Transhuman Evolution

By C.D. Jacobs

Sarah Salvator is on the run from the Icarus Project, the para-military organization that implanted her with a mysterious piece of tech that increases her perception, speed, and strength. These advantages come at a tremendous cost. Using information gathered from a storage unit called Alpha Zero Two, Sarah and a team from the Resistance including: Georgia, a 16 year old tech wiz; Zoe van der Meer, an Ex-military Doctor; and Dr. Joanna Yang, a confidant of the Controller, set out to rescue Faren, Sarah's sister, and bring down the project.

• Language: English
• Publisher: C.D. Jacobs
• Release date: Sep 6, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215422762

C.D. Jacobs

C.D. Jacobs is an author of fantasy, poetry and science-fiction. He was born in the United States but has made a home in Dunedin, New Zealand, with his three children and his wife. When not writing, he can be found on stage, behind a camera, directing, or in front of a camera, playing video games on YouTube.

Book preview

Chapter 1. Escape

Abird chirped. It was nearby, somewhere off to the right. She couldn’t see it. Her eyes rolled in their sockets, and a sudden wave of nausea caused her to curl over and purge her stomach’s remains onto the mossy ground.

Another chirp. Closer this time. Sarah tried to roll onto her knees and peer around. Her legs and arms shook, and she collapsed once more. Blurred greenery swam around her, refusing to accommodate her beleaguered state.

The chirp came again, followed by a beep. She swung her head in its direction, but the sudden movement caused her to heave bile onto the emerald undergrowth. Sarah could hear it now: the whirring of a small electric motor, a slight squish as it bounced closer to her, needle extended. She could feel its mechanical eyes scanning her for life signs.

Very quiet now, Sarah halted, head pressed into the ground, waiting for the little machine to move closer. It whirred and bounced forward, chirping systematically.

Now a meter behind her head, the bird clicked as it scanned a bush. She was woozy, and one mistake grabbing the bird would result in her getting stuck. That would be the end. Sarah had to grab it carefully and shut it down.

Chirp.

Thirty centimeters from her head now. If she didn’t get it on the first try, it would take to the air and fill her with narcotics before she could defend herself.

Sarah breathed; calm, she felt the drowsiness fall away as the implant took effect. She could see each droplet of water in the moss, hear insects buzzing ten meters away from her, and feel the scant heat emanating from the bird as it moved closer. Sarah was ready.

She shot up, planted one foot beneath her, and kicked out with the other. The little bird had lifted off, but she anticipated and caught the machine’s underside with the heel of her foot. It careened into the side of a tree, sending matchstick pieces of bark flying.

She charged, the sting in her foot a secondary worry. The bird was righting itself and preparing for flight. Her hands caught its metal feet. She pushed the upper half into the ground, hard. A needle waved in her hand’s direction, but it was too late. The bird’s actuators were soon covered in moss. A rock nearby provided the means to end the bird completely.

Sarah could feel the loss of control. The needle mark on her foot had turned a sickly green. Another injection. The serum was wearing off. She tried to fight the dizziness. She had seconds to find a hiding place in the forest before she succumbed.

⁂

Sarah woke, freezing in the dark. Her gown was soaking wet, and she shook with the cold. The sounds of the day had been replaced with the nighttime predators’ prowling.

Great work. Sarah sighed. Now I am going to freeze to death.

Like insidious vines, the cold seeped up through her feet and into her legs. She stood painfully, slowly. Her foot burned at the injection site. Green skin flaked off like snow onto the ground, and a small but sore hole ejected a shiny clear fluid.

Gingerly, she straightened her back, placing most of her weight on the non-injected foot. Pain lanced up her calf, and she cried out; the bird had left its mark on her.

Sarah stumbled forward into a tree. Around its trunk, small luminescent insects marched to some unheard tune. They wound upward into the darkness and disappeared into a knot in the wood.

Her foot was throbbing. She knew she wouldn’t be able to make it very far walking; she needed a ride. Several problems immediately presented themselves concerning her whereabouts and where she could get a ride from. How would she get that ride without being taken straight back to the facility?

