Eternal Life Inc. Read Free Page A

softly lit room. He was safe in the birthing chambers beneath Eternal Life. Here, everything was orderly and familiar. The black wolves had no place among the white-clad technicians, blinking electronic displays, and gurgling pumps.
    “Harry, are you all right?” Jericho asked, watching him closely.
    Harry looked down at his naked body, dripping with milky amniotic fluid. He could still feel the pain, tearing across his back; but he was safe now, safe in his new body.
    In the background he heard a familiar recorded chant, recited over and over again: “You live again, you revive always, you have become young again and forever.” It was the motto of Eternal Life Inc. stolen directly from the Egyptian Book of the Dead, along with the idea of the ka. It was chanted at every resurrection. Even though Harry knew it was just a publicity gimmick, he found it comforting by its very familiarity.
    “Come on, Harry,” Jericho said soothingly. “Lie down and take it easy.”
    Harry smiled sheepishly and began to slide back down into the warm, fluid-filled tank.
    “Jesus Christ, Doc! What’s going on?” Roger Morely, Eternal Life’s CEO, shouted as he burst through the double doors of the birthing chamber. He was still dressed in his black tuxedo and must have hurried down right after Harry’s performance. His fat, florid face was layered with concern as he leaned over the cloning tank and smiled.
    Harry looked up into Morely’s pale blue eyes, and something black seemed to flutter across his vision. Harry heard himself whimper in fear as Morely’s pug nose elongated into a feral snout. His curly, ginger hair straightened into a coarse, black pelt; his smile turned into a fanged growl.
    Harry felt his fear suddenly turn into a wild, unreasoning rage. This was his world! They had no right to be here. He would not run again. He levered himself up and grabbed a fist full of Roger’s tuxedo. With an inarticulate roar of triumph, he brought his other fist around in a flat, hard arc that snapped Roger’s head back. The black demon face disappeared and Harry was confronted with the surprised, bruised face of Roger Morely. The man was dazed from the blow and tried feebly to pull away.
    Just then, Harry felt a sharp prick in his arm. He let go of Roger and swung around, ripping the hypodermic out of Jericho’s hand, but the anesthetic was already taking effect. Harry felt consciousness spiraling down into soft blackness. He could have transferred his awareness to his ka and remained awake but didn’t dare. Instead he let the darkness take him, welcoming its healing oblivion. Slowly, he slid down into the tank of amniotic fluid, floating there gently with the hypodermic still stuck in his biceps.

2
    Sanctuary is a dangerous Place
    Her grav-car crossed the first defense perimeter five miles out from the island. The rain was coming down hard by then. Her sensors picked up the first ping of incoming targeting radar. She felt the tell-tale tingle of a graviton detector beam wash over her body. Then, every alarm in the car began to scream a warning. She ignored their squawk of protest as she shut them off and continued on her course heading.
    Isis lay slumped against her in the front seat, her head lolling, feverish, her skin slick with cold sweat. Every once in a while she’d mutter something incoherent and then drop back into her inner battle with the demon that was trying to take possession.
    Diana had used the grav-car’s safety harness to restrain her after the battle turned particularly nasty and she woke up screaming and snarling, punching the air, tearing at her clothes, and raking her own skin. After that, the fight internalized into this cursing mutter of choked off screams interspersed with low animal growls and hisses. Sometimes, it sounded almost like language before dissolving into a guttural rage of gibberish again.
    Suddenly, she felt the dull thump of a lamprey mine fastening to the body of the car. A moment later