by Brad Knight
A video player came up on the holographic screen. On it appeared Galatea's own Dr. Michaels. There was a big triangular play button over his face.
Me. Make part. Make part me? Now. The leader of the Alphas touched the bars of his cell with his organic metal hands. They scraped as he ran them across the Magnesium alloy. For the first time in its short life, it smiled.
To say that what happened next felt strange to the leader wouldn't be completely accurate. What it did feel was through artificial sensors, not skin and nerve endings. But when it absorbed the magnesium alloy into its metallic body, it felt exhilarating.
Sensing that the new metal was stronger than what its body was composed of, the lead Alpha rebuilt itself with it. First were it's legs. They unraveled and reformed, better. Then it changed it's torso and arms. Last to transform was it's head.
No cell. Free. Strong. The lead Alpha stepped out of its prison in the bowels of the 787. It looked around. There was a narrow hallway, and at one end was a wall, the other a closed glass door with a Galatea logo on it. Standing on the other side of the glass were two armed soldiers.
“This is the Mimic Strain,” explained Dr. Michaels in his recorded video message. Next to him a scientific diagram of the engineered virus came up. “It's a completely different beast than our base nanite virus. Unlike that strain, the Mimic variation wasn't made to affect an organic being. It needs no host. In fact, just the opposite. It creates the host. Let me elaborate.”
In the video, Dr. Michaels sat down in front of a desk with various objects on it. There was a wooden model of the human figure typically used by artists. There was a plastic brain that could be dissembled for teaching purposes, and there were a couple of metal bars.
“Where to start. I know. We'll start with the brain.” Dr. Michaels picked up the plastic brain from the desk in front of him. “This is the most complex organ in the human or any other body. I'm not going to list all the reasons because they should be self evident. If we were going to build a new life form from scratch, we had to give it a brain.
“The way the Mimic virus works, it's a living thing. And it has the ability to record, absorb and perfectly replicate almost any material it observes. So we harvested the brains of the freshly deceased and put them in a box with a vial of the virus. To our delight, in the morning there were two identical brains.
“So, we moved on and gave the virus the chance to replicate the rest of a human body. Like the brain, it worked perfectly. All we had to do was replicate an entire person all at once. The problem was that all the test subjects were too weak. Yes, the first Alphas were strong, but they lacked something.
“That's when you walked into my lab, sir. The illustrious CEO Mr. Ted Gorman. You volunteered to be replicated. Your biology was different. It was frankly magnificent. You were the perfect being. When the first of the new wave of Alphas mimicked you, immediately we knew we hit pay dirt.
“The Alphas have your ability to regenerate at a rapid rate and the potential for a genius level intellect. The more time we give them, the smarter and stronger they will get. Much like yourself, sir. There is no limit as to what they can and will become.
“Soon your 'children' will be ready for the field. Your dream of a world full of new and superior beings will be fulfilled. I await you activation order.”
The video ended.
“So you're fulfilling the psycho's dream? Congratulations, Sebastian.” Issac was a bit upset. Not being with his team as they went out into the field still bugged him.
The lead Alpha slowly and quietly reached the glass door with the two Galatea guards on the other side. Tendons, muscles and bones in its forearms unraveled, shifted and sharpened into thin knives. Their tips and edges were as sharp, if not sharper, than anything man has produced.
With a simultaneous thrust, the knives easily passed through the relatively thick glass and pierced the guards' throats. Blood sprayed from their carotid arteries as they fell down to the floor. The lead Alpha looked down at the console that controlled the lock on the glass door.
Open? The lead Alpha tilted its head sideways as it examined the console and lock. It looked like a confused dog. In reality it was looking through the outer layer of metal and into the innards of the mechanism. Understanding how to be a living thing might have been confusing to it, but machines were not.
Yes. Hears voices. Free too. Through wireless signals, the other two Alphas locked up in the cells next to the leader's asked to be freed as well.
