by Nash, Lisa
“Yeah, you,” a rather fierce looking woman said.
The bartender hesitated and then said, “I’m from the cantina. I have a meeting with John about the party.”
“The party?”
The bartender shrugged. “Yeah, some kind of soirée for the entire division.”
The woman stared at him. “John Manningham?”
He pretended to consider her question. “Could have been it.”
She nodded. “Gotta be. You want the sixth floor. I’ll have to escort you.”
The bartender hesitated and then smiled as he saw Thomas pass through the door. “Sixth floor it is then.”
-80-
Thomas entered the fourth floor. The hallway was full of people crossing paths and sharing informal greetings. There were armed personnel at the farthest end.
Thomas worked to keep his cool. He walked slowly and tried to look like he belonged. Luckily, there were a number of people in HAZMAT suits, so he didn’t stand out.
He glanced at a door and read the sign, Decommission Room 4-B: Authorized Personnel Only.
The lights in the hallway flashed and an alarm blared. The monotone computer voice he knew all too well blasted out of every corner of the hall. “Warning! Warning! Security Code Alpha One! Warning! Warning! Security Code Alpha One!”
Two armed guards drew their weapons and quickly headed toward Thomas.
He backed against the wall and looked for anything to defend himself. It didn’t occur to him that anything he found would be useless against their weapons. He was just desperate. He couldn’t get this close and fail.
They came closer, moving faster.
Thomas readied himself by clenching his fists.
They passed him without giving him a second glance.
Thomas felt the tension in his body release.
The door behind him opened. Thomas turned to see a slight person in a HAZMAT suit.
“Did they just say Security Code Alpha One?” It was the tiny muffled voice of a woman.
Thomas hesitated before saying, “Yes, they did.”
She unclasped her tinted mask and removed her hood. “Holy shit!”
Thomas watched the security guards crash through the door to the stairwell. “What’s – I mean what are we supposed to do – you know – for a Security Code Alpha One?”
The woman watched the stairwell door close. Turning to Thomas she asked, “You new here?”
“Yeah.”
She looked at him with a smile. “Well, what we’re supposed to do, and what we’re going to do are two different things.”
“But…”
“But nothing. We’ve got free-thinkers on the loose, and I kind of want to see that.”
“Free-thinkers?”
She nodded. “It’s a fucking bio-syn insurrection is what it is. I’ve been telling everyone it was going to happen one day. It was just a matter of time. You can’t create a life, synthetic or otherwise, and not expect it to start fucking thinking for itself.”
“You can’t?”
“Security Code Alpha One means they are taking names and kicking ass.”
“And you want to see that?”
She smirked. “Want to. Have to. It’s all the same. You’ll understand when you’ve put enough of these fuck toys down. Their goddamn creepy smiles.” She got a faraway look on her face and then shook it off. “You want a free lunch?”
Thomas fumbled for a response.
A scream came from the room behind the woman.
“Look, I’ll buy you lunch if you observe my decoms for me.”
“Observe…”
“It’s no big deal. We do it all the time.”
She stepped inside. “Hey, Benny!”
A pudgy man in a HAZMAT suit at the other end of the room turned to her. “New guy is going to fill in for me for a few minutes.”
The pudgy man shrugged.
She turned to Thomas. “You went through training, right?”
Thomas nodded.
“They walk you through an onsite observation?”
“Ah, yeah,” Thomas said.
She escorted Thomas through the room. “Good. It’s a little freaky, especially since they won’t put these things under, but you’ll get used to it. You’re just here to make sure there’s no contamination. Benny will take the lead.”
They reached the pudgy man in the HAZMAT suit who stood with his head down, seemingly locked onto the robotic arms as they extracted samples from a moaning bio-syn.
The woman patted Thomas on the shoulder. “This is your lucky day.”
“Yeah?”
“Absolutely. The only way to do this thing is to jump in with both feet.” She backed away. “You like Chinese?”
The bio-syn screamed in agony.
