Biocide, p.1
Biocide, page 1
part #2 of Adaline Series
Biocide
Denise Kawaii
© 2017 Denise Kawaii
All rights reserved. No part of this text may be reproduced without expressed permission from the author. Any requests for use beyond comment and review may be directed to www.KawaiiTimes.com
Biocide; Book Two
First edition: April 2017
Edited by Ava Roberts, www.avaedits.com
For Sir Robert.
Table of Contents
Biocide
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 31
CHAPTER 32
CHAPTER 33
CHAPTER 34
CHAPTER 35
CHAPTER 36
CHAPTER 37
CHAPTER 38
CHAPTER 39
CHAPTER 40
CHAPTER 41
CHAPTER 42
CHAPTER 43
CHAPTER 44
CHAPTER 45
CHAPTER 46
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Before I thank anyone individually, I would like to thank every person who ever read Adaline (book one of this series) and asked me if there would be more books. You always seem to pop into my life at the exact moment when I question whether or not I should keep writing. I may never have completed Biocide without your prodding.
Additionally, I am thankful for Sarah for encouraging me through writer's block. Elise for being around through the highs and lows. To Kendra for scattered coffee dates and knowing what it's like to be exhausted and productive at the same time. Thank you to Mom for being supportive of all of my writing, especially the things that she doesn't want to read. Thanks to Ava and Randall for support and comedic relief while we all live the dream.
And to Keith, for plowing through life with me one sentence at a time.
“Despite its moral implications, I've begun to consider Biocide as an option. A method which would be used to exterminate biologically inferior subjects, leaving more resources for the better specimens. We must systematically purify our legions if we hope to survive."
- Father's Journal Entry
CHAPTER 1
The Career Aptitude Testing center was buzzing with a new kind of energy. Boy 1124562, called 62 by his friends, had developed enough to do more than just learn from lectures and diagrams. He, and the hundreds of other Boys animated in his batch, were being moved to a new compound. They were being promoted to the Training and Skills Kinesiology center.
It had been nearly 250 cycles since 62 had embraced his anomaly and had scared off the doctor who had tried to stop his ability to dream. 62 stretched his arms out in satisfaction as he woke from his most recent session with his imagination. It wasn't much of a stretch; elbows bent and knees locked within the narrow walls of his cube. But it felt good to move. He smiled up at the ceiling as he thought back on the dream he'd just had and shook his head. Although he knew dreams were an anomaly, he didn't know how his brothers survived the monotony of C.A.T. without them.
62 picked up his breakfast tablet and downed it with two gulps of the thick drink from the tube on the wall. He was just as excited as the rest of his pod about the promise of new surroundings, even if he'd be leaving his closest brother behind. Man 2871 was the one who had helped him understand the gift of dreams. Without his help, 62 might have disappeared in a foggy cloud of discipline long ago.
A shiver ran down 62's spine. Whether it was from the anticipation of his upcoming transfer, or the fear of the sleep fog that the Nurses used to subdue bad Boys, he couldn't tell.
62's thoughts were interrupted by a pair of flashing eyes peering through the grating of his cube door. “You've been a very good Boy, 112456. Welcome to cycle 3,896. Please make your way to the Dressing Hall and prepare for class.”
As the Nurse pulled away from the door, it unhooked from his data port and its eyes dimmed slightly. It was easy to tell when the Nurses were watching a Boy closely. Their eyes flashed in sharp bursts of color as they processed incoming information and calculated a response. The data passing through their processors burst with sparks of intelligence that made them seem alive and powerful. But when they weren't connected to a data port or streaming information through the feel of a Boy's skin, they were nothing more than a hive of mindless Machines.
62 exited the cube and traveled shoulder to shoulder with the other Boys of his pod toward the giant Dressing Hall. Just like they had every day since they came to C.A.T., they would shower, change clothes and head to the classrooms. When 62 and his brothers first arrived in C.A.T., there had been a lot more room to move around. The area had never been spacious, but after so many cycles together, the Boys’ growth was apparent. All of the empty spaces had been filled with identically boney elbows, lengthened feet, and widening shoulders.
The throng of Boys passed by the Nurses, Shower Aides, Transportation Aides and other Machines without giving them much thought. 62 stood in his shower for only a brief moment while the cool liquid infused with microscopic nanobots cleaned his skin and repaired any nicks or scratches. Just as a hundred other Boys before him, he shook his chilled body once the faucet stopped spraying. The cold lasted only a moment before the Shower Aide blew warm air over his skin to dry whatever liquid remained. His shower complete, he moved forward in the line to put on fresh clothes.
