Chapter summary
CHAPTER TWO
Colonel James Robbins inspects a rotted corpse on a morgue slab and asks Captain Ted Winters if it is Dr. Charles Boutin. Winters runs DNA and mitochondrial RNA tests, confirming the DNA matches Boutin, but notes the bone growth pattern is unnaturally uniform, indicating the body was never exposed to environmental stress—a hallmark of a cloned individual. Winters explains that the clone likely never lived a normal life, perhaps never attained consciousness, and that CDF routinely “vats” discarded cloned bodies into fertilizer.
Robbins orders the clone’s reinterment, fearing that if Boutin is still alive the colony must keep his existence secret. General Greg Mattson, General Szilard, and Robbins convene in Mattson’s office. They review how Boutin, as head of consciousness research, secretly introduced code into a clone‑vat monitoring system, decommissioned the vat, and used it in a private lab to grow a hidden clone. The discussion reveals that Boutin may still be alive and is a traitor who potentially gave alien races advanced technology.
Lieutenant Harry Wilson presents a holographic projection of a “soul”—a digital copy of Boutin’s consciousness captured using Consu‑derived buffer technology that Boutin himself helped refine. Wilson explains that the Consu device can preserve a consciousness pattern without a brain, but the pattern still requires Boutin’s original brain to be interpreted. The hologram therefore contains all of Boutin’s memories and emotions up to the moment of copying.
Mattson raises legal and ethical objections: CDF law forbids cloning civilians, and using a civilian’s consciousness raises moral issues. Szilard counters that the clone body is legally dead, and proposes using Boutin’s genetic material to grow a Special Forces soldier—a hybrid not strictly a clone, since multiple gene sources are combined. If the consciousness transfer succeeds, the soldier would carry Boutin’s mind; if it fails, the body becomes a regular Special Forces operative. Szilard estimates one month to design a genetic template and sixteen weeks to mature the body, with consciousness transfer development proceeding in parallel.
Mattson authorizes the operation, emphasizing the strategic importance of extracting Boutin’s knowledge about the Rraey, Enesha, and Obin alliance. The chapter ends with the commanders looking out at the planet Phoenix, likening the upcoming effort to a phoenix rising from the ashes, while acknowledging the risks of creating a reborn traitor.