She pushed off from the tree, leaving a bare spot where the bark fell off and crashed noisily into the undergrowth. In the dim light, Sarah could barely make out some broken branches and churned-up dirt and moss. Since she was still alive and free, she assumed that these were from her unfortunate drug-induced rest earlier. Maybe the bird’s parts are still there.

She moved cautiously, ears straining into the darkness for the slightest sound; the whir of a motor, the chirp of a bird, the crack of a branch, anything that might indicate she had been found. She wasn’t going back. She wouldn’t go back. Sarah picked up a stick and tapped the path ahead, making slightly better time.

The area looked familiar, but everything was remembered as a dream. It all seemed so much colder and sharper than the hazy mess her mind insisted would be there. It took several minutes of crawling around on the ground to find the bird’s remains jammed into the dirt. It was completely deactivated; she could feel the dents and cracks where she had smashed it. Sarah hoped there was something useable left inside.

Her eyes had adjusted to the near-total darkness of the forest. She realized quickly that despite navigating her way to the bird by sound and feel, she couldn’t work on its delicate electronics in the black. She gathered up all of the pieces in one hand and then used the stick to leverage her malnourished frame upward. She managed to keep her infected foot off the ground and was soon making progress into the forest. She didn’t have a destination in mind but knew that she needed to get away from the site of the bird’s deactivation. More would come to investigate. She wasn’t entirely sure how she had managed to evade their sweep so far but briefly thanked the air for her good fortune.

A tree loomed, large and dark, in front of her. It had branches that were easy to grab, and with several minutes of struggling and a few painful accidents, Sarah could pull herself up into the first branch. She lifted her stick and grabbed the bird, which she had placed safely in a knot in the trunk. It took about an hour to get high enough to escape the notice of anyone searching the ground for her. If more birds came, she would be caught anyway.

⁂

The procedure should only take a few hours, after which you will feel some nausea and pain at the implant site.

Doctor Simmons pointed at his lab coat’s base, just off-center. His voice was deep and smooth, like rich chocolate. Sarah felt comfortable despite wearing a white and blue hospital gown.

Do you have any questions? Concerns? His face appeared genuine, like a grandfather. His graying eyebrows arched questioningly, and the wrinkles around his mouth creased into a frown.

How long will it take to...sublimate? She felt a kind of haze settle over her eyes.

Doctor Simmons leaned in close, and she could see his surgical mask. Bright lights shone into her eyes as they were pried open, the faint beeping of a machine nearby measuring the time.

Sarah tried to move, but her arms and legs were restrained. She felt a needle going into her arm and tried to call out. Doctor Simmons looked into her eyes, searching.

Sarah couldn’t move or twitch or speak. She saw the doctor receive a scalpel from another masked surgeon.

Making abdominal incision. The flash of the scalpel left her view, and she could feel it slicing her abdomen open. She screamed inwardly, desperately trying to get someone’s attention.

Patient’s blood pressure rising, still within expected parameters.

She felt more than saw a small device, electronics mixed with something else. He placed it into the incision. Doctor Simmons began stitching the wound closed.

Test is complete. Subject 1729 is ready for post-op.

She couldn’t identify the voice; it was female and sounded very distant.

⁂

Sarah’s eyes snapped open. Below her, a bird was inspecting the dirt where she had struggled to climb into the tree. Sweat drenched her gown and dripped off her neck onto the tree branch. Her chest tightened and her muscles, like coiled springs, tensed in anticipation. The bird hopped around, and a small compartment opened in its back from which red laser light shot out and traced along the ground.

Crack.

A branch broke thirty meters north of the tree. The bird took to the air and flew toward the noise. Sarah let out the breath she had been holding and felt all of her muscles relax. She had to move quickly; the bird would be back.

The swelling in her foot had reduced, but she felt small shocks of pain as she clambered down the tree. Sarah could see the broken bird’s components more clearly in the dawn light. She pulled out the bird’s homing sequencer, detaching it from the main board. The board itself was intact; its power had been cut when she crushed it into the ground.

