maladies and screened. We selected a few that suited our purposes and began fertilization and then routine organ replication. Then we … altered them. Made the muscles more durable. The nerves regenerative. That took a little time but not as much as I feared."
Karin was nodding, "Yes. We've already begun incorporating that into our standard duplication services." They moved toward an open door. Hikka walked in first and the others followed him. The lights were off, but once Baraz was in, someone flipped a switch and the room became illuminated.
In the center, two large tanks sat. They were filled with a translucent fluid and two bodies floated within. Her eyes widened and she leaned over to see inside.
"The fruits of our labors," Hikka said. "We've named the female Gaia and the male Ouranos."
She squinted to see. The fluid distorted their appearances, as did the walls of the tank and the protective faceplate of her suit. "After the old gods …"
"It would have taken decades to get us to this point, but the extra funding, the concentration of hundreds of researchers …"
"You did this?" Karin asked. "These are … clones?"
"Not exactly," Hikka said. He shifted within his suit. The tone his employer used was more adversarial than he anticipated. "They are unique beings. They were created in the lab and their growth accelerated, much like we do with our organs."
Baraz knelt down to see in the tank. One of the scientists began to speak, "It took some time to find the right combination of conditions to accelerate an entire body's growth."
"There were failures?" Karin whispered.
The woman looked toward Hikka, who nodded. The scientist said, "Yes. Several."
Baraz realized her mouth had been hanging open. She closed it and swallowed. "Very well. It is done." She looked at everyone's expression and saw their concern.
Speed, she thought. My primary instruction for Hikka was speed.
Karin inhaled and asked, "Approximate age?"
"Twenty-five," someone said. "Full cerebral development age."
"And their brains," Baraz began, "how does that work?"
"Their brains consist of hand-arranged neurons, axon studding and fluidic transistors …" Karin's head snapped up. "… with silica pathaways for faster conduction ..."
"Wait," Baraz said. "'Hand-arranged?'"
"Yes, doctor," the researcher said. "It was laborious …"
"I'm certain," Karin said. "But that and fluidic transistors, silica … that's not genetic."
The scientists looked toward Hikka. He turned toward Baraz and said, "My intent was to create a better being. One that would live longer. Healthier. A faster mind and body."
Karin nodded. "True, but this can't be passed on." Hikka seemed confused. "Reproduction, doctor. That was one of the conditions of the Project."
His face didn't shift. "Yes, but we felt it would be best to start from a position of strength. We can adjust for … reproduction later."
For nearly four years, this project worked without her. She wanted to be more involved but the business side of things kept pulling her. She was distracted. Now, she cursed herself for the decisions she made.
"What other non-hereditary alterations were made?" she asked.
One of the researchers spoke softly, "Carbon strengthening of the bones. Grapheet enhancements of the muscles and sense organs."
Baraz nodded and turned toward the door. She closed her eyes and tried to slow her breathing. The others said and did nothing. She lost track of how long it took her to compose herself. Finally, she turned slightly toward Hikka and said, quietly, "Come with me."
Hikka hesitated but he followed her out the door and into the larger laboratory. He said nothing and watched Baraz. Her eyes were flicking side to side before she finally looked up.
"You've cost us money and, more importantly, time." He said nothing. "You've built better people, but at the expense of one of the Caesar's primary requirements …"
"They can still have children," he interrupted.
"Really?" Hikka nodded and Karin asked, "And will your enhancements be passed along?"
He paused. "No."
"Exactly." She inhaled and tried to think again. "Their minds?"
"We've put information in there," Hikka said. "Both with neuron manipulation and a direct data tap into the hippocampus."
"Have they been awakened yet?"
"No."
Baraz took a step away and turned slowly. "This is what will happen. I am taking over as head of the project." Hikka lowered his head and she continued. "You will remain, since you're more familiar with these people and the work you've done so far."
"Yes, doctor."
Finally. "We will use Ouranos and Gaia as test subjects. We'll try out new methods of memory transfer and such on them. Has that been accomplished yet?"
"Piecemeal," he said. "Not an entire mind."
