Shadow Warrior: Destiny of a Mutant (16 page)

The White House

Oval Office

“Mr. President,” said Henry Stimson as he sat in the chair directly in front of the president’s desk, “what secret mission are you talking about?”

The president had ordered Stimson to report to the White House as soon as Will had left. He arrived promptly an hour later.

“It’s a sabotage mission behind enemy lines. That’s all I can tell you at this time, Henry. The man running the operation will be Colonel William Clark. I‘ll give you updates when I have them. He‘s still putting a plan together.”

“Clark? Never heard of him. What branch of service is he with?”

“The Army, Henry. For Heaven’s sake, even you can’t know every colonel in the Army.”

“I suppose not. Still…”

“Henry, I don’t have time to argue with you. Consider this an order. Have the men whose names are on that list contacted and have them report to their field headquarters on the double. Colonel Clark will contact them personally.”

“Wait a minute, how is Colonel Clark going to contact these men personally when there are thousands of miles away from each other?”

The president realized that he had overplayed his hand. He stared at Stimson for a few seconds before answering.

“By the field phone, Henry. By the field phone at their field headquarters. How else? I don’t care how it’s done, just do it. Now get a move on with this.”

Stimson stood up. “Yes, Mr. President. I’ll take care of it personally.”

“Thank you, Henry. Say hello to your wife for me.”

“Thank you, sir. The same to your wife as well.”

The president nodded and kept the smile on his face until Stimson left the Oval Office. As soon as he left, he let out a huge sigh, as if he had been holding his breath forever.

Damn, I need a drink!

Just then the president’s private line rang. It was General George C. Marshall, Roosevelt’s Chief of Staff.

“Good morning, George. What can I do for you?” inquired the president.

President Roosevelt listened as Marshall laid out what had happened to the tank unit and the Nazi attack with the mysterious blue light weapon. He turned pale as a sheet upon hearing about the latest use of alien technology against American troops.

“Thank you, George. Keep me posted with any further developments.”

Roosevelt put both hands on his forehead. He had a headache that he knew would not be helped by aspirin.

He prayed that Clark, or whoever he was, knew what he was doing.

Wormhole

1480 A.D.

The moment Will entered the wormhole, time and space became non-existent. The walls of the wormhole’s vertex were a whirling mass of yellow-white energy that spun in a clockwise direction. The length of the wormhole was indeterminate because it was not a straight line but was instead like being on a cosmic roller coaster with hills and valleys that went up and down in varying angles of degrees, sharp turns, and loop after loop.

Will was in a freefall and panic started to set in. Will knew that he needed to get in control of himself. He closed his eyes, slowed his breathing, and found his center. Slowly he began to calm down and focus. He then gained control of his body and stopped his freefall, and almost had the feeling that he was flying.

Will was in awe of the technology that had created this miracle. Will wondered what other marvels of technology the beings that had produced this had also created. Although the wormhole was a swirling mass of energy, he was able to see outside of the vortex’s walls. He was in deep space, and planets, suns, moons, asteroids and other heavenly bodies were passing by him at blinding speed.

This spectacle went on for what seemed like eternity, but in reality only several Terran minutes had passed. After several more minutes, Will felt himself slowing down slightly. Ahead he could see the vortex starting to dissipate slowly.

Suddenly, everything went black for the briefest time, and then Will found himself in a highly advanced scientific laboratory. Will fell to the ground on his knees as soon as he came out of the wormhole, which he assumed was an aftereffect of traveling through the portal. He stayed there for a few seconds until he got his bearings and his legs were steady again.

Slowly he stood up and looked around. He was surrounded by several tall, thin grey-skinned beings - some with facial hair, some obviously older than others - all wearing various colored robes. Some of the robes had different colored piping around the sleeves and collars, and others did not, which indicated their position or rank.

As Will started to speak, one of the older beings took a step forward towards him to help him up. Will recognized him as he started to talk.

“Welcome to the planet Altrusia, Will Essex of Earth. It is an honor to meet you in person at last,” Portak stated in introduction, bowing slightly towards Will. The other beings with Portak bowed in a similar fashion. Will returned the courtesy, and then simply smiled.

Altrusia

Introductions were made to the other Elders, and then Portak took Will on a tour of a small part of the facility, which served as a command center, training academy, scientific laboratory, and medical facility. Afterwards, he escorted Will to his chambers, opened the door by passing his hand over a key portal, and showed him the features of his room.

