From: light@interaccess.com (light)
Subject: Exodus From Eden part 1
Date: Wed, 20 Mar 1996 11:42:53 -0600


                An Exodus from Eden

        Dr. Angelo sat at a meticulously clean desk. He shuddered, 
violently coughed blood into work worn hands, and quickly trotted 
over to a lab type sink to wash them, doing so in a practiced yet agile 
manner common to his movements. When he was finished he straightened and 
assumed a dazed, contemplative air. The Doctor was apparently a solid 
imposing man in his forties with sparse brown hair, asymmetrically chiseled 
features. Angleo was also possessed of deep tan skin and narrow eyes 
suggested significant Asian and Indian elements in his background.   
 His eyes were entirely black, piercing in being unrevealing. Seeing him 
(especially in his distraction) gave people the impression of a some public 
figure, whoās identity they could not remember.  Dr. Angleo sat down at 
his desk and where the back of his white shirt on his brown business suit 
pulled taut a spiderweb of scars showed through. He pondered his life. There 
was only one light in the room, a desk light. It had a brilliant rectangular 
hologen bulb, but it only illuminated perhaps 20 feet into what seemed to be a 
large lab. Work-rent tables lined the walls and made in rows down the nter of 
the room. The tables were empty, save the one at which the Doctor was sitting
, possessing only the sinks and faucets characteristic of a laboratory. Not 
even dust defiled the abioticly clean tables, making the computer case 
(without a screen) and small stack of papers seem like an intrusion
A 
newspaper on top of  Dr. Angelo desk named featured a article about him, 
hidden deep in the inner pages. It stated that he and his wife were activists 
for the legalization of genetic engineering and that "Genetic alteration 
was rightfully banned in year 2000 when millennial cults made superhumans 
and bioweaponds as Īgolden calvesā to the gods or apocalypses that never
appeared." Dr. Angelo laid the tips of his fingers on the paper lightly. "One 
small stumble for us, but perhaps the fall..... " abruptly breaking off his 
muttered words. He hesitated, tilting his face downwards away the desk light  
His face looked mechanical profiled by the light. He continued "humanity is 
not evolved to deal with the powers we have thrust upon ourselves, and 
indeed we dealt with it poorly. Overpopulation is causing starvation we 
decimate the environment and raise supervises with misuse of antibiotics. The 
only answer is to engineer humans to be able to comprehend the powers they 
command"  Dr. Angelo snapped off the light and stared into a dark corner of 
the  the room. He could see heat as well as light, (an enhancement for past
laboratory work).  The room was pitch black, but if there was light one 
would see another figure looking like a ageless version of Dr.Angelo, but 
for its utter lack of hair, clear blue eyes, and its hands. It wore lose 
fitting sweat shirt and sweat pants, it was bare footed. The hands were 
clasped near its solar plexus, held as if their owner feared to let them
out of its sight (though his squinting made it clear he could not see in the 
dark as Dr. Aneo did) The hands were poised as a sculptors, careful as a 
surgeon, strong and sciplined. The face was completely blank, emotionless, if 
the being was not standing up and squinting one would think it was asleep 
or dead. The doctor smiled, his rock like features folding into a many lines, 
and adressed the figure "Ahh little brother. If I had not raised you.. Taught 
you medicine, (Angelos face darkens in anger) Iād be dead for years. (he
muses) hospitals were then banned from using the technologies I and 
Ms Angelo needed after the car crash.  "How you saved us, Brother, I do 
not know (his hand traces absently the scars on his torso)  even 
implanting a neural port in to regenerate destroyed brain portions!"  
Brothers stoicism was broken by a pained look, he bent his head to down in
deference, in the dark, and said "I do not deserve you faith". Dr Angleo 
quickly continued "unquestioningly we accepted that complications were 
inevitable." Brother smiled, a twisted plastic smile, bowed slightly in the 
darkness. Brother started to feel his way to the door, saying "your wife 
sent me to tell you that the debate is about to begin, and she has already 
plugged in" Dr. Angelo nodded and raised his hand absently to touch the
rounded bone port in his scull behind his left ear. He thought how useful 
the neural ports were; interfacing with a supercomputer to create virtual 
bodies that could projected in places dangerous to go physically. He 
inserted what looked like a speaker plug in the port.   "The Angeloās have 
arrived!!" said a disembodied voice. The virtual Angelos were projected behind 
one of two podiums,  in front of a crowd of thousands. Mrs. Angelo looked 
forty-something, short and solid, with deep red hair that went down to her 
chin.   At the other podium was a figure of indefinable background of average 
height and build, dressed in a perfect black suit. He was young and in fair 
shape, he looked naive, but tried to cover it with an air of fatalism. A 
plaque on the podium said his name was Andros. A pin on his suit said 
"humanity cannot exist outside of  humans" The moderator introduced the 
speakers. Andros (to the audience)  "I think what  have is a failure 
communicate to the Angelos, (turning to them)  the people nāt want  your 
frankenstien Īgods'" Mrs. Angelo "The augmentation of humanity  necessary. 
