Yesterday (Part Four - Chapters 66 & 67) (Patreon)

CHAPTER 66

Looking back, 1970 was a great year for Elias Harperin. There was one day in particular, namely the tenth of April, when he had an unforgettable feeling, a moment of euphoria, of vibrant excitement as he came closer to the dreamed victory.

That morning, in a private ceremony held at the geographic center of the new facilities owned by the Corporation in Paris, he pressed the silver button that symbolically put Camp Olympos into operation.

Years and years of secret construction and enough capital to found a small country were the price his corporation gladly paid for that pharaonic work, the largest top-secret complex ever built in Europe. A monument to knowledge and the evolution of humanity hidden under the very heart of the capital of France.

Very few people were present at that inauguration, just a hundred lucky souls, of the almost five thousand the subway complex was to house a few years later.

They strolled in groups through the facility and marveled at the engineering prodigies that had made it possible. But what excited Elias most were the possibilities, the many discoveries that were sure to be born there, safe from outside interference at last, evolving before his eyes, until they reached their next stage, twenty years later.

And after that, Arcadia.

However, Elias, saddened, had to accept that he could not live to see it, certainly not in a natural way. The deadlines grew longer and longer and the years passed until one day the ailments of his advanced age began to take their toll on his health.

His scientists offered him an alternative, which was progressively adopted by many of the founding members, knowing that they would not be strong enough to reach the next phase.

They had developed a revolutionary cryogenic process. They did not yet know how to wake him up, but they did know how to keep him in perfect condition and safe from the dreaded crystallization until they discovered a way to cure him and extend his life.

It was a risky decision, but he agreed. From then on, a laborious process of preparing everything essential for the Corporation to survive without him for the necessary time until his return began.

He decided that his would be the last procedure to be carried out at Olympos before it was dismantled. He had seen it come into being and wanted to be the last to close the door before leaving. There were very few personnel left there now, the relocation of the facility's inhabitants had been carried out in the utmost secrecy for the previous two months.

Elias spent his last days outlining the fourth and final stage of his plan. It would involve the construction of a new complex, a great city in which to be reborn. The time was approaching and he felt a knot in his stomach. He had been dictating his final instructions to Spencer Kelt all day as they prepared his body on the laboratory gurney, and before he knew it, the final moment arrived.

—How shall we call her?

—Arcadia, for that is the end of the journey. Secrets will no longer be necessary, the corporation and its mysteries will have to be revealed.

—And the design?

—Annular, just as Plato described Atlantis in his Critias.

—So it shall be done.

Kelt put his hand on Elias’ shoulder to comfort him. They looked at each other in silence until he nodded. Spencer pressed a button and a bluish-hued chemical solution began to flow through the translucent pathway into Elias’s veins.

—Spencer, you’ve been a great friend. I hope to see you there.

—The process will work, I’ll wake you up myself. Don’t worry.

Elias closed his eyes sleepily. Spencer could hear him articulate three last words, and he kept them to himself.

CHAPTER 67

—There is little more than one day left, —replied the agitated professor, —if the two of you do not come with me I will not be able to do anything for you.

—But what will happen then? —Aminarti asked.

Hebert bit his lower lip, snorted, but gave up.

—We will overthrow the Corporation.

Aminarti looked at him puzzled. —What do you mean, you’ll overthrow it? What are you talking about? Didn’t you just tell us you belong to it?

—It’s... complicated. Trust me, I’m actually doing you a favor. I am not alone in this, and I assure you that we are going to end it, but I need them, without Jonah and Laura our plan could fail, and it has cost me a lot to convince them that we need them, if it wasn’t for me they would have already killed them. We are only two days away from their end, —he repeated, —just two days.

—But can anyone actually do that? — asked Aminarti, surprised.

—Yes, —assured Hebert, —we have had the necessary technology in our hands for a few months now, and my associates are currently acquiring the missing piece. It is only a matter of hours.

—And what makes you think your plan will work as you expect? —asked Jonah arrogantly, taking out of his pocket the small device Aminarti handed him and placing it in front of his eyes. —Pater made the same miscalculation with this thing that was handed to him yesterday and here I am.

—Where did you get that? —Hebert asked, looking at the artifact in confusion.

Aminarti raised an eyebrow in surprise.

—You know what that is?

—It’s not what you think it is, —Hebert answered, frightened. He turned and looked at Jonah, then at Laura. —I must speak to my people, please, —he begged. But the brothers were silent.

—If they come with you, will you cure them? —Aminarti intervened.

—Dear Aminarti, you are really lost. Do you really believe that something like this could be “cured”? —asked the professor with a grimace. —They were born this way, that’s what they are, there’s no turning back. We need to restore the balance, and that is what we are going to do. I repeat: Every step we take is taking them further away from their future safety —Hebert paused again and cleared his throat. —The Corporation’s plan is outlandish, they have been working in secret for many years to carry it out. We have to stop them.

—But…? —Aminarti began to ask, but Laura cut him off.

—Don’t bother, he’s not telling you everything. Tell him that, please.

—Countless babies are branded at birth in hospitals, the Corporation has been doing it for a long time under the guise of certain vaccines they periodically market. They inject them with an undetectable substance that significantly alters their DNA, just enough for their purposes, —Hebert mumbled, slurring his words, —it’s been like this for generations…

—And the radiation? —asked Oscar. Hebert ignored him.

—Drop it, I was wrong. —whispered Laura, visibly shocked.

—Greedy bastards! —exclaimed Jonah, looking at him with contempt at the time he stood up from his chair with a fuss.

—Maybe, —he admitted with disdain as he realized what his thoughts had revealed, —but isn’t it preferable that we manage it ourselves? At least we’re people, not a chimera.

—I knew it! —Jonah pointed out to him. I’m sure you sold it to Adrian yourself… so that you… could control us better…?

—Excuse me, but I don’t know if I want to know much more, —said Oscar, raising his hand and standing up. —I think I’ve already heard too much and I have to go back to my office to sort out this mess with the clinic. Besides, someone has to talk to Eva, get her to stop the whole thing as it is. Leave her out of this, and I ask you to respect Adrian’s memory. I will handle it, but keep us out of it, please.

—Don’t worry about that, —Laura tried to reassure him, but the look her father gave her and Jonah was categorical

—Agreed, —conceded Jonah, —you may go, but we will see you in about an hour, for you are wrong about Adrian, it does concern you, and you must know what happened to him, or it will be repeated.