The A.R.EX. Origin

by Angelo Facchin

  Kevin’s house no longer felt like “home” to him. Everything from the ceiling down felt different. He felt disoriented, and it seemed that though nothing was familiar to him anymore. He himself felt different. He couldn’t trust anything he once believed in, nor did he know anyone he could trust to help him.

  This feeling had to stop right away. He couldn’t continue living life the way he had anymore. He had to find out what the truth was and soon, before it was too late.

  Chapter 23

  July 16, 8:36 p.m.

  Arex’s Apartment

  Arex answered the door to Mika Nomura.

  “I’m sorry to intrude, but I have to tell you something. I have big news.”

  “What’s up?”

  “I think you need to sit down for this. Please, it concerns the A.R.EX. project.”

  Arex was puzzled at her statement. It was possible that what she had to say had something to do with her investigation of the unknown reptile. It was unclear, though, why she had come to him at this hour. It had to be something that couldn’t wait, but then again, she could always call him if there was an emergency that needed his attention.

  He sat beside Janiece on his couch. Mika stood in front of them.

  “What I have to tell you doesn’t leave these walls. This is going to be classified information and I plan to keep it that way.”

  “I promise. Now what secret is so terrible none of us can say anything about it? What about the A.R.EX. project?”

  “I just figured out how you came to be.”

  That was what Arex had been secretly dreading for the past five years. He never wanted to know the truth about how he came to be, what exactly was in the A.R.EX. formula that made him transform into what he was today. He wasn’t certain he even wanted to know whether or not Erickson Meyers’ memories could be recovered or not. He liked the way he was, and revelled in the fact that he was different from everyone else. The last thing he wanted to be, was a victim. It seemed, in his mind, like the FBI treated him as such, which frustrated him a lot, even though they had a very good reason to think of him that way.

  “Mika, I’m not sure I really want to know this. Any explanation you can give me will be a disappointment. I’ve grown way past the victim phase of my life and I’d like to keep it that way.”

  “But this is serious. We always thought that Patrick Sandlak invented the formula, but he didn’t. In fact, the cause of the transformation isn’t even something we find in our world.”

  “Great. So I’m some sort of alien from another planet?”

  “Yes and no. The fact is, Patrick Sandlak took DNA samples from three different kinds of reptiles and threw them together, gelling them with the natural properties of a stone that’s not native to the Earth as we know it, but a parallel world to our own.”

  “You’re insane.”

  The FBI agent paused to consider what she had just said.

  “Alright, when I say it out loud, it makes the whole thing sound kind of silly, but trust me, that’s just about what happened. If you believe me, ask Gianlorenzo Di Nicola. Better yet, ask him to take off that pendant he wears and see for yourself.”

  She’s serious about this. Arex realized that she wasn’t joking. That meant that there was another populated world out there besides Earth.

  “Wait, this means that Gianlorenzo is not human. That he’s an alien from this other world.”

  “Exactly. The other world is populated by humanoid reptiles. You and our unknown reptile are products of their knowledge being used for immoral purposes.”

  Arex stood up, unable to take any more information. His mind was boggled by that revelation. He thought he was somewhat unique and actually took comfort in that notion. As it turned out, however, there was a whole other world full of people who looked like him.

  “I can’t believe there’s another world out there with people just like me.”

  “I know, isn’t it amazing?”

  “It couldn’t be further from amazing. It’s not amazing.”

  Arex turned his back on his friends. Mika couldn’t understand what he was feeling. It was something he kept hidden away. He wanted to be unique in his appearance because that’s what made him feel special. His personality wasn’t all that special, but what made him feel like could stand out was the fact that he was the only humanoid reptile in the world. Now that he knew that there was an entire world populated by people who looked like him, he felt the nagging feeling that if he were to go to that world, he would fade in the background. His confidence, his personality, his very identity, were centered around him being “that reptile guy”. All of this was no more.

  Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Janiece had come up to him and was soothingly stroking his back.

  “What’s on your mind? You look lost there.”

  “Do you remember when we first met? Do you remember what kind of person I was back then?”

  “You felt like a scared little kid. You had just barely woken up for the first time and you weren’t even sure whether or not to trust me.”

  “Do you think I’ve changed since then?”

  “Of course. Nowadays, when I see you, especially when you’re teaching your class, you seem a lot more outgoing. You’re just a lot of fun to be around, especially when you’re feeling guilty over something. Is that what you’re feeling right now?”

  “That’s not it. Do you know how I got to be this way?”

  “What do mean?”

  “Whenever you saw me being outgoing and carefree. Do you know why I was like that?”

  “Because you were having fun and being yourself. You know how sad you can get when you’re guilt-ridden, but also how much fun you can be when you’re yourself.”

