The media was pro-augmentation from the very beginning, touting it as humanity’s greatest leap forward. What surprised Richard most though was when Dr. Stone was given a Nobel Prize for his work in genetic engineering, and the Peace Prize for reducing human suffering. “How ironic,” Richard thought at the time. “If they had known the suffering endured by animals and humans alike so that Dr. Stone could perfect his abomination, would they have given him such an accolade?” It amused and angered him, and Richard felt that the only ‘prize’ Dr. Stone was worthy of was a noose. Had he known then what he knew now, he would have assassinated the doctor back when he worked with him at Malmstrom. Richard wasn’t a murderer, but even a civilized person would kill if they knew it would prevent future atrocities.
Richard recalled the day when a news poll showed that over 90% of the U.S. population had accepted the procedure. The commentator then went on to say that those who had not been augmented were the Neanderthals of the modern era. Richard looked on in disbelief as the world embraced augmentation. It wasn’t long before countries stopped recognizing their borders and joined into socialistic communities. It became known as ‘The Grand Unification’ and intellectuals praised its creation. What Richard and a handful of others saw, was that the global society was comprised of Augs, not humans, and in reality, humans were heading for extinction. His worst fears though had yet to be realized. Once the Augs had infiltrated the majority of the world’s political and military leadership, they exercised their will over the remaining un-augmented populace. Laws were passed requiring all newborns to be augmented shortly after birth. When opposition to that mandate was quelled, a Universal Mandate was passed requiring all humans not previously augmented to have the procedure. There was an immediate outcry by the un-augmented minority, but the opposition did not have the votes to overturn the law. That’s when Richard decided it was time for his family to leave Great Falls and head into the wilderness. What he failed to realize at the time, was that he had waited too long to act. The Augs intercepted him and his family as they tried to flee the city. In the chaos that followed, the Augs captured his two daughters along with a dozen other unfortunates. It was the most painful and emotionally devastating thing that he and his wife had ever gone through. His wife eventually found comfort in the fact that their children were part of the new world order, and would live long, healthy lives. Richard however, hated the idea that they had been turned into mindless, soulless creatures, and he sorely missed them.
Richard slowly opened his eyes, as his thoughts finished spanning the last few years of his life. The pain of those horrific events would never leave him. He hated Dr. Stone with every fiber of his being, and he blamed him personally for the loss of his children and his wife. In Richards’s eyes, Dr. Stone was the scourge of humanity, and he wanted to make him pay for what he had done. The truth was, the band of survivors he was part of was no match for Dr. Stone and his army of Augs. To make matters worse, Dr. Stone had recently found a way to use mosquitos as a vector for transmitting the larvae to uninfected humans. It was biological warfare, and anyone bitten by an infectious mosquito would be inoculated with a larva. Within a few weeks the larva would migrate to the host brain and then the unwitting victim would become an Aug. It was a devastating blow to the few remaining survivors, and the only way to avoid infection was to remain out of the mosquito’s range. Richard had led the survivors northward into Canada, but a recent warm spell had caught them off guard. Besides his wife, they had lost over a dozen individuals in the last two weeks. It was a no-win situation, and Richard knew that between the mosquitoes and the coming winter, their fight for survival would soon be over.
Chapter 2
The next morning Mitch cautiously poked his head into Richard’s tent and asked, “Are you okay?” in a hesitant tone.
“Yeah, I just keep mulling over the events that have led us to this point. I guess I’m trying to make some sense of it all,” he replied.
“Do you want to talk, or do you still need some time alone?” Mitch asked.
“Stay for a minute… I want to bounce a few ideas off of you.”
“What’s on your mind?” Mitch replied.
“There is no denying that the Augs are pushing us towards extinction. I am also concerned that if we migrate any further north, we won’t survive when winter comes. What do you think about taking the fight to the enemy?” Richard suggested.
“You’re crazy… how we can fight them, they have every advantage over us,” Mitch exclaimed.
“If we could reach the Augs’ production facility, then we might be able to cut off the supply of larvae by killing the parent worms and taking out Dr. Stone,” Richard proposed.
“I’m not trying to dissuade you from doing this, but even if we did somehow manage to accomplish both those things, wouldn’t the Augs just build a new facility and create more parent worms?” Mitch asked.
“If it were any other scientist besides Dr. Stone, I would agree with you, but Dr. Stone is the most egotistical man on the planet. I can say with complete confidence that he has never shared his research with anyone that worked with him in the early days. I can also assure you that he hasn’t shared his ‘secret recipe’ for creating the parent worms with the Augs. He needs that in order to ensure they don’t turn on him. Dr. Stone may be maniacal, but he is not a stupid man,” Richard declared.
“I wish we knew how he keeps from being infected by the mosquitoes?” Mitch questioned.
“I don’t know, but since he created them, he must have designed some form of protection,” Richard conjectured.
“How are we going to get all the way back down to Malmstrom without being infected ourselves?” Mitch questioned.
“We would have to head south once the weather turns cold and the majority of the mosquitoes are gone. I admit, we would still be at risk of infection, but I don’t see any other way of getting there,” Richard replied.
“I’m willing to go with you, but some of the other members of the clan may not want to risk it, especially after the latest rash of infections,” Mitch remarked.
“I’ll go around and see what the consensus is, but to be honest, I’m going with or without the others,” Richard admitted.
“You’re willing to abandon the clan?” Mitch asked in a surprised tone.
“Our situation isn’t going to get any better. As far as I am concerned, we are all dead either way. I have accepted that reality and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to defeat the Augs,” Richard replied.
“Mikala would have never approved of such a dangerous mission!” Mitch remarked, before realizing the insensitive nature of his comment.
“You’re absolutely right,” Richard said after a long pause. “But now that she is gone, I have nothing left to lose.”
“The survivors look to you for support and leadership, and they depend on you,” Mitch remarked.
“They can get by without me,” Richard contended.
“That might be true, but they are like a family to me, and they feel that way about you,” Mitch revealed. Richard didn’t know what to say. He felt ashamed that he had tried to take his own life, and in doing so, had not even considered the effect it would have had on the others if he had succeeded. He had been so focused on the survival aspect, that he had completely overlooked the close relationships that the clan had formed with one another.
“Are you still convinced that attacking the Augs is the best option?” Mitch asked when Richard didn’t respond.
“We are not equipped or prepared to survive in the arctic, and that’s the only place we would be truly free from the infectious mosquitoes. I will ask for volunteers, that way no one feels obligated to make the risky trip south this winter,” Richard replied.