Jonathan Taylor: Meyer-Hofmann AG

“You may think your life’s path is influenced by God or destiny, but in fact, this is your guide.”

The projector had thrown an image of a helix onto the white screen behind him.

“This, Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a DNA double helix. You find it in every human cell, and it is life’s code. When a cell multiplies, it is the DNA that governs and controls it—a blueprint, if you will. DNA governs your strengths and weaknesses, both physical and mental. We all have them; they are all unique; they make us the individuals we are. Strong, weak, fast, slow, intelligent, stupid, tall, short, blonde, brunette, black, or white.”

He gave them a little time to digest the information before continuing.

“We will soon be able to change these strands, improve them. We will be able to do this with adult subjects, the unborn foetus, a woman’s unfertilised eggs. We will be able to improve our citizens genetically, optimise our children, mould the next generation, and engineer the master race.”

The applause took Furtner by surprise.

“Man can be the master of his destiny. Germany can be the master of its destiny; we no longer have to accept the decisions of a malevolent God. We will eradicate disease and suffering in the Fatherland; we will produce stronger, faster, more intelligent citizens. We will fulfil our destiny and become all that we can be.”

The audience enthused.

“If this is true…”

“He has discovered the answer we seek!”

“It is an alternative route to Hitler’s vision!”

“Maybe Germany’s military must not forge the new future?”

“This could be even more effective!”

Had the war ended differently, Furtner would have become famous, known for the massive medical and forensic advances for which his work and work like it would be responsible. As it was, the Nazis had a different plan for his talents. In early 1944, he met Heinz Hofmann for the first time.

“Professor, the war is not going well, and the German Army is in retreat. There is no time to wait for you to perfect these techniques, let alone wait for the next generation to be born, grow up, and save us from our enemies. You must find another way, a way for us to continue, even if we lose the war, even if our leaders are killed. Is that possible?” Hofmann had asked.

Ecker addressed the table.

“Gentlemen, we have all been through the process, and the results have been beyond our wildest dreams. When my father started his work in 1930, even he could never have imagined what we have achieved today. Now, I can look you all in the eyes and say, I surprised myself.”

The room laughed at the irony, and there was a smattering of applause before the doctor began again.

“The recollection process has come a long way in recent years. Our research continues to make daily advances. The process is now far more effective. With the help of new virus strains, we can reach dormant DNA memory and replace that of the present day, even in a second-generation candidate. Herr Von Klitzing assures me that Jarvis is a perfect DNA match, and I am convinced that we can return him to his former self.”

Von Klitzing smiled at the pen as he rolled it between his fingers. He had gone unrecognised for his work long enough; this praise was overdue. The fact that most of the men at the table didn’t have the faintest idea what he did for the company agitated him. For them, he was just a bloodhound, tracking down their old colleagues. He was much more than that, his rank had been that of an Obergruppenführer , a rank the Nazi Party Paramilitary first created in 1932 as a rank of the SA, or storm troopers. Until 1942, it was the highest SS rank, inferior only to the Reichsführer-SS , one Heinrich Himmler. Von Klitzing’s new role was as the head of security for the Meyer-Hofmann group, and in his opinion, reanimating Hofmann was a security threat. Jarvis would undoubtedly become the new CEO, and therefore held the fate of all of them in his hands. As in the past, Von Klitzing considered it his duty to protect the Company against all threats. Should this man fail to recognise his responsibilities, he would deal with him.

Chance had found Hofmann’s descendent. Von Klitzing had required that all Meyer-Hofmann personnel be given a blood test when entering employment. These tests went beyond the mandatory health checks and included a full DNA profile. Jarvis had been tested while working for a paper mill that the company owned in Canada, despite him being a consultant. The results had triggered an automatic alarm, which brought Jarvis to Von Klitzing’s attention. The rest should have been straightforward. Tracking the man’s history back to his father and then to his father’s father, Heinz Hofmann. But then again, had it been simple, they would never have lost him in the first place. Hofmann’s baby had been smuggled into a safe house in London, England, to be precise. This had obviously been a mistake, because something catastrophic must have befallen the family. The records showed that shortly after the child’s arrival, the family disappeared. They were part of the sleeper network and must have moved without informing their superiors. Whether they were captured, killed, or both nobody knew, but somehow, the child survived. That child was jailed in 1973 for the brutal rape of a fifteen-year-old girl in Brighton. He never left prison, killed two years later in a fight with three inmates. He was thirty years of age. The girl he had raped decided to keep the child. Her Catholic family forbade an abortion, but promptly threw her out after the birth, when she refused to have the child adopted. Her circumstances must have changed because, five years later, she put him into care. For the last three decades Von Klitzing had been tracking the children of the original Meyer-Hofmann board, and with the capture of Heinz Hofmann, they were only one man away from a full house.

In 1944, Hofmann had persuaded Furtner to join the board of a new company. A company set up by Franz Meyer and Heinz Hofmann to continue Hitler’s work after the war. Both had been industrialists and close advisors to Hitler before the war, and were replaced by men with a different skill set once it began. They were ruthless businessmen, who had recognised Hitler’s gift as an orator when he first joined the German Workers Party. Hitler was able to motivate huge crowds, and win massive support for the newly formed Party, which would soon fight for power against the ruling government of the Weimar republic. Constantly encouraging him to gain greater influence within the Party, they manipulated him away from his more socialist views. Their support of Hitler during his early years in power allowed them to become members of his inner circle and closest advisors. Once the war began, although they had little say in military matters, they managed the country’s economic future. They propagated a strong nationalist stance, which strove towards full employment and the redistribution of wealth. When the newly named National Socialist German Workers Party made Hitler their leader (Führer), Hofmann and Meyer encouraged the privatisation of core businesses, and the confiscation of others held by undesirables. This policy allowed them to acquire many profitable businesses from the German Jews, for a fraction of their real worth. Both men made fortunes, which they then channelled back into the Party to help Hitler and the Nazi cause. Their vision, and Hitler’s, were one and the same; they believed in strength through the motivation of the people, the creation of a master Arian race, and the future of the Fatherland. The new Meyer-Hofmann company had access to vast financial resources. It would shape the future of Germany and the world, whatever the war’s outcome. With Furtner’s help, they would reach their goals, with or without a war. They could use more surreptitious means. Their priority, however, was to keep the new board members alive. Germany’s future was in jeopardy, and any one of them could be dead in the morning. They needed time, and that was the one thing they didn’t have. Furtner’s solution was incredible; his research gave them the perfect panacea. Although it was unlikely that all of them would survive the war, their offspring could.