“And you say there’s no footage of the escape?”

  “No, sir. Prison cameras were sabotaged, showed live footage but the recordings were deleted immediately after. We don’t know how, but somehow they even got the few cameras that recorded them after they drove off. Even the civilian cameras on houses nearby. Whoever they have running backend is good at covering their tracks.”

  “Hm. And that name Malketh Smith is the only lead?”

  “And the clear connection to the GFC. Now that their resurging despite the Jade Congress’ pressure, they may feel confident enough to do something like this.”

  “And the samples?”

  The Gaian knight reached out and inspected the dried blood around one of the severed deadbolts on the door leading outside the prison. It was like it was cut with a laser, but nothing like he had ever seen before. It was completely covered in blood, almost like…

  With a start, he looked down at his hand and slowly lifted it and placed it in the bloody hole in the metal. An Immortal… and not just any Immortal. Someone who had the willpower to bear through the pain as they did something so horrific to themselves and used their regeneration for… this. He had suspected it, it was the only reason the two of them were here. It wasn’t proof… not yet. But it was close.

  “The samples came out empty, sir,”

  The lead knight turned to his partner and frowned, “Empty? What do you mean? You must at least been able to get the gene line. The percentage from each of the founders, which machines that his hidden patterns that he has?”

  The original algorithm designed by the genemother was supposed to be random as it altered the embryo’s genomes. But while it was excellent and certainly good enough for genetic viability of the population, it still left regular patterns in a person’s DNA that were detectable after genetic sequencing. As the algorithm was improved or altered for the incubation machines in a certain location or region, then these barely noticeable patterns would change.

  As the machine born humans mixed with the natural born people near their homes and had more children, these patterns would be passed down through genetics. So even with DNA completely unknown in their database, they should be able to narrow down certain areas or regions they were likely from with fairly high specificity. It generally only gave a region or country of origin most of the time, but even that proved useful.

  “It’s… nothing like I’ve ever seen sir. He doesn’t have any hidden patterns. In fact I’d say… Our database is throwing errors at us. It’s not reading him as any percentage of Founder DNA at all.”

  “None at all?” the senior knight asked skeptically, “Are you sure?”

  “That’s what the boys and girls in the lab said. They were rather excited, said that it was the scientific discovery of the century, finding a viable person with such abnormal DNA. Best theories at the moment was he’s some science experiment using some new kind of revolutionary incubation machine genetic algorithm or a genetic anomaly who’s mutated so much through the generations that his genetics have been unrecognizable to us. Perhaps his family were hermits or didn’t interact with the rest of Gaia for a thousand years or something similar…”

  “That’s ridiculous. That would put him as someone from almost the very beginning of life on Gaia without intermarrying with a single other group until today. Seems far fetched.”

  “It’s improbable, sir, but that’s what the lab said. They’d appreciate it if you let them know what else you can learn about this person.”

  The senior knight rubbed his chin and turned back to the door.

  “The man of mystery, huh. Even his genetics are baffling us. A loose Immortal, undetected and seemingly aligned with GFC. No wonder they’ve been surging if they have an Immortal helping them out… But what do you want, man of mystery. Believe in the GFC cause? But then why come yourself then? Why do the mission yourself and risk exposure? Something made you have to come and break them free yourself…”

  The gears slowly turned in the senior knight’s head, and he suddenly frowned. The man of mystery, why did that sound so familiar to him?

  As they went through the rest of the evidence and interviewed the guards who had spoken with this Malketh, the answer danced at the edge of the senior knight’s thoughts, right out of reach. Malketh was an uncommon name, why choose that as his alias? It made no sense, why not picking something more common? Maybe it wasn’t an alias. It was the name itself that was familiar to him. Where was…

  “Malketh Gaiason!” He suddenly burst out, and his partner and the guard he had interrupted mid sentence stared at him.

  “Malketh Gaiason, the third man,” he said, “There was an attack on one of the Jade Council’s weapons storage depots. By the GFC. Two of them escaped, but the third was killed. One Malketh Gaiason. A man of mystery, no records or traces of who it could be. I remember the Jade Congress even contacted us for information and we couldn’t find anything. It was a scandal that we weren’t able to find him. Don’t you remember, it must have been less than two decades ago, Paul! That’s why he came personally, why we can’t find anything on him. He’s the same person, who actually ended up surviving somehow undetected up to now.”

