“She was so beautiful before.”
“So much more now,” he stepped back, inviting her to do the same and closed the chamber off. “Is it true that Ayan stole the Silkstream Four?”
Admiral Rice looked at him unknowing for a moment, then realized he was talking about her original daughter, the first Ayan. “Yes, her and Laura. They're off to find Jonas.”
“From what my connections tell me they'll find him. His home port is public. We should have had a message sent weeks ago.”
“I tried everything I could to help her find him.”
“If that were the case it would have happened a long time ago.”
“You have no right to accuse me-”
“I have every right. You abandoned her when you saw a better option come along. I should have tried to delay this project until Ayan, the Ayan that matters right now, had passed on. You should be at her side, even if it takes you across the galaxy. Instead you wrote her off and started over.”
“There was nothing I could do,” Admiral Rice said helplessly.
“Bullshit! Even with that tactical computer they stole Ayan's dead by now. Where are you? You're standing beside a replacement, not even taking the time to mourn. Your daughter is dead, dead and you have no idea where she lived her last moments, how she was feeling or who, if anyone, was watching over her!”
Admiral Rice just stared at him, her wide eyes tearing up.
He went on, stepping to within just a meter of her. “Do you know why I really took this project on? Because I knew this would happen! I knew that days before this young woman's birth you'd stand there criticizing what you consider flaws, picking at perceived imperfections. Look at her! Just look! She's a perfectly healthy woman and when she feels comfortable in her skin she'll be charming, unique, intelligent and possess all the skills and personality traits she valued. If she wants any permanent genetic modifications made when she's able to decide for herself they'll work much better than they would on any of us. Why? Because you allowed me to strip away all the extras and modifications, revert her genetic code back to what nature intended. There will be no complications, no strange diseases or mutations to consider. She will be everything she's meant to be in this second chance. That's everything we want our children to start with. Now go, mourn your daughter somewhere where people aren't saluting you, where no one knows who you are. I'll be here making sure this young woman's entry into this universe is as it should be. She'll know where she comes from. Eventually, when she asks, I'll even tell her what happened to the first-”
“No,” Admiral Rice croaked.
“Damn right she'll know! All the while she'll have someone who'll do anything to make sure she has the opportunity to be her own person, just as Ayan should have! You're not the only one who feels guilty about Ayan being left alone, I should have been her trusted friend just as much as you should have stayed at her side. Instead I was on an unmarked ship inside a wormhole designed to compress time so her body could have thirty years to mature inside the altered space while four years passed outside of it. The only real difference between you and I is that you ordered all this out of guilt and I did it out of love, because I know your daughter would want this.”
“I'll shut the project down.”
“You know you don't mean that.”
Admiral Rice regained a little of her composure and glared at Doctor Anderson. “Until she opens her eyes she's just a piece of meat. I can pull the plug any time,” she whispered harshly.
Doctor Anderson just stared at her, searching her face for the woman he'd known and loved as a close friend years before. She simply wasn't there. “I believe you,” he whispered as he stepped back and turned to his holographic work table.
She watched him, knowing she'd crossed a line that changed everything. He couldn't even look at her, what she'd said hurt him more than she could have ever expected.
“I'll contact you if there are any changes,” Doctor Anderson said quietly, it was almost a whisper.
Admiral Rice turned on her heel and left the room.
Doctor Anderson sighed. “Thank God the chamber was closed. The last thing you need is an environment where people are yelling at each other,” he turned and opened the wall concealing the artificial womb. “You'll have a good future ahead of you if I have anything to say about it, and you'll be free. The forms declaring you an independent sentient are already processing. By the time you're born she won't be able to do anything to you,” he whispered gently, looking at the sleeping face of his charge. He chuckled. “You know, I was pretty sure this would happen when you were just a few cells. Getting attached was something I accepted when your genes sequenced in a match to their natural state for the first time. I get the feeling that, even though I'll offer you everything a father should, you'll be travelling between the stars before I'm ready to see you go. All I can do is make sure you get the start you deserve.”
He punched his clearance code into his personal command unit and opened a communications link to an old friend.
“Doctor Anderson, it's been a while since we've had a face to face!” said the cheery fellow on the other end. “I got your burst. That's an interesting hypothetical situation you brought up.”
“Hello Peter, how is Fleet Intelligence treating you?”
“Good, good. So what's this I hear about you processing clone rights forms?”
“I'll be honest. I'm doing damage control here and I need help. Admiral Rice is threatening to cancel a sensitive project that involves some of her daughter's genetic material,” he said, continuing in a gentle tone.
“How far along are we talking?”
“I'm being honest and forthcoming with you here, Pete, it's important this doesn't get out the wrong way.”
“We've known each other a long time, I'll keep it under wraps until it's safe to shed light on whatever this is.”
Doctor Anderson sent Peter a holographic image of Ayan in the artificial womb.
He took a moment to look at it and his eyes went wide. “Is that who I think it is?”
“In a way. I've managed to create a perfect generation of her with no genetic modifications. She's been created from base historical genetic code. I used the new age modification and memory implementation technology we acquired a few years ago.”
“Admiral Rice might shut you down? Now? That's her daughter in there for all intents and purposes. When will you be birthing her?”
“Next week, sooner if there are no signs of neural fatigue. I don't want her mother within ten light years of here when it happens. In fact, I don't want her to see Ayan until she decides she's ready to meet with her mother.”
“You know I can do that for you, but it'll be political war. Admiral Rice still has friends here, and outside of dealings with Regent Galactic or Jonas Valent, she has a lot of power. Just getting her reassigned again-”
“I know, I'm asking a lot. You know me Pete, I wouldn't even mention it if it weren't life or death.”
Peter thought quietly while looking at the hologram of the young woman then nodded. “I'll get my staff on it now. We'll have to vilify Admiral Rice to justify access restriction and reassignment. There's no way back on this once it's done.”
“There's been a lot of that going around. I'm sending you a classified security clip from just a few minutes ago that should take care of vilification,” he selected and forwarded Admiral Rice threatening to pull the plug then went on. “Thank you Peter. This makes us more than even.”
“You know it. Just make sure this young lady knows how many people helped her get her freedom, and that she deserves it.”