Xeno Sapiens Read online

  XENO

  SAPIENS

  Rena Marks

  Xeno Sapiens

  Rena Marks

  * * This story is dedicated to my father, who passed during the writing.

  I’ll continue to be a Trekkie without you. * *

  Futuristic earth finds alien DNA and creates a new species of hybrids in hidden labs. It’s up to two small females to teach these beings they’re worthy, and beautiful, and loved…and to save them from mankind.

  My name is Dr. Robyn Saraven. Earth has changed greatly in recent years, the governments of the world merging into one united front, the Global Government. Disease, starvation, and prejudice have been eradicated from our existence, and it appears our growth as spiritual beings is finally on track.

  But the discovery of alien DNA pairs a prestigious research facility with our government to create new beings. Suddenly our spiritual growth is halted when mankind plays God. Like old Earth, our modern-day world has to deal with prejudice, corruption, and greed.

  Or was it always there, lurking beneath the surface?

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Alien Stolen

  Abducted

  Space Babies

  Artificial Intelligence

  Stargazer Series

  The Hunter

  Also by Rena Marks

  Chapter One

  “Robyn Saraven. This way, please.” The stilted voice that came from the robot’s voice-box echoed. It should have phrased her name as a question to alleviate her fears of its invasive identification techniques such as facial recognition and retina scanning. But naturally, the pre-recorded words had no way of injecting emotional cues into speech. Likewise, the computer placed inside its metal skull had no way of even realizing how badly it jarred her with its toneless inflection. At least the programmers used the correct pronunciation of her name. Suh-Ray-ven. Too many times she’d heard it pronounced as Sara-VEN.

  Scientists had been working on artificial intelligence since the dawn of computers, but it hadn’t yet come to pass. That was what she did. She created computer generated personalities based on human emotions and feelings. No, it wasn’t one hundred percent accurate, but she was unrivaled in her field.

  And she knew it.

  It was exactly why the Earth government offered her an exorbitant fee to team up with one of their sponsored laboratories, Crested Utilitarian Labs, in a mission that was so top secret they refused to give her the details. She wasn’t worried. Naturally they’d have to tell her the particulars at some point.

  A contract for twenty million credits tended to make a person pretty easygoing.

  She followed the robot into the sleek black car. It was equipped for land but had wheels that would retract to switch into hovering capabilities. Only peons lived on the actual ground of Earth. Personally, she preferred the real ground. Crested Utilitarian was one of the huge, vertical buildings that hosted a floating city. The floating cities contained a soft pressured “floor” sometimes covered in smooth grass to simulate Earth-ground.

  The robot held the passenger door for her like an old fashioned chauffeur. But instead of being impressed with the human like characteristic, she again had the odd feeling. He turned and sat in the front seat—purely for aesthetics. Hovercars were autonomous.

  “Good morning.” The woman inside had light brown hair, chunked through with blond, knotted into a roll at the back of her head, making her neck seem elongated and elegant. Her eyes were a lighter, golden brown, framed by darker lashes. She wore a whole-colored pantsuit that signified her status on the vertical cities. Doctor.

  Robyn smiled, watching the doctor smile tentatively back. “Hello. I’m Robyn. You’re also employed with Crested Ute?”

  The doctor nodded, her slender shoulder moving up and down gracefully. “Just signed my contract this morning. I’m Amanda Becker of Iota Nine. Did they give you any details?” Iota Nine, an upper-crust floating city she was more than likely born to, had given her a lyrical accent.

  “Not a thing. I’m from Earth-ground.”

  The doctor’s eyes reflected faint surprise. She probably wondered what in the world they had in common that they were both recently contracted by Crested Ute.

  “By day I’m a computer programmer. I’m one of the team that put our court system to use.”

  Surprise showed in Amanda’s eyes again. “But you’re Earth bound?”

  “By choice.”

  She nodded. “I spent my internship on the surface. It was years ago. I should like to take another trip, see how things have changed. It was the oddest feeling, walking on the hard surface. I’d never been anywhere where the ground didn’t give.”

  Robyn’s attention was outside. “We don’t seem to be moving up.”

  At her words, Amanda looked out the window where Robyn’s gaze was glued. No clouds were surrounding the car. “We’re on the surface? Whatever for?”

  Robyn shrugged. No clue. Everyone knew Crested Ute was host to the Epsilon Five city. The actual building was the gravitation force that allowed the city to attach to its floating capabilities. Since they were picked up at the main hub, they should have moved directly north to arrive. Instead they were driving away, across the Earth-ground surface.

  “I don’t know,” Amanda said. “But we’re picking up speed.”

  “Perhaps we’re taking a side-route hoverway? I’ve heard there’s a collection off the side of the largest cliff.”

  “It just seems to make more sense to move straight up instead,” Robyn murmured, her eyes on the distant horizon.

  “I agree,” Amanda said, her voice breathless.

  But the truth was, neither one of them had a clue as to where they were going. Unease trickled down her spine as Robyn noticed Amanda’s fists clenched on the seat next to her.

