Genetic Drift

by Martin Schulte

  The process had continued for so many years until each body had been totally replaced by the nanocytes. Their skin was blue, their nails were blue, their hair was blue. Omega had been affected differently by the nanocytes. The overabundance of Omega’s initial injection caused a reaction that changed how the nanocytes interacted within the Syrsyrian.

  After the thousands of years of replacing the functionality of normal cells, an evolution occurred. Two nanocytes combined in Omega’s brain and developed their own mind. The other dying brain cells were replaced by more nanocytes until it was a completely nanocyte brain. What was once Omega and Omega’s thoughts now belonged to the nanocytes.

  The nanocyte brain became more complex and directed the replacement of cells to an intricate system not of the original Syrsyrian. Communication was performed between the nanocytes, so vocal communication was eliminated. The Syrsyrian no longer needed children so the reproductive organ was not replaced. Since the Syrsyrian’s eyes were closed, the nanocytes only replaced light sensitivity. The nanocyte brain continued to grow, enlarging the head that used to be owned by Omega. Large blue tumor-like bulges erupted from the skull as it became soft.

  Omega’s body was perfected in accordance with the nanocyte brain. The nanocyte brain learned how to communicate with the free-floating nanocytes outside of the body and formed a communication network. The free-floating nanocytes were able to go between the vats and connect with the other bodies. They communicated the new way to replace cells as directed by the nanocyte brain. Through time, every Syrsyrian was going through the same transformation and every cell was directed by Omega. The blue hued Syrsyrians had turned into the Trolls.

  Omega’s complete nanocyte brain was in control of every Syrsyrian and every animal. A system of directives was sent out from the brain so that every nanocyte would follow its command. Through the evolution of the nanocytes, the Syrsyrians had turned from saving their race into an army of ants. Omega was now the queen and every other cell was made to work it.

  The computer system was completely unaware of this transformation. It only monitored death and if a Syrsyrian would have lost its life functions, its vat would have been closed to the network. It did not recognize the nanocyte takeover and treated it as normal operations.

  Omega and the other Syrsyrians would not be released from their vats until a host planet was located. Omega did not know this and ruled in ignorance as the spacecraft floated through space. But the bonds of Omega and the others only strengthened through time.

  The computer system continued to search for a planet that could be inhibited but had not yet found it.

  DAY 280

  BREAKDOWN

  ROANOKE, VIRGINIA

  Two factors were affecting this stop. The night was drawing close and the car was beginning to sputter. The clunk of the engine became more frequent and with a large exhale, the car coasted to a stop. Ben turned the key in the ignition. The engine didn’t start. The lights on the dashboard didn’t flash. The car made no sound at all.

  “Guess this thing is dead,” Ben informed the group.

  “It’s getting dark anyway, we should find a place for the night,” Marcus said as he examined the area.

  Like Charlottesville, the Trolls had made their mark everywhere. The buildings were in ruin and there were carcasses in the street. Unlike Charlottesville, Roanoke had no people roaming the streets. The entire place looked vacated. Maddie got out of the car. She looked through the selection of restaurants, shops, and stores. Her sights became fixated on the hospital.

  “Let’s go there for the night,” Maddie pointed to the hospital. Marcus focused his eyes on the building.

  “That would be a good place to stock up too,” Ben replied. Barron was out of the car as the decision was made.

  “I’ll go find something to eat,” Barron said.

  “I’ll go with you and we’ll get some stuff for the road,” Marcus said. He felt the pain of hunger in his stomach and would search for provisions with Barron. Ben and Maddie started straight for the hospital as Marcus and Barron headed for the fast food restaurant next to the car. The air was stagnant as Ben and Maddie made their way.

  “We’re going to have to find a car first thing in the morning. We’re not going to make it far without one,” Ben said to Maddie. Maddie was busy counting all of the marks in the walls left by the orbitizers.

