Regenesis (Book 1): Impact

REGENESIS

HARRISON
PIERCE

Copyright © 2012 by Harrison
Pierce.

Regenesis
first published: 31 Oct 2012.

All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States
of America.

For information about
permission to reproduce selections from

this book, contact
[email protected]

Scripture quotations from The
Authorized (King James) Version.

Rights in the Authorized
Version in the United Kingdom are vested in the Crown.

Reproduced by permission of
the Crown’s patentee, Cambridge University Press.

ISBN   978-1-480-18618-7

ISBN   1-480-18618-X

Cover designed by Julian
Weaver.

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including photocopy, recording,
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prior written permission of the publisher.

Published by Writing with
Angst publications.

For my father, who introduced
me to the world of capes and super heroes at a young age with
Batman: The
Animated Series
, and for my mother, who allowed her four year old son to
indulge in this nightly observance.

For my high school English
teacher Joe Baillargeon, who convinced me that I could make something out of my
high school career beyond merely graduating. Without his enlightening reminder
that high school is the perfect opportunity to begin a career in writing, I
might never have started this project. (And I’d like to note that I probably
wrote half of my first novel in that classroom and that school. Sorry if I
wasn’t the most attentive student then, but I was wrapped up in my own little
world.)

And finally, for my beloved
and beautiful wife Kendra, who not only saved me from the grief and melancholy
this novel brought me, but who loves me through all of my imperfections.

A quick note to Kindle readers:

I’ve done my best to format
Regenesis
to retain
the same form and spacing as the printed versions, but I do believe there may
be some discrepancies in regard to some of the subheading in the chapters. So I
apologize in advance for any oddities that may be found.

Harrison Pierce

1
This know also, that in the last days

 perilous times
shall come.

2
For men shall be lovers of their own
selves,

 covetous,
boasters, proud, blasphemers,

 disobedient to
parents, unthankful, unholy,

3
Without natural affection, trucebreakers,
false accusers,

 incontinent,
fierce, despisers of those that are good,

4
Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers
of pleasures

 more than lovers
of God;

5
Having a form of godliness,

 but denying the
power thereof:

 from such turn
away.

~ 2 Timothy 3: 1-5

Impact

Chapter
1

August
10
^th
, 2029

1:36
PM

Seattle,
Washington    

“Mankind
is capable of anything,” Victor Jacobs told a small audience of fifty. “It’s
only because we’re willing to go beyond our immediate threshold that we can
bend and even break the very bonds of what we know as limitation and accomplish
anything we set out to do with the complete intent of finishing our goals.”

Victor
stood next to a table with a few dozen copies of his book,
Origins
, all
stacked and ready to be bought, signed, or packed up and taken home. He knew
they all weren’t going to leave, considering most of the people in the room
already owned a copy of it.

A
half an hour earlier he’d nearly vomited from the pressure, yet as he stood
before them he couldn’t understand why he was so nervous. Victor knew he wasn’t
giving a full lecture or anything of the sort, he was just rambling on about
theories and ideas he’d written about. It was casual, yet he’d dressed in a
black polo shirt, with well ironed tan khakis and a silk tie. The closest
person who came dressed up sat in the back row in a trench coat, navy shirt,
and what Victor assumed was a keen interest in what he had to say, as the man
in the coat took notes.

He
continued, “I wrote this book a year after I graduated college. I’d spent that
year travelling abroad, gathering photos, stories, and gaining what I feel is a
better grasp on our world as a whole.” Victor took a breath, “I wanted to see
the world with my own eyes and not through the eyes of a reporter. I was tired
of hearing how things were; I wanted to see it.” He wiped the corners of his
lips off and tried to tie his thoughts together before he continued, “I saw a
few different faces of the world, some in poverty, some which were prosperous,
and eventually I came to the conclusion that we have these vast differences in
the world because we hold to different ideals of what it means to survive and
to live. We here in the United States live well, which is often taken for
granted, though there are areas of the world in such dire straits which we
overlook simply because our level of comfort could be threatened in aiding
them.

“And
let me simply add that I am in no way condemning our society, or anyone for the
problems we often ignore. The problem lies within the way we perceive this
world.” Victor cleared his throat and felt his pulse heighten as he began the
portion of his speech he knew might try his audience’s patience. “Within
Origins
is a chronicle of what I learned while I traveled for a year and what its
culmination rendered was a singular ideology I earnestly hope catches on: this
world needs to stop thinking in terms of I and me, and need to act in terms of
we.