  The car flew over the edge of the cliff.

  She inhaled sharply. The usual gravitation pull kicked on, settling them. But instead of zipping upward…they fell.

  “We’re dropping into the ocean,” Amanda said, her voice higher-pitched. “What the hell?”

  Before they could even think to scream out, they hit the edge of the water. Right before impact, the car shifted slightly, cutting cleanly through the surface.

  Utter silence filled the car’s interior. No water filled the compartment. And rather than sink, the car still drove.

  “Underwater capabilities,” Amanda murmured. “They didn’t bother to tell us.”

  “The only part of the planet yet unexplored,” Robyn said. “The depths of the oceans.”

  “They’re really serious over this top secret business.”

  “Apparently so.”

  Robyn didn’t mention the reservations she had, nor did she mention the car was probably bugged. Most people didn’t like to live in a constant state of paranoia, but in her field of work, it was necessary.

  The navigation through the ocean was dim, though a giant spotlight came from the top of the car to join the headlights shining into the vast expanse of saltwater around them. Still, the car moved downward at an alarming rate.

  “Submarine capabilities,” Amanda muttered. “I imagine they’ve converted the hovercar into a submarine? I don’t feel the effects of water pressure.”

  “We’re past a
hundred feet deep. If we were going to explode, we would have by now.”

  The only sound in the compartment of the car was that of their rapid breathing.

  Amanda began pressing the emergency button—which only dialed the autobot in the front seat. “Where are we going? Is this safe?”

  “Please sit back and enjoy the ride,” the computer voice answered. “We shall arrive in forty-five minutes.”

  “What? That didn’t even answer my questions,” she snapped into the intercom.

  “Please sit back and enjoy the ride,” the autobot answered again. “We shall arrive in forty-five minutes.”

  “It’s programmed with one response,” Robyn said softly. “Asking other questions will just result in the same answer.”

  “I don’t like the non-transparency,” Amanda said.

  Both women were quiet. Robyn was sure Amanda was thinking the same thing she was. They’d signed away transparency for the high salary.

  The hovercar continued to glide through the water so quietly it seemed they were still. Through the windows, various unfamiliar fish swam by, some of which looked like prehistoric creatures living within these depths. The thick, dark water rolled by endlessly, their only light to focus on that of the headlights cutting through the ink of darkness. Once in a while, a mesmerizing pool of fish moved along.

  Finally, up ahead was a faint glow of light. Both watched, captivated as it grew brighter with their approach. In the center, a giant building set up with the wall of sea water rolling up and over it. A tube-like tunnel was positioned at a sixty degree angle, seeming to hold the vast amount of sea water away from the building. The car moved into the tunnel, which remained incongruously dry. It switched back into its hovering capabilities and travelled the length of the tunnel. When it came through the other side, it hovered down to the man-made ground and drove over to the building.

  “What the hell is this? And what keeps the water out?” Amanda asked.

  “I imagine it’s the same capabilities of a floating city. They’ve discovered some filter that keeps us from drowning. Perhaps it works with the salt content of the water? I don’t know.”

  They were both quiet again as the car rolled up the lawns of the building. Upon closer inspection, the building appeared to be made of glass, with massive double doors made from a metal like steel.

  The doors opened, and a group of four men in white lab coats stepped out.

  Only then did the car turn off.

  The robotic chauffeur opened his car door, came around to the back, and opened theirs. It was completely dry outside the car, which must have meant the tunneled chute was some kind of vacuum.

  “Welcome, Drs. Becker and Saraven, to our humble abode.” His voice was anything but humble as he waved his arm about the premises. “Apologies for the unusual way of transport, but we do think you’ll understand our need for secrecy.”

  The one who spoke stood slightly apart from the other men. He was tall, well over six feet. His midsection was rounded, protruding beyond his coat. His eyes were deep set in his puffy, pale, pink-white face, and his hair was a mixture of silver and white. Not a single female was in sight, besides her and Amanda.

  “What is this place?” Robyn asked.

  The scientist smiled. “First, let me introduce myself. My name is Director Thomas Meade, and I am lead scientist of the GAH program. These are my colleagues. Roman Sabin, Nicolai Baratov, Huy Chen.”

  “Good evening,” Amanda said. Robyn echoed her sentiment, adding a quick nod of her head.

  The robot behind them was busy removing their personal items from the luggage stow.

  “What will we be doing here?” Amanda asked. “It appears you have a team of scientists and doctors. Why do you need two more?”

  “We’ve hit a brick wall…and you’re the best of the best in your fields.” The scientist inhaled deeply, puffing out his chest to stand tall. He peered at them out of his beady eyes. “Dr. Amanda Becker, Doctor of Genetics, on the cutting edge of genetic splicing, and neurosurgeon, with a degree in psychiatry. Fascinating! Such a combination.” He turned to Robyn.

