THE AMAZING, INCREDIBLE, MIND-BOGGLING ADVENTURES OF TABLE-HEADED SERVICE DRONE BOB!
Part Fourteen: Psychological profile
Bob and Chak had managed to sneak past the many myriad security cameras that lined the corridors outside the cell, and in order to effectively avoid attention they resorted to travelling through the air ducts. This proposed as many problems as solutions...
"I thought you said this was the right way!" Chak's trademark irritation was getting acute.
"I had needles in my brain just half an hour ago!" Bob had argued back, "I just need to get some perception. I'm SURE there's a way out to the surface."
"There may not BE a surface!" Chak responded, "for all we know, this place was built on a worthless hunk of rock and any way out would lead to a horrible, grisly death!"
"SHHH!" Bob indicated urgently, his voice dropping down several notches, "I hear voices." Bob dragged himself to a small grating in the air duct while Chak followed, interested. The voices they heard were eminantly familiar.
"What do you mean, 'you couldn't find anything'!?" said an irritated Larb, one of the voices they recognised, "you had that little asshole strapped in that chair sucking out his brain for a full hour and a half and you're saying you couldn't find anything!?"
"Just because we didn't find what we were searching for," said Crag, the scientist, who was also recognizable, "doesn't mean it isn't there!" Bob drew himself closer to the grate, and peered inside. It seemed to be some kind of private office, with Larb standing up and leaning on a desk, looking very annoyed with the progress of his little project, and Crag was standing in front of him, trying to explain his apparent failure.
"How do you know it IS there, huh?" added Larb irritably, "because at the moment I don't seem to have had jack shit to tell me there's even anything THERE!"
"There's a part of his mind that we weren't able to penetrate," Crag explained, "it may require a second round in the chair to decode it."
"He nearly DIED back there Crag!" Larb said, "and I don't want to have the Tallest asking around, seeing how my investigation is going and all I have to show them is a corpse!"
"The risks are MINIMAL, commander!" Crag pleaded, "even if the subject dies, I'm certain that we would have extracted enough information to decode the memories."
"You assured me that this technology could penetrate ANY mind-block the first time round," Larb commented, "I don't have unlimited reserves of trust, y'know."
"But this is no ORDINARY mind-block, Commander," Crag tried to explain, "in fact, I don't think it's even a MIND-BLOCK as such. It has more in common with severe psychological trauma, he's IMPOSED this memory loss on himself! Our instruments showed that whatever message was implanted in him during his stint aboard the sun-diving cruiser, it was seemingly 'piggy-backed' onto this older memory, to hide from instruments such as this! In order to find what we're searching for, we'll have to find out what the older memory was."
"We NEED that knowledge Crag!" Larb reminded, "We need to know why the Planet Jackers are so interested in obtaining it. It may be of unimaginable importance, so I hope you have some ideas about it!"
"Well, we know the older memory has to do with this other service drone called Lenn..." began Crag. Bob started developing that migraine again.
"Oh no," Bob whispered to himself.
"...as far as we can gather," Crag continued, "this service drone had a close relationship with the subject. They seemed to have manipulated their assignments in order to remain in each other's company. They managed to get an assignment on-board the Massive, and then...?" Crag emphasised the last phrase with a shrug but those two words ripped through Bob's mind like bullets.
And then...and then...and then...
Bob jerked, clutching his head as the pain ripped through his mind and was emphasised by the wounds in his head from the chair. His spasming impacted on the sides of the air duct, echoing down the shaft so it felt like every person on the planet could hear them. Chak grabbed onto Bob and tried to soothe him as quietly as she could. Eventually Bob managed to regain some coherence but the damage was done.
"The second round in the chair will have to be concentrated in that area," Crag had continued talking during the whole thing but Larb was staring at the air duct suspiciously, "we'll have to start as soon as possible, before his defences have a chance to..."
"Shut up, Crag!" Larb motioned, peering towards the air duct, "did you hear that?" Bob and Chak sat as quietly as they could, eyes wide open in fright. Chak still had her hand over Bob's mouth, and Bob's ears were still ringing from the pain. They couldn't take their eyes off Larb's, that were looking at the grating and drawing ever closer.
"Hear what?" Crag added insensitively.
"SHH!" Larb jerked, getting closer to the air duct. Bob and Chak were practically willing their hearts to stop beating as their breathing seemed loud enough to wake the dead. Larb was about to touch the opening to the vent.
"INTRUDER ALERT. STARK 1-27 PERIMETER HAS BEEN COMPRIMISED" Larb turned away from the vent at the sound of the computer but Bob and Chak didn't seem to get any less nervous because of the sound.
"What the hell?" Larb exclaimed, "who could possibly have the resources to get past security?" Larb was interrupted by an explosion that ripped through the ceiling. The air duct collapsed and the both of them fell onto the floor, though Larb and Crag were too busy crouching under the desk to notice otherwise. From the ceiling a team of older-model SIR units descended from the ceiling, though their age didn't detract from the deadliness of the weaponry that was now pointed at Bob's head...
