AMP_Phase 1
Page 5
“Doctor?”
“She knew what she was doing right up to the point I put her out.”
“You sedated her?”
“It was the only way... Colonel Tucker... He saw it coming... He took me aside just before we departed the CSMO 253 Mathilde.”
“How did he know?”
“You know, that’s a really great question. All I can say is despite what everyone says about the Colonel, he’s one tough bird. I’d sign on to any mission he led…he did an awesome job commanding our mission.”
“So how did this chip suddenly activate or change the Lieutenant?”
“It was the mag-ring. The energy from that catapult was intercepted by her chip. That’s what activated the programming that had been downloaded to her before we blew the complex.”
“Why didn’t that jump ring’s magnetic field activate the Colonel’s chip?”
“Savage’s chip had been fully programmed, just not activated. Tucker’s chip was implanted but no programming had been downloaded, so the magnetic field had no effect on it.”
“Lucky for him...”
“...no...lucky for us. If his chip had been activated, we wouldn’t be here right now.”
“Tucker seems like a great commander.”
“He was driven.”
“Driven?”
“To save his son. He put all his trust in getting this alien tech back to Earth.”
“Wow, I’d sure like to meet him.”
“Well, I don’t think you’ll get the chance.”
“Why not?”
“Two reason’s Ms. Rollins. The Colonel is heading back out in a few months.”
“...and?”
“...and he’s involved already.”
“Damn!”
“Besides, Ms. Rollins, now that I’ve told you some of the things that happened, you’ll be on my team moving forward.”
“Your team?”
“Yes, you’ll be coming with me when Bennie’s all done here.”
“Where’s that?”
“You’ll find out soon enough. Just don’t plan on going home for a while.”
“What about my house, my pets...I can’t just leave them.”
“Not to worry. I’ll see to it that the pets will be looked after...you don’t have any family, right?”
“I have a nephew, but I rarely see him. That’s it, except for my animals.”
“Good.”
“I’ll be glad to be by your side, Doctor.”
“So Ms. Rollins, what’s your first name anyway?”
“Vivian...Vivian Rollins.”
“Okay, Vivian. Let’s finish this thing up, shall we?” Rhodes picked up the forceps and stepped up to Bennie.
“Ready, Doctor.”
Doctor Rhodes held the chip up to the opening in Bennies neck. The incision exposed ivory colored vertebrae glistening under a crimson stain. As he got closer, the fiber at the end of the chip began to twitch and vibrate.
“Hmmm, that’s odd.”
“What’s it doing, Doctor?”
Rhodes pulled the chip away from Bennie’s neck and the wire stopped, “That’s very interesting.”
“Yeah, it’s like it was waiting to be inserted.”
“Okay, well...let’s see if it does that again.”
He held the chip up to the opening in Bennie’s neck, the fiber twitched again. This time, Rhodes didn’t hesitate. He held the chip and touched the entry site, and then unclamped the forceps to allow the chip to do whatever it was going to do.”
The chip jumped from the hold of the tool and buried itself inside Bennie’s neck.
“Fascinating...”
“What the hell?” Vivian exclaimed.
“The incision is closing on its own!”
Within minutes of the chip being transplanted to Bennie, the wound completely healed, leaving only the end of the chips receptacle exposed.
“Looks like you’ll have to do some of your expert sewing on another patient.”
“Wow...that’s all...just wow!” Vivian said, wiping the sweat off her brow. “Doctor, his vitals are all over the place.”
“Okay, flip the table up right.”
Rollins walked to the foot of the table and pressed the commands. The table responded in turn by rotating Bennie face up.
When the table locked, Rhodes took his light pen and examined Bennie’s eyes. Raising each eye lid, he looked at each of his pupils multiple times.
“Doctor, what are looking for?”
“Any green.”
“Green?”
“Yes, that was one of the side effects...her eyes turned a very bright florescent green.”
“Well?”
“Nothing. They’re still brown.”
“That’s good, isn’t it?”
“At this point Vivian, I’m not sure of anything.”
Bennie’s body tightened and all at once convulsed.
“He’s seizing!” Rhodes exclaimed, “Prepare point two milligrams IV push Diazepam!”
“Right away, Doctor.”
Bennie’s body flopped violently on the table, but before Nurse Rollins could inject the syringe into the IV tube, he suddenly stopped.
Rhodes held his hands up to Vivian, “Hold! Let’s see what happens without the drug.”
A few moments passed when Bennie began to shake and convulse once more, “Do it!”
Vivian wasted no time and injected the medicine into the IV. Bennie’s convulsions slowed and then stopped by the effects of the drug.
“Let’s get some pictures of this thing,” Rhodes said with raised eyebrows.
Vivian moved the portable X-Ray machine over Bennie’s head, aimed the device and turned it on.
The screen on the wall over Bennie’s head showed the image of the wire at the end of the chip.
“Look at that!” the nurse pointed.
“Yes, it’s already taken hold of his brain stem and is growing feelers, or whatever those are, into the gray matter of his brain...this is the same thing that happened to the others just before they were taken over.”
