The Purlieu Experiment
Chapter 36
Copyright 2015 & 2021
Donte, Rianne and Quade were up early the next morning and caught the first tram to the airfield where an airship was waiting for them. Their flight to the Baigh was routine and they were soon at the library. Rianne quickly found Niall's file; "The Purlieu Experiment."
When the computer requested a password, she turned it over to Donte. He entered the password Niall had given him and it prompted him for a code.
Donte looked at Rianne. "He didn't say anything about a code."
"Try the hint."
He prompted for the hint, which was "Numbers = Location."
Donte frowned. "Location? Location of what?" At first, he thought of a file location, but then something else occurred to him. Only someone who had actually been to the underground complex would know the location. He went to the map book and thumbed through it until he found the map of Lochfowk. He didn't touch the map as he looked for the location. It was possible that they were being watched right now with a security camera. It was entirely likely that it was being recorded. He noted the latitude and longitude of the underground complex. He studied several other maps before going back to Rianne.
She smiled. "I knew you would figure it out."
When he entered the coordinates, a list of files immediately came up. He navigated to the first file "The Experiment." It was a personal account written by Niall. They all read the screen.
"I didn’t know I was born. I never knew my mother and father. I only knew that I spent my childhood in a controlled environment with other children. I didn’t know there was anything else. We were coveted by a group of people, not parents. Our every need was met and we were well educated. As children, we were allowed to live and play together until we became teens. Then we were separated by physical traits and gender. At sixteen, I was allowed to mingle with selected females. I knew love for the first time, but after a while they took her away. I never saw her again. After that it was merely lust, because they were only going to take them away after a while anyway. I was glad when they took me away and put me in charge of the Baigh.
The Fontalo, our creators, told us nothing, but The Parliament made access to the Purlieu Experiment readily available to the Mascots. That was what they called us. It was the first time I realized we were not completely human."
Donte took Rianne’s hand and they continued reading.
"We were genetically modified human cells created in a lab. Our genes were contaminated with the genes of other species. The Bergen Mascots, for instance, were given genes from an avialae to help them tolerate the cold. Their genetic makeup determined that they would always have blue eyes, blonde hair and a husky build. Like all of us, they were genetically altered to produce pheromones – the feel-good kind."
There was a long list of the attributes of each colony in detail. Most of it they knew, though none of them realized that the Anialwch camelus gene changed the shape of their blood cells to stave off dehydration. Donte glanced at Rianne and attempted to inject a little humor into the situation.
"Camelus – that would explain the two humps on their chest."
Her eyes expressed appreciation for the joke, but her lips never responded. He continued reading. The Lochfowk had amphibious genes from the anura.
He shrugged. "Perhaps that explains their green eyes."
"Or their ability to remain fertile when everyone else lost that ability." Rianne said.
He looked at her. "I didn't make that connection."
"Buccal pumping." Quade said. "Anuras breathe through their skin. Lochfowk has all that water – lakes and rivers."
Donte considered the information. "She wasn't afraid to leap into the water."
He turned back to the file again. Libertad people had a feline gene, giving them stealth, balance and night vision abilities.
Donte stopped again. It was no longer amusing. He was a mix of Bergen and Libertad. Did that mean he had inherited all of these animal genes? How much was human?
The Nyumbani had the gene of a Caprine to make them adaptable and live on less.
Donte stopped and turned to Rianne "So they could neglect them. I don't know if I want to read the rest."
Rianne squeezed his hand. "We must. Ignorance is not a sanctuary." They read on.
"The colonies were isolated from one another, with the order that they should not mix or in any way make contact with each other. At the time, it was my understanding that their reason for this was because mixing genes and cultures would make the experiment difficult to control. While I could understand this aspect, it was impossible for the spaceships to coordinate without the presence of The Parliament. None of us knew the language of the other.
The spaceships were provided by The Fontalo and, in the beginning, only Mascots were allowed on them. The Parliament and The Fontalo often had opposing points of view. To The Fontalo, we were like kernels of corn…results of genetic modification, not actual humans like them. We were simply animals that were part of an experiment…expendable. To The Parliament, we were a condition of a contract…a funding contention.
The Fontalo was a huge corporation on our mother planet, Oriel. They were not the government, but without their monetary contribution, the economy would collapse – at least that was how the government saw it. The Fontalo made crops productive and people's lives better – especially those who composed the government.