  “You think this person is the same, John?” Paul said before gesturing for the guard to go, “Truly? You’re right, I do remember that… That would fit. But how does that fit them being an Immortal? Surely one of them couldn’t remain undetected for long? Besides those Immortal Supremacy fanatics and the Herald of the Shadow.”

  John shot his junior a disapproving look, “Don’t call that psychopath that ridiculous title. Like he would know what the Shadow wants when even the Genemother or other Founders don’t… Thinks that because he’s Immortal that he has all the answers now.”

  “Don’t let those Eyes of the Shadow cultists hear you say something like that,” Paul warned, “They convert more and more people every year. I suppose it’s more comfortable giving the Shadow’s actions meaning rather than the unknowable and unanswerable question that it truly is… Choosing the worthy to become Immortals if they do good deeds and are righteous during their mortal lifetimes would be comforting if true, I suppose...”

  Stolen novel; please report.

  “Enough,” John said and shook his head, “We’re getting distracted, we’re not here to debate religion or the meaning of the Shadow. Or those cultists. We should investigate the GFC more thoroughly. They’ll have the answers on whoever this man is. We have resources that the Jade Congress doesn’t. We should be able to get something from them, perhaps get some better information from the agents we’ve had infiltrate them…”

  “Yes, sir. So are we writing off tracking him down from evidence that we’d find here, then?”

  John looked around before rubbing his chin to consider anything else that they could have missed.

  “I suppose so,” he eventually said, “We’ll leave the rest to the mortal team then. Let’s go, if we wait for long enough then he’ll poke his head back out again. He’s an Immortal, I’m sure that he won’t be able to cover his tracks for much longer from any mortals that he knows…”

  — — —

  “Feels so surreal, you know. Us back here, like it was over a decade ago,” Violet said as Sean helped her set up the television in her new room, “With how much has changed. How you’re an Immortal now, apparently some genius inventor from what you’ve said. You’ve done more for the GFC than I ever did.”

  Sean didn’t answer her for a moment, “I wouldn’t have helped them if not for you and Sierra,” he admitted. Her head snapped around and she stared at him.

  “I’m not one for the cause, you know that,” Sean continued, “I did all of this so they could help break you and Sierra free. And maybe do some good on the side. But I wouldn’t have done all of this for them if you two were dead or if it was just me.”

  “That’s… Malketh…” Violet stammered, “How? Why? I’ve told you of what they did to me and my family. To so many people? Why wouldn’t you help the GFC, if not for me and Sierra?”

  “I would have done something,” Sean said a little defensively, “Just not as much as I did. I’m not driven by the cause like you are. So in a way you helped the GFC more than anyone, even me. Because not only what you did, by making me stay and help them after I returned.”

  “I still can’t believe that,” Violet muttered while looking thoughtful, “You flew around the sun? Used your own body as a spaceship? Somebody’s out there killing Immortals? It just seems so unbelievable.”

  “They think they are killing them, I doubt that it worked,” Sean clarified. Violet gave him a flat look.

  “It’s the sun. I’m pretty sure whoever gets thrown in there is long dead no matter how fast they can regenerate.”

  Sean shrugged and didn’t press the point, remembering his own confusion and disbelief when the concept of true Immortality had been properly explained to him by his instructor Brenda on Immortus Station.

  “Hey, you want to test this thing out?” he asked as he finished plugging the cords in to connect the television to the wall and to the game console sitting beneath that he’d brought with him and snuck on top of the stand.

  Violet stared at the game console in surprise, not having noticed it in the business of moving boxes and shifting things around inside her new place.

  “Sure,” she said after a moment, “Just like the old times.”

  “Yes, just like old times,” Sean agreed and handed her a controller.

  Then they played just like old times, and all their worries fell away from them and Violet looked a decade younger as she swore at Sean as he thrashed her again as she brainstormed more ways to stack the deck against him.