“Are we safe?”
“You’re asking me?” Rhodes exclaimed, shaking his head, “I have no idea.”
“It’s stopping,” Vivian pointed to the last reference marker on the screen.
“Yes, it seems to have stabilized.”
“His vitals have all returned to normal, Doctor. BP is 120 over 70, heart rate: 60. Oxygen is 99 percent.”
“Excellent!”
“Charles...can I call you Charles? Look at his spinal cord.”
“Yes...zoom in on that...and Charles is fine.”
Vivian smiled and zoomed the real-time x-ray to reveal the spinal cord.
“He came in with a severed spinal cord, right?”
“Yes. It was completely cut between C3 and C4.”
“Tell me what you see here, or are my eyes playing tricks on me?”
“The fiber has rejoined the damage. It looks like it’s repaired his spinal column... how is that possible?”
“As I said before, nothing surprises me anymore.”
“The real test will be when he regains consciousness.”
“From the looks of it, he’ll be fully recovered from his injuries.”
“I’ll bet that’ll make for one happy mother.”
“I’ll bet you’re right,” Rhodes said, pulling his mask down, “Get him prepared to transport. I’m going out to give the good news to Beverly.”
“Transported? To where?”
“To our new lab. You’ll transport with him. I’ll make the call.”
“Okay, Charles. Whatever you say.”
Rhodes turned to Vivian, “You did a great job here today. Just hang tight and you’ll understand everything soon enough.”
* * *
CHAPTER 5
Whidbey Island Naval Base & Space Port
Oak Harbor, WA
Memorial Hospital
September 25th, 2064 07:00
/> “Where have you taken my son?” Beverly pleaded.
“Bev,” Major Griffin soothed, “We have him in isolation. We’re not sure how this new transplant will react. Until he wakes up and we can talk to him...observe him, we won’t be able to let you in.”
“You never said I’d be separated from my son, Tom. How could you not tell me?”
“Quite frankly, I wasn’t even told everything.”
“It’s General McKenzie, isn’t it...he’s the one calling all the shots it seems.”
“That is true, Bev. He is General, so he does call the shots. I have little control over the situation.”
“Tom, when are you going to stop being the General’s pawn? You could replace him, you know that don’t you?”
“That’s why I’m still his pawn. I have to follow orders, or I won’t to have a shot at promotion.”
“Come on Tom. Wake up grow a set already. You know damn well that as long as McKenzie is seated, your career will continue to stall.”
“What do you suppose I do? He’s very powerful...lots of friends in high places.”
“You need to start making friends in higher places, Tom.”
“I have friends, some are in power.”
“I’ll bet if you dig deep enough you’ll find some kind of dirt on him.”
“There is a good possibility of that.”
“Then dredge it up and make it visible, Tom.”
“It’s not that easy, Bev. These men in power are dangerous. If he suspects anything, he’d have me killed.”
“Don’t be such an alarmist.”
“I’m being serious. Men have disappeared, never to be found again...I’m not about to do anything careless, I assure you that. Beverly, I don’t want to end up as fish food, I want to be with you.”
“Tom, you’ve been there for me during this hard time. I appreciate that, but you have to understand...”
“Shhh, I know. I’m not trying to rush you. I...”
“Tom, we’ve gone over this. I’m not ready to commit to any one person right now.”
“I’ll be here when you’re ready.”
“In the meantime,” she smiled into his eyes, “I need some more comforting.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately.
Griffin briefly broke the kiss, “Beverly, you’re giving me quite a few mixed signals.
“Shhh, now you hush. I never said I was dead,” then pressed her lips on his once more.
“I kind of like this, Beverly. How much comfort do you need?” Griffin asked, wrapping his arms around her waist.
“I’ll let you know when I’m comforted enough...”
* * *
Whidbey Island Naval Base & Space Port
Oak Harbor, WA
Secret Lab Complex
September 25th, 2064 16:00
“He’s still asleep, but his recovery is remarkable,” Rhodes reported to the General.
The two walked down a long corridor deep beneath the surface of the base, toward Bennie’s secured room.
“You’re certain that everything is under control?” McKenzie asked, then unlocked a security door.
“Perfectly fine, General.”
They walked into the room and watched as the lights came up through the heavy Plexiglas observation window.
Bennie was sitting upright, his eyes open with a concerned look on his face.
“I thought you said he was still out?”
“He was...had so much drugs inside him that would have kept him asleep for days.”
“Can he hear us?”
“Not unless I turn on the intercom.”
“I’ll bet he’s wondering where he is?”
Rhodes pressed the intercom, “Bennie? How are you feeling?”
“That’s a great question...who are you and where am I?”
Rhodes released the button on the intercom, “General, I need to go in there and give him an exam.”
“You go on ahead, Doctor. I’ll stay behind the protective screen.”
“You sure you don’t want to see this boy in person?”
“No, but thanks just the same.”
What’s the matter General? A voice echoed inside McKenzie’s mind.
“What’d you say?” McKenzie asked, turning to Rhodes.