The Parliament didn't see it that way, but that didn't stop it from signing a contract with The Fontalo so that they would fund the largest part of The Purlieu Experiment. Of course, the Fontalo had conditions. The largest being the infusion of their Mascots into the experiment.
The Purlieu Experiment, in itself, was benign enough. Their goal was to put five colonies on a new planet. The colonists were all volunteer. They were given different environments, governments and implements. The idea was to observe the colonies over a set period of years to see how they developed. The colonists had different degrees of knowledge and skill levels. It was never the purpose of the Parliament that the colonist should refrain from mixing or communicating. Nor did they have any reason to separate them as to physical features. That was insisted on by The Fontalo. They wanted them to match the leaders – who must be Mascots. The Mascots had been designed to lead. It was the purpose of the Mascots to guide and protect the humans.
One of the reasons The Fontalo didn't want the mixing of Mascots was the fact that mixing intensified the attributes – specifically pheromones. Sometimes the mixed children had super powers. In short, mixing gave the Mascots more power – something The Fontalo wanted to retain at all cost to the original experiment.
Eventually all this came to a head. See my notes on THE PLAGUE."
Donte looked at Rianne. "Mixing increases Pheromones?" That might explain a lot – like maybe Sima's reaction to him…hopefully not Rianne's. He glanced at her stomach. "Well, our children might not be adorable, but at least people will think they are – even as they remove a fistful of hair."
Quade's laugh was one expulsion of air.
Rianne smiled and placed a hand on her stomach.
Donte navigated back to the file list and selected THE PLAGUE. They all began to read.
"The Fontalo and the Parliament grew increasingly at odds as The Fontalo took control of the experiment. As the population increased with each generation, there was some dissention. The offspring were not volunteers and they did not want to live within the rules.
The Fontalo systematically removed the ones who expressed discord. The Parliament said that their rebellion was a normal part of growth and a sign that the colonists were adapting and ready to direct their own future. The Fontalo didn't agree. They saw possible harm to their product; namely the Mascots. They couldn't send them back to Oriel, as they told the colonists, because they could cause problems, so they made them a part of the crew on the spaceships. They were given the most dangerous jobs. Consequently, their life span was substantially reduced.
At some point The Fontalo began to do the math and realized the Mascot population growth was too fast. The Fontalo decided they would neutralize the growth by sterilizing selected Mascots.
The Parliament saw no harm in that. After all, they never wanted the Mascots involved in the experiment. In any case, the Mascots belonged to The Fontalo. It was at this point that The Fontalo called another conference of the ruling Mascots. This is where I became involved.
I was told that the "inoculation" I was supposed to distribute orally to all the Mascots on Purlieu would not harm anyone and only work on the ones who had been selected to sterilize. Only the male Mascots would be affected, but the serum would effectively sterilize the male children and any males in vitro. I wish to add that at this point I drank one of the vials and waited to see if it had ill effects before giving it to anyone else. I then distributed it to all the Mascots in the colonies. Lochfowk was the last colony I visited, and it was at that point that I became ill. I told them not to take the serum until it could be tested for safety. I went back to the spaceship with that message.
I believe there was no intent on the part of The Fontalo to harm anyone, but neither was there much concern about pre-testing the serum. They and The Parliament worked long hours to find a cure, but the ill effects ran their course before anything could be found. I think the death toll was somewhere around 87%, but the purpose, sterilization, was 100% - for those who took the serum."
Donte felt sick. The plague wasn't a disease. He looked at Quade. He was staring at the screen, his face pale. He looked at Donte.
"Anica didn't take the serum because she was pregnant and was concerned about how it would affect the fetus – we didn't know it was twins at the time." He shook his head and groaned. "Obviously, they didn't consider us to be humans."
They continued to read.
"I was unconscious most of the time the worst part started, or I would have warned them. When they couldn't find a cure, The Fontalo gave the faulty serum to the remaining Mascots in their food in an attempt to cover up their mistake. By calling it a plague, and contaminating others later, it looked like they caught the plague from the others when they returned."
Quade groaned and turned away. "Pieter and I were both at that conference. They treated us like leaders, and all the while they were conspiring to kill us…or at least 87% of us."