62 didn't pay much attention to anything around him until he entered the small classroom that he'd been assigned to upon his arrival to C.A.T. Aside from his dreams, where he discovered almost anything was possible, the classroom was where he felt the most alive. He made his way to the back of the room, the hover chair bobbing slightly beneath him as he dropped into his seat. Tones rang through speakers hidden behind smooth white walls and just as the door was about to slide shut, Man 2871 appeared.
71 had a few more wrinkles around his eyes, and slightly less hair around his gleaming head, than he had on 62's first day of class. The teacher maintained the same flourish as that first day though. His arms waved and his beard wagged as he greeted his students.
“Good cycle, brothers. Welcome to the beginning of the end.” 71 winked, a facial expression that 62 and most of the other Boys had still failed to master.
“Good cycle.” All nineteen of the Boys echoed back.
“This cycle, we will begin reviewing your basic knowledge of Adaline in preparation for your transfer. Before we begin, does anyone have any questions?” Two wild eyebrows crept up 71's forehead. His crisp brown eyes darted around the room before settling on the tablet in front of him, waiting for the flashing buttons to appear as questions were formed.
It only took a second before 71's tablet was aglow with a dozen blinking lights. He tapped his finger on the device. “56, your question please?”
“What is the Training and Skills Kinesiology center? I thought after C.A.T. we'd be assigned straight into our careers.” 56 sat up straight, his hands folded neatly in his lap. There was not a single crease in his tunic, and his brown hair laid perfectly across his forehead. He'd been telling his brothers that he was sure he'd be assigned a career in Defense.
“In C.A.T. our innate knowledge is tested. We learn about the Community in terms of theory and hypothetical conditions. Your tests have been tracked throughout your time here, and by now the Community has a good idea of which career you'll be placed in.” 71 swiped his hand along the screen of his tablet, throwing an image onto the wall behind him.
The picture was of two Boys standing across from one another in a large circle. Each Boy leaned back on his heel, fists raised in front of him. Although the two Boys appeared identical, the one on the left seemed to be enjoying himself more than the one on the right. 62 had seen those expressions before. Back when the doctor from Level 2 had discovered 62's ability to dream, he forced all of the Boys to be checked for anomalies. The stress of constant surveillance took its toll on everyone. As tensions grew, fights had broken out amongst the Boys. There wasn't always a decisive winner or loser, but sometimes one Boy was so comfortable with the fight that his opponent looked at him with the terror of inevitable defeat.
A bubble of guilt grew in 62's gut when he thought about the doctor from Level 2. It had been risky, but with help from 71 he'd been able to get into the doctor's dreams. By showing the deranged Man his own nightmares, 62 had convinced him to leave C.A.T. alone. The plan had worked, but 62 injured the doctor in the process and caused the Man to be taken away for a treatment that he may not have survived.
“... and so because you haven't put any of these theories into practice, you will now be tested practically. The Head Machine must know what physical attributes you possess before it will make a final assignment for you. Intelligence will do you well in any of the careers, absolutely. But if you have both intelligence and innate physical strength? Well then, you're goi ng to grow up to be the kind of Man we all want to lead us into the future.”
“So, we're basically just going to find out if we're good for Defense or not?” An overconfident smile crept along the corners of 56's mouth.
“Oh no, much more than that. The Men who toil to maintain Adaline also need incredible strength.”
A voice carried through the class from some Boy not waiting for his turn. “You mean, you have to be strong to dust things?” A rolling wave of giggles erupted.
“Now, now.” 71 patted the air in front of him to hush the room. “Every career in Adaline is important. If we all worked in Defense, we'd probably have to stand all the time because there would be no one to repair the hover chairs when they malfunctioned. If we were all brilliant enough to be employed in Education as I am, then... well, I suppose that would be perfection. Who wouldn't want to be me?”
Laughter erupted throughout the room, this time without smirks hidden behind hands. 62 laughed, too. Most of his brothers had a good idea of where they would be placed based on the testing and awards they had received in C.A.T. 62 was the only Boy in his classroom that had scored almost evenly and won a variety of awards in each of the career types. Although he didn't know what the future held, 62 secretly hoped to become a teacher just like 71.
“94, what was your question?” 71 boomed over the laughter, and the noise quieted to a whisper.
“What is Kinesiology?”
“A fantastic question!” 71 swiped through several screens on his tablet before finding a diagram and pushing it up onto the wall. The image was of a nearly naked Man with cables and data receivers connected all over his body. The Man appeared to be running in place while a doctor typed data into a Machine nearby.