“Let
me explain what I mean in saying ‘us, I, and we.’ We all segregate ourselves
into groups, communities, nations, et cetera, and I argue that we all, as a
world, need to act as one unified people to remove poverty, hunger, famine,
disease, illiteracy, and so many other plagues. I argue that should our people
manage to act as one unit and discard all of the strife and opposition we hold
toward one another, that this world would find peace and prosperity as a
whole.”

An
Asian man in the third row smirked and interrupted the young author, “Do you
honestly believe we can be that civil?”

Victor
frowned and asked what he meant.

“The
human race is far too flawed to garner the effect you dream of.”

“How
so?”

The
man listed off on his fingers, “We’re bitter, cynical, narcissistic, envious,
competitive,” at this point he stopped counting and continued to rattle off
without so much as a break for taking breath, “Selfish, greedy, lethargic, and
dozens of other adjectives I need not say.” He set his hands on his lap and
repeated that peace through reconciliation was an impossible feat.

“Do
you really believe society is incapable of overcoming those weaknesses?”

The
man nodded and told Victor that change did not exist, “Or at the very least, it
doesn’t exist in the fashion you believe it does. Take smokers for instance,”
the man took a brief glance at a woman who sat only a few seats away from him
before he continued, “Some individuals commit quite often to quit the act of
smoking, yet continually return to the habit.”

“As
you said though, it’s a habit, so I’d say we need to leave room for forgiveness
and understanding–”

“I’m
well aware of therapy and rehab,” the man interjected, “But you’re missing the
point: what I’m trying to relate is the sad truth that there isn’t such a thing
as rehabilitation for the qualms held between the Israeli and Palestinian
people or for the vastly different political views of nearly every single being
on this earth. There is no way for everyone to peaceably agree and act
harmoniously.”

“Then
do you believe there’s no reason to try to make a difference?” Victor asked
him.

The
man smiled wider and said he believed in no such thing. “I believe this world
is in desperate need of change, yet I doubt we are capable of that change on
our own.”

Victor
glanced away from the man and at a copy of his book one member of the audience
held in their hands. He grinned and asked whether the Asian fellow thought of a
specific part of Victor’s ideal. “I gather you’ve read my book?”

“I
have.”

“Then
are you saying you agree with what I said about potential toward the end?”

The
man shook his head and stated he felt Victor was close and offered an addition,
“Not everyone is strong enough to overcome their trials and tribulation on
their own–”

“Nor
should they be made to.”

The
Asian man disregarded his comment and pursued his meaning, “I do believe
prosperity exists, even for our world, though I believe we are never going to
achieve it without aid.”

“Aid
from whom?”

“That’s
the question I believe we need to answer.”

--          --          --

His
reading came to a close without any further interruption. Some of the patrons
had their own questions, which he was more than happy to answer. Eventually the
numbers dwindled and the man who interjected during Victor’s presentation
approached him with a copy of Victor’s book.

The
man began by apologizing, “I guess that would have been better suited as a
private subject, wouldn’t it?”

Victor
said he didn’t mind and signed the book. “You seem to know what you’re talking
about though, are you writing a book yourself?”

The
man chuckled, “No, nothing like that.” He changed the subject, “Do you have
time to answer one other question for me?”

Victor
smiled, “Sure, what would that be?”

“Do
you believe someone can achieve something that is completely out of their realm
of possibility?” Perplexed, Victor asked him to elaborate. “Let’s say that Adam
must kill a tiger, but Adam has no weapon and is not physically strong. Can he
still achieve?”

Victor
paused for a moment. He contemplated what he believed to be the best answer,
and asked, “Is there no way for Adam to flee from the tiger? Or to move around
the tiger?”

The
Asian man shook his head, “No. Flight would result in Adam’s death, as the
tiger would overcome him and destroy him. And there is no way around this
tiger, as both Adam and the animal are within each other’s threshold as we
speak.”

Victor
let out a breath, “Then I think he could only succeed if you removed Adam’s
limitation by giving him a weapon, or some sort of ally.” The Asian man had
quickly taken out a small notepad and wrote as fast as he could, the man only
glanced up from his writing once, his eyes flashed as he did so. “Without
reducing his limitation I don’t think he would be able to achieve his task.
However there are always exceptions.”

The
man stopped, “What exceptions?”