Rianne had her hand over her mouth. Her eyes were wide and her face was pale.
No wonder Pieter thought it was unsafe to read the files. Did he know all this? Where would he have learned…Niall? The underground complex wasn't far from Bergen, and Pieter had said there were ways to protect them. Donte shook his head.
"Life in Nyumbani was so simple."
They continued reading.
"The Parliament was horrified at what had happened and severed their relationship with The Fontalo – effectively abandoning the experiment when they left. Their official claim was that the experiment was a failure due to the contamination on Purlieu that had caused a plague. Left holding all the evidence, The Fontalo also abandoned the experiment. They left the remaining Mascots behind, as well as three spaceships to protect the planet. It is my firm belief that they only left the spaceships because they intended to return. With all the Mascots sterilized, they would all be gone by the time The Fontalo returned. They didn't know about Lochfowk. I know what they are capable of, so I began making preparations for a defense when they return. One of my preparations was to learn all the languages. See my file THE ANIALWCH CONNECTION."
Donte stared at the screen. "It's so much worse than we thought."
Rianne's palm was wet – or maybe it was his. He removed his hand from hers and wiped it on his trousers.
Rianne finally spoke. "The more we mix, the stronger we are."
They both looked at her stomach. But their blood was already mixed because of Anica. Donte looked at Quade. "My mother unwittingly messed up their plan."
Donte navigated back to the list and selected THE ANIALWCH CONNECTION. This must be where he came in.
"There are those among us who are seers. Dalziel was one of them. When he came to me with his vision, I knew it was true because I was the only one left who knew that the Bosvrouwen were actually a mixture of Bergen and Anialwch."
Quade sat up straight. "There’s the missing information - The Anialwch Connection."
Donte stopped reading and looked at Rianne. She was staring at the screen, a hand over her mouth again.
She looked at Donte. "This is true?"
Donte shook his head. "It's possible. He looked at her beautiful golden hair. That means our baby is a mixture of Bergen, Libertad and Anialwch. It wasn't an evolutionary change at all. But when…how?"
Donte turned back to the screen. They had come this far. There was no turning back now.
"Dalziel saw the emblem of Lochfowk in the hands of a young Anialwch princess who was both a Mascot and an ewe. I must remind you at this point that Dalziel spoke no Anialwch. I had to explain to him that ewe is the Anialwch term for a seer. He said this ewe would rescue a young prince from the desert. He would carry the blood of Bergen, Libertad and Anialwch. He has black hair, blue eyes and wears the uniform of Bergen. I would know this prince, but I was not to tell anyone until he began to unite the colonies. When the princess comes of age, she and the prince will lead Purlieu to freedom. This prince is The Anialwch Connection."
"Dalziel’s vision said that there would be a great complex underground and the Mascots would go there when the Fontalo returned, or the humans would surrender us to The Fontalo to save themselves.
As I write this, I am preparing to go into hiding. I will give the password only to The Anialwch Connection. He will understand what he must do when it is time."
Donte looked at Rianne. "He saw me in the uniform of Bergen and thought it was me."
"Donte, it is you. Who else could it be?"
He shook his head. "It's just folklore, Rianne."
"Right, because how would a young girl find you in the desert?"
"I didn't say that was folklore. He could have learned about that. It wasn't a secret."
Rianne met his gaze. "When does a girl from Anialwch come of age?"
He grimaced. "At 19, but he would have known that if he studied them." Something else occurred to him at that point. "Niall is a Lochfowk and so is Akira. She knew all those things. She could have told him."
Rianne stared at him. "Donte, how old do you think this file is? I know that it is older than your trip to the desert. Niall has been missing for nearly 30 years. You can't deny this. You are The Anialwch Connection."
"But I no longer wear the uniform of Bergen. Have you forgotten?"
She sighed. "Tell me that Pieter didn't offer it to you again."
"I didn't accept it."
"But you didn't deny it either, did you? Why are you fighting this so hard?"
"I don’t know anything about fighting a war."
"It doesn’t say you are going to fight a war. It says you are going to lead the colonies to freedom – you and Celyn…" She lifted her brows. "Oh, I get it. It isn't the leadership that bothers you. It's Celyn…and the union."
He frowned. "There is no union. She said vows. There are all kinds of vows. Kenyon made a vow. You made a vow when you served on this spaceship, didn't you?"
