The Nano Experiment

by Wid Bastian

  “Not a word to anyone, sir. You can trust us,” Cassia said, speaking for the group. All heads nodded in agreement.

  “They euthanized all ten test subjects and dissected them. Every millimeter of their bodies was analyzed. They wanted to be sure, damn sure, that this process works and is stable.”

  “Poor bastards,” Halverson exclaimed. “Were they …”

  “No, they were not soldiers. They were capital prisoners already sentenced to death for horrible crimes. Because of who they were - psychopaths, sociopaths, criminals, well… in many of them those qualities were enhanced.”

  “They created psycho killers who could leap tall buildings in a single bound?” Mason asked.

  “Something like that,” Alandreian confirmed.

  “Will that happen to us, sir? I mean if something goes wrong and we become the wrong type of –.”

  “Cassia, they will not hesitate to terminate any one of us if they think that we… if the process is not proceeding nominally.”

  “Okay, General. I get it. You are not telling me anything I didn’t already assume. But let’s talk about the other side of the equation, why we’re all here,” Lancet said.

  “Alright, Colonel. The nanomites are designed to merge with our DNA. Whatever we do well, we will not only do better, but phenomenally better. You’re a pilot, yes?”

  “Yes sir.”

  “Even with the latest flight suits you can only take so much G force before you pass out. Your reaction times are super quick, but you have reached the upper limit of your abilities.”

  “True.”

  “After this process those barriers will become a thing of the past. You will be able to outfly and out maneuver anything in the sky. You will be quicker and smarter than the best drones. The Alliance will have to design new aircraft just for you. In fact, that process has already begun.”

  “Sir, do you really think this will end the war? I mean there are only a few of us, I just –.”

  “Cassia, we are the first. They plan to create whole armies of enhanced soldiers. That will end the war if things go as planned. That’s why I’m still here. This war has to end. How much longer can we go on fighting? If by doing this we can truly help to stop this slaughter then I’m all in.”

  Everyone present murmured in agreement. No one wanted out.

  “I guess I don’t have to be Superman,” Captain Mason said. “I’ll settle for Supersoldier.”

  “You’ll get your chance, Captain. I suggest, no, I order all of you to stand down, take it easy and get as much rest as possible. No bloody sparring! Light workouts only and everyone in the rack by 2100 hours. Am I clear?”

  Fourteen soldiers all shouted “Sir, yes sir!” in unison. They rose when their General did and remained at attention until the door closed behind Alandreian.

  “What do you think?” Lieutenant Carter asked Cassia. They had served together for over five years and trusted each other implicitly.

  “I think I need to call my son,” Cassia replied. “And you need to stay away from Sergeant Kano.”

  Chapter Two

  The sound of the door buzzer roused Alandreian from his daze. He had been up for over an hour, but the warm, mint tea had done its job and he was sleepy again.

  “Come,” the General said after he punched the com button.

  “Sorry to bother you, sir. I suspected you might be up,” Cassia said as she walked in and leaned against the wall across from the General’s small desk.

  “How much shut eye did you get Major?”

  “Four hours. That’s the best I could do without a sleep aide and I hate those damn pills. Drugs and I don’t mix very well.”

  “Yeah, I understand completely. How is Ferris?”

  “He misses me and his father. Tomorrow will be exactly three years since Rolf was killed at sea.”

  “Rolf was my best friend; I remember it like it was yesterday.” The General pinched the brow of his nose with two fingers as if the memories were too much to bear. He sat there like that for a few seconds before continuing. “Cassia, you don’t have to do this. Yes, Ferris will be cared for by your family, they will be protected by the government and God knows he will want for nothing, but still -.”

  “An hour ago I convinced myself that the only right thing to do was to come in here and tell you I was opting out, sir. Then I went down to the gym and did a little running and lifting, you know, to clear my mind.”

  Alandreian didn’t say a word. He just looked at Cassia, differently from the way he would look at any other of his soldiers; he admired her as a proud father would look at his daughter. He marveled at her beauty. Cassia was six feet tall and in perfect physical condition. Somehow she was still very shapely despite her muscular physique. Her long, blonde hair was usually neatly knitted into a single long braid and wrapped around her head, but now it was free and flowing over her shoulders, cascading down to the small of her back. Her skin tight workout suit left little to the imagination, but he never let his thoughts go there. Not with Cassia.

  “What changed over the past hour?” he asked, softening his voice.

  “I have to try. This war has to end. Ferris wants to be just like Rolf and I, a soldier. He wants to fight, to be a hero. I know that I’ve filled his head with too many stories of honor and glory. I should be home with him, retired, accepting a position as an instructor or –.”

  “You cannot win the war by yourself, Cassia. Granted you seem to be trying to do so, but it takes more than one soldier to defeat an Empire.”

  “Why are we fighting, General? What’s this war really about?”

