Thirty Four Minutes DEAD

by Kaye, Steve Hammond

  "How old, Dave?”

  "Seven years, man - seven fucking years old!”

  "Cause of death?”

  "Strangulation. At least that's what Mr Nechro reckons but there's a big problem here, Greg. The lad was only partially sighted and I guess the HV's are going to suffer. Leah's memory-camera was a bit patchy to say the least but now we've got one that's going to be well and truly fucked up!”

  "Oh Christ. Let's go and see Mason and get all the cause of death details, David. If he gets all ghoulish with the description this time, you may have to hold me back mate, because you're right, this is our room 101 all right!”

  Mason preserved a respectful decorum when he detailed the nature of the child’s death. If he had become theatrically intense when he described Leah's death, his chosen method on this occasion favoured the reserved dignity that the MC team had hoped for.

  Tavini had been correct with regard to Mason's initial diagnosis concerning the child's death, and the latter spent a long time reviewing the likely effect that partial sight could have on the exploration. Vain directed a question to Mason.

  "This lad looks well cared for, Mr Mason. Our first six victims were either adults or individuals who were isolated from their immediate families and so project staff could intercept the corpses quite easily. Surely we can't hold this child for long. I mean, there's going to be a community up in arms over the murder of a seven year old, isn't there?”

  "Yes Mr Vain, that would normally be the case, but Christopher went to a special school in Harrow - a school providing care and education for partially sighted children. His parents both work in Namibia and whilst they have now been informed of the child's death, we have been given the transit time Mr Vain. Both parents will be back in this country in thirty-six hours and our work can take place long before this deadline. We will be able to have the case wrapped when we hand the lad back to regular Law enforcement officers tomorrow morning".

  Unfortunately Mason was tempting fate on this occasion. Up until this point the MC project explorations had always delivered a guilty party. The memory-camera work had consistently extrapolated images and sounds, which enabled convictions with ease. When the guilty were handed over to non-enlightened conventional security staff, the project 'plants' within these areas played the DNA card and thus the project's blanket security was maintained. The immediacy surrounding MC explorations built a collective confidence and MC project staff had thus become almost blasé with regard to the apparent infallibility surrounding their work. Mason had warned the team that the applicable twenty percent sight factor would disrupt the usual quality surrounding visual flow, but even he couldn't have anticipated the HV's that ensued.

  Christopher's memory-camera had spoken a visual language that only he could understand - a beautiful language that was akin to the 'northern lights' without any discernible images. The HVs were almost ambient, with blue and purple hues entwining over a base colour of silver. Until the actual exploration, Tavini had maintained that sound would assist the team if the visuals were unhelpful, but the team were to be thwarted here as well because the victim had abridged his own sound - a sound to echo the visuals that were on the screen. Christopher gave the MC team nothing to build a profile of his murderer. How he encoded his visual retention could have been linked to his partial sight, but his acoustic composition was beyond comprehension. The sounds were slightly reminiscent of the sonar calling made by whales although nothing could be linked to indicate pain or fear. As the screen eventually returned to blackness the MC team had realised that Christopher had called the shots with regard to the screening. He had retreated into his own visual world in the build up to his murder, and his ability to control both of his senses made the team feel humble in comparison. When the MC project was eventually revealed to a global audience, Christopher would have a lot to say with regard to psychological and medical practice.

  His MC storage would pioneer subsequent research and in that respect, he would not die. Christopher's murder would have to be solved by conventional investigation methods and this factor served as a reminder to the team - that their work was brilliant and leading edge in it's nature but it did have a fallibility to it. As Vain's team reviewed the exploration, Mishimo Ko-Chai seemed almost pleased by what had been witnessed - what could not be explained.

  "Well my boss-man and David, I guess this young lad has taught us a thing or two! We assumed that sound was just automatically linked through the same environment, as a back up to the dominant visual register. We were wrong, my friends - we were correct up until now - yes, but Christopher has added a new dimension to our explorations. This child 'coloured' over his partial sight capabilities blocking out what he didn't want to confront, and what's more he uses sound in the same fashion! He was found in a park in North London and yet what do we get - whale sounds or something similar! Don't you see how significant our findings are here - a lad with severe sight problems is capable of controlling laser type images to block out what he doesn't want to see, and in addition to that he changes sound to probably block out what he doesn't want to hear! Christopher may have had some visual disability but his sensory capabilities were far more advanced than those with A1 sight. This lad was a real find, a prodigy. Surely his capabilities come from a higher source. I'm sad the child's dead but I feel enlightened, rejuvenated even refreshed!”

  Tavini proceeded to play down Ko - Chai's excited exclamations.

  "I'm pleased to hear of your spiritual experience Mishimo, but we can't really gloss over failure can we? I mean we fucking lost here, guys. This lad gave us a show for sure - a real trip, but the arrest squad are going to be just a bit hard pushed to make any sense of what we saw. Who are they going to look for here - a bunch of fucking killer-whales?"

