Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 69330 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69330 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
He kissed her lips and left, leaving behind a strange emptiness. She stood on the spot until she heard the engine of his bike, and then she pulled herself back into action. There was much to do.
Her first stop was at an underground dealer, someone she knew thanks to the club. It wasn’t hard for her to convince the man she was there on Doumar’s order. He handed over the homemade explosives with her guarantee that Doumar would settle the bill at the end of the week. Next, she called Godfrey.
“Do you have it?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Meet me at the aquarium in an hour. Come alone. I’ll take care of Doumar.”
An hour later, she got off the tram and entered the aquarium. Godfrey waited in the hydrozoans room, facing a floor-to-ceiling tank filled with different species of jellyfish. It was early, and there were few visitors at the aquarium. Except for them, the room was empty. She walked up and stopped next to him.
“Did you know the jellyfish is an immortal creature?” he asked.
“No.”
He pointed at a transparent, dome-like specimen with multiple tentacles. “Turritopsis dohrnii. That one over there is a Laodicea undulata, and this one is an Aurelia. They are capable of reverting to a sexually immature stage after having reached sexual maturity as a solitary individual. This process can go on indefinitely, rendering the jellyfish biologically immortal. Of course, when these three species reach sexual maturity, they prey on other jellyfish. Ingenious, isn’t it? This way, they rid nature of the weaker of their race until only the immortal will remain. A world-wide silent invasion, to quote the brilliant scientist, Dr. Maria Miglietta from the Smithsonian Tropical Marine Institute.”
“Is this your plan? Worldwide silent invasion?”
He turned to face her. “Only the strongest have the right to survive. We need to get rid of the lesser species who serve no purpose other than to diminish our resources. The human race multiply like rabbits with no regard for the future of their planet or the survival of their own species.”
“How do you propose to do that?”
“Have you heard of quantumancists?”
“Their existence is said to be a myth.”
“Jellyfish have roamed the seas for more than seven hundred million years, making them the oldest multi-organ animal. No wonder they’ve mastered immortality. Quantumancists have been around much longer than that.”
“You believe quantumancists have the secret to immortality, like vampires.”
“Vampires don’t age, but they can die. There’s a difference. What I’m talking about is transdifferentiation, a process of renewing damaged or dead tissue. Art practitioners have different stem cells from those of humans. If transplanted into a human, it can kickstart the process of transdifferentiation, but you need seven unique cells to complete the chain.”
“The seven arts,” she said as the realization hit her.
“Exactly. I know this because I tested the transplant on my son. Unfortunately, the experiment was a failure because we were missing one cell.”
“Mine?” she said, her throat closing up in growing concern.
“Yes. I’ve managed to extract cells from pyro, hydro, aero, scapuli, geo, and necro cell donors, but we’re yet to acquire the chiro cell.”
“What will happen when you have all seven?”
“I’ll become a quantumancist.”
She reeled in shock. “That’s why Bono’s team is trying to stop you. Becoming a quantumancist will make you like … a god.”
“My life has been dedicated to the research of immortality, and Cain Jones is here to make sure the world doesn’t learn of my big discovery. My purpose is not to destroy the world, Miss Val. It’s to save it from self-destruction.”
“What are you asking of me?”
“When Jones and his team are dead, nothing will stand in the way of my victory. You will give me a cell, and I will become God. This is why I saved your life when I gave Doumar the serum. You see, before my scientists found the cure, all mothers of seven arts babies died in birth. I believe it’s all part of the bigger quantumancist plan to control your kind, to ensure you don’t overbreed, or it will be too easy for clever people like me to harvest your cells.”
“Do I have a choice?”
“Not if you want your son back. Work for me, and you’ll have your child and everything else your heart desires. You’ll be the most powerful woman on earth. You’ll have your vengeance on Doumar and every other weak human man. We’ll wipe them out and make a clean and better universe. Together, we’ll rule the world. I’m not the bad guy, Miss Val. I’m the hero who’s going to save the planet.”
He was nothing short of being deranged. Telling him so would only get her killed. Forcing a smile, she said, “How is it going to work? How do you extract a cell?”
“I’ll only need a small piece of tissue. You won’t feel more than a prick on your finger.”