fingers. "Get some bread and water." Baraz brushed her hand against her matted hair. "You can have something more substantive once you get your body working right again."
Karin asked more questions but Gaia didn't listen. Not until Baraz said the name "Ouranos."
"Where is he?" Gaia asked.
Baraz sighed and said, "Still in Tiberia. Working for the Caesar, we think."
Gaia closed
her eyes. "I ran. He offered us freedom to work and research with him but I knew it was a trap. I ran. I hoped Ouranos was behind me … but he wasn't." Karin said nothing and simply watched her speak. "I ran for four whole days straight. Then I moved at night. It took months to get out of Tiberia." Someone set a glass of water and a few slices of bread by her on the table. Gaia grabbed the water and gulped it a few times. She pulled it away from her mouth and asked, "How long was I gone?"
"Two years, three months."
Gaia didn't answer. She sipped the water once more before putting it down. Picking up the bread, she asked, "Can I stay here?"
Baraz smiled and her throat clenched. As her eyes began to well up, she said, "Yes. You're home."
XXXIII
CAESAR
145 Years Before the End
"Glorious!" Tribune Cato Yale said.
"Look at it," another man said. He walked to one side of the machine and scanned it again with his eyes. "Imagine a legion of these."
The Caesar nodded. "I am imagining it now, general."
The device stood two meters tall. It was thin but mechanically muscular. Light reflected off every surface of its golden hull. A bright blue light circled the front of its face. Its servos whined when the thing moved, but now, the only noise audible was the light whistle of the eye. The emperor looked to Ouranos. The dark-haired man was holding his head high. There was a slight smile on his face.
The imperator walked to him and clasped his shoulders. "Two years, Ouranos. Just two years." He turned back to the creation and shook his head. "You have honored me beyond measure."
Ouranos nodded while Yale moved around its periphery. "How strong is it?"
"Stronger than any human," Ouranos said.
"And it can be programmed with fighting techniques, missions, …"
"Anything you desire, Tribune."
Caesar moved to face the machine directly. His chest broadened and he said,