The A.R.EX. Project:Transformation

by Angelo Facchin

  “Are you done?”

  “I‘m almost finished,” Arex called from the bathroom.

  As he said that, ripping sounds were heard. Janiece feared that the clothes were too small and were being torn apart.

  Arex finally appeared in the living room. He was wearing a white T-shirt and a plaid, long-sleeve shirt on top of it. He also wore a pair of blue jeans that ended around his ankles. He held his pair of sneakers in one hand, and the socks in the other.

  “I see you didn‘t wear the sneakers,” she observed.

  “I‘m sorry,” said Arex “but they didn‘t fit.”

  “Okay. Here, give them to me.”

  Arex handed her the sneakers. She took a pair of scissors and created a hole at the toe of each. She did the same with the socks.

  “Normally, people would recommend against doing something like this, but I think you can pull this off. Your feet need shoes. Winter is coming soon, and they‘ll freeze if you keep them bare. With these holes, at least your feet will fit in them.”

  “But, doesn‘t this mean I‘m ruining the shoes.”

  “Usually, but then again, the norm never really applied to you.”

  Arex shrugged and put on his footwear. With the holes in his socks and shoes, his long-nailed toes protruding out.

  “See? You can pull this off no problem at all,” said Janiece. “And maybe your feet won‘t sweat as much as some other men‘s do in their shoes.”

  “That‘s a problem?”

  “Let‘s just say I‘ve had experience with men and athlete‘s foot. It‘s not an enticing fragrance. Either way, I like it. You look nice.”

  “Thank You.”

  To Janiece, it felt important that Arex look as approachable as possible. The only way that was going to happen, was if he’d dress in a casual way. She knew it would help people when they got to know him. If there was one thing she realized, though, it was that Arex could never pull off a tailored suit. The casual clothing also complemented his calm personality, which was a big plus. Janiece smiled when she realized he looked ten years younger than he actually was. The down side to his look was that people may have a hard time taking him seriously.

  She noticed Arex was also trying on his new cap. It looked strange because his head’s configuration didn’t really allow for a cap to fit properly on it. Jason, who was looking from his bedroom door, seemed to noticed that also. Arex turned to him, and asked.:

  “How do I look?”

  “Uh…you look kind of okay,” said Jason, “but the cap makes you look like you‘re trying to hide your face.”

  “Well, I don‘t want to look like I‘m trying to hide something.”

  “Here, let me fix that.”

  Arex bent down so that Jason could reach his head. Jason then took the cap. Janiece nearly laughed as Arex winced in pain. After taking the cap, Jason had pulled the front end of Arex’s mane. Still holding on to it, he then slipped the hair through the cap where the adjustable Velcro strands were joined. Now this is a good idea, Janiece thought. With the cap now backwards, Arex’s face was now better framed.

  The phone rang. Janiece picked it up. It was her boss.

  “I‘ve just reviewed our clients‘ lists. You were right, one of us does have a client in Patrick Sandlak.”

  “Who?”

  “Kirk Hall.”

  No Way! Suddenly, everything seemed to fall into place in Janiece’s mind.

  “He‘s the one who answered when Daisy called my office. He‘s the one who handled the fax I received. It all makes sense.”

  “I‘ll have to have a word with him, and invite the F.B.I. over.”

  “See you in a week.”

  Chapter 11

  Tuesday, November 3rd, 1998, 4:31 PM

  F.B.I. New York City Headquarters

  Mika was satisfied with her investigation so far. After having interviewed most of the employees and taken the equipment apart, she was now in the process preparing to interrogate Mark Reeves. She and her colleagues already figured from the interviews that only the senior staff really knew what the A.R.EX. project was about. It was important to figure out whether or not Reeves was involved in the act, or was just a negligent boss. Either way, he was likely to face charges.

