Outcasts and Gods Read online

  "August!" The lone girl in their group protested. "You can't keep us here for months."

  Dr. Heath bit her bottom lip. "I do not approve of how NewGene is going about this. However, they believe that they have the legal right to take you from your foster homes. I expect it will wind up in court."

  "What is NewGene's policy on emancipation?" Jason asked. "I'll be eighteen in six weeks."

  "I will have to check on that. I know there are older children here, but they are attending University, at NewGene's expense. They may be delaying emancipation for tax or tuition advantages."

  "Who do we talk to about college?" Wolfgang asked. "I'll be graduating from high school—or I should be—in just a few weeks. I'm waiting for a letter from West Point before I make a final decision on where I'll be attending."

  Dr. Heath made notes on her pad. "I'll see about getting some answers for both of you by tomorrow."

  She glanced at her watch, and led them off to the office tower. Eventually they made it to the 'Special Training' area, an open gymnasium, with sides that rolled up or down according to the weather. Today they were all up.

  "I can see you're all impressed." Her bright blue eyes twinkled. "Here we'll be teaching you to meditate and to concentrate. We'll be teaching martial arts as that helps the focus. The first step toward harnessing your special abilities is to consciously gather power."

  She held her hands out, then open fingered, made a gesture, as if squishing something bulky in the cage of her fingers. A fire ball glowed, and the kids all shifted uneasily. "Once you can do this, we will begin to train you to use that power. Some of the things we will do involves computers and games. The gaming hall is over here."

  Wolfgang trailed thoughtfully. He could already gather power. Was it to his advantage to reveal that? Or should he try to learn without these people realizing it?

  "Please note the schedule." Dr. Gisele tapped a paper on the wall as she led them into the best game room ever.

  Chapter Two

  NewGene Experimental Facilities

  Wisconsin, North American Union

  20 June 2111

  It was frighteningly easy to fall into NewGene's schedule. It had been a month already.

  Rebeccah had spent a week testing for placement and then landed in the school's math and science track. Lots of the older kids tested completely out of high school, and were taking college classes online.

  They had all made progress with the 'magic' stuff, and they were getting to know the other groups. Harry had appointed an interim student council, with promises of an election some unspecified time in the future. Mercy, AK, and Jason represented the Yellows. Someone named Paxal Gamma seemed to be the leader of the other three color groups. He was a tall blond with the most amazing gold colored eyes. Barry and Edmund Sigma, who claimed to be brothers, Marty Beta, and Michael Omega, who looked to be one of the youngest of the group, trailed around after him. Chauncey Tabler and Richie Xi were outsiders and got along worse with each other than they did with Paxal's clique.

  Wolfgang was interesting to watch. Among the kids, he took the lead, but add in even a single adult trainer and he faded back and...watched.

  Eleven known, several hundred to go. Rebeccah sighed. She knew herself well enough to know she might recognize them all by name, but she'd never really know all of them. For me, being on speaking terms with eleven is pretty good.

  A new group of kids, three-fourths boys, from Number One Kids, a company newly taken over by NewGene, arrived. Like the NewGene children, they had been raised in a group home by their company.

  Thirty-five strong, they received bright orange uniforms. Harry announced a competition among all the color groups, and when pressed admitted that there was some genetic significance to the color groups. "Mind you, there's a lot of overlap. Of those two hundred and nineteen genes that have been engineered, you all have at least a hundred and ninety-three in common. Those last twenty-six, and which specific alleles of the other genes were used, make up the differences we're studying. Not to mention how they interact with your billions of unaltered genes. But these contests will help show where each of the various genes, and gene combinations have maximized performance, where one is better than another. There are differences in the power genes as well. We'll be measuring your energy expenditures to see if there's a functional difference."

  Jason and Wolfgang were two of the college kids. There was a computer lab in every wing, and Rebeccah quickly learned to find them there at need.

