Directed Evolution

Galina lay back on the cot with a sigh. It had hurt, getting up and walking to the small chemical toilet that served this hideaway as sanitary facilities. But it had hurt less this time. Lynn looked at her and Galina smiled. The doc had moved to another part of the large room where a table with a bunch of stuff on it was set up. Some of it was recognizable, like the laptop computer. The rest was alien to Galina's understanding.

"It hurts less." The girl said as she pulled her shirt up. The clothes that Hayden had acquired for her fit reasonably well. "That is good?"

"That is good." Lynn said, returning the smile. "You are healing. Our bodies have changed, but at the core, they remain as they were."

"I do not mean to be rude..." Galina said slowly. "But... I do have a question." Lynn arced an eyebrow at her and Galina flushed. "Ah... It is nothing..." She said, shamefaced.

"You wonder why you haven't seen me use the facilities." Lynn said without a trace of embarrassment. Galina felt her face heat further and Lynn shook her head. "Galina, I am not... well..." She paused and corrected herself. "It does bother me. But I am trying to figure out what happened to me and why. But this I do know. My body doesn't deal with sustenance the way it did." Galina looked puzzled and Lynn smiled gently. "It is all right, Galina. I don't bite."

"Why do I get the feeling that is...not entirely true?" Galina said with a matching smile.

"Ah... Caught." Lynn said with a wince."Well, yes. I was a... well... My colleagues called me 'The Ice Queen'." Galina nodded with a sigh and Lynn looked at her, appraising. "You too, huh?"

"Not many friends, even before..." Galina looked down at her now clad front and shuddered. Lynn nodded sympathetically and Galina shrugged. "I had books."

"What books?" Lynn asked, turning away from whatever she was working on and scrutinizing Galina who flushed. "Come on." She said with a smile. "I liked Lord of the Rings, the Belgariad and now I love Harry Potter."

"Lord of the Rings, I know." Galina said with a nod. "And Harry Potter of course. But... The Belgariad?" She asked curiously.

"Fantasy like the others by a man named David Eddings. A six book series. A young man's coming of age in a world of magic and mayhem. Not the most intellectually stimulating of books, but fun to read." Lynn said with a sigh. "Magic and swords and adventure." She snorted. "Funny... Now I am living a fantasy adventure story and I don't like it at all." She said with a grimace.

"Adventure is fun to read about." Galina agreed. "But to do? It hurts." She said with a sigh. Lynn looked worried and rolled her chair closer to the bed. Galina shook her head. "I am all right...It just stings now."

"I worry." Lynn said softly. "May I?" She waved at Galina who sighed and nodded, laying her head back. Lynn's hands were professional as she checked the bandage that was still on Galina's chest. The doc sat back after a minute, her face clearing. "I will take the bandages off in an hour or so. You really don't need them now."

"I still don't see how this...metal infection can be helping me." Galina complained, rolling onto her not injured side to look at Lynn. "It is evil!" Lynn sighed and shook her head. "What?" Galina asked.

"Galina, a virus is not good or evil. It is what it is." Lynn said softly, her hand coming down to take Galina's. "A virus is a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the living cells of an organism. No more, no less."

"But..." Galina swallowed. "It is evil."

"The effects seem that way." Lynn agreed. "Everything that I saw... It sure seems that way." She agreed. "But in medicine, we taught to look for causes. Not to philosophize on things we don't have all the understanding for. I don't know where the Technocyte virus came from. I don't know why it affected organic beings the way it did. And I have no clue why you, me and Hayden were not affected. Or... we were..." She corrected herself when Galina made a sound of protest. "But... not the same."

"I don't think I can see it that way, Lynn." Galina said quietly.

"You don't have to. I am not going to try and make you do anything, Galina." Lynn said with a nod. "But if you have questions, ask. I may not have the answers. I will try to find them if I don't. But you were wondering why I don't use the facilities?" Galina took a deep breath and nodded.

"Yes." Galina replied.

