My Human

Chapter 39 Trouble

I sat at my desk of the GIU base that rested several floors below the commander's office. It had been some time since I had stopped by. I preferred to be out in the field.

My fingers typed quickly on the virtual keyboard as I sifted through the GIU database for any information I could find on Phoenix Rize.

My eyes focused on the hologram before me with files on various Phoenix Rize flunkies we had detained; all of which never spoke.

They remained in stasis; a frozen neurological state for the most dangerous of criminals. Anyone affiliated with Phoenix Rize was charged with gross manipulation of organisms and acts of galactic terrorism. Their sentence was a lifetime with every so many years a release just to attempt interrogation again. Every interview yielded the same results: silence. Phoenix Rize continued to elude us.

My mind drew back to Aeris's confrontation with Raeland before he had dragged her off to his lab. I remembered his words:

"We are pure scientists! How do you think the Galactic Elders actually left Earth? The origins of Phoenix Rize date back as early as those beginning moments. Humans can't just live outside of Earth. They need to be modified,"

I was perplexed. Phoenix Rize was a splinter of radical beings that left Biocorp. Biocorp had its origins on Earth, facilitating the galactic elders to leave earth and populate the galaxies. Was that what had been done? Had the Galactic Elders been modified?

But that was the old Biocorp, a vision lost long ago when the focus drew away from exploring the new worlds and became replaced with a dangerous push passed scientific limits.

I typed furiously and I stared at the image in front of me: a man with ash colored hair, stern features and green eyes, Dr. Javier Palos. He was the head scientist in charge of Biocorp when they helped the humans leave Earth. His name was renowned as the father of outer space habitation. His work was the reason the galactic elders were able to leave Earth.

Scrolling down, I found his partner, Dr. Maxwell Martin. While he didn't carry the fame and prestige of Dr. Javier, his research was pinnacle in the efforts for survival outside of Earth. That was when Biocorp stood for more than breaking down ethical measures in the name of twisted science. Back then, it was still for the greater good.

I sighed, clicking through articles in the database and finding nothing. What did his words mean?

"What's going on with your face?" Neron chuckled, appearing next to me with a grin. I was so focused I hadn't even realized he had joined me.

I shook my head. "I'm not getting anywhere with this research," I answered before explaining what I was digging for.

He arched an eyebrow and smirked. "You're not digging deep enough. You're not even digging in the right hole."

I rolled my eyes at his knowing, cryptic nature. "What does that even mean?"

A mischievous glint sparkled in his eye. Clearly, he had been waiting for me to ask.

He tapped his wristband and a tiny, silver disk popped out which he grabbed with glee. He attached it to the base of the computer and the disk began to glow green.

Suddenly the hologram screen in front of me flashed with computer prompts and running script.

My eyes widened. "What are you doing?"

Neron pressed a few key prompts and suddenly the screen now showed a larger database then before.

"I just unlocked the rest of the archives," he snickered. "There are things hidden here that they don't want even you to know."