Author's Note: Whew! This one is being delivered a little faster. Please forgive the time it takes to set up some foundations with this chapter. I assure you, it all means something. As always, thanks for reading!

Chapter 8

The monumental test day came and went without any actual tests taking place. Tobias, angry and sulking, dismissed Jennifer for the rest of the day. It was becoming habit when the doctor was upset. She would lock herself in the lab, excluding Jennifer from witnessing some vital steps in the probe process. The next day, the progress would be presented in an encapsulated form, to be digested later in reports that scrolled across the console in Jennifer's quarters at night.

The newest test subject had been prepared for the procedure as Tobias had ordered. Jennifer could ill stand the stench that rose off the body of the now-dead rebel who had met its demise before the machines. It sickened her every time she was around them. The missions her cadre had been on to round up resistance fighters had been successful, but she had much disdain for the way they left their mark on the transport vehicles. They were unclean, unbathed – disgusting in every way she could think. There was a clear distinction between those who successfully served the empire and those who would be left behind when the judgment day came. It was that way for a reason. She had been among Lord Dread's chosen few. She would serve faithfully, she knew, because it was in her being to do so. It was her destiny.

Jennifer's mind kept returning to the conversation between Tobias and Lord Dread. She knew she should not have been listening, but she could also justify her eavesdropping in that she had been assigned to observe the doctor and the proceedings at Alaceda. She was supposed to be aware of all that happened and look for anomalies. The confrontation between the two highest-ranking figures in the Dread Empire certainly qualified as an unusual occurrence.

She slept restlessly that night. Her mind replayed the whole scenario over and over. Jennifer dissected each aspect of it, trying to piece together the context of the conversation. There was obviously a past between Lord Dread and Doctor Tobias, though Jennifer could not fathom how far back it went. He had said she had supplied test subjects in the past for her, and that gave Chase an idea. She got out of bed again and went to her terminal. Once again, Mercury was thrilled with the idea that it was time for socialization. It was on its hind legs, pawing at the glass of the container. Jennifer obliged it, putting it on her shoulder and letting it study with her.

Her ambition was reckless, she knew. If Doctor Tobias was monitoring communications to Volcania, then she was certainly logging Jennifer's activities at the console. She had the perfect excuse for the actions she was about to take. She would tell Tobias that she was getting a feel for the doctor's previous work and to help visualize a final product. After all, there was a certain style to the devices and technology that served Lord Dread and the New Order. There was a reason for the way things worked and functioned, and this new probe deserved nothing less than the finest the machine world had to offer. She took pride in the fact that her name would be attached to its history, though she had been taught that nothing was for her pride alone. Ultimately, everything was for the New Order. It truly was destiny.

Doctor Tobias's list of accomplishments was impressive, which to Jennifer was not even an accurate assessment of the inventions and innovations that crawled up her screen in green text. The doctor's work was listed chronologically. She began pulling up the files one by one. At first, the research was foundation-building. At a glance, each project was almost meaningless in the early years. One made a small communications device. Another was to implant it subcutaneous and have it intelligently interact with the human body. The simplicity of each was overshadowed by the perfection of each idea. As Jennifer read the details, she saw the legacy of the accomplishments in the world around her. It was astonishing to think she had been assigned to work with the woman who had pioneered so much in so little time.

Then came the larger projects, the ones that had changed the tide in bringing about the New Order. Doctor Tobias had begun to work on critical mass weapons, incorporating them into the current biomechanical technology that allowed Lord Dread's vision to come to fruition throughout the world. It paved the way for the will of the machines to take hold on the planet, for destiny to be fulfilled by eliminating most of what stood in its way. The whole study was a high-level view of what had brought Tobias into her current circumstances. Jennifer wanted to look deeper, to see what motivated the doctor's work.

She keyed up the biomechanical research library of the records and began sifting through each one. The records were meticulous, the work extraordinary. It had taken Tobias nearly twenty years to perfect some components. She had tested her work time and time again on human test subjects in an effort to find the flawless method in which to incorporate a new idea. The pattern was familiar to Jennifer. She was accustomed to seeing it in the probe lab. Doctor Tobias's research habits had not changed much. It was calculated and documented to the nth degree. Each step was planned with precision and executed as anticipated.

Jennifer disregarded mechanical projects and concentrated solely on the biomechanical mating of technology and flesh. It paralleled the work currently occurring in the probe lab. She was not surprised to find earlier attempts at the same type of project. When she delved into the files, she began seeing familiar names – Helene Tobias, Warren Rosen, Stuart Power, Lyman Taggart.

