A Future Unknown

Secrets and Revelations

A moment of silence followed. Then Dr. Morgan picked up the conversation again, trying to make it less awkward. "The Admiral is harsh but fair. If you stay on the straight and narrow, you have nothing to worry about." She had a gentle nature, one that felt oddly familiar. Something stirred within—an unfamiliar sensation he couldn't quite identify.

"I see." Was all he managed to say. Then he changed the subject, as social interaction was his strong suit.

"So, you are the Dr. Tyler, this years Noble Price winner. The only winner who has not attended the ceremony. You created quite an outrage and I thought you were — a... a ma..." His usual habit of telling people what to think or do worked about as well as running a V12 engine without oil, not that they made those anymore.

"You thought I was a man. How sexist of you." More awkwardness. "The reason why I didn't accept the Nobel Prize, was because all of this." She waved her arm in a sarcastic display of the base. As the cool wind gusted past them, her hair blew into her face, stunning in a strange way she was. She would look breathtaking, if he could only fix all her flaws.

"With several world-ending mentors heading our way, and your subject of conversation is my Noble Prize? Maybe I picked the wrong candidate after all." Sometimes he struggled to grasp human emotion; logically, his question made sense, but she was clearly displeased. Odd.

Pick the wrong candidate? Who else would they pick? He was the best. Morgan Tyler— did sound like a man. They would not send him home. That was simply a scare tactic. He wouldn't fall for it.

After a bit of walking, Dr. Morgan dutifully continued. "This will be your home for the next few months. I'll be giving you the grand tour, which includes our colonizing ship, The Arca." As they walked around the base he saw very few things of interest. "Where will I be staying?" Theo asked.

"For now, with the other Geneticist." With that statement, he had to keep his cool. He would not get his own room? Maybe they would do him the service of spacing him. So, he could end this misery.

Unfortunately, they had to interrupt their orientation, as she was called in for an emergency meeting. 'We will continue this tomorrow,' she said and left.

Several days later, he still sat in a lab, not knowing anything about his whereabouts. Alone and bored out of his mind. Harshly and permanently demoted to a lowly scientist. He had been given clear instructions about his news tasks. Anyone could do this, he thought, even a nurse could handle such mind numbing tasks as measuring out nano-bot serum injections. He needed to do something about that.

"No matter how grim the situation. Find something you can enjoy about it or it will drive you mad." He knew exactly how he would get some enjoyment in this so, called new life. He had become a glorified nurse. Some of the colonized had been picked for their excellent DNA structure, volunteered to be experimented on to further his research. At least he could enjoy that. Others had been picked because of their expertise, as engineers or master-plumbers or other profession needed to rebuild a civilization, every strata of society was needed.

However his enhancements never evolved in a young body. That's why they were administered to fully grown humans. The needed to come of age and mature first, anyone below the age of 18 would not be administered any enhancements, it took tremendous energy for the body to do what he had done. A glorified nurse. Wonderful.

Was this the reward for alleviating humanity's suffering? Curing every known disease possible. Dying in space as a lab rat? Even the excitement of space travel had been blunted by his many travels to exotic Martian resorts.

Surrounded by fools and drowning in mind-numbing calculations. "One vile here, one vile there." He hummed to himself. Then a sudden crack and he saw his hand bleeding.