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“Certainly not!” she says, a bit insulted by the suggestion. “But even my dreams must give way to reality. It was the military who expressed an interest in what we could do, the military who could afford to fund it. So here we are.”
And then Cam realizes that he’s the one who made all this possible. He’s the one who romanced General Bodeker and Senator Cobb. Of course, the military doesn’t need rewinds who can speak nine languages, recite poetry, and play the guitar. It needs rewinds who follow orders. Nonentities who are legally considered “property,” who don’t need to be paid, and who have no rights.
“You look pensive.” Roberta comes closer to get a good look at him. He doesn’t flinch or crack in the least.
“I was thinking how brilliant it is.”
“Really?”
“Soldiers who have no families to go back to? Whose entire identity begins with their military service? A stroke of genius! And I’ll bet you can tweak them the way you tweaked me—to find their greatest satisfaction in their service.”
Roberta smiles, but hesitantly. “I’m impressed that you’ve grasped the scope of this so quickly.”
“It’s . . . visionary,” Cam tells her. “Perhaps one day I’ll be the commanding officer of all my rewind brethren.”
“Perhaps you will be.”
He turns and walks casually to the door. Roberta walks beside him, watching him, always watching him. “Now that you know, you can put it to rest, and get on with your life. And it will be a glorious life, Cam. They need it to be. You must be seen as a prince among peasants, and General Bodeker knows that. You will want for nothing. You will be treated with respect. You will be happy.”
And so he beams for her, to project the impression that he already is happy. Roberta once told him his eyes came from a boy who could melt a girl’s heart with a single glance. She probably never considered how effectively they could be weaponized against her.
“It’s dawn,” Cam says. “I don’t know about you, but I’m up for an early breakfast.”
“Splendid. I’ll let the kitchen know when we get back to the mansion.”
As they leave, Cam turns to take one last look at the room full of preconscious rewinds.
These truly are my brothers and sisters, he thinks. And they must never be allowed to be born.
Part Four
* * *
This Lane Must Exit
HEADLINES . . .
* * *
National Geographic, May 4, 2014
SWAPPING YOUNG BLOOD FOR OLD REVERSES AGING
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/05/140504-swapping-young-blood-for-old-reverses-aging/
* * *
BBC News–Scotland, June 24, 2014
WOMAN TO BE FIRST IN UK TO HAVE DOUBLE HAND TRANSPLANT
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-27999349
* * *
r /> ABC News, September 25, 2013
DOCTORS GROW NOSE ON MAN’S FOREHEAD
