by Tal Turing
“Cyn, can you see me?” Lynda whispered.
“And, yes, I work for Transom but I don't know what is this..this place. I swear it is not ours...”
Lynda sighed with relief, that finally the exotic-looking asset had disclosed some of her secrets. Of course she worked for Transom, that had been obvious given her reactions. But Lynda had never been so shallow as to judge a person by the village they lived in or even the company which owned them. But she felt sorry for this girl, so many of them were deluded by their masters.”
“And...I can see other parts of the building,” Cyn continued. “I can see what is happening...that is how I could see you. And them. But it is very hard to maintain...and it's making me sick.”
Was she hallucinating as well? Lynda held her hand and helped her stand. She was right, they had to go.
“Cyn, don't worry, we will...”
“I'm not worried. But we have to make decisions, we have to get moving and...and I don't think I should hold the gun any longer.”
Lynda gently removed the weapon from Cyn's hand just as she spied some cowls hanging on the walls. She pulled one off its hook and wrapped Cynnamon in it.
“We'll wear these cowls,” Lynda explained. “It will hide the weapon and it won't be so clear that I have it, okay.”
“Lynda?” Cyn spoke as she slipped her hands and arms into the cowl and pulled the hood over her dark face.
“Yes?” Lynda had hidden the weapon within her cowl and was ready to go.
“I'm sorry. I'm not much help.”
“Stop it. You are doing the things I can't do, so leave the rest to me. Besides, we are in this together, no matter how it goes. Just like with the guard. Right?”
“Yes. And...and it's working much better when you speak with them...”
“Really, do you think?” smiled Lynda. “I can handle them, I promise.”
The Board Room
Lynda dropped Cynnamon's hand as they returned to the room. She had been helping her stay on her feet, despite her protests, but now, before the group, they both had to appear strong. Lynda lengthened her stride as she approached the other captives and looked each of them in the eye.
“He's a domer,” Cyra spoke up gesturing to Hynree.
“Later,” Lynda replied, “who is NOT leaving with us?” she demanded, choosing her words to force the reluctant into having to speak up. No one said a word, just as she thought. She nodded her head and continued, “We are going to make our way out of the cell block and find a communications terminal. Cyn knows the layout, so she will lead and I'll bring up the rear. No talking, no noises. So, let's go.” Lynda turned and waved them toward the Transom asset who was standing quietly near the door.
Lynda noticed that Hynree and Marlee seemed hesitant.
“Staying here? I'll be sure to express your regrets to your father, Marlee.”
That was all that was needed.
Lynda's heart raced as she heard the security door opened. She couldn't help it, after the events of the last weeks, the sound made her anxious. But rather than having the guard or the Doctor come in, they were all moving out to whatever else was in this building.
There was silence as the group walked down a long white hallway. On the right side were large windows which opened up into a room which wad dim save for the flashes of instrumentation. Lynda realized how critically dependent they all were now on Cyn and her assurance that she could get them where they wanted to go.
They approached another large set of doors at the end of the hallway but they were locked. Nonplussed, Cyn slipped through a smaller opening and they were engulfed in darkness again. As her eyes adjusted, Lynda realized they were walking through a maze of office cubicles. She could smell the fragrance of new furniture and flooring.
They ended up in a large meeting room, dominated by a long, polished, table surrounded by plush, leather chairs. At one end of the room was a thick, rectangular screen, its display swirling and bubbling with colored gases, like a boiling piece of abstract artwork.
Lynda recognized the cloud viewer, her village had a smaller version. It did not surprise her that the device would be such a prominent piece of corper equipment. She knew that whatever sounds and images the thing would show could not be recorded, its communication was directly to the human nervous system, precisely the reason they had been invented and were so widely used by the corpers.
There was another door in the room and Lynda saw Cyn try it to no avail. The asset turned back to them and motioned to the control panel for the cloud viewer.
“Would you start it?” Cyn asked her.
Without hesitation, Lynda touched the keypad and was prompted for a password.
“Probably the same as the door...” her friend's voice began.
She entered '12341' but it didn't work.
“Will we be able to call for help from here?” someone asked.
“Try 'lab8'” came the asset's voice again.
Could it be that simple? It was. Now the screen had only a single action waiting for Lynda's command. “Start Presentation'.
“We will have to sit through this before we can go further,” Cyn announced quietly to the room. Lynda was glad to note that the voice seemed stronger than before.
Lynda started the presentation and stepped back as the cloud viewer went through some initialization. While it did so, she noticed Cyn closing the door which they had just passed.
“Make sure you are still recording...” Cyn whispered to her, suddenly at her side.
“But it's a cloud viewer...nothing will record, right?” Lynda protested.
“No, but the reactions will...”
Then Lynda jumped when she heard the Doctor's voice and saw his awful face appear on the screen.
“On behalf of Humantis Corporation, I would like to welcome each one of you and feel sure that you will be interested in our presentation to you, our preferred investors.”
