phone, waiting for Victor Cross to call.
She hadn’t spoken to him in over a day, and she knew why: Cross was feeling pleased with himself and he didn’t want her ruining the mood by reminding him that if Colin learned the truth he could—and probably would—destroy them all single-handedly.
Victor’s arrogant to the point of self-delusion,
Yvonne thought, running her hands through her long, jet-black hair.
He thinks his way is the only way. And he’s willing to step on anybody to prove himself right.
If I didn’t know the truth I’d swear that
he
was a Ragnarök clone too.
Yvonne had been eleven years old when she first realized that she was smarter than her sister. Within two months she was smarter than anyone in Sakkara.
It had taken her a week to hack into Sakkara’s computers, and a further week to decrypt some of the data taken from Ragnarök’s computers eight years earlier.
And that was when she learned where she and Mina had come from.
Yvonne had entered Mina’s bedroom to find her sister sitting on the wide window ledge, her head resting on the sloped glass, staring out at the hills that surrounded Sakkara.
It had been almost six months since they had been allowed outside: their birthday treat the day they turned eleven.
Each day they were allocated an hour of personal time, during which they were free to read, watch television, play games or do anything they liked. As long as it didn’t involve leaving the building, eating food that was on the “restricted” list, listening to music that General Piers didn’t approve of, being loud or getting in anyone’s way.
The rest of the day was spent studying or being subjected to tests by Sakkara’s technicians and scientists.
From the little television they had seen, they were aware that normal eleven-year-old girls were allowed to go outside, have friends, eat junk food, go to parties and have sleepovers where they could sit up all night and talk about the boys they liked.
Yvonne and Mina had never met any boys.
As the door hissed closed behind Yvonne, Mina’s shoulders sagged. Without turning around, she said, “No luck?”
“No,” Yvonne dropped on to the bunk and lay on her stomach, her face and arms dangling over the edge, her fingertips brushing the thin carpet. “I swear…General Piers is the most miserable old man in the world.”
“He’s not letting us out,” Mina said. It wasn’t even a question.
“He didn’t even look at me. Just said, ‘No.’ Just like that. He didn’t even
pretend
to be thinking about it.”
“You’re smarter than he is. You ought to be able to come up with a way to persuade him.” Mina finally turned to face her sister.“They shouldn’t be allowed to keep us prisoner here. I mean, it’s illegal, right?”
Yvonne raised her head. “Technically, it’s not. Cloning is prohibited, therefore anything created through the process of human gene manipulation isn’t subject to human status. If we’re not humans, it’s not illegal to keep us locked up.”
“I just wish my superhuman powers would kick in! You’ve got your enormous IQ, and you’re way stronger than me. You’d think that clones would develop the same abilities at the same time.”
“People are more than just their DNA: There’re a lot of other factors that go into making a person.” Yvonne paused for a moment, thinking. “Though I’ve got a hunch that you
are
developing something…”
“Like what?”
“How did you know it was me who came into the room?”
Mina shrugged. “I just knew.”
“Maybe you’ve got some sort of telepathy.”
“I don’t think so…”
Yvonne climbed off the bed. “Just close your eyes for a minute, OK?”
Mina closed her eyes. “Now what?”
“Count to five and then tell me where I am.” Yvonne quietly moved toward the door.
Mina counted to five and pointed straight at Yvonne. “There.” She opened her eyes.
“You could hear me?”
“No, I just sort of knew.” Mina
She hadn’t spoken to him in over a day, and she knew why: Cross was feeling pleased with himself and he didn’t want her ruining the mood by reminding him that if Colin learned the truth he could—and probably would—destroy them all single-handedly.
Victor’s arrogant to the point of self-delusion,
Yvonne thought, running her hands through her long, jet-black hair.
He thinks his way is the only way. And he’s willing to step on anybody to prove himself right.
If I didn’t know the truth I’d swear that
he
was a Ragnarök clone too.
Yvonne had been eleven years old when she first realized that she was smarter than her sister. Within two months she was smarter than anyone in Sakkara.
It had taken her a week to hack into Sakkara’s computers, and a further week to decrypt some of the data taken from Ragnarök’s computers eight years earlier.
And that was when she learned where she and Mina had come from.
Yvonne had entered Mina’s bedroom to find her sister sitting on the wide window ledge, her head resting on the sloped glass, staring out at the hills that surrounded Sakkara.
It had been almost six months since they had been allowed outside: their birthday treat the day they turned eleven.
Each day they were allocated an hour of personal time, during which they were free to read, watch television, play games or do anything they liked. As long as it didn’t involve leaving the building, eating food that was on the “restricted” list, listening to music that General Piers didn’t approve of, being loud or getting in anyone’s way.
The rest of the day was spent studying or being subjected to tests by Sakkara’s technicians and scientists.
From the little television they had seen, they were aware that normal eleven-year-old girls were allowed to go outside, have friends, eat junk food, go to parties and have sleepovers where they could sit up all night and talk about the boys they liked.
Yvonne and Mina had never met any boys.
As the door hissed closed behind Yvonne, Mina’s shoulders sagged. Without turning around, she said, “No luck?”
“No,” Yvonne dropped on to the bunk and lay on her stomach, her face and arms dangling over the edge, her fingertips brushing the thin carpet. “I swear…General Piers is the most miserable old man in the world.”
“He’s not letting us out,” Mina said. It wasn’t even a question.
“He didn’t even look at me. Just said, ‘No.’ Just like that. He didn’t even
pretend
to be thinking about it.”
“You’re smarter than he is. You ought to be able to come up with a way to persuade him.” Mina finally turned to face her sister.“They shouldn’t be allowed to keep us prisoner here. I mean, it’s illegal, right?”
Yvonne raised her head. “Technically, it’s not. Cloning is prohibited, therefore anything created through the process of human gene manipulation isn’t subject to human status. If we’re not humans, it’s not illegal to keep us locked up.”
“I just wish my superhuman powers would kick in! You’ve got your enormous IQ, and you’re way stronger than me. You’d think that clones would develop the same abilities at the same time.”
“People are more than just their DNA: There’re a lot of other factors that go into making a person.” Yvonne paused for a moment, thinking. “Though I’ve got a hunch that you
are
developing something…”
“Like what?”
“How did you know it was me who came into the room?”
Mina shrugged. “I just knew.”
“Maybe you’ve got some sort of telepathy.”
“I don’t think so…”
Yvonne climbed off the bed. “Just close your eyes for a minute, OK?”
Mina closed her eyes. “Now what?”
“Count to five and then tell me where I am.” Yvonne quietly moved toward the door.
Mina counted to five and pointed straight at Yvonne. “There.” She opened her eyes.
“You could hear me?”
“No, I just sort of knew.” Mina
Similar Books
