by Wid Bastian
The Nano Experiment: Entering Darkness
By Wid Bastian and Ivan Castillo
© Copyright 2015 Ivan Castillo
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage retrieval system, without the permission, in writing, of the author.
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
The Horror of the New World
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty One
Chapter Twenty Two
Chapter Twenty Three
Chapter Twenty Four
Chapter Twenty Five
Chapter Twenty Six
Chapter Twenty Seven
Chapter Twenty Eight
Chapter Twenty Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty One
Chapter Thirty Two
Chapter Thirty Three
Chapter Thirty Four
Chapter Thirty Five
Author(s) Bio
Social Media
Prologue
It’s a miracle there is anyone left.
In 2136, the first bomb was dropped. It has been over a decade since then and the final remnants of civilization have been decimated several times over. Once magnificent cities such as Washington D.C, London, Moscow and Buenos Aires are nothing but ruins; home only to raggedy skeletons living on the edge of extinction. Humanity has turned the clock back on itself a thousand years. Diseases once eradicated, like smallpox and bubonic plague, are running up the death toll as much as the war itself. Basic infrastructure – sewers, electric power, roads, schools, commercial enterprise – has been laid to waste.
Two Super States rule the remains of this ruined world with an iron fist, the Western Alliance and the Eastern Bloc - Japan, North and South America and Western Europe versus Eastern Europe, China, and India. The fighting began over scarce natural resources like oil, arable land, precious metals and fresh water, but over the years reason gave way to hate and the initial cause of the conflict ceased to be important. Man’s brutal, savage nature triumphed over his better qualities. Bedrock societal structures that supported civilization for millennia were discarded in an orgy of fear, hate, and wanton violence.
Massive war machines on each side are fed by a constant stream of new weapons produced from factories buried deep beneath the surface of the planet. Weapons once considered nothing more than fiction are being produced by the tens of thousands. Giant killing machines that look like moving mountains lay waste to anything or anyone who opposes them. Each side possesses a plentiful arsenal of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, used only as a display of power. They mutually restrain themselves from deploying these weapons under the absurd illusion that the victor will be able to gain ground that could be used to further their aims once the war is over.
In the midst of this devastation, sight of what’s truly important eludes mankind. The idea of making peace is non-existent, an alien concept found only in history books. Both governments assert their dominance with a purely military mindset. Democratic elections are considered pointless and archaic. Mankind is suspended in purgatory, nothing changes.
A few million people continue to live well, indeed to thrive, under these medieval like conditions. Small, heavily fortified enclaves protect the elite leaders of both East and West, as well as their cadre of industrialists and soldiers. A tacit agreement was reached years ago that both sides adhere to above all else – leave the elites alone. Each side publicly denies this, but everyone knows it’s true. The vast majority of people are left to fend for themselves in a wasteland that was once a thriving planet. They don’t know who they should hate more, their own government or the “enemy”.
Scientific advancement continues in the area of weapons development. While things like grocery stores and toilets are just a memory for all but a few, better and more destructive weapons are being produced and brought to the battlefield on a constant basis. When a weapon system shows promise – a missile system that can more accurately target super stealthy aircraft, an improved robot soldier capable of integrating more human like intelligence into its programming, personal body armor that can withstand weapons fire designed to destroy armored vehicles – inevitably the other side obtains the technology before it can be effectively exploited, further cementing the elite’s hold on power.
But all of this changed in 2150.
Personal Journal – General Benjamin Alandreian, Attached to Special Ops, Forged Bay, Antarctica, June 10, 2150
Our scientists claim to have developed something truly remarkable - a way to actually win the war, whatever that might look like in the end.
The Western Alliance sent word to even their furthest outpost – the best of the best are needed for an experimental new weapons program. Men and women in all branches of the service who have spent years honing their killing skills to a fine edge competed for a mere fifteen slots. It is understood that all of the selected soldiers will become something close to invincible by permitting our scientists to improve their physical and mental functioning. No one is sure exactly what that means, but the soldiers believe in it wholeheartedly. I want to believe it. I need to believe this endless slaughter will be over, that we might indeed return to life without war. The soldiers want to become something new, something better, perhaps something beyond human. I have agreed to be part of this experiment. My relative youth and weapons skills – those were the factors that turned the tide for my candidacy, or so I believe.
