“I am not taking them; Cyborg Command will be taking them---only the inactivated cyborgs. The active cyborgs are free to stay or leave as they wish.” Vyken explained. “The production of cyborgs has been suspended.”
“But then what will I do?” Blake asked, still looking shell-shocked. “I’ve been making cyborgs my whole life.”
“How many do you have waiting to be activated?”
“Eight thousand. Ten in nurtury tanks.”
“You must bring them to maturity, but you may not start anymore,” Vyken told him. “Are you the only human living here?”
“I am not a natural human,” he confessed. “My predecessor was the last natural human, and he was here alone with a cyborg female as his mate. They were unable to produce children, so they made me from a cyborg embryo but without the nanocybots enhancements. In that respect I am natural. My growth was not accelerated, and I came out as a baby. They raised me as their child. My mother is still alive, but my father is dead. He died about ten years ago.”
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Vyken said respectfully. “But since the cyborgs in stasis have been born at maturity, the High Council has decided they have the right to their lives, and they plan to give that to them. May I inspect your facility now?”
Vyken got all the info he could from the Peru plant’s AI, but he wasn’t sure that the information was complete. He decided it was necessary to see the state of the facility first hand.
“All right,” Edward said with a resigned sigh. He clearly wasn’t happy with the situation, but Vyken’s code was verified. If he denied him access, the commander would likely come back with a company of cyborgs to force the issue, and the Peru cyborgs were preprogrammed to recognize him as their commander.
The Peruvian facility was at least twice the size of the Chicago facility. The fact that it and the other three remained intact was a testament to how well built and how well hidden they were. Bringing people to live there could work as it was already set up as a self-contained community with six levels, one level devoted to hydroponic farming because it was needed to support the human scientists, staff, and their families.
The second level held the eight thousand cyborgs in stasis, and the third level contained the labs, the nurtury, and the liquid nitrogen embryo vault. The fourth level was the cyborg quarters, and the fifth level was the residential level where Edward and his cyborg mother lived among thirty-four male and female cyborgs.
Hydroponics was on the sixth level, and that’s where they met Edward’s mother and other resident cyborgs. She was working with male and female cyborgs harvesting vegetables that were ready. They finished the inspection of the cyborg production facility in about two hours and left Edward with assurances that all activated cyborgs could choose to stay or go when cyborg command came for those in stasis.
“It looks like they build their community here with cyborgs and Edward is the only natural human left,” Danya whispered to Vyken as they were leaving.
“That’s exactly what they have done. They will probably need the embryo vault to keep it going if they plan to stay here,” he said.
“This has been a real eye-opener,” she whispered back. “I’m glad I got to come here with you today. When we leave, can we fly over those ruins we saw on the way in? I’m surprised they are still there. I just can’t remember what they are.”
“It’s called Macchu Picchu and was said to have been built by the Incas…” Vyken stated as he accessed the information from his memory banks.
“Okay, now I remember reading about it in one of Dad’s books,” she said. “I am glad it wasn’t destroyed in the war.”
“Probably because there are no large population centers nearby,” said Vyken. “The Mesaarkans were trying to exterminate the human race from Earth and many other planets. It was a job they were good at.”
“Did you ever see Chicago like it was before the war?” she asked
“Only in holovids. It was destroyed before I was created,” he replied. “But it was a great city before the Mesaarkans. I can show you on Starfire.”
“It was already ruined before my birth as well,” Danya said. “Dad said after the war started the government failed and the gangs took over. We were living at the outskirts of the city but came in for food when we heard that it was being delivered by aid workers if we were desperate. Then those guys found us when you showed up.”
“You have never spoken of your mother,” Vyken said.
“She died I was little. She got sick, and we had no medics or medicine. I don’t really remember her, except that it was the only time I ever saw Daddy cry. He never talks about her except that he said I look like her,” Danya said.
“If that’s true, she must have been beautiful,” Vyken observed.
“Well, I think you are too,” Danya openly flirted with him. “And you don’t look a day over thirty.” Of course, she knew he was eighty in human years, but cyborgs didn’t age. Square-jawed with a strong chin and stark blue eyes, he was as handsome as the day he was activated.
Danya didn’t have much experience with men and relationships, except her father. She had a good relationship with him. She was totally enamored with Vyken, but she realized that there was still a lot she didn’t know about him. Sometimes he seemed aloof, but then he would look at her with such passion and longing that she knew he was feeling more than he let on.
