She sighed sadly. “Unfortunately, I cannot help him fulfill that instinctive desire. I’m barren—I always have been. I’m sure the increased levels of radiation leaking in through the shielding have rendered the other women here sterile, as well.”
Taking a deep, determined breath, O’Brien continued. “And that is our present situation. Even though Alpha is immune to the toxins and radiation outside the installation, he will not find the mate he seeks out there, at least not for a very long time. Eighty-odd years, I estimate.”
A cold, triumphant smile played over her face. “I received your transmission to abort the mission. I will not obey it. I will not accept that all my work is for nothing and that Mission Invictus, with its hopes for a sane world, is forever aborted, as well.”
A flinty hardness came into her green eyes. “Mission Invictus was conceived by you as the penultimate plan to produce a superior human. I admit that I failed you on that point. I produced a god, an entity whose mutated antibodies and immune system will not succumb to the poisonous postwar environment. Whether you impotent bastards care to acknowledge it, Overproject Excalibur has been the instrument of fate in this epochal hour of humanity’s bloody history.”
O’Brien smiled mirthlessly as she declared, “Within seconds of transmitting this recording to you, I will deactivate the gateway. There will be no way in or out of this installation, except overland. Then, Alpha has agreed to be placed in stasis, but not in a cryonics canister.”
“He will continue to grow, his development will proceed, but at a vastly reduced rate. He will slow his metabolism to a crawl, his need for oxygen curtailed to what exists within his…sarcophagus. His heart might pump once a month. When he is ready, he will revive on his own.”
“After that, my staff and I will take a long walk outside, our first in many years. With no way to receive food and other provisions, staying here simply delays the inevitable. Alpha will need what remains in the stores when he awakens. Besides, I’m curious to tour this brave new world your machinations have created. Yes, Alpha altered the personnel’s perceptions so they will faithfully follow me. Cold-blooded to an extent, I cannot deny. However, considering my audience, that is the novice speaking to the masters of the art.”
O’Brien’s eyes suddenly glimmered with tears. Her lips worked, then twisted into a contemptuous smile. “If any of you are still alive when Alpha emerges from this…tomb, know that you will be instantly rendered obsolete. All of your plans, schemes and grand dreams to control mankind under one whip will come to nothing. You will inherit the slag heap. Alpha will ascend to the throne of eternity and spit upon you.”
Her face smoothed itself into a clinical, impersonal mask again. “Dr. Connaught O’Brien, final report.”
WHEN THE HAND FELL upon her shoulder, it required all of Mildred’s self-control to keep from screaming. As it was, she twisted in her chair, pushing it away from the desk on squeaking casters, whipping her elbow backward.
J.B. grunted in pained surprise, half doubling over. “Dark night, Millie!”
Laughing in nervous relief, Mildred stood and hugged him. “I’m sorry, John, but you really shouldn’t sneak up on people who are preoccupied.”
Scowling, J.B. rubbed his midriff. “I wasn’t sneaking,” he said defensively. “It’s not my fault you weren’t watching your back.”
He gestured to the image of Connaught O’Brien frozen on the screen. “Did she preoccupy you? Who is she?”
“A very brilliant, very disturbed woman,” Mildred replied, reaching out to turn off the machine. “The mother and lover of a god.”
J.B. squinted at her from behind the lenses of his spectacles. “What?”
Mildred shook her head. “I’ll explain later. Where’s everybody else?”
“Asleep, I guess. Except for Ryan. He’s taking a shower.”
“Good.” She moved toward the door. “Let’s go.”
J.B. hung back. “To watch him take a shower?”
“To the lab. There’s a story I have to confirm.”
“We’ve had this discussion, Millie.”
“We had it before I knew the back story about this place.”
“Well, I don’t know it.”
“And I’ll tell you. But checking on the details will determine how long or how short our stay here will be.”