Page 23 of Perfection

“But why would they need to target a single generation? Why D?” she asked.

“We may have to find a suspect to answer that. And what Coder would have the knowledge to create such a sophisticated weapon? At least, I assume it’s sophisticated.”

She nodded. “Not your average person, that’s for sure.”

The divide between the races was ever growing, so it was certainly an angle to investigate. The question was, who would be his top suspects? He needed to research any and all threats against B-Gastion more deeply when he got back to his computer.

Several minutes passed before she looked him in the eye. “What about the media? They’re going to have a field day with this.”

“I’ll deal with them while you work on the cure.” He folded his arms over his chest. “So, how long does it take to play God?”

She stiffened and then rose from her seat, turning away from him.

He grabbed hold of her wrist. “Sorry, that came out wrong. I meant, what’s the length of time it takes to formulate these cures? A week? A month? A generation?”

She twisted her arm free. Her voice was drenched with concern as she said, “It usually takes about a day to develop a genetic blueprint, but I’ve never had to deal with viruses. It could be sooner, or it could take much longer.”

“Well, until you succeed, we need to figure out where the hell this came from and contain it.”

Determination gleamed in her pale, exhausted eyes. She pulled her back straighter. “And pray the virus hasn’t already been transmitted to other children. Because if it has, we’re already too late.”

* * *

Too late. Too late. Too late.

He’d had that earworm before. Kindra stared at him with an odd expression, as though she were looking through him without actually seeing as they left the lounge.

She gave several rapid blinks. “Have you ever tried spiritual unity?”

“What? No.”

She straightened. “You should.”

He shot her a you’re-out-of-your-mind look. “It’s not for me.”

With a sudden burst of energy, she dashed by him, catching his hand and tugging him along with her. “Come. I’ll show you.”

He easily resisted and kept his feet rooted in place. “Are you crazy? I need to go home. Go to bed. Pound out new clues on the case. A dozen other things.”

“Is your family expecting you?”

He snorted. “No. But you have a daughter. Who’s watching her? Your husband?”

“I have a nanny robot.”

“Oh.” He couldn’t imagine a robot taking care of his child on a regular basis. He knew the people who could afford it did. People like Fredrick B-Gastion. But in his case, it was more to aid his wife than to turn the duty over to a machine.

She stood. “You need to educate yourself about everything to do with this case. This is the best way to free your mind and allow clearer thoughts to come through. It’s something that could help us both—you with your police work, me with a vaccine.”

He glared at her, silent.

“What I have to show you can be accomplished in a few minutes.”

“No.” He crossed his arms over his chest. What she said made sense, but he always resisted doing the things GEI did. Part of him didn’t want to learn their ways, another part resented the differences, and even though he knew it would make him a better person, he simply couldn’t soften his heart.

“A few minutes, York. Can you spare that much? In memory of Isabelle?”

Aw, shit… She had to use the kid against him. When she yanked his hand again, he relented and allowed himself to be towed along.