Monthly Archives: January 2025

©GeraldineBanksJanuary2025

The Washington Albany Research Centre was at first sight a very large, well financed University Campus. Once you passed through the first Security Gates and the trees that surrounded the Centre. You could see the large impressive buildings covered in reflective glass. They stood out on the manicured lawns like glistening jewels on the horizon. The foremost building was glass and steel with a long straight driveway leading up to it. The only thing missing were students wandering on the impressive acres of grass. Sandy squinted as the sun caught one of the steely glass spires and shot a high intensity beam in her eye. She immediately reached into her handbag for her sunglasses.

As the car glided up the driveway, they were stopped by a security barrier .Sandy noticed a small Portacabin beside the barrier which was manned by uniformed guards from a Private Security Firm. Their uniforms had badges on them. Sandy noted the Company’s name and intended to write it down when she had the chance. She reflected, however, that for her sake it would be safer to try to remember it. Her notes would probably be checked and why would she need to know the name of the Security Company? She wanted to appear totally supportive of Allenby’s organisation. She felt that he would be adverse to hostile criticism or to anyone digging too deep.

The chauffeur appeared at the passenger door and opened it, Joss beckoned to Sandy to get out of the car to sign in with security. Once inside the cabin Sandy had her photograph taken which included an iris scan . Sandy was given a few forms to sign and one of the guards went out to the car to check with Joss. When he returned he said firmly to the guard doing the inputting on the computer.

” Yes access , all areas”.

Sandy was going to be on site for a couple of days ; she had been given a Condo on “The Bay Area”. As Joss had said the accommodation was near leisure facilities. She was given a map which detailed the weights room, sauna and swimming pool as well as a running and jogging track and trail. The iris recognition would give her access to anywhere she wanted to go.

Sandy was relieved when she picked up her information pack and got back in the car with Joss. She was feeling claustrophobic as if she was entering a spider’s lair. Joss was speaking to Professor Allenby on the phone when she sat back down on the soft leather seats. Sandy couldn’t help but notice that there was some warmth in the relationship and that Joss spoke gently to the Professor.

” OK, we’ll meet you in the Atrium.” she finished her call. ” Sandy, slight change of plan , no time to freshen up yet. One of the Professor’s meetings was cancelled , he wants to meet you for lunch, is that alright?” Joss turned and looked at Sandy.

“You are very honoured, he rarely stops for lunch.” Joss smiled.

” That’s brilliant, to be truthful that’s great, I mean it’s only a short visit , so I can freshen up later.”

The car continued it’s stately journey and glided silently along past the main building, it made a left turn and stopped outside another impressive glass fronted building. As Sandy got out of the car, she gazed at the enormous impressively etched Romanesque Glass door, which featured many colours. As Joss and Sandy approached, the two doors slid apart effortlessly .Joss turned and told the driver to drop off Sandy’s luggage at her condo. The driver nodded and silently departed.

Sandy and Joss walked into the large plant filled space. It was full to the brim of exotic plants and they were displayed at all levels that the eye could see. Joss made small talk to Sandy as they walked towards the elevator along a raised platform which appeared surrounded by an artificial pond. Sandy looked down at her feet ; the impression it gave was that she was walking on water.

Joss raised her hand and pointed to the greenery.” These plants are all grown hydroponically with distilled water and organic nutrients, we grow some rare succulent herbs. The Professor is extremely interested in how we grow our own food and wants the Atrium to be totally self-sufficient. We haven’t quite reached that stage yet there are so many factors, we struggle with getting the nutrient mix right.”

They reached the elevator. As the doors opened automatically water appeared to swish around either side as they got in. Sandy thought her feet were going to get wet, but she remained totally dry.

” The Professor’s sense of humour, it usually makes people jump”. Joss laughed

As the elevator doors closed and the elevator began to go up , the displaced water moved back to it’s original location in the clear Perspex floor. Also as the elevator rose, plumes of water cascade off as they moved through the different floors, the effect was stunning and Joss explained that it also helped maintain the correct humidity as well as being a delightful feature.

On the upper floor ,where the restaurant was, the special effect plumes ceased and Sandy and Joss got out of the elevator. The effect was similar to downstairs, except the water had a sapphire blue hue. Again Sandy couldn’t help but look down at her feet to see if they were wet or stained blue , but they were bone dry.

Sandy remained poised as she saw Professor Allenby walking towards her and Joss, he was with a couple of other smartly dressed men. Allenby appeared to be giving them instructions, they parted ways just before Allenby reached Sandy.

” Ah, Sandy, I’m so pleased that you are able to finally see our site. I know it’s just a whistle stop tour, but thank you for coming. I’m so sorry Gerry couldn’t make it”. Allenby smiled and took Sandy’s hand. The grip was a little too tight and Sandy felt went on longer than she was comfortable with.

She talked as he held her hand.” Hello Professor , this is quite a place. I’m really looking forward to finding out about what you do here. It’s such important work. I hope we can do you justice in just two days. I just didn’t expect this.”

Allenby let go of Sandy’s hand.

” Come on , come on , please let’s have lunch, it’s certainly not your average work’s canteen.” Allenby turned and beckoned Joss and Sandy towards a table.

They all sat down and Sandy noticed that there were probably about thirty covers, all deceptively placed among pots of foliage. There were formally dressed waiters and waitresses moving backwards and forwards across the floor, imperceptibly taking orders, bringing dishes and clearing tables.

