Deep in the endless tangle of the Amazonian rainforest, in a corner as yet untouched by explorers, there is a place of wonder and of horror. Unnatural beings walk its grounds, given life by a hand of science held back by the rest of the world. Only here does an evilness let it free, with terrible plans in mind...

Worried again, Krumens tried to calm himself down as he made his way along the jungle paths. The forest was teeming with life in all forms. The sounds of monkeys chattering and leaping through the branches, the songs of birds and frogs, even the occasional squeal of a boar or snarl of a jaguar - the symphony seemed never to end. A long green snake darted across the path and made the blond man jump back. You never knew just which ones were dangerous.

Continuing his walk, Krumens went over the events of the past year in his mind. The catastrophic disaster of the Isle of Doom. Finding von Reichter buried under his creatures, somehow alive. Bringing him home to the compound and growing a replacement body. It had all seemed so unreal, so wrong to be on his own here, but, finally seeing his master alive and well, Krumens decided that it had all been worthwhile.

Of course, he was a bit dismayed when the doctor immediately returned to his work once he was mobile. Krumens could understand von Reichter's determination to make up for nearly a year of lost work time, but shouldn't he be easing into it a little more slowly? It just wasn't healthy for such a genius to overexert himself. There was still plenty of time to -

"Krumens!"

Like the little dog in old RCA Victor ads, he immediately responded to his master's voice and ran back toward the compound.

Von Reichter was standing by the the main entrance to the laboratories, finishing a cigarette. His new body was essentially a copy of the last one; it had been grown artificially to the age of 29 before receiving his transplanted brain. He looked now the way he had in 1940, and perhaps that was part of the reason he looked so smug as Krumens approached, short of breath from running.

"Herr Doktor," he panted, "how good to see you taking a break!"

Von Reichter smirked. "You would be well-advised to do the same," he replied, amused at the dog-like excitement of his assistant. He opened the fortified door. "Come with me."

They walked down the humid corridor. It was flanked by several steel doors, and everywhere there was the hum of electricity. The doctor's voice was amplified by the concrete walls.

"Krumens, my brush with death made me realize something. In the past - especially after the Cyber series - I promised myself not to begin one certain special project until I was confident enough that it would be successful. But after nearly dying, it has become clear that I must start it, lest I am not so lucky the next time."

"The next time? But sir, surely you don't think -"

"We have learned that my premature death is not impossible, Krumens. The time for my project is now."

They had reached a door at the end of the hall. Von Reichter opened it, keeping his body in the way of the other man's view.

"I would like you to meet someone. She was just born this morning," he announced, moving aside. "This is Genesis."

The room was a maze of workbenches, tubing, wires and shelves. Bright lamps lit the room in random patches. In one of them, sitting up on a round cushion-like mattress was a beautiful young woman. She was timidly holding a sheet up to cover her naked body. Her long red hair fell over pale skin, and her eyes were green and curious. She appeared shy and and a little frightened by the sight of the stranger and stared.

Krumens looked back with a similarly wide-eyed expression on his face. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He didn't want to see her, either. Not her. Anyone in the world but her...

A noise somewhere between a whine and a groan escaped his gaping mouth. Von Reichter laughed uncharacteristically, and approached his creation.

Genesis looked up at him as if to ask what was going on. Krumens, still dazed, followed his master to the edge of the mattress. She stared at him again.

"It's all right, he's not going to hurt you," von Reichter told her - to his assistant's surprise - in German. The girl relaxed and sat quietly as he stroked her hair. "This is Herr Krumens. He lives here just like us." She nodded. The doctor went to a nearby cupboard and promptly returned, unwrapping a syringe. He took a small bottle out of the pocket of his lab coat and filled the syringe from it. Genesis watched, interested, as he injected her arm.

Standing over her, von Reichter held the small head in his hands affectionately. Krumens felt his eye begin to twitch.

"Genesis, I want you to do something for me. I want you to have a little rest now." He spoke to her as if speaking to a small child. Feeling the effects of the sedative in her veins, she obediently lay down under her sheet and began to close her eyes in content. "That's it.There's my good girl." He turned and the two men left the room.

Locking the door behind him, von Reichter led Krumens into the first room to their left. It was smaller than the previous one and contained row upon row of records, stacked on shelves reaching nearly to the ceiling. There was a single small table in the centre of the room, also stacked with papers and files, at which the doctor sat down. His assistant stood across from him.

"So Krumens. What do you think?"

The man cleared his throat nervously. "Ah...well, I - I wasn't expecting to see Maria's clone, sir." *And I would have been perfectly fine with that, too,* he added to himself.

"In all honesty, comrade, neither was I. Not for many years. But now that she is here, I don't know why I didn't create her sooner." He pulled an aging leather photo album out from under a tower of files. "Come here." He opened to the first page as Krumens peered over his shoulder.

The first page was taken up by a single large colour photograph. A banner reading 'Merry Christmas 1939!" was superimposed at the bottom. The picture was of a young von Reichter with his arm around a happy red-haired girl. The green of her eyes had dulled over time and the other colours had started to fade and yellow as well. As von Reichter flipped through the pages, it became obvious that the album had been compiled by him from the number of pictures featuring the girl.

After the wedding photos there were just two pages before the album ended. The doctor closed it wordlessly and stared into space for a while before Krumens broke the uncomfortable silence.

"Um...may I ask a question, sir?" he ventured.

"Yes." The reply sounded detatched and a little mournful. He was in one of his strange moods again. Eccentric moods, Krumens corrected himself. Geniuses were eccentric.

"Well, how did you decide on the name Genesis?"

Von Reichter continued staring into space. "Her last words," he answered, sounding inexplicably amused. "Maria's last words were about creation. The book of Genesis."

Krumens was definitely worried. Perhaps something went wrong with the replacement body's electrolytic balance. Its hormones could be too high. Or, the worst thought of all, its youthfulness could have reminded his master of Maria and encouraged him to bring her back!