The bearded man, Doctor Quantos, brings me into his penthouse office.
From the large windows, the busy business district of Mandelovia attracts my sight. I’ve been here many time, for the European Athletic Championship of 1990 and for various exhibitions in those years. When I had a sailing boat, many time I docked at the Mandelovian International Tourists Port.
“Have you ever heard about the MCCA?” ask the man.
I turn to him. “Only by your Agent” I say.
“Lorena? She’s not our agent. She is from the Mandelovian Security Corp. We are working… together.”
“Can I ask you why did you… kidnapped me?”
“Oh, you are not prisoner. That door is open, and you can get out whenever you want. But…”
“But?”
“But as you have seen, there are agents looking for you. Looking for your DNA. Here you are safe”.
“Why do you want to keep me safe from those… agents?”
“Mhhh… let’s just say that what interests TriVex interests us. Mandelovia has been always, since its foundation, at the forefront of scientific development. Now, America with the discovering of the metagene is about to take a giant step, and we can’t stay behind. The main difference between us and TriVex is that they take what they want, we try to find collaboration. That’s what I’m asking you… Edulcore Cicciotto, we are asking you to work for us…”
“Tell me more about TriVex. Lorena said that they collect metahumans. Why?”
“I don’t think I can reveal it, sorry…”
Before I can reply, an interphone buzzes over the desk. The man lift it, and bring it to his right hear. “OK. If you say so…” He put down the interphone, and look at me. “I’m authorized to give you all the detail” he says.
“You mean there is someone watching us right now?”
“Yes. The boss. Sh… it is always behind cover. Security , you now…”
“Security, security… what’s going on, doctor?”
“Our sources tells that TriVex Corporation, an American genetic firm, is building an Army of Metahumans for the USA Government . They have just begun a massive testing of all American people, to find the ones with the metagene active. Now they are testing all the newborn, every person that is in hospital, or mental institution… but their goal is to test each American, and maybe every one from the western world. What’s more, they have begun testing on cloning procedure to duplicate the more powerful metas… and to activate the metagene in the right direction in people not yet activated”.
“But why? And why me? I’m only a runner: I run faster than everyone else, but not much more than the best athletes. What good can I do?”
“I will respond a question at a time.
Why they want to build an army of metas? It seems a pretty ingenue question, but actually is more profound that it seems. The obvious answer is to be stronger that any other nation. An army of metas would be unbeatable in war…”
“Unbeatable by the US Army as well. They… the metas… could take on their nation and become the gods of this world. Olympians that rule over the planet toying with the humans. At last, if words about flying and superstrong men are not fairy tales…”
“They are not fairy tales. I have a footage about one meta that blows up the heads of the bystanders…”
“Eh?”
“It’s true. As it’s true what you said. An army of metas would be too dangerous even for the USA. Unless they have no other options…”
“You mean they want the metas to fight terrorism? What if some switch to the other side? Kamikaze that don’t die in the explosions. Human missiles? The world will become unlivable for the humankind.
“You are near the target, Cicciotto. Word is that humankind is not alone in the galaxy, and Earth will soon be involved in an interstellar war. And being very primitive in our technology, America want to have an edge in the superiority of our race”
“They want replace men with supermen?”
“Right!”
“I… I can’t believe it? We are about to be invaded? By whom?”
“Oh, here we are in the field of pure speculation. Our satellites, that WE Mandelovian have in orbit since the thirties, have indeed registered the landing of Roswell, and the subsequent ones. Unluckily, we have never put hour hands over one of those saucers. The few that we have been able to steal from the CIA is that there are two races, fighting in the galaxy… the Boulls and the Basilisks, they are codenamed. Some scouts should be just here on our planet, to prepare the invasion. They needs something we have here… but what, we don’t know. We don’t know if America is allying with one of the two races, if they plan to bring the war outside the planet or if it will be fight in the outside space…
Your other question was why you. Well, we have been able to install a running virus into the computers of TriVex, that feeds information to our system… Lexicon, I have called it… but I’m digressing… well, to cut it short, they have found from your blood sample that the American Olympic Committee obtained five years ago, that you have a metagene of Alpha class. That’s means that you can have much more powers than the ones you are displaying right now. Not limited supevelocity, but flight, invulnerability and superstamina, and maybe others as well.”
“Impossible”
“True”
“I can’t believe it”
“You will help us?”
“Merda! No! No! I’m scared as hell! I don’t want believe a single word of what you have said, now I get out of that door and run away to home. And then I hope to awake from this bad dream”.
“Wait a moment” he said, and lend me a photo.
It’s kid nothing more than three months old, with incredibly long hairs, floating at mid air over an evil looking guy in a lab coat.
“The scientist is Doctor Knell of TriVex. It is called Doktor Klone by his associates. TriVex has a facility outside Thunder City, in a suburb called Lightingburg. The complex is called Medical Duplication Sanctuary, MeDuSa for short, and nicknamed Klone Dome. They have begun their experiment over clonation, Cicciotto, and that is how they have found you are a class Alpha.”
“You mean that this kid with hairs like snakes…”
“It’s your clone, Eurostar. We can say it’s your son!”
[ 09-24-2001: Message edited by: The Eurostar ]
