The A.R.EX. Project:Transformation

by Angelo Facchin

  “It‘s a common misconception that technology varies from company to company. Just because a motherboard is made by a different company than the keyboard or the disk drive, doesn‘t mean all of these separate parts don‘t work together. A motherboard is a motherboard. They all have the same logic behind their build. A simple analogy is the video game market. A kid walks into a store, looking for a new controller for his PlayStation. He find several in stock, but the ones made by Sony might be a little too expensive for him. The kid will want to turn towards a cheaper alternative, and that‘s why stores carry accessories made by independent companies, because they cost less to carry on their shelves and they provide the consumer with inexpensive products. The same logic applies to this situation. C.E.O. Reeves chose the least expensive parts from different companies. Did it damper the performance he got from those computers? If anything, it made the computers run smoother and more powerful than a machine only using one brand of pieces.”

  “This would take an incredible amount of organization. How was it done? The defense and I have seen the floor plan of BIOGENCORP‘s building and nowhere was there any mention of a computer-creating laboratory as far as I know.”

  “As part of their expenses, they‘ve been able to set up a subsidiary called NETREK. They made the computer‘s, their instruction manuals, and they installed them.”

  “Well that explains a lot, thank you. Now, during your search of BIOGENCORP‘s building you were able to acquire these computers. Was there any evidence relevant to this case that was found on these computers?”

  “Actually, we weren‘t able to find any information at all from these computers. Every one of BIOGENCORP‘s computers had a failsafe program installed into it. Any person who wasn‘t part of the company‘s staff who tried to access the files would see the hard drives erase itself before their very eyes. Nothing, not even the default programs, would be available. Unfortunately, that‘s what happened with our attempts. Every single computer‘s hard drive got erased. All their, data, all their logs, any information pertaining to the company, even their legitimate research is gone. It‘s almost as if the company never existed.”

  “I see. Thank you Mr. Rodgers. No more questions, your honor.”

  Maxwell Shannon started his counter-interrogation.

  “You claim that you found a computer known as the Mind Shifter in the building. Tell me, how did you even find out about it?”

  “One of BIOGENCORP‘s employees at the time stumbled upon the A.R.EX. file on the computers while she was defragmenting the hard disks on all computers.”

  “Yes, I am well aware of Daisy Carter. I am also aware that she wasn‘t on the roster for the A.R.EX. project. Why is it that she would make a copy of the file, when she wasn‘t even supposed to know what the project was? Not only that, but wasn’t what she did known as stealing classified information?”

  “To answer your first question, there is the human natural reflex for gossip. She could have heard about the project from any one of her colleagues. Second, yes, was she did could be called stealing. However, even if she stole classified information from her employers, she did not deserve to die because of that action.”

  “Nonetheless,” Shannon interrupted, “she was in possession of information that she wasn‘t supposed to have. No district attorney would be caught dead issuing a warrant based on stolen information.”

  “Maybe not, but if a convicted criminal gets illegally extradited, then dies in the custody of an entire company, then there is cause for a warrant to search the premises.”

  “There is still the matter of my client‘s involvement in the case.”

  “Your client was the C.E.O. of BIOGENCORP, taking care of every administrative decision for the company. He allowed the purchase of these custom-built computers. He let Patrick Sandlak control his company, he accepted untold amounts of money from an unknown source he thought he could trust. He lead his employees in the creation of a project involving mass murder, and he never questioned the reasons motivating his sponsors. He was relaxing in the Bahamas while his employee’s creation was sent to kill an innocent person for the wrong reason. He was enjoying ignorant bliss while one of his employees was being murdered by his own subordinate. This is not the behavior of an administrator of a company. This is why he is now facing charges.”

  * * *

  That evening,

  Janiece Ryder’s apartment

  There were many things bothering Arex as they ate supper that night. There was an anxious feeling that he couldn’t really describe. It was possible he felt a twinge of regret for Mark Reeves? Why was he being blamed for what Patrick Sandlak had done?

  “I don’t‘ understand, Janiece. Why is Reeves facing charges? He never did anything, did he?”

  “That‘s exactly why he‘s being prosecuted,” Janiece replied. “He‘s being prosecuted because he never did anything to stop Sandlak from creating you, sending you to kill me, turning himself into a reptile, murdering Daisy, and then trying to kill us all in a desperate attempt to avoid the dismantling of his project.”

  “But Sandlak did all these things. It‘s true, he did nothing to stop him, but neither did anybody else.”

  “You‘re right, and I‘m sorry about that. It‘s just that neither me, nor the F.B.I. had anything that could stop Sandlak the legal way. I‘ve told you before, when you‘re trying to built a legal case, you need proof.”

  “That much I understand, but that was in the past. Sandlak did awful things, but Reeves is the one paying the price. I don‘t think it‘s right.”

  “This is but one of the many negative sides of the American justice system. Sometimes, when corporate corruption is involved, the ignorant and the innocent also get caught up in a case they want no part of. Or they feel they‘ve been treated unfairly. This is one of those cases. There is also pressure from the governments, the media, the public, who would want someone to be prosecuted, even if it might not be the right person.”

