It was then that Rodger realized they were watching footage of what happened over a century ago.
The beasts pulled a bald, naked young man from the capsule and dragged him to the floor. Another flurry of Sirens rushed into the room, circling the fallen man as he reached for his head, dazed. He blinked at the encroaching beasts and scrambled away, screaming. A moment later, the creatures attacked, tearing the helpless man apart. They yanked an arm from its socket and fought over it as a geyser of blood sprayed their pale bodies crimson.
“My God. It was the Sirens,” Magnolia said. “How could this have happened?”
They were just holograms, but Rodger had a hard time watching the poor soul being ripped to pieces. Hundreds of Sirens spilled into the room and climbed the towers like ants. They broke through the capsules and dragged humans and animals away.
Timothy’s smooth voice spoke again. “Stand by.”
The grotesque scene vanished, replaced by the holograms of several humans wearing clothes like Timothy’s but in worse repair. A woman led a group of emaciated people through the room. She stopped at a tower, putting her hands on her hips and looking up. Just by her movements, she reminded Rodger of Captain Maria Ash: strong, proud, and in charge. The other people circled around her.
“I’ve been in contact with the governors of all the other communal shelters, including those in other countries, and we have agreed to awaken 5 percent of the human population and 20 percent of the animal population. With resources so low, we will use the extra manpower to keep the Hilltop Bastion running. The animals will become part of our livestock. We will slaughter several right away and breed the rest.”
“Governor, I would strongly advise against that,” said another voice. It sounded just like Timothy. He turned toward the rotunda, and Rodger saw that it was indeed a younger version of the hologram, but without the beard.
“That must be Governor Rhonda Meredith,” Magnolia said. “Timothy, when was this? And just give me the years, please.”
“Two hundred two years ago,” came the reply over the speakers.
The holograms continued talking, and Rodger jumped down off the platform and joined Magnolia to listen.
“I understand your concerns, but we have no choice,” Meredith said. “Unless anyone else can give me a good reason not to do this, I want it done. Now.”
Yup, she definitely reminded him of Captain Ash.
The younger version of Timothy clasped his hands behind his back and said, “There could be severe consequences for waking them up nearly four hundred years early.”
“Noted,” Meredith said. She nodded at the man holding the tablet, and he nodded back.
The holograms vanished, replaced by a scene in some sort of command room. Governor Meredith was sitting at a table with civilians and soldiers. Timothy was there again, seated directly across from the governor.
“We can’t control them,” Meredith said. “Something is wrong. They aren’t normal. They’re killing people for scraps of food.”
“Basic predatory instinct,” Timothy said. “The scientists who designed the chambers and created this place are all dead now, but I understood enough from their notes to tell you that these hybrids are not like you and me. They underwent genetic modifications to help them survive in hostile conditions.”
“They are monsters,” Meredith began to say.
“They weren’t supposed to be woken for five hundred years,” Timothy said. “You’ve opened Pandora’s box.”
“We all have,” Meredith said coldly. “The other governors are all reporting the same problems. We just lost contact with the communal in Hades.”
Magnolia’s eyes widened behind her visor as she looked at Rodger. “Hades,” she said. “That’s where…”
“I had my suspicions that they would be different,” Timothy continued, “but not like this. I’m sorry, but there’s only one thing to do: a complete cleanse.”
The holograms faded away and were quickly replaced by a scene inside a stairwell. A makeshift barricade of chairs and desks blocked the passage. Soldiers fired their weapons as they escorted Governor Meredith down the stairs. It was obvious to Rodger that the cleanse had failed, but watching it unfold was still horrifying, especially knowing he had just walked down the same stairwell.
The governor held a radio to her lips. “We’re low on food and ammunition. We can’t keep them back much longer. Please, please send support to the following coordinates…”
The scene vanished, and Timothy’s hologram reappeared. “That was an abridged version of what occurred here. As I stated, my system was damaged, but I was able to access these memories.”
“Mags, do you remember that message from Governor Meredith we heard on the Hive? They were trying to keep the things they unleashed from killing everyone.”
Magnolia took a step backward and motioned for Rodger to join her.
“What are you?” she said to the hologram.
Timothy tilted his head quizzically. “I am Timothy Pepper, the manager of this facility.”
“No, you’re a computer hologram wearing someone else’s face. Who was Timothy Pepper?”
“Was he one of them?” Rodger asked. “One of the survivors of the war?”
The AI nodded. “Timothy Pepper was the last survivor. I took his form after he was killed by the hybrid humans. I watched as they left the Hilltop Bastion and returned to the surface, where they evolved into the creatures you call ‘Sirens.’ ”
“No way,” Magnolia said. “I don’t believe it.”
“His hope was that someday he would meet another survivor,” Timothy said. “Now it appears I have—two of them, in fact.”
He smiled, but Rodger didn’t feel like smiling back. He felt sick to his stomach. Why had Captain Jordan ordered him to come here?
Then something clicked in his mind.
“That son of a bitch,” Rodger whispered, turning to Magnolia. “He sent us down here to prove we can’t ever return to the surface.”
“What? Who?”
“Captain Jordan. He ordered us to risk our lives just to prove a point.”
Magnolia scowled. “I told you someone was trying to murder me. I guess now we know who.”
“I’m going to kill him myself,” Rodger said.
A metallic cracking and squealing sounded above, and both divers raised their weapons at the crane moving down the tracks. In its grips, it carried a chamber, which it slowly lowered. Magnolia hurried over as the claws gently set it down on the floor.
“I warn you, this will not—” Timothy began to say, when a cry of shock cut him off. Magnolia stepped back, bumping into Rodger as he approached.
Rodger moved around her to get a look at the capsule. Inside was the shriveled form of what had once been a person. The leathery skin over its bony chest moved slowly up and down.
“It’s still alive,” Magnolia said. “What the hell is it?”
Timothy approached and glanced down, blinking as if he didn’t recognize it at first. “Artificial evolution. The system—most of it, I should say—is connected to surface sensors that monitor radiation, temperature, and so on. They didn’t start like this, but over the years, almost every hybrid developed mutations. Many of the animals underwent the same changes.”
“I don’t buy it,” Rodger said. “Evolution—artificial or any other kind—takes a lot of generations just to make one tiny change in the genome. So maybe fifteen human generations since those shit-for-brains at ITC started playing God—or playing Darwin, I should say.”
“So it would seem,” said Timothy, “if evolution did indeed occur at an even pace.”
Magnolia gave the hologram a streetwise glare. “What’s he talking about, Rodge?”