She smiled. "Don't get upset. We have nine years and I intend to live them to their fullest…with you."
"We should live them to the fullest if we have two hundred years left. I am not going to exchange vows with Celyn. I love you."
Rianne opened her mouth to speak and he lifted a hand. "I don’t want to hear another word about it."
She laughed. "Sometimes you are so much like Pieter."
Quade had been watching them throughout their exchange, saying nothing. Finally, he stood. "Donte, you know what you must do. Refusing to acknowledge your destiny in this instance is tantamount to desertion."
He turned and left them without further comment.
Donte stood and pulled Rianne into his arms. "He's right. I can't walk away from this." He held her close. "Don't leave me Rianne. I need you. This thing with Celyn scares me half to death."
She drew back and looked into his eyes. "Whatever happens, I love you, Donte. No one can promise that they will always be there for another person. It doesn't matter whether you have a lifespan of 20 years or 400 years. We can only make the best of what we have now. If we fret about what tomorrow may bring, we will ruin today."
He looked at the screen. "All this time I thought The Parliament had created us to protect the colonists. They had nothing to do with it. To them, we were simply in the way. They never thought of us as being human at all.
Rianne looked at him. "Until The Fontalo tried to kill us off."
He shook his head. "They would have done the same for any life form." He pulled her close. "Rianne, what are we? Should we be reproducing? If we keep getting stronger, is it because we are mutating? If we’re no longer protection and guidance for the colonists, then what is our purpose? If I don't even know why we are here, how can I lead others – and what am I leading them to?" He sighed. I thought I was coming here for the answers, but I think I have more questions now than before."
Rianne reached down and navigated out of the files. The computer began making a strange noise. "I don’t like the sound of that," she said.
One by one, the files disappeared until there was nothing left. Rianne looked up at him, her eyes wide. "It's all gone!"
"Good. Let’s go home."
As he turned, a large plaque on the wall caught his attention. It was the Lochfowk emblem of the Baigh, a cluster of leaves around a large white Accipitridae. The figure was three dimensional and the eyes seemed to be staring at him.
Rianne looked at the accipitridae and then at Donte. "Is she here?"
He shook his head. "I don’t know."
"You feel her presence."
It wasn't a question, and she was right, he did. "This is just spooky." He took her hand and led her out the door.
Quade waited for them in the hall. "Beier sent a message to you, Donte. He wants you to meet him in Bosvrouwen on the tram to Bergen. They have a rogue ursidae that has killed several people. Some hunters went out to get him and he circled around, catching them unaware. It killed three of them. They want you to lead them." Quade shook his head. "You don't have to do this, Donte."
No, he didn't have to, but he didn't know how he could possibly refuse them. It didn't matter who made him or for what purpose. Right now, he could save lives. The ursidae would not catch him unaware.
He looked at Rianne. "I’m sorry."
She smiled up at him. "I understand. What is a little sickness compared to the loss of lives?"
Quade frowned. "What are you talking about?"
Rianne shrugged. "For some strange reason, when he is around, I don't feel the fetal sickness."
Quade's gaze rested reflectively on Donte. "Is this the first time this has happened?"
Donte shook his head. "No, it happened with Liana and Halisi too. Do you have any idea what might cause it?"
Quade thought about it for a few minutes. "Switch shirts with me."
Donte laughed. "I doubt it’s the clothing I wear."
Quade nodded. "So do I. I've got an idea it's the pheromones. When we get to the tram transfer in Bosvrouwen, I want you to switch shirts with me and Rianne can go to Libertad with me. We'll see if it works with me. If that works, you could leave a shirt with her when you go somewhere. I'm interested to see if this is something we could manufacture for all women."
"I suppose it’s possible, but would it work on humans?"
They were silent all the way to the station in Bosvrouwen. As he switched shirts with Quade, Donte looked at Rianne.
"Remember; it isn't me in that shirt."
A twinkle came into Rianne's eyes. "I'll try to keep that in mind. I wouldn't want Akira to catch us together and croak."
Quade shook his head and grinned. "You two are something else."
Donte sobered. "After the baby is born, I want to serve my three years. I will need the experience."
Rianne nodded. "You know I will be there for you."
He leaned down and kissed her. "I'll be back as soon as we get that ursidae."
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