“You’re my brother?” Creed’s dark-blue eyes were beginning to tear up.
Margo spoke over the room, “Now, we have no idea how this happened. All we can tell for sure is that Alik and Creed have the same biological father.”
Evan’s eyes were wide with surprise. “This is one heck of a way to prove your ability, Meggie!”
59 Perficio Res
Something was going on.
Though silence had been ordered across the Facility, every meta knew something was wrong.
Even the veteran metas—the instructors—had never known the entire campus to be on lock down before. Sure, they’d all had drills in the past. They practiced fire and disaster drills. They had even practiced how to assemble in case of immediate mobilization. But they had never been ordered to lock down “until further notice.”
Being creatures of habit, the cadets were anxious to get back to their routine—whatever it was they were doing when the first announcement was made over the campus-wide intercom.
The voice identified itself as Dr. Williams, though it didn’t sound at all like the doctor. Everyone listening to the bizarre announcement just assumed the voice was distorted because of the intercom system. The entire campus was ordered back to their barracks, immediately and without exception until further notice.
The cadets obeyed, of course, and dropped what they were doing. That was three hours, seven minutes ago. Now they looked out the windows of their barracks in restless hopes of seeing something that would explain what was going on. They murmured to each other possible scenarios that may have brought this on. Some metas couldn’t hold still and found ways to entertain themselves by doing as much physical exercise as possible within the confines of their crowded quarters. Others just sat at the edge of their bunks sharpening or cleaning their weapons of choice.
The crackle of the intercom broke the anxious silence across the campus. The voice that began speaking again identified itself as Dr. Williams, but this time everyone knew something was very different. And it wasn’t just his deeper, raspier voice; his behavior and word choice was different, too. But they were soldiers taught to obey their superior officers without question, so they stood at attention and listened.
“Metas, it is with great pride that I speak with you on this momentous day. All your diligence, your training, your expertise; all your loyalty and dedication to physical and intellectual perfection, everything you have worked so tirelessly for is to be called upon now, in our hour of need.
“Yes, my meta children, we are in grave danger as there are those outside these walls who hate us and want to exterminate us. Though I have known of this—terrorist cell for years, I had hoped I could change their thinking.
“But alas, no. Despite years of earnest due diligence, patience and forgiveness of transgressions, it was made abundantly clear today that our love of mind, body, spirit and earth is now threatened.
“This terrorist cell that means us harm is mounting their forces even now. They’re building an army, but they are going to fail in their attempts to cause us harm because they have evil in their hearts. They hate you for your perfection. They believe metas are freaks—born of a lab—with no heart or soul. They blame their self-loathing on you. So they have convinced themselves to ease their suffering, to balance the scales, mass meta-cide is the answer.
“Do not fear, my children. I have foreseen their sinful stratagem and have prepared for it. If there is a battle they want, then it is a battle they will get. The first platoon of metas leaves at oh-eight-hundred tomorrow. Tonight there will be a preflight meeting. If your name is called, you are to be proud; you are my ‘Perficio Res’—my ‘perfect beings’ ready to fight the oppression come to hunt us.
“I began moments ago by telling you how proud of you I am, but ‘pride’ doesn’t even come close to explaining my devotion to you, to all of us and to our way of life. We have created what the human species has not: a perfect, orderly, powerful civilization of superior beings.
“We have never before had to demonstrate our power to the outsiders, but they leave us no choice. We will be teaching them a lesson they will never forget!” Dr. Williams’ voice resounded triumphantly off the concrete walls of the barracks.