Sandy picked up her menu and began to read it. There was water on the table and some long glasses, Joss poured each one of them a glass. Sandy thanked Joss and sipped the water as Allenby and Joss continued to converse politely. When the waiter came Joss checked what everyone wanted and ordered.

The Professor began talking . Sandy listened and took a long sip of water to disguise her surprise when she saw Gregor, the Icelandic Researcher she had met at the Conference in Barcelona, at one of the tables on the opposite side of the “Atrium”. Sandy knew that Allenby had noticed she had spotted Gregor, but Allenby made no comment , he continued talking to her about the work of his Institute and Sandy replied by asking a question about how such a prestigious facility was funded. Allenby was very forthright on that issue, there were major donors , philanthropists who supported the work. They realised that cleansing the Human Genome was the only way to stop disease . You only needed to look at cancer figures, that had been a real success story and had helped him gain support. Cancer had effectively been eradicated. The rest would follow naturally , why stop at cancer. The money to be saved in curative care was enormous and easily funded the preventative measures that Allenby and his supporters were promoting.

“Already the Medical Insurance Companies are on their knees, imagine. There just is no need for intrusive medical care, we have healthy populations and we want to keep them that way.”

Sandy found herself accepting the Professor’s arguments and found that Allenby was being very open and frank. She was impressed by his arguments and it wasn’t until later when she was alone with her own thoughts back at the Condo that she realised what a good promotional job he had done on her.

©GeraldineBanksJanuary2025

It didn’t take long after meeting Gerry at the Conference in Barcelona that Professor Allenby got in touch. As a result of their meeting; time and events went very quickly. Gerry wanted to take a backroom role.

Sandy was tasked to set up regular online planning and production meetings with Allenby and his team. Sandy herself, put a team of people together to produce a documentary about Allenby’s work. Gerry for good reason wanted to keep Allenby at a distance. Gerry explained to Allenby that he was going on a delayed honeymoon with his young wife and leaving Sandy in charge of preparing the ground and producing a one off programme about his work. It would lay the ground for some of the other things Gerry had in mind. Professor Allenby was delighted.

Gerry left a lot of the planning to Sandy and rarely attended any Production meetings. However one morning he arrived promptly and took the chair uninvited and announced that Sandy would now be liaising directly with Professor Allenby. Sandy nearly choked on her coffee, she was frightened of Allenby and she didn’t mind admitting to it. Gerry gave her the details of how to contact him and suggested that she take a small hand picked crew with her for her initial visit to his research centre near Washington in the United States of America. Apparently Allenby had made a specific request that Sandy be part of the crew.

She rang Allenby later that day and got hold of him immediately. Allenby was adamant that the initial visit would be just her and no one else. Sandy argued that from a cost point of view having a small crew with her would enable her to do more. Allenby insisted, on the first visit, no cameras, no phones, just her notebook. She would have to get a feel for the place. She was going to see it “Warts and All”. Allenby played the “Gerry and I ” card very well, Sandy knew she had to agree to anything that Allenby wanted, she knew that she was between a rock and a hard place, but at the same time she knew it was just too good of an opportunity to miss and that it could be key to protecting Alex.

The night before she flew to the States; Sandy and Martin discussed the visit while Sandy packed. She railed against Allenby, she was convinced he was a lecherous predator. Martin made her laugh at herself, when he told her really she should be getting used to dealing with them by now and he reassured her that she could handle anything , even the “Dirty Doctor”. The important thing was to make the visit and if possible unearth the dark side of Professor Allenby’s Genetic Cleansing Policy.

When’s Sandy’s flight arrived at Washington Dulles Airport, Sandy was met at the exit lounge by Professor Allenby’s assistant Dr Jocelyn Zander. Sandy recognised her from the conference in Barcelona as the Professor’s unflappable assistant.

Sandy was fast tracked through customs and the two women got into the back of a Chauffeur Driven , electric Bentley, while the driver dealt with Sandy’s hand luggage. The seats were as big as sofas and the two women sat very far away from each other. Sandy tried to make some small talk about the flight and how it had been delayed, but her efforts fell on deaf ears as Jocelyn was obviously tied up with another issue and was making notes on her hand held computer. Sandy decided to sit back and relax, she gazed out the windows of the car and watched as they criss-crossed Highways and left Dulles Airport and Washington State with it’s suburbs and drove into open farmland, Sandy could see they were surrounded by beautiful mountains and it was such a contrast to the tired city of London where Sandy lived, Sandy relaxed into the cushioned seats and gazed out of the window.

“It’s very beautiful isn’t it?” Jocelyn said to Sandy.

” Yes, it is .” Sandy, was taken by surprise by Jocelyn’s voice, however, she quickly decided that she should continue the conversation. ” That’s a New York accent isn’t it? You’re not from here originally?”

“No , you’re right , I’m a New Yorker , through and through, but I can’t help but love the area around here. I love hiking , it’s just great to get out and walk. Just wait until you see our facility , it will blow your mind. It looks onto the mountains , the accommodation in most areas has wonderful views.” Jocelyn replied.

” I’m sorry , but you didn’t tell me your name. “. Sandy was fishing.

