Chapter 97: The Dawn of an Era
Jason Bramley was charged and sentenced to life in prison. Rezif Company bought Bramley Company at a discount.
Rezif and Carvaress Companies worked together to develop a genetic solution for their Linap-Sape hybrid. In just under a year, they came up with a viable hybrid combination. They incubated the hybrids in the wombs of their chosen Sape. Eight months later, the first hybrids were born. This hybrid species was officially called Sapiens.
Rezif Company created a second hybrid species. This species only took several months to gestate, and they matured into adults within a few years. This species was incredibly strong but also docile. They had only sufficient intelligence to do manual work. They were sent to the no-go zones to harvest vegetation. This hybrid species was officially called Sapiods.
Five years passed, and all the Sapien children grew strong and healthy. The number of Linap had continued to decline, but Maskameera’s plan of consolidating the remaining Linap appeared to be working. Activity within the cities had increased. There were sufficient Linap to care for the Sapiens. Despite the suffering and illness, there was a sense of harmony that had long been missing.
Marlon had organised a special party on his estate for both the Sapien children and the Linap children. He had invited his old friend Waldo to perform his show live for them. All the children loved Waldo. They played his old shows every day at the facility where the Sapiens lived.
Marlon had married and now had a four-year-old daughter, Evangeline, and a two-year-old son, Hector. His daughter needed a wheelchair, and his son required various types of medication, but he was quite strong.
Several of Marlon’s friends, which included Jeff and Reveileb, were invited to the party. Both Jeff and Reveileb were in good health. They were both still governors.
Jeff and Reveileb approached Marlon, who was pushing Evangeline’s wheelchair.
‘Are you excited about the party?’ Jeff asked Evangeline.
‘I want to see Waldo,’ she replied shyly.
‘I think we all have that in common,’ replied Jeff as he looked over at the Sapien children waving their Waldo balloons.
‘I don’t know how he does it, but he does,’ remarked Marlon as he continued to push the wheelchair towards the large group of children.
Maia, Marlon’s wife, joined Marlon and Jeff. She was carrying Hector. They continued walking until they reached a spot on the grass where Evangeline had a clear view of the stage.
‘The first time in a long time, I’m filled with hope,’ said Jeff as a tear rolled down his cheek.
‘We still have a long way to go,’ said Marlon as he looked over at the Sapien and Linap children playing together. ‘If we can help them be better than us, there will be a future for Sapia.’
The children began chanting, ‘We want Waldo! We want Waldo!’
‘Could the big lug have stage fright?’ asked Marlon.
‘Waldo, not a chance,’ said Jeff with a smile.
A few seconds later, Waldo’s music hit. He appeared on stage riding a small unicycle. He was wearing a giant hat and massive puffy clothes. He rolled backwards and forwards for a few moments on the unicycle before falling off and landing on his face.
The children erupted in laughter.
Waldo slowly got back up on his feet. He did a silly dance until the music stopped.
The children began chanting, ‘All of us love Waldo…. All of us love… Waldo!’
‘Hey children, would you like to meet my friends?’ shouted Waldo as he walked across the stage with giant strides.
The children cheered in excitement.
Waldo pulled out two very old-looking sock puppets from his pockets. He began his very bad ventriloquist act, but the children, both Linap and Sapien, loved it.
‘This energy is amazing!’ said Jeff as he looked across at Marlon and Maia.
‘Speaking of energy,’ said Marlon. ‘The Alset family left us with one final gift.’
‘Whatever it is, it can’t match this,’ replied Jeff.
‘When searching through their files, I found designs for a generator that pulls energy from the atmosphere,’ said Marlon loudly and enthusiastically. ‘I think I can build it and honour them as well.’
‘Please, darling, no business talk today,’ said Maia as she touched Marlon’s arm. ‘Let’s enjoy this rare moment of happiness.
‘Of course,’ replied Marlon as he kissed his wife on the cheek.
‘All of us love Waldo!’ shouted Hector.
Reveileb, who had just arrived, joined Jeff, Marlon, and his family.
All of them began chanting, ‘All of us love Waldo!’
Waldo looked over to them. His bushy hair stood up as he smiled broadly.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, Maskameera met August in the basement of one of his buildings.
‘I fear you have descended into madness,’ remarked Maskameera as she walked down the basement steps towards August, who was waiting at the bottom of them for her.
‘I understand how you feel,’ said August calmly. ‘Don’t worry, there is method to my madness. I have a little secret I’d like to share with you.’
‘Don’t tell me you have a secret stash of Pound Ball collectibles,’ said Maskameera as she looked up at a huge photograph of the Scarecrows championship team.
‘This’ll be something you like,’ said August as he pushed some boxes aside to reveal a hidden door.
He opened the door. There was a ladder built into the wall below.
‘Ladies first,’ said August as he gestured towards the ladder.
Maskameera angrily stared at August as she made her way down the ladder. The ladder led into a tunnel. Once she reached the bottom, the lights went on. August followed her down.
‘What is this all about?’ demanded Maskameera.
‘This tunnel leads to my secret personal laboratory under the Economic Institute,’ said August as he grinned.
‘I’m more of a strategist than a scientist,’ remarked Maskameera as she followed August down the tunnel.
After walking for around ten minutes, they reached a door. August opened the door.
‘Here we are,’ said August as he turned the lights on.
‘That’s lovely,’ remarked Maskameera sarcastically. ‘What does this have to do with me?’
‘Everything!’ he exclaimed as he pointed at a large glass freezer containing two large eggs.
‘What laid these?’ asked Maskameera, sounding shocked.
‘These are Sentray eggs,’ replied August. ‘We found them frozen in the North when we were searching for herbs for our treatments.’