“This place. This…everything is so overwhelming. I have so many questions to ask,” said Will.

“I am sure that you do, but for now you should get your rest. Tomorrow will be a busy day. I have some business to attend to. Until tomorrow,” replied Portak. Portak stopped in mid-turn and then said, “There is one more thing. This is an identification bracelet that will grant you access to and from this facility and will identify you as someone who has access to the entire complex. Wear it at all times.” Portak then handed Will the black bracelet, which had the Guardians symbol on a small medallion in the center of it.

As Portak left and the chamber door shut, Will sat down on his bed - which hovered a few feet above the ground - looking at the bracelet.

I always knew my destiny wasn’t in England, but I never expected…this,
thought Will as he looked in awe at his surroundings.

Will got up from his bed and walked around the room, marveling at the alien artifacts, furniture and decorations. Portions of the room, Portak had informed him, such as lights, water and the ambient temperature, were voice controlled and activated.

“Lights,” Will said in the language of Portak’s race, and the lights instantly came on. They were a little too bright, so Will dimmed them with another voice command. Will checked the wound on his arm; it had completely healed. Will then showered and dressed in the sleepwear, a pair of pastel yellow pants and loose-fitting short-sleeve shirt that had been left out for him. The clothes were very light and silky to the touch, but appeared very durable.

After changing into the new clothes, Will placed his old clothes in a machine located next to a large walk-in closet. The machine, Portak had told him, would clean and repair his clothes for him, as well as make them more durable than they originally were. Will placed the clothing in the machine and finished getting dressed. Less than a minute later a voice on the machine informed him the clothes were ready.

Will removed the clothes, and they were clean and repaired and looked better than the day his mother had made them for him. He folded and placed them in the closet; he wondered if he‘d ever wear them again.

Will laid down on the floating bed, and within a couple of minutes he was fast asleep.

***

Will awoke the next morning fully rested and eager to start the day. Will dressed in the clothing that had been left for him in the closet, which consisted of a pair of pale-gray pants, a pale-gray short sleeve tunic, and a pair of slipper style, form-fitting shoes with a firm sole. All were made out of a strong, silky cotton-like material.

Will exited his chambers and found his way to the dining hall. He passed several beings that appeared to be of Portak’s species, as well as a few other races and species, who gave him a look of surprise at seeing a human in their facility. A few were wearing a black uniform, and he surmised they were the Guardians that Portak had mentioned the night before.

When he arrived, he was the only person in the dining hall. To his right there was an odd looking machine that Portak had shown him during the tour the night before that could produce almost any type of food. Portak did warn him that the selection of Terran cuisine was pretty limited, so he suggested some alternate foods that would be comparable.

Will kept it simple and ordered two eggs, an assortment of fruit, bread, and milk to drink. Within seconds of selecting his food from the machine, it was ready. The eggs were rather odd looking, with a blue yolk and orange whites. However, they had a delicious flavor to them. The fruit was also very exotic looking, but was very sweet and juicy. The bread was hot and oval shaped, and tasted faintly of vanilla. The milk was a pale yellow, and had a sweet pleasant taste to it as well.

As Will was finishing his breakfast, Portak joined him at his table.

“Good morning, Will.”

“Good morning.”

“Did you sleep well?” Portak inquired.

“Like a rock,” Will answered with a smile.

Portak looked confused by this statement. “How could you sleep like a rock? It is a piece of igneous matter and has no need for rest.”

Will laughed. “It is merely a Terran way of saying I slept well.”

“Ah! I understand. You were speaking euphemistically,” Portak said with a nod.

“Correct.”

“It may take me awhile to understand your grammatical patterns.”

“There is no hurry, my friend.” Will replied. “Also, speaking of grammatical patterns, the alien writing that I was able to read is different than your written language. Can you explain what language it is?”

“Due to the myriad and disparate languages that are spoken throughout the universe, the linguists of the Universal Council created a language that could be used by all sentient beings to communicate with each other. Therefore, all member planets under the jurisdiction of the Universal Council speak this language, known as
Interlac
, to conduct business or communicate with most other sentient beings,” Portak explained.

“That is most sensible.”

“Well, down to the matter at hand,” Portak stated. “We have much to do. Soon you will begin your Guardian training. However, before you begin I wanted to further discuss the enhancement procedure that we talked about earlier.”