  Ko-Chai was angered by Tavini's narrow-minded approach and he appealed to Vain to validate the scientific relevance of what they had witnessed.

  "You tell him, Gregory. Our work involves a wide spectrum of scientific research doesn't it?”

  "Well fellas, you know I don't usually like to sit on the fence, but this time I've got to. Yes Mishimo, our project does embrace scientific areas that transcend our usual MC findings and yes, Christopher illuminated some far-reaching differences with regard to the type of visual storage we've uncovered so far. However, like Dave I feel a bit disappointed with regard to the initial use we can make of what we saw and heard. You see, part of the success surrounding the MC project involves the pace at which arrests can unfold. The conventional forensic DNA gang are going to solve this one. Yeah Dave, we lost on that count".

  "Short term thinking for you, Gregory. I am surprised. I trust that a disabled victim has the same rights to a quick MC service as an able bodied victim?”

  " Of course they do Mishimo, but you're going a bit over the top here, my friend! We've got Mr Denison assessing our every move, noting down our successes with a keen eye. He's a man who prefers to deal with clear results and right now with the clock governing our every move, we are encouraged to think like him. When we break our MC findings to a global audience, we are going to need as many direct hits as possible. Christopher's MC show could have Achilles heels here. His images don't represent visuals we are familiar with and some quarters could imply they are manufactured. To a level Christopher's visuals could be self defeating to a wider audience. At a later date we could utilise them but initially they would just add a greyness to our achievements if we accessed them along with our clear cut successes".

  "Look Mishimo man - the world's going to really kick most of our findings but today's HVs could fuck things up quite a bit you know!”

  "Your language seems to have deteriorated of late David, quite limited in its expletive reliance".

  "Stop, my heart bleeds, man."

  Tavini and Ko-Chai continued to verbally spar with each other. The line between their differing viewpoints and direct insult was occasionally blurred, and Vain felt that this occasion marked the clearest instance of a major divis
ion between the two. The MC project itself was the factor which kept Tavini's rampant ego in check and it also stopped Ko-Chai reacting to the excesses prevalent in the taunts of the American.

  Vain had felt more affinity with Tavini's line of argument on this occasion, but he was worried about the thin ice that underpinned communication between the two.

  The MC team had another successful exploration before departing for Chicago, and whilst this ensured that the project staff travelled on a winning streak, Ko-Chai seemed distant, dwelling in his own private world.

  Vain hoped that Chicago would re-strengthen the bonding between his team although the city of gangster culture found them housed in one of the most uncomfortable Designations - an ill-lit structure which was underground once again but without any aesthetic sections this time. Before the MC project took control of Designation J, it had housed some of Chicago's criminally insane, and this factor seemed to echo the overall feel of the venue. The memory camera work carried out in London had been very auspicious, with the exception of the blank drawn concerning Christopher's HV delivery. Chicago subsequently had quite a hard act to follow with regard to successful MC completions.

  SIX

  The ‘windy city’ would provide the project base for the next five weeks and the MC team awaited their incarceration in Designation J. For the initial two days all project staff would enjoy a rest period a hundred miles north of Chicago in a country retreat owned by the project. This relaxation had a two-fold purpose. Initially it was included so that all the project members who had partaken in the London based explorations could unwind in the grounds of the said venue. A further reason concerned the mental preparation that was needed with regard to the second curfew that would be forthcoming. Curfews in outside Designations, that offered the chance to walk around the parameters of the physical structure housing the MC project, enabled team members to temporarily escape the claustrophobic hold prevalent in the underground venues. Two underground placements so close together marked the longest period of subterranean curfew that the project staff would have collectively experienced. This factor fully tested the resolve of the team, and morale would have to remain of an optimum level in order to preserve the good working relations synonymous with the various sections undertaking MC operations.

  Mishimo Ko-Chai had found the rest period quite useful as his mind was still recalling the scientific complexities witnessed by the team in Christopher's exploration. Indeed he had found it difficult to concentrate on other issues and he still harboured some resentment toward Tavini for the American's dismissive polemic.

  Ko-Chai took advantage of the pleasant gardens that were a highlight of the team's rural retreat and when he was walking through the grounds on the second day, he encountered Levene. He had been trying to organise this type of encounter for some time but he had sensed that this project member preferred to bear him at a distance. Levene spoke first.

  "Mr Ko-Chai, are you enjoying the calm before the storm?”

  "Very much so, Ms Levene. It gives me time to think - to consolidate. We are racing ahead so quickly that we seem to pass by anything that isn't dealing in the same visual language as the MC demonstrations, which lead directly to quick-fire arrests. I am a scientist, Ms Levene and want to look at the fuller parameters of our research".

  "You're still upset by our decision to stall research into Christopher's visual condition aren't you, Mr Ko-Chai?”

  "Yes".

  "Whilst I share some of your concern, I feel impelled to agree with the decision Leif made - to proceed onward in our hunt for more corpses that help stockpile our success ratio. I agree that our work foundered with regard to an individual with a twenty percent sight factor but what the hell could anyone expect? We can't live in the past Mishimo, we've got to work for the many, not get held up by the few!”

