The A.R.EX. Origin

by Angelo Facchin

  When that was done, Jason decided to look around and see if there was any book he would be interested in. There were no new releases available yet, and he didn’t feel like leaving the library empty handed.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Mr. Smith sitting at a table with what looked like a dozen around him. The man was hunched over, and it looked as if he was taking notes.

  As quietly as he could, Jason, snuck over toward the man. He was about a yard away when he heard:

  “Hello, Jason. What brings you back here so soon?”

  “How did you know it was me?”

  “I saw you at the entrance and heard you talking to the receptionist. Looks like I will have to wait for The Silmarillion too.”

  “It didn’t look like you were paying attention.”

  “I’m almost never that enthralled in my reading. I always try to keep in mind that there is an entire other world out beyond my personal bubble. Besides, you went through so much effort to hide the sound of your shoes that your breathing became more rapid and noisy. I heard you coming while you were still a way away. You’ll have to learn better if you wish to become a decent hunter.”

  “That’s amazing. I didn’t know you were a hunter.”

  “I’m not, but a cousin of mine is. He took me hunting one summer and I learned a lot from that experience.”

  Jason came around to face Mr. Smith. The table was littered with books, and all of them pertained to mythology.

  “I thought you were researching ancient cultures and what they had in common. I doubt that a book with Luke Skywalker on the cover has anything to do with ancient cultures.”

  Mr. Smith chuckled and picked up the book.

  “If you’re looking for an interesting mythological read with a little scientific approach to it, then The Hero with a Thousand Faces is definitely worth it.”

  “But what do myths have to do with the way people lived in ancient times?”

  “It can depend on the myths, but different people have had different supernatural beliefs in ancient times, just like the way we do today. The myths often involved gods and those who were in their good or bad graces. Those myths each had a moral to them and they influenced the way people lived. Do you remember that old wives’ tale about stepping on a crack in the pavement?”

  “Yeah.”

  “It’s a myth, but people still learned to keep away from cracks in the pavement while walking. Even today, there are kids who walk in the street looking down, avoiding them. Superstition and religion are an integral part of the way people live. And it doesn’t hurt that these legends are fun to learn, especially when you’re a child. Inspiration is also an important factor in how people act. Their reaction when they hear or see these stories is incredible. These may just be stories, but without them, we wouldn’t have the pyramids and most of the art we’ve seen throughout history. The Egyptians’ belief in the afterlife was different than that of the Hebrews, so they lived differently. Their daily rituals, whether or not they prayed to deities and how.”

  Mr. Smith had a tendency to talk for hours on end about his theories. Jason felt the need to abridge the speech.

  “That all sounds pretty cool, Mr. Smith.”

  “Wait, there’s more. I’ve seen the kind of books you read. There are almost all fantasy novels with those sword and sorcery settings. You enjoy those stories, don’t you?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You see the heroes of these stories and the settings they’re in. Do you believe in them?”

  “No. they’re just stories.”

  “Maybe I asked my question wrong. What I mean is, can you imagine yourself in the shoes of the main hero while he’s on his quest?”

  “Sometimes, especially when I’m alone and get some momentum while I’m reading. I start to tune out everything and imagine what it’s like to be there.”

  “That’s what makes these stories so great and why they end up becoming myths. They inspire and capture the imagination. People have based their lives on them.”

  “It’s fascinating, but I think you’ve looped over more than once.”

  Whenever Mr. Smith gave a speech, he had a tendency to loop his train of thought and repeat himself over again. He had invited Jason and Janiece to a lecture at Columbia University. It was easily the longest three hours of his life.

  “Oh… I’m sorry, Jason. I must be getting older than I thought.”

  “It’s okay. Anyway, it sounds great. Listen, I’m going to let you work in peace. I’m going to go look for a book to borrow. Hopefully, one that I haven’t read yet.”

  “Hold on, if your looking for anything to read, then maybe this will interest you. I’ve already read it, so I don’t need it anymore. You can borrow it for a while.”

  Jason saw him reach for the smallest book on his desk. The cover was completely black and had no writing on it. When he took it in his hands, Jason noticed that the pages were weather worn and that the writing was made with a calligraphy pen. The book’s title was only on the first page.

  Travel Journal

  Of

  Dionysius Tselios

  Travels through the Amazon River

  Beginning on the

  20th of April, 1931

  “This sounds like it’s going to be an awesome read.”

  “You’re welcome. I hope you like it,” said Mr. Smith, “It certainly has been very interesting to me.”

  Chapter 13

  July 12, 12:04 p.m.

  FBI Field Office

  It was obvious that Corey Rodgers had not made a very smart move in doing the demonstration at the press conference. He now had to wear the suit every morning the minute he woke up. His own family would give him these looks somewhere between amusement and irritation.

  The costume itself wasn’t all that cumbersome. It had been made to fit a man around Rodgers size. The trouble was getting used to the smell of the latex, which most of the costume was made of. Another problem was the fact that he couldn’t wear footwear. Squeezing into shoes with the prosthetics would have meant damaging them and lessening their value at an auction.