  Her partner, Mike, was recovering in the hospital, and Patrick Sandlak was dead. It was a shame that nobody would ever know the secret to the A.R.EX. serum, but there was nothing that could be done about that. Dismantling the project was now going to be easy, barring interference from Reeves’ sponsors, whoever they were. She doubted all along that the Pentagon would invest billions in such a risky endeavor. Whoever these clients were, they had to be found and exposed. First thing was first, though, and that was interrogating Mark Reeves.

  She left her office, and headed two floors down, to the interrogation room where Reeves was held. When she entered, he looked at her intently. She guessed that he probably felt a little duped by her. She sat down laying a file on the table in front of them.

  “Just so you know,” she started, “my name is really Mika Nomura. I am an experienced field agent for the F.B.I.. I would like to ask you a few questions.”

  “Why should I answer anything you ask me? I would like to speak to my lawyer.”

  “You already have everything going against you. Lawyering up would just make you even guiltier.”

  “Guilty? Of what?”

  “Of fraud, forgery, and conspiracy to commit murder. You have a chance to make it go all the way down to criminal negligence.”

  “But, I don‘t understand. What happened?”

  “How long where you away in the Bahamas? One and half weeks?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, to me anyway, that now feels like an eternity. So much has happened. So much that you‘ve missed because you felt like going on a little vacation.”

  “I was just trying to enjoy some time with my family. You can‘t convict me for that.”

  “No one blames you for wanting a little R and R, but the timing is a little suspicious. While you were away, Patrick Sandlak was in charge. You already knew he extradited Erickson Meyers from Bare Hill Correctional, but did you know that the documents were forged? Kirk Hall never approached his colleague, Janiece Ryder, about signing the papers. Neither was the judge whose name appears on the document.”

  “I never knew that. Kirk is someone I knew from Pat. I also heard of his successes, so I figured he played by the rules.”

  “Unfortunately, you were wrong. Mr. Hall is also under investigation for corruption. Now, where is Erickson Meyers held?”

  “From what I know he‘s held in a house here in New York.”

  “Wrong. Meyers is gone, dead. Instead, there‘s the reptile you saw in the lobby this morning.”

  “No.”

  “Yes. No you see the fruits of Dr. Sandlak‘s labor. An amnesic reptile who was ordered to kill his former lawyer. Your absence has led to an unbelievable chain of events. This is going to change the world and bring some unwanted attention to the American military. Now, it‘s important to know who your client is.”

  “That‘s classified information.”

  “We will find out. You better hope that you were just as duped as Meyers was when he signed up for this project. Arex, the reptile, is taking you down for your contribution to this mess.”

  Mika excused herself and left the interrogation room. Corey Rodgers was waiting for her outside in the hall. Rodgers had spent the better part of the afternoon going through BIOGENCORP’s financial records.

  “Reeves is not budging on the client front. I couldn‘t get anything out of him. I doubt he even really knows who his clients really were. There‘s no way the Pentagon could possibly be involved in such a crackpot.”

  “I agree. In fact, the bank account to which we tracked the funds coming to BIOGENCORP is a Swiss bank account with the name Samuel Berry. There is no Sam Berry in the Pentagon‘s roster. The account has billions stored in it. I‘m speculating, but it might be tied
to a foreign power. We may never know who hired them.”

  Part 3

  Aftermath

  Chapter 1

  Monday, November 9, 1998, 10:01 AM

  F.B.I. NYC Headquarters

  As he entered the F.B.I. building, Arex felt more than a little nervous. With the cleanliness and order of the hallways and the personnel, Arex felt like an outsider in his casual clothing. Everything and everyone was in shades rather than colors.

  Naturally, another thing that made him feel uncomfortable was the stares he was enduring from the staff in the hallway. Obviously, they were warned of his coming, which was probably why nobody ran off, shrieking. There were glares, indifferent glances, shocked faces, and, incredibly, a couple of trusting smiles. It seemed he was a celebrity now, so he had to get used to that.

