|
TRILOGY
- These original stories are being developed as screenplays & with a
view to publication as graphic novels.
This
original short story is a spy thriller, involving industrial espionage, tongue
in cheek, with unashamed Frankenstein overtones.
PLOT
OUTLINE - This original story is part of the John Storm series of ocean
adventures. John, as a Blue
Shield operative, surveys the sunken city of Alexandria
recently disturbed by earthquake, and finally finds Cleopatra's mummy. Swiss
Professor Dr Krafenstein (Baron Victor Frankenstein VI under his assumed
name) working in Zurich has secretly developed a technique for
replicating humans, made possible having purchased the CyberCore Genetica™
from William
Bates (Billy the Kid). The Professor, along with others has refined a
CRISPR virus that enhances human DNA, having surpassed known cloning
techniques. This cohort have also perfected an organic chip, that interfaces
with the brain called BioCore™. Professor Krafenstein persuades John Storm
to supply a sample of Cleopatra's DNA, for the ETH University to run further
investigations as to Macedonian lineage.
SCENE
3 - JOHN DISCOVERS THE TOMB OF CLEOPATRA (FLASHBACK)
John Storm is an amateur archaeologist who has a lifelong interest in
Cleopatra, the last pharaoh queen of ancient Egypt. He had read every book,
article, and document about her life, death, and legacy. He had visited
every site, museum, and monument related to her. He had searched for her
tomb for years, but he had never found it. Nobody had. It was one of the
great modern mysteries. Most archaeologist had concluded that Cleopatra had
deliberately set out to fool them. Archaeologist being grave robbers by
another name.
John believed that her tomb was hidden somewhere in or close to the sunken
city of Alexandria, where she had ruled and died. He had studied the history
and geography of the city, which had been partially submerged by earthquakes
and tsunamis over the centuries. He had mapped out the possible locations of
her tomb based on clues and evidence.
He had been commissioned by Blue Shield who working to protect the ancient
underwater remains, with an anonymous grant from a wealthy sponsor, to
conduct an underwater expedition to survey to explore the sunken city. No
expense spared. John is an experienced sub aqua diver, and is the Captain of
the Elizabeth Swann, an amazing ship that he inherited from his Uncle
Douglas, who had vanished in mysterious circumstances. John had a crew that
consisted of Hal, an AI computer onboard the Swann, Dan
Hawk, a computer genius, and Katie,
a tabby cat descendent of the revered ancient Egyptian Mau temple cats.
John and his crew arrived in modern Alexandria to get their bearings and
stock with food for the expedition to the sunken city. Fully provisioned
again, he was determined to find the lost tomb of Cleopatra.
They conducted a detailed survey of the area, which took a few days to
complete, during which they attracted a shadow of boats various, some
curious fishermen, some customs launches, and the occasional helicopter.
Many archaeologists, some marine, were searching for Cleopatra's last
resting place more or less continuously, and were dumbfounded.
Despite being spied on, John continued with his calculations, and completed
the occasional dive in deliberately random fashion, to confirm the findings
of Hal and Captain Nemo, working together to piece together this historical
puzzle. The seemingly haphazard pattern of search, kept the media and other
archaeologists confused. It was like a game of Battleships.
Then, more or less certain, and following a gut feeling hunch, John motored
out to sea at dusk, returning many hours later in stealth
mode, light off, using only infra-red vision. To make the Elizabeth
Swann invisible to radar.
He entered the depths of the Mediterranean
Sea, on a pitch black night dive, guided by Hal, Dan and a digital
compass. When he saw the ruins of part of the city emerge from the darkness,
his hopes were raised. He saw columns, statues, part of what looked like a
temple or palace, and small sphinx statues, with Isis
carved on the side of one monolith. He saw the remains of a civilization
that had once been glorious and powerful.