Lyman Taggart.

Her investigation veered in another direction as she looked to see what Lyman Taggart had accomplished in his early years. More than that, she wanted to see what the man who was now Lord Dread had come to be in power. Her disappointment mounted as her search returned negative results. It was as though his name had been wiped from the database almost entirely except for the few references that existed in Doctor Tobias's files. They had done much work together, until she became the head of her own lab and began spearheading her own projects. One of the most important was the U765 project that was now a standard lesson to all Dread Youth. The U765 was the critical mass weapon that had brought the Federation to its knees and allowed Lord Dread to assume his rightful place as ruler of the New Order. The estimates of its effectiveness varied, but the level of destruction brought about by two detonations was the elimination of nearly eighty-one percent of the Earth's population. The success of the weapon had assured Doctor Helene Tobias of immortality in the annals of history.

After that, she concentrated solely on biomechanical studies. Her work complimented the already effective biomech forces battling what remained of the resistance. She made them smarter and faster, able to analyze the unpredictable movements of the rebels and effectively eliminate them. Beyond that, she began the probe project to once and for all mate the human body to machine perfection.

Mercury tried to nestle under her collar, distracting Jennifer from the material on the screen. She extricated it and put it on the desk. She found a cracker and gave it to the rat, watching for a moment as its tiny teeth efficiently whittled the food.

Her attention turned back to the screen. Her real intent was to look at the prior projects that Lord Dread had spoken of in the lab. Those would give a good idea of what the final device would look like, how it would operate. One such project was the precursor to the latest probe project – the NP1A4. However, instead of replaying memories in the brain, the NP1A4 projected images into it, causing a hallucinatory state in the recipient. With it, interrogators were more than capable of inducing any images they saw fit to extract information from a captive. It was fairly new, having been completed only two years earlier, but its success rate was high. Not many could survive its power for long, no matter how hard they tried. It completely overwhelmed the brain and brought it into an artificial world that seemed so real, even the finest pharmaceuticals could not compete. The total control given to interrogators was a weapon, in and of itself. More information had been extracted with it than through more physical means of interrogation.

It had taken over two hundred subjects to complete the NP1A4 project. Most ended in fatalities. Autopsies were performed on each to determine where the research had gone wrong. She was familiar with the autopsy process, as well, having been privy to it five times when she was stationed at Volcania. It was part of her biological studies to dissect a human body to learn its anatomy. Again, the subjects were unclean rebels who had been euthanized for teaching purposes. Perhaps that was another exposure to them that made her stomach revolt in disgust. She had never particularly liked biological studies, but the Youth were forced to endure every class in order to graduate and become leaders in the New Order. She not only endured them, she excelled in them. It was her duty to perform at her peak, no matter the circumstances.

Once the autopsy was complete, the bodies were disposed of to an incinerator, run by earlier models of biomechs that controlled and managed refuse in Volcania. It was a constant operation, where anything from biological to inanimate material was burned and disposed of before it could become a problem. Though she had never seen the operation, itself, she was aware of the process in the event something accidentally was disposed of that should not have been. There was a timeframe for all material to be incinerated. If a mistake was discovered outside that timeframe, it was almost a certainty it was too late, for each load of refuse was tagged with tracking numbers that could be recalled. Even in garbage disposal, Lord Dread insisted on efficiency and perfection, and that was at every major outpost, including Alaceda. Even the hidden mountain had its own incinerator area. Otherwise, it would be overrun in no time with refuse, which would surely inhibit any progress in the ongoing projects.

Jennifer concentrated on the NP1A4 project again. She queued up a pictorial review of the test results. It was solid evidence that Helene Tobias was brilliant. The ability to confront the physiological mind was fascinating and completely hers, an extraordinary vision of what could be.

She drilled down into the file more, looking into the details of the project. It was all a very tidy package, but it was also immediately clear that Jennifer was eons behind Tobias in terms of innovation and vision. It was also, clear, though, that the doctor needed a scribe. Several of the fields in the autopsy dispositions were not filled in and lacked proper information to close out the file. Several fields, including the refuse processing number, were missing. It was uncharacteristic of someone as thorough as Doctor Tobias. However, Jennifer also considered the possibility that the missing information was trivial when compared to the volume of accomplishments in her career.