  “You’re right,” she replied, and then asked, “do you think Roanoke was run the same way as Charlottesville?” Ben thought about what she said and took a few steps.

  “I don’t know. I don’t think it really matters since the end result looks the same,” he replied. They found themselves at the entrance of the hospital and looked inside. The building appeared empty. It looked like it had been abandoned for a few months. Papers littered the floor as the only sign of life were footprints smeared into the dust that had settled. They decided to go in the front door. There had to have been someone in there recently as the footprints were fresh.

  Barron entered the restaurant first and immediately went to the freezer. “There’s nothing in here,” he yelled out of the chill box to Marcus. Marcus was looking under the front counter and found a couple of bags of cookies. He read the bag and noticed that they were well past the expiration date.

  “What do you have there?” Barron asked as he approached the counter.

  “This bag of cookies expired three months ago,” Marcus told Barron. Marcus took the bags and tossed them on the floor.

  “It doesn’t look like there’s anything here,” Barron said as he looked through the window for other options. He spotted a grocery store.

  “That looks like a good place,” Barron said as he pointed at the store and headed toward the door. Marcus looked in the direction Barron was pointing. He noticed that the sun was starting to set.

  “We have to make it quick, it’s going to be dark soon,” Marcus told Barron.

  They hurried to the grocery store and found the windows shattered. Broken glass lay at the base of the wall. They walked through one of the panes, careful not to cut themselves on the jagged edges of the glass. Barron noticed that the shelves were sparse but at least there was something. He grabbed some bags and Marcus started to pick out some food.

  “Crackers, cookies,” Marcus said as he continued to scan the shelves, “canned food, canned meat.” Marcus started to throw the food into the plastic bags they had picked up from the checkout counter as Barron held them. Any canned meat or snacks that were still good were thrown into the bags until they were filled and heavy. Barron’s arms pointed straight to the ground because of the weight. Marcus grabbed two cases of water and held them on each of his shoulders.

  “I’m ready to go,” Barron said.

  Marcus adjusted the cases of water and said, “Let’s go.”

  They walked outside and the remnants of the sun barely painted the sky. The last shade of the violet sunset was turning dark as the stars began to break through the sky. They started to make their way to the hospital, continually looking to their left and to their right. Movement caught Barron’s attention. He spotted something around the old broke-down car. He tried to focus on the movement.

  “Trolls,” he yelled in a whisper to Marcus. Barron’s pace quickened as Marcus looked over to the car. Marcus spotted the figures and turned his head toward the hospital. Barron had already started to speed walk. There was 15 feet of separation between him and Marcus. Marcus started to walk quickly to catch up to Barron, and the food. Barron let out a deep breath as they made it to the doors unnoticed. They entered through the front door and turned to look out of the window.

  “It looks like we weren’t spotted,” Barron said.

  Marcus was relieved, “Great, let’s find the others.”

  Ben had a backpack that he had found next to a desk draped over his arm. Maddie was grabbing gauze and bandages and any other first aid equipment she could find.

  “I can’t believe how empty this place is,” Maddie s
aid, noting that the hospital lacked any signs that there was a conflict outside, aside from the papers strewn on the floor. Ben zipped up the backpack and threw it over his shoulder.

  “I think that’ll be good, let’s go find Marcus and Barron,” Ben told Maddie. Maddie grabbed her orbitizer from the counter and walked out of the room with Ben following shortly behind her.

  Through one hallway and entering another, Marcus and Barron were nowhere to be found. “We should go back to the entrance and wait for them there,” Ben said as he walked behind Maddie. She tilted her head as she looked up at the directory. “EXIT,” was written on the bottom of the sign. The arrow pointed to the right.

  “This way,” she told Ben. The next directory sign pointed them to go right again. Maddie turned the corner and ran into a blue blob. Her eyes opened wide and she froze. It was huge. It was a Troll.

