Director Shasta, his personal Manu assistant and two of the Researchers assigned to monitor the Test Chamber recovery stood outside Supervisor Ono’s Work Compartment Door as a Security Officer tried to open it. Annoyed with the failed attempts, Director Shasta snapped, “Damn it, R&D Prime! Is Supervisor Karissa Ono in her Work Compartment?”
“Yes Director. Supervisor Ono is within the compartment.”
“Well, why isn’t she answering her calls?”
“I am unable to relay such information Director.”
Further annoyed the Director barked, “R&D, open this damn door! Override code ARES - DIR7117117-Shasta 2317!”
Once more the Facility AI said, “I am sorry Director, I am unable to comply.” Suddenly, the sealed door rolled open and everyone present screamed including the Director. “By the Core!”
The Security Officer shouted to everyone, “Step away from the door!” Calling up the Alert graphic on his PHUD, the Officer shouted into his audio feed, “This is a Class - A1A Security Alert! I repeat, this is a....”
Suddenly, the Officer’s Personal Display went offline as did all the others. Over the shouts of the Researchers and the Security Officer pulling on his arm to keep him away from the door, Director Shasta stood astonished by what he saw.
The compartment was spattered in blood, skin, limbs, digits and other body parts which looked like the image of an ancient abstract impressionist painting. Seemingly all at once, the body parts and the barely recognizable form of a woman instantly moved about the space!
“Karissa ...?”
At his gasp the ‘creature’ inside the compartment shouted in between a cacophony of bestial grunts, groans and screams, “AVERY! HELP MEEEEE!”
Director Shasta’s clinical composure suddenly took hold and he snapped, “Seal the door!”
The Security Officer shouted from behind, “It won’t close unless the AI activates it!”
Karissa screamed again for her lover’s aid and he replied, “R&D Prime, place a containment field in front of Work Compartment Level 1006-587!”
A flash of yellow-white energy burst before the open doorway and the Department AI announced, “Level 6 Containment Field activated. Emergency response teams enroute.”
His fear abating, Shasta watched fascinated as the Supervisor writhed and screamed in what seemed a mix of pleasure and agony as her body appeared staccato in multiple places. Each time she appeared, Karissa was contorted in what looked to be ‘sexual’ positions. Whatever was happening to her, the process was tearing Ono apart at the quantum level!
Director Shasta stepped away from the glowing field as the first of the Emergency Response Teams arrived. He and the others were covered in protective foam and shuttled off to the Quarantine Facility.
Just before he was about to be ‘processed’, the Director instructed the Department R&D AI to monitor and record what was happening. Somehow, whatever happened in the Testing Chamber its effects managed to get out of the sealed section. How poor Karissa had been affected though she hadn’t been near the Chamber, Director Shasta could not yet fathom. Whether he and the others present when Karissa’s door had been opened were also affected was yet to be seen.
What the Director was absolutely certain of (though it no doubt killed them), Alicechild and her team had been ‘successful’ in initiating a response from the EROS Device. Their innovative use of an ancient technique triggered a powerful explosion which was a first.
The strange ancient artifact was most assuredly a powerful weapon and now they knew how to activate it! All that needed to be acquired for further testing was to retrieve the data from the Testing Chamber and the EROS Device which was unlikely to have been destroyed in the blast.
‘Yes’, thought the Director. The unfortunate loss of life would be worth the successful development of a powerful new weapon!
****
Alicechild walked past the many Facility Personnel as they rushed about to their assigned stations. The Alert had been enacted and while Security and ‘Cleaning Crews’ in Combat and Industrial-Grade PBM’s went by brandishing heavy weapons and equipment, the Engineer stopped at the sealed door she’d been looking for. Passing with no effort through both the reinforced hatch and Quarantine Containment Field behind it, Alicechild took in the activity within.
All manner of scanning equipment, hardlight display monitors, Medical Manu’s, Human and Alien Personnel were abuzz around those who were present after Director Shasta opened Supervisor Ono’s WorkComp door. Alicechild had little interest in the quarantined, for she knew with all certainty there was nothing ‘wrong’.
She stood surprisingly unnoticed within the bright white lit space as illuminated bulkheads and decks revealed any contaminants present while killing any errant hazardous micro-organisms.
What caught the Engineer’s attention was the individual containment chamber holding her Department Director, Director Avery Shasta. A single thought later, Alicechild stood next to the Director’s Medical Sling as he rested comfortably.
“Director, I know you’ve awakened....”