The failing of the cult gods was they were too human, they were taught a 
skewed view of reality, their entire knowledge was biased on  lies. Their 
Īsinā was they did not know any better.  Andros: "All I know is its sacrilege 
to make humans. What if you do and they decide they donāt want us?"  Mr. 
Angleo: "If we are willing to accept them they will be part of us. He slammed 
his hand silently on a virtual podium and glaring at Anrdos and said "we need 
to evolve in order to survive". Andros(eyes wide in fear, blindly reciting 
what truths he knew): "the greatest thing of importance I see is our racial 
purity, unity, faith in god, and using our resources to raise our peoples from 
poverty." Mr. Andros gave an upward glance of respect as to some 'higher 
force'. Some joined him in his stair into nothing, and burst into applause. 
They were tired of digging through half truths, they wanted simple answers. 
He gave them answers.  (Mediator): "It  looks like we have lost the Angelos, 
this time even before they even got to the main debate: the Mars mission" and 
indeed they had disappeared. Andros smiled and began again "There is no point 
to this mission, manning it is a pointless waste, we should concentrate on 
reviving our Eden, Earth."      'Line has been disconnected at source' showed red 
on the Angelos minds . Mr.: "They cut us off. Again.", Mrs.: "We have to go 
there physically next time". Mr.: "thatās icide. It would be a pity if thatās 
what we have to do."  Brother was watching over them. He moved toward them and 
t his hand on Ms. Angleos shoulder and said  "I do not know if you remember, I 
was gifted at birth (a sad cynical tone comes into his voice when he comes 
to Īat birthā, like there was something implied he wished was not), with 
some properties that might help me protect you if you speak in person, and 
that is what you must do" That night the Angelos shared the same dream by both 
connecting to the ofice computer via neural hook up. Within the computer, the
dream was the same, as always. If someone could see the dream inside the 
computer they would see it start in the Angelos lab where two figures 
(who looked like the Angelos) waited near a clone chamber. The chamber 
opened revealing two children within. Among a few dozen lines etched into 
the chamber one stated that  clones could reached adulthood in months. Time 
seemed to fly by and the children matured in seconds. Then the dream moved 
outward to show the worlds decayed surface suddenly covered in mushrooms of 
smoke. The dream flashes back to the clones --who look like their creators-- 
talking with them in a living room. The sky lights up,  winds break the 
windows.  The creators scream, the clones seem in a trance, the house is 
burnt away, and there is only blinding light. The light fades and there are 
two blackened forms on a barren plain. But the black armored forms are not 
dead, they move. The focus of the dream moves into their faces.  Shards of 
burnt flesh reveal just enough to show that they are the clone children, 
their outer skin burnt away. In place of pores the faces have stomata, like 
plants have for photosynthesis, the form whispers to the dreamer) through thin 
bone ridged lips from a aquiline plated face "Individuals die, but if we are 
willing to change, if individuals are willing to sacrifice, humanity can 
perpetuate"  Sometimes the dream went on, but not that night. 
The Angeloās are here in person tonight --just two weeks from their 
last appearance--, and I donāt see any frankenstien monsters. Perhaps we 
will finally see the Mars controversy resolved. Or at least what the Angelos 
have to say about the flu epidemic that started last week and killed 1596 as 
of yesterday" the hidden moderator baited the crowd. The Angeloās stepped on 
stage formally, calmly, simultaneously, with a restrained fury.  Andros: "I 
am glad you could dry the blood off your hands to join us"  Mrs. Angelo 
completely ignores Andros and speaks to the crowd. "In compiling information 
on archives, we found a cure to the flu, and another to the most prevalent 
version of AIDS, AIDSIII" Mr. Andros checks a sneeze and seems to sink in 
upon himself, like he in some way had been betrayed by person (or ideology) 
that he held dear,   Mr. Angleo "The cure involves a genetic alteration of 
the lymphatic system, it was a E.C. --an Engineered Clone, a clone that was 
massively genetically altered-- self named Brother, that helped us find it 
(She says these words without spite, but a power that barbs the words). We 
also have found last year a strain of AIDS appeared that is much more 
transmissible, for the common good  carriers of this disease must be exiled, 
quarantined, or marked in some way" Brother watched from a seat at the back 
of the stage,  his face was stoic, in his hands he is impossibly popping the 
rings of a short metal chain, his fingers bled. The crowd was silent. Andros 
spoke, his voice a rasp "If we send these people away, whis next? Is the next 
step killing people? I think you ought to check you science again for a cure 
that wont turn us into monsters" Mrs. Angelo bows her she, she to wants to 
agree with Andros  "Thousands have this strain now, in a few  years  could be 
millions. We have to do this, how we do this will be the test of our humanity. 
Mr. Angelo and myself are willing to join those quarantined" Mrs. Angelo took 
in breath but never spoke as a spray of bullets hit both the Angeloās, they 
fell, there was silence. A doctor ran on stage, but stopped short when he saw 
whoās blood it was rapidly forming a small pool at the foot of the podium. 
Guards osed in and carried away the assassin, a woman who started screaming. 
Brother ran to the Angelo, swatted guards aside. Apparently the Angeloās were 
beyond his perhuman expertise, he knelt in the pool of blood and wept. 
--Dan Schiff