  Even though the suit was giving him trouble, Rodgers had learned a valuable lesson. Every single day of wearing the suit was like a sample of looking through Arex’s point of view. Arex probably went every day mentally preparing himself before doing something as simple as going out of the front door in the morning. If he and everyone else who knew their reptilian friend had taken some time in getting used to the idea of Arex being a member of society, it couldn’t have been easy for the latter to get used to people he’d meet being very much afraid of him. I haven’t even given this man the courtesy of calling him by his first name, I mean what kind of friend am I, anyway?

  And it wasn’t like Rodgers knew Arex as some kind of recluse. His friend was the kind of person who would volunteer for community service, and gladly host social gatherings and holiday celebrations. That man had to be admired and Rodgers felt even more like an idiot for having humiliated him, especially since Arex had tried to apologize to him after he went on the podium. Oddly enough, Rodgers now felt respect for the other reptile, even though he was stealing and assaulting people.

  The decision was clear, he had to meet the other reptile face to face and try to talk him out his life of crime before somebody got really hurt. It was imperative to find some way to deal with him once he was captured.

  He got to his office and worked there on paperwork for a while before going to Agent Nomura’s office. He wanted to get a progress report from her on the case before finishing the paperwork and try and ascertain with her the necessary course of action.

  When he entered her office, he was disappointed to see Agent Scatchard standing there next to her. Rodgers didn’t like dealing with Scatchard, not because of any incompetence on the latter’s part, but because of an inherent immaturity about him that tended to annoy anybody trying to keep themselves focused on their work. His movie star personality and excitement abou
t his work, coupled with his incredible work ethic, made him an insufferable jerk, but also made him the most popular agent in the entire office. He always managed to elevate everyone’s morale, which was a testament to his contagious attitude.

  Rodgers could only imagine what kind of wisecracking remarks he would get from Scatchard when he saw him wearing the suit. Thankfully, he had been able to avoid the younger agent like the plague so far. Rodgers sighed, since he couldn’t put it off any longer, he opened the door to Nomura’s office.

  The two agents were actively conversing when Rodgers stepped in. Reflex had it that they did a double take before greeting him.

  “I sincerely hope that you two were talking about the case,” stated Rodgers.

  Scatchard smiled playfully. Rodgers braced himself for the inevitable.

  “We were. Would you like a quick progress report?”

  Well, at least maybe he won’t wisecrack to me in my face.

  “Give me everything you’ve got so far.”

  The men looked over at Nomura, who decided to summarize the situation as detailed as she could.

  “We’ve interviewed every scientist who was involved in the A.R.EX. project. Most of them hadn’t really worked on the project for that long, but all of them told us basically the same story. Patrick Sandlak was the only one who knew the content of the A.R.EX. formula. None of the newer scientists knew of the first test. None of them knew of the disaster that got them their jobs. At least, that’s what they claim. Then, there’s Kevin Spencer. I have a gut feeling that he is involved, but unless we find the other reptile and interrogate him and he points to Spencer as a conspirator, we have no reason to arrest and detain him.”

  It was simple enough a reasoning without engaging in much hyperbole. There was no linking anyone to this other reptile because he seemed to be committing his crimes alone. It was even possible that none were involved in this matter, and that the accomplice was someone who had nothing to do with BIOGENCORP, although that theory was highly unlikely. The crimes had to be perpetrated by the reptile who would be the aggressor and a human being that was aiding and abetting him by hiding him and helping him live, letting him in his house during the day.

  It was the only way to explain the glaring lack of any real leads. Someone had to be showing the reptile how to target, steal, and maybe assault the homeless people. It would also explain the fact that the FBI and NYPD hadn’t found the reptile during the day, despite their joined efforts.

  Another thing that was unknown, was how long the reptile had been robbing the homeless blind. It was possible the robberies had been going on for the last five years, but they only recently happened in the vicinity of Central Park. After all, it took three separate attacks within two weeks of each other for Officer Mackenzie to obtain video taped evidence of an attack.

  “Here’s the thing: it’s one thing to interview the scientists when they’re at their most comfortable, it’s another to get them alone in an interrogation room. We’ll take the scientists into custody and keep them here as suspects for as long as we can. Hopefully, we will get one of them to show his true colors. It will also give us some time to get search warrants for their homes. We might find something in one house that will tie the accomplice to the reptile.”

  “Agreed, but how will we find the reptile after we find the accomplice?”

  “If it’s one of the scientists, then we’ll have him meet the reptile as he would have done. We will then tranquilize the reptile and bring him to the office.”

  “But then what? We catch the reptile, that’s great, but if he was manipulated into thinking it’s okay to steal, then how will we convince him otherwise? It’s not like he will trust us after he wakes up from the drug. And even if he does believe us, he’s been stealing, and in some cases, attacking people. He might have to face criminal charges. And even if he doesn’t, he can’t simply be integrated into normal society. No matter how many parallels we can make between this reptile and Arex, the simple fact is, he’s not Arex. Their circumstances are completely different.”