John remembered when he first began this quest, many years before, he had
directed his searches, using a small open boat, to his first target: the Lighthouse
of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. He
believed that Cleopatra’s tomb was near the base of the lighthouse, where
she had allegedly committed suicide by letting an asp bite her.
He reached the lighthouse and dived its surroundings. He saw a large opening
in the wall that led to a tunnel. He decided to investigate it.
He put on his diving suit, flipping backwards into the water. He took a
flashlight, a camera, and a metal detector. He entered the tunnel and
followed it for several meters.
He reached a chamber that was filled with debris and sediment, but was
bitterly disappointed to find no trace of Mark Anthony or Queen Cleopatra.
Though, this could have been their mausolem, it appeared to be a feint. A
ruse, to throw the many grave robbers of the day off the scent. And he was
one of them. He should have known better, he had no real hunch about this
location. More, ticking off a list of possibilities.
Fast forward to today. A different location, the most advanced survey
equipment and an AI system to help colate the data. And, a hunch, the sent a
tingling down his spine. Just a feeling, that he was onto something. The
feeling that drives office researchers and field archaeologists on, even
when they are on the wrong track.
Wary of that, John cleared some rubble from an insignificant looking mound.
And there he saw a lintel with hieroglyphs on it. He recognized them as
symbols of royalty and divinity. He felt a surge of excitement.
The ocean conservationist dug away with increased fervour, and uncovered a
stone door. He pushed the door hard, but it would not budge. More
excavations, and finally John opened it. He entered another chamber that was
eery dark and silent. He turned on his flashlight and saw something that
made his heart stop.
It was a sarcophagus inlaid with gold and decorated with jewels. It had a
lid that bore the image of a woman with a crown and a snake. It was
Cleopatra.
He approached the sarcophagus and touched it. It was cold and solid. He
wondered what was inside it.
Most carefully, he wrested the lid a little and looked inside.
He saw a mummy wrapped in linen and adorned with amulets. The face had a
gold mask covering, painted, with blue reliefs. The copse was well preserved
by ancient embalming techniques. John slowly lifted the mask to reveal the
face of the mummy. It had eyes that were closed and lips that were curved in
a smile.
It was Cleopatra VII.
He gasped, lowered the mask and replaced the lid. He backed away from the
sarcophagus and stumbled on something.
He looked down and saw a skeleton lying on the floor. It had a hole in its
chest and a dagger in its hand. It was Mark Antony, Cleopatra’s lover and
ally.
But why were his remains so unceremoniously unpreserved?
He realized that he had found not only the tomb of Cleopatra, but also the
final resting place of Mark Antony.
He had found the tomb of history’s most famous couple, in a telling state.
He felt a mix of emotions: awe, joy, shock, sadness.
He took out his camera and took pictures of everything he saw.
He then took out his metal detector and scanned the chamber for any other
objects or clues.
He heard a beep from his metal detector.
He followed it to a corner of the chamber where he saw a small box made of
wood and metal. It had a lock on it.
He broke the lock and opened the box.
He saw a scroll made of papyrus inside it.
He took out the scroll and unrolled it.
He saw writing on it in Greek, Latin, and Egyptian languages.
It was a letter from Cleopatra to Mark Antony.
It read:
"My dearest Antony,
By the time you read this letter, I will be no more. I have chosen to end my
life rather than surrender to Octavian’s
tyranny. I have taken poison from an asp that I hid in this box. I have also
instructed my loyal servants to bury me with you in this secret tomb. I hope
you will forgive me for leaving you alone.
I want you to know that I love you more than anything in this world or the
next. You are my soulmate, my partner, my king. You have given me happiness,
passion, honor, and courage. You have fought with me against our enemies
until the end.
I want you to remember me as I was when we first met: young, beautiful,
powerful, and free. I want you to remember our love as it was: pure, strong,
eternal, and divine.
I want you to join me in the afterlife, where we will be together forever. I
want you to take this dagger and pierce your heart with it. I want you to
die with me and for me.