” Oh , I’m so sorry, my name is Dr Jocelyn Zander, I’m Professor Allenby’s personal assistant. You can call me Joss if you like, I’m sorry if I was a bit frosty with you, it’s just I had something important to deal with for the Professor, I’ve only just found out that it has been resolved. I’m afraid it was preying on my mind a bit.”

” No problem Joss, I’m used to people being frosty with me , it’s par for the course if you are a journalist, and anyway is that not how “real” New Yorkers behave.” Sandy smiled, hoping to break the ice.

Joss smiled back, ” Yes ,we are a tough lot , we have to be.”

The ice maiden melteth. Sandy thought to herself.

” So how far is the site from the airport?”

“It’s about an hour and a half outside the city, it’s a Campus Facility , so most people live and work on site. I have my own apartment on site, but I travel a lot with the Professor, where the Professor goes I go. I’m rarely ever there.”

” How long have you worked for the professor?” Sandy asked.

” Nearly five years as his P.A., he was my Doctorate tutor, it helps that I understand his work, but I’ve got to admit sometimes I feel out of my depth. I’m not an original thinker. I just squeezed through my Doc Phil.” Jocelyn glanced sideways at Sandy.

“If you don’t mind me saying, I find the Professor quite intimidating, I’m sure he only employs the best.” Sandy replied.

” You’re right, he is intimidating, a lot of pure thinkers are like that , so single minded. I tend to be the one who picks up the pieces in his wake. I know him very well and I understand him. He is very determined to resolve the problems we are now having with foolish misguided people undermining the work of the last 40 years.”

” Resolving? How?” Sandy couldn’t help herself, she regretted immediately how she had posed that question, perhaps a mite too abruptly. Would Joss pick up on the fact she had an ulterior motive? However, Joss seemed un-phased and continued talking with enthusiasm.

” Well yes, he’s incredibly driven, everything we do, as you will shortly see is to improve humanity, we need to cut out those illnesses that come from our D.N.A.. It is something we have achieved successfully in a number of geographical areas and we cannot allow that work to be ruined by ignorance. The methods that now have to be used to achieve the final phase, may seem harsh to some outsiders, but we have no option.” Joss stared at the road in front of her through the gap in the front seats.

Sandy replied looking at Joss.” Professor Allenby’s words to me were “warts and all” , I’ve got to admit , I’m not sure what to expect.”

“It’s not that far now, Sandy, The Professor has told me to give you total access, so you’ll see everything we do at our facility. Your accommodation will be ready and if you want some time to relax , there’s a pool and a gym on site and you can either walk or use one of our electric buggies to get around. It’s five o’clock now , and you’re going to have dinner with the Professor and I at eight thirty. I believe from then on your visit will be pretty full on .”

” Thank you.” Sandy nodded.

There was now a natural silence between the two women. It was a beautiful day and as the electric car glided silently and smoothly along the almost empty highway. Sandy looked out the window in wonder and thought how peaceful it all looked. Why did everything have to be so murky she thought to herself? Perhaps she was getting into this deeper than she could cope with. She wanted to stop the car and jump out, just to walk in the sunshine for a while and head back to the airport and fly back home to be with her family. How easy that would be?

©GeraldineBanksJanuary2025

The next day after a busy day and a flight delay , Sandy arrived back home from the Airport and as she closed the front door behind her, she felt a great sense of relief, she felt she was locking out what she now knew to be a dreadful dystopian world. Martin was out with the twins , he’d left her something to eat on the kitchen table with a note to say he’d be back soon. It was so good to be home and have a brief moment to gather her thoughts.

As she sat eating ,Martin arrived. The twins were excited to see her and Sandy was delighted to see them. For a few hours she enjoyed being a mum, knowing that her family were safe, that their lives were not in danger. Sandy would discuss later with Martin her thoughts on what she had discovered and her plans on what she needed to do next.

Meanwhile Gerry had gone straight to his office. Millie had been given another foreign assignment and would not be at home to greet him. He had everything he needed at his office, he could shower and catch up with his correspondence and e mails and then settle down on his sofa bed which was in a small room beside his office.

The talk with Professor Allenby in the bar the previous night had been very interesting and shocking at the same time. Gerry had learned how much Gene Theory had progressed. Gerry had always known himself to be a carrier, his mother had sat him down when he reached puberty. It was not the normal bird and bees talk. She warned him for his own safety not to tell anyone about his condition and also that in his case it would be best not to father any children. For a teenage boy, this was very strange to hear and assimilate.

Gerry, however, had other plans and had been very successful in his work at an early age and was too busy building his career to think about marriage or fatherhood. His mother’s warning was always at the back of his mind and though he liked women, he had been careful. He had let his guard down with Sandy. Gerry was struck by the bond he felt for Alex his son. Alex was important to him and he wanted to protect him as best he could from the likes of Allenby. It was not going to be easy.

Allenby, Gerry had ascertained was looking to wipe out any irregularities in the Human DNA Code entirely from the planet. Allenby was an articulate and persuasive talker whom Gerry quickly recognised as a someone who liked the sound of his own voice. The Media Business was full of them. Gerry found himself getting angrier and angrier as he listened to the droll voice of the good looking and well groomed Allenby. He took control of that anger and all Allenby had seen was what Gerry had wanted him to see. Gerry was an expert at appeasing the big egos of the day and Allenby, he knew, would think him a useful man to know. They exchanged business cards.