The lead Alpha didn't feel any kinship or connections with the others even though they were the only other ones of their kind (minus the one on its way to Haven). Still, it found itself stepping away from the console towards the other cells.
After walking up to one of the cells holding another Alpha, the leader locked glowing yellow eyes with it's brethren. It pointed at the bars. Then it pointed at it's own body. The creature walked away and did the same in front of the other Alpha. Both got what was being communicated to them.
The other two Alpha's absorbed the magnesium alloy. As their bodies transformed, their leader returned to the door console. It held out its hand close to it with its palm facing upwards. Nanites detached themselves from his metallic skin and jumped onto and into the mechanism.
In a matter of seconds the little light on the door console turned green. There was beep, then the door opened. The lead Alpha looked back and saw the other two standing behind him, waiting to follow.
“I'm sure you're probably wondering what I'm getting at. I'm sure you're wondering what Mack Ericsson has to do with the Alphas. Dr. Michaels was able to create powerful and dangerous weapons with the Mimic strain. They are perfect in almost every way. Except they aren't human.
“Mr. Ericsson is human and has many of the enhancements the Alphas have but isn't as strong or durable. That is why we need to capture him and harvest as much organic material from him as possible.
“If we manage to combine the Alphas and the perfected nanite strain within Mr. Ericsson, we will have what we need to truly rebuild. And all of this destruction, all this death, all this awful shit will have been for something. I don't want to say it would have all been worth it, but in many ways it all would've been.” Sebastian finally made his point.
“I get what you're saying, but how do you plan on keeping the Alphas under control?” asked Isaac.
“Dr. Michaels made sure to program a fail safe into the Mimic virus. Every nanite in their bodies are programmed to shut down after twenty four hours if a serum full of nanites that extend that time frame aren't introduced into their systems. In other words, they need us humans to keep on living,” answered Sebastian, confident in each word he said.
The Alphas took in every detail of the 787's cargo area as they made their way towards the ladder that led to passenger area of the plane. Most of what they saw was new to them. Their minds cataloged it all.
Upon reaching the ladder, the lead Alpha couldn't see much of the ceiling of the fuselage. But it could hear all sorts of things. Chief amongst them were the voices of the staff just up above.
In way. Eliminate. The lead Alpha pointed up the ladder. Its two brethren knew what their leader wanted. Instead of climbing, they simply jumped up to the fuselage.
As the other two Alphas made mince meat out of the three stewardesses and staff who were chatting near the ladder opening, the leader calmly climbed up. It wasn't surprised to see blood and flesh covering the walls, ceiling and floor. Its two other brethren weren't nearly as elegant and efficient in killing as itself. Frankly, they were messy.
The lead Alpha searched. It was looking for the only piece of leverage it's captors had over it. That search was so all consuming that it didn't see the Galatea security officer standing fifteen feet away, frozen in fear.
With shrill screeches, the two omega Alphas sprinted towards the trembling officer. The first one to reach him impaled the man with a spike that formed out of its shoulder. It pinned the dead man against the wall
of the fuselage, and in doing so it punctured the hull.
“What's that sound?” asked Isaac. He referred to the loud and pretty annoying siren that filled the entirety of the 787.
“It's the alarm. I'll go ask the pilot what's going on.” Denise sprung into action. Things like that were her specialty. She was all over it.
The plane started to rock a bit as Denise struggled to keep her balance in heels. She had a couple of close calls. Just as she reached for the door to the cockpit it flew open. In the doorway was the co-pilot.
“What did you guys do!” he yelled. In the split second that Denise could see inside the cockpit she saw the pilot frantically pressing buttons as all manner of alerts blared from the consoles. The door shut.
Denise gave the co-pilot a puzzled look. “Nothing.”
“You guys did something. The cabin is de-pressurizing. Under the seats there should be oxygen masks. Put them on and strap yourselves in!” ordered the co-pilot.