I have been told the experiment involves nanotechnology. Nanotechnology has been around for over a hundred years. It has been used successfully to produce better products and machines, especially smarter computers and robots. But until now scientists have been unable to do what has been dreamed of for more than a century – combine nanotechnology with human DNA, using the specificity of Watson-Crick base pairing to construct a new hybrid nanomite-human DNA structure. What will that look like? What will I look like? Reassurances from my superiors somehow do not ease my worries for those under my command.
I have received a confidential briefing I am not allowed to share with any of the other soldiers. For the past five years, Western scientists at Forged Bay in Antarctica have been combining nanomites with various types of animal DNA. They began with lower forms of mammals and the results were extraordinary – they created rats that solved complex mazes at lightning speed; dogs who ran faster, jumped farther and heard better; chimpanzees capable of bending steel bars and solving simple math equations. While over half the animals in these experiments died shortly after the nanomite implants, the scientists learned over time how to solve DNA integration problems for each species. Less of the subjects died, but there were complications.
Not all, but more than a few of the test subjects showed serious increases in aggressive behavior. Some of the dogs that survived attempted to kill anything and everything put in front of them – man or beast. In the most harrowing of such incidents, two chimps got loose in the lab and made it to the human living quarters. They killed ten staff members bef
ore the soldiers at Forged Bay could put them down after an intense fire fight. The chimps had learned how to use weapons and were shooting back at the Marines.
A year ago the human trials began. Only prisoners were used at first, and with good reason – survival rate for the first twenty subjects was exactly zero. The next twenty unlucky victims ended up looking like creatures from The Island of Dr. Moreau and then died, but they did live a few weeks, on average. Then the scientists eventually solved the human DNA integration problems.
Ten more prisoners were selected for the final human trials. Each survived, that is until they were euthanized and dissected. Before the government dared risk its elite soldiers on this new nano-DNA fusion technology they wanted to be sure the experiment would be a success.
The briefing ended with the statement, “Nanomite implant and human DNA integration techniques have been optimized. Authorization was given to begin implants in the first fifteen soldiers.” The report was signed by the second in command of the combined armed forces of the West.
I will do my duty, as always. If this is truly an opportunity to end this war then sacrificing my body is a small price to pay. The men and women under my command feel exactly the same.
As General Alandreian suspected, there were still many unknowns. Would the new nanomite-human hybrids be able to reproduce? Most scientists argued no, it would not be possible. Others said things like, “Life finds a way to make more life”. Would all of the new Supersoldiers, as the scientists were calling them, be able to be controlled? What if they turned vicious and maniacal? Would their life spans be shortened, or perhaps extended? How long would it take the nanomite genes to express themselves fully?
The risks were deemed acceptable given the potential rewards. The Western elite envisioned an army of Supersoldiers literally wiping out entire divisions of Eastern Bloc troops. Once the Eastern Bloc was defeated, the Supersoldiers could be utilized as policemen and pacifiers, keeping the masses at bay and preserving the power status quo.
Of the fifteen men and women selected to become the vanguard of a new type of soldier, indeed a brand new creation, only General Alandreian had any knowledge concerning the history of the experiment. The rest were told it was “perfected technology” and they would “surely become better, faster, stronger and smarter”.
They were told they would become the greatest heroes of the Alliance and that a grateful people would praise their names for generations to come.
They were told little about the risks. They were told nothing about the unknowns.
They were not told they might become an abomination.
Chapter One
“I heard all about Berlin,” Sergeant Blake Kano said with a devilish grin on his face. “You and a platoon dropped in from thirty thousand feet in stealth suits and took out a company of Eastern shock troops in the middle of the night. Still haven’t figured out how you got past the sensors, stealth suits or not.”
“Electronic countermeasures,” Cassia answered, tilting her head back to gulp down the last shot of an energy drink. “Once we switched on the jammers we were invisible. They weren’t expecting company. As soon as we burst in it was like shooting fish in a barrel. The hovercraft was right where intel said it would be so we flew to Paris, transmitting the correct frequency ranges to avoid friendly fire.”
“When you grow up maybe you can join the Marines,” Lieutenant Carter chimed in sarcastically. “Cassia and I would love to teach you how to be a real soldier.”
“You need to keep your dog on a leash,” Kano scowled giving Cassia a sharp look while pointing at Carter. “Mutts like that are sent to the kennel and put down.”
Carter rose and tossed back his chair. Kano smiled and motioned for his friends to stay seated.
