Chapter 34
Friday, 11 March 2022 – 6:30 a.m.
MST
Quinn picked up Ramesh from the hotel early on Friday
morning. The sun was still just below the horizon as they cruised slowly
through the private roads of the Biltmore area. Quinn looked tired. His eyes
were red and his voice cracked as he spoke.
“Have you heard the news?” he asked.
Ramesh had not done anything. He had been so exhausted
after the previous day that he had slept. He had slept well.
“No,” he answered.
“There was an infection in Karachi overnight.”
“An infection?” This seemed unlikely to Ramesh. Any
outbreak of disease would take longer to identify and report than just a single
night.
“It appears that a GMO was introduced into some food aid
delivered to the earthquake victims.”
“How is that possible? Was it screened?” Ramesh had worked
for a short time as a consultant to the US Department of Homeland Security
developing risk analysis scenarios and threat profiles on genetically altered
organisms. He had proposed several threat opportunities, but the analysis
illustrated a negligible possibility of success well into the thirties due
simply to the realistic advancement of the technologies. His heart sank as he
realized that due to artificially-accelerated development caused by the
futurestream, his scenario could be realized immediately.
“It was screened. Naidu BioGenics is claiming that the GMO
is outside the bounds of our current screening tools.” Quinn sighed. He
rubbed his eyes. “What I don’t know is if that’s true or if Naidu engineered
the infection or both.”
“Could she have done it?”
“Sure. Her biotechnology labs may be more advanced than
ours already. Based on the assumption that she has developed a better view
into the future, she has access to even more future R and D than we have.”
“That’s not what I meant. I mean, is she personally capable
of it?” Ramesh felt the pit in his stomach grow again. The thought of
large-scale bio-engineered threats made him nauseous.
“Yes. She and Daniel both. They look at the world through
a totally different set of lenses than you or I. Their world is almost
entirely devoid of ethics. It was pure science, pure research, pure
capitalism. Not anarchy, though. They aren’t stupid. They calculate their
moves more methodically. Kill a thousand to aid in forging an economic or
political alliance. Use government for funding, for strength.” Quinn drew a
long breath. “I think they’re capable of anything.”
“A thousand people died?” Ramesh heard Quinn mention the
number, but wasn’t sure if it was an exaggeration.
“Five. Five thousand people died overnight.”
Ramesh sat in stunned silence. He stared at Quinn. His
heart overflowed with disgust. He sat two feet away from the man solely
responsible for violating the future and indirectly responsible for this
atrocity. “Shut it down.”
“What?”
“Shut it down. Shut down the futurestream. Quinn, this is
because of what you did.”
Quinn looked at Ramesh. He had spent the night tossing in
bed because of the same realization. He had no answer, no solution. “I
can’t. I lost control of it the day they left and created their own.”
“Five thousand,” Ramesh whispered. “For what?”
“She wants me to fold.”
“Sorry?”
“She wants me out. Out of the future. Out of the
industry. Out of her way.” Quinn sat back. He continued, “She wants nothing
more than to dominate the market, the world. Brad and I are the last remaining
threats to that end. She’s threatened me personally, now she’s flexing her
global muscles. Until I get out of her way, I suspect it will just continue to
get worse.”
“Why not just get out then?” Ramesh still saw things in
black and white, no matter how convincing the shades-of-gray argument was.
“Nobody threatens me. Nobody threatens my family.” Quinn
spoke in a low and determined tone.
“Ego? This is about your ego?”
Quinn cast a glare at Ramesh that sliced right into him.
“No. This is about the safety and security of my family. That’s what it’s
been about from the beginning. Financial security, well being, personal
safety. That’s it. And now I’m being attacked.”
“And what of the five thousand?”
“A demonstration. She knows that I won’t sit back and let
her continue. It’s a bargaining chip.” Quinn had no doubts. Sireesha had a
single goal: to eliminate Quinn’s position in her global game.
Ramesh was not convinced. He sat back. It seemed pointless
to argue Quinn’s perspective. He redirected. “Why didn’t you see this before
it happened? Why not just head it off?”
Quinn shook his head. “I could have, technically. But it’s
more complicated than that. Imagine an encyclopedia of the future. Imagine
having the entire future at your fingertips – and imagine having a very good
index in the encyclopedia. What would you look for?”
Ramesh thought about it for a moment. “Terrorist activity,”
he said, considering the event.
“Karachi won’t be classified as a terrorist attack,” Quinn
answered flatly.
“GMOs? Unexplained infections?” Ramesh began to understand
the conundrum.
“Sure. Let me check the futurestream now. I’m looking for
future occurrences of the terms GMO and infectious outbreaks.
Just over three million matched records.” Quinn focused on Ramesh again.
“Ironically, even with the futurestream, you often have to work backwards to
find exactly what you’re seeking. Now that the outbreak in Karachi has
occurred, I can link other future events to it. But there’s just so much
information...”
Ramesh nodded. It made sense. “Why doesn’t she just
eliminate you?” Ramesh didn’t mean for the comment to sound so callous, but he
didn’t retract it.
“Do you play chess?”
“Sorry?”
“Do you play chess?”
“No, I have, but I don’t play much.”
“But you know the goal?”
“Yes. Checkmate.”
“Exactly. The king is left on the board, cornered into a
position from which it cannot be moved. She’s interested in checkmate,” he
said. He squinted his eyes, focusing on the chessboard in his mind.
Ramesh let a few moments pass in silence. He glanced out
the window and studied the landscape. So much had changed since he had first
visited the valley of the sun. Tempe had grown into a new technology and
business center. Its high-rise buildings stood as a beacon of the wealth
created in the bio-technological boom that had been seeded by Q-Morrow.
“So,” Ramesh started. “What do you want me to ask Brad?”
“I don’t know yet.” Quinn refocused. “When you find him,
message me. I’d like to conference him in.”
Ramesh nodded.
“Ram?” Quinn started.
“Yes?”
Quinn paused. He wanted to warn Ramesh again, to impress on
him the danger. He changed his mind. He had said it all already. “Thanks.”
It was all he could say.
Ramesh forced a smile. He considered reminding Quinn that
his only purpose was to help Brad and Laura. He had no interest in becoming an
accomplice to the disaster that Quinn had developed.
“Will you be activating the implants then?” he asked.
“Oh, yeah.”
Instantly Ramesh saw a new set of information in his visual
field.
“Just move the pointer control onto the green start icon
when you’re ready to begin the tutorials. I’d recommend waiting until you’re
in the air, so you can concentrate on the exercises.” Quinn fidgeted with his
watch. He hadn’t felt so unsure about the future in years.
Ramesh sensed the concern in Quinn. He sighed. “Just so
you know,” he smiled, “I am fully committed to protecting Laura – to the extent
that I can.”
Quinn’s eyes fell to the floor. He choked. “Thanks, Ram.
And be careful,” he said, feeling some relief.
Ramesh nodded.
The car slowed and turned into the airport parking. Quinn passed
Ramesh an envelope. “Itinerary, cash and a corporate credit card issued to
you.”
Ramesh raised his eyebrows as he slid the envelope into his
bag.
“It’s the least I can do.” Quinn tried to hide his concern
behind a weak smile. “Really.”
“Thanks.”
“Contact me when you arrive.”
“I will.”