Doctor Hawksworth sits in her massive office in the Geeryo corporate headquarters, Los Angeles. In front of her, on her computer screen, is an image of two identical twins, both part of the Geeryo Project. Both Ponus.

  "Yes, this may work," she says softly. "Subjects, both 26, Charlotte and Francesca Murphy. Charlotte has a husband who is part of the Geeryo Project, too. A Ponu. Perfect."

  "We must do this covertly. Computer On". Her AI assistant materializes in the form of a hologram.

  "Make a note, subject Charlotte Murphy. Note 1: Assign husband to an adjacent pod. Note 2: rewire conditioning protocol in Charlotte's pod. Eliminate the directive to prevent Ponu procreation.

  Note 3: Francesca's vault will be set to open plus 26 years after Charlotte's. She will be the perfect baseline to compare against this child.

  Note 4: alert staff to detain all immediately after their awakening from the vault."

  The hologram makes note of the request. "Question," It asks. "What is the purpose of such an unusual break from protocol.

  Victoria smiles, "You ask too many questions. But if you really want to know, this is too good an opportunity to pass up. This couple may be able to prove a theory of mind correct. I suspect that the offspring of a Ponu may have much more enhanced abilities than a Ponu that is conditioned into one.

  We don't have time to test it before the war comes, before we must enter the vaults. But afterwards, we'll have all the time in the world."

  The hologram takes note of the answer, "Understood. However, my understanding is that the directive to prevent Ponu procreation is paramount. If they become a true race, they may become uncontrollable."

  "Yes, I am aware of that, but don't worry, it's only one specimen, and trust me, it will be eliminated once its usefulness is gone."

  The AI persists, "And you are willing to wait 26 years just to compare this enhanced Ponu vs the baseline?"

  Victoria looks annoyed. "For an advanced system, your questions are borderline dumb. Have you forgotten the whole point of the pods? Time will pass for the child and for the rest. For me, hardly any time will have passed at all. I can be there at the birth, step into the pod, close my eyes, open them 26 years later."

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  The mention of time makes her notice a clock icon at the bottom of her screen, time for another meeting. They begin to blur together. The AI assistant vanishes.

  She hits a button on her desk. A blonde woman in blue jeans and a white blouse enters.

  Victoria rises to meet her, "Your name is Ingrid, right? One of the early volunteers. I am glad of your progress. Enjoying the California weather?"

  "It's fine, but I miss Boston", Ingrid says.

  Victoria looks over Ingrid's profile: Ingrid Swenson, age 29, resident of Needham, Massachusetts.

  Skills: office administration. Outstanding Quality: Leadership. Notable Quality: Desperation.

  loyalty index: 79%. Susceptibility to conditioning: 94%.

  Recommended Geeryo Role: Administrative Assistant.

  "I like to meet all the new administrative assistants. Your group will be the leaders of the Ponu.....people. The liaison between us and them.

  Ingrid couldn't help but notice the twins on the computer screen. The way they were spread reminded her of that famous drawing...from someone, she couldn't quite remember. Leonardo Da Vinci, maybe? Of the man with his arms and legs extended. Here, it had the effect of making them look almost like specimens.

  Dr Hawksworth, noticing, turns off the screen.

  "I ...I will do what I can. Thank you for giving me, giving us this opportunity," Ingrid utters.

  Victoria smiles, "We value loyalty above all. You have not entered the pod and have not been conditioned, but that will be the main thing we instill."

  Ingrid's heart pounds, don't do or say anything to mess this up, she thinks. She can't be so close, just to lose it now and die in the upcoming firestorm of war.

  "All your stats look fine, I see no problem with you proceeding to the pre-conditioning stage. Welcome to The Geeryo Project". Both smile. "Have you had your bioscan yet?" "Yes," Ingrid replies, "I should be in the system."

  Victoria stands and shakes her hand. Ingrid walks out, although the image of the twins stays in her head for some reason. It gave her a nagging feeling that something was wrong.

  Victoria presses another button, and the holographic image of Ingrid appears on her desk, dressed in a Ponu suit.

  She smiles at the image. Her legion of obedience grows.

  People like Ingrid, she thinks, should be ruled over by us. They do not have the intelligence or skills to really matter in this world. Everyone is not created equal. The natural order is that there should be a ruling class and a serving class. Every truly great civilization the world has seen has embraced this truth.

  Ingrid walked down the hallway, happy to be a part of the project. Thankful to Doctor Hawksworth, she has a chance at life now. Salvation by Geeryo, from the very war Geeryo helped to initiate. She is still confused by the image of the twins, but tells herself everything is fine.

  Once she was conditioned, there was no need to be concerned with such matters; Geeryo were infallible in her mind now. Her job was to serve them. Her job was to be "One" of a team of four.