TO BE CONTINUED...
Part Fourteen: Psychological profile
Bob and Chak had managed to sneak past the many myriad security cameras that lined the corridors outside the cell, and in order to effectively avoid attention they resorted to travelling through the air ducts. This proposed as many problems as solutions...
"I thought you said this was the right way!" Chak's trademark irritation was getting acute.
"I had needles in my brain just half an hour ago!" Bob had argued back, "I just need to get some perception. I'm SURE there's a way out to the surface."
"There may not BE a surface!" Chak responded, "for all we know, this place was built on a worthless hunk of rock and any way out would lead to a horrible, grisly death!"
"SHHH!" Bob indicated urgently, his voice dropping down several notches, "I hear voices." Bob dragged himself to a small grating in the air duct while Chak followed, interested. The voices they heard were eminantly familiar.
"What do you mean, 'you couldn't find anything'!?" said an irritated Larb, one of the voices they recognised, "you had that little asshole strapped in that chair sucking out his brain for a full hour and a half and you're saying you couldn't find anything!?"
"Just because we didn't find what we were searching for," said Crag, the scientist, who was also recognizable, "doesn't mean it isn't there!" Bob drew himself closer to the grate, and peered inside. It seemed to be some kind of private office, with Larb standing up and leaning on a desk, looking very annoyed with the progress of his little project, and Crag was standing in front of him, trying to explain his apparent failure.
"How do you know it IS there, huh?" added Larb irritably, "because at the moment I don't seem to have had jack shit to tell me there's even anything THERE!"
"There's a part of his mind that we weren't able to penetrate," Crag explained, "it may require a second round in the chair to decode it."
"He nearly DIED back there Crag!" Larb said, "and I don't want to have the Tallest asking around, seeing how my investigation is going and all I have to show them is a corpse!"
"The risks are MINIMAL, commander!" Crag pleaded, "even if the subject dies, I'm certain that we would have extracted enough information to decode the memories."
"You assured me that this technology could penetrate ANY mind-block the first time round," Larb commented, "I don't have unlimited reserves of trust, y'know."
"But this is no ORDINARY mind-block, Commander," Crag tried to explain, "in fact, I don't think it's even a MIND-BLOCK as such. It has more in common with severe psychological trauma, he's IMPOSED this memory loss on himself! Our instruments showed that whatever message was implanted in him during his stint aboard the sun-diving cruiser, it was seemingly 'piggy-backed' onto this older memory, to hide from instruments such as this! In order to find what we're searching for, we'll have to find out what the older memory was."
"We NEED that knowledge Crag!" Larb reminded, "We need to know why the Planet Jackers are so interested in obtaining it. It may be of unimaginable importance, so I hope you have some ideas about it!"
"Well, we know the older memory has to do with this other service drone called Lenn..." began Crag. Bob started developing that migraine again.
"Oh no," Bob whispered to himself.
"...as far as we can gather," Crag continued, "this service drone had a close relationship with the subject. They seemed to have manipulated their assignments in order to remain in each other's company. They managed to get an assignment on-board the Massive, and then...?" Crag emphasised the last phrase with a shrug but those two words ripped through Bob's mind like bullets.
And then...and then...and then...
Bob jerked, clutching his head as the pain ripped through his mind and was emphasised by the wounds in his head from the chair. His spasming impacted on the sides of the air duct, echoing down the shaft so it felt like every person on the planet could hear them. Chak grabbed onto Bob and tried to soothe him as quietly as she could. Eventually Bob managed to regain some coherence but the damage was done.
"The second round in the chair will have to be concentrated in that area," Crag had continued talking during the whole thing but Larb was staring at the air duct suspiciously, "we'll have to start as soon as possible, before his defences have a chance to..."
"Shut up, Crag!" Larb motioned, peering towards the air duct, "did you hear that?" Bob and Chak sat as quietly as they could, eyes wide open in fright. Chak still had her hand over Bob's mouth, and Bob's ears were still ringing from the pain. They couldn't take their eyes off Larb's, that were looking at the grating and drawing ever closer.
"Hear what?" Crag added insensitively.
"SHH!" Larb jerked, getting closer to the air duct. Bob and Chak were practically willing their hearts to stop beating as their breathing seemed loud enough to wake the dead. Larb was about to touch the opening to the vent.
"INTRUDER ALERT. STARK 1-27 PERIMETER HAS BEEN COMPRIMISED" Larb turned away from the vent at the sound of the computer but Bob and Chak didn't seem to get any less nervous because of the sound.
"What the hell?" Larb exclaimed, "who could possibly have the resources to get past security?" Larb was interrupted by an explosion that ripped through the ceiling. The air duct collapsed and the both of them fell onto the floor, though Larb and Crag were too busy crouching under the desk to notice otherwise. From the ceiling a team of older-model SIR units descended from the ceiling, though their age didn't detract from the deadliness of the weaponry that was now pointed at Bob's head...
TO BE CONTINUED...