‘How is this possible?’ asked Maskameera.
‘These were frozen long before the Sentray were poisoned,’ replied August.
‘That’s an incredible find, but why would it interest me?’ asked Maskameera.
‘These eggs hold the secret to immortality,’ said August. ‘We found four eggs. I let one hatch. I panicked and tried to kill it, but it just would not die. I finally stopped it by blowing its head off.’
‘It’s hard to kill; that doesn’t make it immortal,’ said Maskameera, shaking her head. ‘Besides, they all died out. Another indication they are not immortal.’
‘Their genetics hold special healing powers,’ said August. ‘That’s a huge benefit to us. My problem was I didn’t know how to transfer those genetics from them to us.’
Maskameera sighed and rolled her eyes.
‘That is until my partnership with Marlon,’ said August energetically. ‘He’s truly a genius.’
‘Now take a look at this,’ said August as he walked over to a large cage covered by an enormous sheet.
He pulled the sheet off, revealing some sort of large creature.
‘What the hell is that?’ asked Maskameera, sounding shocked.
‘I call him Sapiod X,’ said August, sounding proud.
‘He’s twice as big and twice as ugly as any Sapiod I’ve ever seen,’ remarked Maskameera with a disgusted look on her face.
‘I put the Sentray genetics into him, and it worked,’ said August. ‘I’ve made him immortal. He’s growing so big because he’s young. It wouldn’t have the same effect on us.’
‘You have well and truly gone mad,’ said Maskameera as she turned to leave the laboratory.
‘Wouldn’t you want to live forever?’ called out August. ‘The way things are going, you could die next year of some horrible disease.’
Maskameera turned around. She gazed at August for a few seconds.
‘Let me test out this so-called immortality,’ said Maskameera.
‘No problem,’ replied August as he walked over to a cupboard. He opened it and pulled out a shotgun. ‘Fire away,’ he added as he handed the shotgun to Maskameera.
Maskameera aimed at Sapiod X and then shot him in the head. Sapiod X fell to the ground.
‘See, not immortal,’ remarked Maskameera. ‘May I leave now?’
‘Wait,’ shouted August as he raised his hand.
They both stared at each other for a few moments. Then Sapiod X began to move. He pulled himself up to his feet. A chunk of his face had been blown off.
Maskameera stared at him. Before her eyes, she could see his face begin to heal.
‘How is this possible?’ asked Maskameera.
‘I believe the healing power in the Sentray genetics is most powerful prior to hatching,’ remarked August. ‘Once hatched, the healing power degenerates. Hence, why I could kill the hatched one. This continues until they fully mature. At this point, they have some vulnerabilities, but they are still incredibly hardy. It states in scripture that a Sentray could live a thousand years.
Maskameera frowned as she tried to absorb what August had just told her.
‘The healing power will barely degenerate in us because we’re adults and not growing,’ said August as his smile broadened. ‘Hence, why I believe we will be immortal.’
Maskameera continued to frown. She was still unsure about what August was claiming.
‘Look at these videos,’ said August as he pointed to a computer screen on a side counter. I’ve made them over the past few weeks.’
August played several recordings of him shooting, burning, and throwing acid on Sapiod X. Each time he recovered.
‘That’s amazing! You’re amazing!’ said Maskameera as she looked at August in admiration.
‘I ask again, do you want to live forever?’ asked August.
‘Of course, but I don’t want to look like a freak,’ replied Maskameera.
‘It won’t matter; you can shapeshift,’ replied August. ‘If you’re going to live forever, you won’t be able to look like this for much longer. The Sapiens will come after you.’
‘You know how exhausting it is to hold another form for any length of time,’ replied Maskameera, shaking her head.
‘Your new genes will make you stronger,’ said August as he grinned. ‘I also have a little something courtesy of Spiro.’
August opened a drawer in the side counter. He pulled out a pill-shaped chip.
‘With this implanted in your body, holding a form will be seamless,’ said August. ‘You will be able to sleep in another form. Even in death, you will hold your desired form. Of course, if you agree to this procedure, that will never happen.’
‘Who else knows about the eggs and this procedure?’ enquired Maskameera.
‘Just you and Octavius,’ replied August. ‘Jason knows about the eggs but not what we can do with them. Octavius is in, and as you know, Jason is out of the picture. One egg can only produce three concentrated serums. We’ll have only one egg left. The serum is too dense to replicate with our current technology.’
‘You called him Sapiod X,’ commented Maskameera sternly. ‘Does that mean you failed twenty-three times before him?’
‘Hahaha,’ laughed August. ‘It’s perfectly safe. I’m going to do this to myself. If it makes you feel better, we can give Octavius the honour of going first.’
Maskameera began to chuckle, and Sapiod X, who had now fully healed, nodded his head up and down emphatically.
A few days later, Reveileb was back in the West District. He went down to the basement of the temple. He stared at the stone slab that covered the entrance to the hidden tunnels.
‘Demadrian, my old friend, we have turned a corner in our history,’ said Reveileb softly to the stone slab. ‘I’m afraid your return could put all that in danger. I’m truly sorry.’
Reveileb poured cement over the stone slab. He continued adding cement until the back section of the basement was covered. He then placed shelves on top of them.
Reveileb looked at the maps Demadrian had given him. One map contained the locations of the chambers and the various access points to the tunnels; Reveileb took that map. He spent the next few months secretly travelling around the country, sealing them all up. When he was done, he destroyed the map.
Sapien Loop: End of an Era
Sapien Loop: Frozen in Time is the sequel to the book Sapien Loop: End of an Era. Sapien Loop: End of an Era is available on Amazon, in collection series on my @spectrumecons account, and in individual chapters in my @captainhive account.
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