Split second, p.30
Split Second, page 30
They were seated, their legs were tied firmly to the chairs with unbreakable nylon straps, ratcheted tight, and their hands were freed. Knight thanked his four underlings and they quickly exited, leaving him alone with his two prisoners.
Knight studied them thoughtfully for several long seconds. He was most fascinated by the Army Ranger turned PI. He didn’t look special in any way, but his file suggested he could not be more formidable. Appearances really could be deceiving.
“Jenna Morrison and Aaron Blake,” he said in delight. “It’s nice to finally meet you. I can’t help but be disappointed that you didn’t accept my generous offer and come in on your own. But I guess you’re here now anyway.”
He gestured to the chairs on which they were bound. “When I knew you were coming, I had these built especially for you.”
Blake nodded toward the two empty chairs beside him. “Having a problem with your math?” he said.
Knight shrugged. “You never know when two extra chairs might come in handy.”
“How long were we out?” asked Blake.
“Six hours.”
“Where are we?” demanded the PI.
Knight considered. Since he had made certain they were checked for bugs and homing devices, there was no reason not to tell them. “You’re on an island in the center of Lake Las Vegas.”
“Lake Las Vegas?” said Jenna. “Is that some kind of weird joke?”
“No. Why shouldn’t there be a giant man-made lake in the middle of a desert?” he said wryly.
Jenna and Blake exchanged confused glances, but this wasn’t the time to get a real estate lesson.
“So Hamilton was working for you all along?” said Blake.
“Yes. I hadn’t been all that impressed with him, actually. Until today.”
“Where are the others we were with?” said Jenna.
“I’m afraid they’re all dead,” replied Knight matter-of-factly. “Including my old friend Lee Cargill,” he added, this time with great satisfaction.
“No!” whispered Jenna in horror. “All of them? But why? They were helpless.”
“I didn’t want to be Q5’s enemy,” replied Knight. “After all, I’m the person who created it.” He shook his head. “But they’ve made it their mission to kill me. So forgive me for not getting all weepy about it.”
He pulled up a chair and sat down, six feet away. Banks of large monitors around the room displayed the whereabouts of various members of his organization, security perimeters, and other information in a never-ending barrage, but he only had eyes for Jenna and Blake.
“I was not happy to learn you had sided with Q5,” he said. “A poor choice.”
“Who told you we were on their side?” asked Blake, as if this couldn’t be further from the truth.
“Brian Hamilton.”
“Then Cargill lied to him,” said Blake without hesitation. “Cargill was trying to convince us to join him, but we were keeping an open mind. We actually wanted the chance to speak with you, get your side of the story, before we made up our minds. If you would have told us the score on the phone instead of lying to us, we might have been more receptive to your point of view.”
“Butchering helpless men isn’t winning you any brownie points either,” spat Jenna.
“First of all, I don’t care anymore if you come to my side or not. I intend to get Nathan Wexler’s file from you, willingly or otherwise. And I would never butcher helpless men. When you’re being stalked by a lion and you chance upon him sleeping, you kill him. The difference between me and Lee Cargill is that I’m willing to make tough choices, own up to tough realities.”
Knight rose and put his arms behind his back, causing him to take a forward-leaning posture. “Compassion is great. I’m all for it. But if we let it paralyze us from making rational, logical . . . necessary decisions, we deserve to go extinct as a species.”
“Just the opposite,” said Jenna. “Compassion will make sure we don’t go extinct.”
Knight laughed. “Spoken like a true head-up-your-ass idiot,” he said. “If everyone were compassionate, this would be true. But there are ruthless people in this world. People who relish the idea of Armageddon and are moments away from having the means to make this happen. Compassion in the face of that is suicidal, which is the exact path we’re on. You’re like a stalk of wheat in a wheat field saying to your compatriots, ‘compassion and love are the answer. If we just show that approaching cloud of millions of locusts how caring we are, I’m sure they’ll leave us alone.’”
“I agree with you in many ways,” said Blake. “I do. But the answer isn’t setting one man up as absolute dictator.”
“Why not? Right now we have democracies in the world, but we also have any number of countries run by dictators and worse. Irrational, power-hungry people, with only their own interests at heart. At least with me running the show you’ll have rational decisions.”
“Like sterilization of anyone below a certain intelligence level?” said Jenna.
“Yes. First you wipe the barbaric, destructive extremists from the planet. Simple decision, just like I made with your friends in the transport truck. Kill them, or they’ll kill you later. These terrorist types are great at begging for your mercy, appealing to your compassion, until the moment you’re stupid enough to let them off the mat, when they destroy you with a ruthlessness you can’t comprehend. Believe me, they won’t show you any compassion or mercy, even a second after you spare them.”
Knight sighed. “As for controlling the coming swarms of unintelligent, ignorant masses, it’s been said before that the Earth is a spaceship, and we’re its passengers. Our planet is a tiny lifeboat in a vast ocean universe. But our boat is getting overcrowded and taking on water. When the crewmembers who aren’t capable of bailing any water reproduce ten times faster than those who can, it doesn’t take a genius to see that the boat will eventually sink. It’s only a matter of time. And I’m not advocating throwing these crewmembers overboard. Just making sure their endless progeny don’t overwhelm and eventually suffocate the able-bodied members of the crew.”