Now, in the peace and quiet of his office as he sat sipping his coffee he was secure and could think rationally. His Media World was like a giant sieve, leaks were par for the course, so when it came to keeping data safe Gerry used the latest technology. He was full proof. He used his encrypted computer to search for the names of the Institutions that Allenby had mentioned, he began building up a picture and followed up on the clues to Allenby’s targets that he had intimated were not far off being raided.

He also dug into what Allenby had described as the “messier” side of the process, eradication or denaturing. There was never any right word for what was in fact killing or annihilation, even Allenby acknowledged that. It wasn’t all rumour, it was indeed fact and unpalatable , but what could they do? Resources were not infinite and it took brave people to make the final decision , but they had to, there was no other cost – effective option.

Gerry had listened to Allenby describe some events and processes, it was almost as if the Professor felt compelled to explain himself. Gerry had stroked the Professor’s ego by suggesting that a documentary about his work and how it was benefitting the World might help. Allenby said he would be in touch if he felt it would help. Gerry had dangled the bait and he knew he would hear from the professor sooner or later.

When Gerry was happy that he had completed his research and recorded all the threads of what would form his investigation, his thoughts turned to Sandy. He knew, he hadn’t been the only one who had noticed when she went into the lift with the young Researcher Gregor. Allenby had noticed too and had made a very unpleasant remark which even Gerry balked at the severity. Allenby was jealous of Gregor’s conquest. As for Sandy herself, Gerry thought, well she used to be a top athlete, perhaps she just enjoyed the physicality and maybe that guy could help her with information. What did it matter? Whatever floated her boat. He knew she didn’t trust him, but one day she was going to have to if they were going to stop Allenby and his like and save Alex and other children like him. He closed his laptop and began to prepare for bed. Gerry had made progress, which he would share with Sandy at the appropriate time.

After a few hours sleep , he woke and realised that the Canteen would be open for the night shift and he decided it would be nice to get some food and find someone to chew the cud with over an early breakfast. He liked to know what was going on in the office, there was always someone on the make. He was bullet proof now, money talks and thanks to Millie he had plenty of that, but nevertheless old habits died hard and it was fun to see what was going on. He got up , washed and dressed and went downstairs to the Canteen.

©geraldinebanksJanuary2025

Later that evening ; Sandy lay on her hotel bed going over what Professor Allenby’s had said and replaying some of the exerts of his talk back to herself on her headphones. As she listened to his monotone voice repeating the words she had heard earlier that day it brought the horror of what he had been describing back to her and she shook with anger.

Allenby talked about genes as if they needed to be controlled no matter what the cost. Allenby quoted statistics, probabilities and gene deficiencies. As she listened ; Sandy visualised the children whom had been hunted down like animals and that had not survived. She had wanted to stand up and start screaming at this monster of a man.

The plan as Allenby had outlined was cleaning up populations as if they were a Big Data Problem. There had been pilot studies and he frequently mentioned the success in Iceland. Gregor sighed at each mention of his Country’s contribution and occasionally scribbled something in his notes. Sandy sensed that Gregor became increasingly frustrated and angry as Allenby talked. It dawned on her that Gregor was an ally and may be of assistance in the future.

Sandy had concentrated on Allenby’s Graphical Representations and his examples of Successes throughout the World in the face of “insidious genes that misguided miscreants were protecting”. She listened for clues as to how much the Professor and his organisation actually knew. It was the final part of his presentation that spelt it out.

Allenby championed the “Big Clean Up “.An operation that was in full swing to eradicate these “rogues” from the World Gene Pool. It sounded very like a large Military Operation. Allenby described the unearthing of sites all over the World that were hiding and trying to preserve the rogue genes. Allenby showed a World Map and details of successful operations, one of which had been a large organic farm in Norfolk. Sandy , looked up at the screen and recognised Building 1, the site that she had visited and where Alex had been receiving treatment and care.

According to Allenby over thirty children with the potential to corrupt the future of a healthy population had been extricated from the facility and would now have to be cared for by the State at a large cost to Society, because of misguided lunatics who were in Allenby’s words pissing in the wind and wasting valuable resources on a road to nowhere. The danger that they posed was real and they would have to be stopped. It was believed that some of the children escaped on an underground railway, which had been discovered and destroyed.

” That my friends, is what we are up against, these protagonists are sophisticated and dangerous people. Their idealists of the worst kind. If these children are allowed to grow up in a normal society , then they will infect it , they will stop progress. We have populations such as in Iceland who are clean, we cannot afford to let our guard down. As I described currently only fifty three per cent of our World population have that status and it is not good enough. We need to increase our covert work to discover all the sites throughout the World that exist. We need to stop their mechanisms for “kidnapping” children from recognised Government facilities, which provide the necessary care and support for these unfortunates .

Allenby explained that there was a Global Task Force in place, including local Police , Army and Civil Service , which he coordinated from his Research Institute in America and they were making significant headway. Allenby had said that the information gathered on other sites globally and the work being done locally meant progress was being made to close these facilities down. Allenby asked the Conference attendees for any information that would help the cause. He particularly requested that rare genetic disorders discovered in any circumstances be reported immediately and dealt with through identified channels which his organisation would be able to advise on.

Sandy was intrigued how cleverly Allenby managed to gloss over the fact that his policy was to kill human beings. Sandy sensed some unease in the room. The room was full of Medical Professionals and they all knew of specific cases where they had had to report to the Government.