  “Survival. Nothing more, nothing less.”

  “I don’t care about people in Russia, China, or India. Every Eastern soldier I’ve killed bleeds red, just like you and me. All I want is to live the rest of my days with my son in peace. I just don’t understand why we have to continue fighting this senseless war.”

  “Because we are, Cassia. The only way all of this will stop is when one side wins. That’s why I’m here and I know that’s why you’re here too.”

  “You’re right, I need to do this. There will be no end to the madness – it will swallow Ferris and his children and his children’s children. Just …”

  “Cassia?”

  “Assure me that this is for real, that these geniuses know what the hell they are doing. I’ll do it, they can have my body, just convince me this is going to work.”

  Alandreian rose from his chair and stretched. His quarters were by no means posh but he had padded seats, a queen size bed that looked like he never slept in it, and a huge window – usually closed - overlooking the vast white expanse of the East Antarctica interior.

  “I think the sun is up, so you may need these. I want you to see something,” the General said, handing Cassia a pair of sunglasses. Then he pressed a sequence of numbers on a wall-mounted keypad next to the window. The film covering the windows cleared to expose the view.

  Bright light invaded the room like a bomb blast. Even with the eyewear the blazing sunshine was overwhelming. The light reflected off the snow like a mirror. It took both of them a minute to adjust and be able to scan the horizon without discomfort.

  Alandreian stared out over the landscape allowing Cassia time to process the vision in front of her before speaking again. “We are hundreds of miles away from any other facility. Airspace around this compound is protected by the latest laser defense system. This complex of buildings – the labs, the quarters, offices, all of it – was as expensive to build as the new Lunar Outpost. Unprotected, a human being dressed in winter gear might last a day or so out there, but no more. Buried in the ice are outposts spaced every five hundred meters, each staffed with four man teams. They monitor movements every minute of every day. Two subs are on permanent station in the bay.”

  “It’s beautiful,” Cassia said. Her voice was soft. “Harsh, unforgiving, yet incredibly pristine. Completely unspoiled by war.”

  “Not yet anyway,” Ala
ndreian mused. “What I am trying to emphasize is that all this protection is essentially for us. Well, for the damn nanomites, but soon we will be one with them. This should tell you all you need to know about the importance the government has placed on this project. They did not build all of this to fail, Cassia. I’m convinced they are truly after victory now.”

  “What will we become?” Cassia asked, almost meekly still fixated on the vast white expanse in front of her.

  “I don’t know exactly. Physically we will change, test subjects one through twenty did. But some changed more than others. It does work though, Cassia. You will be able to do things that defy belief.”

  “Do you remember when I was just a cadet, and you had to pull me off that fool from… he was Jamaican or something.”

  “I do. You would have killed him if I hadn’t stopped you. You had not yet learned to control your aggression.”

  “It’s still in me, you know; the aggression. I control it, but I’m worried… I don’t want the rage to consume me, sir. I know what love is now, thanks to Rolf and Ferris and that’s what I’m fighting for, the love I feel for them. I guess… well… Screw it. I’m afraid.”

  “You, afraid?” he said jokingly. “Your secret is safe with me, Cassia; all of your secrets. You mean more to me... you know how I feel about you. We’re family.”

  “Are we going to die, General? Tell me now, so I can …”

  “Do you think I would let you throw your life away? Your mission is to survive, so survive you will. In fifteen years, you’ve never met an enemy you could not outthink, outfight or outmaneuver. This assignment is no different in that respect.”

  “Usually that works, General. Pumping me up, treating me like a warrior, but not this morning. I need my friend, not a superior officer.”

  General Alandreian pulled two chairs over in front of the window. Cassia sat down next to him and he tenderly put his arm around her, cradling her like a child. Then he kissed the top of her head.

  Cassia responded by holding him close and nuzzling her head under his chin. They sat there in the intense light warming themselves waiting for 0700 hours to arrive. They knew soon they would have to get dressed and go to the lab to begin the nanomite implantation process, but it wasn’t time yet.

  For over half an hour neither of them said a word. They simply enjoyed the comfort they brought each other. Then Cassia said, “General if I become something horrible... I mean if this process turns me into a vegetable, or a monster - promise me you won’t leave me like that. You’ll do what you need to do to put things right and you’ll never tell Ferris.”

  “Cassia, what you’re asking –.”

  “Promise me, sir.”

  “Only if you agree to do the same for me.”

  “Done, yes.” Cassia looked at her communications pad. “It’s nearly 0700 sir.”

  “You better go, Cassia. I’ll meet you there.”

  “General, I …”

  “Yes?”

  “I love you. I should have told you before, a hundred times, everything you’ve done for me, for Ferris, for Rolf, you’re like a father to me.”

  “Get out of here, soldier, before I… just … Cassia, you have to go.”