Knight was surprised that Jenna Morrison didn’t have a visceral and immediate negative reaction to this view, shouting out her objections. Perhaps, on some level, she knew he was right.
“Rational decisions and compassionate decisions are often at odds with each other,” he continued. “Sometimes rational decisions seem cruel. I can’t help that. As a compassionate society, we thin herds of animal species, because we see the perils that overpopulation presents to them. We burn overgrown forests in a controlled manner to save them from the devastation of an uncontrolled fire. But we refuse to treat our own species with the rationality with which we treat others.”
“I’m sure the Unabomber prided himself on his rationality too,” said Blake bitterly.
Knight laughed. “The difference is, I know I’m rational. The truth is, not many people are. They think they are, but they’re fooling themselves. People like you are horrified because I make decisions based on logic rather than emotion. For me, it’s all in the math. A train is about to hit and kill five innocent people. Say you have the power to divert it at the last second, saving these five, but this diversion will kill your mother. Do you do it?”
Knight waited for several seconds. The strained look on the faces of both prisoners, and their failure to answer immediately, was telling.
“Of course you do,” he said. “One versus five. The logic is simple. I can make this kind of decision easily, so I’m a monster. You can’t, which is why you need someone like me running the show.”
Blake sighed. “I have to admit, I don’t entirely disagree with what you’re saying.”
“Good try, Mr. Blake, but I just wanted to give you my side of the argument. I’ll never believe you agree with me at this point. Your hesitation in answering my train question gives me all the information I need. I’m willing to do what I have to do to save spaceship Earth. If that means dicing a thousand innocent people into tiny cubes, then that’s what I’ll do. I won’t enjoy it. I’ll wish it wasn’t necessary. But I’ll always keep the big picture, the math, in mind. Kill a thousand, save the world.”
“Cargill told us you were suffering from delusions of grandeur,” said Jenna disdainfully. “He was dead on about that.”
“My grandiosity is a fact, not a delusion,” said Knight in amusement. “I am extraordinary. And I’m under no delusions about the fate of our species if drastic measures aren’t taken. It’s easy to bury your head in the sand, think compassionate thoughts while the world burns, avoid making the tough choices. It’s hard to face up to the ugly truth, and the unpleasant decisions this forces on you.”
“So what do you want with us?” said Jenna.
“You have a copy of Wexler’s work in the cloud. I want you to open it, give it to me, and then destroy it, along with your fail-safe.”
“That cloud file doesn’t exist anymore,” said Jenna. “We destroyed it when we joined Cargill.”
He raised his eyebrows. “That’s interesting. I could have sworn you began this session by telling me you still weren’t a part of Q5.”
Jenna remained silent.
“I know the file still exists,” said Knight angrily. “Hamilton wouldn’t have exposed himself to get you here if he didn’t know it was still active. Seems that Cargill was very clear on this at his recent briefing. You know, the one he had the day before Hamilton blew him away.”
“So does cruel taunting count as rational?” said Jenna. “Maybe killing him is rational, if you’re convinced he’s determined to do the same and it’s preemptive—maybe. But how does sadistic gloating, rubbing salt in our wound, count as rational?”
“Because everything I do is calculated,” replied Knight immediately. “Taunting can be used to intimidate, to make you fear what I might do. To make you believe I probably am sadistic, so you’ll cooperate with less resistance.”
“Well calculate this,” snapped Jenna with a fierce glare, “we’re not getting that file for you. Period. We’re both prepared to die before letting that happen.”
Knight smiled. “She didn’t really check that with you first, did she, Mr. Blake?”
“That’s because she knows me well enough to know I agree.”
“Yeah, I know you well enough, too. You’re obviously the strong link in this chain. But Jenna here . . .” He shook his head. “Not so much.”
Jenna couldn’t completely hide her fear but managed to maintain her resolve. “With this much at stake, I’m going to prove you wrong. We all have to die sometime,” she added stoically.
“So let me guess, you’re prepared to die a thousand deaths in support of your cause.”
“Yes,” said Jenna.
Knight issued a command to his PDA and less than a minute later two guards entered his penthouse suite, leading two additional prisoners into the room, their hands bound and both of their mouths sealed with gray duct tape.
Jenna’s eyes nearly burst from their sockets.
The first prisoner she recognized immediately: Nathan Wexler. Alive and looking surprisingly well.
The second prisoner was a woman, one she realized she knew, but whom she couldn’t quite place.
When she did, bile rose in her throat, and the world began to spin around her.
Because the second prisoner was Jenna Morrison.
53
“Nathan?” said Jenna, turning to the first prisoner.
He nodded, and this was all it took to send a flood of tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Let’s hold off on the joyous reunion until I get these two situated,” said Knight. He motioned to his men, who deposited the new prisoners in the two empty chairs and bound their legs as well.
“Should we remove the tape from their mouths?” asked one of the men.