  — — —

  “You wanted to see me, commander?” Sean said as he opened the door. He froze as he saw another man standing there looking to the door.

  “Yes, sorry to ambush you like this, Malketh,” the commander said apologetically, “But when one of the Founders asks for something, well… it’s not easy to say no.”

  Sean thought he caught a faint wisp of distaste in the commander’s tone. The man standing there extended his hands and gave Sean a closed lipped smile.

  “Malketh,” Peter Rose said, “It’s nice to meet our newest Immortal. I’ve heard that you’ve done a lot of good work here with the GFC. Not many could pull off all that you’ve done to help them, including that most recent jailbreak a few weeks ago.”

  Sean numbly clasped Peter’s hand and shook it, as the man suddenly peered at Sean suspiciously. Sean tried to control his expression, but knew that he was failing miserably. That voice, he knew that voice! Peter Rose was the one who ordered him to be launched into the sun! He was working with the Jade Congress and those Immortals that captured him somehow.

  “I know, not every day you get to meet a Founder,” Peter chuckled, seemingly misinterpreting Sean’s expression, “But you’re an Immortal too now. We’re brothers, you and I. Given a responsibility to do our best by humanity.”

  “Responsibility?” Sean asked cautiously before shooting a glance at the commander as he kept shaking Peter’s hand. But the man just gave a small shrug of confusion.

  “Yes, responsibility,” Peter said, “We were given these powers for a reason. To do our best for the world and make sure that nothing else goes wrong like it did on ancient Earth.”

  A shadow passed across his face before he refocused, “You’re not alone. I’d like to take you to meet some of the others if you’d like.”

  “And what of the GFC?” Sean asked suspiciously, his mind racing to process the revelation that Peter Rose was the one who had ordered him to be executed. That he was working with the Jade Congress.

  “Oh no, you misunderstand,” Peter said easily as he released Sean’s hand, “It’s really a meeting, shouldn’t take more than a few days of your time. Feel free to stay here and help out as much as you like. It’s really rather encouraging that you’re working so hard to improve the world even with how recently you’ve become an Immortal. An inspiration to us all trying to do the good work. I’ll even throw a few billion credits your commander’s way. A payment for your time away. And maybe I’ll considering investing a bit more substantially depending on how much good your commander ends up doing with all that money.”

  The commander’s eyes bulged. That would match or even exceed all the money that Sean had brought to the organization over the last year of selling his inventions. And Peter Rose had said it so casually…

  “I suppose I’ll be well paid for my time then,” Sean half joked, “When do we leave?”

  “I can set a meeting for as close as next week. Does that sound good for you? I’m sure your commander and I can organize transport. Secret location, we don’t want just anyone stumbling across us, you understand. We like to call it the Den because it’s so cozy in there.”

  “I will… see you there then,” Sean said slowly, “It will be exciting to meet others like me.”

  Peter gave Sean a firm nod, “Excellent. Now, I have some matters to discuss with your commander as you could imagine. Make sure to get the door on your way out.”

  At the clear dismissal, Sean gave a nod and left. He walked through the hallways and considered the implications of what had just happened. He knew that something was wrong with him despite how much Emily kept defending what he had done back on Earth.

  Should he avoid, shun him? Be hostile at the meeting and hope that Peter left him alone? But Peter must know who he was and had tried to have him killed already. Based on Peter’s words in there and general behavior, Sean didn’t think that Peter knew that Sean knew that it had been him though. If Sean hadn’t already heard his voice before in the far future in the wider galaxy and had some more context to be suspicious, he might not have identified it immediately either.

  But then as Sean walked, the cogs in his mind turned. This was it, this was why the Shadow had sent him here. Something about Peter Rose and what he did was important. Sean had to get as much information on what was happening. He would have to try to be friendly to these Immortals that Peter brought him to see. Join the group, based on the way that Peter was already calling Sean ‘one of us’. He sensed that it had a more specific meaning than just Immortals in general. Or maybe he was just being paranoid.

  Yes, he’d integrate with Peter Rose and whatever this group was and see what he could learn. And do his best to help the GFC too while he was at it.