Genesis (The New Age Series Book 1)

Book summary

In Nicolette Fuller's dystopian science fiction, "Genesis," the world has crumbled, leaving Professor Dorian to forge a new order together with Hokura, a peacekeeper of unparalleled significance. As Hokura navigates a complex web of training, emotions, and revelations within their secretive compound, she discovers unsettling truths about their missions and the enigmatic Professor, who seems to be in control her destiny.

Excerpt from Genesis (The New Age Series Book 1)

IT WAS 2065, AND the world was finally at peace. Countries flourished economically; genetic scientific breakthroughs were happening daily; mankind was finally at the cusp of stem cell enhancement research. All world governments had come to terms and had made peace, or so everyone had thought…

There was devastation as nuclear war broke out. As countries fought, it had been a race to see who could gain the most knowledge and resources; it ended in the eradication of the world as it was once known. Cities were destroyed, entire countries blow apart by the great war. The world population was at its lowest in history as radiation slowly killed off those who had survived the initial blasts. Mankind's only hope for survival was to rebuild under a new government order, and so from the rubble and ashes, the walled city of Meridiana was born…

It had been five years since the world was left in turmoil after a nuclear war had spread across the lands, destroying a great deal of the world’s population. Those who survived turned to anarchy, enraged that their government would allow such a war to be waged upon them. Crime littered what was left of the streets, more each day as the government tried to get a hold of the situation but fell short of improvements. Their only hope was a complete lockdown, do, or die. City walls were erected, harsh laws and curfews were put into place, soldiers were made into law officers. At this time, officials turned to science; after the war, a whole new wave of nuclear and genetic discoveries was made. A team of scientists had set out to create the ultimate human specimen, “peacekeepers”; they tried and failed miserably until a breakthrough was made by administering a series of injections of enhanced genetically altered stem cells, a body could maintain its youth. The injected cells would seek out the weak or dying cells of the subject. They would attach themselves to them and, in the process of creating a perfect cell, would kill the old one taking its place.

In 2075, the experiment had progressed enough to be tested. Fifty children from the ages of three months to five years, who were either orphaned or given as tribute, were injected and put into medical comas. The theory was that their sleeping bodies would take on the cells and start to genetically create enhanced cells of their own. For five years, the team worked feverishly, but their efforts went nowhere. Their subjects continued to die off while their bodies were asleep. The injection doses were cut in half and then even more so, yet it seemed that organ failure was inevitable as most of the children bled to death within months of the first injection. After running more tests, and many more millions of dollars of scientific experimenting being flushed away, the government allowed the head scientist twenty more children to experiment with. The success rate started to look up as the first few years went by without incident, but complications began to kick in. In the end, only three subjects survived the ordeal. They lay comatose in bed in the science facility, the scientists not knowing when, or if, they would ever awaken. A new government inside the scientific compound grew within Meridiana's walled city as the world outside the walls started to rot away from the death and destruction, leaving nothing but barren wastelands to fill the void which had once been a well-populated area of the world.

***

Hokura awoke in a dead sweat; her ears were ringing as her head throbbed in agony, blurring her vision. She reached blindly over to her nightstand, grabbed a syringe, and injected its contents into her arm. Within seconds her vision began to clear; she could see that daylight was already filtering into her room. The alarm clock on the stand read that it was already 09:20 a.m. Hokura let out a sigh. She had roughly ten minutes to get ready and knew they would be waiting for her.

Stretching her muscles, her nerves started to ease as she got up. She put on a pair of blue jeans that lay on the floor beside her bed and pulled on a white, ribbed tank top. Stopping by the mirror to glance at herself, she pulled her long brown hair into a ponytail. She had only aged twenty of her twenty-five years until her body had stopped. Her body was taut and toned after rigorous training, months of combat, and being on the force for nine months. She considered her 5’4” frame short for her age, but her hundred and twenty-pound body was a solid mass of firm muscle and raw power.

There was a hint of glee in her light brown eyes this morning. Later in the afternoon, she had an appointment with Professor Dorian and Doctor Allen. Hokura slipped on her runners after exiting her tiny bathroom and made her way down to the mess hall.

“Morning, Hokura,” Amara chimed. She was sitting at a table with a coffee in hand. Accompanying her was the third child, Adam, who had his head down on the table as he rested his hand on a steaming cup.

“Good morning.” Hokura smiled while walking up to her best friend.

Amara had reached her twenty-second year. She was the second child to survive the experiments and had short sandy-blonde hair and blue eyes. Her figure was more masculine than Hokura’s; Amara had strength, whereas Hokura had speed, but they were both evenly matched when it came to combat fighting ability. Hokura sat down with her two friends, her only friends really, besides the professor and his assistant, Doctor Allen.

“So, what’s for breakfast?” Hokura asked, stealing a quick sip of Amara’s bland and already cooling coffee.

“Same as always,” Adam murmured, his face still buried in his arms as his head rested on the metal table of the cafeteria. His short black hair was tufted up and sticking out. His muscles were sturdy even though he had a gaunt exterior; he hoped it would fill out in the three years of aging that he had left. Hokura always thought that Adam had the most unique eyes left on earth. One of them was light brown, while the other was a pale green with a slash of blue.

“Long night?” Hokura smirked, leaning back in her chair.

“Just a continuation of the last few nights, tracking down rebels who are breaching the wall and bringing in more weapons. You think you've finally gotten a hold of one band, and another one comes up on the far end of the city. Unfortunately, the night watch was chasing them around, too. It was a good thing I had Amara with me. It doesn’t make any sense. We have soldiers guarding the wall. How are the rebels still even getting in? All in all, I just couldn't sleep last night. I think my mattress needs to be replaced,” Adam grumbled, lifting his head, and sipping his coffee.

“Aw, moan and complain about what was considered an easy night, and then whine about your mattress when you could just as easily sleep on your couch,” Amara teased, and Hokura chuckled. “So, when are you back on the force?” Amara asked, turning to Hokura. Her tone was a serious one.

“I've been having some awful headaches lately, same with some really bad ringing in my ears. Other than that, itdidn't affect me. I have an appointment with the professor this afternoon, so I hope to be back tonight! Two weeks off duty has been enough for me,” Hokura answered.

“Didn’t affect you! I found you like fifty feet from the initial blast, totally knocked out!” Amara scoffed.

Hokura looked away from her friend; she felt foolish.