“No, leave it,” Knight commanded, and then waved them away. “Thanks, that will be all.”
As the guards left the room, Jenna turned to Knight, tears still dripping down her face. “How?” she asked simply.
“Come on Jenna. See what emotions do to a person. You are so much smarter than that.”
“You duplicated him. Duplicated us,” she added in horror. “But when?”
“Now that is a more intelligent question. About three months ago. He’s part of what I call my Brain Trust. It’s a little initiative I’ve developed to duplicate the best minds in the world.”
Blake frowned. “Cargill told us you fantasized about copying the Einsteins of our age. We should have known you wouldn’t wait to get started on this.”
“No time like the present,” said Knight with a grin. “That’s a bit of a time travel joke, in case you didn’t catch it,” he added.
Both prisoners continued to glare at their captor, in no mood for humor.
“The truth is,” said Knight, “my Brain Trust initiative has already paid huge dividends. These people have made breakthroughs that are truly stunning.”
“But how did you manage to copy us?” said Jenna, finally regaining full control of her tear ducts.
“Carefully,” said Knight. “Very carefully. I’ve built a collection of eighteen-wheelers with time machines inside. We deploy two trucks for each target, one with a device and one without. My men mark off range and distance in the nearest empty field or parking lot. You two were sleeping like babies when they broke in and gassed you. Once you were completely out, they put you in the truck containing my device and parked fifty-eight feet from the other truck, in the proper orientation. I triggered the device remotely, and voila, a copy of each of you.”
Blake nodded slowly. “Then your men just returned them to their beds, and they awoke, none the wiser.”
“Obviously,” said Knight, “since she clearly had no idea any of this happened. My men are supremely talented at this task and have done this repeatedly around the country, with equal success. Right now the operation is limited to North America, but so many brilliant scientists from overseas visit this continent this hasn’t posed much of a limitation.”
Knight sneered. “I’m sure Cargill told you all about duplication strategies such as this,” he added, “no doubt using his favorite example, Kim Jung-un. The difference is, Cargill is too weak to actually do it. Another idiot who blathers on about slippery slopes while our ship is hitting an iceberg.”
Jenna stared into the eyes of her double, into her own eyes, and shivered—both versions did so at the same time. “I get why you wanted Nathan. But why did you duplicate me?”
“I’m nothing if not practical,” said Knight. “I want these scientific titans to have the best work environment possible, the most conducive to clear thought. Men and women both tend to perform better when they’re getting laid, genius or no. And when a man is in love, like Nathan, forcibly removing him from the object of his affection almost guarantees lack of cooperation. Members of my Brain Trust are prisoners, yes, but their cages are gilded. Most love being here despite themselves. Where else can they focus their genius without need to raise money, and with absolutely no distractions? Where else can they work with others as brilliant as themselves? I’ve gathered the most brilliant minds, working on the most challenging problems, with unlimited access to any equipment they desire, and within the best lab facilities in the world.”
Jenna turned away from her double and locked her gaze on Nathan Wexler. “I’ve missed you so much,” she said, her eyes becoming moist again. “I love you,” she finished.
Wexler’s glance shifted from Jenna to the gagged version of Jenna—the woman with whom he had lived the past three months—and back again. His eyes were now moist as well and he nodded his acknowledgment of this sentiment, unable to speak, and clearly unsure how to process this impossible situation.
“So if you have Nathan Wexler,” said Blake, “why do you need his file? Your Wexler has the identical mind and capabilities of the other. Surely this Nathan Wexler can come up with the same discovery.”
“You’d think,” said Knight, showing a flash of anger. “But apparently not. And I even have the advantage of being able to put more than one of him on the problem.”
“How many others of him are there?” whispered Jenna in horror.
“Eight,” said Knight. “Each with their own Jenna Morrison to screw at night,” he added bluntly. “I wanted more, but I have to be practical, and if eight aren’t doing the trick, more probably won’t either. And because they each know the importance of what I’m after, and each are head-up-their-ass pacifists, they have more incentive to escape than any of the others. You know, nothing drives one like a grand cause.”
“And none of the eight have solved it?” said Blake.
Knight frowned. “No. They are all Dr. Wexler, possessing the same extraordinary genius of the man who made the breakthrough, but none of them experienced whatever random catalyst set this brilliance on such a revolutionary path. I’ve come to appreciate that this isn’t all that surprising. Because creativity is a fickle bitch. Who knows what one random occurrence sparks a eureka moment. Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin because one of his plates of bacteria accidentally became contaminated. A million Flemings couldn’t have discovered antibiotics without this key event.”
He paused. “If you copied a hundred Einsteins, only one would have come up with relativity. Why? Because the others would be in different environments. Any Einstein in a university environment would have worked on other problems, and would have been restricted in his thinking by the status quo, would have been discouraged from ideas that seemed insane.
“Only Einstein the patent clerk would have come up with relativity. First, he was free of academic shackles. Second, it just so happened that he worked on patents having to do with the transmission of electric signals and electrical-mechanical synchronization of time. Both of these are key ingredients in the thought experiments that led him to his radical conclusions.”
