candidate I’ve seen in a long, long time who might understand that. Who wants the same things from this as I do. I know you don’t really give a shit about the money. I know you can turn that down. When you strip away everything else, you’re just that kid who never wants anyone else to die.”
After the sudden rush of anger, David simply felt drained. All he wanted to do was get Simon out of here. He sounded sincere, but David wasn’t ready to buy it. “Thanks. But I’ve heard it already, from better therapists than you. I know the drill: It wasn’t my fault. Everyone dies. That’s how the world works. No matter how hard I work, no matter what I do, I can never change that.”
“But what if you could?”
“What?”
Simon smiled. It was calm. Peaceful. A different kind of smile from his usual shit-eating grin. “This is what I’m offering you, David. This is a chance to change the world. I’m talking about an end to human misery in our lifetimes. I’m talking about the end of disease. I’m talking about a cure for cancer, for AIDS, for everything. I’m talking about the greatest discovery since Jesus Christ rolled out of bed three days after being nailed to a hunk of wood.”
David hated to admit it, but he was curious. This sounded like something much bigger than the drugs and stem-cell treatments Conquest bragged about in its annual reports. “What exactly do you mean? What are you working on?”
Simon seemed to sense him wavering. “You’ve got to see it. It’s the only way you’ll ever believe me.”
David turned away. Simon grabbed his arm.
“Just let me show you this one thing,” he said. “If you still think I’m an asshole who’s wasting your time, well, great. Vaya con Dios. I’ll drive you to the airport myself. But I know you won’t. I know you’re going to take the job.”
David looked at Simon for what seemed like a long, long time.
“All right,” David said. “Where are we going?”
“To see the future,” Simon said. “So you’d better get some pants on.”
CHAPTER 4
C ONQUEST’S MIAMI CAMPUS was nowhere near as big as the Tampa headquarters David had seen in the publicity materials, but it was still impressive. An armed guard let them through a gate into the parking lot. Another one issued David a badge with a computer chip and an RFID tag at the front desk. Simon used his own badge to get them past the first set of doors, and from there put his eye to a retinal scanner to unlock more passageways, deeper into the facility.
If this was all for show, David thought, at least they were putting some effort into it.
They stepped past another locked door. David could feel the slight puff of air that came from a negative-pressure seal. They were entering a biologically secure zone. So he wasn’t surprised when Simon pointed to a side door and said, “Strip down and shower. There will be a set of scrubs for you.”
It was the first thing he’d said to David in a while. In the limo on the way over, Simon had tried to strike up a conversation. It didn’t go well.
“Did you know that the early Christians believed in the actual, physical resurrection of the body?” he’d said. “Not just the soul. They believed that we’d actually crawl up out of the ground on Judgment Day. Like zombies.”
David had just stared at him.
“Saw it on the Discovery Channel.”
David hadn’t replied, and since then, they’d mostly ignored each other.
David’s head pounded and the coffee burned in his stomach. He wondered if he should have taken a cab to the airport. But since he was here, he might as well see it through.
He put on the scrubs and stepped through another air lock. He looked around and saw a fully equipped diagnostics lab. Everything from chemical testing equipment to a portable MRI to a table of centrifuges and analytical tools. Once again, Conquest had not gone cheap.
David turned and saw Simon. He was on the other side of a thick observation window. It
After the sudden rush of anger, David simply felt drained. All he wanted to do was get Simon out of here. He sounded sincere, but David wasn’t ready to buy it. “Thanks. But I’ve heard it already, from better therapists than you. I know the drill: It wasn’t my fault. Everyone dies. That’s how the world works. No matter how hard I work, no matter what I do, I can never change that.”
“But what if you could?”
“What?”
Simon smiled. It was calm. Peaceful. A different kind of smile from his usual shit-eating grin. “This is what I’m offering you, David. This is a chance to change the world. I’m talking about an end to human misery in our lifetimes. I’m talking about the end of disease. I’m talking about a cure for cancer, for AIDS, for everything. I’m talking about the greatest discovery since Jesus Christ rolled out of bed three days after being nailed to a hunk of wood.”
David hated to admit it, but he was curious. This sounded like something much bigger than the drugs and stem-cell treatments Conquest bragged about in its annual reports. “What exactly do you mean? What are you working on?”
Simon seemed to sense him wavering. “You’ve got to see it. It’s the only way you’ll ever believe me.”
David turned away. Simon grabbed his arm.
“Just let me show you this one thing,” he said. “If you still think I’m an asshole who’s wasting your time, well, great. Vaya con Dios. I’ll drive you to the airport myself. But I know you won’t. I know you’re going to take the job.”
David looked at Simon for what seemed like a long, long time.
“All right,” David said. “Where are we going?”
“To see the future,” Simon said. “So you’d better get some pants on.”
CHAPTER 4
C ONQUEST’S MIAMI CAMPUS was nowhere near as big as the Tampa headquarters David had seen in the publicity materials, but it was still impressive. An armed guard let them through a gate into the parking lot. Another one issued David a badge with a computer chip and an RFID tag at the front desk. Simon used his own badge to get them past the first set of doors, and from there put his eye to a retinal scanner to unlock more passageways, deeper into the facility.
If this was all for show, David thought, at least they were putting some effort into it.
They stepped past another locked door. David could feel the slight puff of air that came from a negative-pressure seal. They were entering a biologically secure zone. So he wasn’t surprised when Simon pointed to a side door and said, “Strip down and shower. There will be a set of scrubs for you.”
It was the first thing he’d said to David in a while. In the limo on the way over, Simon had tried to strike up a conversation. It didn’t go well.
“Did you know that the early Christians believed in the actual, physical resurrection of the body?” he’d said. “Not just the soul. They believed that we’d actually crawl up out of the ground on Judgment Day. Like zombies.”
David had just stared at him.
“Saw it on the Discovery Channel.”
David hadn’t replied, and since then, they’d mostly ignored each other.
David’s head pounded and the coffee burned in his stomach. He wondered if he should have taken a cab to the airport. But since he was here, he might as well see it through.
He put on the scrubs and stepped through another air lock. He looked around and saw a fully equipped diagnostics lab. Everything from chemical testing equipment to a portable MRI to a table of centrifuges and analytical tools. Once again, Conquest had not gone cheap.
David turned and saw Simon. He was on the other side of a thick observation window. It
Similar Books
