Chapter 1

Sol System

Location – In orbit around the planet Earth

United States Joint Operations Military Satellite Code Name: Gemini

May 18th, 2057

The little boy felt different today. Stronger, faster, smarter and his body flowed freely as he walked down the hallway towards the laboratory. The hall was as white as snow and the windows crystal clear almost as if they weren't even there. From the windows, you could look out towards the moon and see the various buildings and landing pads that were apart of Armstrong base and on the other side of the hall you could look out and see the lower half of the Earth sphere. It was big, blue and it floated in space like a shiny marble and the boy loved to look out and fantasize about travelling down there one day with father just like he had promised and father never broke promises, ever. He continued to walk down the hallway as a contingent of soldiers marched by him. One of the tall ones popped out and scooped him up and threw him up on his shoulder "hey little man, off to see your dad?" he asked. "yes sir, he has a special activity set up for me today and I can't wait to see what it is" the boy replied with a smile. The soldier put him down, got down on one knee in front of him and looked him straight in the eyes. "He's waiting for you; I hope to see you again soon little man" the soldier patted him on the head and walked off. The little boy cocked his head to the side not understanding the soldier's statement, shrugged his shoulders and walked off towards the laboratory.

 The lab looked almost like the hallway except there was hints of grey and dark blue accents around the edges of the windows. Because the Earth was so close it made the room look almost like it was an extension of the earth itself that had morphed into the walls of the station. Small Japanese cherry blossom trees and thick green vines grew up through the floor of the room and gave it light pink hue across the white walls. The boy enjoyed sitting in here and helping his father with various "tasks" throughout the day and would often watch old movies on the VidCom in his father's quarters at night before bed. The little boy walked in and sat cross legged on the floor in the middle of the room, he closed his eyes and began to clear his mind as he father walked in. "Hey buddy! Did you enjoy breakfast this morning?" The boy jumped up and stood at attention with a huge smile on his face and he managed to blurt out "Yes sir, they had a breakfast buffet today and I ate 4 fried eggs, 8 sticks of bacon, 5 sausages and heaping pile of pancakes covered in vanilla maple syrup, oh and I also drank two pints of fresh orange juice." The father smiled in amazement and laughed at how excited the little boy was. "Wow that's a lot of food and I don't think you'll be able to help me today as eating all the food might make you tired, maybe we should wait till Monday" he said. The little boy had a look of disappointment on his face and he whined out "Aw jeez dad, I'll be ok I promise and I've been looking forward to this day all week can we please try it, if I can't do it, then I'll keep doing it till I get it right I promise" The father smiled and picked up the little boy from the floor. "Of course, we can and I'm, sure that you'll get on the first try" he bellowed out. 

 Adjacent to the lab was a medical theatre where people were starting to gather above the room. The little boy and the father walked into the lower half of the theatre and room went silent. This was the first time anyone had observed their activities together and the boy looked puzzled. "Ok buddy, we are about to being in a few moments. As usual I will tell you what needs to be accomplished in order to complete the task and once the task is complete you will receive, you're reward" the father explained. He patted the boy on the head and went up to join the people gathering above. Most of them were dressed like scientists and the rest of them were dressed in military uniforms his father included among them. That's odd the boy thought, I never seen father dressed like that before, I wonder why? The father began to speak. "Subject G10 has shown signs of heightened intelligence just like his brothers. This final test will unlock any latent abilities left in his psyche". The boy looked up. What is father talking about, he thought. "Number 10 are you ready" His father said. "Yes father, I am ready" the boy replied. "Survive" his father bellowed. Suddenly the lights went out and the room went dark. A door leading into the hall way opened up and a group of 10 soldiers marched in. They surrounded Number 10 and pointed their high-powered rifles at him. The boy shook and trembled with fear as he stared down the barrel of the high-powered plasma pulse rifle but in a moment notice the boy's eyes went pitch black and he stared blankly at the men. The soldier that picked him up the hallway pointed the rifle at the boy's skull and just as he was about the pull the trigger the little boy grabbed the barrel of the rifle with his left hand and pulled the heavy weapon forward, leapt up and grabbed the soldier by the head with his right and brought his knee into the soldier face cracking his nose bone and pushing the fragment into his brain instantly killing him. The 9 other soldiers couldn't keep up as the boy eliminated each target without skipping a beat and in about 45 seconds every soldier in that room was now dead. 

 The little boy's eyes turned back to normal and he collapsed to the floor, exhausted. His body lay limped on the floor as the medical team ran into the theatre with stretcher to bring him to the sick bay. One of the military men walked up to the father to shake his hand. "Congratulations Dr. Runnar, since number 10 has now passed with flying colors, we can begin the second stage of trials. Have him sent to the growth chamber immediately to begin incubation" he said smiling. The doctor in a proud voice replied. "Understood, thank you General". The rest of the officers came up to shake hands with the doctor who was now itching to move into stage two. Stage two consisted of year long age enhancement therapy that would age number 10 to around 17 years old, this subject proved to be tougher than the others and would make the transition relatively easy on the boy.

 By the time Dr Runnar returned to the lab, the boy was in already in the therapy pod where he would sleep in stasis as his body grew. The doctor walked over the pod and the boy opened his eyes. "How did I do father" he said slowly. "You did fantastic number 10; you earned your reward" the doctor replied. The boy's eyes opened widely. He knew that his father was going to give him something special for this accomplishment today. The doctor stood up as the door to the therapy pod closed slowly and he spoke proudly "From now on your name will not be known as 10, we shall all call you Christian". The pod closed and mechanical seal hissed as it shut. The pod moved down a conveyor belt to another room adjacent to the lab and as it entered the room, mechanical arm grabbed the pod and lifted it into position along the wall. Along the wall were 12 other pods all numbered in sequence each with a young boy in it with a space for Christian in it. Each child was at a different stage in the aging process and none of them looked like the other. The arm slowly pushed the pod into the blank space on the wall in between pods 9 and 11. Once the pod was put into place the numbers underneath the pods changed to names, the one for designated for number ten changed to Christian. The lights went out and stage two was now officially under way.