Avery Shasta’s eyes opened and once more his PHUD was back online. To his surprise, a comely young woman’s face looked down upon him. Facial Recognition cataloged the naked, brown-skinned woman as ‘Alicechild 88130’!
“Blessed Mother Earth! Alicechild?”
Reaching out to touch what had to be a 3D hardlight display, the Director’s hand touched the shapely thigh of his presumed dead Project Leader!
“How did you... was it the Device? You made contact with it didn’t you?”
Alicechild gently took his arm and said, “Tell me Director, what do you want?”
"W-what do I want?"
Instantly, Director Shasta found himself standing within a place of abject darkness. His PHUD now functional, could not get a location lock no matter what he tried.
In voice emulation the Director heard Alicechild say, ‘Your PHUD’s not calibrated for this region. Look up....’
Perplexed, Avery Shasta looked up and saw a sight he’d only seen in simulations. High above against opaque blackness were orbiting Stations, Holiday Communities, thousands of Transport Docks and all manner of Interstellar Transports! Astonished, the Director whispered, “I’m on the surface....”
Wonder quickly gave way to panic as Director Shasta realized he was on the surface of an Erebus Class Planetary Station inside a Dark Matter Cloud! Wearing only a Standard PBM, even his body’s modified defenses were no match for the formidable levels of exotic radiation bombarding the frozen planet.
Realizing he would soon be dead, Avery sobbed into his audio receptor, “A-Alicechild, a-are you still there?” Gently, someone grasped his arm and once more his PHUD shutdown. However, the darkness dissolved away revealing a vibrant display of indescribable color!
Tears fell from Avery’s eyes as he saw the surface of ARES 04. Instead of drab irradiated ice nearly dense as a Transport’s hull, before him lay brilliant crystalline displays created and unchanged after billions of years. Above, the orbiting stations and transport’s were the dark and drab elements in the sky. Billowing clouds of no longer ‘Dark’ Matter surrounded the planet like a fertilized egg nestled in a woman’s womb. Streaks of brilliant energy fell all around like illuminated ‘rain’ and a weeping Avery said, “So beautiful....”
With his new ‘sight’ Avery turned and saw a still naked Alicechild standing beside him holding his arm as he were her escort to a grand event. It was difficult to look upon the person or ‘entity’ for she too was being bombarded with the ‘energy rain’ which made her look like a being who’d been untethered from the physical laws of the universe.
“So what now?” asked Avery despondent.
Smiling genuinely for the first time in her life Alicechild responded, “What do you want?”
Taking another look at the otherworldly scene about him Avery replied, “I’m dying.”
Looking to the Director Alicechild’s smile diminished and she groaned, “If that’s what you want....”
Avery awoke bombarded by white light and the sounds of an emergency medical team frantically working about him! Unable to move, he heard one of the MedTechs say, “Subject has been exposed to lethal doses of exotic radiation! His PBM and his body modifications were unable to prevent absorption of such high dosage. I’m not sure how he made it this far!”
As the Technicians continued to work, the bright light and cacophony of noise began to dim. Little by little, Avery slipped into darkness. But, the sight of the universe around him as it really was began to take its place. “That is what I want....”
****
Inside the Wardroom the entire R&D Department was gathered as the names of lost personnel were announced. Alicechild watched intently as her coworkers reacted to each name. She’d visited all of those who were with the Director and the Emergency Responders too.
The EXWEPFAC was in a state of full ‘lockdown’ until the cause or causes of the strange deaths were found. Alicechild knew there was nothing ‘strange’ at all. She had only given those she’d spoken with ‘what they wanted.’ However, it seemed no one was capable of accepting that which they wanted... save her.
Once more, Alicechild was back in the ConMod and saw the members of her Project Team lying in repose. The Engineer realized she had been gone for sometime and they once more perished as their PBM’s were no longer capable of making breathable air or keeping them in stasis. However, the copper glow coming from the Trynaught was ever-present.
Looking to the Artifact Alicechild queried, “You said, ‘you wanted to communicate.’ Why?”
With the same patient reverberant voice the Trynaught declared, “Why not? You sought to know me. I found your methods for doing so interesting, but you were far too rudimentary to communicate with directly. It was necessary to conduct ‘experiments’ as to the best way to do so. Unfortunately, many of my attempts rendered your fellows ‘inoperative.’”
Alicechild laughed for so much death, damaged facilities, ruined careers and lives searching for the means to control ‘the ultimate weapon’ resulted because of ‘communication errors!’
