The Legend of Things Past (Beyond Pluto SciFi Futuristic Aventures Book 1) (13 page)

“I can actually answer that for you,” Tobias said. “You see,
I
never really raised you. If what you say is true and you’re really
from the year 2258, then I will have transferred my consciousness by then.”

Donovan stared blankly.

“The clone?” Tobias continued. He spoke as if to someone who
was very slow. “The one you found in my lab? I created it as a blank slate. It
doesn’t have a mind of its own, like the others. Essentially it’s just an empty
shell. When this body becomes too old, I’ll transfer my consciousness into that
one. However, this body…” The hologram pointed to himself. “…will retain an
imprint of some of my memory and personality. Perhaps the Tobias that raised
you went soft. Or maybe, as I said earlier, that version of me found something
in you worth saving and decided not to spoil your innocence.”

Tobias shrugged. “Maybe he chose not to show you
this—ah—‘madness,’ as you say.”

“That’s why my grandfather got sick! That’s why his mind
began to deteriorate. He—he forgot who he was.”

“Did he?” Tobias leaned forward. “I was curious what would
happen to this body once I left it behind. Thank you for telling me that, dear
boy. You have deeply satisfied my curiosity.”

That’s when it all clicked. This wasn’t the man who Donovan
had known. This Tobias was wrong—the grandfather he knew didn’t see him as a
pawn to be used in his plans—didn’t see him as a future ruler—he genuinely
wanted to protect Donovan from the horrors of the world.

Donovan had not noticed any insanity in his grandfather—except
on those rare times, probably when the evil in him took over—because it was
never there. Donovan was convinced—when Tobias switched over to his new body he
took most of his evil nature with him, leaving the empty body with mostly
goodness.

Somehow, even knowing that only an imprint of a human being
had raised him, Donovan was immensely relieved. He was able to disconnect the
man before him from the man he knew. This person was a stranger. He was insane.
It made him sad to think of the wonderful person Tobias had the potential to
be.

There’s no time for sympathy,
Donovan told himself.
It’s
my job to stop him.

They had already gotten a good deal of information out of
him, but Donovan wanted to keep him talking.

“Your ‘master race’—where is it? You have all this cloning
equipment but you haven’t gotten very far, have you?”

“Oh, I’ve done wonders. Here, alone on this planet, I’ve put
all my time into replicating myself. I have hundreds of clones here. Just
because you haven’t found them yet doesn’t mean they don’t exist. They helped
me build this place. They’ve helped me make a considerable amount of progress
with my plans.”

“Right,” Donovan said. “World domination.”

Tobias looked truly affronted. “Domination? No, child, this
will be a
cleansing.
The world will be born anew. It will finally become
the utopia it should have been two hundred years ago!” Tobias spoke faster,
caught up in his passion. “Yes, a utopia… a perfect world filled with perfect
people. My descendants will be the best humans to ever walk this earth. They’ll
be the strongest, the fastest, the most intelligent!”

“A bit full of himself, isn’t he?” Jonathan said to Donovan.

Tobias laughed. “This isn’t mere wishful thinking,
boy
.
I specifically enhanced my clones to have better sight, better hearing, a
better sense of smell, more strength, rapid cell regeneration.”

“Rapid cell regeneration?” Captain Umar asked. “That’s
impossible.”

“Silly boy, of course it isn’t. I created it. I gave them
all the features we humans lost when we got our big brains. I’ve given them
their animalistic strengths back—all without losing the cognitive ability of
the human brain.”

“But that’s—it’s not…,” Captain Umar stuttered.

“Everything is possible! If only you push your mind to its
limits and discover how it can be done! I am a genius, child. Or did you forget
with whom you are speaking?”

Captain Umar was about to make an angry retort when Tracee
spoke. “Wait a minute. If you’ve been here all this time, making clones as you
claim, then the man who’s in China is also…”

“A clone, yes. Smart girl.”

Everyone spun around. The voice had come not from the
hologram but from right behind them. The real life, flesh-and-blood Tobias
stood with his arms folded across his chest. He wore a grey suit with a white
lab coat on top. He gave them all a friendly smile.