"I have a theory that my body is storing the chemical energy that it takes in." Lynn frowned slightly. "But how, or for what? I have no means of checking except what Hayden showed you." Galina winced and Lynn squeezed her hand sympathetically. "You are quick. It took me two weeks to figure out how to do that even with Hayden's coaching."

"Desperation is a good teacher." The girl on the cot said with a self deprecating grin. "What did you see?" Galina asked.

"I have...a new organ. No idea what it is. " Lynn said with a wince. Galina stared at her and swallowed, but Lynn was quick to reassure her. "Whatever I have, it is not contagious. I just have an extra bit in my body now. And..." She paused and grimaced. "It glows."

"Glows?" Galina asked slowly.

"Every time I eat, it glows. At least it is all internal so I don't light up like a Christmas tree." Lynn said with a shiver. "No idea why or what it does, but I don't excrete anymore. Good thing too. A toilet with these..." She slapped her legs with her free hand. "Would be a literal pain in the butt."

"Are these changes genetic?" Galina asked after thinking for a moment. Lynn looked at her and Galina blushed. "I read a lot."

"I don't know." Lynn admitted. "I don't have the equipment to test it or the training to understand genetics in anything but diseases." She looked sheepish.

"So...are we mutants?" Galina asked, her thoughts racing. Lynn looked at her and laughed.

"What like the X-Men?" Lynn asked between snorts of laughter. "Which one would you want to be? I liked the Psylocke character myself."

"You read comic books?" Galina demanded, aware that she was grinning, but not bothering to stop. She froze as Lynn did.

"No." Lynn said slowly. "My son does. Did." Galina's eyes went very wide at that and Lynn shook her head. "They... They were told I died. Hayden checked." Lynn said in a halting voice. "I trust him."

"No..." Galina felt her eyes start to burn. "No... You are not dead."

"To them I am." Lynn said sadly. "And even if I could go back?" The doctor sounded bitter now. "How fast can I run if the men who had me come for me again? If they threaten my family?"

"This...isn't right." Galina said softly, taking Lynn's hand, pulling it close and cradling it.

"Right or wrong don't matter." Lynn said sadly. "It is what it is. Isn't that a Russian saying?"

"I think most cultures have a saying like that." Galina said with a scowl. Then she deliberately changed the subject. "I liked to read science fiction. Asimov, Heinlein, Bradbury, Clarke, Sagan."

"The good stuff." Lynn said, appreciate of the change in subject. Then she paused. "Actually...Let go for a sec..." Galina released her hand and Lynn spun her chair deftly and rolled it back to the table, where she rummaged a bit. Then she pulled out something small and flat with a cry of triumph. "Here it is!"

"What is it?" Galina asked curiously as Lynn turned to come back her way.

"My Kindle." Lynn said with a smile. "I don't know why the scum who had me kept my belongings close at hand, but Hayden found some of my clothes and other stuff. Including this." She showed the small device to Galina who stared at it curiously. It was a small flat thing with a white display on it. "It was state of the art in 2007..." Lynn said with a sigh.

"A Kindle?" Galina said slowly. "Some of the other students had those."

"Newer versions no doubt." Lynn said with a shrug as she slid a tiny switch, a green light appeared and the screen lit up. "Ha! I knew I got the adaptor right!"

"Adaptor?" Galina asked, looking around. "There are no power outlets here."

"Siberian power grids are generally not to be trusted anyway." Lynn said with a wince. "The best 1920s technology you can buy." Galina chuckled a bit at that but nodded. "We toyed with the idea of getting a generator, but the fumes or noise would be traceable. Might lead searchers to us. Hayden 'found' a fuel cell somewhere and we rigged it to provide power."

"A fuel cell? Cool. Wait..." Galina said and then paused, worried. "What does it use for fuel?"

"Alcohol." Lynn said with a wince. "One thing that Siberia has a lot of is bootleg vodka."

"Okay, I can see that." Galina replied, her face clearing. "And the air as source of oxygen... How does the air circulate?" She asked slowly. "It..." She paused again, sniffing. "It doesn't taste stale. Or like outside."