  “I don‘t want to be the one responsible for putting him in jail, when, according to my human genome, I should also be in prison.”

  “Again, you‘re right, but unfortunately, there‘s nothing we can do. The public will react negatively no matter what the jury‘s verdict is.”

  It became clear to Arex that justice wasn’t a simple matter. He could only watch and see what would happen next.

  Chapter 6

  Friday, January 29th, 1999, 1:15 PM

  Albany County Courthouse

  There was a buzz of anticipation in the courtroom that day. The media wasn’t allowed in the courtroom, yet every reporter outside the courthouse knew that Arex was to testify at last. Janiece wanted to leave both him and Mike Scatchard until the end, seeing as they were her more powerful witnesses. Besides, she wanted to let Arex see how a testimony was conducted.

  Mike was the last piece of the F.B.I. puzzle. So far, everything was falling into place, and the defense couldn’t seem to make a dent into the prosecution’s case. It was, however, much too early to start thinking the case was won. There was only two witnesses left, and Janiece had to make sure they were as effective as she hoped.

  “Mr. Scatchard, you are also an agent working for the F.B.I., is that correct?”

  “Yes.”

  “And if my information is true, you have been frequently partnered with Mika Nomura ever since you began working there.”

  “That is true, ma‘am.”

  “We‘ve already heard the testimony from both your partner in the case and your superior. However, we don‘t quite have the whole picture painted for the audience and, especially, for the jury. May you please explain in detail what your role in this case was?”

  “Certainly. Mr. Rodgers, our superior had become suspicious after his initial findings of BIOGENCORP’s financial records. While Mrs. Nomura was working undercover, I discovered that some of their scientists had disappeared. All of them, all ten of them, disappeared on the same day, which was extremely suspicious. ”<
br />
  “When did these disappearances occur?”

  “In July.”

  “Are they relevant to this case?”

  “We‘ve interrogated several employees and found out that all of them were likely working on the A.R.EX. project. We speculate that an experiment related to the

  A.R.EX. project might have ended in a disaster that caused the death of these scientists. This incident was quickly covered up, so this is pure speculation, but it would explain these disappearances and their cause. There is also proof in the financial records. Immediately after the speculated incident, there were payments made to BIOGENCORP from their anonymous sponsors and orders were made just as quickly for new computer components.”

  “One would think that if their employees were killed or crippled in an incident, that the families of these people would be told what happened. Maybe the company would help pay for the funerals or the medical bills. Am I wrong to think that that‘s what anyone with an ounce of common sense and perhaps even a hint of a guilty conscience would do. Have they done that?”

  “No. The bodies of the scientists were found dumped across Highway 87. We suspect that their sponsors had a hand in that.”

  “I see. Thank you, Mr. Scatchard. No more questions, your Honor.”

  For once, Maxwell Shannon had no counter-interrogation for her witness. Janiece knew, by then, that the crowd was on her side, and possibly the jury, too. All she had to do now was let Arex tell his side of the story. She was confident at this point that she could pull off the win and show everyone she could be a great attorney.

  “Your Honor,” she called, “I would like to call Mr. Arex to the stand.”

  Just like that, the crowd was abuzz with whispers of anticipation. There was a strange feeling surrounding Arex as he stood up and proceeded to the stand. The officer with the bible stepped toward him, reaching the book out with his arm. Arex placed his right hand on the bible and put his left hand up as he saw every other witness do.

  “Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?”

  “I swear.”

  Janiece was certain that nobody who had ever taken the stand had such a captivated audience. Even judge Simmons couldn’t help but lean over and take a closer look at the talking reptile wearing clothes.

  “Mr. Arex, I would like to know how you came to be. We gave you the information we received during the investigation, but we would to go back, to when you first woke up. Forget about everything that happened from the time we met. I would like to know your perspective on things beforehand., so please, explain the events beginning on the early morning of October 29th.”

  “I first woke up on that morning and found myself in the middle of a bedroom. I didn‘t know why I was there, or how I got to be there. Patrick Sandlak was in the room with me. He asked me whether or not I knew anything about my whereabouts.”

  “Didn‘t he ask you whether or not you felt alright?”

  “No.”

  “And what happened afterwards?”

  “He told me that he had created me for the purpose of serving the American military. I was tested both physically and mentally. I found myself in an abandoned apartment in New York City on the afternoon of the 31st. I was told I was going to perform my first mission.”

  “You had just been created two days earlier. What purpose could it possibly serve to have you in New York City so soon after you had just woken up. Erickson Meyers has no military record, so you couldn‘t possibly have inherited any military knowledge from him. What on Earth could have made Dr. Sandlak think that you were combat or mission-ready?”

  “Oddly enough, that didn‘t cross my mind.”

  “Alright. Next question: What were you supposed to do. What was the “American military” expecting you to do?”

  “I was told that I had to…how can I say this…eliminate you.”

