"I knew you would come here. I've heard of it."
Doctor Bryce raised his head as General Colten entered his study. Doctor Bryce left the microscope and the slide he was looking at to modify the serum for the general. He walked up to the general who looked very angry this morning.
"That damn woman dared to defy me in the dining room. In front of all the mothers of my children."
"She seems to be a brave woman."
"No. I've had a few dissident women. You do your job as usual, Bryce."
"You want me to do something with her brain?"
"I want her to obey me."
General Colten glanced back quickly. His face hardened and his jaw tightened. His pride is at stake here. If he couldn't tame that wild woman, people would think of him as weak and he would be belittled.
"The last time we injected a serum for a woman who was defiant she went into convulsions. I don't want to hurt that woman, Colman."
Doctor Bryce's changing tone and calling him by the nickname given by his late mother, made it clear that Dr Bryce wanted to speak to him privately.
"What? The women who get your serum injections don't die. They can still carry out their normal activities and carry my baby."
"They became dazed. There are different effects for each woman. I won't inject anything into that woman until I do some tests."
"I can't wait. That woman must be tamed right now. Tomorrow, at the latest, I want her to be observed for an insemination procedure in the laboratory."
Doctor Bryce looked deeply into General Colten's face. Matters related to the success of his plans in the future always made the general emotional. It is very difficult to control his will if he has willed. But as the main doctor in this place, doctor Bryce would not allow General Colten to abuse his serums.
"You will ruin the order of After Earth if you use too many of my serums to control other people. You saw for yourself how the war a hundred years ago happened. These chemicals destroy the earth and humans."
"This is not at all the same as what happened a hundred years ago. We use the serum within reasonable limits and for a good purpose. If you don't want to inject that woman, you have to do whatever it takes to get her to carry my baby."
"I'll take a look after this. Where did you lock her?"
"In the detention room. Take some soldiers with you. She's biting."
Doctor Bryce laughed softly. He was curious about the figure of a woman who managed to make the general look so annoyed and grumpy like this. It had been a long time since he had seen the general show any expression other than gloomy and sullen. This is something new to see. At least the general had something to make his mood more varied and lively.
"What is this woman like?"
General Colten began to draw the figure of Clio in his head. A woman with long brown hair that yesterday looked as wrinkled as straw. But this morning he was surprised to see that the woman's hair had turned soft and looked like silk threads stuck to her head. Her eyeballs were honey-colored, perfectly round, and shone with passion as she gazed intently at him. Clio's face looks brighter this morning, cleaner, no dust or dirt stuck to her skin like yesterday. Clio was clearly like a gem fresh out of a stinky, dirty puddle. Maybe with more polish, Clio would be an amazing woman. Too bad she's not a sweet woman. Clio has claws and fangs that can bite him at any time.
"An arrogant woman who thinks that she can against me here."
"Hmm, interesting. Maybe she'll be a match for you."
"No way. She must be tamed immediately."
"Where did she come from?"
"A land between Europe and Asia. She has come a long way with the Centurions to arrive in New York."
"Who is her family? Did you find out?"
"Her father was imprisoned in the Black Hole. Adam Yilmaz. He's one of the Centurion's elite council. Three years ago Adam was arrested for infiltrating The Peace and attempting to poison the women who live there. He hates all the women I've ever dealt with."
"Amazing background. No wonder at all that this woman went wild. Her father was a great leader."
General Colten glared at Doctor Bryce. He didn't like Doctor Bryce's response to Clio. Doctor Bryce didn't seem at all worried about the trouble he was having about Clio's rebellion in the dining room.
"I'm afraid she'll instigate the women here if I release her before you give her the serum."
"Do you? I think there's something else you're worried about."
Doctor Bryce shifted to the right side. He scanned the shelves, sorting alphabetically for the serum the general wanted. The serums look so beautiful, colorful, red, blue, yellow, green, pink, put in mini bottles for one injection. Doctor Bryce's index finger stopped at the letter B for brain. He pulled out a bottle of bright green serum and gently shook it in his palm.
"I know you have other things in mind, Colman. That woman reminds you of someone?"
"No. Don't make me have to reminisce about the past, Bryce. I've forgotten it. You better just do your job. Go to that woman's room and do something to tame her."
General Colten shouted harshly and moved out of Doctor Bryce's room. He slammed the door hard and walked with wide strides towards Hyperion's headquarters. He had to shake off the sickening shadows of Jessie. The incident was an accident. Jessie's death wasn't his fault at all.
General Colten raised his palms to level with his face, looked at his palms which were covered in scratches from overtraining and punishing those who disobeyed his orders. That hand never did anything. Good and bad. Countless how many.
But doesn't every good thing require sacrifice? General Colten said to himself grimly.
He lowered his hand and stuffed it into his trouser pocket. He wouldn't take Doctor Bryce's words too far. It was enough for today that he had been made emotional by Clio's pretentious actions. Don't let Clio have the same fate as Jessie and make him have to make one more unforgivable mistake.