by Grant Fausey
"Yes..." Samuel noted the sweet smelling of progress in the air. The variety of colored lines intersecting the approximation disappeared then reappeared tracing the right edge of the display.
"What elements are present?" he continued, waiting the moment it would take the computer to make the assessment. The bands narrowed on the display showing sodium and other spectral line information. Ve lifted his glasses and leaned in for a better look. The information scrolled again, replacing the previous data. The readouts changed, migrating across the orbiting facsimiles one after another in retrospect, specifically the percentages of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen present.
"Hum..." he said. The readings on percentages changed. His concentration shifted. "Carbon measurements are high,” he continued walking around the end of the table, tapping on the computer keyboard. "So are the hydrogen and nitrogen percentages." It wasn’t his intentions to scrutinizing the data, but the conclusions continued to change.
"Wait a minute," he winced. "What's going on here?”
The readings were nowhere he expected them to be. The structure was wrong. He looked at Mains, as if to say back up the truck, but nothing came out of his mouth. He was dumbfounded, so took another look at the statistics that now raced across the screen in a frolic of changing colors. The holographic image of the alpha helix altered, showing each of the strands as they took shape highlighting the flawed areas. Vex Redford knew he was on the right path. The course was evident, but what was he looking at? It was a good mystery, like one of those books he used to read as a kid. This one however was begging to be unraveled.
Being a renegade genetics engineer had its advantages and Redford always found himself at the mercy of his own debates. His independence overflowed into his daily life, let alone the organization he founded on principles. Every aspect of the operation was engineered to a single purpose: the coming war between man and machine.
The intent was simple: Be a hero and steal back the universe. Vex, however, didn't consider himself a thief. He was more a sustainability expert; putting nature back on the right course was first priority. He considered it every man's responsibility. If only he didn’t consider it his personal vendetta. He was truly a legend in his own time, and a man of extraordinary talents. Some considered him a genius. Others found him a simple man, filled with life and energy.
Nevertheless, Vex Redford was a real sportsman, a hopeless romantic in love with universe itself. Many found the legends to be mere exploits to make him standout as a kind of super hero. Definitely the kind of man the Industrial Empire found dangerous. He was a threat to their existence and, above all else, the future. Once he had challenged the Mistress of Da-Meadow herself, and fell in love with one of the wealthiest widows in the corporate structure. Although she considered him the love of her life, she couldn't stand the thought of him getting his hands dirty. Many of his peers found him intellectually brilliant, especially in the matters of human interaction with nature: it was his field … biological engineering. Crossing the threshold of geo-design, creating more than a dozen genetic wonders made him the scholar of his time and truly, the father of invention.
For a man born on Earth in the late twenty-second century; a survivor of the great disaster that reshaped the surface of the planet; he grew up in the capital city south of the New Pittsburgh peninsula in what was once called the United States of America. But every school child new the history, the great upheaval that nearly destroyed the planet in a near miss planetary pole shift and the inevitable bombardment of asteroids, space debris and passing of the sun’s solar twin, a red dwarf star known simply as nemesis. Nevertheless, the human race did survive, and Vex Redford, a child of the aftermath, found himself graduating at the top of his class. He studied multiple disciplines at the Earth Corporate's finest university with two intergalactic tours to his credit. One of which, gave him the opportunity to develop ties to the genetics program at the University of Athinian Studies, where he completed his degree in off world biogenetic and biomechanical engineering.
With the chance to expand his horizons, the young scholar became an integral part of the corporate structure given the opportunity of a lifetime. All of which, helped him master the system and exploit it. When the five corporations expanded operations into the outer rim of the border worlds, he stood at the front of the line, ready and willing to sign on for the duration so long as he afforded the opportunity to reach for the stars. The facsimiles carried a degree of expectation, none of which were still in front of him.
"Mains..." he said chattering. The concept seemed ridiculous, but further query only limited the probabilities with more questions. "Is the thing organic?” he asked trying not to sidestep the issue. “This thing must be organic..."
“The probability of organic life listed at 98 percent."
The conclusion scrolled across the screens in front of him, the answers as plain as the nose on his face. Vex tapped his fingers on the desk, actively calculating the true meaning of his discovery. Main’s computerized voice remained silent. "Let's do an I. R.," he said unexpectedly.
The computer image shifted. The double helix modified revealing a series of peaks and valleys aided the original image with a numerical range appeared under the projection, conforming to the size of the likeness. The scale moved and the supercomputer displayed the appropriate information on the revolving monitors with holographic images. "Infrared spectroscopy displayed," announced the computer. "Concurrent information available on orbiting imagery plates four and five."
"All right," said the scientist seemingly disappointed. "Let's recap!"
In retrospect, Vex was concerned with the overall compilation. There was no way of knowing what the industries were up too. But it was evident the master-builders were up to something neither man nor beast would be happy about, let alone able to endure. So far Vex’s team had intercepted a generated image from Earth Corporate, an inter link displaying an odd fabric discovered after the second attack by the Hydaran Corporation, mutated DNA samples, and a molecule that didn't react normally to outside stimulus. Obviously, they were trying to keep something secret...
