The Jovian Legacy (18 page)

He
knew it was definitely worth trying.

Jack
told his folks that evening of his plan, as he didn’t know
whether or not he would see them again if he was unable to return.

“Son,
you don’t know who you’re dealing with and what these
people are capable of. They’re evil. Please don’t go
near those damned Lucre Boxes,” his father pleaded.

“I
have to do this, Dad, it’s the only way,” Jack said
adamantly.

“The
Government of Thebes is investigating. They’ll find Megan and
bring her back,” his father pressed.

Jack
spoke in a softer tone. “It’s been two months now, and I
can’t wait any longer. I know this is hard for you to hear,
but Megan is my life, and I owe it to her. I brought her to Jovian
for a better life and now she’s in captivity to be used at the
will of these madmen as a model for cloning.”

“I
have to do this,” he repeated.

With
tears welling up, Nancy Dunlop embraced her son like she had done so
the day of their farewell for their sailing adventure. Jack hugged
his mother back and then his father. It was a difficult decision for
him, but over the past few years Jack had become a stronger,
independent person. He’d grown up fast as a result of being
left orphaned in his formative years. Now it was his choice, proving
to him that his love for Megan outweighed that of his love for his
parents.

The
feeling of losing his parents for a second time round was
gutwrenching, but was somewhat diluted by his excitement of being
together with Megan again. He went to bed early that night in
readiness of the new day.

Chapter 13

M
egan
was awoken by the sound of alarms ringing. Her heart raced at the
sudden noise, and sat bolt upright. Sobek burst into her room
wearing her bathrobe and told Megan to throw something on quickly.

“Is
the building on fire?” Megan asked, the words catching in her
throat.

“No,
it is much worse,” Sobek answered. “Here, put this on, I
will tell you on the way.”

“Okay,”
Megan agreed, sliding her arms into an overcoat.

Everyone
had gathered in the foyer of the building, most of them in medical
uniforms.

They
must’ve gotten up early. They’re such freaks they
probably don’t even sleep,
Megan
regarded.

“What’s
going on?” she asked Sobek again.

Sobek
looked somewhat distraught. “Every so often the alarms sound.
It is when there has been an interference with the tropopause layer
that covers our compound, an area of five miles across,” she
hastily explained.

“An
interference with a what?”

Sobek’s
face was ashen. “Well, basically our compound has a dome over
it. The dome is actually just a fragile skin called a tropopause
layer, which controls our technological system and has to be
maintained at a temperature of ninety-eight degrees Celsius. A
change in temperature can cause an interference to our entire system,
which could spell disaster.”

“When
you say ‘disaster’ do you mean like a civil emergency?”
Megan asked, anxious.

“No...I
mean like devastation. A radiation explosion is possible and we
could all be annihilated within a matter of seconds. It is similar
to us being located near the heart of a nuclear bomb.” Megan
was gobsmacked. She couldn’t believe her ears. Her heart
thumped out of her chest.

“I
just want to go home,” she said in a child-like voice.
“Please, Sobek, let me go,“ she pleaded, crying.

Although
Sobek showed sympathy, her expression told Megan she was unable to
help. “It is all right now, the alarms have stopped,”
Sobek assured. “We can go back to our rooms.”

Though,
as Sobek took Megan’s hand and led her back to her room, she
wondered how she
could
help her. She genuinely wanted to. In
fact, she wanted to get out herself. She’d lived in fear of
being disintegrated into ashes for far too long now. Her brother’s
far-fetched mission could cost her dearly. It was too much for her
to bear.

Chapter 14

J
ack
was sleeping when his watch alarm went off. He’d continued to
refer to his own watch, still unable to get a proper grasp on the
Jovian Babylonian time system. However, he was in such a deep sleep
that the bleeping of the alarm was incorporated into his dream. He’d
forgotten about his egg that he’d put on to boil for breakfast
that morning, turning the element up high, and left for school. His
flat was full of smoke on his return, with the charred piece of egg
stuck to the bottom of the blackened pot. The smoke alarm was
sounding off so Jack grabbed it off the wall, taking it outside and
smashing it on the concrete. It simply wouldn’t turn off.
Only then did he wake up.

He
quickly turned his alarm off and flopped back on his pillow, heart
racing, trying to gather his thoughts. Then he remembered why he’d
set the alarm in the first place, and what he was going to be doing
today - getting his Megan back, safe and sound.

Jack
showered and dressed, spending some time deciding what he was going
to wear for the occasion. After he’d eaten breakfast (not an
egg) Jack picked up both the Lucre Boxes and carried them into the
kitchen, placing them on the table. With a deep breath, he pushed
the boxes together, holding onto them tightly. An unusual sensation
overcame him, a tingling and a feeling of weightlessness, being
levitated off the floor and enveloped by the luminous green light.
Everything went black, and within a few seconds he found himself in
the room where he’d travelled to earlier, only this time he was
his grown-up self.

“Yes!”
he exclaimed, and checked the boxes. They were still intact. But as
he was about to sing his jubilations his thoughts turned to despair
when the still-joined Lucre Boxes suddenly felt ice cold, then
shattered into tiny fragments and fell through his fingers! Jack was
speechless, and helpless, and now trapped in this alien place.

As
he stood there looking at the floor in shock, Megan walked in the
room accompanied by Sobek. Still shaken by the events of the morning
Megan became overwhelmed when she saw her beloved boyfriend. She ran
and jumped up on him, wrapping her arms and legs around him, crying
and laughing with joy, the two of them ecstatic.

“
Even
if we can’t get back, we’re finally together,” Jack
cried. He looked over Megan’s shoulder and saw Sobek smiling
at them.