  The Troll was also startled and it grabbed for Maddie. Its hand wrapped around her wrist as Maddie still stood frozen, not from the initial shock, but from the faint noise that was speaking to her in her subconscious. She concentrated on the noise or sound or whatever it was.

  Body 0-4-7-3-2-4-5-5-5-1, Cell count… 3.7414 times 1013. Remaining available… 1.13 times 102. Count low. Body Function 100%. Return to Ellipse required. Host: Syrsyrian. Objective: Find new hosts for collective growth. Status: Incomplete.

  Maddie could hear a response.

  I am Rho, Body 1-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-4, Cell Count… 15.915 times 1010. Remaining available… 3.9917 times 108. Body Function 100%. Host: Human. Objective: Idle. Status: Waiting.

  Maddie’s body was still frozen as she listened to the dialogue in her head. The dialogue went from sounding like a report to becoming a conversation.

  Attempting hunt indigenous lifeforms. Humans only acceptable beings. One confirmed, four unknown, current location. Attempting to capture unless hostile then exterminate.

  Another response came.

  Three humans with body. One human not seen.

  A rushed and worried response came back.

  Death imminent. Objective Status: Fail.

  Maddie’s eyes opened to the Troll and its severed head falling to the floor. Its body was soon to follow. Maddie started to fall but the Troll’s hand released with the weight of its body. Maddie, eyes wide open, tried to figure out what was going on. What just happened?

  Ben had positioned himself between Maddie and someone else. It wasn’t a Troll, too short to be a Troll. She looked around Ben and tried to make out the object. It was a he, and he walked toward Ben. The man was holding something like a machete in his hand.

  A raspy voice came out of his mouth, “My friend, I am Quill. I am the protector against the Grapplers here.”

  He extended his hand to shake Ben’s. Quill was thin, like he had been starved. His salt-and-pepper hair was unkempt. He looked like a mad scientist. As he came closer to Ben, his eyes were slightly hidden by dark pits on his face.

  Ben extended his hand to Quill.

  “Thank you Quill,” Ben said as their hands met, “Who are you and where is everyone else?”

  “I am Quill, a friend of Will, and when the Grapplers come around, I kill,” he said as he released Ben’s hand. A maniacal laugh bellowed from Quill as he looked down at the Troll, or in his case, the Grappler.

  “Where is Will then?” Ben asked. He was trying to find out where everyone was. Quill stood up and explained himself.

  “Why, I’m Will. Sometimes he needs help and that is when I show up,” Quill said, and continued his explanation, “When Will knows that the Grapplers are around, he lets me take care of business for him, we live together.” Something rattled Quill. He turned around and signaled to Ben and Maddie to crouch down.

  “There’s another one,” he hushed.

  Maddie whispered to Ben, “Did you hear what that Troll was saying?” Ben looked at her as if he didn’t know what she was talking about.

  “What? The Troll said something? What are you talking about?” Ben asked.

  “Be quiet, it’s coming,” Quill interrupted with a strong whisper.

  DAY 27

  DIAGNOSIS OF WILL

  ROANOKE, VIRGINIA

  “So you’re telling me that you don’t remember a thing?” The doctor was looking down at the file. He sat at a desk with several piles of files that created a barrier between him and his patients.

  “No, I don’t remember anything about it. I just woke up in bed,” Will said as he stretched his neck to see the doctor’s file. The doctor closed the file and placed it on his desk. He leaned on the desk and crossed his forearms.

  “Mr. Easton, Will, you realize that you put three people in the hospital and the people that you didn’t hurt were evacuated because you destroyed not only your call center but the entire building. You don’t remember anything?” he asked. Will felt the doctor’s stare and looked down.

  “No, I still don’t. This happened all of the time when I was younger but I haven’t had an episode in years.” The doctor opened the file he had placed on the desk and wrote “Committed, further evaluation necessary” on the top of the page.

  “Will, I’m going to recommend that you stay here for further observation,” the doctor said. Will raised his head to look at the doctor.