“What!? Why!?” demanded Sebastian. It was getting harder to breath. A roaring noise, like the one you might hear if you stick your head out of the window of a moving car, started low but got louder and louder.
The co-pilot didn't answer. He went back into the cockpit and closed the door. Essentially he left his passengers to their own devices.
“They got out,” said Isaac as he unsheathed his pistol. It was a high caliber weapon that no sane person would bring on an airplane. They'd have to be even more twisted if the gun was loaded. His was.
“What!?” asked Sebastian. He fumbled with the oxygen mask, trying to put it on.
“I said the Alphas got out! It's the only explanation!” Isaac checked his pistol. It was locked, loaded and ready to go.
“Why would they…?”
Look. Search. Here. Find. The lead Alpha wirelessly set orders for the omegas to hunt for the serum. Somewhere in its still evolving brain it knew that if they were here than the only means of imprisoning them had to be nearby.
The hole that one of the omegas poked through the wall of the 787 got bigger as the force from the suction ripped it open. Anything loose like paper or napkins spiraled and flailed out of the makeshift and deadly window. Left unattended it would become a serious problem.
Driven by a new emotion, hatred, the Alphas searched the cabin of the 787, thoroughly. They had little luck. That was until the leader came across a metal box with several locks on it. It only took a vigorous tug for those to break.
Hope. Future. The lead Alpha looked upon vials of serum, preserved and kept chilled by dry ice. It ran it's hand over the top of them and savored the moment. All that was left to do was dispose of the jailers who tried so hard to keep it and its brethren from freedom.
“Put that cannon away! You'll blow a hole in the plane!” shouted Sebastian. He removed his oxygen mask just long enough to get the words out.
“A little late for that,” replied Isaac. His vision started to get blurry and he became lightheaded. Perhaps he should have sat down and put on a mask like his boss, but he knew that monsters were coming for them. And he refused to face them unarmed.
As Isaac predicted, the door separating the rest of the 787 from the cabin he, Denise, and Sebastian were in burst open. Through it came three alphas. The creatures didn't have the most expressive of faces but it was evident that they meant harm.
“Jesus!” exclaimed Sebastian as he saw them. He'd seen them before but always behind bars or through a video screen. Seeing them in person was different. Men made of metal, it was both fascinating and deeply disturbing. They had all the strengths and none of the weaknesses.
Isaac opened fire. He felt words would be wasted on monstrosities. It was more likely that they would understand his bullets rather than reason.
Much to Isaac's surprise and horror, the bullets produced nothing but little sparks upon impact. None of them did any damage. They were his best shot, literally. The only means he had left to defend himself was his knife. If forty five caliber bullets didn't do the trick, a blade probably wouldn't. He refused to go out quietly.
Isaac charged the nanite creatures. He would've said a prayer first if he believed in such silly things. But if he going to die and God did exist, he'd meet his maker on his own terms. Much the way he lived his life.
The leader of the Alphas reached into its own arm. From it, the creature produced a metal bone with a sharp tip. It threw it at an impossible velocity at Isaac. Not only did it pierce the head of Galatea security's shoulder, but hit with enough force to completely take off the arm attached to it.
Denise screamed and backed up to the cockpit door. She banged on it and demanded to be let in. Those demands turned to tear filled pleas.
Sebastian removed his oxygen mask. He stared upon the future. “You can't kill me. You need me. Only I can get you the...”
The lead Alpha's chest unraveled like a nest of snakes and revealed the vials of serum safely tucked inside. It's intense yellow eyes never looked away from Sebastian's.
“I'm your creator! I'm your father!” desperately yelled Sebastian.
The lead Alpha's chest closed. It held out one of its clenched fists. It opened it. There was a metal ball about the size of a marble in it.
As fast as a bullet, the marble sized ball flew towards and into Sebastian's chest. The CEO tried to scream or yell out but the ball had punctured and taken a very temporary residence in his lung. He wanted to ask what was done to him but instead of words, frothy blood came out.