Chase continued reviewing past projects, seeing the successful integration of machined parts into human flesh. It was the genesis of the New Order, Lord Dread's final vision for the world. There were failures in Tobias's first attempts, which was to be expected when embarking on new ground. The work was conducted on a variety of subjects, of all ages, all kinds. That made complete sense, since the technology would have to be compatible with any human host it was put in without question. Over the course of two years, Tobias conducted the tests and meticulously documented her results, showing what worked and what did not. There were numerous failures, each combated in the next experiment until perfected. Lord Dread had said he had provided a large number of test subjects. It was no wonder why they had been required. The failures had been catastrophic, mangling and mutilating the subjects, sometimes beyond recognition, with implementations and devices. It mattered little, since they all ended up in the same place when success had finally been achieved.

Again, though, Jennifer saw the incompleteness of the administrative portion of the records. Knowing Doctor Tobias, though, Jennifer suspected that it was of little consequence to the woman. Her focus was always on the work, not on what pleased administrative types. She was consumed by the work, not being accountable to even the likes of Lord Dread.

Still, the incompleteness of the reports bothered Jennifer. It was something that should have been completed, simply because it was perfection to complete the job. She would have time in the morning before any work began to begin filling out the rest of the forms, a task that would be simple. She would just cross-reference the dates and the refuse order and assign the information to the records. Then, no one would look upon the records at a later time and think Doctor Tobias to be lacking in detail in any way.

Jennifer's eyes finally started to burn. It was late. She should have been sleeping hours earlier, but the material she had read was incredible. It renewed her respect for Doctor Tobias in that she understood why it had been such a problem when the cadaver she had expected that morning had not arrived. Though Jennifer was sure Lord Dread meant well, it had put the exacting procedures of Doctor Tobias off schedule. All Jennifer knew for sure was that the next morning was going to be more exciting as the last step in the probe testing would take place.

She slept soundly and was oddly vibrant and awake when the alarm sounded in the morning. She rose and prepared quickly for the day. With one last check on Mercury's food and water supplies, she quickly made her way back to the lab. Alaceda was moving with its usual activity among its residents, mostly utility workers who kept the main portions of the station in working order. Out of twenty-two residents of the station, only Chase and Doctor Tobias were permitted in the lab areas. The rest were relegated to operational tasks, all performing a needed function.

Doctor Tobias was sitting at her desk when Jennifer entered the lab in a flourish. Tobias looked up from a report, amused at the cadet's energy.

"Good morning," Tobias said.

"Good morning, Doctor," Jennifer said, approaching the desk. She stood at parade rest in front of it, finding it difficult to contain her excitement.

"My, aren't we full of energy today. Have you been snacking on Mercury's crackers?"

"I'm eager to test the probe insertion this morning," Jennifer admitted.

"Ah, yes," Tobias sighed. "Well, considering your Lord Dread hasn't screwed us up in our plans yet, I'd say we're on track to do this today. Shall we?"

Tobias stood and indicated Jennifer should go into the probe lab. The cadaver she had prepared the previous day was there and ready for implantation. The air seemed cooler in the lab, blowing more vigorously about the room than usual. The probe machine sat there, familiar and proud to Jennifer. She saw her work in it, having contributed her ideas to those of the greatest scientific mind in the empire. It had already been positioned at the cadaver's head, she presumed by Tobias. Subject thirteen's head had been shaved and prepared for the procedure.

The doctor sat down at the machine. "Take your place, cadet," she said, indicating the consoles where the progress would be produced in data streams for examination.

Jennifer sat down at her station and called up the insertion program. They had worked hard on it, perfecting the burrowing process into the brain tissue of the previous subject. Tobias had been pleased with the progress, which had been rapid and exciting. Jennifer worked well with Tobias, sharing her drive to attain results with accuracy. She imagined becoming a protégé of the doctor, though that would be presumptuous for a cadet. Nonetheless, attaining a goal was rewarded in the Youth. She could still hope and work toward her goal. If she did not attain it, she knew more rewards awaited her upon graduation.

"Run the insertion simulation," Tobias ordered.

Jennifer began the program. She watched as a computer analysis of the cadaver was made by laser measurement, mathematically producing the projected trajectory of the probe. Then, a scan of the cadaver's brain tissue was made, mapping each cell and marking them with an identifying code. Critical areas of the brain that controlled vital functions were outlined in red, indicating the danger zones during the process. The program indicated that it recognized them as opposed to where the memory centers resided in the neocortex, where the probe had been aimed. The angles were exacting and precise, producing a model of what cells would be damaged in the insertion process. Jennifer fed the information to Tobias for approval.