  This morning Jason slipped in to breakfast toward the end of the line, but sought her out and sat beside her.

  Wolfgang had been put in charge of teaching martial arts, rather to her surprise. Compared to Jason he was just a lanky, if rather muscular boy. But he taught yoga to relax them, tai chi for balance, and karate to get their aerobic exercise. He quickly also got permission to run in the morning, and tended to be late for breakfast. Jason and a few others were trying to keep up with him.

  "I can't believe that kid runs ten kilometers every morning." Jason poked his dry toast. "I do one lap of the short trail and that's it. One kilometer."

  Rebeccah smiled. "For all the corporate brags, maybe we're not actually all that special. Well, that way. I saw your fireball, yesterday. Very impressive."

  Jason grinned. "Harry was impressed too." He put his hand on his chest, posing theatrically.

  "When student exceeds

  teacher's expectations,

  it is well that teacher can jump."

  "Wrong syllable count for a haiku." Rebeccah informed him.

  "I'm not a good enough poet to do anything but free form. God forbid I should ever have to rhyme anything."

  Rebeccah smiled. His so-called poetry was making him popular with the older girls. Just as well they were all still locked up at night. Her eyes slid around to the other colors. Hungry male eyes still staring. Good thing they were still locked up at night. She drew invisible patterns on the table top with her fingertip, and then made them glow for a second. She had a feeling she could "collect power" as they called it, anytime she wanted to bring the teachers' concentrated attention down on her.

  Wolfgang trotted into the room, hair wet from a quick shower, yellow overalls making him look sick. He emerged from the chow line and plunked his tray down on the other side of Jason.

  "They've started putting up some new fences. They're off the barn, so I suppose cows or horses. Do they use them in experiments? I thought monkeys were the usual."

  Jason sat up eagerly. "God, I hope so. I miss horses even more than I miss dogs and cats."

  "Well, maybe you'll get your wish—although if you don't start running more you may never see them, they're fencing off away from the barn, not towards us." He shot Jason a look. "How much more instruction are you getting in magic, now that you can collect power? Is it worth letting them know I can do it?"

  Jason glared. "Just when I thought I was ahead of you in something . . . "

  "Math. English. Poetry. Girls." His grin flashed. "Plug your delicate ears, Rebeccah." He dropped his voice lower. "I heard Harry say he rather thought all the non-virgins could do things better than the virgins, and Dr. Heath wondered if it worked that way for the women as well, and blushed bright red when Harry said hadn't she ever?"

  Rebeccah was certain she was blushing bright red as well. The others around them snickered, and there was a bit of giggling and poking down beyond Wolfgang.

  AnnaKarina laughed outright. "Dream on, you babies. I'm setting my sights higher."

  Jason leaned forward and looked down the table at AK. "I don't suppose you'd consider, when the Corporate heads come touring next week, getting the CEO in a compromising position? With pictures?"

  That got another laugh. But Mercy looked a bit thoughtful, when she took her tray back to the kitchen. Rebeccah shuddered at the thought. Heck, I wouldn't be able to talk to him, let alone . . . eww!

  But she started walking a bit every morning, down to the barn and b
ack. She really ought to get acquainted with the grounds. If the time came to run like hell, it wouldn't do to head for the front gate. And wire cutters would be handy. Not that she'd ever seen any tools laying about, but you never knew . . .

  When Wolfgang demonstrated collecting power to Harry, Rebeccah did as well. Better half the teacher's attention than all of it. Her little drawings developed an unnerving habit of glowing until she deliberately wiped out her usual starting pattern, what Dad had always called logic symbols from an old book of his that she'd always liked.

  Chapter Three

  NewGene Experimental Facilities

  Wisconsin, North American Union

  14 July 2111

  She was between classes when she spotted the big black limo coming up the driveway.

