Chapter 77: Time Moves On
Demadrian managed to get the Hat Lady back to Carrington City. He operated on her as soon as he could. Sadly, one of the bullets had badly damaged her spine. This left her partially paralysed from the waist downwards. Demadrian allowed her to stay permanently in the Alset mansion. She was still able to become invisible to avoid the head counts. In return, she taught the Alset family members and the technicians to become invisible and shapeshift for long periods, as well as shapeshift objects by simply touching them.
Tiberius had banned reproduction in Carrington City. He wanted the imprisoned to die out without heirs. Using the Hat Lady’s teachings, some of the technicians started families in secret. The Alset family members agreed it was too dangerous for them to reproduce.
Jenna turned her attention back to the network of underground tunnels. The Hat Lady’s tricks helped cover for dozens of them while they continued to explore the tunnels and hidden cities. They even took the opportunity to expand the network even further. Jenna wanted the cities to become functional again. She believed it was likely they might be forced to migrate underground. The requirements that were being forced on them were becoming stricter and conditions worse. The population of Carrington City had increased significantly. Tiberius was sending the Linap, who refused to have their babies genetically modified, to Carrington City.
Demadrian returned to working on a permanent alternative to the blue juice. He believed someday that their access to the blue juice would be removed. He knew this would put them at a permanent disadvantage. In the North District, he had previously been working on what he called project ‘yellow juice’. It had been less successful than the serum used to modify unborn babies; therefore, it had been placed on hold. However, Demadrian believed the changes in circumstances meant they needed to modify themselves rather than wait for the next generation. It did not take Demadrian long to develop a successful serum based on his previous project. He made himself the first test subject. It granted him an equivalent intellectual boost to the blue juice but only required three injections over a six-month period to upgrade his mental capacity permanently. He also only suffered minor withdrawal symptoms from not taking the blue juice. However, not only did Demadrian’s intelligence increase, but so did his desire to invent.
Another major project of Demadrian’s was a generator that could draw in energy from the atmosphere. This energy could be channelled to equipment and devices. Within a few years, each one of Demadrian’s new generators could power almost half of Carrington City. The Alset family did not want Ebirb or the enforcers to discover this invention. Therefore, Demadrian and the technicians moved the generators down into the tunnels.
Jenna had discovered twelve ancient chambers that were close to the surface. They were located far from any of the district towns or cities. Each chamber appeared to have been built by a different ancient civilisation. The location of the chambers made them perfect for Demadrian’s generators. The antennae could be pushed through the roof of the chamber so that it could draw in energy from the atmosphere. These generators could easily power anything within the tunnels or ancient cities. This power source would be completely undetected by the enforcers.
The most significant new invention might have been the cryogenic freezing pod. Hermon and his younger sister Yvonne invented this. They tested it on a technician by freezing her for six months. She was successfully defrosted. When she awoke, she felt confused and a little disoriented. Time passed incredibly fast for her. She said it felt like only minutes. This invention also needed to be hidden from the enforcers. Demadrian believed cryogenic pods should be placed with his generators. These generators could power them for centuries without any need for monitoring or intervention. Spreading the cryogenic pods over several locations was a precaution in case one or two of the locations were to be uncovered by hostile Linap.
Demadrian was concerned regarding Locum’s warning about future generations of enhanced Linap. He believed it was possible that future generations could experience severe health problems from overexposure to the genetic changes from breeding between enhanced Linap. This concern escalated when Tiberius made the modifications mandatory. If this happened, the residents of Carrington City would be perceived as an even greater threat. The cryogenic pods could be used, as a last resort, to preserve certain important leaders, such as Alset family members, for a future date when they could return to a freer world.
Tiberius’ popularity continued to climb. Sanguine and Ginger were very effective at promoting Tiberius through propaganda. This was not challenged because the majority of the population was enjoying a high quality of life. The Business Sector produced high quantities of new and exciting products. They were able to do so with affordable inputs from the Alset family. However, prices continued to rise. This was partly because of the inflationary creation of coins from Ryan’s policies and collaboration between the largest businesses to obtain high profits. Despite the high prices, most Linap did not miss out on the new exciting products. The Business Sector worked together with the Economic Institute to ensure Linap were able to access credit. This enabled them to continue buying what they wanted. However, this also forced them to work longer hours to repay the interest they owed on this credit.
The House of Divine Knowledge became the official opposition to Tiberius and the Business Sector. Sanguine believed it was a good idea to allow opposition to maintain the perception of choice. However, whomever the House of Divine Knowledge promoted as candidates had very little chance against Tiberius’ anointed district leaders. Only one of the House of Divine Knowledge candidates was elected as a district leader. This was for West, the home of the House of Divine Knowledge. The West district leader was often the butt of many of the media’s jokes, and Tiberius regularly made fun of their district leader to demonstrate his and the Business Sector’s superiority.
The House of Divine Knowledge religiously preached Tiberius’ propaganda to the new Linap children. In exchange, Tiberius ensured they were well funded. Reveileb, a senior philosopher, was deeply saddened by how easily Tiberius could buy the House of Divine Knowledge.
Waldo was forced to play the fool for the personal entertainment of Tiberius and the business leaders. Waldo played the role so well that Tiberius forgave him for his past gullibility. He rewarded him with his own television show and theatre production. He played the lead role in both. Waldo was very happy with this opportunity. He enjoyed it more than being chief. Waldo also had three more children. All of them were genetically modified.
Jeff continued to run the Pound Ball League. He constantly advocated for his brother James’ freedom. However, with the additional charge of conspiracy to murder Ryan. The masses demanded James be executed. Initially, Tiberius sentenced James to death. However, Tiberius knew he could use James to continue to control Jeff. Therefore, he reduced his sentence to life in prison. He claimed he did so to honour the mercy Ryan would have shown him if he were still alive.
Hadrian remained in prison. He was secretly moved from the Capital City to Cellrebrum City. Tiberius deemed the secrecy necessary. He did not want the Alset family or any possible sympathisers making contact with him. He believed Hadrian was the head of the Alset family. Removing their head further reduced any potential threat they might pose. Tiberius was not aware of the advanced network of tunnels the Alset family had discovered and expanded. Jenna made sure this was kept a secret. The secrecy greatly hindered how the tunnels could be used.
As the new Linap matured, it became apparent that they looked quite different from the original Linap. They were taller, slenderer, and had finer hair sprouting from their heads. They were significantly more intelligent than the original Linap, but not as intelligent as Locum or the Hat Lady. The teachings from the House of Divine Knowledge made them arrogant. They believed they were superior to the original Linap. They referred to themselves as the Linap, and they referred to the original Linap as the others.
Sapien Loop: End of an Era
Sapien Loop: Frozen in Time is the sequel to the book Sapien Loop: End of an Era. Sapien Loop: End of an Era is available on Amazon, in collection series on my 