"No idea." Lynn said with a shrug. "One more thing we are trying to figure out."

"Where are we?" Galina asked, looking around, She had seen the white walls and high vaulted ceiling since she had woken, but now she looked closer. None of the walls had any marks on them. No tool marks, no sign of painting. Nothing.

"Underground, I think. Hayden made this place." Lynn said with a sigh. "I needed a place to hide and Hayden brought me here. He said he made it, but I have no idea how. He also says he 'moves' the entrance. And every time he does whatever he does, it knocks him unconscious."

"This place is not natural." Galina said slowly. "So it must have been made." She reasoned. Lynn looked at her and she swallowed. "Hayden has not lied to me that I know of... So..."

"Or me that I know of." Lynn replied with a nod. "Go on."

"Clarke said that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." Galina said slowly, choosing her words with care. "If Hayden did make this..."

"Hayden is not a magician, Galina." Lynn said, her face remote.

"I know. But..." Galina paused. "Did you ever read the tales of King Arthur?" Lynn stared at her and Galina blushed again. "I... I liked them. Knights and chivalry and all."

"I was always more interested in the history." Lynn said slowly. "But I did read the stories a few times. Arthur and Guinevere and Lancelot."

"Lancelot was added by the French to the original Anglo-Saxon tales of Arturious Castus Pollus and..." Galina paused as Lynn's jaw dropped. "What?" She asked.

"You did like those stories." Lynn said, grinning. "What drew you to them?"

"The idea of a Code to uphold." Galina said with a sigh. "A noble calling. A duty to protect and serve. When I was a child, I wanted to be a policewoman. Women were not knights."

"Jean D'arc." Lynn said with a wince. "But not the best role model to follow I don't think." Galina gulped and nodded.

"No, I don't want to be burnt at the stake today." Galina agreed fervently. Then she grinned. "But I always loved the tales of knight sand heroes. I always played swords with my brothers and..." She broke off and her jaw dropped.

"Galina?" Lynn asked.

"It can't be that simple..." Galina mused softly. "Can it?" She touched her torso with a finger and shook her head. "No...It can't be."

"Galina, are you okay?" Lynn asked as Galina paled.

"I... I don't know." Galina felt faint. "I... this is going to sound strange."

"Stranger than any of the rest of this madness?" Lynn asked sourly. She stiffened as Galina nodded. "What?"

"Did you like to swim?" Galina asked as she stared at Lynn intently, no at Lynn's neck! Lynn looked at her and shook her head, baffled.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Lynn demanded, her hand going to her neck, but not finding anything wrong. "What? Not a lot of swimming pools in Siberia, Galina."

"Lynn..." Galina shook her head, but her conviction grew. "More than anything else as a child, I wanted to be a knight. Battling evil. Riding a horse, with a shining sword, saving dashing hunks in distress." Lynn chortled at that. The doc stopped as Galina met her eyes with scared ones. "Wearing armor." The younger woman flicked a finger at her chest and it made a ringing sound. Lynn stared at her. "Did you like to swim?" She repeated.

"I loved to swim." Lynn said with a dazed look. "From before I could walk, I was swimming. I was always at a pool, the beach, diving..." She shook her head. "No... That isn't possible, Galina."

"Lynn." Galina said softly. "Turn your feet out from one another."

"Galina." Lynn said with a snap. "They won't..." She froze as something happened. She and Galina both stared at her feet. Or... where her feet had been. At the large, ribbed metal covered structure that had taken their place. Lynn went white. "I... No... That can't... I am not a..." She broke off, gagging.

"No, you are not a mermaid." Galina said with a nod. "Those are legend. This is fact. Try putting your feet back together." Lynn gulped and then her...tail vanished and metal covered two human feet were suddenly visible. "Wow." Galina said, awed.

"Holy shit." Lynn said as she fainted. Galina sat up quickly to catch her and held the doctor as she slumped. She held the doctor until the woman roused a bit. "I..." She started crying.