  “It’s something we will have to figure out when we get there. Until then, it’s imperative to get this reptile off the streets, so I can get rid of this suit.”

  That said, Scatchard left the office, but not before giving Rodgers a quick glance that the latter barely caught. He was thankful, however, that the young agent didn’t comment on his current predicament. I really can’t wait to get out of this suit.

  Chapter 14

  Sunday, July 13, 3:40 p.m.

  FBI Field Office

  Alice was having some serious doubts about Gianlorenzo. They had dated twice already and yet, she still knew nothing about him. She wanted to be in a serious relationship with him, but he never said anything about himself.

  He had claimed that he attended elementary and high school in Calabria, a southern region of Italy, and that he came to the United States as part of a foreign exchange student program.

  If that was the case, what was he doing living in an apartment, alone in New York City? Why did he bother starting to attend Arex’s classes if he was only here as an exchange student? It seemed like he enjoyed her company, but why would he purposefully keep himself a secret and maybe even lie to her?

  She got a little suspicious, so she decided to go to the FBI. She knew that Mika Nomura could at least look into him, even if he wasn’t a criminal hiding his past. She had to know the truth about him, whatever that was. Then, she could make a decision about him.

  When agent Nomura met her, she seemed perplexed.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I need your help. Tell me right away if you can’t help me, but I need to know who to turn to. There’s this guy in the Aikido class, and he’s really great. We started dating, but I’m not sure about him.”

  “Do you mean you’re unsure of your feelings towards him?”

  “No, that’s not it. What I mean is, I think he’s hiding something from me.”

  “Do you “think” or do you know?”

  “I know. He’s been really vague about his past. I’m not sure whether or not he’s afraid I’ll find out something, but I really want to know the truth. I have no idea what schools he attended in Italy or what kind of student exchange program he’s involved in.”

  “Alright, first thing’s first. What’s his name?”

  “Gianlorenzo Di Nicola.”

  “Do you think he might be involved in some sort of criminal activity?”

  “That’s the biggest problem: I don’t know, and that’s driving me crazy.”

  “Then you need to leave him. I really don’t think it would be a good idea to even see him again. Please, just stay away from him as much as you can.”

  “But won’t he get suspicious if I try to stay away from him? What if he asks me what’s going on?”

  “Then you come to me again, or call the police to get a restraining order. Arex will understand if he loses a student over this. Now, do you have his address?”

  “No.”

  “Do you have a photograph of him so that I can try and find out who he really is?”

  “Yes.”

  Alice pulled a photograph from her wallet. It was a picture of the both of them eating at her McDonalds before her shift started three days ago. The agent looked at the photograph intently and turned to look at her. The agent seemed to be piercing into her subconscious.

  “You like him.”

  It wasn’t a question. It was obvious Agent Nomura already knew the answer.

  “It’s just… the way he treats me. He’s so kind and gentle… and…”

  “… way too good to be true.”

  “Yes. I guess so.”

  “How long have you known this man?”

  “I’ve known him for five days.”

  “Five days?! Now you have me thinking you’re overreacting.”

  “You don’t understand. He already knows everything about me. Besides, if he was truly honest with me, don’
t you think he would have told me something as simple as what schools he went to? Now, he didn’t tell me, which isn’t the same as lying, but I poured my heart out to him. Every time I see him, I think of spending the rest of my life with him.”

  “Look, you’re right to be suspicious of this guy, and I will take a look into his records, if I can find them. Where did say he went to school?”

  “He said he went to school in Calabria, in Italy.”

  “Then I’ll look in any schools in that city and…”

  “Calabria’s a region. It’s Italy’s toe.”

  “He was that vague, wasn’t he? Listen, this is going to take me a lot more time than you’d think, so please, be patient. I will try to have an answer for you as soon as I can. Until then, as I said, stay away from this man. I’m hoping to find something about him, but if I can’t, then maybe your perfect man is nothing but a fraud. I’m not assuming anything. Remember, I had a hard time learning how to trust Arex when I first met him. It wasn’t only his appearance that raised all sorts of alarms in my head. Look at him now. He’s my dearest friend. Pray that your boyfriend is anything like him. For now, be on the safe side and steer clear of him.”

  Alice half-heartedly agreed, though it felt like she was making a terrible mistake in getting the FBI to act on a simple suspicion. She hoped that Gianlorenzo’s secrecy was simply due to the fact that he barely knew her. Still, give me a school name, is that too much to ask?

  Chapter 15

  Monday, July 14, 4:48 p.m.

  New York Society Library

  The traveling journal Jason was given had turned out to be much more than just an interesting read. It was the complete account of the man’s travels through the Amazon rainforest. It told of his discovery of another race that lived on Earth millions of years ago and then disappeared somehow. Jason truly felt like he was reading an adventure novel through the eyes of the explorer, Dr. Tselios as he was living these events.