RBR Chapter 17 Interlude; Negotiations

Godfrey hummed to himself in joy. Though he had answered many calls during the day, all complaints, no doubt, his mood hadn't plummeted. The reason, an interesting character was occupying his mind.

The boy didn't have the slightest idea of what he was, but his cells knew. Godfrey didn't know much himself, but what he knew was enough for giddy excitement to wreath his entire being all day.

He had heard rumors, but now, seeing and talking with one was enough to keep him feeling high like the rush brought on by high levels of adrenaline.

The boy was the key! The key he needed to advance past being a mere equal with the clan leaders. He had many plans, plans that required great strength. Right now the chances of winning against that lot were 50%. Not to mention that monster from the Mpologoma clan. He hadn't acted because of his wariness towards that man. Godfrey knew that the man had the makings of a new king, taking over the prestigious mantle that his clan head had held in the past.

He swivelled in his chair, savouring the moment. 

'Baguma must have heard the rumors and made some sort of deal with the cell collective. I can't attack with that man still within this city. I can gauge all the others except him.' He put a stop to the swivelling motion and pondered. He had to find a chance that would allow him the time to extract the veins from the boy.

'I need a partner in crime, someone who won't derail my plans, someone I can buy off with just a tiny bit of genetic data. I have already laid out the trap, so when is she going to jump in?' He wondered with excitement once again causing shivers and moans from his lips. Honestly, he felt that the stars had finally shined upon him.

Waiting was always a pain. But he had to bear it. The prize was within grasp. If he proved too hasty and lost this chance, then it would be hard to make another attempt.

(Beep!)

The tone attracted him to his desk. The unfamiliar number didn't attract him as much as the icon attached. It was of a green serpent. This was a privilege held by only those seven, the idiots enjoying all the glory that his clan head had accumulated.

'A bite, finally!'

"Mr. Godfrey, it looks like you have finally grown some fangs. I had thought you were going to stay a toothless cub." It was audio, but the woman's voice still made him conjure an image of her, emerald hair and a goddess-like appearance. She cared top much about outer characteristics in his opinion. Something that threw him for a loop though, was the fact that her voice was relatively calm, a divergence from his expectations of rage.

"It was all part of the plan to get your attention." He didn't dither on the theatrics. Godfrey knew himself best, this scheme had already taken a lot out of him. Creating new biological matter was always more welcome than trying to enact a scheme on others.

"So, you decided that the best way was to incur my wrath?" There was sultriness in her voice but it also contained threats. But that also meant that she wasn't as collected as he had first heard, a cause for great relief.

"I will get to the point. Are you interested in having a piece of the boy?" He asked directly.

"The boy...you speak of clan Masanyalaze's new member I presume?"

"Yes. Don't you find it curious why he popped up now? I have heard that your clan is particularly interested in genetic editing, trying to rise from being mere snakes? That girl, Leah is it? She must be one of those in progress, right?" Godfrey asked, though he already knew the answer.

"Your knowledge of our clan secrets makes you a very dangerous threat. I am seriously contemplating your elimination." The sultriness had now been withdrawn, in its place, seriousness. 

Godfrey rubbed his black nest of hair, slightly vexed that he had been put on her radar. The woman was skilled in assassination. He didn't want to never wake up the next day, or spend multiple days searching for a cure to a poisonous concoction of her own making.

"The boy's special. Have you heard the rumors? That the collective is trying to create a new generation, a class of beings more highly evolved?" He decided to give out some more bait.

"I have heard of them. Those barbarians in the north won't shut up about it. Its as if they are waiting for a god or something. What does this have to do with the boy? Are you telling me that he has some relation?" She scoffed.

"When you speak like that, I have to give praise to Baguma for having been able to keep such a secret even from your clan." Godfrey felt a hint of surprise. Hiding information from the Musota-Butwa clan was a very hard endeavour.

"That man is mysterious. He has hidden quite deeply." The woman appeared to have resigned herself. Could it be that even she didn't know of Baguma's plans? That was a question for another day as he had to bind her to his cause.

"The boy might be one of those experimental next level beings." 

"Hoh...now that's intriguing. If it wasn't you making this statement, I would have dismissed it, but since its you, there must be a bone within." The woman's tone showed her interest, causing Godfrey to inwardly breathe a sigh of relief.

"I know you have always wanted to improve on your clan's genes...to take them to a higher level. He's the key!" 

"Mr. Godfrey, the only way for your plan to work is if Baguma is out of the picture, like, his turn to head for the Black Diamond headquarters next year...or could it be that you are prepared to fave the man in combat, mmmm?" Her voice contained curiosity.

"I know. I can even wait until that time. What I want is a partner, someone who would pull the wool over the other clans when I take action." 

"Leo would also have to be out then. Can you make it so?" The woman was starting to show signs of backing out.

'It looks like I will have to sacrifice something...' He sighed.

"I can make it so that he won't be a problem for the duration of the mission." 

"The confidence in your tone suggests that you are very sure...I will also prepare. Remember, this isn't an agreement. I will back out if an unexpected factor pops up."

The line went dead after that, but Godfrey wasn't happy with how it had gone. He had been hoping for a sure agreement, but she was still lingering on the sidelines. She probably wanted to see how he was going to handle that Mpologoma patriarch.

"A year...its too long, but I will wait patiently, besides, it will also allow the preparations I am making to mature. He must be captured without any interference from any other party." 

He stood up and coughed in a very strange way, only for a panel to open up at the right side of the wall. He walked within, going down a corridor until he came to a room sealed with a heavy looking metallic door. It was his secret lab, one where he could experiment on banned things.

"It looks like I will have to speed up your development." He muttered as the door slid open after a series of scans to his person.

The sight was the same as always, two horizontal lines on both sides of the narrow path, lined with vertical cylindrical cultivation chambers. Many contained various pieces of flesh in various stages of development, like feet, stomachs, organs, hands, and even a brain. A few were even bodies with the same features as him, his clones, the failed products.

With this new era, bio printing had become hard as it was dangerous to culture cells in a laboratory. All humans now had to rely on their own superior regeneration in case a limb was lost.

These long rows always gave him a sense of achievement since they had been the result of his painstaking research. Though, he couldn't deny the tiny disappointment at how some had turned out.

What really held the most importance to him was something that resided at the end of these two rows, something he had been working on for a long time. It had been the result of extensive experimentation that had taken years.

The label on the cylinder had been chosen by himself, something that further gave him pride, Project Celestial.

Inside this cylinder was a humanoid form exactly like him, except that it was naked. It also had certain different things about it, like those wide open eyes, which had triple pupils. They had just opened the moment he had arrived, signifying the connection between them.

"Your time is about to arrive my dear second body. Something has arrived which will allow me to further increase your evolutionary attributes." He spoke to it. This body didn't contain a brain, but his own cells which had awareness. Instead of taking the willpower path like the rest, he had instead found a way to surplant the will within his collective cells with his own, a feat if made public, would attract many parties' interest.

"I know this is the crucial piece I have been waiting for! Once its incorporated, I will then be able to proceed with the rest of my plans!" His heart sped up its beats due to his excitement.

The longer he looked at this copy of himself, the more satisfied he felt. This was an achievement that was going to usher in the next era, an era of human supremacy, not one where the cells had control.

"I wonder how the other continents have evolved, not to mention all the planets out there. How I can't wait to collect more genetic material to improve upon myself!" His anticipation caused his body to shiver in excitement.