“Yes, I must admit that I am very curious about that.”

“Quite frankly, so are we,” Portak said with an edge of concern in his voice.

“Why is that? It sounded to me that the enhancement procedure simply enhanced the natural abilities of a new Guardian so that he or she would be better equipped to carry out his or her duties.” Will stated.

“You are correct in what you say. However, as I told you earlier, the problem is that we have never conducted an enhancement on a Terran before, so there is no way to accurately predict what it will do to you.” Portak replied. “There are numerous humanoid-like beings that we have conducted this procedure on over the millennia but none with your exact physiology.”

“Is it a potentially dangerous procedure?”

“No, but the procedure is irreversible, so whatever happens to you will be permanent.”

“I’m still willing to go through with it,” Will said confidently.

Portak nodded his head, and continued. “There is one last thing you should know. It is my belief that in addition to simply being a mutant, that you are also a
nephak-tan.”

Will looked confused. “I’m unfamiliar with that term. Exactly, what is a
nephak-tan
?”

“Do you remember when I spoke with you in the cave before your arrival and mentioned that you are the first sentient being in five-thousand years to have been born with all of your skills and abilities?”

“Yes.”

“Well, normally when a mutant is born, he or she usually has only one set of exceptional skills, such as an ability to learn languages, adeptness at various scientific disciplines and mathematics, or the skills of a warrior. It is these skills that we enhance, and, if needed, train the new Guardian in other disciplines as his or her assignment requires.”

“I see,” said Will.

“You, on the other hand, were born with
all
of these skills and more. Therefore, you are unique among all other mutants that have been born in the last 5,000 years. Even more so because you were born on a planet that has
never
seen the birth of a mutant being.”

Will was not sure what to say. It was all very overwhelming to him, so he remained silent for several long seconds.

“So where does that leave us then?” Will asked.

“When a new Guardian has been enhanced, he or she will see an increase in their overall physical being. They experience a substantial increase of their natural abilities. They become more intelligent; they become stronger and faster; they become more proficient fighters; they obtain the ability to adapt to life on several different planets and environments. Their life expectancy increases as well. They are also provided with advanced weaponry and technology and trained in its use for their missions. We are just not sure exactly what will happen, or how it will affect you.”

“Well, I guess there’s only one way to find out,” Will said. “Exactly how are these enhancements performed?”

“Our scientists have created a compound they call
Infinitum.
It is delivered into the host’s body through micro-machines called
nanocytes
. These
nanocytes
are so small they operate on a sub-atomic level and are able to deliver the
Infinitum
directly to your cells and DNA. Once the
Infinitum
is introduced to your DNA, it replicates itself and becomes part of your DNA. The nanocytes are then excreted from your body through urination and other bodily functions.

“The
Infinitum
is not sentient, of course, but it is an advanced artificial intelligence capable of producing the enhancements I spoke of earlier. It is programmed to determine which attributes within its host to enhance. It also forms a neural network within your cerebrum, which would be the equivalent of having a computer as a brain, but it does not control the host. It only provides a mechanism by which the host may perform his or her tasks in the most efficient manner possible. For example, even someone with your incredible intelligence uses only perhaps fifteen or twenty percent of their brain’s potential output. The neural network created by the
Infinitum
could potentially increase that to thirty or even thirty-five percent!”

Will was even more in awe of the technology Portak’s race was capable of producing. Will thought about the implications of what Portak had just told him.

“What are the potential drawbacks or complications that I could experience?” Will asked.

“We’re not entirely sure. Some believe that it may not work on you at all, while others believe that it will work on you just as it does on other sentient beings. None of them believe it will have any negative side effects.”

“It is my understanding that this DNA you mentioned is found in every cell of my body. So would it be possible to take a sample of my blood and use it to see what effect the ‘enhancements’ have on it?” Will inquired.

Portak shook his head. “We considered that as a possibility already. However, the problem is your blood is only a small part of your system. Think of your body as a type of
metasystem -
each of your organs and components of your body work independently of each other but also as a whole unit. Just seeing how the enhancement reacts to a sample of your blood would not give an overall picture of what it would or could do to your entire
metasystem
.“

Will shook his head and smiled. “Well, as I said earlier. There’s only one way to find out.”

Portak nodded, and they headed to the medical wing to begin.