  “Robyn Saraven, creator of the Earth Judgment Court of Law, the first computer program that is self-repairing. Imagine that. A computer program that can debug itself. You have put us on the cutting edge of artificial intelligence, earning a doctorate yourself, though you’re too humble to use it. And even more spectacular is that—like Dr. Becker—you’re a jack of all trades.” His voice turned sly, and his piggish eyes gleamed. The pit of Robyn’s stomach turned over as she felt what he was going to say more than she knew what he was going to reveal. “Welcome to our humble abode…Eve.”

  Robyn inhaled so sharply she felt her nostrils constrict. No one was aware of her alter ego.

  No one.

  Dr. Becker’s mouth fell open. “You’re Eve?”

  Robyn gave one short nod. As the infamous internet hacker, she’d accomplished more than the world’s best hackers—all during her teenage years. Her record had been expunged when she’d been offered the job of creating the planet’s court system.

  And for some reason, this company had been privy to her best held secret. They were more than being supported by the Global Government. They had access to the top levels.

  “I am more than pleased to make the acquaintance of both of you,” Director Meade said. “And so excited to have you on my team. Now, let’s move forward and discover our own, deeply held secrets, shall we?”

  He motioned for them to follow, leading them past the hoverway and up a sidewalk to the laboratory. The chute—large enough for the car—was the only landmark. It separated the air they breathed from the depths of the oceans by which they came. She’d assume more of the thick, enforced glass material sealed the entire length of their small lab and kept the bubble of oxygen stable around them.

  Using a keycard from his front pocket, he slid it through the double doors. Robyn glanced quickly at the movement. Laser reading, the easiest to hack. Not that she was planning it, but it always helped to be aware of one’s surroundings at all times. It was natural with her, as inborn as breathing.

  The keycard unlocked a giant steel door. When the door swung open, its dimensions were nearly a foot thick. She saw Amanda notice the thickness of the door also.

  Director Meade caught her gaze. “A security feature,” he said. “Our systems will never fail, but should something unexpected happen, the laboratory itself is capable of becoming an additional fortress against the ocean walls. The glass walls aren’t actually glass.” His round face looked excited to share with them the secrets of the underground laboratory. “It is a material we discovered in the lost city of Atlantis. We amended it to use with the polymer of the nine floating cities, making it lightweight but adding immeasurable strength. And of course, the added benefit of it being as clear as glass. We can see any outside threats, whether they be a rush of water or a yet undiscovered underwater creature. It’s amazing that with all our advances, the depths of the oceans are the most unexplored region of our planet. There are some creatures at this level that date back to prehistoric days! Sea creatures we thought long extinct.”

  The vastness of the lobby struck her first. White marble floors and twenty foot high ceilings gave it a spacious feel. Around the lobby of the laboratories were various preserved displays of ocean life they’d captured…and explored. Images of the inner bodies sliced up and proudly splayed out as if they’d invented the sea animals.

  Just beyond the lobby was a huge, round room with sliding doors like an elevator on either side.

  Clearing both doors, Dr. Meade pressed the button for the first level. They were barely aware of being lowered. As soon as the doors opened, they entered the actual laboratory, the hallways narrowing and becoming darker with the dimmer lighting. He led them into a central area with a huge viewing window.

  Amanda stepped up to the glass first, and gasped.

  Chapter Two

  “You have got to be kiddin
g me.”

  By the look on Amanda Becker’s face, Robyn was more than positive what she was looking at was indeed real. She continued to peer down at the horrifying display of unconscious bodies lining the walls below them.

  Naked.

  The walls had slight indentations, recessed about eighteen inches, in which the bodies resided. Straps held them upright, one across the forehead, one over the shoulders, one at the chest, the waist, each wrist, each upper thigh, and each ankle. Their eyes were taped shut, and tubes came from the vicinity of their stomach and chest.

  “None of them have consciousness,” Director Meade droned. “They are simply created shells. Which is why we need the two of you. Do you remember the lost city of Atlantis? The legend of the Bermuda Triangle? Before the Earthquakes of the twenty-fourth century, the then-governments uncovered actual proof of their existence. They were no longer just rumors. We discovered the Bermuda Triangle was a keyhole into another dimension that people were sometimes lost in over the years—and from both dimensional fields. But for as many humans that disappeared, which we now know went out the portal, other beings came in. Before it was sealed on the other end, countless extraterrestrials came through and made their new home in Atlantis. The existence of Atlantis, you already know. But what isn’t disclosed is what was discovered there when the remains were uncovered. Amid the proof of the lost city were decomposed bodies of various alien life forms—that of those ancient beings who had crossed the keyhole entry. Stuck there, they constructed their own city called Atlantis. They brought information from their planets and technology in the form of what was on their body when they were stranded. The tissue samples of these beings were freeze dried, and locked in storage. Fast forward to our century, when the various governments of the planet have now merged into one, our own Global Government. The DNA was uncovered in secret files, and by utilizing it, we created these genetically modified beings.” He paused for effect, but Robyn was entranced; staring at the creatures held in cubicles within the walls.