Starting from Scratch by Bruce George Read Free Book Online

she’ll have a different attitude.
    All right, Major Hurst. It’s your call. Salvage her
if you can, but don’t waste a lot of time on her. Some people just
aren’t going to be a good fit for us.
    Thank you, sir.
    He just couldn’t believe that woman had cranked up
his blood pressure so quickly. No one had been able to bring him to
a boil that quickly, since Sherry passed away. Dr. Fulwiler had
come at him with such vitriol. It was very much like dealing with
his late wife, when she was angry. Fortunately, that was a rare
occurrence. Maybe that’s why he reacted the way he did. The woman
certainly was a spitfire.
    He made his way into the next room, which was filled
with veterans. Mike was surprised to see a few of them openly
crying. Wayne had gone ahead of him and was there trying to comfort
them. It didn’t take long for Mike to realize that those men were
weeping with joy, at regaining limbs they had not had for
decades.
    It touched him, because he had had a similar
emotional reaction, when he first experienced true feeling in his
long lost legs, although he hadn’t cried. He almost did now though,
as he watched the men caressing legs and arms that had been lost so
long ago. Also, they had a little of their youth back and they now
had the prospect of a life they had been denied when they were
young.
    Mike regretted that they must be told the real reason
they were here and that they could lose their lives all over again.
Actually that wasn’t entirely true. If they were wounded and
disfigured once more, the med units would repair their broken
bodies and they could be put back in harms way over and over
again.
    When he thought of it that way, it sounded awful.
They would need to have some sort of time off guarantee for a
wounded warrior. And, if they had enough recruits, which he doubted
would happen anytime soon, those wounded men should have the option
of retiring and not having to face the fickle twist of fate once
again.
    He rather imagined Max would fight him on that. He
could almost hear the man demanding that those warriors be
available for the battles that might follow, if they survived the
first one. Their combat experience would be invaluable. Max was
ruthless like that. He had seen it first hand in Iraq.
    Mike thought a prayer. “Oh Lord please don’t ever put
me in a position where I have to ask these men to make too many
sacrifices. Surely we can do what must be done without tearing
apart the lives and hearts of these fine soldiers, more than twice.
They have paid their full measure the first time and I shall ask
them to do it a second time…but no more than that, I pray.”
    He spent a lot of time in that room, back slapping
the old soldiers, congratulating them on their new bodies. Many of
them were suspicious and wanted to know what price they had to pay
for this privilege. Like any veteran, they knew that good fortune
came with a price tag.
    Wayne stood on a chair, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Gentlemen, we have avoided answering many of your questions,
because the two of us have been through the same process that you
have been through. We know it takes a while to adjust to the
reality of what has happened here. Rather than get lost in a
mishmash of questions, we’ve prepared a video, which will explain
what’s going on.
    “We have an offer for you to consider. If you refuse,
you can continue with your lives in your new body. But remember,
you were chosen for a reason and there is no higher calling than to
save your fellow man, or in this case, the entire human race. So,
watch the video and then we’ll have a Q&A.”
    Mary commed him. General, Dr. Fulwiler has been
selected as the spokes person for the scientists. I think her harsh
exchange with you helped the others to recognize her as the alpha
dog in the pack. She has requested a private meeting with General
Hurst. She seems contrite to me, sir. I think it would be helpful
to the situation, if you’d meet with her.
    He sighed. He