Do not be afraid, my Antony. Death is not the end, but the beginning. We
will meet again in the realm of the gods, where we will rule as king and
queen of Egypt
and Rome.
I will be waiting for you, my Antony.
Your Cleopatra."
John Storm read the letter and felt tears in his eyes. His heart was
pounding from a mixture of emotions, adrenaline enriched blood coursing
through his veins.
He felt some kind of deeper connection with Cleopatra and Mark Antony, than
from just reading this letter.
Somehow, he felt their love and their pain, taking him back in time to 30BC.
He felt their history and their legend.
He felt their spirit and their soul, as if being invaded by some mystical
genetic bond.
Momentarily caught up in the tragedy, John unerringly played out the scene
all over again as the male counterpart, as if fresh to Cleopatra taking her
life - as if he were Mark Antony.
He took the dagger trancelike and held it to his chest. He said:
“I will join you, my sweet Cleopatra.”
Just
then, a buzzer sounded, bringing John back from 30BC to the present day. He
snapped out of his almost trance like state.
"What
the." John quickly put down the dagger, fearing the lapse of control he
had just experienced, and wondering just how he had been carried away like
that.
Incredibly,
he felt a connection with the twisted skeletal remains of the great Roman
General. An empathy, as if he were related by some means, making him feel
part of the story rather than a simple observer.
SCENE
13 - THE CLONED CLEOPATRA
Professor Dr Victor Krafenstein was distant relative of the infamous Baron
Frankenstein, the mad scientist who created a monstrous creature from dead
body parts in the 1800s. Victor VI inherited his distant relative’s
passion for science, but not his madness. He was a brilliant geneticist who
lectured at a prestigious research institute in Switzerland; EHT University,
in Zurich.
He had a secret project that he kept hidden from his university colleagues
and the rest of the world, except for a very select cohort. He had obtained
a sample of DNA from the mummy of Cleopatra, the legendary queen of ancient
Egypt, from John Storm, having applied considerable pressure via Blue
Shield. Professor Krafenstein had always been fascinated by Cleopatra's
beauty, intelligence, and charisma. He wanted to bring her back to life as a
fitting test, using his modern cloning technology.
He had spent years perfecting his methods and equipment. Along with his
colleague Franco Francisco, he had created a synthetic womb that could
nurture and grow a human embryo. He had implanted the embryo into the
artificial womb called 'Incubus,' and monitored its development. But, the
Incubus was too slow for the cohort, in regular use. Thus, they developed
the 'Replivator,' a much faster way of creating an identical human, and
programming the replicant with all the traits and mannerisms of the original
person.
Along with Franco, Victor was ready to witness the birth of his masterpiece.
He entered their secret laboratory near Genoa, Italy, and checked the
replication process. It showed that the cloned Cleopatra was fully developed
and ready to be brought into the world, for cerebral processing. She was
activated, a process much like a combination of a defibrillator and
artificial respiration. This started the heart beating and the lungs
breathing. The system that kept the morphing cocktail of stem cells fed with
nutrients and oxygen, was stopped. A while earlier, the sedation that kept
the developing body in a comfortable or dream state, was stopped. If there
is a moment when an artificially grown human is born, this was it. Cleopatra
took her first lungful of air, and spluttered a little as the airway
cleared. The second and third breaths were more regular. Her heart began
beating rhythmically, normally. In this case at rest, 45 beats per minute,
indicating a very healthy woman. Her tidal
volume was 500 ml of air at 12 breaths per minute, indicated that her
breathing rate was in sync with her heartbeats.
The
mammalian engine of life had begun. Victor and Franco breathed a sigh of
relief.
Some
time before Cleopatra's DNA was implanted in the genetic soup that would
arrange itself to form Cleopatra IX. Franco had injected the DNA into an egg
having removed the chromosomes to create an enucleated egg. The chromosomes
were replaced with a cell from the mummy, and stimulated. Then placed in the
Incubus, artificial womb, for what would be Cleopatra VIII, if all went
well.
