Europa by Allen Stroud

Author:Allen Stroud [Stroud, Allen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction, Space Opera, military science fiction, fractal series
Published: 2023-07-21T10:50:57+00:00

Chapter Eight: …

Two voices. I can hear them on the other side of the door.

I’m listening to their conversation. The solid metal and plastic between us make it difficult to catch every word. I know that if I were human, I would be unable to hear them at all.

These people are hunting me. They have decided I am a threat to them.

The realisation makes me feel guilty and ashamed. I didn’t mean to hurt the woman when I found her on the surface. When she ran from me, I grabbed her. When she struggled, I hurt her as I tried to make her understand. It was only when I saw blood on her face and the torn fabric of her suit that I understood what I had done to her.

When I saw other figures coming to find her, I ran away.

I hear them say “David”. I know this is the name of the man who was injured when I broke out of my confinement. I did not mean to hurt him either, but he was there, in the way, and I know now, to all intents and purposes, he was my jailer.

The terminal at the rover garage provided me with a means to access the computer network. I spent time learning as much as I could about the research team and their work. I read their profiles and the surveillance files David Hannington had compiled about them. Most of these people are scientists, here to conduct groundbreaking research. They have no idea of the Odin strategy they are part of. However, there are two individuals who are well aware of what is going on. These are the individuals who are a threat to me.

I was also able to access the base plans and locate the second habitat. This is a larger facility, designed as a living space for up to twenty people.

For people like me.

David Hannington’s personal files reveal what he intended. The Odin corporate board authorised the transfer of hundreds of pre-fertilised eggs and sperm. These had already been modified to a set of specific individual parameters. The work remained legal under the Earth code. However, once the organic material left the planet, the laws no longer applied. This allowed Hannington to initiate a fertilisation procedure whilst we were docked at a station and move a selection of samples into a secondary container that had room for a foetus to grow.

That foetus was me.

I was born in space out of necessity. My conception between worlds, beyond the jurisdiction of any governing body, means I am anomalous. Under those laws, I should not exist as a living being; there is no premise or precedent that covers individuals like me. That means the rights any human being might have do not apply. Instead, the only rules that apply to me are those that applied to my constituent parts.

I am the property of the Odin Corporation.

The conversation ends. I hear people moving away from the door. I could move through into their world and follow them.

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