The room broke into confusion, some of the party thinking that the presentation was for their benefit, that it was some sort of trick. Cyn did not look at any of them, but simply shook her head when Lynda caught her eye.
The video continued: “You have doubtless attended investment solicitations where you were inundated with graphs and charts and statistics. No so here. As a recognized principle investigator, I could certainly make those available to you if that is you preference, but we aren't going to try to convince you of what Humantis Alter can do, we are going to show you.
Let's start with subject one who will be demonstrating our Prianova product. It was said that the ancient god Priapus could grant a child to even the most barren woman. Well, the old gods may be dead, but Humantis Prianova conveys the same magic to loyal New Berlyn males seeking to start or grow their family tree. Yes, you heard me correct, Prianova gives the power of fertility not to the female but to the initiator of pregnancies since the dawn of time, the man. And, as you will see, Prianova is effective whether your consort has a depressed ability to conceive or even in the case she has taken steps to prevent it...”
Lynda gasped when she saw her own image and that of Cyra on the screen. Cyra's picture was entitled 'Unable to conceive' while Lynda's text was in red and said 'Took illegal birth control and abortives'.
Cyra cried out in protest.
“It's a lie! I had my ovaries, I was fertile, until I came here! He removed one of my ovaries just for his experiments,” Cyra cried, her hand on her abdomen as if she could still feel what was done to her.
“Bastard,” was all Lynda could say. Now she understood why she had gotten pregnant in the first place and why the abortives had failed. Dylan had always been so adamant that they have their own children...and then suddenly he seemed to come around to her way of thinking, to adopt instead. He must have already been subjugating her to this...this awful experiment.
She felt Cyn's hand squeeze hers but the Doctor had already moved on.
“The second product we will discuss today is our Ally product a
nd just as Prianova can strengthen and expand your family tree, Ally develops strong bonds of loyalty and cooperation among your friends, your partners, your family when needed. What Prianova can only start, Ally will finish.”
“Enough of this, are we leaving this place or not?” Hynree asked nervously.
“Watch,” Cyn's voice filled the room and there he was, on the screen, fighting with Marlee who was yelling at him and pummeling him with her fists. The video version of Hynree grabbed her and pulled her to him, his mouth moving, imploring; then she took a bite out of his ear. The Doctor's voice continued even as the screams and yelling faded.
“When our client was faced with an exceptionally tricky and potentially catastrophic negotiation with one of the more difficult villages, our Ally product came through with flying colors. After only a single week, this client came around to a more positive attitude as you can see.”
The screen changed again and now they beheld Marlee engaged in active love-making with Hynree. Her motions were so aggressive and she was so vocal that it was hard to believe even that he was willing.
The door open and light flooded the room. The presentation continued but Cyn had left. But all Lynda could do was stare at the ugly scar of Hynree's ear, one he now tried to cover with his hand.
“You all had to see that,” Cyn's voice filled the room, stronger than before. “And you should note that presentation had nothing to do with Transom. You are not within Transom Dome, you are in New Humantis Dome as you will soon see.”
“It's all a lie!” a shrill but masculine voice suddenly cried out. Lynda froze as Hynree burst out of the group of people, closing on Cynnamon, his arms stretched out, his hands grasping like claws for her.
And then, Cyn's cowled body seemed to drop away, rolling on the floor while her attacker kept going, unable to stop. His body slammed into a work bench before he crumpled to the ground.
Returned to her senses, Lynda produced the weapon and ran forward. When she reached the point of the attack, Cyn had returned to her feet and was looking down at the older man who was in obvious pain.
“Hynree! Don't hurt him!!” wailed Marlee who threw herself in front of him, her arms encircling and protecting him.
“We won't, Marlee.” Lynda spoke calmly. “As long as you tie him up and stay with him. Do it now or I'll certainly kill him.”
The Laboratory
Lynda became aware of a humming as she looked around a the strange shapes and ghostly glows of machines littered throughout the space. Medical equipment.
The room was the largest she had seen and unlike the cramped meeting rooms, office space and holding areas, this place opened up vertically as well, taking the full height of the large building. The room was so large she could not even see the ceiling, the walls and air just faded into darkness.
“You'll notice different corporate crests on the equipment here, now that we are out of the holding area,” Cyn's voice seemed to be all around them. “And the weather monitors will show our location within New Berlyn.”
Lynda walked up to a small screen. The familiar weather radar was like every one she had ever seen. Their little valley was besieged on all sides by rain and storms. But Cyn seemed to be correct, the display placed them almost in the center of New Humantis Dome.
“Lynda, over here.” Cyn's voice reached her and Lynda retraced her steps and followed the cowled girl into a corner of the room and through an office door. Inside was a communication station. Lynda walked into the small room just in time to see Cyn scoop something off the desk.
“Ready to make some calls?” Cyn beamed, her face relaxed.
Lynda smiled back, distracted by the motion Cyn was making with her hand. It seemed like she was stroking one hand with the other.