"Easy, Lynn." Galina said gently. "We have both just had a hell of a shock. You more than me."

"I.. I felt it..." Lynn said, clinging to Galina. "I could never feel my feet before, but I felt that... That..." She gulped.

"Tail." Galina said with a sigh. "I wonder... Will I grow a sword out of an arm? A shield? Will it hurt if I hit people with it?" She shook her head. "We need to figure this out."

"Yes." Lynn said, hugging Galina. "Thank you. I... Wait..." She stared down at her legs and then slowly released Galina before sitting up and then, to Galina's amazement she stood up! "I... My legs..." She stammered. "I can feel them again! I... I felt something 'click' and I can feel..." Her face was radiant as she took a step and then another! "I can walk! Oh my god..." She was crying as she jumped a bit.

"They were there." Galina said with a nod. "But not reading the signals your brain sent. Or the reverse."

"Probably the reverse. Probably my brain didn't understand the signals that the legs were sending." Lynn said as she sat again in what had been her prison. She shook her head. "What made you think of that?"

"Be a fish." Galina said with a smirk. Lynn stared at her and Galina smiled. "Disney movie, 'The Sword in the Stone'. Merlin shapechanged the young Arthur into a fish to teach him about physics. Action and reaction."

"Teaching...a medieval king... about physics..." Lynn said, bemused. "Okay..." She said with a wince. "I guess I can see that in an Disney movie."

"We do need to figure this out." Galina said with a sigh. "This is very strange, but it is not magic."

"For us, its a symbiotic relationship." Lynn said with a nod. "Hayden and I figured that much out. The human is the host and the...metal... is the symbiote. It didn't seem to do anything for me, but it melded with Hayden's armor. I thought I was useless, a cripple. I was wrong. I can do something." She rubbed her leg gently. "And I can feel this too. Oh Galina, you have no idea..."

"No." Galina greed. "No, I don't. But I am happy for you."

"Thank you." Lynn said with a smile. "Hayden will be shocked."

"Shouldn't he be back by now?" Galina said with a frown. "It was what? An hour ago?"

"Hayden can take care of himself." Lynn said with a shrug. "Worrying about him won't help. And no, you are not leaving that cot until you have eaten something!"

"Pushy doc." Galina said with a glower that was half hearted.

Both of them froze as the wall suddenly glowed gold and Hayden came through, But he was gasping for breath. And he was bleeding!

"Hayden!" Both females cried as one, Galina running to his side as Lynn turned to the medical gear on the table.

"I... I have to... shift the entrance..." Hayden said, gasping as he slumped against the wall. "Hunters getting too close. Ran into a trap."

"Enferon?"Lynn asked as she knelt beside him. He stared at her and she snarled at him. "Later."

"Not Enferon. I know what that feels like." Hayden said, slumping a bit. "Just several hits. Galina...I am not strong enough... I need your help."

"What can I do?" Galina asked, holding his hands as Lynn started working on his wounds. "What do you need?"

"Some of your body's power." Hayden said as he grasped her hands with one of his. His other hand touched the wall. "Please... We have to hurry. They had grenades..."

"Take what you need, my friend." Galina said calmly as she braced herself.

Hayden smiled and then... The universe opened to Galina. It was as if she was standing in empty space, moving bodies all around her. A star burned brightly close at hand, and planets circled it. She started, she knew this solar system, it was Earth's! Then she was flying. She saw the Earth below her, a spot glowing on the western part of the continent she knew was Asia. Then a sense of motion and another spot glowing on the eastern part of the continent she knew was North America. Something jerked her and she gave a small cry as she found herself kneeling in the odd room again. She felt drained, but whole.

"Where, Hayden?" Lynn demanded. "Where are we?"

"The last place anyone would expect." Hayden said, slumping. "A cave in the mountains of Virginia on the east coast of the United States."

"Bozhe moi" Galina said with a gulp as Hayden passed out.