I awake to the smell of coffee. Light through my eyelids. I open them and see sunlight streaming through a large plate glass window. Clear and bright. Almost white. Next to the window is a door. A knock sounds, and before I can answer, the door opens to admit a femme de chambre carrying a tray. I am lying on a bed. I can’t move. I watch her with one eye. She is tiny and delicate, with dark hair and a small mouth. Pretty. Round, white eyes, with a dollop of chocolate for pupils.
“Crème, monsieur?” Her voice is a well-tuned instrument, smooth and soft.
I try to say, “Oui, et sucre, s’il vous plait,” but my throat will not open and only a squeak escapes. My mouth is dry. My tongue is stuck.
*
Turkish men yell. Europeans shout short, single words. Asians squeak. Americans are silent until they explode.
Exitus acta probat.
“Where did you get the idea that fairness is readily available in the world?”
“Because we strive for it, as humans.”“No, we don’t. We strive for control of our lives and the world around us.”
“Tasta?! Tasta?!” I wonder if he got him. Jouer le rôle, mon ami.
“I thought you were the one who believes there is something more than just the scientifically verifiable?”
“I do believe that. But I don’t have control over much. And neither do you.”
Auchentoshan 18 year. Finest in the land. Only 227 bottles this year. My favorite.
Excerpt From
Mortals As They Walk
Markus McDowell
This material is protected by copyright.
In the near future, when biotechnology is stretching the limits of ethics and legality, a man, a woman, and a young child are caught up in a heavily funded project based on the work of a brilliant geneticist. But bio-research firms, Big Pharm, governments, and black marketeers see a way to become wealthy and powerful. Kidnappings, payoffs, political intrigue, and murder follow the test subjects, who must decide what to do with the data and the lives that have been destroyed—and find a way to save the child.
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