-15 -

"First up." Poet declared. "Virtual Reality 101."

"Oh brother!" Genghis muttered, then gave a deep resigned sigh and leaned back and rubbed his face. "More science crap."

"Brother!" Gamgee snorted. "What's the matter Genghis? Toning down on the curses 'cause you're getting tired?"

Genghis mumbled something incoherent and swatted his hand at Gamgee as if to swat the statement away.

"Wow!" Sam leaned next to him and whispered, mockingly. "He's not even making Gamgee pay hell for that crack – he must be getting tired."

John snorted a small laugh and then directed his eyes towards Phoenix who was drawing a very strange diagram on the screen.

"A hologram is basically a 3D photograph – but…"

John let his mind switch on to 'auto-listen-no-processing' mode as Poet started rattling out the specifics of holographic technology. Genghis was right – this techno babble was really making his ears ring. He let his eyes rest on Phoenix – and maybe his ears perked up a bit when she started rattling on beam-splitters, interference, diffraction – or and a whole lot of what's-it-called stuff.

The ice queen persona albeit a little softer had returned. Saddest thing was her voice had gone back to 'my vocal cords are frozen so I'm not talking in a higher pitched tone of voice'. He had enjoyed hearing her normal regular voice in the time they had spent on the surface. Too bad – none of her team members ever heard much of that voice.

The fact that Phoenix really preferred not to talk unless necessary, became increasingly obvious to John. He failed to understand why she felt the need to hide from these men; especially because she trusted them.

John rubbed his face. He really had to find other things to think about – he'd been giving Phoenix more thoughts than it was worth.

"…the material that replaces film must be capable of changing in response to a varying set of recording beams and input image information…."

They obviously needed to know this to understand it. John observed that Genghis didn't bother objecting to the detailed story unlike he used to. He switched off the 'auto-listen' in his brain and stuck to a simple 'no-processing' mode.

"…such materials are referred to as nonlinear optical materials, and can be realized using a variety of media such as photorefractive crystals, atomic vapors and gases, semiconductors or semiconductor heterostructures…like er quantum wells, plasmas and, even liquids…"

Poet was beginning to get on his nerves. Others were getting restless. The only person who was avidly paying attention was Phoenix.

"…will track changes in the interference pattern formed by the recording beams."

Phoenix was really skinny. He could see her collar bones stick out through her skin. Did that girl even eat?

"As the interference pattern changes, the local absorption and/or phase pattern in the material will also change and replace the original pattern…."

Her hair was tied up – he could see the back of her neck. He noticed that her neck vertebrae stuck out like a skeleton's as she bent to pick up something she had dropped. He wondered if she even met the minimum weight requirement. She certainly looked less than the…

His brain jerked back to reality. What the fuck was he even thinking about? He was practically getting obsessed with Phoenix.

John snapped. "ALL RIGHT!"

Unwittingly he had everyone's attention – including an irked Poet and what must have assumed was an amused Phoenix.

"Sorry, about that," John said sheepishly, recovering his calm. "But Poet…? I think I speak for all of us when I say: what the fuck are you talking about?"

He was relieved to see everyone around him bearing relieved expressions. Except Genghis who said, "I don't believe I'm saying this, but I think I just understood everything he said."

So that's why Genghis wasn't interrupting. Typical of the convenient bastard. John gave Phoenix a pleading look; she shook her head. She was giving her twisted mouth expression – amusement.

"The reason Poet is updating you on holograms," she said, coolly, "is because you need to understand it before we get to what happened out there."

John groaned, rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair. Sam gave him a consoling pat on his shoulder which gave little comfort. Once again his brain when on 'don't-you-fuckin'-process-this-crap' mode.

------

It had no sense of its own existence. Its senses led it – like a light through the darkness – like a guiding hand to the blind. It knew not what it craved – but only that it craved it.

Its eyes read colour as well as heat – its ears heard sounds – like waveforms they bounced off its senses confusing it. Were its eyes its ears and ears its eyes? Were its skin its tongue and tongue its skin? Reason and logic – dictated its mind. Every step was a calculation – every move had its consequence and possible errors were detected.

The smell of the sewers were a fragrance to it. It had grown there. The sewers were its home. Fresh air had a stench. The air tasted dry and sedimented. It had grown dark – but yet not such that its primary vision was impeded. It didn't need to see forms – the heat they emanated were enough.

It didn't have to hear to snap its attention to the sound. It always saw before it saw and heard before it heard. Like a sixth sense.

It knew before it knew.

Several thousands miles away its past, present and future was being discussed by creatures who thought they had created it.

If it could smile in cruelty, it would – but it knew not its own existence to smile. It thought – and it processed – but it never made suppositions or propositions and it never questioned its senses.

