Transient Reality – Part 7
Dr. Vanessa Denning strode to the head of the hospital bed, her gray eyes moving slowly from monitor to monitor. She noted with satisfaction that each was as it should be; heart rate was normal, as was blood pressure. The EKG was not normal, however, the EKG was the one thing that she fully expected to be different. The EKG of the homo superior created in the laboratory trials had been slightly different from those of a normal, average homo sapiens. Not so much that it would stand out unless one knew what to look for. Slightly higher peaks where there should be short peaks, and deeper valleys where there should only be slight dips or rolling hillsides.
Scribbling a note on the EKG tape, she turned her attention to the chart hanging on the bed and made a few additional notes there as well. That done, she checked the IV line going into the left arm of the subject, tapping it ever so slightly to make certain the drug was indeed mixing with the saline and working it way into the subject's unconscious form. She checked pulse and pupil dilation, and her mouth curled into a faint smile. Yes, this specimen was perfect, worth all of the surveillance and waiting. No doubt her compatriots and superiors didn't see it that way, but it wasn't up to her to make them understand. That was the Colonel's job; and after the last debacle where The Trust interrupted her work because of his lack of initiative, Vanessa doubted she would have that problem again.
"How are they?" As though summoned by her thoughts, Colonel Masters strolled into the laboratory, his eyes flickering distastefully, and unless Vanessa missed her guess, somewhat fearful over the two 'patients' in the hospital beds.
"They're both fine. Sleeping for now and I should be able to keep them under for as long as necessary," Vanessa remarked coolly. She stepped around the man who insinuated himself in her path and moved from the female's bedside to the male's.
"You seem less than enthused or impressed by these children, Vanessa."
Vanessa bristled inwardly but gave no outward sign of it. "They are not children, Colonel. They are subjects. And for what reason should I be impressed by the physiology of two seventeen year old human subjects?"
"This is the first opportunity that you have had to work with a true teleporter, a true example of, what do you call it, homo supine?"
"Homo superior," Vanessa answered and immediately hated herself for rising to the bait. She recorded the normalcy of the male's vital signs from the monitors. "And I have worked with such before. I do believe that is why The Board and you brought me on board for this particular project. If I recall correctly, it was actually my work with manipulating the genetics that create homo superior that first brought me to the attention of The Trust."
Vanessa studied the male's EKG, and blinked in surprise. Well, that was completely unexpected. She paused, made a note on the tape and made a mental note to herself. This was one point that would bear watching. It would be best to not report it until she could verify with it with additional study. And it was certainly not something she would share with Colonel Masters. When the time came, she would present this information to her superiors.
"And before then, I do believe all your subjects had a tendency to, er, expire within days?"
"Unless you are a geneticist or biologist, Colonel, I would suggest that you take care before mimicking my work. Manipulating DNA and bioengineering viruses to transform DNA is not an easy task. Unlike some people, I am grateful for the information that The Trust was able to provide to me, even if was based on the inaccurate and flawed experiments of Dr. Kefflar."
"I'm not sure why you would consider the experiments flawed," Colonel Masters remarked, standing over the bed of the female subject. "I've read the reports. He did amazing work. He made more progress than had ever been made creating an alien/human hybrid."
"Yes, and his creation killed him and everyone involved with the project." Vanessa pointed out. "I may not have had success with keeping my subjects alive, but at least mine have not turned homicidal. But, more importantly, Colonel, my subjects are controllable. I dare say that not a single individual whom has done similar work can say the same.
"Now, was there something you needed? I need to prepare the subjects for testing."
"There is time yet, dear doctor. The containment field is still being calibrated. We wouldn't want our prized possession to just beam herself away from here, now would we?" The Colonel leaned over the female, running his fingers over the dark auburn tresses. Vanessa bit back the gag reflex that such an obviously perverse gesture of possession invoked in her. Not because she cared about the female beyond the scope of her genetics and her innate abilities to teleport, but because the Colonel did. He'd made it clear during their long days and weeks of surveillance that he felt the female could have 'other uses,' before The Trust was through with her. To Vanessa's way of thinking, in fact in all of her experience, there was no room for anything but clinical detachment. Those who began to see their subjects as something more, in any way shape or form, ultimately became dangerous to the project at hand.
She would keep a close eye on the Colonel to make sure he did not become a liability. If he did, then she would be forced to take care of the matter. It wasn't a thought that disturbed her in the least.
"Of course. It certainly wouldn't do for you to lose a teleporter after all these years of waiting to find another one," Vanessa said the words off-handedly, pretending to be more engrossed in the male subject's vital signs as opposed to focused at on Colonel Masters. However, she watched him from the corner of her eye and saw the man flinch ever so slightly, as though he'd gotten a mild chill.
Vanessa was as familiar with Master's work as Masters was with hers. She in all likelihood had greater familiarity with his work because she too had been hired by Lady Mulvaney, an eccentric rich bat who was looking to sell the secrets of teleporters to the highest bidder; that would have been after Vanessa had time to study the DNA and could copy it. The DNA secrets of the teleporters would be worth more in the long run than the teleporters themselves. For all that she was eccentric, Mulvaney was smart and her intentions had been to play all sides against one another. But, Colonel Masters screwed up; General Damon caught him and he lost the one teleporter that he managed to capture. As a result of that debacle, the teleporter, a sixteen-year-old female, and her mother disappeared as though they never existed and Masters spent several years in "protective custody" until their current employers found a method to liberate the man.
General Damon left the SIA, a precursor to the current organization that had in its youth insinuated itself slowly and secretively into the NID, and several other international organizations that governments denied existed and worked out of the shadows. He took SIA secrets and knowledge with him to WorldEx, an organization which passed itself off as a cultural liaison and security council but in actuality was an international version of the NSA working with the full cooperation of hundreds of world governments. Those Damon left behind very quietly tucked their tails between their legs and hid for a while nursing their wounds. But the shadow group rebuilt itself, hid itself even better, and rose from the ruins bigger and stronger.
Vanessa doubted that Damon and his compatriots at WorldEx even knew that agents of The Trust were in key positions right under their noses.
"You don't need to bother yourself worrying about that sort of thing, Dr. Denning. You just make sure that your little drugs work to hold her 'mind-reading' abilities at bay, and I'll concern myself with making sure that no one manages to 'pop off' unexpectedly."
"You don't believe that this girl is more than a teleporter, Colonel?"
"I believe in what I can see scientific proof of," Colonel Masters responded.
"You've read my reports, I'm certain."
"And they were quite fascinating, but I've only seen proof of teleportation. While I understand that our superiors would like to believe that these teleporters can do so much more than teleport, and truly if such was the case they would make formidable soldiers against the alien threat and our own earthly enemies, I will not raise my hopes to that level."
Colonel Masters checked his watch and strolled to the door. "I thank you for your time, Vanessa, but I must report in now. I will notify you when the containment field is ready and we can begin our work with the girl."
"And the male subject, Colonel? I assume that because he is not a teleporter that I am free to begin my research?"
"Not quite yet, doctor. Agent Tarkiff wants us to save the boy at the moment."
Vanessa frowned, gagging on the taste of bitter disappointment. "For what purpose?"
"Leverage, my dear doctor," Colonel Masters waved his hand towards the unconscious female subject. "We want to make certain we give the girl every reason to cooperate with us."
Then he walked out without a backwards glance, leaving Vanessa to glare after him in unspoken hatred.
End of Part 7