Read Ellie Quin Episode 5: A Girl Reborn for Free Online

she's being 'groomed' to be some sort of a
religious figurehead
.’
    ‘Correct. The Rebornist's long-awaited Last Prophet.’
    ‘Hmmm. As things stand, Deacon, the Administration can ride out this wave. We're the Hand That Rocks the Cradle.'
    She was talking about planetary birth rates. The perfect leverage; the Administration could deny rebellious moms and dads on rebellious planets the ability to produce rebellious little kiddies. Wait around long enough and a planet full of deadly insurgents would become a planet full of creaking old people moaning about the weather.
    'Population-leverage is our Big Blunt Hammer, but the marines, they're our
expensive
surgical tool, Deacon. We can't afford to deploy them everywhere.'
    She settled back in the plastex chair and lightly stroked the back of her manicured hand with the other. ‘We can win a waiting game if the status quo is maintained, but not a galaxy-wide
crusade
. We can tolerate Rebornists for the time being. But this radical faction of theirs, these
Awoken
are attracting increasing numbers of followers.'
    'I'm well aware of that, Councillor.'
    'I wonder if you really are. You don't have the big picture. You have no idea how thinly stretched our assets are. Putting 'boots on the ground' is becoming something of a luxury we can ill afford.'
    He watched her as she traced a finger across her well-defined knuckles and down into the valleys between them.
    'If Mason’s creature is something those terrorists can use…perhaps, as you suggest, Deacon, as a genetically engineered prophet, that will certainly boost the numbers of those fanatics….we’re going to be in for a whole lot of fucking trouble.’
    Deacon twitched in his chair. The language was uncharacteristic of her. It didn't sound vulgar, it sounded dangerous.
    ‘You assured me, when we spoke back on Liberty, when I first briefed you, that you would sort this problem out
quickly
and
quietly
.’
    ‘That was before I found out that the Awoken were involved too.’
    She nodded. 'Hindsight…if we'd known it was more than Mason, then we could quite simply have
glassed
this entire planet from orbit and be done.'
    'Indeed.'
    ‘Well…now we both have a fair understanding the scope of this problem and you have
all
the resources we can spare…' she leant forward, her head over the table, a long tress of her dark red hair spilling like lava onto its scuffed surface.
    '…I want you to turn this system upside down Deacon. Tear it to fucking pieces if you have to…but
find her
!’
    ‘I will. Like I said, with the quarantine, she's bottled up.’
    ‘And…you say you have acquired some samples of her DNA, I presume we can unwrap them and work out what nasty surprises Mason has installed in her?'
    ‘My experts tell me there are several significant portions of her genome that can’t be decoded. Mason's done a very good job of encrypting her…
purpose
.'
    'For God's sake…if any old precinct lab technicians can soft-simulate what a person's face looks like from a drop of blood, why can't we-'
    'The encryption is foolproof. We can't simulate it, Councillor.'
    'I'd really like to know…' her voice went from ice cool to an angry snarl 'what kind of ticking bomb we're
fucking dealing with
!' She balled a fist and banged it down on the table. Her cup jiggled in its saucer and spilled a drop of tea. She looked down at it. Angry. Angry with herself for letting her composure slip momentarily.
    ‘I do have a suggestion, Councillor.’
    She tilted her head. ‘Yes?’
    ‘We could recreate her. See what she turns into.’

OMNIPEDIA:
    [Human Universe open source digital encyclopedia]
    Article: Cosmetic Gene Therapy: The Eternal fight against Mother Time!
    Ever since the beginning of civilisation, humans have sought to turn back or halt the natural processes of ageing. In ancient Pre-Colonial times, a civilisation known as the Egyptinians used to colour their faces with paints that contained poisonous chemicals that caused