12
“Now we’re getting somewhere,” Drekker said, wearing a greedy smile as he finally lowered the gun. “Show me.”
Ethan clenched his teeth. “Goddamn you, Drekker.” Shaking his head, he turned to Davey with a look of utter remorse. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “You were never meant to find out in this way.”
“I-I don’t understand,” Davey stammered. Her mind was struggling to find a path through the shock and confusion she was feeling. What Ethan said made absolutely no sense. True, she had never known her real father, but there was no way a woman like Tina Little had conceived the child of a brilliant scientist who had supposedly died years before Davey was actually born.
“Tick tock, Ethan.” Drekker moved next to the master console and made a show of noisily dragging the barrel of the revolver along the metal surface. “Prove your claim before our wealthy overlords arrive and spoil the dance.”
“We don’t have time for this.”
Drekker banged the butt of the gun against the table, ringing metal against metal. “Show me,” he demanded.
Ethan’s expression was murderous as he strode to the console with stilted movements and slammed his hand against the data drive. His glower never left Drekker. Briefly, the computer monitor went dark, and then transitioned to footage of a grainy video. The time stamp was dated forty years earlier.
Davey swallowed. Nothing about this can be good.
A man wearing a white lab coat and who could have been no older than thirty-five walked on camera. His hair was dirty blonde. His big and kind brown eyes had a certain familiarity to them that Davey couldn’t quite put her finger on…or maybe she just wasn’t ready to believe.
“My name is Dr. David Savage.” The man began speaking, looking directly into the camera. “After many, many trials, the human transmutation has finally succeeded—even beyond my expectations.” Smiling broadly, Dr. Savage adjusted the camera angle to the left. And there was Ethan, looking exactly as he did now. He sat in a chair, spine straight, gaze forward and unblinking. He was eerily motionless—as still as a statue—as if awaiting orders.
Dr. Savage moved the camera back to film himself as he began speaking once more. “Even though I was forced to split his soul, Seth Eleazar was able to assume control of the automaton. He’s still adjusting. At first, it was difficult for him…learning of his death and accepting he is no longer truly human. I spent many months working with Seth, helping him to accept who—what—he is now. Physically, he was and is every bit the weapon I was tasked to create. But mentally, he was not ready to embrace his true purpose.” Dr. Savage’s features grew softer with affection. “I found hope in the most unlikely ally. Come here, monkey.”
“Hi, Daddy,” the child’s voice called out just before a little girl appeared. She couldn’t have been more than five years of age. “Hi, Seth!” the little girl said as she turned and waved enthusiastically at the Ethan in her time.
“Hello, Davey.” The camera moved as he answered. A smile had transformed his robotic countenance, melding him into something more human as he stared fondly at the little girl.
“Daddy, can I play with Seth now?”
Dr. Savage gathered the girl into his arms. “In a minute, monkey. Seth and I have to do some work first.”
“Why?”
“Because the world is a dangerous place, and I need to make sure you and your brother will always be safe.”
The little girl blinked, clearly not understanding. “Daddy, I don’t have a brother.”
Dr. Savage patted his daughter’s head. “You will.” Looking down, he whispered something into her ear that the microphone did not pick up. Then he raised his eyes to the camera once more. His expression was deeply troubled. “I have seen things—unspeakable crimes committed by cruel men and unforgiveable acts committed by kind men with good intentions. Part of me believes what I have done to Eleazer’s son falls into the latter category. For that, I am truly sorry. But what I have done is to protect the future, and to protect my children.” Dr. Savage set the little girl on the floor. “Go play with Seth,” he said, ushering her forward. He didn’t speak again until she was out of earshot.
“Davey, if you are watching this, then what I feared has come to pass. I was not allowed to live and watch you grow, my life no doubt rendered less useful now that my experiments have succeeded. But if you are watching this, then it also means Seth has found you. And because of that, I know you will be safe. You can trust him, Davey. No matter what is done to him, I built fail-safes within his core programming to ensure his default is to find you and to protect you. Every time the code is attacked, it will only replicate and grow stronger.” Hearing a sound off camera, Dr. Savage turned around. “Look,” he whispered and then panned the viewfinder.
Little Davey and past Ethan became a part of the footage once more. With their pointer fingers touching, beams of light passed between them like the filaments of a plasma ball that stretched out toward a smooth glass enclosure, attracted by electrical discharges of the human body. The little girl giggled with delight as the light expanded and shrank, pulsating hypnotically.
“She isn’t aware of her gifts yet, and still, the automaton seems to act as a sort of amplifier, charging latent abilities,” Dr. Savage explained in a low voice. “If she realizes those gifts too soon, it could be disastrous. Seth,” Dr. Savage called out in a warning tone. “That’s enough.”
Nodding, past Ethan moved his hand away, terminating the connection and the enchanting light with it. Little Davey continued to laugh. “Can I show you my new doll?” she asked excitedly.
“Of course,” past Ethan answered lightly.
Dr. Savage sighed and resumed his monologue.
“Davey, I’m afraid for you. The path in front of you will only get much, much harder. However, remember that Seth will always be there to guide you through it. I’ve entrusted the safekeeping of my research to him and to you. It is a great power, and the two of you must never let it fall into the hands of those who would abuse it. One last thing,” he said. With a sad smile, he brought two of his finger to his lips and then touched the screen. “I love you, monkey.”
The feed abruptly terminated, and the basement room fell into silence. Davey felt tears run down her cheeks and quickly wiped them away. Ethan saw her, and the rage in his expression intensified.
“Outstanding,” Drekker exclaimed. His voice was hushed in awe. “You’ve convinced me, Ethan. Things are even more incredible than I thought.”
“Great,” Ethan said flatly, and pounded his fist into the side of Drekker’s head. The woman’s body crumpled. “Now you can get on the fucking table.”