In the blink of an eye, a dozen spikes jutted out of the marble sized ball inside Sebastian. He died almost instantly as they impaled his heart and other vital organs. His body fell out of his seat. It looked like a gory twisted version of a sea urchin.
“You not father,” said the lead Alpha. They were its first words. Understandably they sounded a bit off.
“No, please, no!” begged Denise as the Alphas came for her. She turned and banged on the cockpit door some more, and to her surprise it opened and she fell into the cockpit.
“Shut the door!” she shouted. The co-pilot did just that.
“What the fuck are those things?” asked the co-pilot.
“I... where... when do we land?” It was the only question and cohesive thought that Denise could come up with.
The co-pilot pointed towards the pilot who was skewered by the same metallic bone that took out Isaac. Without anything to stop it, the projectile kept flying. It went through the man flying the plane and was finally stopped by the console. That shorted out the controls and burned circuits.
“Shit!” Denise got up and looked out the front windows of the 787. She got a good view of the oncoming ground. In that moment she knew it was the end. If the Alphas didn't get her, the inevitable crash would.
The door to the cockpit was ripped off. Accompanied by a loud screech, the Alpha's started to enter the cramped space. Denise and the co-pilot both closed their eyes and prepared for the worst.
Chapter 8
: Borroloola
Morning came to the beaches of Northern Australia. The last of General Xin's men in the hut emerged into the weak light of a new sun. The General was already out in the open, waiting to speak to whoever was responsible for saving them.
The helicopter with the thirty millimeter canon landed. Sand whipped up and around the vehicle, creating a mini sand storm that stopped Xin in his tracks. He wanted to know who saved him but wanted to have functional eyes that could see them.
Mrs. Meesang? How is this possible? When the rotors stopped spinning, General Xin saw someone he hadn't seen since shortly after the outbreak. She was a fifty year old Thai woman who looked ten or fifteen years younger. She was short but in good shape. Her hair was cut shoulder-length and had a face more friendly then most in the world those days.
“General. It's nice to see you again,” greeted Mrs. Meesang as she got out of the chopper and headed towards Xin. She was flanked by two burly men carrying assault rifles and equally threatening demeanors. The
y were clad in clean crisp Phoenix uniforms.
“Not as nice as it is to see you,” replied General Xin. He meant it. If it weren't for her, he and his men would have been crocodile food.
Mrs. Meesang smiled. It was the politician in her that made such smiles so easy. True, few of those she gave were genuine, but they were pleasant nonetheless.
“You and your people need to come with us. The Borroloola Base is only about thirty miles inland. We have food, water and even working showers if you can believe that.” Mrs. Meesang gave a very generous offer, one that Xin could not refuse. He nodded and forced a smile of his own.
“Good!” said Meesang enthusiastically. “That's settled. We sent for some trucks. They should be here any minute now.”
Trucks? Food? Showers? Does this woman have any idea how easy she has had it? There are so many in this world that would kill just for a taste of such things. “Good. If you will excuse me, I need to figure out who and what survived the night.”
“Of course. My men will make sure that all these things are down for good.” Mrs. Meesang gave the orders. Her men fanned out and started double tapping infected crocodiles, just to make sure they were dead.
Looks like a war zone. General Xin walked towards the beach where he and his men landed. Along the way were the remains of crocodiles with huge holes punched through them. The sandy dirt was soaked in their black oily blood. Then he reached the small hill they climbed the night before.
Out in the distance, nestled in the Gulf of Carpentaria, was the wreckage of the Jiangshi. The water was too shallow for it to sink and it still burned. Black smoke rose up into a partly cloudy sky in a pillar the size of a skyscraper.
All of the water around the Jiangshi was red. It almost looked like food dye but Xin knew what it actually was. Bodies of those who didn't make it to the beach floated face down in the water alongside the pieces of their comrades.