Cleopatra
was a curvaceous, charming young woman with an extremely high IQ. She looked
exactly like Cleopatra in her prime. She had inherited her personality and
talents as well. She was curious, adventurous, ambitious, and seductive. She
wanted to see the world for herself. She wanted to visit Egypt and see its
pyramids, temples, and tombs. She wanted to meet other people and learn from
them. She wanted to experience life and love, and find out about herself.
CHAPTER
17 - CAIRO MUSEUM & CHECK UP
John
Storm and Blue Shield donated Cleopatra's mummy to Egypt's Ministry of
Antiquities, for eventual display at the Grand Egyptian Museum, coming from
the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
The
impending check up, cast a shadow over their trip to Cairo. John and
Cleopatra were assured that the International Medical Center (IMC) in El
Shorouk city, is one of the largest and best equipped tertiary health care
hospitals in the Middle East. They docked the Swann, and checked into a
hotel for a couple of nights. Cleopatra changed into a
light dress, sunglasses, and a hat. John was ready to go, after a shower.
Their first port of call, they took a taxi to the Egyptian Museum.
Cleopatra entered the museum and walked around its halls. She saw statues,
paintings, jewelry, and artifacts from ancient Egypt. She felt a connection
with them. She felt like she belonged there. John remained silent, watching
his new friend soaking up her past.
Cleopatra reached the section where her mummy was displayed. She saw a glass
case that contained a wrapped corpse with a gold sign that said “Cleopatra
VII Philopator, Queen of Egypt (69-30 BC)”.
She stared at the case and felt a strange sensation in her chest. She saw
images of sand dunes and chariots in her mind. She caught a waft of the Nile,
and the sight of her royal barge, then felt the motion of sailing.
She felt like she was looking at herself.
She felt like she was looking at her past.
She felt like she was living out her destiny, this was meant to be.
She smiled and whispered: “Hello, me.”
John
caught her words, responding: "Hello, you.
3RD
DRAFT - SAMPLE: THE PERFECT PLOT (SHORT STORY)
SCENE
1. Cleopatra's
tomb lay lost for centuries. Then one day a shift in the tectonic plates
triggered a tremor off the coast of Alexandria,
causing alarm in Paris.
SCENE
2. As an agent of Blue
Shield, John
Storm, surveys Egypt's coast off Alexandria, finds Cleopatra's tomb,
verified using the Ark and Hal, keeping location a secret, pending salvage
and Blue Shield site protections.
SCENE
3. Flashback
Alexandria, John reads a letter from Cleopatra to Mark Antony from
Cleopatra’s mausoleum, 30 BC, the combined suicide of Marcus
Antonius and Cleopatra. (The destruction of Thonis & Alexandria by a
tsunami,
sinking the great civilization and port in 365 AD.)
SCENE
4. William Bates
auctions his CyberCore Genetica nano-super computer. Secretly purchased by
the wealthy Professor Krafenstein, via an anonymous sealed bid.
SCENE
5. A team of European
scientists, including Franco Francisco, are gathered together and funded by
the wealthy Baron as cloning technology champions, regardless of potential
illegality or ethical consideration. Though, Replication and gene
manipulations treatments are held to be legal by the cohort.
SCENE
6. As part of their
human enhancement regime, ingredients of the
CRISPR
virus, a bacterial DNA
Cas9 enzyme delivery system, that allows precisely targeted DNA enhancement
in adult subjects, is developed as cousin technology. The team realise that
this could form the basis of a cure for cancer.
SCENE
7. Charley
Temple alerts John
Storm to the consequences of the joining of dots of the technology that
Professor Krafenstein and his partners are working on. She is being fed
information from, and nurturing contacts at the ETH university in Zurich.
With Sam Hollis being in contact with Colonial athletes in attendance. Some
of which have given blood samples, in connection with the Baron's research.
