And far away with Carl, he was eating an apple, while looking at the glass culture chamber, where his recently tested product, Daniel was. He looked wounded, and deathly quiet, still breathing and alive. He looked at his hand where he could see several marks of injection and other stuff, a clear sign that his blood was taken. He took another big bite of the Apple, and asked in a casual manner.
" How many people did get his hand on my dear Daniel?" He asked looking at the seated Richard, who was glaring at him, ignoring the chopped fruit plate there. Seeing him ignoring his question, he shrugged it off.
" Forget it, probably a lot. But thanks for the return. He still has many usages left." And he sat on the chair beside Richard, who now was looking at him, and the surrounding lab.
" You are really brave to make such a move."
" Brave? I don't consider myself brave, I'm not brave, soldiers are brave. I'm just a casual scientist, working on making the world a better place." And Richard didn't believe a word coming from his mouth, and he leaned back, his eyes involuntarily moved to Cecelia who was standing in the corner, doing nothing. And seeing her, he had a question.
" What makes her so different?" He asked, and Carl looked at him, gaining his interest.
" What do you mean?" He asked, looking a little curious. And Richard hearing this pointed at Cecelia, and then Daniel.
" I can see there is some humanity in her, but this guy. It looks like he is dead. Dead from inside." And Carl after hearing this, replied, swallowing the Apple in his mouth.
" I said it earlier, don't you remember, they are all defective products, so is our Madame Cecelia, but she has a stronger will, and a stronger desire to live or something. The Savior, and Daniel, are just defective products, mindless, half dead following the order they are programmed with. The Savior program was to destroy and explode, he was mostly successful so he had some of his memories and fighting ability. Daniel here is tough and a little upset. He activated his Meta-gene but couldn't cope with the trauma, so his mind shut itself. I've put some effort into him, what a waste of such good power, just imagine a body who can multiply each time it's hit with a physical force, and has all the capabilities and strength of the original body, if Dr Arya has it, we all might be gone." And Richard looked twice at Daniel in the culture chamber.
" But he seems pretty weak, they were dealt with by the normal army." And Carl shook his head.
" You think too lightly, I did some tests, and I didn't find anything different in any duplicate of his, they were the exact same, and had the exact memory, exact weight and everything. I couldn't tell the difference at all, I can only tell who's the real one after an hour which I think is the limit of his body. And you know what's more interesting than this?" And Richard looked at him, and didn't answer.
" Where did the other Daniel come from, or where did the energy needed for his duplication come from? Where do the clothes come from? It baffles me, they are exactly the same, with the same memory, but somehow the duplicates know that they are duplicates, and that who's the real body, it literally goes beyond my field of science." And after hearing this, Richard became interested.
" You mean God?" Carl looked at him like an idiot, and he rolled his eyes.
" Of course not, I'm talking about physics, to be more precise quantum physics. I can only come up with that, if you want to know more, go ask Rohit Mehra, he is the guy for it." And after hearing this, Carl became quiet, and looked at Cecelia again.
" So how can you make sure that she won't attack you or kill everyone?" and Carl replied without much thinking, it was quite simple.
" It's simple, give her what she needs, she won't bite. I gave her the revenge she wanted. The young politician, the old military guy, and some minor inconvenients here and there, and a purpose. That's all she needed, she is a spy, a tool to use. Anyone can use it. This time I chose it, I gave her what she needed, and she followed my command, acting as a bodyguard." and after hearing this, Richard asked again.
" You didn't answer my question, how can you make sure that she won't become dangerous?" And after hearing this, Carl paused, and grabbed another apple from the basket.
" Make an antipode, don't worry I have it for all four of them, and one for the new boosters as well, it's just reverse engineering stuff, and this has side effects of killing them, I don't have the time to perfect it yet, you know." And he took a bite of a news apple. And then he looked at Cecelia, and waved.
Cecelia seemed to understand what he meant, and went close to a section there, and looked out a box full of clear liquid serums. She opened it, and showed it to Carl and Richard, gaining Richard's full attention.
" There is a semi finished product, capable of turning on the Meta-gene, with a 99 percent chance of success, and after screening for better people, it can be lowered." And Richard looked at him.
" And the downside?"
" It's not as powerful as others, has little potential, but strong enough to keep it safe." And Richard closed the box.
" Use it on someone you trust, and give it after a week or so, they'll be happy." and he stretched a bit.
" Or…, the antiserums are below those, you can try it on some prisoners, and see the result of that as well." Richard put the box aside, and then looked at him.
" Your lab is going to shift." Said Richard lightly. And Carl after hearing this raised his eyebrows.
" Is that why you stay here, ignoring Cecilia's freshly cut fruits." And Richard ignored that, and continued.
" The White House showed concern after the incident in Washington, and they have ordered that all the experiments related to Meta-gene should be far away from the city in a heavily guarded military base. And that includes you, who has had the most success so far." And Carl didn't have much reaction, and said lightly.
" So where is my ride going?"
"There is a secret military base near New York, where other researchers will join you in this." And after hearing this, Carl became a little unpleasant.
" So you are trying to push me out?"
" What you did last time, be grateful you are not behind bars. I need a little reassurance, and you can keep the test subjects but the research paper must be handed over." And after hearing this, Carl slowly placed the half eaten apple aside, and looked at him for a moment, trying to see what he really wanted. And after waiting for a while, he said lightly.
" You know right, if something happens to me, you won't be spared either." And after hearing this, Richard stood up.
" I know, I'm not a fool like someone, I know what I can touch and what I cannot." And after hearing this, Carl looked at him.
" You are smart then." And Carl also stood, and shook hands with him.
" We will see again then." And Richard didn't say anything and left the area.
And after he left, Carl looked at Cecelia, and she just looked at him.
" I know I know, I should have just killed him." And he waved his hand .
" Don't you see how diligent he is, he is doing what I want even without knowing it, I don't even have to tell him." And Cecelia looked away.
" Next, let's wait as see, step three" And he grabs the Apple again.
" Climax is about to begin."