SOMETHING ABOUT HER

MAX HEADROOM: 20 Minutes Into the Future

Something About Her

Prologue : She Wakes

Strands of brown and honey blond flowed in a halo around the slender female figure who floated upright within the amniotic tank in which she had been growing since the courier-spy had brought the DNA back safely from Network 23.

Her eyes were closed, but those who made her were certain that they must be blue. Her parents each had blue, barely half a shade apart, so there wasn't much guesswork in that department. Her hair was mostly honey brown, but it had darker brown streaks throughout, mimicking the hair color of her younger father, Her shape was small, a little shorter and lighter than her creators had hoped, but not unattractively so.

Getting the DNA without either father's knowledge had not been easy, especially from the younger one, who spent most of his time in his lab, and was never away from his friends outside of it.

In the end, a sleeping pill slipped into the teenaged genius's supper, had kept him asleep long enough for the courier-spy to get a swab of DNA from inside his mouth.

Edison Carter had been a little easier to get a sample from. While he'd been at work, his apartment had been broken into and two credit tubes had been stolen to make it look like simple robbery as well as a few minor odds and ends which were potential sites for DNA to end up on.

In the end, the splice had come off brilliantly. The brain tests had proven that she had inherited Bryce's mind. Whether or not she had also gained Edison's tenacity was something that they'd have to learn while she was awake. There simply were not accurate tests for attitude.

"It's time," a grey-haired man said from behind one of rows of computers that monitored the subject in the amniotic tank. "Awaken her. Let us see exactly what we have made."

"We already can," a younger scientist smirked. "Looks good to me."

"Your sexist attitude aside, Richards" said a woman who was slightly older than the man she was speaking to, "I agree that we did a really good job on this project. Her physical form is ideal."

"A little small if you ask me," the first man said. "I wonder what caused that?"

"No doubt due to the fact that her younger father's body hasn't quite finished growing yet, Suze." said a ginger-haired man who was working at the same desk as Richards. "Looks like that ended up being as much of a problem for us as it's going to be for Mr. Edison Carter when her identity is discovered."

"And just how is that supposed to happen?" Suze wanted to know.

"I've left her a subliminal message," the grey-haired man said, "She will seek out the younger of her two fathers once she has made a full recovery from her birth. She knows his name and has his talents. She will find him."

"And then what?" asked the man who'd been identified as being a bit sexist

"We'll see," the Suze concluded.

"I wonder what Edison Carter is going to do about it." the ginger pondered as he began the draining process.

"There's nothing he can do," the grey-haired man told them. "Bryce Lynch may be considered a young adult here in London, but there are countries out there where he's still legally a minor."

"but there was no sex involved," the woman noted, "so I don't see how..."

"It doesn't matter. As soon as people hear that an adult and a teenager have a daughter together, that's all they'll hear. They won't hear care about the fact that they're British, living in London, or both males with no means to reproduce sexually with each other. Carter's rep will go from well-known heroic figure to disgusting child-molester before anyone realizes what's going on. After that, damage control will be nearly impossible."

"And when he falls," Richards realized...

"...so does Network 23." Suze concluded.

In the now empty tank, blue eyes opened for the first time.

Back                         Home                              Max Headroom Main Page                              Next

Your Name or Alias:      Your E-mail (optional):

Please type your review below. Only positive reviews and constructive criticism will be posted!