Genesis Code, (Book 1, Genesis Series)

Chapter 50

'Look,' said Bill. 'I know this is difficult for everyone to hear, let alone discuss. But I'm having trouble understanding exactly where Stephen fits into this.'

He was buzzing. Yet he hadn't had a coffee all day.

Laura sighed. 'As I said, the genetic experiments were carried out long before the planet had even been discovered. From the files, it appears that around 2110, while engineers and ship designers were busy perfecting space travel, the World Government had almost perfected something of their own.' She glanced at Stephen.

Bill looked between the pair. 'Are you seriously telling us...?' He ran his fingers through his hair. 'No.'

'Yes,' said Laura. 'They created a race that could survive on the planet in its original uninhabitable state. They'd given up hope of humans ever living there and without having discovered more exoplanets, they fell back on their contingency plan for the human race. In their mind, the Earth was beyond saving.'

Just as the last piece slotted into place, Bill's hate for the Indigenes vanished. 'So not only did those fuckers create a new breed of human, but they did it without permission?'

'Yes.' Laura's gaze flickered over to Stephen. 'He was designed to be a better version of us.'

'Shit.' Bill let out a breath. But something else caught his attention about the story. 'And what had they planned to do with the regular humans?'

Laura hesitated. 'The government placed our future existence in the hands of this superhuman race. What remained of the human race would be wiped out.'

'Fuck...' Bill knew the World Government were shady, but this stooped to a new level.

Stephen stepped forward, surprising Bill. He'd almost forgotten about the man in the room who'd been unwittingly caught up in a war he didn't start.

'How did we come into existence?' said Stephen. 'Where did my race come from exactly? Please, I need to know.'

Laura continued. 'In the early days, scientists had advertised for human test subjects to join their gene-splicing and manipulation therapy programmes. It was funded by the World Government.'

'Another non-surprise,' said Bill.

'Some volunteered, but many didn't. Without enough test subjects, they had to resort to taking people from the street. The tests succeeded at first, they said. But neither the splicing nor manipulation techniques worked well in those who had inherited genetic diseases from their parents. Their bodies successfully rejected the changes.

'It was through trial and error that the scientists discovered that anomaly. Later on, when they trialled splicing in people of average intellect with clean DNA structures, the results improved slightly, but showed little noticeable difference between the before and after test subjects. It wasn't until they tested those with a superior IQ that the genetic splicing and manipulation worked perfectly with their genes. The work done also had a boosting effect on their brain's ability to learn. Take doctors, engineers and professors. Professions with a high IQ. The tests seemed to supercharge their skills somehow.'

Bill had always suspected there was something different, or special, about the indigenous race on Exilon 5. 'So, there really is a race of super-intelligent beings on Exilon 5?'

'You only have to look at Stephen to know that's the case.'

'What's your IQ, Stephen?' said Bill.

'We don't use human measurements to define our intelligence, but if I was to compare it to your scale, it would be close to two hundred and seventy.'