  He entered the conference room behind Janiece. She immediately sat down on one side of the table. Arex was unsure of where to sit down. Janiece urged him to sit next to her. Everyone entered the room one at a time. Arex noticed Mike Scatchard was present, probably hiding his bandaged ribs under his suit. Corey Rodgers arrived last and sat at the end of the table. Arex was told prior that he wasn’t to speak until spoken to, a habit he was to pick up before taking the stand as a witness.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, this meeting is held to piece together the chain of events leading to this day. It‘s important that we leave no stone unturned. The ultimate goal is to show Mark Reeves‘ mysterious clients that this project is dead, their money wasted. Unfortunately, we haven‘t been able to pin any wrongdoing on Mark Reeves, except negligence. You can imagine how serious this is. People will be blaming Mark Reeves for everything. The public outcry will be immense.”

  “There are several financial transactions involving BIOGENCORP and the account with the name of Samuel Berry. We haven‘t been able to trace the account to any person, country, or company. Suffice it to say, we have no idea who first orchestrated the whole ordeal. However they are, commissioned BIGENCORP to create a new kind of weapon in light of the new international treaty banning nuclear weapons. Although, if someone goes out of his or her way to stay hidden, then it probably would have been more logical to actually create nuclear weaponry. Whatever the secret to creating these soldiers is, I doubt that Patrick Sandlak was the only one to know it. Thankfully, since the Pentagon isn‘t involved, there‘s no chance they will claim our friend here as their property.”

  Property? Arex wasn’t comfortable about being thought of as some people’s property. Not only that, but he felt like joining in the discussion, but found himself silent. What could he contribute, and hadn’t Janiece told him to stay silent, and he had every intention not to let her down in such a formal setting, where his clothes and appearance made him stick out too much for his liking.

  “Now, our initial suspicions arose when several transactions were being made to and from BIOGENCORP. The “to” we can‘t the origin of, but the from, we can establish the destination. The details are in he file. We also received an anonymous phone tip telling us that several scientists working for BIOGENCORP disappeared, all in one day. Who our anonymous tipster was, is unknown. Everyone we‘ve interviewed insisted that it wasn‘t them. That tip gave me and my team enough cause to investigate. We were hoping to have had Mika infiltrate the company. She‘s had experience in forensic sciences. However, she did put us on the right track as she followed Patrick Sandlak around when he extradited Erickson Meyers from prison. Then, as everyone of us was trying to figure out what was going on, he transformed Erickson Meyers, much against his will.”

  Arex had to ask the question that was on his mind since the beginning.

  “I still don‘t understand why I…or rather he, would accept to come with Patrick Sandlak with Janiece absent.”

  Arex regretted that statement. He didn’t feel very comfortable in letting people know that he was unsure of his own identity. A lingering question in his mind was always: Was he Erickson Meyers, or someone else entirely?

  “Actually, Meyers didn‘t really have a choice in the matter. He had to follow Sandlak, even though it probably meant…well…this. I‘m sorry Arex,” said Rodgers apologetically.

  What followed was an awkward silence that loomed over everyone in the room. It felt heavy on Arex’s shoulders like nothing else had. He felt the eyes looking at him, trying to gauge his reaction.

  Afterwards, he stopped paying attention to what Rodgers was saying. He was distracted. Who was he? How could he function in this world? He would have to ask Corey Rodgers if he could recover the memories that were erased. He would then be able to live as Erickson Meyers once more. Even if that means going to prison? Probably.

  “Let‘s leave things here until we have more information,” said Rodgers. “Arex, can I have a word with you in private, please? The rest of you are dismissed.”

  Arex watched as everyone else left the conference room. He was a little nervous about being alone with an influential individual like Rodgers. What did Rodgers think of him?

  “Are you alright?”

  Arex snapped out of his thoughts.

  “I‘m sorry. I have a lot on my mind.”

  “Like what?”

  “For example, I feel heavy. I feel that my existence has caused such trouble. Certainly more trouble than I‘m worth. I can imagine that everyone would be happier if I never came to be.”

  “And now you feel that we‘re stuck with you. I can imagine that that thought can distract anyone from practically everything. The news I have can only serve to make things worse, unfortunately.”