“You sound much better...” Lynda started, her eyes dropping to Cyn's hand. It seemed like there was something perched on the back of her fingers. It was translucent, oblong, with legs. Fascinated, Lynda reached out to touch it...when it moved.
Lynda yanked her hand back and gasped while Cyn laughed.
“I told you I had eyes around here...” Cyn added before withdrawing the object under her cowl. Her voice changed, becoming serious. “I had thought to send the first message to my company, to Transom...but you've helped me see differently. I don't think they are involved in this...in any way....but I'm not sure. So we send first to the villages. Do you know anyone? Someone influential? Or someone in the leadership?”
Of course she knew people in the village leadership. But all she could think about was Marlee's father, a powerful force among the villagers, someone the corpers should have known better than to cross.
“I know Marlee's father. He is a powerful man and not known for controlling his temper...”
“Sounds like the first message goes to him and everything you recorded. We'll let them sort it out,” Cyn said thoughtfully, but she paused and waited for Lynda to comment.
“I don't disagree, but if we start this...”
“I know, Lynda, I know. But it's already started. We can fight the storm or roll with it.”
The Storm
Pol
Pol, his hair disheveled from sleep and his clothes hastily chosen, took the cup of tea offered by his wife as he entered his study, closed the door and faced the men gathered there.
One look told him a lot, they were a younger, hot-headed sort, and already that worried him. And Lynus was with them. Why had they come in person?
“We have received a communication, from the Domes, a distress call. The message was sent to multiple villages but we are unsure how many.”
“What message?” Pol asked wearily. Was this some new complaint concerning the corpers?
“It is not just words, there is audio and video, pictures. See for yourself. But remember, we don't know who else has seen this, we must act swiftly.”
Pol, confused, sat down while the virtual message was played, it started with a young woman, pale skin, dark hair. She was seated on a metal chair. She spoke quickly and clearly as if her time was limited.
“We need help. We have been kidnapped and imprisoned within New Humantis Dome. You could not imagine the chamber of horrors these corpers have created. I don't ask you to believe me, you may see for yourself...”
Then her image faded out and they started to see a compilation of images and recordings. A machine used to restrain, a dead body, young women speaking of how they were assaulted, raped, threatened. First one woman spoke and then another. Some of them were calm, some angry and some were clearly frightened. And now he realized why Lynus was present. His daughter was among them. That was a fatal mistake by the domers, he knew. The message ended almost as he was about to ask them to end it.
“I don't know what to say but I know what to ask. Why did you come here?”
Pol looked at Lynus but the man did not speak, he seemed to be simmering. One of the younger leaders spoke up.
“We are going to act, but we want to give all the villages the chance to join us and stand with us. You are known throughout the valley, you are known for promoting village unity. We want you to bring in the rest of the villages.”
Pol eyed them suspiciously. “Act? Act how?”
Now Lynus spoke up.
“This deed cannot go unpunished. We will punish the corpers, a harsh lesson that they will never forget. It will happen and there is no stopping it, but it's better if it's a shot fired but all of us, rather than something the corpers might use to divide us.”
“I don't understand. What do you think you are going to do?”
The room was silent. Pol's eyes drifted toward the entrance to his study. The door was ajar and his wife watched, a worried expression on her face.
Edwyrd
Edwyrd burst into the meeting room, dismayed to find that he was the last to arrive. The faces were somber: Patron, Barrett, and many other executives. Only Steve seemed relaxed, almost amused.
“What is it?” he demanded.
Barrett
replayed the message that they had all viewed.
A young woman spoke from a metal chair.
“By the time you receive this message, it has already been distributed to the villages. If it were left to me, you would not get this at all. But one of your assets is here, a prisoner like us and she has helped. Therefore, we have agreed to send you this communication. I suggest you consider carefully how you align yourselves.”
The woman faded out and they got their first look at the sights and sounds of Humantis Laboratory 8.
The Response
The vehicles approached the dome. They were large and heavy, the kind that scavengers used to extract materials from ruins. They were massive enough to withstand the winds of a hurricane and powerful enough to burrow through entire fallen buildings. But they moved slowly, like great horned turtles.
As they approached the dome, the vehicles spread out, a shimmering, blueish prong extended from each pressing into the barrier. Then there was a phasing of the entire structure and it blinked once, and then again, and again with increasing frequency, then decreasing frequency and finally it was no more.
A blast of cold, autumn air rushed into the void and licked the decorative trees and colorful fauna that had been planted within. The vegetation bowed freely to the heralds of its new master. The wall of a small sentry house creaked in response to a probing by the wind, its second push slammed the door so hard that the plastic hinge snapped.
As the vehicles converged on a dome generator, intending to make sure it never functioned again, the air grew dark and rain began wetting the dry ground.
On the other side of Humantis House, the unfinished side, the vanguard of the angry storm had arrived and the loose skin of the its skeleton was violently stripped off and the materials and objects with lay within were ripped from their resting places and thrown into the air.