It was bad enough when it was discovered that the “normal” screening hadn’t worked and local Government got involved, but when it was a covert discovery from one of the Institutions that Allenby was trying to close down. What actually did happen to these children? It was a grey area and not openly discussed. No one really knew for sure. They were taken away and the story was that there was some sort of Utopian solution and that they lived happily ever after, albeit they were no longer part of mainstream society. Laws were in place to deal with their ” Progeny Status”, in essence they would be sterilised. Was that right? Where were they kept ?What happened to them?

Increasingly people were numb as to what was happening .Parents more and more accepted the situation. There were however, locations like South America and some parts of Asia where there were strong religious and social ethics . There were groups of people working hard to prevent “Progress”. They were well funded and like a lizard re-growing it’s tail could regenerate itself in a few weeks no matter what actions were taken. That was why increasingly Professor Allenby was working with all Governments to ensure that Criminal Law would deal with them. There was no other solution. These people and their funders had to be “locked up”.

Sandy turned off her recording and began to make some notes, just as she flipped the lid on her laptop there was a knock on the door. It was Gerry, she let him in.

” Sorry , I missed everything. Can we catch up over dinner. I’m just going down are you ready?”

Sandy had forgotten all about dinner and Gerry: but she needed a break and thought that maybe it would be good to run things by Gerry. At the same time she knew she had to be care It struck her that Allenby had knew about the underground train, had Gerry passed that information on.

Gerry, who was the inveterate talker and told Sandy about his woes, so over a glass of wine and some mediocre steak and fish, he described his day. Sandy acknowledged his frustrations and nodded as he described how the rental car he had left down in the underground car park hadn’t started and the hotel staff had been unable to find someone to fix it. As for the Conference Administrators , they were fools. It wasn’t until they were nearing the end of the meal that he asked her if she had learned anything useful from her day. Sandy was almost falling asleep; she knew she had to keep her wits about her and just give him enough information to keep him sweet.

She told him about Professor Allenby’s talk and how she felt it had gone down with the audience.

” He seems to be a total control freak, fascinating man though, so confident in being right and quite invincible.” Sandy was waffling.

” I’ve heard a lot about Allenby, ” Gerry interjected ” I would say he is a very dangerous man.”

” Really, dangerous? I suppose you are right, he was just short of talking about a ” Final Solution”, I sensed a general unease from parts of the audience while he was speaking.”

” If Allenby knew anything about my condition , I’d have been toast, a long time ago.”

“That’s ridiculous , Gerry, he is just a Scientist, he has his theories, you’re not suggesting that he’s going around killing people?”

” I’m pretty certain , him and his mob were the ones who nearly got hold of Alex.” Gerry looked at Sandy gravely.

” He’s a respected Life Scientist, he’s supposed to be improving things for everyone.” Sandy felt she was laying this on a bit thick, but she felt Gerry was fishing. She was surprised when Gerry replied with total vehemence.

” Sandy don’t be so naïve, that man is a Sociopath, he’s extremely dangerous.”

Sandy picked up her napkin and dabbed at her lips. ” Look Gerry, I’m tired, I had a lot to take in today, is there anything specific you need to know? I’m here to gather information, but if you want to point me in a direction that’s worth a follow up , please do.”

” I’m sorry, Sandy, you’re doing the right thing, in an official capacity.” Gerry watched Sandy fidgeting and knew that she wanted to get up and go.

” You’re right, I’m tired too, but I’m just going to have a quick night cap in the bar, I’m sure you have got better things to do. I’ve got my pass for tomorrow. I’ll be there , save me a seat.” Gerry smiled and stood up.

Sandy stood up as well , somewhat relieved to be able to go back to her room and gather her thoughts.

” See you at breakfast Gerry, I think the first presentation is at ten thirty. Goodnight.” She turned and left the area where they were dining and Gerry walked over to the bar.

As Sandy walked through the lobby, she saw Gregor who smiled broadly at her and was obviously pleased to see her.

” Ah Sandy, would you like a night cap? Sorry we missed each other earlier.”

” Oh Gregor, sorry, I forgot we’d said we’d meet up. My boss had no one to go to dinner with , so I had to keep him company. He’s gone to the bar now , so I think I’ll pass on the night cap.”

Gregor replied. ” I did want to speak with you Sandy, is now not a good time?” Gregor looked pleadingly.

“I really wanted to talk to you too, but I’m so tired, I need a break. I’ve been treading carefully all day with my boss and I don’t think I can take anything else in. It’s a pretty busy schedule tomorrow and I’m flying out early evening, my husband has been looking after our children. So I’ll be glad to get back.” Sandy smiled at Gregor.

” OK I understand. Here, have one of my cards, the e. mail on the back is totally secure, but keep it light. I’m going to be in London in a few weeks time , so we must meet up.” Gregor handed her his card.

Sandy looked at him ” Thank You, that’s kind of you and I’ll send you an e. mail tomorrow, I’m interested in your Country’s story and how you view it. It would make a good interview , when you are in London.”

” Thank you, that would be good. Have a good flight home.”

As Sandy turned around to go , she noticed Gerry in the Bar talking to another man, it was Allenby. Gerry caught her eye and waved nonchalantly. Allenby turned and noticed Sandy, but did not acknowledge her.

On the spur of the moment , she turned back to Gregor.