The power supply itself seemed to be functioning, and she removed it and the metal capsule connected to the bird’s needled arm. The toxin inside the capsule might come in handy later. She struggled to remember what the functions of all the board’s parts were; it had been several years since her electronics refresher.

Sarah pushed a vine out of the way. The forest seemed to continue forever in every direction, and she was no closer to figuring out how to make it to the road. She knew the homing sequencer could tell her the direction and distance to the facility, so at least she could continue away from there. She needed another reference point, something to help her figure out where she was.

⁂

You’re rather young to be training, aren’t you? The driver adjusted his mirror to get a better view of her. The road was deserted in front of the car.

Youngest ever. That’s what they tell me anyway. A lone peak rose out of the forest’s canopy off to her right. Sarah reached reflexively to her neck, sighed, and clenched her fist. How far to the training facility?

Oh, not far, young miss. He smiled. You’ll be there soon enough.

⁂

Sarah looked up into the canopy, little droplets showering her face. She needed to get up high.

It took nearly thirty minutes on her injured foot, but she climbed to the canopy of a solid-looking tree. She felt her gown rip open as she climbed higher. The rough, spiky branches reached out to drag her back down. As she neared the top, a brief feeling of vertigo overwhelmed her, and she struggled to hang onto the tree’s trunk. She was twenty meters above the ground now; she could feel the breeze as it shook the branches and the sway as the tree moved in rhythm with the rest of the forest.

⁂

I’m so jealous! Faren jumped up and down next to her. You’ll get to wear a uniform, and everyone will have to salute you! Faren snapped off an imitation salute, her rounded face briefly taking on the serious look of an army lieutenant.

I’m just getting to test. That’s all. Sarah grinned at her sister’s seriousness. Even if I pass, I won’t get to train until I turn seventeen.

"You are going to pass! Faren dropped her salute and skipped around Sarah. Promise you’ll write me and tell me everything."

I promise. I will write every chance I get. She smiled and patted her sister’s red curls. You’ll have to keep me updated on your boyfriends. She leaned in salaciously and winked.

Faren darted toward her and tried to tackle her to the ground, but Sarah was too quick. She dodged aside and ran through the open front door into the yard, laughing.

⁂

Her fingertips were a white gash against the ochre bark of the trunk. The wind had picked up. Sarah looked up; only a few more meters, and she would be able to see over the canopy. She kept her eyes focused upward and felt the gentle rain breaking through the thinning blanket of leaves above her.

One foot, one hand, one foot; three points to secure herself. She was taking no chances; a fall from this height would almost certainly kill her. Sarah felt light yet persistent patter of rain hit her upturned face. She let it track through the dirt on her cheeks and felt it slicking her hair down to her shoulders to fall into the canopy below, taking some of her worries with it.

The view from the treetop was dampened by the low-hanging clouds currently dousing the landscape. She could make out the peak’s slopes some distance northwest. Sarah thought she could identify a break in the trees where the road cut through to the facility where, on a clearer day, she would have been able to see the gray buildings, the fences, and blacked-out windows. She fancied that she could hear the instructors screaming at the newer recruits.

Sarah carefully marked the peak’s direction and climbed down the tree. It took longer to get down, and she was keenly aware of her foot as she dropped the last few feet to the forest floor. The circuit board and power supply rested against the base of the tree, and she picked them up gingerly. The rain was almost non-existent this far below. Nevertheless, she was careful to avoid getting the board wet.

She attentively bit the wires on the power supply to remove their sheathing. Afterward, she hooked up the homing sequencer to the bird’s vocal output. It wouldn’t work for long. Sarah would need to move quickly once she had used it, as it would send a signal back to the facility. The electronics class returned to her slowly, but she worked out the gist of what she needed to do.

Finally, she connected the power supply to the homing sequencer.

The signal was steady. Sarah moved in the direction she thought the facility was, the beeping growing faster. She moved away, and the beeping slowed. She did some quick calculations and figured she was about ten kilometers southeast of the facility. The road home would take her closer rather than further away.

