Moffat’s gaze traveled around the room. taking in his surroundings, sizing up his captors.
“You don’t fool me, “he said, “I know who you are.” He gazed pointedly at Andre. “I should have killed you when I had the chance.”
Andre stared at him. “You’re the headless horseman.” she said.
“That’s right,” Moffat said proudly. “But killing me won’t do you a bit of good. You’re too late. You’re much too late to stop it. I don’t really matter anymore, so do your worst. I’m not afraid.”
“Our worst could be much worse than merely killing you.” said Lucas. “But there’s no reason it should come to that. I don’t think you know what you’re really involved in. If you help us, perhaps we could help you.”
Moffat gave a short bark of derisive laughter. “The way you helped my master, I suppose?”
“Your master?” Lucas said.
“Lucas…” Finn said. “He’s a hominoid.”
“Of course,” said Andre. “It would make perfect sense. Whom else could Drakov trust to carry out his plans?”
“I may have failed,” said Moffat, bitterly, “but my master will succeed. There is nothing you can do to stop him. You’ve lost and in that. I’ll take my satisfaction.”
“Why?” said Lucas. “Why should you take satisfaction in a temporal disaster, in all the untold damage it could cause; in all the loss of life? What possible satisfaction could you find in that?”
“Forget it. Lucas.” said Delaney. “Drakov has him thoroughly programmed and conditioned. You’ll never get through to him.”
“Maybe not,” Lucas said, “but it’s got to be worth a try. He can still think. He can still feel. He’s still as human as the rest of us.” Moffat stared at him. “What did you say?”
“I said that no matter what Drakov may have done to you, you’re still a human being, with a mind and will of your own. Think for yourself, man. At least listen to what we have to say.”
Moffat glanced around at them in bewilderment. “What sort of trick is this?” he said. “Why do you tell me that I’m human?”
Lucas looked at him with surprise. “Because you are, of course.” he said. “You mean to tell me that Drakov told you you’re not human? What did he say you were?”
Moffat’s defiance started to slip away in his bafflement. He had expected brutal interrogation, but not this. “You’re trying to confuse me,” he said. “I know what I am. I am one of my master’s hominoids, he created me.”
“That’s right.” said Lucas. “but that doesn’t make you a machine or some sort of subhuman creature. You’re serious, aren’t you? You really believe that’s what you are?”
Moffat had been programmed and trained to resist interrogation, but this was something he had not expected. He swallowed nervously, and deep within his subconscious, a flicker of impassible hope appeared. “You admit that my master has created me. and yet you still say that I’m human? How can that her
Lucas pulled up a chair and sat down in front of him, seeing a slim chance to get through to him, perhaps to circumvent his programming. No amount of psychological conditioning could be absolutely foolproof. The mind was a versatile, resilient thing. There was a chance. There had to be.
“What is your name?” he asked.
Moffat did not reply. “Surely you can tell us what you’re called.” said Lucas. That will give us no advantage over Drakov.”
“My name is Jared Moffat.”
“What do you know of your creation, Jared?” Lucas asked.
Moffat swallowed nervously again. but said nothing.
“All right. let me tell you what I know of your creation.” Lucas said, “and you decide for yourself if it rings true or not. You know about the parallel universe?”
Moffat hesitated, then nodded.
“All right, then.” Lucas said. “Hear me out. The story of your creation began in the parallel universe. It started with a man, a scientist, called Dr. Phillipe Moreau. He was a brilliant genetic engineer, a genius. He was the head of an experiment called Project Infiltrator, funded and established by the Special Operations Group, our counterparts in the parallel timeline. The scientists there believe that the way to overcome the confluence phenomenon is to try and create temporal disruptions in our universe, leading to a timestream split. They are convinced that this will result in our two timelines being forced, and quite honestly, they may even be right. Built might also make the situation worse. There simply is no way of telling.
“The point is,” Lucas continued, “in order to accomplish their aims, they have to send soldiers through into our universe by way of confluence points, where our two timelines intersect. If those soldiers succeed in disrupting our timeline and bringing about a timestream split, then they will never be able to get back home again and the Special Operations Group had a plan to insure that these troops would be unquestioningly obedient… and totally expendable. Moreau was part of that plan. He had originally intended to use genetic engineering to create humans who could be designed to perform specific tasks that ordinary humans couldn’t do, to be stronger, more adaptable, able to survive environmental conditions that would be hostile to normal humans. He honestly believed that he would be introducing a stronger, more versatile strain into the human race that would eventually result in an improvement in the breed. But as often happens, his obsession gave him tunnel vision. He didn’t foresee all the staggering implications of what he planned to do.
“The Special Operations Group established a top secret military lab for him to carry on his work.” said Lucas, “and Moreau believed he had their full support, that they shared his aims, but in fact, what the Special Operations Group had, in mind was something altogether different. What they wanted were genetically tailored, cannon-fodder soldiers, intellectually inhibited and emotionally stunted, with their pain centers blocked and their minds programmed so they could fight like automatons. Moreau wanted no part of it and his frustration and sense of betrayal made him vulnerable to Drakov, who was working with the Special Operations Group at the time. Working with them entirely for his own ends. I might add. Drakov abducted Moreau from Project Infiltrator, along with all his notes and experiments in progress, and he brought him to a hidden laboratory he had set up especially for him. He convinced Moreau that he had the same goals as he did and that he shared in Moreau’s sense of betrayal. What Moreau didn’t know was that Drakov, himself, was already an accomplished genetic engineer, as well as a lot of other things, and a genius in his own right. He watched Moreau and worked with him and learned from him and then he took Moreau’s work and carried on from there.