24. Chapter 24
Chapter twenty-four
Alex
“Is this going to be a lecture, Ryo? If so, I’m not in the mood for it,” said Alex.
“We can discuss what happened in the meeting later, but first, I need to start with an apology,” said Ryo.
“That would be a new experience in this conference room,” said Alex.
Ryo said he understood Alex’s experiences at PGC had been negative recently. He admitted he must take responsibility since he accepted the scientific opinion that Alex was the origin of the initial EMP blast, which crippled the city. He said he had spoken with Bruno and his team about the issue before the meeting, which might go some way to explain Bruno’s foul mood. Ryo cautioned that Bruno was a very proud man and had difficulty admitting he was wrong, especially considering his team insisted they made a scientifically sound determination based on available data.
Alex laughed; he knew there was no apology coming from Bruno. He’d dealt with many condescending assholes in academia; any evidence they were imperfect was taken as a narcissistic injury. Ryo asked that the board allow Bruno to calm down, because he had been a valued team member.
“So, we have to tolerate him?” asked Alex.
“No, you two need to be separated for a while,” said Ryo.
“I have an honest question: why does he hate me so much?” said Alex.
Ryo looked at Hoko and Diana. “We need to brief him.”
“Brief me on what?” asked Alex.
Ryo shifted files in front of him and pulled out one with a green cover.
Diana said the core of Bruno’s feelings likely had little to do with Alex, as she handed him the file Ryo had given her. Alex opened the file and looked at the picture of a young girl stapled to the first page. He recognized the girl and recalled seeing her in the photographs in Bruno’s office. Looking down at the floor, Diana said that the girl’s name was Nyssa, and she was Bruno’s adopted daughter.
“Nyssa was another test subject in Bruno’s research,” said Hoko. “Bruno raised her as his child to provide her with a stable and loving environment.”
Alex recalled Bruno told him none of the other test subjects lived into adolescence. In this picture, he’d guess she’d be about fourteen years old. “So, I had a sister, genetically speaking? She looks like Ditta. It’s uncanny.”
Hoko nodded yes and said she would have been Alex’s “sister” biologically, since she was also a clone of Ditta.
“What happened to her?” Alex said, as the room went quiet.
Diana began to cry and eventually broke the silence. “She’s dead, Alex.”
Alex sat confused, trying to process the information being presented to him. “If she had lived to be a teenager, how did she die?”
“It was a dark time for Ditta…there came a time when she had to determine whether you or Nyssa would be the most viable replacement,” Diana said, sobbing. Hoko stood beside her and placed his hand on her back for support.
Alex sat in silence, waiting for Diana to continue.
Through her sobs, Diana explained Nyssa had begun to display several concerning behaviors. She exhibited symptoms of depression and mania. In addition to her mood swings, Diana said Nyssa had begun to exhibit violent behavior toward herself and others, which forced Ditta to make a difficult decision based on Nyssa’s mental instability. Ditta indicated she didn’t have enough resources to continue the experiment with both Alex and Nyssa, because it was draining her life force.
Alex took a deep breath and braced for what he feared was the next revelation.
Diana met Alex’s gaze with tears running down her face. “Ditta ordered Bruno to terminate the experiment and to focus all resources on your development.”
Alex leaned forward, closed his eyes, and shook his head no. “Ditta ordered him to euthanize…kill his adopted daughter?”
“Yes,” said Hoko. “Ditta didn’t order her death, but she refused to provide Nyssa with any ichor.”
Diana wiped her eyes before responding, “The board advocated vehemently for Ditta to change her mind, but she would not listen to our objections.”
“So, you’re telling me Aphrodite let a child die so I could survive?”
Ryo, Hoko, and Diana didn’t respond.
“It’s no wonder the man hates me,” said Alex. “I’m a constant reminder of everything he’s lost.”
Diana nodded, adding she believed the more anger and potentially violent behavior Alex exhibited, the more it reinforced he might also be emotionally unstable like Nyssa. She said this was all re-traumatizing for Bruno. He may not have raised Alex, but was involved in his creation, so feels responsible for Alex’s well-being.
Alex acknowledged all of the pieces were starting to come together now. He understood why Bruno looked at him with both fascination and fear. He agreed to stay away from Bruno under one condition: he asked that Dr. Donalds care for Galen upon his release. He didn’t want Bruno’s negativity anywhere near him.
Ryo nodded and said he’d work it out with the medical staff. Alex also made the group agree Zoe won’t be terminated or disciplined in any way for trying to help him.
Ryo, Hoko, and Diana nodded in agreement.
“Now, let’s get to the elephant in the room––who are the Sons of Enyaluis?” said Alex.
Ryo said the limited information they had came from international counterintelligence groups. Whomever they were dealing with, he said, they had considerable resources and demonstrated unparalleled sophistication in their execution and planning. Ryo admitted he’d never in his wildest dreams believed PGC could be so vulnerable. Alex said he understood, but that it felt personal. Danyal was missing with no ransom or specific demands. They attacked Alex both before, and at the moment of his ascension, manipulated him into introducing the virus to the PGC system, murdered Templeton, and almost killed Galen. More than ever, Alex knew Danyal was in danger.
“If I were Sherlock Holmes, I’d deduce our enemy had outsmarted us at every turn. Only they know the rules of this deadly game and dominate the playing field with deadly precision. Holmes would also say we may have a spy in our camp,” said Alex.
Ryo looked toward Hoko and Diana before saying they were all in agreement. Ryo added they needed to take all actions possible to level the battlefield, or else this war would be over before they even made their first counterstrike.
“Alex,” said Hoko, “how did you silence Bruno’s voice?”
“I improvised on the spot. I imagined it and made it happen,” said Alex.
“Your powers are growing, Alex. It would be best if you were careful with your emotions,” said Diana. “When they spike, you act on instinct, which could lead to someone getting hurt or even killed.”
Hoko sat beside Alex before saying they needed to ask Alex questions about the explosion that injured Galen.
“Could you break it down as best you can?” said Hoko. “What happened?”
Alex said he wasn’t sure. He’d been playing it repeatedly in his mind, but it all happened so fast.
“We have something to show you,” said Ryo. They’d obtained video from the traffic camera across the university parking lot. He said at the start of the video, they could see Alex and Galen walking down the sidewalk. Galen approached the Uros and then came the explosion. After the explosion, Alex and Galen were lying on the ground.
“What am I supposed to be looking for?” said Alex.
Hoko asked Ryo to slow down the video at fifty percent speed. Alex could see he started about fifteen feet behind Galen, and at the moment of the explosion, he was in front, shielding Galen from the blast. Alex told Hoko he was confused. That’s exactly how Alex recalled it. Hoko asked Ryo to slow the video down to twenty-five percent. Hoko said he wouldn’t believe this if he hadn’t seen it, but based on the video evidence, there was no way Alex could have moved fast enough to shield Galen unless Alex teleported.
“Teleported?” said Alex.
“Yes, Alex, the video evidence shows you teleported,” said Hoko.
Alex said they had discussed it as a possibility, but Hoko said it was an advanced ability and one probably beyond his grasp at this stage. Hoko agreed and said Alex acted on instinct; his fight-or-flight reflex kicked in. “Lucky for Galen that it did; you saved his life.”
“Given everything happening with the breach, please keep this information between us,” said Alex. “It’s time to assume there’s a traitor in PGC.”