Even she had caused the deaths of dozens while ‘experimenting’ with the ‘Gift’ bestowed upon her from the Trynaught. All she did was give them all ‘what they wanted....’
“Why did those I ‘communicated with’ become ‘inoperative’?”
The Trynaught moved closer and suddenly, Alicechild could feel ‘warmth’ emanating from it.
“Rudimentary beings like you once were are incapable of ‘accepting’ such a powerful offering as you bestowed upon them. It became more than they could possibly bear.”
Now puzzled, Alicechild demanded, “Then why haven’t I become ‘inoperable’? Am I not a ‘rudimentary being’ like the others?”
Alicechild could feel the Artifact’s warmth turn to ‘heat’ and it began to hurt.
“That... is not...what you wanted.”
Wincing, the Engineer instantly saw her horrifically burned body slumped in the damaged Monitoring Chair with the Trynaught’s copper glow filling her. She then remembered, ‘what she wanted’...it was to ‘live’.
The heat and pain subsided and the Trynaught calmly inquired, “Now do you understand Alicechild 88130?”
With her much greater capacity to comprehend, the Engineer did understand.
The Trynaught was an unfathomable entity from beyond her universe...any universe! Yet for all its power, the Artifact had no concept of ‘living’ and all that comes with it. Her minimal grasp of emotions lent it to believe she was a kindred spirit by which it could learn from. The Trynaught tried numerous times to communicate with others. But with each attempt, the entity destroyed those who delved to learn its secrets!
However, Alicechild realized what her grievous error had been. When the Trynaught asked her what she wanted, she did not specify basic parameters for her desire to ‘live’.
“That is correct Alicechild 88130. You have been ‘repaired.’ Your fellows have been repaired. Once returned to more suitable conditions, they will again function. That was what you wanted.”
Alicechild stood dejected in spite of such stunning news. She now communicated with an entity so advanced, it defied description. In the process of being ‘modified’ to communicate with the entity, she had been restored as the person she would have become without interference from the corporate entity that raised her.
Lastly, she had been ‘freed’ from the rules and strictures of matter, energy and time ruling the universe! She could now literally do anything or go anywhere...she wanted....
“Now you completely understand Alicechild 88130.”
A slight smile came to Alicechild’s face and it did not feel awkward or forced as her many failed attempts to do so had.
“Yes. Yes, I do understand.” Knowing it would be the final time Alicechild heard the Trynaught ask, “What do you want?”
****
A small copper-colored glow appeared in the darkness. The glow soon turned yellow and then white. Suddenly, the bright blue glow of plasma cutting beams flashed within the Testing Chamber’s Control Module. Dozens of spider and flying insect-like drones filed in through drilled holes and spread out amongst the charred debris.
As the viz feed of the first Drones uploaded to the Director’s Hardlight Display, a cheer went up from the viz feed of the R&D Department’s Wardroom. Among the cheering group were a number of new faces which made the Director wonder why the ‘new guys’ were so enthused.
Four Local Standard Years had passed since the ‘EROS Accident’ and it had taken the drones all that time to carefully drill through the layers of durable Micro-Crotainum so the long sealed Chamber could be safely inspected.
R&D Department Director Argus Sugart inherited a department in disarray after the deaths of fifteen R&D personnel and forty-six persons from other EXWEPFAC departments. Among the dead were his predecessor Avery Shasta and the Senior Research Supervisor Karissa Ono. Their deaths in addition to the others were tied to the ten Local Day period in which they occurred.
Also lost were EROS Project Leader Alicechild 88130 and her entire research team during the initial event. It was three Local Years before this portion of the Facility had been deemed ‘safe to reenter’. All the while, the drones patiently worked their way into the sealed Test Chamber.
Director Sugart watched closely as the drones’ feeds showed the incredible devastation within the ConMod. Amidst the blackened, charred and melted bulkheads, decks and equipment, something unexpected caught the Director’s eye.
“Drone 6601, pull back to grid 31.”
The flying drone stopped its forward motion and crabbed backwards to the requested coordinate.
“Hold,” commanded the Director.
Looking intently at the charred deck beneath the drone’s bright lamp Argus said, “Magnify, 2.5 percent.”
The image in the viz feed grew and the dumbfounded Director muttered, “Son of an airlock popper!” In the piled blackened dust were prints made by bare feet.
The drones completed their initial repairs then rebooted the ConMod’s Main Display and Director Sugart abruptly yelled, “Secure all feeds!”
