The Resistance

I’ve got evidence of the Surplus girls you’ve been keeping there? Creating embryos for your precious drugs. Why don’t you tell the journalists about that? Why don’t you tell them about their screams?’
    Richard Pincent went white. ‘It’s lies,’ he said, his voice catching. ‘It’s all lies.’ He stepped back, grabbed Derek Samuels. ‘The Surplus girls,’ he hissed. ‘Where are they? And Anna?’
    Derek Samuels didn’t need to say anything; his expression, the greeny tinge to his face, said it all. Disgusted, Richard let go of him.
    ‘Lies that will soon be coming to a computer terminal near you,’ Jude was saying. ‘Unless you let Peter go. Unless you cancel the launch of Longevity+.’
    ‘How dare you!’ Richard was white now, struggling to comprehend what the boy was saying, trying to understand what was happening. He was shaking with rage, his eyes bulbous, his hands tightened into fists. ‘How dare you threaten me. I am Richard Pincent. I will not have this. I will not . . .’ He felt a stabbing pain in his left arm, and looked around wildly. ‘I will not have anyone question my methods, question my . . .’ But he didn’t finish his sentence; instead, he clutched his chest and fell to the floor.
    ‘He’s dead!’ a journalist cried out, as two doctors rushed forward. ‘The Surpluses have killed him.’
    Like sheep, the journalists began to leave their seats, rushing to the front of the room to get a better view. Immediately, Hillary stood up.
    ‘I think,’ she said, taking the microphone, ‘that we’ve seen enough. Please return to your seats.’
    The journalists didn’t move. ‘Is it true about Unit X?’ one shouted.
    ‘Who’s the other boy?’ another called out.
    ‘Are you really creating embryos?’ another cried. ‘Here, at Pincent Pharma?’
    As the journalists’ questions became louder, more insistent, Hillary looked over at the doctors who were moving Richard on to his side. ‘He needs heart regeneration,’ one said. ‘He’s got one waiting.’
    Hillary nodded, then she turned to the microphone and held up her hands until a semblance of quiet had been restored. ‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ she said, her voice crisp and authoritative, ‘as Deputy Secretary General, I would like to apologise for today’s proceedings. As you will appreciate, Pincent Pharma has been encountering some . . . problems recently. May I make it clear that the Authorities take allegations of malpractice and abuse of Surpluses very seriously indeed and that a full inquiry will be launched immediately. I will be taking over the running of Pincent Pharma while Mr Pincent undergoes medical assessment and treatment. In the meantime, and to protect the impartiality of our inquiry, I know that you will understand that there will be no reporting of this press conference or the events surrounding it. Cameras, notebooks and recording devices will, as a matter of national security, be confiscated as you leave.’
    ‘Leave?’ a journalist cried out. ‘We can’t leave. Tell us about the Surpluses.’
    ‘Tell us about Longevity+,’ someone else shouted. ‘Tell us how it’s really made.’
    Hillary regarded her audience coolly, then allowed her eyes to rest on the first journalist. ‘And your name is?’
    The man shifted uncomfortably. ‘Tom Wellings.’
    ‘Well, Tom, I’m afraid that you are mistaken. You will leave, under Authorities’ mandate. Failure to comply with an Authorities’ mandate results, as you well know, in arrest and investigation.’
    She smiled sweetly at him, then turned to the second journalist. ‘And you? Your name, please?’
    ‘Sarah,’ the woman said, her voice firm. ‘Sarah Condon.’
    ‘Well, Ms Condon, when the inquiry results are published – which they will be, because the Authorities are committed to total transparency – you will be able to report them accurately for your readers. I would hate for any of you to face sedition charges before you’re able to do that. Really I would.’
    She stared at the woman, who, looking shaken, sat down again.
    ‘I do regret the inconvenience,’ Hillary continued. ‘However, your loyalty and support will be recognised with an exclusive from the Authorities on the Energy Forum tomorrow. And to show our gratitude, each of you will receive ten extra energy coupons next month, assuming, of course, that no details of today’s events have made their way into the public arena. Thank you, and please do make your