PROLOGUE
PROLOGUE
CARLISLE BURKE
NEW YORK
— VERY GOOD CHARLES — said Dr. Carlisle William Burke, completely happy with the result of his research after nearly five years of hard work — in short... the experiment worked, it's an absolute success.
The two started jumping through the experiments celebrating the great achievement, nothing in the world could make them happier than that discovery, five years working hard day and night, and in the end, everything had worked out...
The world will never be the same...
— This experiment could be the solution to curing all the diseases in the world — Charles said even more happily.
— Yes — Burke assured — I will use the reverse method, if all goes well, and I believe it will, we are one step away from saving thousands of lives, who knows, even the entire human race.
— But that goes against the principle of human evolution, Doctor.
— I don't see it that way, Hitler believed that the purification of the races was the solution to evolution, coldly speaking, yes, all the pests and diseases that afflicted humanity made the survivors and their posterity stronger and immune, only those who were immune or resistant to them, but why can't we advance this process, making all people immune?
— It's a hypothesis, doctor, but nature has its principles.
— It's not a hypothesis, Charles, we have just created a reality, if we make a vaccine that prevents all diseases, killing the virus before it manifests and strengthening the entire immune system, all people will gain quality of life, no one will need to stay more in hospitals because of cancer, Ebola, or any other disease...
Charles never argued with the doctor, the guy was a genius, he had an answer on the tip of his tongue for all the most complicated questions of humanity.
CHARLES WENT OUT FOR DRINKS with some friends that night. He felt deep inside that he needed to celebrate, even if people didn't know why he was so happy.
— A toast to my victory.
— A toast — shouted the friends returning the wave.
— So — said a friend after the celebration — what is the reason for such joy?
— We managed to find out… — he stopped abruptly — sorry guys, I can't talk, but I say it's a pretty cool thing.
A girl who was behind him was interested in the conversation, she knew that this young man worked with her boyfriend, who was always hiding things from her, and this would be the golden opportunity to find out what the skinny was hiding.
— Hi, Charles — Catherine said.
— Cat — he said, amazed to see her there — what are you doing here?
— Enjoying the night with some friends, how about you? What are you celebrating?
— Celebrating? — He said trying to hide it.
— This guy is just too much — said the completely drunk friend hugging him and giving him a kiss on the cheek — he discovered the cure for all diseases... have you thought about that, babe?
The boy placed another flamboyant kiss on Charles's cheek.
— I love you, man, you're my pride.
He made a toast with the beer bottle.
— Tintin, babe...
Charles looked confused.
— Is it true, Charles?
— Of course not, what an absurd thing, each disease has its specific particularity, it would be impossible to have an antidote that reacts to all of them.
— Perhaps — Catherine said, — as long as you treated them one by one, and not for the immune system itself.
What the fuck... — thought Charles — Carlisle said that girl was dumb as a door...
— Cat, if it were that simple, do you think someone wouldn't have figured it out already?
That night the two slept together and Charles told them everything.
CHARLES Woke up in the middle of the night still drunk and realized that Catherine had already left him.
Bastard... Burke will kill me when he finds out I told her about our discovery...
But at least he knew how Burke felt sleeping with that girl...
Burke and the entire football team...
The guilt for sharing Burke's secret was eating away at Charles inside, he knew he shouldn't have said anything to her...
But what could he do?
That woman was like the serpent in the Garden of Eden, she would have made him kill someone else if he wanted to...
But now was not the time to think about that... what's done is done...
DESPITE HAVING SLEPT relatively well, the binge had not passed yet, he felt they should have given him something more, normally the binge goes away in the morning, but this one in particular was going on longer than he thought.
Suddenly, a boy crosses the street out of nowhere and because of the drunkenness, his reflexes were very slow...
He runs over the boy.
Time seemed to have stopped, the only thing Charles could hear was the high— pitched voice of a child screaming...
Brian... Brian...
Neighbors began to leave their houses one by one.
Charles staggered out of the car and saw the boy's body lying on the ground, he cannot explain how at that moment the drunkenness passed, but he got back into the car and fled.
THE TRAIN STATION WAS FULL, despite the desperation in his heart — because of the boy he had killed a few hours ago — there was a coldness inside him that made him act naturally.
Suddenly, someone gently nudges him from behind and the voice he heard sounded like that of a ghost.
— Why are you running, Charles?
Dr. Burke had a very deep voice.
— Doctor… — he said in amazement — I'm sorry, I…
— You told Catherine about our discovery, was that it?
— Also... it's... that... I killed a boy...
Doctor Burke's body went completely still...
It wasn't possible that he had killed the boy...
Charles started to cry.
— I didn't mean to, Carlisle, I swear I didn't... I was drunk, I didn't know what I was doing... I... I...
— No one wants to do these things...
Charles felt a sting and gradually lost consciousness, then passed out.
— EVERYTHING IS READY, DOCTOR — said the assistant.
— Very good, Henry, now just take the test, if he survives, we can start dreaming of saving humanity from itself.
The young assistant placed Charles in the cooling chamber and turned on the device.
— It will be better for him — the doctor said solicitously to the assistant — he would be arrested, tried and sentenced for killing my nephew, the price of his life is too small compared to all humanity.
— Why are you saying that, doctor?
— Because I created the destruction of humanity, Henry, and now I have to right the terrible mistake I made...
— Sorry, Doctor, but...
— I know you didn't understand any of what I said, but your children will understand...
CATHERINE HAVING DISCOVERED the experiment was the worst thing that had ever happened in Burke's life, and being blackmailed by William Johnson was worse than he could have imagined, luckily, one of the brightest students at their college was the son of a Russian billionaire and his mother was dying.
— I think I can help you...— Carlisle said.
Ivan looked at him strangely.
— Sorry but...
— I can help your mother, if you want, of course...
— It's all I want most in this life.
THE BOY'S MOTHER WAS TAKEN to Burke's laboratory and subjected to various tests under her son's hopeful gaze. The modified Omega Virus effectively fought the cancer that was killing that woman. In two weeks she was released from the hospital, everyone, without exception, said that a miracle had happened in that room.
As a response of thanks for the life of the boy's mother, Burke was awarded three hundred million dollars. He was finally able to start the project to save humanity from the chaos that would come in the future.
The Doctor. Burke never stopped thinking about what was said about him as a child...
He would be the person who would change the course of history as we know it...
As much as he wanted to try hard to believe that he would change the course of history for the good, the facts that surrounded him showed the opposite, almost for a slip he was going to die at the hands of a madman.
But what can I do? I love that bastard...
As much as Burke tried to reason logically, the image of Catherine didn't leave his mind, worst of all, he knew she felt the same way too, but in Catherine's case, she knew what would make her a recognized woman. In all world.