Tobias studied the results carefully. The minutes ticked by slowly as she examined every line, every bit of information that had been produced. Jennifer felt impatient, wanting to know if the first run was considered a success so that the second, more crucial step could be performed.

Finally, Tobias gave a small nod. "This looks good. Run it again, from the top."

Tobias moved the probe machine to a slightly different location, intentionally offsetting it from the original position. Jennifer initiated the program and watched it run. Again, the machine conducted its study, calculating and measuring, predicting the areas of damage and what would have to be replaced. The wait was interminable to Chase as she waited for the results. Finally, they completed. She showed them to Tobias.

Again, the doctor studied them visually, scanning the lines, looking for inconsistencies.

Tobias took a deep breath, revealing an uncharacteristic nervousness. "Run the comparison."

This was it. This was the moment of truth. Jennifer initiated the comparison algorithm. The main systems began comparing both sets of data, looking for any differences in data. If one difference were found, then it would not be considered a successful test. They would have to analyze and determine where the failure occurred and try to fix it as soon as possible.

Tobias stood next to Jennifer at the console and watched as the data was compared. Two streams scrolled side by side on the screens, each line turning bright green as a match was made. First, the individual cell identification comparison was conducted. It was the most crucial part, but they had confirmed that part of the process had been in working order days beforehand. Doctor Tobias had perfected that portion of the project. Thus, Jennifer had not really been too concerned about it. It still had to be done, though, to give a complete and accurate report of the project's success.

The first comparison completed. Then came Jennifer's portion. The next set of data began scrolling. The goal was for the analysis to identify the same cells that would be damaged in the insertion process and to duplicate them before obliterating them. Her heart thumped in her chest as she watched green line after green line scroll on the screen. Her mind counted up the percentage of success as the comparison continued.

Tobias's eyes were sharp as she, too, watched the data. Her shoulders were taut with stress, waiting for the results. Her breath was shallow as she read the scrolls, her eyes reflecting the lines that turned green at every success.

Finally, the comparison completed. The analysis showed one hundred percent compatibility in data, with no deviations. The two women stood there, silent, regarding their success.

True to form, Tobias was calm and direct. "Well done, cadet," she said.

Jennifer was speechless. Her excitement at their success had taken the words away to describe her pride.

"Time for the big show," Tobias said, stepping back over to the cadaver. Jennifer's role was finished for the moment.

Tobias left the machine in its last position and began the insertion protocol. The probe process began. Bone was drilled, soft tissue was encountered and pierced. It went as planned. There were no deviations in how the machine had been programmed. The probe's progress was tracked at the console, aimed at the neocortex and hitting its mark with precision. Excess brain tissue was cored and ejected into the machine for analysis. A coupling fastener circled down and secured the probe in place, burrowing into the skull.

Tobias called for another mapping of the existing brain with the probe in place. The scan began, tunneling its results to the main core for analysis. The goal was to see the same cells that had been earmarked by the initial two scans as the ones that had been destroyed to make room for the probe.

The console immediately began a comparison of the two dry runs and the actual test results. Tobias joined Jennifer again at the console to watch the results. At first, the analysis was sluggish as the main core set the parameters of the comparison and organized the data. Then the screen began to scroll.

Jennifer's breathing was shallow as they watched the results. One mistake would equal failure. She was not used to failing. She had gone over the program a hundred times, to the point she even dreamed about the sequences. Numbers danced in her unconscious head at night. She thought about them during mealtime and especially during work time. Now, it was all coming to life in front of her eyes, each line turning green with success as a triple redundant data match was concluded.

Tobias folded her arms in front of her, pulling at the edge of her robe to encase herself in warmth as she observed the results. Jennifer looked up to see tiny nods of approval as the doctor viewed the results. The experiment glowed a successful green again, line after line, cell after cell.

The comparison completed with bold letters of confirmation across the screen. Everything had acted as it was designed. A new day had dawned in the relationship between man and machine.

"Well done," Tobias said again. "Your Lord Dread will be happy as a clam, I suspect, when we tell him."

Jennifer hardly knew how to respond. Her adrenaline was still coursing through her veins. "When do we do a live test?"

"Very soon," Tobias said quietly. "Tomorrow, we'll receive our load of live subjects, and we'll proceed."

Jennifer could not contain her pride. "This is incredible."

"Feels good to succeed, doesn't it?" Tobias asked seriously.