  “What is it?”

  “We took a look at the Mind Shifter computer yesterday. We were hoping to be able to give you back the memories which were erased from your mind.”

  Arex perked up.

  “It‘s great news. That means Jason can have his father back.”

  “No. It doesn‘t. BIOGENCORP‘s computers have a smart program that recognizes any attempt to hack them. The Mind Shifter saw that someone other than Patrick Sandlak was trying to access those memories and immediately erased them from its hard drive. Permanently.”

  That nearly destroyed Arex from the inside out. Now what? How was he going to tell Jason?

  “What am I going to do now? Ever since I found out who I was, I couldn‘t wait to get those memories back. The bad the good…everything. I can‘t be Erickson Meyers anymore. Who can I be? How can I live like this?”

  “It will be hard, but not impossible. You can live as Arex. We could give you a new name, a new identity.”

  Arex sat down. Rodgers didn’t understand what he felt, and what Jason felt even more. He looked at his hands. They weren’t his. This body he was using, it belonged to a stranger. A stranger he would never know or meet, because he had effectively replaced him. That person was gone forever, and he was Jason’s father, his only family. How could he live on knowing what his existence really meant to someone he cared about?

  “It’s… It’s all my fault. Jason‘s father…he‘s gone, and there‘s nothing I can do to bring him back.”

  “Jason seems to accept you as a person.”

  “As a friend, maybe, but not as a father.”

  “Do you really want to be his father that much?”

  “I would love to have a family. To not be alone. I feel like I‘m alone, because of the way I look. There is no one else out there who can understand what I‘m going through. I can‘t stand this. I‘m not supposed to exist. Erickson Meyers should be the one here talking to you, not me.”

  “That‘s crazy talk. There was nothing you or Meyers could do to prevent this. If Meyers hadn‘t been erased, then we wouldn‘t have you. There would be a loss either way.”

  “But if I had never existed, none of this would have happened.”

  “You‘re right, none of this would have happened. Which also means that we wouldn‘t know about the A.R.EX. project until it was too late. Janiece would be dead, and Jason along with her, probably. Let me tell you one thing:
You can‘t make an omelet without breaking eggs.”

  “Great. Jason‘s father is likened to food.”

  “Well, look at it this way: You won‘t have to deal with Meyers‘ criminal past, if it even exist. Officially, he is a convicted murderer. Unofficially, however, we are looking into the case file. Janiece has her suspicions about that particular case, and now that Kirk Hall is under investigation, every single one of his cases will be reviewed. This is also a big deal for us.”

  Arex felt no better about himself when he finally dragged his feet to the parking lot. Janiece asked him if he was okay, but he didn’t answer. He was now afraid of saying anything at all. And now he had to explain everything he just heard to the both of them. Now what?

  Chapter 2

  Saturday, December 5th, 1998, 6:05 PM

  Janiece Ryder’s apartment

  As the trial was fast approaching, the day came when Arex would speak to the public for the first time since he was discovered. Jason couldn’t go, but Janiece told him he could watch everything live on TV. He wondered what kind of questions the reporters had for Arex.

  The press conference was the news’ top headline. Everyone around the world wanted to look at Arex and hear him talk.

  Good evening ladies and gentlemen, the reporter announced, Our top story tonight: The discovery of an anthropomorphic reptile existing among us. Last month, this being was first seen when it and a wounded F.B.I. agent arrived at Bellevue Hospital Center to be treated for various injuries. It was later revealed that another reptilian being committed suicide after having attacked them. The details in this matter are unknown. We now go live to the front of the F.B.I. New York City offices where the being will address the public for the first time.

  Jason saw Corey Rodgers stepping forward on the stand to give a short speech.:

  “Thank you very much for coming here. As you already know, Mr. Arex, who sits here on my right, isn‘t human. He is an anthropomorphic reptile who‘s agreed to testify in our favor in the case against BIOGENCORP, a private research facility based in Albany. He‘s also agreed to talk with you today and answer any questions you may have. Thank You.”