“Will you two toddlers knock it off,” Cassia said, laughing. “Why do men always think they have to prove something? None of us would be here if we weren’t the best. Relax, Carter. We have other things to worry about.”
“Very true,” General Alandreian said as he walked into the room unannounced. The solid steel actuated door closed noisily behind him. Reflexively all of the soldiers stood and saluted him. “At ease, people. Especially you two,” he added, looking right at Carter and Kano. His raspy voice carried the weight of experience.
“When do we start, sir?” Cassia asked.
“Tomorrow morning. Has everyone here read the mission briefing?” Alandreian asked.
Fourteen heads all gave confirming nods.
“This is your last opportunity to opt out. There is no shame in declining this assignment. Personally I think we’re all insane for letting these eggheads fill us up with their damn nanomites. I’m not going to lie – I’ve had second thoughts about all of this.”
“Really, sir?” Cassia said.
“We are entering uncharted territory. Yes, it’s been tested and the procedure optimized, as far as it’s been possible to do so. But these white coats are going to inject us all with tiny machines. If that does not give each and every one of you pause then you are not paying attention.”
“I signed up to become Superman,” Captain Chris Mason said. “Nothing less will do.”
“Gung ho Joe,” Commander Halverson said, “anything for the Alliance. You might as well let them turn you into a robot.”
“You’re having second thoughts, Commander?” Alandreian asked.
“Been having second, third and fourth thoughts ever since I was asked to donate my body to the Einsteins,” Halverson answered.
“Sir, if there is something else you want to tell us, beyond the mission briefing, we would all appreciate listening to what you have to say,” Cassia said.
“Alright then.” Alandreian sat down at one of the steel tables in the briefing room. While there were more comfortable quarters available at Forged Bay, the soldiers wanted to be housed in the barracks. He lit a cigar. Kano handed him a cup of coffee. The soldiers all sat down too, near enough to hear their General clearly.
“This facility is in Antarctica for a reason. These folks are playing with fire down here and they are scared to death they might get burned. This nanomite technology… it’s beyond leading edge. The little machines are going to grab on to our DNA and turn into something… they are going to change us.”
“I have a question,” Gordon Lancet asked.
“Colonel?” Alandreian said.
“Is this procedure reversible? If they screw up, can they pull the nano things out of us and make us like we were?”
“No.”
“What can they do if things go wrong? I mean can they …”
“Cassia, all I know is they can adjust the nanomites. They can add more, inject us with new ones to gobble up some of the old ones, tweak the process in other words, but we are not talking about a process that has been perfected over years. This is all cutting edge.”
“How will we change exactly? The briefing says we will be enhanced. If I have a vote, please ‘enhance’ my junk. Always wanted to be a ten inch man.”
“Kano, you’re an idiot,” Mason offered.
“We will all change. That’s why every one of us is single, widowed or divorced. One thing they are not sure of is what our sexual functioning will be like or if we will even be able to father or mother children –.”
“Hear that Kano? You can forget about being a daddy. The world’s a better place for that, trust me,” Carter said, itching for a fight.
“Why don’t you and I hit the sparring ring later, Lieutenant? I think you need an attitude adjustment,” Kano said, glaring at Carter.
“You got it ass –.”
“That’s enough,” the General said. “What is it with you two? All this macho posturing is pointless. Don’t you get it? Starting tomorrow all of us are doing something no one has done before. I value my life. I’m willing to sacrifice it for the Alliance or I would not be a soldier, but I am not willing to throw it away, not for anyone.”
“The briefing said that this has been
done before, sir. There were test subjects, human test subjects,” Cassia offered.
“True. The last ten showed no adverse reactions, well, beyond the expected range. I am convinced that they know how to get the tiny machines to combine with our DNA without killing us.”
“That’ll make me sleep better tonight,” Halverson added.
“Where are those ten people now?” Captain Mason asked. “Can we talk to them?”
Alandreian sipped his coffee. He was about to cross the line, something he almost never did. He took his orders and his oath seriously. But this was different. What the Alliance was asking him and these soldiers to do went beyond, far beyond, any rational definition of “doing one’s duty”.
“They’re all dead, Captain Mason,” he said sternly, the same way he’d said everything else. The bright white lights behind Alandreian created heavy shadows on the general’s face.
“What the hell? We were told that –.”
“Kano, all of you, listen to me. This info is classified, but you need to know. My ass is on the chopping block if this gets out so –.”