Tracee raised her gun. Everyone else followed her lead.

Donovan stepped forward with his arms spread. “No. Wait.” He
gestured for them to lower their weapons.

“Donovan,” Tracee said, keeping her gun aimed. “We can’t let
him escape.”

“Yes, but if you kill him then we may never get a cure.”

“Now that we’ve found this place we’re sure to find it. It
has to be around here somewhere.”

“We don’t even know that there
is
a cure. What if he
never created one? We need him. Alive.”

“Why thank you, dear boy. I rather appreciate not having my
brains blown out all over the floor by that primitive weapon.”

“I didn’t do it for you,” Donovan snapped. “We still have
e-guns with non-lethal settings. I won’t hesitate to use them on you if your
answers are not satisfactory.”

Tobias smiled, as if amused by some private joke.

“Tell us. Have you made a cure?”

“Why, as a matter of fact I have,” Tobias said. He turned
and took a step to the left. Everyone stepped forward, expecting him to make
some sudden move to kill them, but he merely began to leisurely pace the floor.

“I have a cure, yes. For those deserving of it.”

“And who are you to decide who lives and dies?” Colonel
McGregor demanded.

Once again, Tobias seemed to be particularly amused by McGregor.

“My genius,” Tobias replied. “My intellect is superior to
any human brain that has ever come before. It has pierced the depths of time
and space. Even with clear explanations and instructions, there is only a rare
human who can truly understand the things that I’ve discovered. I think that
puts me in a position to make the wisest choices.”

“Enough of this! Where is it?” Jonathan asked. He moved
forward and held his e-gun directly in front of Tobias’s face.

Tobias didn’t flinch even a centimeter. His expression didn’t
change.

“I can understand your frustration,” Tobias said. “You care
about people, don’t you, boy? You want to save them. You don’t want anyone to
die. But trust me, it’s better this way. You’re too young and too privileged to
understand.”

Jonathan pushed the e-gun closer to Tobias’s face.

“Jonathan…,” Donovan said in a calming tone. “Relax.” A shot
at that range, even non-lethal, could have lasting effects. They wanted Tobias’s
brain to be perfectly unharmed.

“I’m relaxed,” Jonathan said. His face didn’t turn away from
Tobias. “Where is it?”

“I’d like to make you an offer,” Tobias said. “All of you.
You all seem to be rather good people. You came here, risking you lives on a
mission to save the human race from certain death. It’s all very noble. You are
exactly the type of people the new earth will need. With time, I think you can
be convinced that I’m right about the world.”

“We’ll never join you.”

“There are benefits,” Tobias said, ignoring Jonathan. He
looked at the rest of them in turn, eyes resting on Donovan the longest. “There
is much more to the virus than you know. It is only a primer—a blank slate, if
you will.”

Donovan rolled his eyes. “Fine. I’ll bite. What are you
talking about?”

“The virus that has infected the planet is merely a primer
that is activated to do one thing or another by coming into contact with a
formula. The virus that I issued contains a formula that tells it to attack the
cells of its host. But the formula has a thick coat—one that only fades away
after many years. That’s why the virus seemed to be so slow-acting. That’s why
it appears to be harmless at first. The formula is undetectable unless you
already know it’s there.

“The other formula, which I offer to you now, once injected
into the bloodstream, will prompt the virus to actively protect the cells of
its host. It will give you powerful healing abilities. It sharpens your sight,
gives you strength—essentially all of the abilities that my clones have.

“If you join me, you will have the formula as a reward. Not
a bad bonus, eh?”

“We don’t want your stupid formula, Tobias,” Captain Umar
said. “Who knows what else you’ve hidden inside it?”

“Are you sure?” Tobias asked, as if they had all turned down
a cookie or a refreshing glass of water. “I will not offer it again.”

They all stared at him stonily.

“Donovan?” Tobias asked. “Will you not join your grandfather
on his righteous quest? I wouldn’t be so blind and callous as to exclude your
family. They, too, would receive the formula. It would reverse the current
effects of the virus. They’d all be healed. Return to your own time. Find me.
Join me.”

