Helix Nexus by Chris Lofts

Author:Chris Lofts [Lofts, Chris]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-04-06T16:00:00+00:00

21

26 Hours

The patient creaking of the log burner’s chimney filled the gaping void in the conversation. The sisters stared at each other, then at Sofi and back at each other. Bo staggered up from his chair his mouth agape, pointing at Sofi in case nobody else in the room had noticed the apparent addition to the Stepper sisters – twins had become triplets.

Gabrielle was the first to approach. She snatched her fingers away from Sofi’s chin. ‘She’s freezing,’ she said, looking at Helix for an explanation. Taking the AI’s chin in her hand again, she turned her head to the right and then the left. ‘How…’

Helix wasn’t sure he could explain. He’d just accepted what Sofi had told him as he lay in the dark next to Gabrielle while she’d slept. ‘The tissue is designed to heal following battlefield injuries. Ethan being Ethan, tweaked things so he could create whatever appearance he wanted. By feeding Sofi sufficient images of the girl of his dreams she was able to recreate the features and appearance to match.’

‘And who fed her the images of me or us?’ Gabrielle said, turning to Helix.

‘There’s plenty of images and footage of you on record. It was relatively easy for Sofi to gather enough to replicate your appearance.’

SJ heaved herself out of the fireside chair. ‘So, can she change her appearance at will, you know, could she make herself look like Bo, for example?’

‘Oh Jesus,’ Bo protested. ‘This is freaking me out, man. I hate those bloody things. I’ve heard stories, they say—’

‘Calm down, lover,’ SJ said. ‘It’s just a question.’

Helix laughed. ‘It’s not quite that simple. Given enough time studying him, it probably could, but he’s taller and bigger. Skin and underlying muscle is one thing. Changes to the endoskeleton take longer. With you, Gabrielle and Sofi being similar in height and build it was faster to process.’

SJ circled Sofi. ‘What I wouldn’t give for my boobs and bum to be that size again,’ she sighed, patting her baby-bump.

‘So, she takes my place,’ Gabrielle murmured.

Helix nodded. ‘Yep.’ He turned to SJ and Bo. ‘Nobody else in the village can know about this. Later on, if anyone asks where Sofi is, we say she’s gone on ahead.’

‘It’s going to be pretty obvious when they see a third sister wandering around the place,’ SJ said, slumping back into a chair.

‘Nobody is going to see her,’ Helix explained. ‘Gabrielle, we’re going to need to get her into some of your clothes when the time comes.’

Gabrielle nodded. ‘Appearance and clothing are one thing. What happens when it comes face to face with Lytkin? How well does it know my research?’

‘We just need to get alongside Lytkin, find out where Ethan is and get creative.’

‘And what about when Lytkin discovers that there is no blood flowing through the veins of this abomination?’ Gabrielle said. ‘The game will be up, and you’ll all be dead. Brilliant plan, Helix.’

Sofi took off her jacket, pulled up the sleeves of her thermal top and pointed to the inside of her elbow.

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