Sam glared at her. “No, my dear,” he said evenly. “I haven’t forgotten. My strategy takes this into account as well. But I’ve always believed that you could find a way inside your little memory prison if you were, uh . . . properly motivated.” He paused. “Well, I’m giving you plenty of motivation.”
Kira shook her head. “I set up a failsafe that I can’t fool. Can’t! If I’ve been coerced in any way to seek out the information, the failsafe kicks in and locks me out. Even if I enhance myself I can’t undo it. I locked the metaphorical gate and fused the keyhole.”
“Then this will be your chance to put that to the test, won’t it?” said Sam, undaunted. “You will tell me the secret,” he said, sneering. “Make no mistake. I believe you’ll be able to break through your self-imposed memory barrier to prevent me from going forward with my sterilization plan. But if I’m wrong, you’ll ultimately tell me anyway—of your own free will.”
“If you believe that, you’re even more insane than I thought,” snapped Kira defiantly.
“Guess again,” said Sam icily. “I’ll keep you a hostage until you’ve confirmed that the entire species is sterile, however long this takes. And on that day, you’ll know that the survival of humanity will depend on you. Despite your hatred of me, you’ll do everything in your power to make mankind’s last generation immortal.” He held out his hands. “No duress at that point. No threats. You’ll honestly want to share your secret, of your own accord. At that point your request for the information from your memory will sail right past any failsafe mechanisms in your mind.”
A horrified expression came over Kira’s face as she realized what he said was probably true.
Sam smiled. “And you won’t have to worry about overpopulation. I’ll have removed your objections to sharing your secret, and I’ll make sure you aren’t under any duress.” He paused. “But no need to thank me, my dear.”
Kira lunged at him, her eyes burning with hatred, and she was yanked back, hard, by the cuffs, which almost pulled her arms from their sockets, and cut into the skin on the back of her hands painfully.
“Look, I’m on your side,” said Sam, extending the palms of his hands innocently. “I don’t want to do this. Really. It’s a lot more hassle than it’s worth. I’d rather just give all the terrorists vials of aerosolized water to spray about in population centers rather than active virus. All you have to do is give me the secret and agree to work on immortality. Find a way to unlock your own brain before the deadline.” He shrugged. “And if not, I’ll just wait for you to give it to me by choice.”
Kira felt nauseous. “All this just for a few more years of life?”
Sam grinned and shook his head. “A hell of a lot more than a few. We both know that. With the proper use of your gel pills and an extra seventy years, I have every confidence I can push you, nanotechnologists, and others to eventually make your blueprint for immortality a reality. Your treatment will buy me enough time to be certain I’ll be alive when immortality is perfected.”
Silence hung in the air for several long seconds as Kira glared at him hatefully. “I need information on the viral construct used,” she said finally, “and the method for attacking egg cells. I won’t even make an attempt to unlock my memory unless I’m convinced this isn’t a bluff.” She frowned. “Not that my attempts will do any good anyway,” she added grimly.
“Trying to buy time already, I see,” he said approvingly. “But it’s a fair request. I’ll give you the information you require. With respect to timing, everything has been ready for a while now, awaiting your capture. But there are some details I have to start in motion now that I have you, so this will give you about three days. After that, if you haven’t told me what I want to know, I will begin distribution of the vials. Once they’ve gone out, not even I can recall them, and the terrorist cells around the world can’t be reached to abort the mission. At that point it will be out of my hands,” he added.
Kira’s eyes darted around the room, desperately seeking a way out.
“I can practically see the wheels turning in that brilliant mind of yours, my dear. Think you can trick me somehow? Think you can escape and then stop me? Well, I’ve gained a very healthy respect for your abilities. As impossible as this would be, I’m not sure I’d put it entirely past you.” Sam paused. “Which brings us to our little outpatient surgery on your skull,” he said, smirking.
35