Donovan was torn. He hated this man more with each word that
he spoke. He was planning to kill off all humans on the planet… and yet,
Donovan was very tempted to take him up on his offer. He could save his family.
He could return to the future and be his own self… and not disappear.

He could do it easily. He could eliminate his team right
now. They’d never expect it.

Of course, though he wanted desperately for his family to
survive, Donovan couldn’t kill his comrades. He could never work with Tobias.
He would have to find another way.

“Tobias,” Donovan said. “Turn yourself in. Come back with
us. Reform yourself. If you can’t do that, at least just leave earth alone.
Start your new race here, on this planet, and leave us be. And if we fall into
chaos and murder and treachery, then so be it. Give us the cure and let us
figure out the problems on Earth for ourselves. You can have your utopia. Right
here.”

Tobias sighed deeply. “I had really hoped you would come to
my side, boy. You had such great potential.”

Donovan thought of the Tobias who raised him—the Tobias with
so much good intent for the world. Surely that person had to be somewhere
inside this Tobias—after all, he was the original copy.

“Somewhere inside you,” Donovan said, “there is a good man. I
know because I’ve met him. He raised me. The Tobias I knew never could have
conceived of what you have done. That man is more present in you than you
realize—why else would you have told us so much? Why else would you have given
away so much detail about your virus and your plans? Is it that, secretly, you
want someone to stop you?”

Tobias let out a long, hearty laugh. “I’m not crying out
with my soul to be saved, Donovan. You’re so naïve. It’s almost endearing.

“What you haven’t realized is that it doesn’t matter what I
tell you—I’ve already won. No matter how much information you gain, no matter
how much effort you put into destroying me—my plan is full proof. The world is
at stake here—this is chess, not checkers, boy. I already have you at
checkmate.

“And now that I see that you will not join me, no matter how
great the benefits, there is but one choice left—I must destroy you all!”

Tobias sprang forward, a knife withdrawn in a flash from the
inside of his lab coat.

Donovan raised an arm instinctively to block him, but before
Tobias could even touch Donovan, he fell to the ground, convulsing.

Tracee had shot him. She quickly clicked a pair of electric
cuffs around his wrists. The convulsing slowed but didn’t stop.

Before Donovan could thank her for the save, the sounds of
rapid footsteps echoed from the hallway. They had no time to prepare—the clones
were upon them.

The room filled with them in an instant. Dozens upon dozens
of Tobiases everywhere. They had no choice now. Donovan gave the command to
shoot to kill.

“Fire at will!” he shouted.

There was an echoing laugh that rolled through the room like
an ocean wave. The Tobiases were chortling joyfully.

“You can’t kill me,” they said. “I’m everywhere.”

The words reverberated through the room.
I’m everywhere.
I’m everywhere. I’m everywhere.

Donovan was barely aware of the fight that ensued. The only
thought that reared its ugly head inside his mind was that they had yet to find
a cure. If they didn’t find it now, they might never find it. But they had no
time. No way to look for it.

They could barely manage to survive the onslaught of
strengthened clones and escape that place, let alone conduct a search for the
cure. It was impossible. Donovan felt devastation begin to overwhelm him, but
he continued to fight. He had to survive. He couldn’t give up.

The clones were immensely more powerful than his team. At first
they used their guns, knowing that e-guns would have little to no effect. They
managed to take out several dozen clones. They scattered the floor in piles,
blood flowing freely over the white tiles.

Tables were upended, equipment destroyed by stray bullets.
The bodies piled up, but there seemed to be no end to them.

Then, to Donovan’s horror, the clones that had received
seemingly fatal shots to the heart or major arteries rose from the floor like
zombies, skin flowing back together as if God’s hand had lain across the wounds,
melting the clay back smooth.

For the first time in his life, Donovan didn’t know what to
do but run.

“Aim for the head!” he shouted. “Run whenever you can. Head
for the ship. We have to get out of here
now
!”

He wasn’t positive that they’d all heard him. He didn’t even
have time to look around and see if they were all still alive. He saw Tracee
still fighting out of the corner of his eye.

Donovan pulled the trigger on his gun as fast as he could,
shooting foreheads left and right with perfect accuracy. A path began to clear
in front of him. He kept shooting.