Vex glared at the screen, his upper lip curled: The download slid onto another of the orbiting monitors above the table. The concept of an artificial life form didn’t register with Mains. Vex, of course, couldn’t believe his eyes. The mutation rate on the molecule jumped off the screen at him with revised computations.
“If we have the beginnings of an organic life form here,” he continued. "What’s the projected end result?"
Mains accumulated the data.
Redford waited for the longest time, checking the clock like an old factory worker waiting for the end of day whistle that never seemed to come. One minute passed then another, the available data collating in rhetorical questions. "Hold on Mains..." Vex, coursed his chin with his fingertips then put his hand up like a traffic cop. "I just had an idea!"
The computations paused. Vex leaned in looking passed the image studying what appeared to be amino acids. "Mains,” he said pacing until he reached the backside of the conference table. “Display all the patterns that coexist please Mains.”
Vex traced the image with his fingers following the details. “Be more specific,” he told the computer. The fact that he was seeing more than one image needed clarification. He was looking specifically for the elements of life in particular. Something he didn’t find at first then after pondering the thought, he told the computer to display any unusual combinations.
For a moment there was silence, almost hesitation. He lowered his glasses onto the end of his nose, and looked over them adding the I. R. stretches. He was excited. His mouth dropped open. "Amino acids?" he cheered, his voice quivering with excitement.
"Display the carbon oxygen stretches..." he shouted! The facts were instantly displayed. "Nitrogen carbon stretches..." he continued. Again the information moved around the table. "Do a two dimensional N. M. R., Mains."
"Nuclear Magnetic Reso
nance displayed," announced the computer. The pictorial changed adding an element in the center of the table. The image transformed into a topographical map, showing the peaks and valleys corresponding to the carbon hydrogen bonds. Vex watched the data carefully. "Do a DNA sequencing analysis," he said quickly. "I want to do a match comparison." "
Composition displayed," said Mains. "Image match 98 percent. DNA discrepancy located on the adenine and thymine amino acid linkage."
"Display tech and verify," he shouted. "And while you’re at it, log which amino acids are determining skin color and race, if possible."
"Displayed," trumpeted Mains. Vex Redford studied the information on the amino acid linkages. Coursed around the table to the other side of the image and stared at the 3 D projection. The three-dimensional likeness enlarged, showing one particular area.
"Okay," snapped Vex Redford, very sure of himself. "Let's see how big this thing going to get?"
The room fell silent. No sound dared enter his train of thought. "Is it bigger than Human DNA?" he asked silently. "Maybe, just maybe we're looking at a hybrid sample. Do a cross section match and display it in VR 1, will you Mains? I need to get a closer look at this."
"Understood," vibrated the synthesized voice. "Displayed in virtual reality bay one. Awaiting your arrival."
Vex walked out the door exiting the room at a fast pace. He was definitely in a hurry. If he was right, he had discovered something new; something unheard of in all of human history. The door swished shut behind him and Vex Redford went on his way.
– 3 –
Virtual Reality One
• • •
THE THIRD UNIVERSE
THIRD DIMENSION
Mains..." noted the scientist. "Tie me into Sat COM, if what I suspect is happening is indeed happening then we may have a genetically altered evolutionary pathway for human DNA."
Mains acknowledged the professor in a series of tones. "It could lead to a crisis if it's out of control," Redford expressed. Mains acknowledged him seeing the look on his face. "Open a channel to Hansen and route it to VR 1," said Vex Redford.
"Understood," responded the computer as a set of sliding glass doors labeled "COMPUTER COMMUNICATIONS CENTER" opened, clearing his path to "Virtual Reality One".
The Computer and Communications Center surrounded the Mansion's central library complex, at the heart of the organization's operations center. Mains coordinated the entire complex, including all complex runner missions.
The supercomputer's brain, an automation center, facilitated over day-to-day operations freeing Vex Redford to handle team operations. That was why he created the supercomputer in the first place. The communications center and library consisted of three multi leveled sections, surrounded by interconnected VR (virtual reality) bays, the computer operations center, and the crew and guest living quarters. Everything under the supervision of the super brain computer was state of the art in every detail, quite a set up. Nothing left to chance had been spared. No expense. No piece of equipment. The corporate order itself had nothing like this and Vex Redford knew it. He was truly ahead of his time.
Vex stepped through the doors to suite one. Immediately the bay came to life, moving and adjusting to his presence. Lights popped on and equipment spun into active mode. The recessed lighting lit up highlighting the facilities, the library of accumulated knowledge holographic projection systems and, of course; the technologically advanced simulation capabilities of the complex came to life. Vex Redford trudged into the spherical room, stepping up onto the apparatus in the center of the chamber, hovering above the floor.
He climbed into the harness, slipping the gear over his head, until it covered his body with the support system. The contraption swayed in the center of the room motionless, suspended from the top of the communications center like a sling. The sphere separated from the interior and moved out over the walls against the fine polished woods covering healthy bark. The apparatus shifted position and came to rest in the center of the bay. Hidden deep inside the confines of a gigantic living tree: A fortress in the jungle.