” Follow me to the lift and get in with me, pretend we have an assignation”

” What?” Gregor looked puzzled.

I don’t want to be too obvious, but I want someone to think I’m being true to form and going to bed with you. I’m not don’t worry. I have my reasons. I want my boss to think it.”

” OK, let’s go then, which floor are you on? Look the lift is free. Let’s go. Gregor put his arm around Sandy’s waist. They both entered the lift and disappeared. Gerry turned his back and continued his conversation with Professor Allenby.

 ©GeraldineBanksJanuary2025

That evening, at home over dinner, Martin and Sandy discussed the the trip to Barcelona and the fact that Gerry wanted to accompany Sandy. Their priority as parents was to ensure they had child care to look after the twins. The more emotive issue that they both faced was trusting each other, they agreed they did but they also agreed they didn’t trust Gerry. That was all Sandy wanted to hear. Martin told her that he didn’t feel she had told Gerry too much, it was a worry that he had kept the letter but if Martin had been in Gerry’s position he would have done the same thing.

The following week, Gerry and Sandy were in Barcelona, they arrived on separate flights , but Gerry managed to catch Sandy at El Prat Airport and they took a taxi to the hotel together.

When Gerry and Sandy arrived at the hotel, it was about 8.00 pm local time, they were just able to book a table for dinner. Sandy had tried making excuses, saying she wasn’t hungry, but Gerry had insisted . They would go up to their respective rooms after dinner. He had arranged for their luggage to be brought up to their rooms. When they were seated at dinner he asked Sandy what she wanted to drink. They both had a small glass of rose wine.

Gerry took Alex’s letter out of his pocket. ” Here , I’m really sorry I meant to give this back to you, I just haven’t had a chance.”

Sandy took the letter. ” Thanks, I’m glad to have it back, it’s all I’ve got from my little boy, I suppose you kept it for the same reason.” She put the letter in her bag and took a sip of wine.

The two of them really had very little to talk about , Gerry had made all his own arrangements and he did not want to talk “shop” or talk about what ” Mills ” was doing, Sandy did not want to talk at all. So they ordered a main course and decided to call it a day. Sandy said she was going for a run in the morning and would meet Gerry at the administration desk for the Conference which luck would have it was being held in the hotel they were staying at.

“Goodnight” she coldly said as she got up from the table and left the restaurant. Gerry, sat for a few moments and once he had signed the bill the waiter presented to him, he got up and walked into the bar for a nightcap and some company if anyone was around.

The next morning, as Sandy stood in the queue for those who had pre-registered, she was just about to collect her badge and the Conference Information Pack when Gerry approached her, badge-less and annoyed.

” I hate all this nonsense!” He turned to Sandy having already remonstrated with the man on the check- in desk.

” Sandy , tell him who I am!”

Sandy walked over to the man at the desk and told him that she could vouch for Gerry and that he’d sent his registration details yesterday. The man on the desk said that there was no record of Gerry’s name and that he would have to register again and it would take a few hours to resolve.

Sandy went over to Gerry and said.” Gerry there’s no record of you registering , it’s going to take the morning to sort it out. Why don’t you go and enjoy Barcelona for now. You can join me for the afternoon sessions. I’ll update you if there’s anything interesting this morning.

Gerry looked very sheepish and smiled; there was no way around security and he knew he had forgotten to confirm the link that the Conference Organisers had sent him. He really wanted to accompany Sandy as he felt she was onto something. Sandy, however, was relieved that she would be free of Gerry at least for the morning. They said their goodbyes and agreed to meet up later.

When Sandy entered the large conference hall, she listened to the buzz of excited conversations from colleagues who hadn’t seen each other for some time. They were all catching up on the latest academic rumours and gossip. Sandy thought that her Press Badge might be a bit off putting to some so she decided to take a seat and have a look at her information pack. Let people come to her she thought, see what develops. She scanned through the information , the subject matter on the whole was extremely dry but one item on the agenda for this morning caught her eye.

Rogues and Genes

Professor Ian Allenby

” Rogues and Genes ” , was a talk by Professor Ian Allenby of the Washington Albany University and Research Facility. The talk was going to cover the black net and the presence of irregular activity and research in Modern Genetics. Sandy knew what this was about and what this really meant and she was going to find out what this Professor Allenby knew.

The seats around her were rapidly filling and a few people brushed by Sandy, saying the usual “excuse me”, Sandy looked up smiled and let them pass and continued reading about Professor Allenby. She scanned his biographical details quickly, he was English and quite young at thirty five to be heading such an important facility such as the Washington Albany. He had completed his PhD at Oxford University and had for a number of years worked for the Government . He had held a number of key Teaching posts and was very much the darling of the Private Sector and lobbied strongly on their behalf, in return for their patronage and funding.

Sandy failed to notice the tall , blonde gangly young man who brushed her leg and took the seat next to her just as she finished reading about Professor Allenby’s achievements. The young man, unfortunately spilled his coffee just as he was trying to sit down .He had been awkwardly trying to balance his ray-pad and his coffee cup tilted towards Sandy. Fortunately, the hot coffee missed Sandy and spilt onto the floor next to her, but instinctively she moved her feet away.

” I’m so sorry! I hope I didn’t splash you.” The young man said in a Scandinavian lilt. Sandy looked up and smiled.