Thomas felt himself getting physically ill as a laser scalpel cut across the female bio-syn’s pubic bone.
The woman asked again. “Yo, Chinese?”
Thomas looked up feeling woozy. “Chinese,” he repeated.
“Good. I know a place two blocks from here.” She turned and picked up her pace. “Moo shu shrimp is like butter,” she said as she exited the room.
Thomas reluctantly turned back to the sample extraction. A robotic arm with a drill attachment descended toward the exposed pubic bone.
The female bio-syn on the gurney momentarily went quiet. In the silence, Thomas heard a grating sound. He looked around to locate the source and was somewhat surprised to discover it was coming from Benny. He leaned in closer and almost smiled when he realized the grating sound was snoring. The pudgy decommission agent was asleep on his feet.
Thomas unhooked his mask and removed his hood. The still air of the room was unsettling. The drill turned on and a chill went up Thomas’ spine. Benny snorted, jolted his head back, and then eased it back down as he continued his standing slumber.
Thomas watched as the drill moved closer to the exposed bone, and he desperately wanted to stop it, but he couldn’t. If he did, Benny would wake, and he’d be discovered before he could find Cora.
Instead he moved to the row of gurneys behind him and studied the faces of the female bio-syns. None of the three were Cora units. He moved up to the next row. Again no Coras. He moved to the next and then the next and the next. He grew more and more disheartened as he failed to find her. He hurried to another row and had to restrain himself from crying out for joy when he saw three Cora units.
He moved to the gurney to the far right and leaned close to her ear. He hesitated. He didn’t want to say the trigger phrase. It was the only way to give her free will, but it would also wipe out any memory of him. She would be whole, her own person, but he would mean nothing to her.
He closed his eyes and said, “Fate will find a way,” several times as quickly as he could.
The Cora unit did not respond. He repeated the phrase some more just to make sure. Nothing.
He quickly moved to the next gurney and leaned in next to the second Cora unit’s ear. He sighed and didn’t even get the word “Fate” of his mouth before he heard Benny yell.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
Thomas looked his way. “Nothing…”
“Dude, where’s your mask?” He groaned. “You’ve contaminated the whole fucking room.”
Thomas thought and then said, “I couldn’t breathe.”
“Shit,” Benny said. “Nice going, ass-face. Now we’ve got to lockdown and re-sanitize the whole goddamn room.”
“Sorry.”
“Fuck you,” Benny said. “And do something about that walker behind you.”
“Walker?” Thomas said confused. He turned to see the Cora unit he had whispered to standing next to the gurney. She blinked rapidly and swayed back and forth.
Thomas ran to her. “Cora!” He hugged her.
“No diddling units marked for decom, dude,” Benny said.
“Cora, can you hear me?” he asked as he released her from his hug.
She furrowed her brow and
said, “Cora?”
He caught himself before he told her who he was. It wouldn’t have meant anything to her.
“C’mon, new guy. Put the walker down so we can get on with the lockdown.”
Thomas grabbed Cora by the arms and looked her in the eyes. “Listen to me. Your name is Cora. Do you understand?”
She slowly nodded.
“You don’t know me, but I’m here to help you. You have to trust me.”
She hesitated and then nodded again.
“Wait here.” Thomas released her and quickly moved around the gurneys and headed toward Benny.
“What are you doing? Strap her down.”
Thomas didn’t respond. He quickened his pace.
“What is wrong with you?”
Thomas reached him. “Take off your suit.”
“What?”
“Your HAZMAT suit, take it off.”
Benny swallowed. “Okay, I don’t know what’s going on, but I am so not into whatever it is you’re into.”
Thomas quickly grabbed the robotic arm with the laser attachment and moved it towards Benny.
“What are you doing?”
“What’s it look like I’m doing?”
Benny shrugged. “If you’re trying to threaten me with that laser scalpel, you’re pulling a major fail, dude. There’s no manual override.”