“Hello
again,” she greeted. “Nice to meet you as the Jack I’ve
heard so much about, although I’m sorry for the circumstances
in which you have arrived,” turning her greeting into a polite
apology. “Come, have a hot drink and something to eat,”
Sobek invited. Although Jack had only had breakfast, he felt
strangely hungry and couldn’t understand why.

Must
be all the excitement,
he
thought.

Megan
led the way to Sobek’s dining area, holding tightly onto Jack’s
hand, just in case he disappeared again.

In
her dining room a sumptuous feast was awaiting them. It was almost
like the dining hall management had been expecting company. It was
still morning, or so Jack thought, but when he checked his watch the
time was 5.20 p.m.

No
wonder I’m starving,
he
thought,
realising
he’d
lost some time somewhere along the way.

The
food was so good that Jack found himself dribbling, and quickly
reached for the serviettes before anyone saw. It was as good as the
food in Thebes, so reasoned that even if they were stuck here forever
at least they wouldn’t be missing out.

Megan,
on the other hand, knew she had to tell him they were in danger of
perishing at any given moment, but for now she was simply going to
relish his company. Her boyfriend had the ability of giving her a
sense of security, and she felt safe, even though they were certainly
far from being safe.

They
lay together that night cuddling, totally comfortable with one
another, devoid of the awkward feeling of knowing they could never be
lovers. They fell asleep, spooning.

In
the morning Megan decided that she’d sneak Jack in to see what
she had discovered the other night. At breakfast she explained to
Jack what she was going to do, just to prove to him the Jovian
Underworld were serious about this cloning thing.

When
the coast was clear they made their way along the corridors, and
found the door to the laboratory. Anxious of being seen, Megan
quickly and quietly eased the door open and she and Jack slipped into
the expansive room. They were both taken aback with what they set
eyes on. No foetuses were suspended in liquid-filled cylinders.
Instead were lined up cribs filled with babies, and not one of them
was crying.

“But
it’s only been a few weeks,” cried Megan. “How can
they grow so fast?”

“Who
knows?” Jack replied. “I guess they’re just more
advanced than we thought. Just look at all these babies - they all
look the same.”

“Jack,”
Megan turned to him, “they’re all my clones. They’re
all minnie mees!” Jack was dumbfounded.

The
pair stared wide-eyed into the cribs.

“I
was a beautiful baby, wasn’t I?” Megan cooed, falling
instantly in love with her duplicates. She approached a crib and
‘Clone 14’ looked up at her and smiled, her little eyes
twinkling as she did so. Megan and Jack both ‘awed’ at
the same time. Megan wanted to pick the baby up and cuddle her.

“Well,
why shouldn’t you?” Jack prompted, “You have a
right to; she’s part of you.”

Megan
hesitated. “Shall I?”

“Go
on,” he urged.

With
her heart in her mouth, Megan gently rolled the baby over to her
side, lifted her out of the crib and up against her chest. The baby
smelt adorable, the special new-baby smell. She snuggled into
Megan’s neck and clung on with her tiny little hands, babbling.
Megan was over the moon. It felt so strange to be cuddling a baby
that would have been herself, fifteen years earlier. She held the
baby out from her face, the baby grinning and thrusting out her
little arms and pulling herself in, giving Megan a sucky kiss.

Megan
laughed and gave her one more cuddle and kiss before placing her back
in the crib. She went over to another crib and picked up the little
girl who gave her the same smile, and who had the same lovely
temperament.

Before
long they had spent an hour in the large nursery, and still hadn’t
cuddled all the babies.

Megan
was suddenly overcome with sadness.

“What
is it?” Jack asked, anxious.

“These
babies all need loving, Jack. Who’s going to love them and
care for them? As far as those creeps are concerned they’re
just a bunch of experiments destined to be brainwashed.”

They
were in mid-conversation when they heard the door shut, and turned
around to see Sobek standing there.

“We
are the caregivers of your clones,” Sobek said to Megan. “It
is your duty and mine to care for these babies until they are old
enough to participate in the program, which will take five years, the
duration of time that you will be required to stay. After that they
will be under the jurisdiction of the Jovian Secret Service.”

“But
there are too many of them. How are we going to love and care for
them all?” Megan asserted.

“There
are twenty-four clones, and all we are required to do is to cuddle
and spend time with them. Their food intake and toiletries are taken
care of by the cribs they sleep in. They will never go hungry. Nor
do they need to wear uncomfortable nappies, as the cribs have their
own cleaning system. They will also, by instinct, be toilet trained
by the time they are three months old, and will learn all their
fundamental necessities, such as feeding themselves, by the time they
are six months old.” Sobek carried on explaining to Megan her
duties and obligations while Jack listened on.

That
night, while he and Megan ate their dinner, they talked at great
length about the huge and daunting task that lay ahead.

“Megan,
I came here for a purpose, and that was to take you home,” Jack
stated. “But now we’re faced with this, and so if I can’t
take you back with me, then I’m staying for the job too. I’m
going to be here for as long as it takes. There are twenty-four
charges to look after and they can’t expect you and Sobek to
cope with them all by yourselves.” Megan grabbed him, planting
a kiss on his forehead.

Over
the next few weeks Jack had to convince Timos and his team of men
that he, alongside Megan, was capable of being the main caregiver to
twenty-four babies, with the help of Sobek. Timos quietly agreed,
and provided them with a salubrious homestead with surrounding
gardens of four hectares, complete with gardeners, a chef, and house
staff. He appeared quite keen on Jack staying and helping, something
that Jack couldn’t quite fathom.

The
babies grew rapidly and had learned to do their own ablutions and
feed themselves by the time they were six months old, although they
appeared much older. Jack and Megan had to keep bearing in mind that
as soon as their job was done, they had to hand over their charges to
the Jovian Secret Service, for them to feed their brains with
whatever they intended.