  Several people gasped at this new information. Whispers erupted all around the courtroom as the weight of Arex’s words fell on everyone in the room. There goes one bombshell, thought Janiece as Judge Simmons had to call for order as people in the audience started talking, and the voices had gotten louder. Janiece decided it was best to continue and let the masses know everything.

  “Why would Dr. Sandlak want me dead?”

  “All I knew at that point was from a file folder he gave me. It described you as a ruthless defense attorney with ties to organized crime. It also said that you weren‘t above killing in order to stop key witnesses from testifying against your clients.”

  Dr. Sandlak had obviously not thought about looking into my records as a lawyer, she wanted to say, but held her tongue.

  “Alright then, we can all see that I‘m still alive, so it seems pretty obvious that you didn‘t quite take what was in that folder to heart. What did make you decide not to kill me?”

  Janiece felt the audiences eyes bearing down on them. This was a crucial point in the trial. Arex was about to describe his motivations behind that life-changing decision that had brought them all here to this day.

  “I had arrived at the apartment with every intention of killing you. I really thought that that was what I needed to do, because it was necessary to stop you from committing criminal acts. As I thought more and more about it, however, it dawned on me that this “mission” I had been given was suspicious. Why would the military, which I knew was supposed to focus its efforts on going to war with hundreds of soldiers at a time against hundreds of other soldiers from somewhere else, focus any kind of resources on one person, no matter how bad that person was? I had the sneaking suspicion that there had to be an authoritarian organization that was better suited to deal with a rogue lawyer. As it turned out, my thoughts were correct, because we have the people like the officers of the New York City Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and they have the authority on these matters, not the military personnel.”

  “And that‘s what gave you your first suspicions. Is there anything else that gave you pause, and had you thinking: “maybe this isn‘t such a good idea”?”

  “A nightmare I had. Whenever I would imagine even hurting you, I‘d feel terrible. And then, there was strange dream I had where I had actually succeeded in killing you, but then there was this voice. I turned around, and I found myself in this void. There was a woman there and she held a comic book in her hand.”

  “Wait, did I heard this right? Did you say you saw a woman holding a comic book in her hands?”

  “As strange as it sounds, yes. She was really angry at me, telling me how I broke a promise, that I became a monster. I couldn’t understand, because I didn’t know who she was and why she was saying these things about me. Before I knew it, she disappeared, and I woke up.”

  “You‘ve never told me this before.”

  “That‘s because even I didn‘t believe it. I thought it was all my imagination, or my conscience trying to speak to me. I was able to piece everything together when I was told that I had Erickson Meyers’ DNA. It turns out that the comic book the woman was holding was his favorite, according to Jason that is.”

  Janiece started to regret having put Arex on the stand. He had just blurted out a story she’d never heard before. Not only that, but it gave Maxwell Shannon something to latch on to and twist into something that put his client in a better light. Shannon had already gotten up and stood in front of the stand. He had a bit of a smile on his face.

  “Tell me, Mr. Arex, you saw my client the day that the F.B.I. searched BIOGENCORP‘s building. Had you ever seen him before that day?”

  “No.”

  “And yet you single they clearly singled him out to you.”

  “Miss Nomura had pointed him out to me and asked me whether or not I recognized him. I told both her and Mr. Rodgers that I didn‘t. This is the truth, I had never seen him before. Until then, I thought Patrick Sandlak was in charge of the entire company.”

  “Do you think my client deserves to pay for Dr. Sandlak‘s
crimes.”

  “No, I don‘t. Not as far as I know.”

  “You don‘t seem too sure of yourself.”

  “I don‘t know Mr. Reeves. I can‘t judge him only based on what I‘ve heard of him.”

  “Nice sentiment. That‘s the way everything should be. And I suppose it would be too much too ask of you to tell me what you think of him.”

  “Yes.”

  Then, Janiece watched as the counter-interrogation took a strange turn.

  “And what about you? What about your situation as a person?”

  “I beg your pardon?”

  “What I mean is this: we all known you currently live with miss Ryder and Jason Meyers. Using this logic, would it be wrong for anybody to assume that you have a connection with these people, and subsequently Erikson Meyers?”

  “Yes, I have a connection with miss Ryder. As for Jason, he‘s a good friend.”

  “Do you consider him only a friend?”

  “Yes. Why are you asking this?”

  “It seems strange that you would consider someone who is essentially your flesh and blood “only a friend”. Technically, you did help give birth to him.”

  “But it wasn‘t me, it was Rick Meyers. He was Jason‘s father. I‘m not.”

  “I can‘t believe that you would say this right in front of him. Who wouldn‘t want to claim fatherhood to such a fine young boy?”

  “Who said that I didn‘t want to? What if I did claim I was his father? You would be here telling me that I wasn‘t, that I was trying to pretend to be someone I‘m not.”

  “And yet you would think that Jason would be emotionally distressed at the thought of living with someone who used to be his father, and who doesn‘t consider himself to be that person.”

  “You can‘t be serious. Jason‘s emotions are his business. Not mine, not yours, his. If he is emotionally distressed, it‘s not your job to emphasize it. You can‘t take advantage of a child‘s feelings, not matter what they are.”