“Sometimes
there are events that occur randomly that allow individuals who normally
wouldn’t achieve to do so, but these events shouldn’t be counted on, as they
are unpredictable.”

“Luck.”

“Yes.”

“Do
you believe that luck can be the deciding factor in many of the world’s
outcomes?” asked the man.

“Whether
you believe its luck, or a higher power, something is there and can immediately
change the tide. But going back to your original question, yes, if Adam was
given means to accomplish the goal, he would be able to, so long as there were
no hidden elements or the luck factor against him.”

After
a moment, the man finished writing and placed the notepad and pen into the
pocket of his coat, “A goal cannot be accomplished without the means to do
so…We’ll see then.”

“Excuse
me?”

“Oh
I would love to stay and talk with you further; however I am pressed for time,
and as you have answered my questions and signed my book, I must be going. I
have to catch a flight to Europe.”

As
the man left Victor called out, “What’s in Europe?”

He
replied as he left the room, “Questions; hopefully answers.”

The
Asian man puzzled him, but he ignored it and finished speaking with his fans.
As he gathered his notes, a man in his forties approached him, “You gave quite
a speech, Victor.”

“Yes,
although half of them still don’t understand what I’ve told them,” Victor
returned. He turned to find his friend, Tony Winchester, who wore his usual
business attire that consisted of a dress suit, tie, and one of his many
watches. Tony was always clean-shaven, even on weekends and vacations. He wore
glasses that did not detract from his strong countenance and a silver watch on
his left wrist.

Tony
Winchester was the CEO, founder, and owner of Winchester Enterprises, which was
a company that seemed to dabble in every area of commerce so long as it was in
some way connected to the technological or automotive realms. The company had
its own automotive line, they developed software for home computers, and had
their own videogame franchises, with some of their games being widely
celebrated. And that was only a small portion of what Victor knew.

Victor
talked briefly with his agent, the representatives of the bookstore, and
shortly thereafter left with Tony. The two walked out into a rainy Seattle
afternoon. The streets were in the same shoddy condition Victor had always
known them to be, either in a pre, post, or constructive state. It all went
back to the sorts of change the Asian man mentioned, perpetual mundane change.
The streets of Seattle were always poor, and no matter what reconstruction
occurred it was only a matter of a few years before the same patch work would have
to take shape again.

“So
how’s that brother of yours?” Tony asked.

“Nick’s
fine. He just bought a motorcycle, which Paul’s not too thrilled about, mainly
because I helped him buy it, and Paul thinks all we should do with our money is
pay for food and his…Well it doesn’t matter, but I do worry about him.” Tony
asked why. “Nick’s probably out in this rain as we speak. This vehicle is his
first means of independence and I imagine he’s going to clutch to it as hard as
he can. Paul doesn’t make either of our lives simple, Nick’s especially, and I
feel that Nick will naturally run from that contention as long as he can.

Tony
nodded and asked, “I heard from my son that Nick took your advanced philosophy
class. How’d he do?”

Victor
sighed, “Poorly. He thought he chose photography, and wasn’t able to change
classes,” his expression changed. “I had to pair him up with the brightest girl
in my class; well…the brightest girl in the school is more appropriate. I asked
her to tutor him and I paired them up both semesters for the final projects.”

“Did
you give her a lot of extra credit?”

He
shook his head, “Future valedictorians don’t have any use for extra credit, and
‘It makes one sloppy and lazy’ she told me. Instead she asked me to write her a
letter of recommendation to whatever university she wanted,” Victor chuckled,
“So she could choose where she wanted to go.”

Tony
grinned, “She sounds like a very bright young woman.”

“Yes,
but she wasn’t happy about Nick hindering her, and we both knew Nick would only
hold her back. ‘Someone who sleeps through all of his classes isn’t worth
wasting time on.’ I laughed.”

“You
could have been angry with her.”

“It
wouldn’t have done any good.” Victor smiled. “Strong opinions, dedication, and
intelligence are things you don’t want to mess with. More so when they’re
attributes in a young woman.”

“Too
true.”

“Well,
how’s that son of yours?” Victor asked as he changed pace.

“Drake’s
great. He’s really applying himself within the company. I asked him to be at
the meeting where we discussed expanding into Japan. I’m thinking of sending
him there in September to help with our presentation at the Tokyo Game Show for
our newest title.”

“He
sounds like he’s doing very well, not that I wouldn’t expect it from him.”