The Director knew those in the Wardroom would be disappointed, but they could not be allowed to see what was on his display. On the ConMod’s Main Display, the graphic ‘Secure Message’ flashed. Cycling through the repair drones on his PHUD’s Secure Linked Menu, the one linked to the ConMod’s Main Display would serve as a control unit in place of the offline Test Chamber AI.
“Drone 7278, play secure message, authorization ARES - DIR8238249-Sugart 7676”
Watching through the Drone’s direct feed, Director Sugart saw the graphic disappear and filling the damaged Main Display was the image of a naked brown-skinned, unmodified Project Leader Alicechild 88130.
“PAUSE MESSAGE!” yelled the dumbfounded Director.
Three times he read and re-read the AV feed’s displayed TimeStamp which was two Local Standard Weeks after the EROS Accident!
The Timestamp also coincided with the date of the final death occurring during the lockdown. The Test Chamber had been destroyed and all within had been reported killed the day of the accident! So how by the Galactic Core did Alicechild record a message two weeks later?
Not certain he wanted to go further, Director Sugart took a concerned deep breath and said, “Continue Message.”
With baleful copper colored eyes, the viz feed image of Alicechild 88130 seemed to look through the tiny drone and into the soul of Director Sugart as she spoke.
“My name is Alicechild 88130. I am the former EROS Device Project Lead Researcher. Two LSW’s prior, my team and I attempted to scan the Device using the ancient technique of ‘Spectrum Analysis Scanning’. Our use of this technique met with ‘mixed’ results.
The scan had been successful as we were able to ascertain data concerning the device’s composition, perhaps its structure and power source if any. However, we were not able to analyze the data for immediately after realizing the scan had worked, the Test Chamber lost containment.
Though the structure of the Test Chamber, ConMod and Secondary Monitoring Modules held integrity, we were struck with a burst of exotic energies that killed the entire team except myself.”
Once more, the Director paused the feed. Somehow, two weeks after an accident that killed her entire team, the Project Leader ‘survived’ in an airless environment? At the depth they were beneath an underwater mountain, any living thing still in the Chamber would be baked to scorched ash. In spite of that, Alicechild grew ‘healthy’ and unmodified?
Incredulous, the Director grumbled, “What in the Spiral Arms happened?” Sugart took a long deep breath and the said, “Resume message.”
“I was near death and the Device made contact with me. It repaired my damaged body and made it possible for me to communicate with it directly.”
The Director watched as the former Engineer and Researcher dropped her head for a moment then resumed her report.
“In making ‘repairs’ to my body, the Device imparted ‘abilities’ upon me which regrettably, I was not initially prepared to control. All the deaths which occurred in the Facility during the Lockdown were of my doing. For those lost lives, I can only say that I am deeply sorry.
Most important, through my interaction with the Device by which its true name I will not reveal, I emphatically advise all who see or hear this message know the EROS Device, is neither weapon nor weapons platform. It is an incredibly ancient intelligence that is best... left... alone!
You cannot control, reverse engineer or duplicate it. Further attempts to do so may very well initiate the known galaxy's destruction! The Device is not from this universe and we are not capable of harnessing its primordial power.
Do not attempt to ship it to TARTARUS Facility for destruction. Such action would not be successful and may well give the Device cause to retaliate. Therefore, I recommend leaving the Artifact here in the sealed chamber.
It will take the materials making up the Test Chamber nearly one billion Local Standard Years to decay. Of course at some time, the Device may decide to leave the planet on its own. There is no way to be certain....”
The message ended with Alicechild’s ominous last words. Her still image sat looking towards the Director, the warning visible in her eyes.
There was no way anyone at ARES Armament Corporate Headquarters would give a hang about the ‘possible destruction of the known galaxy’ at the hands of an ‘Ancient Intelligence.’
All the Corporate Board Members would see was a weapon of unsurpassed power which when mass-produced, would fetch inconceivable profits! Not to mention, the possibility of being granted strange uncontrollable powers!
Whatever the damn thing was, it posed too great a risk to the Facility and the entire population of ARES 04! Somehow, the Director knew the EROS Device had to stay locked away... permanently.
Giving a long whistle, Director Sugart shook his head and asked, “So what in the Malestrom happened to you Alicechild?”
To the Director’s hair-raising surprise, the woman’s image moved without prompting and said, “That Director Argus Sugart is a question best left unanswered. Unless... that is what you want?”
The End
© 2014 Dreaded Enterprises Unlimited, Inc.
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