A few tugs disconnected the power supply from the board, and the beeping faded into the forest like the last song before nightfall.

She moved with purpose, pushing aside bushes and brambles that clawed and scratched her exposed skin. Once at the road, she would follow along it until she reached a town or city. Sarah suddenly couldn’t remember getting into the car to the facility. She struggled to draw the memory out. She was sure there was some sort of building. Buildings? It all faded together, molasses in her mind.

It was no use. Assuming the road led somewhere was probably sound; she knew which way the facility was.

Her foot had begun to ache constantly as she trudged through the dense underbrush. She needed medical attention. She crumpled next to a small pool in a clearing. The water was clear, cold, and seemed clean.

The girl staring back at her jumped with fright, her cheeks sunken. Her head was shaved, several cuts and bruises marring her features. The slight discoloration in her left eye identified her. She dipped her hands into the pool and splashed water across her face. The image disappeared as the metallic taste of the water swished gently around her mouth and onto her cheeks.

Snap.

Nearby, something moved. Sarah clambered to her feet and peered into the forest’s densest parts, her eyes straining against the natural low light below the canopy.

The bushes to her right rustled a few meters away. She stepped back, balancing her weight on the balls of her feet.

Sarah could feel her legs tightening. Sweat beaded on her forehead, and she prepared herself. She breathed deeply, and everything slowed down as the serum began to take effect. The bush stood starkly against the backdrop of the forest; each individual leaf was outlined and vibrated in her vision. She imagined she could see the sounds being made and analyzed each piece.

A shock of white appeared from under the bush. As it bounced into view, Sarah’s instincts took over. Her arms outstretched, her face a mask of concentration, she flew through the air toward the bush, landing with an audible crash. She struck downward, expecting metal and the hot sting of another injection. Her fist connected. An audible screech, then silence.

The world began to speed up as Sarah looked at her hands. Crimson drops and viscera covered her fist. Below, the remains of a rabbit whose guts had burst outward stained the dirt red. Tiny rivulets ran quickly toward the pool, making channels in the dirt. Transfixed by the blood, Sarah watched as the liquids mixed at the water’s edge, turned pink, and washed away.

She sat down between the rabbit and the pool as sunlight cut through the canopy and struck her upturned face. The sound of breathing split the silence that had descended on the clearing. Slowly, very slowly, her muscles relaxed, and her mind began to wander, hazy and lost.

Sarah reached into the water and was surprised to see her hand disappear beneath the surface. She felt needles stabbing into the soft flesh of her palm while her other hand pushed ineffectively against dirt. Her hands were creatures with different agendas, doing a dance that Sarah could only just barely discern.

The sun moved across the sky, unrelenting. Sarah lay beside the water, blood staining her cheeks and mouth, the carcass hanging limply in her open hand. Her eyes were shut lightly against the sun’s glare, and her legs dangled into the water like seaweed.

⁂

Something was crawling on her face. A small something moved down her cheek and onto her neck. There it was again, on her forehead now. It moved quickly across the small cuts and punctures on her face. Sarah felt its little feet scrabbling over her skin like tiny spiders. She tried to swat it away but couldn’t move. She couldn’t see. She felt cold, sick. She retched. Vomit and bile spilled out of her mouth onto the ground. She had managed to roll onto her stomach and open her eyes when she caught the smell of decomposing flesh and saw a rabbit’s bloody entrails. They had bite marks on them, as did its skin and bones. She heaved again, producing only bile. She spat it onto the carcass and mustered the strength to roll away from it.

⁂

Her skin was clammy, and her whole body shook. A gangrenous tinge had begun slowly to seep across her features, and she struggled to gain her feet.

Coughing hurt her chest and caused her head to thump. Sarah peered into the darkness and strained against the night to hear any sounds.

The wind blew softly through the canopy, rustling leaves and providing a soft, steady sound that Sarah latched on to. She focused on it and let the gentle forest music calm her thoughts. Her headache subsided slowly, and eventually, she was able to take stock of the situation.

