“Has anyone rejected your choice of replacement?” Pierce asked.
“No. But then only three of you asked to be involved in the final selection process.”
“Really?” Pierce looked around. “That’s surprising.”
Lisa was also amazed. “Why wouldn’t people want to pick the history they were assuming?”
Tory offered an insightful answer. “While most people enjoy a good hamburger, few want to pet the cow.”
14
Reckless Abandon
WITH TORY’S REPORT FINISHED, it was time for more routine business. David’s mind wandered as Felix launched into an update of their efforts to sabotage other immortality research programs. Although David shared his peers’ interest in preventing others from discovering the secret to halting aging, he already knew what Felix would say.
David had supplied Felix with the intel on what projects they should be sabotaging and which researchers were best positioned to assist in those efforts. All Felix had to do was recruit them. He didn’t handle that personally, of course. He hired blind intermediaries. Retired intelligence operatives with experience in the appropriate operating theater, whether in Beijing, Munich, Tel Aviv, or Silicon Valley.
China had been their big adversary in the early years. The Chinese government was all over both glutathione research and telomere shortening. But after Eos’s spies orchestrated a few big embarrassments, they abandoned both in favor of more promising programs. These days, the big threat came from Google, with its Calico project. Despite Google’s incredible clout, Calico didn’t stand a chance. Basic accounting was the reason. Whereas everyone in Silicon Valley was slaving away in hopes of a big payout somewhere down the line, the Immortals could pay even bigger, and they did so without delay.
Nobody asked Felix any questions when he finished his report, so he yielded center stage.
David wasn’t surprised by the lack of interest. After twenty years, the medical and mechanical aspects of maintaining halted aging had become routine. Retaining exclusive access to the required pharmaceuticals was now assumed. Kind of like smallpox vaccine.
David was disappointed that interest in the philosophical facets of their special status had also withered on the vine. His fellow Immortals were now fully focused on the daily ups and downs of their personal lives. It was an inevitable development, David knew. Pausing the clock did not change human nature. Still, he wished his peers shared his interest in the big picture.
Lisa and Pierce stood up as Felix sat down. Their body language tripped a switch in David’s lizard brain. The forced straightening of Pierce’s spine. The firm set of Lisa’s lips. Something serious was in the works.
Lisa took a half step forward. “Continuing our discussion of new business, Pierce and I have an announcement. A matter we need to put up for a vote.”
The entire audience perked up at that announcement. The only issues requiring votes were those that impacted everyone in a material manner.
“Instead of setting the stage with a long lead-in,” Lisa continued, “I’ll skip straight to the summit. We’ve both decided to seek seats in the United States Senate.”
David felt his stomach flip as he bit back an impulsive outburst. It was an unthinkable idea. Outrageous, irresponsible, and irrational. What were they thinking?
“I know this is a bit surprising and perhaps contrary to our tenet of leading low-profile lives. But we think we’ve learned enough over the past twenty years to mitigate the risks, and we believe this is the best way to protect our long-term interests.”
“What long-term interests?” Aria asked.
Aria’s scornful tone surprised David. Clearly, she had not been privy to this plan. That shed a surprising light on the relationship between the Immortals’ alpha females.
Like the professional CEO she was—or like a polished politician, David mused—Lisa remained outwardly calm and upbeat. “Lately, the political Powers That Be seem intent on satisfying special interests. Special industries to be exact. It’s gotten to the point where Pierce and I are seriously concerned that we Immortals will eventually fall victim to some manmade global catastrophe. Therefore, we’ve decided to take preemptive measures.”
Ries, usually the happy-go-lucky guy, hopped into the fray with both feet. “We’ve taken extensive measures to avoid detection, not the least of which is the recent replacement process. For decades we’ve avoided publicity and public appearances. We’ve paid handsomely to have professionals scrub our images from the internet. We’ve even begun masking our continued association, to the extent that we can’t congregate or even leave each other voicemails. Now you two want to seek the center of the national spotlight? Forget it! There are other ways to influence policy.”
Felix also raised his sword. “I agree with everything Ries said. Find a tactic that keeps us in the shadows.”
David’s building anger began turning to fear when he noted the nonchalant nature with which Lisa and Pierce were absorbing the backlash. It was as if they knew they had the votes tied up. But they didn’t. Not if Aria wasn’t on board.
David voiced his vote, even though it was a forgone conclusion. The researchers always stuck together. “I also agree with Ries. It won’t take a global catastrophe to end our lives if our status is discovered. The fearful and jealous mobs will manage that.”
“If the government doesn’t lock us in a lab,” Aria added. “And in any case, what makes you think you have a shot at the Senate?”
“Let us worry about that.”
David’s trepidation grew. He analyzed the vote, even though it was the kind of math first-graders could do on their fingers. Clearly Pierce and Lisa would vote yes. Camilla would back Lisa out of loyalty. But that was only three of the nine Immortals. Well, eight, David corrected himself. Eric was gone. And really only seven since Aria was just a tiebreaker. But Felix, the finance guy, was nothing if not practical, as were all three remaining researchers. That made four against three. Tighter than David would have liked, but sufficient.
Still, his apprehension grew. It was a feeling that had been festering ever since they had voted to obtain new identities by killing innocent people—a tactic none of them would have considered twenty years earlier, during their age of mortal innocence. That incredibly selfish strategy had crossed a line, but at least it was logical. If handled professionally, replacing real people was the safest course for them to take. Running for the Senate, by comparison, was completely crazy.
David decided to put his objection on the record. “I feel compelled to emphasize that secrecy is the cornerstone of our security. It is my strong personal opinion that the Immortals must remain in the shadows. Now and forever.”
Lisa turned his way with trademark empathy in her eyes. “I respect your opinion, David. I always have. But twenty years ago, we were living in a very different world. A much more stable world. There was no Facebook or YouTube. No iPhones or wikis. Nobody had heard of Bin Laden or Putin or Kim Jong-un. And there were far fewer nuclear weapons. The world is evolving, and our tactics must evolve with it.”
“I call for a vote,” Pierce said.
“I second it,” Camilla said.
Lisa met David’s eye, and he knew he was about to lose. “All those in favor of allowing Pierce and me to seek the U.S. Senate, raise your right hand.”
The predicted three hands raised high, then an unexpected fourth. David felt his stomach turn to ice. Allison had switched sides.