” No damage done.” she moved her feet as the man reached down with a clean hanky from his pocket and wiped the droplets of coffee from the carpet tiles.

” What a clumsy fellow I am , I should not carry so much stuff””

” Yes , stuff is always the problem , there is simply not enough research into stuff!” Sandy smiled and began to laugh.

” So much stuff in the World! I cannot shake your hand. Hello, my name is Gregor , Gregor Lavelet.”

“I am from Iceland, Reykjavik, The Nordic Gene Institute.”

” Sandy Smith, Sunshine Media, pleased to meet you. I’m here to some preliminary research on a documentary I’m planning to make. It’s early days.”

Gregor settled into his chair, and tried his best to fit his long legs into the seating, it was a struggle.

” This is going to be very dry for the next few hours, going over the same old subject matter. We have been so successful in so many fields, really it’s just reporting progress and good news. I am most interested in what Professor Allenby has got to say, I suppose that’s the juicy bit for the Press too.”

Sandy laughed. ” Well I’m here to listen to everything, but you’re right, Professor Allenby seems to be the one with the intriguing story, we need bad news, threats to global security, no point us writing about what’s good in the World is there?”

” Yes you are right there, my cynical journalist friend.” Gregor smiled.

“Ah and I shall stereotype all Scientists as anal and boring …. I knew this gig would be a bundle of laughs.” Sandy said tongue in cheek.

” Please, please, don’t pigeon hole us scientists, where would you be without us?” Gregor defended his corner perhaps unnecessarily.

” No of course not , I was only being flippant, I’m sorry. I’m here to get the lay of the land, I need to be able to explain to the non-scientists what is going on. The more people who know about the Work, the more support it will have. I have read a little about Iceland, no record of any hereditary conditions being passed on for the last twenty years, now that is quite an achievement”. Sandy turned to Gregor.

” Yes, truly an amazing achievement, we have been very disciplined in our approach. We no longer have Parents put in the difficult position of choosing whether to continue with a pregnancy or not. It simply does not happen. Officially.”

” Really , tell me more, do bad “”genes” still pop up, how about “Unofficially”?”

” Officially there are none. Unofficially , I’m not so sure. I don’t work in that field. My work concerns genetic profiling, identifying key traits and looking at the ethical arguments for and against of allowing progeny to continue. We need to be very aware we are not trying to create a Master Race.”.

” That would be very dangerous and an abuse of all that has been achieved. Is it possible?” Sandy looked very seriously at Gregor.

” Yes, you should listen carefully to the Ethics discussion, you will begin to see how the land lies. I think we may have gone to far, I am hoping we are not at the point of no return. ” Gregor crossed his legs, he was beginning to get uncomfortable.

” Are you saying that basic human values are under attack.”

” Most definitely yes, you really have to read between the lines. Professor Allenby is a protagonist for the perfect human. I’m afraid I disagree with him. The psychological impact that this “perfection” is having on our small Island is interesting to say the least.” Gregor faced forward as he heard the introductory music and the Conference Introduction.

” Maybe we’ll catch up later.” Sandy whispered and settled down to listen.

Gregor did not hear her, he was concentrating on the podium. The first Speaker was introduced and began to talk. Sandy sat still ; her hands folded on the notes on her lap. She pressed the button on her phone to record; it would help her interpret the technical jargon later. She hoped Gregor didn’t think that suggesting they meet up later was a come on, but the serious young man was totally engrossed in his work, she could see that now. Sandy might as well have not be there.

It would have been unfair to say that the other presentations were very dry, but Sandy noticed that the room seemed to sit up on mass when Professor Allenby arrived on the Podium. He looked more like the CEO of a large Corporate Organisation than a career Scientist.

Sandy was fascinated as he watched his lithe capable assistant discretely solve a problem with the microphone sound that clearly the inhouse sound engineer was having difficulty with. The sound engineer cowed a little at the look of pure disdain he got as she waved him away and nodded with confidence to the Professor. The Professor in turn smiled at her with his fixed white smile and continued talking, the sound had been perfectly adjusted and he continued without interruption. It had been seamless. Sandy got the impression that the Professor was certainly a force to be reckoned with.

©geraldinebanksJanuary2025

Sandy arrived at the office that morning with a more determination than she had ever felt. First of all she had heard from Alex and she was as sure as she could be that he was safe. Secondly, she was in a position to help Dr King and the others and once seated at her desk she began rereading her notes and looking at them with a fresh prospective. Sandy initially had regarded the Press Releases on new genetic policy that she had been bombarded with when she started her research with a high degree of scepticism, and occasional anger; knowing the reality of what they were doing. Children were being taken away from their parents and killed. Now, however, she read them clinically and objectively. Reading between the lines, they seemed very keen to promote their cause and Sandy felt that that this may indeed be the chink in their armour. They wanted justification for their actions and they wanted it publicised. Sandy had to play them at their own game, win their confidence. There were people to meet and places to see. What she could find out would help blow the lid off of the whole sordid mess and stop it in it’s tracks. Sandy decided she was going to be a key player in achieving that.

The Invitation to a ” Genetics , the Next 100 Years” seminar in Barcelona appeared on the face of it an extremely dry agenda, admittedly in a nice location. It was a good place to start ; so she picked up the phone and booked the flights and the hotel room and confirmed by e-mail her registration documents for the Conference. Sandy had just finished making the arrangements when there was a knock on the door and Gerry entered . He was smiling and was obviously ready to sit down and have a long chat. Sandy, for her part was now very willing to listen.