"We've worked so hard on this. I didn't think I'd ever get a full night's sleep again."

"Well," Tobias said, "hard work reaps good rewards. Tonight, you'll be able to sleep soundly."

Jennifer looked around the lab. "What now?"

"For now," Tobias said, "we'll write the report and submit it for authorization to continue. Then, we'll inspect the holding area for the new test subjects when they arrive. I don't want anything to disrupt our process tomorrow."

For some reason, Jennifer had the nagging feeling Tobias was not as enthralled with their accomplishment as she should have been. Her words were carefully measured, and there was little excitement for what had just happened.

The cadet was curious. "Doctor?" she asked tentatively.

"Yes?"

Her bravery came forth. "Are you pleased with the results?"

Tobias smiled gently. "I'm pleased we were successful, yes. It's going to be a new day tomorrow."

Her bravery stayed, since Tobias had not reprimanded her for her personal question. "May I ask you something else?"

Tobias busied herself with securing the probe instrument. "We'll see. What's the question?"

"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with Lord Dread yesterday."

The doctor raised a brow. "Oh?"

"You kept calling him Lyman. Why?"

Tobias gave a snort. "Because 'pompous, arrogant ass' takes too long. Accurate, mind you," she added, "but time-consuming."

The chime to the probe lab rang. Jennifer looked at the security console. The stuttering mechanic from the hangar stood there, still in dirty coveralls, looking so closely into the lens of the security camera that his face completely filled the screen.

Unlike the moment of success in the project, a genuinely happy grin sailed acrossTobias's face. "Ah, right on time," she said fondly. "Open the door."

The door opened with a quiet whooshing sound. The mechanic waited tentatively until Tobias greeted him.

"Good morning, Ian," she said cheerfully.

He looked as though he was about to speak, but then he held his words and only nodded. Tobias walked toward him, abandoning the probe project as though it did not matter.

"Let's go to our spot, and we'll get started."

She led him out of the doorway and back toward her desk. She sat down and pulled an adjacent chair over for him. Jennifer stood in the doorway and watched the proceedings.

"How are things in the hangar?" Tobias asked, opening a drawer in the desk and beginning to rummage.

"F-fine," he answered, looking down at the floor as he spoke the broken word. He sat down lightly in the chair, his posture straight and disciplined, like a Youth cadet. He waited while she finished looking through the drawer.

"I'm glad to hear that." She straightened from her search. "Ah, here we are," she said, holding up a pair of ocular devices. Tobias leaned forward and placed them on Ian's eyes.

When his vision was blinded, she motioned for Jennifer to come closer and observe.

"I g-got m-most of the wo-work done on the sh-ship like you asked," Ian reported, not moving and letting Tobias adjust the devices.

"Very good," Doctor Tobias said, smiling. "Ian, do you know Youth Leader Chase?"

He lifted up one of the lenses and looked around until he brought Jennifer into view. "Hi!" he said cheerfully.

His exuberance was pleasant to Jennifer, despite his imperfections. "Hello, Ian."

"We're working to correct some of Ian's speech difficulties," Tobias explained. "This is a variation of the NP1A4. Are you familiar with that work?"

"Yes," Jennifer said. "I read about it last night, as a matter of fact."

"Well, Ian's been helping me tweak it a bit to convince the parts of his brain that are causing all the difficulties with his words to do something different. With any luck," she said, readjusting the device, "we'll have him talking in a blue streak in no time."

Jennifer watched as Doctor Tobias began working with the young man, having him name images as he saw them in the goggles. She would make precise adjustments, honing the settings until Ian sounded like an entirely different person. His speech became smooth and controlled, no longer staggered over simple words that impeded his ability to communicate. It was another stellar example of Doctor Tobias's brilliance in her work, despite the fact that it was being put to use on someone who would never be a part of the New Order.

The process was not long before Tobias decided she had enough information she needed.

"Ian," she said, "I understand you have to complete the maintenance on the cargo ship. Jennifer, here, is a burgeoning pilot. I'll bet she could help you."

Jennifer was not following. "Doctor?"

Tobias addressed Jennifer directly. "Our work in the lab is completed for today. The cargo ship needs maintenance and a qualified pilot to take it for a test run when completed. You're a qualified pilot, and Ian can complete his task for the day if you do the flight test."

"That would b-be gr-great!" Ian said with enthusiasm.

Tobias agreed wholeheartedly. She stood and proudly announced, "Then it's settled. Ian, Jennifer will be your pilot for today."