  "That will be the new Director." Mercy said, she craned her neck around and waved AnnaKarina over. "Richard Forstein. Doctor Forstein. He's the one that orchestrated the mergers, that got all of us gods and goddesses together. He's the one that will know what they're going to do with us." She unsealed her blouse and folded the collar down further. Showing a bit of cleavage was the only possible improvement to the uniforms, although she and AK must have done some subtle tailoring; their figures managed to transcend the yellow fabric.

  "I'm not sure this is a good idea." AK bit her lip. "You are too young and I'm too smart."

  Mercy shot her a cool look. "Just remember that we want him to talk. Just string him along with a bit of teasing, and if he tries to go too far, just walk out."

  Rebeccah trailed along as they strolled out to where this visitor would probably exit the office tower. "He could be up there for hours, you know?"

  They didn't answer, the back doors whooshed aside and a group exited. Dr. Heath appeared to be arguing with the stranger.

  ". . . That's why they didn't have any of the litigation problems NewGene is swamped with."

  The man, Forstein, frowned at her, then turned to another man.

  Dr. Winston! She'd known him all her life, it would be so good if he transferred here.

  "How many test children did you have out there, loose in society? Don't you realize how dangerous that was?"

  Dr. Winston blinked. "Err, actually, no sir. If you are worried about random reproduction, a vas or fallopian block was performed at the age of five."

  "I'm glad to see you show some sense."

  Rebeccah stopped dead in shock. Blocked? They'd—Dr. Winston had sterilized her? Why? How dare they? Why hadn't they told her? Explained to her why it was needed? Why she should never, ever have children.

  I will never have children. I will never hold my own baby.

  Up ahead, Dr. Heath hesitated, and visibly decided to not argue the point. "The vast majority of our business is the use of standard suites of alterations to correct fifty-nine common genetic errors, singly and in combination according to several specific sub-population problems. We, of course, make them available with several standard upgrade suites. You know, intelligence, height, hair color of the parent's choice, straight teeth, strong immune systems, longevity . . ."

  "And now that’s ending too, with the new ban on engineered humans."

  "Speaking of longevity," Harry Murchison was in the group as well. "The youngest of the last test group is fourteen now. Many of them are approaching eighteen. At what point are they going to be legally emancipated."

  "They aren't." The man shook his head in disbelief. "How can you let a valuable commodity just walk away?"

  "Only the genes are valuable, and we've got those." Harry looked disturbed. "The legal status of the children is unclear, but surely by the time they reach adulthood it is quite obvious that they are simply people, and no more anyone's property than any other grown child. The original argument that they were genetically damaged and needed permanent legal custodians was only accurate for a small number of the early, poorly designed experiments."

  Forstein shook his head firmly. "They fall under the legal definition of artificial hybrid laboratory animals."

  "How can you look at these children and see animals?"

  Forstein snorted. "Valuable animals. Haven't you realized what your double Xp and Yp children are capable of?"

  Dr. Heath just looked puzzled. "Oh, I've seen the studies, but being whizzes at video games, especially using helmets, is hardly a marketable trait. Really, those test subjects, while all nice children, just aren't a marketable alteration. Good grief. Even if there was a practical use, why not simply hire them for the job."

  "It's not just video games. They can use the direct interfaces with robotic machinery much better than a normal person. Computer interfaces show that their unconscious processes can predict some of the apparently random chaotic effects that have limited some important control functions for some of our parent company's other interests. And, even more than predict. With practice they seem to control some of the effects. We need those kids, those near adults, right now."

  "Err. What exactly are you going to do with them? Or should I say, to them?"

  "They're just going to operate machinery for us. We'll be building some new test facilities here. The designs are just being completed, and construction could start in a month or so. The problems we've had with the models are exactly the sorts of thing that they seem to deal with on an instinctive, subconscious level."

  Mercy and AK had stopped and were chatting with each other.

  Rebeccah turned away and walked back to class. She'd heard more than she'd ever wanted to know. We’re just dead ends. Drones. Controllers for their machinery. Not real people with real lives. Not us.