  “Well, I’ve never thought of it like that. But really, what always helped me the most, was the thought that I was special, unique, that there was nobody out there that could possibly look like me out there. It took me some time, but I had come to realize that being different was something I could celebrate and not be ashamed of. Now I know that that’s not true. How do you think that makes me feel?”

  “I guess that doesn’t make you feel really good, but who cares whether or not anybody looks like you? The truth is I may look like a lot of people, that doesn’t make me any less unique. The same goes for you.”

  “It’s not the same. I really loved the fact that I wasn’t even the same species as everybody else, that all I had to do was act like I didn’t care and nobody else would. Whenever I would throw a party or teach a class, or even go out somewhere and people would see me for the first time, or rather meet me for the first time, they would recognize me and talk to me like I was something special. It didn’t make me feel like a freak, but rather, like someone people would want to be around. So I acted accordingly. That’s why I reacted so badly to Corey putting on that mask. For the first time in my life, I realized that there was someone else out there who looked like me. And now that everyone is going to know about this other world… I don’t know. I think even you will be able to look at me the same way again. Nothing can ever be the same again. That’s why I never really wanted to know how I came to be, or even what happened with Erik Meyers. Next, Mika’s going to tell me the FBI was finally able to hack the Mind Shifter and recover the lost data they thought was lost forever.”

  Mika got between them.

  “I’m sorry I told you all this when you didn’t want to know it. I just thought you needed to know the truth. You can’t let this affect your life like this. Knowing the truth isn’t going to ruin your life. Besides, I’m only telling you guys this. Nobody else is going to know the truth. The last thing Gianlorenzo needs is to have his own people on his back for having told us about them. Nobody can know about this. Both of you have to keep it a secret. Understood?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. This will remain classified information for as long as it takes.”

  “What about Alice? She’s fallen in love with Gianlorenzo.
”

  “She already knows everything. That’s how I found out about everything. I walked in on them as he showed off his true form to her.”

  “How did she react?”

  “I’m not sure, but I think it’s best that I let them work things out on their own.”

  “Alright. Listen, Mika, can you leave us alone for a while?”

  “Actually, I was just leaving. Thank you for listening, and I’m sorry if what I had to say made you feel uneasy.”

  * * *

  Thursday, July 17, 9:03 a.m.

  Whiplash had had enough of Kevin keeping secrets from him. He decided to confront him with what he now knew. It was impossible to tell in advance what his reaction would be, but Whiplash wasn’t going to let Kevin lie to him any further.

  He arrived at Kevin’s home after Kevin had picked him up. He invented an excuse for the past couple of days, telling him that there weren’t any homeless people near his hiding place any more. In truth, he had met several of them there and warned them away from the alleyway where he was being hidden. They were suspicious of him at first, but he pleaded with them to stay from empty makeshift cardboard boxes/houses that looked very inviting. It was now time for Kevin to tell him the truth.

  “Kevin, have you been lying to me?”

  “What? What are you talking about?”

  “I’m talking about everything you taught me, everything I thought I knew. Me being kept a secret, me hurting all of those homeless people. Was everything you told me a lie?”

  Kevin frowned at him.

  “Who gave you that idea?”

  “It doesn’t matter who gave me that idea. I need to know the truth.”

  “I’ve always told you the truth.”

  “Then why did I meet someone who told me I was a wanted criminal? Why did that person tell me that the police were after me because I stole and hurt homeless people. You kept telling me I was doing the right thing. You taught me to hate them. Was everything you told me a lie?”

  “No, of course not.”

  “Then why am I considered a criminal?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Why don’t I believe you? I can’t believe you, anymore. You’ve been lying to me the whole time.”

  “That’s not true.”

  “Really? When I first woke up, you told me you had saved my life. That wasn’t true, was it? You told me that I had to be kept a secret because there were people who wanted to hurt me. Now that I think about it, you never told who would be after me, or how I came to be. You never told me why we had to move to Arkansas. You never told me why we had to move back. I liked it there. I didn’t have to hide myself so often.”

  “What’s so wrong about living here?”

  “What’s wrong is that I’m not living here. I’ve never lived here. I don’t have a life. All I do is stalk homeless people in the dark and steal from them. If they’re awake, I beat them up. That’s not a life. That’s an existence, but it’s not one that I want to live anymore.”

  “I don’t get it. What happened to you?”

  “I met someone, that’s what happened to me. For the first time in my life, I met someone else in this world. For once in my life, I did something that I knew right away was the right thing to do before I even did it. I saved that person’s life and she was actually willing to talk to me. Yes, she was afraid of me, but only because I scared her away. I… I couldn’t conceive of anybody who didn’t share your views or disagreed with the way you taught me. And it’s not like I could simply ignore what she told me either because I can’t think of a reason why she would lie to me.”

  “Have you even considered that she’s trying trick you?”

  “Why would she try to trick me? You’re the one who said that I scare people whenever they even look at me. I could tell she was afraid of me. She had no reason to trick me. She barely knew me and she was too afraid to try and trick me.”

