The New Humans

Chapter 40

A white light crept past Ash's eyelids. He opened his eyes and saw a neon lamp above him. In front of him, a twenty-year-old television was hanging in the middle of an aqua green wall. He was lying on a bed in a room he had never seen before. A woman's handbag lay on the bed.

Ash's heart beat wildly. He had to get away from there; Crane could arrive at any moment. He threw back the blankets and tried to get out of bed, but he was restrained by a tube attached to his arm. An IV drip had been inserted into his vein. He tried to pull it out but couldn't remove the adhesive tape.

"Help!" he shouted. "Someone get this thing off me."

His mother rushed into the room. "What's the matter?"

"Crane is coming."

"There is no Crane."

"Yes, he's coming. He wants to cut me to pieces."

His mother hugged him. The contact with her skin and the scent of her hair soothed him like a lullaby.

"Where am I?"

"In the hospital," she said. "Yesterday, when you fainted, covered with blood like you were, you gave your father a fright. They brought you to hospital for a check-up, but your injuries aren't severe, so they just gave you a little pick-me-up." She pointed to the drip.

"What about the others?"

"They're all well. They phoned to say they're coming to see you. They'll be here soon."

They arrived ten minutes later, accompanied by Serena Wall.

"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty," said Owen.

"Have you rested enough, or do you want another little nap?" asked Herbert.

"Anyway, thanks for having us almost killed," said Rachel.

"Me? But I raced to save you," said Ash.

"Raced?" said Owen. "If it had been up to you, we'd be mincemeat by now."

"But what happened? How did IDAN find you?"

"The chocolate bar, don't you remember?" said Herbert. "The one I bought before entering Lock's arena. I hadn't used it, so I brought it with me for safety last night. After you'd gone, I told the men who held us prisoner that I was hungry and that I had a chocolate bar in my pocket. One of them took it and ate it right before my eyes, thinking to humiliate me. He didn't know that the moment he bit into it, he had called the IDAN"

"What a genius you are," said Ash.

"Yes, he is," said Rachel. "This guy saved our lives," and she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"All in a day's work," said Herbert, but he was blushing.

Serena came to Ash's side and patted his arm. "How do you feel?"

"Like someone who's been hit by a plasma gun," said Ash.

"Thank goodness. It could have been worse."

They continued to joke for a few minutes. Then Serena said, "Do you want to tell us about what happened yesterday evening? Above all, I'd like to know how you found yourself in this situation."

Ash told her the whole story without wavering, from when he had found the black ball, to when Crane had disappeared at the city of savants. His mother looked as though she couldn't believe her ears. Serena listened and nodded without ever interrupting.

At the end of the story, she asked, "Are you sure Crane is dead?"

"He fell," said Ash.

"Did you see his body?"

"No."

Serena frowned. Then she said, "Is the ball you're talking about here?"

Ash felt around in his pocket, but the ball was gone. Then his mother opened a drawer of the nightstand, took out the ball and gave it to Serena.

She rolled it around in her hand. "It's very nice," she said. "I understand why you wanted to keep it. If you don't mind, I would like to examine it."

"Sure," said Ash, albeit a little reluctantly.

"Is there anything else?" asked Serena.

"Tell her about your powers," said Rachel, poking his arm.

Ash said, "For some time now, I've noticed I have an incredible strength, agility, and ability for hand-to-hand combat, yet I've never practiced martial arts. These capabilities only seem to appear when I'm in danger. In those moments, it's like I go into a trance and my body moves by itself. What causes this?"

Serena scratched her neck. "I'm not sure. But I think the black ball transmits information through light signals. Maybe some memories—and therefore my father's abilities—penetrated your mind and lie there unconsciously. It's like a childhood trauma: you have no memory of what happened, but in certain circumstances the memories and sensations are reactivated."

"Optogenetics," said Mom. "The same technique that should have cured you from the phobia of insects, remember?"

Probably even the phobia had been transmitted to him by Luther. No wonder the medical intervention hadn't worked; as long as he carried the ball, the light would make it reappear.

Ash looked down. He was ashamed to say it out loud, but he had no choice. "Crane said I was immortal." He waited for his friends to laugh, but they were looking at Serena instead. Maybe they were wondering the same thing.

Serena smiled. "I don't know if my father discovered the secret to immortality—nobody knows. But if he did, I doubt he would have hidden such an important secret inside a ball in his closet. More likely, as Crane says, it's in the vase in the city of savants."

Ash sighed.

"Don't look so sad," Serena said. "Immortality is overrated. You live well enough without it."

"I'm not sad about that," Ash said. "I hated non-Numas for all the injustices I had to endure. I've always been fascinated by Luther and I dreamed of becoming like him so that I could teach my powers to the other Numas and free them from the threat of the Shadows. I'm not that different from Adam and Crane."

Serena shrugged. "Of course you're similar. You're all three human beings. Did you think you were better?"

Ash waved his hands. He didn't know what to say.

"This is what the Shadows don't understand: they try to find a difference between us and them when there isn't one. We are all fascinated by power, by immortality, by what we do not have. You have the same desires that everyone else has and you make the same mistakes that everyone else does. You overestimate yourself, just like Adam, and believe that if you held the power then the world would be a fairer place." She put a hand on his shoulder. "But evil can arise from the best intentions, just as hate can arise from too much love. But now that you know this, maybe you'll be more tolerant of those who make mistakes; maybe you'll be more tolerant of those who hurt you. Supermen don't save the world, Ash—sometimes a fourteen-year-old boy is enough."

She pointed at him and he looked down, embarrassed.

"That'll go straight to his head," Rachel said, making everyone laugh.

"There's another thing," said Ash. "In the city of savants, Crane hit me with a plasma gun. I thought I would die. But then I heard a voice that gave me strength and courage and allowed me to get up again. It was a deep voice, croaky, like an old man. It was Luther's voice, wasn't it?"

"Yes," said Serena. "I'm sure it was."