Extensis Vitae by Gregory Mattix Read Free Book Online Page B

look. “What did you expect? You don’t see any cows grazing in any pastures around here, do you?”
    Reznik snorted in laughter. “I guess I had no idea of what to expect. I still don’t know enough about what the hell is going on to form solid expectations at this point.”
    “We’ll get to that soon, I promise. If you’re ready…” Reznik nodded and they got up and left the dining facility.
    Their security escort caught up the them again before they got far. Myrna led them back down the stairs past the level with the living quarters. They reached the bottom of the stairs, turned right, and went past the makeshift medical bay where Reznik had woken up. A little farther down, Myrna stopped outside a laboratory and swiped her hand in front of the sensor. After a soft beep , the door slid open.
    “Please remain outside, we need to speak in private,” she told the security team.
    The duo looked at each other. “Ma’am, our orders are to not let him out of our sight,” one of them said.
    “Well, then you can look through the window. I’ll be fine,” she said and walked inside. The room lit up as she entered. Reznik followed, and the door slid shut behind him. He saw the guards exchange a look through the window, but they remained outside.
    The large room was bisected by a long counter covered with flasks, vials, and various instruments. A pair of microscopes sat near each end of the counter. A couple of computer terminals were against the right wall. In the back left corner of the lab was a comfortable looking sofa and a couple of easy chairs with a coffee table between them. Myrna gestured to the sofa and chairs.
    “Make yourself comfortable,” she told him. She walked over to a counter where a chrome box sat next to a stack of dishes.
    “Are you a chemist?”
    “Biochemist. My responsibilities primarily involve maintaining the integrity of the food supply, among other things.”
    “Well, my compliments to the biochemist on lunch, then. Although, the mystery meat could use some work,” he teased as he sat down on the sofa.
    “I’ll get right on that,” she said with her pleasant laugh. “Would you like a cup of coffee? This might take a while.”
    “Sure,” he replied. “Just curious: why do you trust me enough to leave the guards outside?”
    “I read your file. You seem to be the type of person who does what needs to be done not because you are ordered or forced to do it, but because it’s the right thing to do. I just have a good feeling about you.”
    “Thank you for your faith in me,” Reznik said.
    “Well, just don’t let me down again like you did with the ‘don’t get in trouble’ thing, okay?”
    He laughed. “It’s a deal.”
    She pushed a button on the chrome box and it hummed for a few seconds. She placed a couple mugs into the machine. After another couple seconds, it beeped and she pulled the mugs out. The rich aroma of coffee filled the lab. She brought him his cup and sat in the easy chair facing him.
    The coffee tasted pretty good, considering that it was probably a lab-produced reproduction of the real thing. Myrna took a sip and watched him over the rim of her mug. “Where shall I begin?”
    Reznik shrugged. “Might as well start at the beginning, I guess.”

    ***

    And so Myrna began. “The year was 2079. There—“
    “Did you say twenty SEVENTY-NINE?” Reznik asked in shock.
    “That’s right. So you have no idea what year it is right now? How long they kept you on ice?”
    “On ice? It’s all murky still—my memory still hasn’t come back all the way. I remember…some sort of special project I went to work on…but that’s all.” He shook his head in frustration. “I hope it will come back to me. Sorry to interrupt—please continue.”
    “In the year 2079, there was an impact event on earth—some call it the Cataclysm. The international space agencies detected the asteroid with enough time to give only about three months’ warning. It was