Free The Orphan Factory (The Orphan Trilogy, #2) by James Morcan, Lance Morcan

most of his damaged DNA and keep his body in shape. White Gold also had anti-aging benefits, something Kentbridge figured he would need in future if he was to keep up with the orphans.
    As the doctor and Nurse Hilda departed and Professor Lidcombe wound up his lecture, Kentbridge glanced at his watch. “Thank you, professor.” Turning to the orphans, he said, “Let’s do an isolation session, people.”
    The orphans filed out of the partitioned lecture area and headed for twenty three flotation tanks lined up on the far side of the basement. Without a shred of self-consciousness, each orphan stripped off their clothes and climbed naked into their individual tanks.
    The last sight Nine saw before he lay down in his tank was Seventeen scowling at him. Her blue eyes locked with his, ever-accusing. He quickly closed the lid so he didn’t have to look at her severe face one second longer.
     

 
    13  
    Floating in the warm salt water of the dark, soundless flotation tank, Nine let his mind go blank. The purpose of these sensory deprivation sessions was to allow the orphans to reach the deepest levels of their minds. The solitary flotation experience put them into very relaxed states, stimulating the all-important alpha and theta brainwaves. This enabled them to subconsciously speed-learn various subjects.
    Soft strains of Baroque music interrupted the silence inside Nine’s tank. It played over speakers located at each end of the tank. Nine and his fellow orphans didn’t know it, but this specific style of classical music had been played to them since they were in the womb.
    According to their music teacher, the mind became like a sponge when listening to the symphonies of Mozart and other Baroque composers. Nine, however, suspected there were subliminal messages embedded in the music. Sometimes he thought he caught whispers of Naylor’s voice underneath the music and worried he was being brainwashed.
    A holographic video feed was suddenly beamed into Nine’s tank. Floating on his back, he had no choice but to look at the images – images that undoubtedly suited Omega’s agenda.
    On this occasion, the images comprised authentic footage of various killing techniques being used for real by operatives of Mossad, the CIA, the KGB and other elite agencies. As the life-like holographic images incorporated sophisticated laser technology in 3D, it seemed to Nine he was actually witnessing the gory killings for real.
    Unlike Seventeen and a few of the other orphans, Nine never enjoyed viewing such images. They made him feel sick to his stomach. He closed his eyes and tried to think of something else. Helen immediately came to mind. Her beauty dispelled the ugly images of a few seconds earlier. Compared to the people Nine was forced to mix with every day, she was an angel. Of that he was certain.
    More than anything in the world, he wanted to find Helen and attempt to win her heart. To do that he would need to escape the orphanage and that, as Kentbridge had always said, was impossible.
    Once again he thought about the microchip implanted in his forearm. It emitted a signal every second of the day, so even if he did manage to escape, Omega’s state-of-the-art satellite network would trace his whereabouts immediately. Then he remembered Kentbridge’s catch phrase: For every problem, there’s always a solution . 
    Falling back on his Omega training, Nine allowed his subconscious mind to take over. He drifted into a trance-like state so he could intuit the answer to his problem.
    Nine soon found himself thinking about White Gold. He knew Doctor Pedemont always kept a jar of the powder in his office on the orphanage’s third floor.
    The ninth orphan snapped out of his self-imposed trance and opened his eyes. He wondered why of all things ORME, or White Gold, had entered his mind. Doing his best to ignore the holographic images of murder still being beamed into his tank, Nine mentally reviewed everything he knew about the