  “Sorry, sir. I shouldn’t have said that. I –“

  “I love you too. Now go.” He turned his back to her and stared out at the bleak and foreboding landscape.

  Chapter Three

  “I’m telling you Carl, keep your opinions to yourself. That’s an order,” Dr. Leavitt said. Raoul Leavitt liked giving orders. In his universe there was his opinion and the wrong opinion and since the nano experiment was his project, he answered to the Commanding Officer of Forged Bay and no one else.

  “It doesn’t bother you? The uncertainties? We should be conducting another year’s worth of tests at a minimum. These are human beings, Raoul, and not just any human beings, they’re heroes. For God’s sake stop and consider –.”

  “Will you do your job?” Dr. Leavitt asked.

  Dr. Black hesitated. He wanted to tell the distinguished Dr. Leavitt to take his nanomites and shove them, but he had absolutely no leverage. Despite his reservations, Carl Black desperately wanted to remain a part of the experiment.

  Dr. Leavitt took Dr. Black’s moment of pause as an opportunity to emphasize the dynamics of the situation, “The powers that be want this project brought to fruition now. Small matters like ethics and even prudence are concepts from a bygone era.”

  Carl Black straightened his posture and replied, “Yes, I’m in. Dan is too, no doubt.”

  “I’m not worried about Dan. Our resident genius is onboard. As long as I don’t take away his toys he’ll do whatever I ask.”

  “Doctors,” the voice over the com link said. “The soldiers are in prep right now. Expect them to enter the lab in five minutes.”

  “Copy,” Dr. Leavitt responded.

  “At least reassure me that the additional security I requested is in place,” Carl Black asked.

  “We tripled the effectiveness of the restraints on the injectors and I added five additional security personnel to the detail. See, there they are, coming into the lab right now.”

  Twenty men dressed in skintight, black electro fiber suits with hooded enhancement masks marched into the lab and took up positions forming a perimeter around the nano injectors. Each was armed with the latest particle displacement weapon called a Light Rifle and a traditional handgun.

  “Their orders?” Dr. Black inquired.

  “They are to terminate any or all of the subjects on my command.”

  “How about the subjects’ living quarters, have you –.”

  “They cannot escape. Although it looks benign inside, there is no way out of there; it’s tighter than our Supermax prison facility in Canada.” Dr. Black knew all about the reinforced titanium blended concrete used to construct the facility because it had been made from his formula.

  “You are much too confident, Raoul. Either way – if one of them becomes an unmanageable Godzilla or the nanomites escape… I don’t have to tell you about the potential scenarios. Destruction on an unprecedented scale, I mean –.”

  Carl’s dire warning was interrupted when Dr. Daniel Romero entered the room, ready to brief Dr. Leavitt on the preparation of the subjects, a task he had been overseeing.

  “They are ready sir. No anomalies to report,” Dr. Romero said.

  “Secure the facility and load the injectors,” Dr. Leavitt ordered.

  On cue, a dull alarm sounded and the echo of steel doors closing resonated throughout the lab. Whenever nanomites were introduced into a subject, human or animal, the facility was hermetically secured in theory preventing the release of the nanomites into the environment. Less than a minute after the alarm began it stopped. The indicator on Dr. Leavitt’s hand held control screen was flashing green.

  “Bring them in,” Dr. Leavitt barked into his com unit.

  All fifteen soon to be Supersoldiers walked into the lab wearing specially designed dark blue paper suits. Their uniforms were striped with layers of silicon fibers that could be used to send signals to the nanomites as they entered the subjects’ blood stream and began to integrate with his DNA.

  The first thing they noticed was the security personnel.

  “Who invited the Boy Scouts?” Sergeant Kano asked sarcastically. “What a joke. Even without the nanomites I’d be on them before they could ever get a –.”

  “At ease, Kano. They are here for our protection. Just ignore them and they’ll do their best to ignore you,” General Alandreian ordered.

  “Protection from what, sir?”

  “From each other,” Dr. Leavitt answered as he, Dr. Black and Dr. Romero emerged from a hidden door in the wall of the lab.

  “I don’t need any protection from these jokers,” Captain Mason responded, avoiding Cassia’s eyes as he glanced at the other soldiers.

  “You might. Let me introduce myself. My name is Raoul Leavitt. I won’t bore you wi
th a lengthy list of my degrees and professional accomplishments, but rest assured that I am the best at what I do. We all have that much in common.”

  “This is where you tell us that things could go wrong,” General Alandreian said.

  “Oh, you already know that, General; just maybe not how wrong. It’s really a matter of degree and genetic predisposition. Also, as un-scientific as it sounds, a little bit of good fortune won’t hurt.”

  “I need to get lucky?” Cassia asked.

  “I volunteer,” Commander Halverson said. “Cassia can get lucky with me anytime.” All the men laughed nervously until Cassia gave them a warning look.