John Krygelski - The Aegis Solution

“I would say yes,” answered Boehn. “Obviously, this is all they know. They don’t have a point of reference, a method for comparison to be able to tell us that they would prefer another lifestyle. But I believe they are.”

Kreitzmann snorted to indicate contempt. “Happy? Patrick, do you believe that the vast majority of people born into this world are happy? Whatever that means. There are certainly isolated pockets of privileged children, individuals who are destined to grow up in the best of homes, go to the best of schools, drive a Lexus, and marry another from the same subset to go on producing more self-indulgent children.

“But even within the United States, the norm is anything but what I’ve just described. The society is in a downward spiral. Have you so isolated yourself that you haven’t noticed? Did you know that in the past few decades, the percentage of children who graduate high school…high school, for God’s sake, has declined. In the years following World War II, the graduation rates improved dramatically; the percentage of children who went on to college skyrocketed. A multitude of other indicators were also on the rise, some moderately and some substantially. Almost all of those trends have reversed.

“Statistically, a female born in America fifteen years ago has a better chance of being a high school drop-out, unmarried and raising children on her own, than she does of eventually finishing school, obtaining a college degree, and finding a professional career. The males fare no better. And leave it to the current culture to create a new anomaly: the malnourished obese teenager.

“The examples and statistics I’ve cited thus far are for our own supposedly wealthy country. Once you leave these borders, as I have in my career, with the exception of a few truly enlightened countries, the prognosis for the children is far worse.

“That,” Kreitzmann emphasized dramatically, “is the life we have stolen from our subjects. Instead, they are fed perfectly balanced meals prepared by nutritionists. They receive the finest health care available. They are educated, in some cases, due to the uniqueness of their acquired skills, to a level far exceeding that which is available or even possible out there. They all participate in a daily regimen of exercise and physical activity, developed and monitored by experts in the field of physical education. They have never seen a moment of television, with the incumbent messages contained in both the entertainment and the advertising. They’ve never once in their lives seen a cigarette or cigar. Not one breath that they take is ever polluted with first- or second-hand smoke.

“Their diet is that of a vegetarian, with all of the fruits and vegetables locally grown and organic, so they have been spared the growth hormones, pesticides, and chemical fertilizers which you and I were raised ingesting.”

“Whoa!” Elias exclaimed, holding up his hands in mock surrender. “I see your point. I really do.”

Kreitzmann took a deep breath, calming down from the frenzy he had worked himself into. With a wry grin, he began to speak softly. “I’m sorry. As you can well imagine, the topic is a tender one for me as it has been the source of so many attacks over the recent years.”

“I understand. My only concern, when I broached the issue, was the treatment of the subjects. Obviously, they are well cared for, and their overall development is a high priority.”

“It is. Very much so. Does that address your concern?”

Hesitating first, Elias gently asked, “What is your…source for the newborns?”

Kreitzmann, rather than becoming tense or defensive, chuckled. “If you envision unmarked vans backed up to the maternity wards of hospitals where paid-off staff are secretly carrying babies out the back door to waiting men in dark sunglasses, I am sorry to disappoint you. There has been no baby stealing, no kidnapping. There have been no erroneous reports of infant mortality, while the newborns are transferred to us. We have multiple sources, Patrick. All of them are voluntary, with the full knowledge and consent of the parents or, in many cases, the mother, who is the only available parent.”

“I’m sorry to belabor this point, but I’m having a difficult time imagining the establishment of the supply chain, so to speak. Are you running advertising?”

“We have, in the past, done exactly that in other countries. It was that practice which brought the unwelcome attention to our work. We have since discovered that there is no necessity for such an overt practice. But there honestly isn’t any reason to expand upon the specifics because our need for maintaining the supply chain, as you so bluntly put it, has diminished to the point where it is almost not an issue.”

“Why is that?”

Kreitzmann waved his arm to encompass his surroundings. “This facility, Aegis, has reached a point of self-sustainment. We have so many subjects within the program who have been with us for so long that they are now, as Doctor Boehn mentioned a moment ago, procreating. Their children are now part of the program. Additionally, the misfits, losers, and terminally depressed who come through that front turnstile have no compunction about engaging in the act with anyone who consents and, in many cases, those who do not. And, for the most part, these people have no interest in parenting. If they did…if they had any sense of responsibility for their families…would they have abandoned them to enter Aegis? No, Patrick, our days of securing subjects from the outside are essentially over.

“And the day will soon come where one hundred percent of our subjects are second, or later, generation. When that day arrives, the accusation of working with infants who have been torn from the loving bosoms of their mothers will no longer be valid, as the mothers and fathers will be right here with them, participating and helping them to develop.”

While they had been speaking, Elias noticed that Doctor Bonillas had entered the lab and was standing patiently, waiting.

After Kreitzmann finished, he turned to her. “Yes, Doctor Bonillas?”

Nervously, she said, “Doctor Kreitzmann…if I could have a minute.”

As she said this, Elias noticed her eyes dart to him for a brief moment before returning to Kreitzmann.

“Of course. If you would both excuse me.”

He walked away from them, and Elias could hear him ask what she needed. Her response was nearly a whisper; he was not able to make out her words. But upon hearing her reply, Kreitzmann glanced over his shoulder at Elias, and then the two of them moved out into the hallway.

Assuming that somehow his cover had been blown, Elias began planning his next move while refining the mental map of the hallways that he and Kreitzmann had covered, and deciding upon his escape route.

If there had been any doubts in Elias’ mind about the purpose for Bonillas’ visit, those doubts were dashed when Kreitzmann returned alone. Gone was the friendly, collegial expression on his face. It was replaced with a look of anger and distrust. His eyes bored into Elias’ eyes, as he rejoined him and Boehn.

“Doctor Boehn,” he said, his voice taut, “if you would excuse us, please.”

Boehn, catching the inflection, became suddenly nervous. “Of course,” he replied as he turned to Elias and extended his hand. “Doctor Brightman, I hope that you decide….”

“That won’t be necessary,” Kreitzmann interrupted harshly. “Please….”

Boehn’s arm dropped quickly back to his side and he nodded, saying nothing else.

Kreitzmann turned to Elias. “Come with me.”

With perfectly manufactured inflections of curiosity and confusion, Elias asked, “Is something wrong?”

The scientist did not reply. He merely restated, “Come,” and turned toward the hallway, clearly expecting Elias to follow, which he did.