“Wha? Me? I didn’t say anything.”
General, don’t you know who I am?
“There it is again...you didn’t hear that?”
“Hear what?”
“Rhodes, you had better not be messing with me.”
“General, get serious, will you?”
Yeah General, get serious.
McKenzie stuck his little finger in his ear in an attempt to clear whatever it was that was going on.
Rhodes stepped into a cylinder, which then spun closed. After his retina scan the man trap opened inside the room with Bennie.
“Bennie,” Rhodes said, extending his hand, “I’m Doctor Rhodes. You were in an accident.”
Bennie loosely shook his hand in return, “Where’s Jen?”
“Jen?”
“Yes, Jenny was in my car when we were hit...is she alright?”
Rhodes lowered his head and Bennie instantly knew, “She’s dead...isn’t she?”
Rhodes looked up at Bennie with sadness in his eyes.
“Tell me!”
“I’m sorry son.”
“Ohhhh Nooooo...Jenny! Not my Jenny!”
“I’m afraid so son.”
Bennie cried out, placing his head in his hands. Rhodes winced with pain and fell to his knees.
Rhodes cried out in pain, holding his temples, he looked up at his patient, “Bennie, stop it...clear your thoughts...you’re...killing...me.”
Rhodes continued to lower to the ground in pain when all at once it left him. He rested on the floor for a moment to regain his composure. He held his hand up and wiped blood that began to drip from his nose.
“Oh my god!”
Bennie looked up and saw what was happening to him, “I’m sorry...I don’t know what’s going on with me...I didn’t mean to hurt you. I never...no...Doctor...you gotta tell me what in hell just happened?”
Rhodes had managed to get back to his feet, the intercom began to blare with the voice of the General, “Rhodes! Get outta there!”
“No...Wait...Computer, activate privacy filters protocol.”
The windows darkened, preventing anyone seeing from the outside and the intercom was terminated.
“There, we have some privacy now,” Rhodes said, still shaking from the experience.
“Doctor...what’s going on?” Bennie asked.
“Bennie, you were involved in an accident...you’ve been in a coma for nearly 3 months.”
“What?! Three months!?”
“Relax, Bennie...just keep calm...please...let me finish.”
“I want to see my Father! My Father is important, he’ll get this all cleared up...”
“Bennie...”
“Don’t even tell me he can’t help me...’cause I know he can...Colonel Tucker Petersen...that’s who he is.”
“Bennie...it’s a long story. Your father is actually the one who saved your life.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Bennie, just hear me out...okay? There’s been a lot that’s happened since your accident.”
“Go on...”
“We found something out in the Kirkwood Gap.”
“The asteroid belt? A mining operation?”
“Yes, your father was recruited to go out and try to acquire this tech...It’s alien...”
“...come on, Doctor. That’s not funny.”
“I was there, Bennie...I saw it for my own eyes...your father brought back the tech that would save your life.”
“You did something to me...didn’t you?”
“Yes...it’s a long story, but your father is in recovery from a transplant.”
“Transplant?”
“Your
father was injected with a chip. Several others were, but they didn’t make it. I took the tech from your father and transplanted it into...”
“...me...you stuck that inside me.”
“Bennie...this alien technology is like a gift to mankind.”
Bennie grabbed the back of his head and felt the port on his neck, “What’s this? You stuck it inside my head?”
“Bennie...”
“Doctor...get it out of me...get it out of me now!”
“I’m afraid that’s impossible.”
“Why?”
“The chip has grown inside your brain...it’s also repaired your spinal cord.”
“Spinal...”
“Yes, that’s right. Your spinal cord was severed right here,” Rhodes pointed, “between C3 and C4.”
“You sayin’ this alien thing inside me saved my life? How does that help humanity?”
“Bennie, I can duplicate this technology. Now that it’s working, we can cure the common cold. No more sickness in the world. Paraplegics will be able to walk again.”
“Right, but at what cost?”
“Very little cost when it gets developed.”
“I don’t buy that, Doctor. Once the military gets their hands on something, it costs...sometimes the cost is too great.”
“I promise. It won’t be that way. Not at all.”
“Can it bring my Jenny back to me?”
“Son...I don’t know what it is or isn’t capable of doing. But I do need you to keep an open mind. Work with us. Help us develop this technology. Your name might very well become synonymous with healing mankind’s sickness.”
“I’d be famous?”
“Quite possibly.”
“Well, I guess it isn’t so bad. I mean I can see the tremendous potential.”
“Right. Just keep those thoughts up front and we’ll all be fine.”
“So, can you explain what happened to you when I felt anger and sadness about losing Jenny?”
“Son, don’t think of those thoughts...”
“...I’m trying not to, but you gotta’ cut me a little slack here...”
“Your chip has fully integrated. I think it may have taken your adrenalin and converted it into some form of energy for the chip. You were able to project your pain to me. But it didn’t pass through the barrier. It would seem that the effect lasted only momentary and at close proximity.”
Bennie hopped off the table, “Then I suggest you keep me happy, right?”