The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh, Volume One Read Online Free PDF

the genetically or cybernetically augmented as monsters to be destroyed.” He shook his head sadly. “It’s an ugly tragic situation that has devastated more civilizations and species than I like to recall. The Voixxians. The Ryol. The Minjo. The Borg. ...”
    “Okay, I get it, I guess,” Roberta said, surrendering for the time being. “Thanks for the history lesson.” In some ways, though, Seven’s explanation was more frustrating than satisfying. “It’s not exactly fair, you know. You’re always winning arguments by citing incidents on planets I’ve never heard of, and can hardly check up on.” She eyed him quizzically from across the room. “How do I know you don’t make up half of this stuff?”
    Seven looked backed at her with amused gray eyes. “On that, Ms. Lincoln, you’ll just have to trust me.” Perched on the back of the plush chair nearby, Isis mewed in agreement.
    No surprise there, Roberta thought ruefully Sometimes she suspected that the ever-present black feline knew more about what Seven was up to than she did; the rest of the time she was sure of it. Yeah, but I’ve got opposable thumbs and she doesn’t, at least not at the moment.
    Even after six years of working with Seven (and Isis), she knew frustratingly little about the mysterious aliens behind this little operation, just that they had snatched up his great-great-great-ancestors some six thousand years ago, trained their offspring for umpteen generations, then sent good old Supervisor 194 back to Earth to keep his fellow Homo sapiens from starting World War III. Whenever she asked Seven about his superiors Up There, he told her that she didn’t need to know anything more, that greater knowledge of the Aegis (as he sometimes called them) would not assist her in the field, and might actually compromise the alien’s grand design should the information fall into the wrong hands. Well, maybe, Roberta mused; just the same, she would like to know whether she was working for a bunch of super-intelligent bugs or birds or big giant brains. Just so long as they don’t have tails or whiskers, she thought, with a suspicious glance at Isis.
    One of these days, she vowed, she would pry the full scoop out of [25] Seven. Now, however, did not seem like the right time to press the issue. The boss had more pressing matters on his mind, like these inexplicably AWOL chromosome counters.
    Seven finally glanced at his own wristwatch. “All right,” he said reluctantly. “There’s nothing more we can do tonight. Starting tomorrow, though, finding out where all these scientists have gone to is our top priority.” He leaned back into his chair, massaging his forehead with his fingers in a rare moment of human vulnerability and fatigue. “With any luck,” he sighed, “we can nip this dangerous experiment in the bud before it goes too far.”
    Roberta figured she was probably still missing some of the deeper implications of this whole Mad Scientist business that had Seven worried, but she hoped he was right anyway. About it not being too late, that is.
     
    CHRYSALIS BASE
    LOCATION: CLASSIFIED
     
    Selective breeding is effective as a means of evolution, but it takes too long, especially where human gestation periods are involved. Tedious as it sometimes was, deliberate genetic manipulation sped up the process immeasurably, or so Dr. Sarina Kaur kept reminding herself as she pruned yet another collection of human embryos. With luck, there won’t be too many rejects, she thought, studying each embryo individually beneath a powerful electron microscope.
    The sterile, air-conditioned laboratory resembled a gleaming, high-tech kitchen. Black acid-proof counters shined like polished obsidian against bright mango-colored walls. Equipment ranging from simple column chromatography setups to sophisticated liquid scintillation counters sat atop the counter, alongside agar-filled petri dishes and folded nitrocellulose filters. Spare test tubes, beakers, and