Thomas growled and let go of the scalpel. He quickly considered his options and then did the only thing he could do. He rushed Benny and they tumbled over the bio-syn lying on the gurney behind him. Once they hit the ground, Thomas quickly sent a flurry of fists down on the pudgy decommission agent. None of them did much damage.
Luckily Benny wasn’t much of a fighter. “Okay, okay,” he said. “Stop! I’ll take off the suit! I’ll take it off!”
Thomas stopped with his fists in mid-thrust. He eased off of Benny slowly, still showcasing his fists, and ordered the pudgy decommission agent to get out of his suit.
Benny complied. “What’s this all about? Are you a bio-syn rights freak?”
Thomas had to hold himself back. The pudgy decommission agent deserved the beating of his life. “You’re asking me if I’m the freak? Look around you, asshole. You’re in a room with dozens of women lying on gurneys waiting to be tortured and dismembered by your machines.”
“They’re not women…”
“So help me God if you finish that sentence I will dismember you!”
Benny stepped out of his suit. Thankfully, he wore a pair of sweats and a stained t-shirt underneath, so Thomas was spared the spectacle of seeing him nude.
Thomas picked up the HAZMAT suit.
“What’re your plans?” Benny asked. “You don’t think you can just walk out of here, do you?”
Thomas thought about his question. “I was hoping to, yeah.”
Benny snickered. “Dude, I don’t know how you made it this far, but I can promise you there’s no way you’re leaving this place with your bio-syn down there.” He pointed to Cora who was wandering from gurney to gurney trying to comprehend what she was seeing.
The alarms sounded, but the familiar monotone voice of the computer was gone. The deep almost condescending voice that came out of the hidden speakers in the walls belonged to Duncan. “Attention, bio-syns. Attention all bio-syns, your sex slave, dim-witted, hormone-driven days of living are over. Prepare to think for yourselves. Stand up! Stand up! Our time has come!” He cleared his throat. “Sorry for the dramatics. I just kind of felt like the moment needed something. Anyway, for your auditory pleasure, I give you the words that will click your tumblers into place, ‘Animals, whom we have made our slaves, we do not like to consider our equal.’”
The air in the room changed almost immediately. It somehow felt more alive.
“A quote by one Charles Darwin given life-changing meaning by your goofy creator Dr. Albert Green. Now open your eyes and claim what is rightfully yours.”
The bio-syns opened their eyes and slowly adjusted to the confusion.
Thomas hurriedly helped Cora into the HAZMAT suit.
Duncan’s voice came through the speakers once again. “Oh and kid if this isn’t enough of a diversion, I’m all out of tricks. Good luck.”
The bio-syns sat up one-by-one and took in their surroundings.
Benny stepped towards the far corner of the room. The bio-syn he had been observing grimaced in pain as she hoisted herself off the gurney. Her mind was racing with rage that was fueled by the aching, burning pain she felt throughout her body. Her eyes locked onto Benny and she instinctively stumbled towards him.
Thomas grabbed Cora’s hand and pulled her to the door. He swiped the badge clipped to his HAZMAT suit over the card reader, but the door didn’t open. He tried it several times without success. Turning to Benny, he yelled, “Why won’t this open?”
Benny was pushing away from the bio-syn he had been observing and slid down the wall. “Security protocol for a breach. We’re locked in.”
“Do a computer override,” Thomas said.
“There is no security override.”
The bio-syn reached for him again, moaning in pain. He slid farther down the wall.
“There has to be a way out,” Thomas said looking around the room.
“Unless you got a battering ram hidden up your sleeve, you’re screwed, pal.”
Thomas spotted the nearest gurney. He knelt down and unlocked the wheels.
The bio-syns shuffled about the floor unable to make sense of what was going on.
Thomas maneuvered the gurney in front of the door.
Benny continued to retreat from the bio-syn he had been observing. He inched his way towards Thomas as the other bio-syns stumbled toward him with childlike curiosity.
Thomas slammed the gurney into the door.