“Kinesiology is a study in how our bodies move. It takes into account our skeletal, muscular and neurological structures and deciphers which type of movement best suits our bodies. It's quite a fascinating area of study.” 71 stared at the photo with awe equal to that of his students.
“But aren't we all the same?” 94 looked around at the Boys seated on either side of him.
“As always, that answer is both absolutely, and not quite.” 71 flicked his wrist and the image of the two Boys about to fight with each other reappeared. “Although we are virtually the same, there are small differences in the way we move. One Boy might be slightly faster than another. One Man may have more clumsiness than his neighbor. Although their strengths may be strikingly similar, they are not exactly the same.”
The class of cloned Boys looked skeptically at their teacher. As if on cue to suspend their eager curiosity, the tones for the end of class rang out. Several of the Boys burst out of their seats and rushed the door. The rest remained behind, slowly shutting off their tablets and putting them away neatly.
“A shining example!” 71 shouted above the din. “Notice how each one of you moves at your own pace. Some are fast, some are slow, even though you all eventually get to where you're going. Observe how you move! Ah, 75, see how you bumped into the desk there? Oh, and dropped your tablet? Fantastic!”
62 shook his head, amused by the teacher's commentary. He joined his brothers as they poured out into the hallway, lost in thought as the crowd pushed him back toward his cube.
CHAPTER 2
“Chobham.”
62 was flying through the air when the passcode entered his dream. 71's voice rang in his ears, amplified by his imagination. 62 drifted down to a lush green knoll. Long trailing fingers of poa pratensis tickled his bare feet. He concentrated on the pinhole of light on the far edge of his consciousness and pulled it toward him. The shining speck grew until it was the size of a door. 62 smiled as the familiar face of his teacher shone through.
“Hello.” 62 snapped his fingers and two hover chairs drifted into existence.
“Mind if I join you?” 71 hesitated for a moment before pushing through the glowing doorway. The light faltered for a moment when 71 was halfway through. The Man gasped and pushed with all his might against the tension of 62's consciousness, almost falling over in the process.
62 reached out to steady the Man. “Are you okay?”
71 gave a curt nod. “It's just never been the same since the accident. I question the connection every time. Even though I know you'll let me in, I'm still afraid that the dream is going to sever.”
Both Man and Boy glanced at 71's arm, remembering the angry gash that once broke his pale skin. During C.A.T's lockdown, 71 had tried to share a dream with the wrong person. The Man had severed his dream's connection so quickly that his consciousness lacerated his forearm. The injury was repaired by Nurses long ago, but a deep scar that couldn't be mended remained in 71's mind.
“It's good to see you.” 62 sat in his hover chair and gazed off into the distance. There was not a Machine in sight.
“I'm sorry my visits are so infrequent.” 71 tugged the sleeve of his tunic down to his wrist, covering the scar that was no longer there. A silence hung in the air for a few awkward moments.
“What's it like?” 62 asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
71 looked up from his arm. “What's what like?”
“The Training and Skills Kinesiology center.” 62 put his elbows on his knees and rested his chin in the palm of his hands. “I know we talked about it in class, but what's it really like?”
71 rolled his eyes. “So you are looking forward to going, after all?”
62 tried to wipe the dreamy excitement from his face. He forced a frown. “Of course not. I mean, you're not going to be there and that'll make it awful.”
“It's okay to be excited. I think it looks something like this.” 71 closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment. The blue ceiling high above them began to fade, and walls appeared on the horizon. The whole area around them shrank.
62 found himself seated at a desk nearly identical to the one he sat in each day. The room was slightly larger than his classroom though, with two lines of Men standing along opposing walls. A Boy who looked a bit older than 62 stood at the front of the class.
“Welcome to the Career Aptitude something something.” The Boy waved his hand dismissively. It was the same action that 71 had done in class a thousand times. “Today we are going to discuss why you have to do these tests. Basically, there are no right answers so just go ahead and do whatever you want. The Machines will sort it out later.”
The Boy crossed his arms and lifted his chin, exactly the way 71 always did. 62 looked sideways at 71 and grinned. “Is that you?”
“No talking in class!” the Boy directing the lecture and 71 shouted in unison. 62 laughed.
“Seriously, where are your manners?” 71 grunted and folded his arms. He lifted his chin, untucking his beard. He pretended to be annoyed for a minute, but then a smile crept along the folds of his face. “I'm wrong, this memory isn't from T.A.S.K. It's from after, when I began my education training. This was my first test class.”