  “Why did you save her?”

  “Someone was strangling her. I couldn’t just stand there. And I can’t believe you expected me to ignore her being attacked just so that I could remain hidden from everyone.”

  Kevin started pacing back and forth in front of him. He looked more worried and angry than Whiplash had ever seen before.

  “Get those thoughts out your head right away. I don’t ever want to hear you talking like that again.”

  “I can’t. Can’t you see that I’m getting a very different view of what the world is? There has to be more than what you taught me, what you showed me. I think you better explain yourself right now.”

  “You have no right to talk to me like that.”

  “Then what gives you the right to do the same? What gives you the right to tell me what to believe in, and then get mad at me just because I don’t believe in it, anymore?”

  “We’ve known each other for 5 years…”

  “No. You’ve known me for 5 years. I’ve never known who you are. You never told me where you came or why you said you believed that homeless people were the scumbags of the world. I’ve never known anything about you. This is going to change right now. I want to know the truth, and I want to know it right now.”

  “You already know the truth.”

  “No I don’t. I don’t know the truth because you kept it hidden from me.”

  “No. I told everything you needed to know.”

  He had had enough of Kevin’s lies. He grabbed the human by the collar and brought him against the wall.

  “Stop telling me lies. Tell me the truth, now!”

  “Alright! What do you want me to tell you?”

  “Everything. How did I come to be? Why am I really here? Why do I look so different from everyone else?”

  “You were created in a laboratory. You were part of a scientific experiment to create a new breed of soldiers using reptilian DNA.”

  “I was supposed to be a soldier.”

  “Yes, but something went wrong. You went berserk and killed most of our group. I had to erase your memory of the incident. If I didn’t do that, it’s likely you would have been destroyed to keep everyone from finding out about the existence of the experiment you were created in.”

  “I was some failed experiment? Then why did you keep me around?”

  “I didn’t think you were a failed experiment. When I took you in, I had every intention of showing my colleagues just that. But the project was put on hold until our Chief recovered from his wounds. When he came back, he was a completely different person. I tried talking to him, but he wouldn’t listen to me, so I decided to keep you hidden from everybody, at least until I could make sure you could be shown to the world. When the company was disbanded, I knew that the FBI would take you and have you used as a guinea pig for experiments. That’s why I took you to Arkansas.”

  “Then why did we end up back here if you were so afraid of me being used by other people? And why did you have me steal from and hurt homeless people?”

  Kevin didn’t answer. Instead, he simply looked down. Whiplash had no patience for him anymore.

  “Answer me! Why did you let me hurt these people? Why did you encourage me to hurt them?”

  “I wanted you to get someone in trouble.”

  “Who?”

  “There was another reptile made from that experiment three months after you were created. His name is Arex. While we were living in Arkansas, he became some big celebrity. He lives the good life while you had to be kept a secret. I couldn’t stand it. So I decided to tell you how much I hated homeless people and convinced you to do something about that. I figured that I could get Arex, the other reptile, in trouble by letting everyone think that he was stealing and attacking those homeless people.”

  “Well, obviously it didn’t work if the police if after me instead.”

  “There not only after you. They’ve interviewed and detained me because they know you’ve had someone human to help you keep yourself hidden.”

  “That just proves that you never really ca
red about me. All you ever wanted was to get that other reptile in trouble for whatever reason. I won’t let you get away with this. I will tell everyone the truth about what happened.”

  He let go of Kevin and started toward the front door.

  “You can’t go outside in broad daylight, everyone will see you.”

  “And the only reason that’s a bad thing is because of you. I’m tired of letting you run my life. I’m going to go and take control of my life.”

  “The police won’t hesitate to kill you on sight.”

  “Then you will finally be rid of me, won’t you? Isn’t that what you wanted?”

  Whiplash was scared, that much was true, but he refused to let himself be intimidated by Kevin’s words. Taking a deep breath, he stepped into the outside world, ready to face whatever lied ahead.

  Chapter 24

  July 17, 10:30 a.m.

  Arex’s Apartment

  Janiece and Jason had spent the night at Arex’s place. They had insisted on staying there, even though he assured them that he was okay. To some extent, he really did feel fine. His life had changed somewhat, with the knowledge Mika felt he needed to know, though it was still early to know just how much. He decided that he wasn’t going to let himself feel depressed over what happened. But it wasn’t going to be easy to live with the fact that he wasn’t as unique as he thought he was and he was one of the very few people who knew that.

  He and Janiece had agreed last night that it was safe to tell Jason about all this. It was impossible to tell how he would react to that news, but they learned to better count on him to keep a secret.

  They decided it was best to tell him right away. They sat him down and Arex proceeded to tell him everything.

  “So, let me get this straight,” said Jason, “you were actually created by some serum that came from another universe, that is actually populated by other reptiles just like you. Do I get this straight?”