RESURGENCE

CHAPTER 31

7 P.M.

June 16, 2034

Stuart, Michelle, and Nick sat at a table in the corner of the cafeteria of the Ellington Military Base. Stuart had finished eating a hamburger and was munching on the fries, while Nick was quickly devouring a pound cake for dessert.

“Are you sure you don’t want to eat anything?” asked Nick.

“I’m not hungry,” said Michelle. “I might have a glass of wine, though.”

“I’ll get one for you,” said Nick and stood up to leave the table.

“Red please, Pinot Noir if possible,” said Michelle.

“OK,” said Nick as he left.

Michelle looked at Stuart to find him staring away in the distance, lost in his own world, deep in thought.

“I feel horrible,” she said. “I opened up the gates to hell and thousands of people are dying because of me.”

“It’s not your fault,” said Stuart. “It was an accident. We’ll fix it.”

“If anything were to happen to you or Nick,” she said. “I won’t be able to live with myself.”

“There’s a certain amount of risk involved but, apart from that, everything is going to be fine. Don’t worry about it.”

“I’m worried,” she said. “The serum is going to change your DNA. I don’t know what will become of you. Don’t use the Gene Serum. You don’t even know what side effects are.”

“The worst side effect could be anal leakage,” said Stuart with a raised eyebrow and a twisted smile.

Michelle didn’t laugh.

“Stop kidding! It’s your life you’re playing with.”

“It won’t kill us, I’m sure of that. Even if I somehow die, now that we can resurrect the dead, I’m not afraid to peek to the other side for a few minutes.”

“What if you die and go to hell?” asked Michelle.

Stuart recoiled in his chair as he was caught off guard by her question. “I won’t say I’m not afraid of hell,” he said. “But what if hell doesn’t exist. What if Paula’s experience was just an afterlife dream? I don’t know enough about the afterlife to be afraid of it. I want to research it. It’ll definitely be my next project. Right now, going inside that zone and fixing the machine is the most important thing, and the Gene Restructuring Serum is going to help us stay focused, rather than madness taking over us.”

“Stop fooling yourself,” she said. “We’re not going in there to fix a broken machine. We’re going in to close the portal to hell. Deep down, you know it, but your ego is not going to let you believe the truth. If you want to take the damn serum, go ahead, but I’m not taking it. It’s untested. The last time I tried working something that wasn’t tested, I opened up the portal to hell.”

“Ok then, don’t take it. I’m sure the doctor has come up with a drug that will work just fine.”

“You’re using this crisis to justify testing an unknown technology on your own self. You’re obsessed with it. You’ve always been obsessed with it.”

I’ve never liked you when you try to play shrink with me, he thought as a faint smile danced on his lips. “I supervised the human trials of the serum for the last two years. It’s safe and it works.”

“I’m sure it works. You’re a fucking genius. The whole world knows it. Must you prove it to yourself, again and again.”

“It’s not about that, it’s about my dream.”

“What is your dream?”

“My dream of creating the perfect human DNA. I believe God created Adam and Eve to perfection. Over the ages, the human DNA became imperfect due to disease, evolution, and incest. I’ve strived hard to perfect the human DNA, and soon it’ll yield results.”

“Since when did you start believing in Adam and Eve? You’re a scientist. What about evolution? And Darwin?”

“I don’t believe in Adam and Eve. I only believe in the quest for knowledge. Eastern monks perfect their beings through practice and meditation to achieve divine knowledge. I decided to do the same, but through science—by perfecting the human DNA. Years ago, when I read about God speaking with Adam and Eve in the holy scriptures, I had a revelation that a human with the perfect DNA might be able to talk with....”

“Are you high?” she asked as she cut him off in mid-sentence.

“I’m not.

“I can never tell if you’re joking or not,” she said.

“I’m not.”

Nick returned with a bottle of red wine and three glasses. 

“I thought I’ll have one as well. I sleep better after a drink,” said Nick as he poured two glasses of wine. He looked at the empty third glass and asked Stuart, “Would you like one?”

“Sure.”

As they sipped wine in silence, a cool night breeze from the north blew in from the cafeteria windows. Outside, the doctor attended to the people still recovering from their experience inside the zone. The general went around and heard the stories of the survivors that were rescued by the bots. The stories made his bones go numb. Later that night, Michelle administered the Gene Restructuring Serum to Stuart and Nick. The sedative in the serum put them both to sleep instantly. Michelle slept in patches that night.