  ***

  "AC out?" Wolfgang leaned over and looked at what the tech was doing. Or rather at the tool chest. Needle nose pliers with a cutter at the back. Not ideal, but available.

  "Just an annual cleaning and inspection," the man mumbled.

  "Ah." Wolfgang straightened, palming the pliers. Tonight he could finally get to work on the bolts. A couple of hours of freedom on the grounds would be useful. He'd been collecting things that really ought to be concealed elsewhere.

  He stopped by the dorm, and slipped into the computer lab. He slid the side of his computer back and laid the pliers inside, away from all the working parts. It would be just as well to not have that on him for the next few hours.

  He walked on to the gym. It was fun, but time consuming, teaching the other kids.

  Little Rebeccah had been crying. That was new.

  He got everyone started, warming up and stretching. He walked around stretching himself, and dropped his voice when he got near her. "You all right?"

  "I'll talk to you later." Her eyes and nose were red, but she looked angry.

  He taught the three beginners' groups and then headed for the computer lab to do his class work. Next week was midterms, everyone taking classes on line would be bussed to the University campus in Eau Clair to take the proctored tests. Surely there would be some opportunity to get to a phone and call home. Or mail a letter. Or something.

  He whipped through the class work as quickly as possible, then returned to the gym for magic practice. He gathered power and formed a shield to experiment with. Unlike the science fiction versions, his shields were of limited utility. They could stop slow massive things, or fast light objects. Or light, even lasers, or heat or cold. But not all of them, or even several of them. No matter what he tried, he couldn't make a broad spectrum shield. The broader the application, the thinner the screen, until it popped like a soap bubble at the slightest assault. So he meditated and held two at once, and then carefully tried tossing sparks without losing concentration. The yellows were creaming the competition in almost all categories, and he meant to keep that lead.

  "He loves me, he loves me not. He loves me, he loves me not."

  Wolfgang opened his eyes and blinked at AnnaKarina. She was pulling petals from a flower as she walked in. Little sparks of magic were jumping between the petals. She used words the way Rebeccah used logic symbols, and t
he results were starting to be obvious. He'd warned them to not let the teachers and managers see it.

  "Two months ago I would have laughed at you," he said. "Now I'm afraid to ask who you're thinking of while you do that. It could backfire, you know." Pity it isn't aimed at me.

  AK was a spectacularly good looking blonde. "I'm working on that new guy, the Director. Icky, but I want information. We overheard them talking this morning, and I think I'd like to kill the lot of them."

  "Oh?"

  "They aren't going to emancipate us. Ever. When we were five we were all given fallopian or vas blocks."

  Quiet footsteps. Rebeccah, crying again. "I always wanted children. Now, I can just forget all that, can't I?"

  Wolfgang sat down and stared at them, appalled. "Without asking us? Without even telling us?"

  AK nodded. "Yep. Da massa kin do whatevah he want to. There are procedures for reversal, that sometimes work. If there hasn't been too much scarring. In the mean time, I've lost all sense of guilt about flirting for information. I want those people to hurt."

  Rebeccah sniffled. "Did they notice you two?"

  "Oh yeah." AK smirked. "They kept sneaking looks. We'll hear from Da Boss. Never fear."

  "But why won't they emancipate us?" Wolfgang drummed his fingers and then stopped and tried for some deep breathing and relaxation.

  "They said there were machines we could interface with."

  "Something about controlling random stuff." Rebeccah tried to remember. "They're going to build some new test facilities here."

  Wolfgang whistled. "You know, we need to all get together and talk about this. It might be a good idea if the test facilities failed ignominiously."

  "Not explosively?" AK growled.

  "No, they'd figure that whatever we did could be harnessed somehow. I think we need an abysmal flop. Maybe we'd better plateau, let the other groups pass us in the ratings."

  They nodded thoughtfully. Rebeccah wiped her eyes. "We need to just sort of pass that around to everyone."