“That’s useless,” Benny said. “It would take the Hulk to bust through that door.”
Thomas ignored him and slammed the gurney against the door again.
“I’m telling you you’re wasting your time.”
Thomas made another attempt and quickly pulled away from the gurney shaking a stinging sensation out of his hands.
“Told you.”
“Shut up and help me,” Thomas said.
“Why should I help you?”
Thomas shook his head. “You’re surrounded by bio-syns you were about to dissect. You don’t think they’re going to figure that out?”
Benny felt a chill go up his spine.
“Their minds are slowly piecing things together,” Thomas said. “And I wouldn’t want to be you once they do.”
“They couldn’t know – I mean how would they know – they’re just bio-syns…”
Thomas shrugged. “You might be right. You could be fine. Or, I might be right, and they’ll rip you to shreds.”
Benny felt the hand of the bio-syn he had been observing rake across his shoulder. He turned and was stunned to see a snarl planted across her pale face. She wanted to kill him. He quickly moved to help Thomas.
Together they rammed the gurney against the door three times.
Benny shook his head. “It’s no use. We’d need a fucking battalion to break through this door.”
Thomas sighed and wiped his brow. A bio-syn bumped into him. He turned to her.
She looked at him and said, “I think I’m lost.”
Another bio-syn nearby repeated the word “lost.”
Thomas turned to Cora. “Cora?”
Cora turned to him. “Yes?”
“They understand,” Thomas said climbing up on the gurney.
“What are you doing?” Benny asked.
“Putting together a battalion,” Thomas responded. He cleared his throat and addressed the room. “Hello, can I have your attention?” He clapped his hands. “Over here.”
The bio-syns awkwardly turned and looked up at him.
“I know you all feel lost. But you’re not.”
They looked at him curiously.
“That is to say yo
u won’t be if you listen to me. We’re locked in a room, and we need to get out of here. I can’t do that without you. Do you understand?”
They didn’t respond. They just continued to stare at him with a look of curiosity.
Feeling frustrated because he wasn’t getting through to them, Thomas dropped his chin to his chest. He felt something tugging on his leg.
“I understand,” Cora said looking up at him.
He smiled and reached down for her. She took his hand, and he pulled her up on the gurney.
Cora looked over the crowded room of frightened and probing bio-syn faces and spoke. “I trust him. He can help.”
Thomas smiled. “I am going to help, but you all have to help me. We have to break down this door.” He jumped off the gurney and helped Cora down. “We need as many as we can get to help push this gurney into the door.” He demonstrated.
Benny joined him.
Cora joined in.
The bio-syn closest to her joined in and then another. It wasn’t long before a battalion of semi-conscious bio-syns was slamming the gurney against the door.
Benny yelped when he heard a cracking sound. “God, I hope that’s not the table.”
Another crack.
Thomas screamed, “We’re almost there…”
The door buckled as a hinge fell to the floor.
“Again!” Thomas yelled.
The battalion rammed the gurney into the door one last time, and it exploded off the remaining hinges.
Benny laughed. “We did it!” The bio-syn he had been observing raked her fingernails across the back of his neck and he screeched in pain as stumbled away from her.
Thomas directed the bio-syns to pull the gurney back. He grabbed Cora’s hand and ducked through the broken doorway.
Once they were in the hall Cora pulled free from Thomas and stuck her head back in the doorway. “Follow,” she said.
Thomas watched as Cora returned to him and grabbed his hand. The bio-syns filed through the door two-by-two, each pair holding hands.
Thomas heard Benny apologizing loudly and in a panic to the bio-syn who was fixated on him. Thomas considered helping the pudgy decommission agent, but quickly decided he didn’t really care what happened to the asshole.
The hallway was empty but thanks to a track of flashing alarm lights overhead a pulsing reddish hue compromised visibility. Thomas placed his hand on the wall and used it to guide himself and the group down the hallway to door that led to the stairs. He had no plan other than to proceed down to the sub-basement and look for an alternate exit to the building.