"All right, Mains," the professor conceded from the center of the apparatus. "Where's that channel to Hansen?"
The system immediately filled his vision with a wide range of computer simulations. The virtual reality environment locked up and the alpha helix combinations faded into existence showing human, animal and the culmination of plant DNA samples. "I'm moving..." announced Redford excitedly. "Continue data log: I need a clean interpretation of the simulation.”
The computer charted the requested information and quickly displayed them interactively. “Link the connection to the grid maps of the previous missions. I wanna see what fits where."
There had to be some correlation between all of the original samplings and this new one. Vex Redford didn't have an inkling which of the samples would match, only that they would. There had to be something to match too, or he had just discovered an entirely new life form. One based on mutated human DNA.
Mains did the computations as requested. The information overlapped the image in Redford's visor, being displayed in various files around the sides of the main action. Again, the projection appeared in the center of his visor as part of the virtual reality framework, multi leveled and multi dimensional. The image formed from the center: A series of overlapping pictures, each moving within the artificial environment. Vex Redford made an adjustment to his eyepieces and studied the environment carefully, listening to the uplink of an inbound runner team. The distances of time and space garbled the communication.
“Shangri La...." The static dissipated allowing the transmissions to clear. The voice was that of Hansen C. Anderson III, commander of the inbound runner team. "We're in transit now,” said Anderson. His voice was hurried, becoming louder and clearer. Almost frightened, or rather excited. The closer the transmission originated to base, the better the reception.
"Understood,” said Katrina Malee from the depths of the operations center.
“Our target time is still unknown. We had to get out of there fast. We've caught one in our energy wake. We're bringing it with us.
"A live specimen?" shouted Katrina, breathlessly. "Are you sure, Thunder?
“Confirm!"
"Consider it confirmed, Shangri La," his voice raspy. “We've sustained a lot of damage. Tell Redford to rig the nets. We'll be breaking the barrier at zero two zero, standard. Twenty two ten, nominal."
"Mains," declared Redford, hearing the time coordinates. "Save program and compute runner destination coordinates. Do it now, Mains!"
"On line..." the computer remained calm, cool and mechanical, orchestrated. Vex knew he had to do something about that, he just didn’t want to run the risk of creating a program that compromised the integrity of his synthetic companion. "Hansen..." howled the professor, "Locking transmission ... stand by. We've had some interesting development of our own. That DNA sample you intercepted has a deviation to it. We'll go over it as soon as you're back." Redford paused, waiting the moments for Hansen's confirmation.
"Mains is vectoring a transit field into position now, so stay alert. Probabilities show you may have to overshoot. Do you understand?"
"Understood Shangri La!" Hansen's voice was emotional.
"Katrina is on her way to VR now!" continued Redford. "Proceed."
"I'll be there in moments, Thunder," yelled Katrina on the run, overlapping communications with Redford. She could feel the rush along the connecting corridors to the doors of VR 1. Her long hair streamed behind her, bouncing beautifully as she ran. Her light green eyes captured the wind, soaring against the beauty of her light copper colored skin. Her medium build, pretty curves and an athletic ability unparalleled, she was definitely in a hurry. The doors to bay one swished open, her body narrowly missing the door's return as she ran headlong into the communications center, making adjustments to a portable computer terminal strapped to her wrist on the run.
Another virtual reality apparatus sh
ifted into position above the center of the floor. "Looks like he's coming out in the panhandle," she said sharply. She tapped on the keypad, maneuvering the controls. "Near the falls in Dranger's Canyon. We've less than two minutes to get the field into position."
"Have it!" shouted Vex Redford. His apparatus turned. He face h. "Hansen," he continued, "I'm vectoring power fields into position. It looks like you're coming out in Dranger's Canyon. Katrina is going to handle your reentry."
"I'm assembling the power grid now, Hans," snapped Katrina. Her voice echoed as she conveyed the apparatus, rotating it into position. "The transit field is coming on line. Tracking. Stand by, Thunder."
Vex glanced over at Katrina, watching her work the power grid. "We'll have to snag the beast with the first field and transit him across the nets in a slingshot, if we're going to get a lock and drop him here in a holding field."
"Understood, Shangri La," answered Hansen, overhearing the conversation. "Look sharp … we only have a three second clearance once we enter the window."
"Copy Thunder. Understood," said Katrina. "Good luck." Katrina's view changed, expanding along the base of the display. The image of the power grid came on line, fluttering into existence. A time counter appeared in the lower right hand corner of the grid. The clock started the countdown from ninety.
"Power grid operational," acknowledged Katrina. "Stabilizing." The young woman was excited. "Full power in eighty five seconds. The representation of the canyon dissolved away, becoming more real than the image of the real canyon. Katrina took a look at the reality of the thing. The surrounding area appeared in her visor, shifting with her view as it overlapped the virtual reality image.
