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Back The Utopia Experiment Save as PDF
Chapters (84)
  1. Title Page
  2. Welcome
  3. Prologue
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 13
  17. 14
  18. 15
  19. 16
  20. 17
  21. 18
  22. 19
  23. 20
  24. 21
  25. 22
  26. 23
  27. 24
  28. 25
  29. 26
  30. 27
  31. 28
  32. 29
  33. 30
  34. 31
  35. 32
  36. 33
  37. 34
  38. 35
  39. 36
  40. 37
  41. 38
  42. 39
  43. 40
  44. 41
  45. 42
  46. 43
  47. 44
  48. 45
  49. 46
  50. 47
  51. 48
  52. 49
  53. 50
  54. 51
  55. 52
  56. 53
  57. 54
  58. 55
  59. 56
  60. 57
  61. 58
  62. 59
  63. 60
  64. 61
  65. 62
  66. 63
  67. 64
  68. 65
  69. 66
  70. 67
  71. 68
  72. 69
  73. 70
  74. 71
  75. 72
  76. 73
  77. 74
  78. 75
  79. 76
  80. Epilogue
  81. About the Authors
  82. The Covert-One Novels
  83. Newsletters
  84. Copyright

Castilla let him get away with it. “I assume you aren’t here to make sure I’m eating right while my wife is gone. What do you have for me?”

Klein pulled a tablet computer from his portfolio and punched in a password, bringing up a photo of the severed head Randi Russell had found. Castilla looked at it, blanched visibly, and then went back to working on his beer.

“Someone I know?”

“An Afghan from a rural village called Sarabat. Did you see the places on the skull that were circled?”

Castilla nodded. “Dresner’s Merge is getting around. We originally thought that Islam’s prohibitions against body modification would pretty much shut down adoption in that part of the world, but the effect hasn’t been as strong as we thought. Hats off to Dresner’s marketing director.”

“There’s more.”

“Why am I not surprised?”

“It appears that the studs in this man’s skull were installed more than four months ago.”

Castilla’s eyes narrowed as he made a few mental calculations. “That was before the Merge was released. Well before.”

“That’s right.”

“Where did you get this, Fred? Is the intel solid?”

“I had Randi Russell looking into a lead on the Pentagon issue. This just fell in her lap. And while I haven’t been working directly with her for long, I have a great deal of admiration for her. Also, Jon Smith has corroborated most of her story. I think you and I hold the same opinion of Jon.”

“This really isn’t what I needed today.”

“Sorry, Sam.”

“What else do we know?”

“Basically nothing. And that’s why I’m here. I need some direction from you as to whether this is something Covert-One should pursue.”

“Hell yes, it’s something you should pursue. Why wouldn’t—” He caught himself and fell silent for a moment. “You think I had something to do with this.”

“I’m not here to pass judgment, Sam. You know that. But if this is a government-run test I’m not aware of, it’d be better if we steer clear of it.”

“I found out about the Merge the same time the rest of the world did and I found out about the military version the same way you did—from Smith’s meeting with Craig Bailer. After I got his report, I met with the CIA and Joint Chiefs to discuss it. They didn’t know any more than I did.”

“Okay,” Klein said in a measured tone. “Then the question we need to answer is how this should be handled. It might make sense to hand it over to the CIA and military intelligence. Keep us out of it.”

Castilla settled back in the sofa and stared silently down at the beer in his hand. With Covert-One’s involvement always came the risk of exposure.