She had been resting. A noise, then... The rabbit’s remains provided the rest of the story. She wiped her face and felt the sticky, dried blood around her mouth, the bits still clinging to her face like people drowning near a lifeboat. She brushed them off, but the sudden movement set her head spinning.  Like a crumbling skyscraper, she shook and fell into a tree, grasping at its rough bark for balance. It was too much; she needed help.

Sarah forged blindly through the forest toward the road. She felt empty. All pretense of stealth had fled before the onslaught of sickness; spittle hung from her mouth as she desperately tried to push her way through the dense bush that seemed to leap into her path from every direction.

⁂

Sarah fell. A bright red gash opened on her cheek where a branch’s sharp end had broken her fall. Resolute, she crawled forward. When she had regained her equilibrium, she once again rose and shambled toward the road. Each step brought the foul taste of bile to her mouth and set her head spinning once again.

The setting sun peeked through the line of trees in front of her. Shaking, hazy foliage floated past her eyes, forcing her to look down at the moist earth that pressed between her toes. Sarah could hear her breathing, low thunder pounding in her ears. Eyes heavy and body broken, she crashed through a wall of green and fell onto hot asphalt. Warmth spread up through her feet, bloodied knees sizzling on the hot black scar that stretched into the forest in either direction. Cool air moved along the dirty lines of her face as Sarah put her head onto the road.

Chapter 2. Family

I s she okay? a tiny voice asked. She could feel it near her head.

We’ll see. The doctor will be back tomorrow to check on her. It sounded older, farther away. Shuffling and sounds of cooking echoed in the distance.

Her skin was burning, tiny torches that seared up and down her body. She could feel every swirl of air as it danced over her forehead.

Relief, sudden, unexpected, landed on her head. The fires momentarily subsided, and she could almost open her eyes.

Shhh... a deep voice, very close, reassuring, comforting, like home said. Rest...

She could hear very quiet singing in the distance. A small, bittersweet melody that grew from innocence, a lily in a field ready for battle.

...it rang, it rang,

on the shore, it rang.

The morning sun grew bright.

Searching the line,

for a flag or a sign,

That Johnny would get home

alright.

The unguarded melody resonated through her body. She relaxed and allowed its sweet promise to lure her back to sleep.

⁂

She heard chirping.

It was above and behind her. Muscles tensed, and she sprang from the bed. Her right hand grasped a pillow which she wielded as a shield.

Chirp.

She dove sideways and came up near a window. Her fist flung outward toward the sound and found nothing but air. The bird had flown away; a feather, noticeably non-metallic, floated down from the branch that loomed near the window.

You’re up.

She whirled, blood still rioting in her veins. Let me go.

A somber face looked at her with eyes full of pity. His thick, fatherly mustache hid a slight smile while his broad frame belied the gentle timbre of his voice. You can go. He stepped away from the door slowly and purposefully, moving far enough so that the way was completely clear for her if she ran.

She stepped forward, eyes searching for signs of other people, a trap, anything.

Daddy? a tiny voice rang from the hallway, sounding distant, lower. She was on this house’s second story. Out the window, she had seen a tree, the ground, and several other buildings. She had to get out.

Stay downstairs, Ia. I am speaking with our visitor.

Is there anyone else here? Sarah peered into the hallway, keeping the pillow between herself and the man.

My wife, Zoe. He smiled. She is the one who fixed you up.

Sarah reflexively looked down at her foot. There was a bandage covering the entry point. She realized she was wearing grey pajamas, loose and comfortable.

Sarah leaned into the hallway and back into the room. The man had not moved. What do you want?

The man stepped slowly toward the bed, careful to show her what he was doing. He placed a pile of neatly folded clothing on the bed. I had thought you might wake up this afternoon. So I brought you some clothes.

Sarah looked at the pile and back at the man. He seemed genuine. She lowered the pillow and allowed herself a smile. I guess I look ridiculous.

"No, you’re just a little confused