"We'll need to work on that." Karin moved back toward the room with their colleagues. "We'll start from the pile tomorrow. Pick and choose the genes we want. Amplify what we can with genetics. We'll make multiple subjects to test everything on."
"Yes, doctor."
She was about to enter the room when she stopped and said, "This is not a failure. You have accomplished something … amazing. Something BBM can use, for certain. It's just not what we were looking for."
"I understand."
They entered the room and Baraz stared at the illuminated tanks. The bodies just floated there. There was no movement. No wires that she could see led toward them. These seemed to be shells of people, waiting. For what, exactly, she wasn't certain.
XII
CAESAR
157 Years Before the End
"Ladies and gentlemen!" the announcer screamed into the microphone, "Lord Imperator Caesar Maxentius the Ninth!" The crowd that had gathered and been gathered in Viminal Square below the palace roared and cheered. The minister stepped away from the edge of the balcony, bent and backed toward one side.
The Caesar strode out onto the deck. His steps were slow and deliberate but his movements were certain. He put his left hand on the marble rail and waved to the many thousands with his right. His chest puffed out at their response and he pulled his head back, lifting his chin. One side of his lip curled into a smile of satisfaction.
"Greetings, Tiberians!" he yelled. "Today is a great day for the Empire and our people. After years of effort, our Life Extension Project has yielded magnificent fruit!" He paused, expecting more ovation, but none came. He decided to focus instead on the video cameras. "Dr. Ryall Donovan has worked tirelessly to better our lives and he has succeeded!" He motioned toward the doctor. He smiled, lowered his head and stepped forward. "As decreed, Dr. Donovan will be handsomely rewarded and through his efforts, the people of Tiberia … and all Larsa … will benefit!"
The Caesar reached up and adjusted a stray tuft of his thick, brown hair … not because it bothered him but because he could. "Despite this success, the Project will carry on! Rewards will still be showered upon those who achieve our aims! We still encourage the greatest minds in the world to strive toward this goal. Make our bodies stronger and our minds enduring! Conquer this, the last, greatest frontier!"
The crowd cheered again and Caesar stepped away from the microphones. He waved and saluted before backing toward the doors. Two Praetorian Guards opened them and he looked back to see that the entry was wide enough. He smiled and kept waving. He pulled on the edge of his purple cape and turned only once his feet crossed the threshold.
Inside, the guards shut the doors and drew the curtains. Caesar stalked toward a corner and cast aside his cape and underrobe. He unzipped his tunic and threw it down, too. The array of cables and wires that led from his lower back toward the floor was now fully exposed. The lines coiled behind him and connected to the great gray cube that had been his only body for the past few years.
"I felt my lef
t hand do it again, Donovan," Caesar said. "It grabbed my cape without me telling it to."
The doctor removed an electronic notepad from his pocket and began to scribble with his finger. "Understood, dominus."
Caesar braced himself with his right hand on the corner of the cube. He forced his puppet to look at the blinking lights on the box's face, realizing that each flash meant he was thinking. He sighed. For the first time in several years, the Caesar sighed. No air was inhaled or exhaled, yet his body seemed to unconsciously carry out that action.
He lifted his left arm and a panel of tan skin fell to the floor. On the marble, the plastic clattered and the sharp noise echoed in the large room. "See?"
Donovan stooped low and picked up the forearm cover. "Yes, imperator."
"I still think this is remarkable, Caesar." The leader turned to the corner where eight prefects stood. Most of them were old and fat. A couple used to be senators but now they were all rich supporters of the emperor and handed ancient but useless titles. He needed these sychophants though he despised them.
"'Remarkable,' Prefect Gallian?" Caesar asked. "I feel no different now than I did when I spent my days in the box." He motioned toward it and another plastic skin-colored covering fell to the floor. He glared at Donovan who scooped it up and began examining the clasps. "I'm tethered to this frakking box as though I were an angry dog in someone's backyard!"
"You appear as a man of no more than thirty," Gallian said again. Like a dissonant choir, the other prefects began to nod and verbally agree. "Doctor Donovan has done a great