Summary: A 'before' story that takes place two years prior to Jarod's escape. Attempts to explain the sudden rift between Jarod and Miss Parker while toying with the idea of Project Gemini.
Categories: Prequel Characters: Angelo, Broots, Catherine Parker, Jarod, Lyle, Miss Parker, Mr Parker, Mr Raines, Original Character, Other Centre Character, Sam, Sydney
Genres: Angst, Drama
Warnings: None
Challenges: None
Series: None
Chapters: 26
Completed: Yes
Word count: 53517
Read: 128471
Published: 26/09/05
Updated: 26/09/05
1. THE ALPHA PROJECT by pretender_gurl
**Disclaimer: I don’t own “The Pretender” or any of its characters, plots, settings, etc. I’m not being paid for this, it’s just for fun. Don’t sue me because I don’t have anything you want, unless you’re interested in college textbooks. Blah, blah, blah. On to the story. **
Endenantes
The Alpha Project
pretender_gurl
Author’s Note: There are a few things to know before you begin this story.
First of all, I have changed some dates around. I don’t like the idea of Jarod and Miss Parker being so old, possibly too old to have children, so I moved everything up ten years. (Ah, the freedom of poetic license!)
Here’s a rough sketch of the timeline I’m following:
1970 – Jarod is born
1972 – Miss Parker and Mr. Lyle are born
1973 – Jarod is stolen
1979 – Sydney and Jacob are in the car accident
1986 – Project Gemini is born
1992 – the fire in SL-27
1994 – Miss Parker graduates from college and comes to work at the Centre
1996 – Jarod escapes
1999 – Project Gemini is rescued and you know the rest…
I hope this doesn’t bother anyone too much – if it does, I’m sorry. This way, Jarod is only 25 or 26 when he escapes instead of 33. Again, I’m sorry if you’re upset.
Secondly, this story begins before Jarod’s escape. This is supposed to be reflected in the title, but I don’t know how many people know Spanish. Endenantes is the Spanish (Latin American Spanish, not European Spanish) word for “before.” There is a little bit of Spanish in the first chapter because it is the official language of Equatorial Guinea, but the words are mostly Spanish terms of endearment – the same as saying “sweetheart” or “little one.”
The story encompasses all of the main characters of “the Pretender” and a couple new ones. The viewpoint will be switching a lot, so just pay attention to the bold headings indicating a switch.
As with all fics, reviews are highly encouraged and greatly appreciated!
1. THE ALPHA PROJECT
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
February, 1986
The eight red files were spread out on Mr. Raines’s desk. They contained all of the biological and psychological information on the original Prodigy subjects: Jarod, Kyle, Angelo, Eddie, Alex, Dannie, Bobby Bowman, and Miss Parker. What he was about to do thrilled him to the core. Though it had cost him his M.D., the Triumvirate had finally given Raines a project worthy of his expertise. The Centre was going to create a Pretender.
Donoterase
October 12, 1985
After months of research, experimentation, trial, and error, Raines finally held in his hands the future of the Centre. The Petri dish held a frozen embryo, the embryo of his Pretender. He smiled as he watched one of his doctors implant several identical embryos in surrogate wombs.
The Centre had recently employed a team of the world’s top geneticists and given them a superior laboratory in Elsmere, Alaska where they were assigned to the Alpha Project. Secluded from the world, these researchers had successfully mapped the human genome, identifying the amino acid sequences that resulted in specific traits, both physical and emotional.
With their discovery complete, the Elsmere geneticists were promptly disposed of and Raines’s Sweepers brought the information to Donoterase. Here, another team of geneticists continued diagnostic testing on the Pretender genome and initiated investigation into the Empath and Inner Sense genomes.
After examining all eight Red Files, Mr. Raines had decided to extract DNA from four of the subjects (though only two would have a significant presence in the embryo) and to mutate the remaining chromosomes in a manner identical to the other Red Files. The genes on the desired chromosomes were manipulated by splicing their exons and introns. Combined with the results from Elsmere, this information was transformed into the embryo he now held. Then they were implanted into eggs that had been taken from Catherine Parker without her knowledge and those frozen at NuGenesis from Jarod’s mother. From this genetic stew had come the greatest genetic achievement in Centre history – Project Gemini.
SL-27: Inception Room
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
July 5, 1986
Two baby girls were waiting for him. They were born early this morning in SL-27. When Raines received the call, he couldn’t wipe the smirk off of his face. These were the last to arrive – the boys had come yesterday. Mr. Raines opened the door to the Inception Room and stood triumphantly over the two basinets holding identical baby girls.
“Where are their medical reports?” he hissed.
“Right here, sir.”
Mr. Raines scanned the files quickly. The babies were identical in every way, except one. The report indicated that the baby born second had gone through a few seconds of distress during delivery. In a normal situation, this would not be a problem. However, since Raines had a choice, he didn’t want a subject that may be prone to lung sensitivity, no matter how slight the risk.
“Immunize the firstborn and prep her for transport to the Station. Dispose of the second – she is of no use to us.” Mr. Raines order with a calculated degree of chill. “There can be no loose ends.”
“Yes, sir.”
Mr. Raines watched as the firstborn was poked and prodded by doctors searching for viable veins.
“You on the other hand,” he muttered under his breath, referring to the newborn. “You are the future. I look forward to our work together.”
Raines couldn’t stop the evil grin from spreading across his face.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters and settings are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.