  "Your point seems to be the prevailing position doesn't it, Ms Levene? I understand that you are likely to follow that thinking. As the highest ranking female on the MC team your hands are tied to an extent, but are you as project loyal in other areas or does your libido impede your loyalty?”

  "Very direct, Mr Ko-Chai. Can you elaborate on your libido reference or must I draw my own conclusions? Either way, the remark seems right over the line in terms of the decency expected from MC team members. Can you please be more explicit with regard to your intended meaning?”

  "Gladly, Ms Levene. I feel that your attraction for Gregory has become so overt that some project staff have started to speculate on your relationship, building their own conclusions in the process. It is most important that you don't distract Mr Vain's concentration, as he is still the linchpin on which our successes hang. He is also married Ms Levene - married!”

  "You can stuff your moral Puritanism up your Korean arse, Mr Ko-Chai. Greg and I have a professional relationship and your inferences are ludicrous! Old men often confuse social niceties with foreplay don't they, Mr Ko-Chai - it's their way of still getting it up! Keep out of things which don't concern you, Mishimo."

  Although Ko-Chai was close to the mark with regard to the truth, he had lost the ensuing verbal battle with Levene. As Levene walked away, he was left to muse over his last few days. He felt strongly that Levene was making sexual overtures to Vain and he would still like to widen the project's research scope, but he had crossed swords with some powerful team members in the process of making his feelings known. He decided that a low profile was the favoured course of action for the next few days. The MC team was transported to Designation J later that evening. Mr Fray undertook the welcome speech to project staff and he revealed that seven corpses had already been received earlier that evening after a gang fight disturbance. The scale of the Chicago research was going to up the quantity considerably with regard to the flow of suitable research material, and project members would be able to select a wide range of corpses to carry out explorations upon. Age and gender would be the two main criteria that determined selection. Mason and Vain's team would be in action for the majority of the five week haul, and whilst all four of the individuals in question were daunted by the workload awaiting them, they also realised that this intensive period would be the best possible type of training for their respective understudies. After Chicago two front line teams would be in readiness to undertake the explorations and this factor would make the workload more palatable. The initial exploration was to be implemented at 03.00 the following morning, and Denison had decided to let Vain's team select the corpse that they would work upon. Selection would take place at midnight and Mason would brief Vain's team about the relevant causes of death. It was envisaged that the body count would rise quite dramatically in the hours leading up to the midnight selection, and thus Vain's team were expecting images, which would be macabre on occasions.

  In the period leading up to the selection, Vain's team walked through Designation J and assessed its potential as far as exploration space was concerned. They also looked at the relaxation areas, hoping to find therapeutic inclusions similar to the last Designation they had been based in. The team were disappointed with regard to both areas.

  Designation J bore the hallmarks of the depressed South Side area in which it was situated. It was an underground structure that echoed the vulgarity of the prefab housing projects above it. This Designation was ill lit, dirty and spatially cramped. A concrete fixation meant that the decor was sparse and 60s minimalist. In effect this structure was the kitsch of the Designations used by the MC team. Tavini encapsulated the team's feelings with regard to their new base.

  "What a fucking hellhole to end up in, guys! I apologise that my country constructed shit like this".

  The team undertook some MC vault-extension research after they had viewed the Designation, and then they retired to their respective sleeping quarters to rest before the midnight liaison with Mason.

  Mason was waiting outside the area that housed the corpses. He looked rather ominous, dressed in black and appearing more gaunt than usual. He spoke with his usual
succinct precision.

  "Good evening gentlemen, we've had some more deliveries - in fact Chicago's spoiled you! She doesn't usually throw up nineteen corpses in less than twenty four hours, but the glorious South Side gang territories and a couple of RTA's have helped boost the overall body-count to a figure way beyond the average quota on this occasion. It isn't clear yet whether any of the RTA’s involved murder but our salvage squads secured them just in case. I'm afraid that one of the RTA victims won't be able to help you at all - an eighteen-wheeler has squashed his head to pulp. Unfortunately one side of wheels literally rolled over his body from nipple height upwards, so you can imagine what he looks like. The salvage squad that brought him in were on their first run, and as you know we don't send them out primed with corpse criteria until they have proved they have the right calibre for our work. Every squad has sent in some duds and only three crews know any specifics pertaining to our MC project. MC specifics are closely guarded and only released to the selected few at this moment in time. Until our Global revelations, the salvage squads will always be 'fringe' project members and this will be secured by their ignorance.

  “A couple of the gang-fight victims look a bit doubtful as well. One has received two headshots from an Uzi and the other received a direct headshot from a Magnum type pistol - thus two fifths of his head are absent! I thought I would give you the background to what you are going to see, because you probably wouldn't have anticipated the number of corpses. The way the bodies are collectively laid out makes the room look like a scene from a war film. The RTA victim is particularly graphic, Mr Ko-Chai - it might be wise for you to look away when you pass his bed. Okay gentlemen, shall we enter?"