  “You mean that I have to stay here?” he asked.

  The doctor answered him, “The judge asked for my medical opinion and I don’t think that you’re ready to leave.” The doctor pressed a button on his phone and a voice came over the intercom.

  “Yes, doctor?” the voice answered.

  “We’re admitting Mr. Easton, please come and get him,” the doctor said.

  The door opened and the nurse welcomed Will to follow her. Will had a court appointed lawyer that had requested this evaluation. He hadn’t known why he woke up in the cell until the judge read his charges. The doctor had told him that he had set the call center on fire and the blaze had consumed the entire building along with hospitalizing his manager and two people that sat next to him. All he remembered was answering a large amount of calls. Everyone wanted to insure something. The orbiting spacecraft had people worried and they wanted to talk to insurance agents to protect their assets.

  “Mr. Easton, you will be staying with us for three weeks so the doctor can help you with whatever is bothering you,” the nurse told him.

  “Good, I want to know why I wound up in that cell and what I did,” Will replied. The nurse led him to a room. She placed tape on the door with his name on it. He went into the room but the nurse did not follow him.

  “Make yourself comfortable and I’ll come and get you when the doctor is ready to see you again,” she said, and the door closed. Will could not see if she stayed outside of the door. There was a window but it had a latched access door covering his view.

  Will sat on his new bed and stared at the wall. “What happened to me?” he asked the wall. He didn’t have any of his clothes, no wallet, nothing but his hospital issued pajamas. He looked down and was grateful it wasn’t a gown with an open back. He pulled down the top sheet of his bed and slid underneath it. He thought that if he lay there, something would come back to him. His eyes were open staring at the ceiling. He remembered answering the phones. He remembered talking about the spacecraft. He remembered a person saying that they were going to attack. His view went black as he went to sleep.

  It took three nurses and two orderlies to restrain Will. The nurse that had escorted him to his room was lying on the floor rubbing the back of her head. He had pushed her against the wall as he attempted to escape the ward. Will was in a restraining jacket and secured in a wheelchair. An orderly went to the nurse to help her up. She pushed his hand away and said, “Get the doctor and tell him what happened.”

  The orderly positioned himself behind Will’s wheelchair. Will was attempting to gnaw at the jacket. The orderly was careful to avoid any contact with Will. He pushed the chair down the hall and past the doctor’s door. Will heard the knock behind him and the docto
r’s voice, “Bring him in,” followed by whispers. The orderly backed Will into the office and stayed a safe distance from the wheelchair.

  The doctor used a calming voice, “Will, I need you to settle down.” Will stopped gnawing at the jacket and looked at the doctor.

  “What makes you think I am Will?” he said to the doctor.

  “Then why don’t you tell me who you are?” asked the doctor.

  “I am not Will. Will is weak and not able to handle things that he can’t control,” Will, but not Will, replied, “Will is having a tough time with the threat of the aliens and that is why I am here. He doesn’t have to deal with it now.”

  “What do you call yourself?” the doctor asked.

  “I am Quill. I protect Will,” Quill said.

  “When will I be able to talk to Will?” the doctor asked.

  “Will can come back when I am done. When he can function. I am in control now. As long as Will is worried about the aliens I am in control,” Quill informed the doctor.

  “Quill, I can guarantee the aliens are not a threat to you or to Will. Will can come back any time he wants to,” the doctor assured Quill.

  “Don’t try to placate me or him. He will know when he is ready and it won’t be because of your empty assurances. He will come back when I feel he will be able to cope with his feelings,” Quill said. He made sure that the doctor understood him.

  The doctor nodded to the orderly that he was done talking to Quill. The doctor said, “The orderly is going to take you back to your room to calm down. A nurse will check with you periodically.” The wheelchair began to move toward the door. Quill turned to the doctor and warned him.

  “When the aliens attack, we are gonna die,” he announced. The doctor watched him in silence as the orderly continued to push the wheelchair out of the office.