SCENE
8. John is courted by
Jack Mason, purporting to represent the USA, asking for his help in their
investigations into cyber crime, and technology that might one day pose a
threat to international stability.
SCENE
9. Storm is asked by
Professor Krafenstein to relinquish a small Cleopatra tissue sample. The
carrot is that their cohort will share their DNA archive, to add to John's
collection.
SCENE
10. John relents,
persuaded by Blue Shield. The knowledge transfer (swapsie) proves to be
irresistible to John.
SCENE
11. Having taken
delivery of a sample of Cleopatra's DNA, Professor Krafenstein perfects his
replication technique, after one or two costly mistakes.
SCENE
12. The scientists
develop a prototype biological implant, an interface for the human brain,
which they call BioCore™.
This flexible microchip communicates wirelessly with the CyberCore Genetica,
and from there to the internet. They are streets ahead of a system developed
by Elon
Musk, some years earlier.
SCENE
13. The replication work
proceeds, with Cleopatra grown and her brain programmed (conditioned) with
her past, to include simulation of her synapse firing sequence, based on the
fact she spoke nine languages, and was a mathematician and an accomplished
political and military strategist. Other elements are included to soften the
culture shock, as the reincarnated queen re-enters life in the 21st century.
SCENE
14. John requests a
visit to see the progress for himself, but is given the brush off, and shown
a facility that does not seem to have all the equipment necessary to have
recreated Cleopatra. Then he is denied access to the subject with various
excuses, that do not gel. His suspicions are aroused, and he investigates
further with help from Dan (hacking) and Hal.
SCENE
15. Charley persists
with her own investigations, agreeing to meet with John, where she thinks
the real work is going on convenient to the ancient port of Genoa, Italy.
She is captured, and John has to effect a rescue, with some background help
from the CIA's Jack Mason. During the struggle to overpower Charley's
captors, John is injected with an experimental CRISPR virus. Dan manages to
make off with the CyberCore Genetica and Biocore, equipment, plus a download
of all the experimental files. Jack Mason turns a blind eye, at the time,
biding his time.
SCENE
16. From the recovered
data, Dan and Hal work out that Cleopatra is being repatriated in a secure
facility in Rome, where the former queen had visited with Julius
Caesar in 46BC. John raids their sanctuary just outside the city,
rescuing Cleopatra in the process, with Interpol questioning all the wrong
people, on suspicion of kidnap. Cleopatra expresses a wish to be with John
Storm, who she instinctively trusts implicitly, leaving Interpol and Blue
Shield, little choice in the matter. And Jack Mason with a problem. He was
hoping to acquire Cleopatra in all the confusion.
SCENE
17. Jack Mason continues
to plot to part John Storm form the CRISPR technology, and kidnap Cleopatra
on grounds of homeland security, looking to take control of the replication
technology. As the US representative, he talks John and Cleopatra into the
replicant queen having a check up at Uncle Sam's expense at a private
hospital in Egypt, to coincide with the unveiling of the Cleopatra VII mummy
exhibits in Cairo and Giza.
Though a disingenuous ruse, Cleopatra agrees to please John. She is curious
to see what her own mummy looks like as an exhibition of her past glory.
SCENE
18. Storm is double
crossed by Jack Mason, who spirits Cleopatra to the secure US facility at
Guantánamo Bay. Way off the beaten track, and extremely well guarded. Such
military location eliminating any chance of a rescue.
SCENE
19. Despite the
obstacles, John rescues Cleopatra from Guantánamo Bay in a daring night
raid.
SCENE
20 CIA, covertly try to
terminate the Swann and crew, including Cleopatra, who is now a witness to
their evils.
SCENE
21. John does a deal
with US President Lincoln Truman, Jack Mason is chastised.
The
'John Storm' franchise, is a series of original stories being developed as
scripts & graphic novels, featuring the amazing solar powered Elizabeth
Swann ship, and her rugged Blue Shield (secret agent) conservationist Captain.
|