” The little madam is away on location for the next three weeks and dad in-law is going to be away on business, I’ve got a time-slot free. I wanted to set up a visit to see my son, is that possible?”

” Good Morning Gerry, nice to see you , hope you are keeping well? Thank you Gerry I’m fine, I had a great weekend. You never were one for the finer points of conversation were you Gerry?”

Gerry laughed at Sandy’s deadpan delivery.

” Waste of time all that yakking. I’m sorry , I apologise , getting ahead of myself again. How are you? How are things going?”

Sandy ignored his question. ” I’d give you advice to relax , Gerry, but you’d only misinterpret my meaning. Live in the moment, you’re always miles ahead of yourself and others. Time does not exist to be consumed or consummated for that matter.”

” My memories of relaxing with you are perfect, I’ve no regrets. My life has changed , I have a son. I’m a father to a wonderful little boy and you are his mother. Have you any idea how that makes me feel?” Gerry looked at Sandy directly.

Sandy refrained from squirming, though part of her felt like doing so. In her mind she thought , bloody Media Mogul. Egomaniac! She, immediately regretted it. Gerry was just a man like any other. The bond between father and son could and should be unbreakable, perhaps that was the way Gerry felt, there was no telling.

She continued.” I know how a mother feels and Martin and I are very protective of all our children. There was a raid where Alex was living , the location was compromised. Thankfully Alex was one of the children that they managed to help escape and he was not captured. It would have meant certain death. I had a letter from him , he described everything that happened to, him. It’s too much for a six year old to take, but he is having to take it.”

” How do you mean? Is Alex in danger?.”

” Daily danger, Gerry, Alex will always be in danger, he’s regarded by our Society as defective goods.”

” But the money, that’s going to protect him isn’t it? I mean that’s its purpose. The people we’re sending money to , they can stop him being harmed.”

” I hope so” Sandy gazed at the slightly flabby short man slouched in the seat in front of her and realised she was walking on a tightrope. How much could she let Gerry know? She was going to have to make a very serious judgement call, they needed more money and they needed it fast.

Sandy took the letter that Alex had wrote to her and Martin about his escape from one of the drawers in her desk.

“Here read this, it’s from your son. It’s pretty harrowing.” She stood up .” Do you want a coffee?”

“Please.” Gerry took the letter from her hand and began to read it.

When Sandy had made the coffee, she turned and looked at Gerry. He had finished reading the letter and he had tears coming down his eyes.

“Here’s your coffee.” She said bluntly.

“My poor child, this is horrendous, madness.”

” Tell me about it, is this what we do to six year old children? What kind of World are we living in Gerry? Alex was lucky, but he knows his friends and the other people he knew at Building 1 did not survive . They were his family. You can see how much work goes into keeping all of their work secret and that was a pretty sophisticated escape mechanism to save maybe twenty children. It all costs and what they need is money , your money. It’s more necessary than ever. Can you supply it?”

” Yes, I think I can.” Gerry looked up at Sandy.

” Give as much as you can and make sure it’s untraceable.”

” OK ” Gerry nodded and began to sip his coffee. He was unable to speak, so Sandy thought it would be a good idea to pitch him her plans.”

” I’ve done the research Gerry, but I need to move onto the next phase if we are help counteract these killers. I need to know the main protagonists. Attend some Government and Scientific Conferences . I’ve been ignoring the invites and the calls, because I’ve had my head stuck in books, but perhaps I can find out how these people work, how they find out the locations. Apparently, so I’m told it’s getting harder, and harder to keep them secret. The raids happen out of the blue. If I could find out how they locate them perhaps I could pre-warn them.”

“They have underground trains? That’s a pretty amazing bit of organisation.” Gerry was still digesting Alex’s letter.

Sandy flinched, had she let Gerry have information that she shouldn’t have. Were Gerry’s tears crocodile ones? She didn’t know and now she felt a bit foolish. Was Gerry really an A1 and actually supported what was going on? These thoughts buzzed through her head , but she regained her poise and took a sip of coffee from her cup. It was Gerry who recovered himself first and spoke.

” Have you anything planned at the moment?” He quizzed her.

Sandy gathered herself , she had chosen her course and she had to follow it.

” I’ve booked myself onto a Global Government Gene Conference in Barcelona next week.”

” Good, give me the details I’ll come too.”

” I don’t think that’s a good idea , Gerry?” Sandy frowned.

” Sandy , you need some gravitas behind you, I’ll watch your back…. and anyway I’m pulling rank on you. Don’t worry , I’ll book my own tickets, you can trust me , if you want the money , you have no option.”

” Fine Gerry, if that’s what you want. I understand.”

Gerry smiled ” See you in Barcelona!” and left her office.

When Gerry went out the door, Sandy put her head in her hands.

” Oh Crap!”

She immediately picked up her phone and rang Martin on his mobile, she just wanted to tell him what had happened and what was going to happen, but there was no answer. It was one time she really needed to speak to him. The phone went on to answering machine. It was good to hear his voice. She left a message.

“Hi Martin, Sandy, ring me when you get a chance.”

She went to put Alex’s letter back in the drawer, and she realised Gerry had taken it away with him.

” Damn!” She snarled!