If it could suppose or propose it would say, 'the fools!'

--

"The Sensesss."

The voice was husky and would have been the voice of a snake if it could talk.

"Sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. Each – in its supreme form an advantage to the species that has it as its primary element of warning."

The room was dark and tense. Nobody could see nobody, yet everyone present knew whom the person seated next to them was. They didn't have to see any member to know that nobody wanted to be there. They all had to leave their jobs, their homes, their securities all on the whim of the madman who dictated to them. All of them regretted their ambitious ignorance. All of them wondered if they would return alive.

"Why do you think," The voice hissed. "That man in his quest for perfection has diminished the importance of the senses to a less than perfect state? Do you think it was not possible for him to imbibe it as he evolved? Hmm?"

Everyone had an opinion as to what the answer might be – but no one dared talk. The question was rhetorical. The answer – even if incorrect – had to be one. The one that their leader would state.

"I think it was to perfect his most supreme sense. The one we call our sixth sense. The centre of all senses…"

Silence.

"The brain."

--

It moved with the invisible force that was powered by its senses to its aim. It knew not – whether it was the scent of blood, or the heat emanating from their bodies or the low pitched voices they made. They seemed to be conversing. It knew what conversing was. Yet it never knew what it was for. It never questioned. It always remained solitary and unique. Never was there a similar one life it where it could converse.

The dry Nevada air, wafted around its bodies carrying with it a scent . They were two. Similar scent, similar heat, similar sounds - therefore same species. If it wanted to think – it would think 'Good – their responses will be alike'. But it never thought in such a manner.

Hunger – was a motivator. As was its nature, it had marked them.

Prey.

------

Well there is, Billy Larkson…'Ees with me from da eight grade…'an 'ees bin askin' me out ever since…but 'Ees got these braces and I don't think it would be fun to kiss 'im…but I really like Adam…I know 'ees a senior an' all but 'ees really cute. But 'ee thinks I'm weird 'cause ov' de accent an' all!...

Well – I don't think you should break Billy's heart – he sounds fun…

John felt like drowning himself in something. He was manipulating her to like a boy she didn't like because he – a grown man was jealous of her high school crush! Maybe he was suffering from PTSD…

Maybe he really was delusional. Why was there this unreasonable idea in his head that Genghis was paying attention only because Phoenix was talking? And what difference did it make if it were true?

"John!" Sam's hiss, jolted him out of his thoughts.

"What?" He hissed back.

"Wake up and smell the fuckin' coffee, Reaper!" Genghis barked. "You've been sleeping with your fuckin' eyes open!" Then he burst into a frivolous laughter at his own joke.

Fortunately for John, no one else found it funny. Phoenix, again, looked amused.

"So – what is the moral of the fabulous story of the wonderful holograms?" John said with mock interest, sarcasm dripping from his question.

"You can see 'em but can't touch 'em." Gryffin said.

"Wait a minute…" John frowned. The words: it's not real echoing in his head as he felt the margins of the trapdoor.

Sensing it, before he could voice it Phoenix spoke up in her cool collected voice. "That's the point that I'll be getting to..."

"Oh great!" Genghis muttered. "More Science 101."

"Woah! You really are getting tired." Poet quipped.

John groaned and combed his hair with his fingers. He didn't know it yet – but his senses were heightening.

"Palpable holography works on two principles. One is a very simple – age old trick. Illusionists even use it. If you see it – you believe it. If you believe it – your mind plays tricks on you – you think you can feel it – when in reality – you can't."

She paused for breath then continued. "The second is more complex. Ever since VR gaming became commercial everyone from UAC to GameWorld have been trying to make the experience more real. To make a hologram real – like that doctor on Star Trek – you will need a set of matrices to literally recreate the stimuli out of thin air. Which is still not possible – and may not be for a long time."

"Well – obviously you saw through hologram – so they must have used the first technique." Samantha said. "Tricking your mind."

"Yes and no." Phoenix said. "It would work for small illusions…like mirrors work to make a hole seem deeper. But not for such extensive areas. That hatch is humungous. It was used not just for tanks, but also for stealth jets. Not to mention that the area covered included a wider space – I mean – the south gate. We can't see the damn gate – but we know it is there. The same for the command console. According to the original plans, that console was at a corner of the parking areas for land vehicles. We see the pavement – but not the console."

"So, it's not an illusion?"

"Correction – it's not just an illusion. This is a combination of the two techniques. Using sequences which would cause the visual program to trigger memory patterns in the brain."

"Wha -?" Genghis said.

"I'll explain, Genghis…" Phoenix cut him off. "You create a massive matrix – support it by primers. Primers are like little projectors – you place these multiple projectors and you can create a huge illusion. It forms a dome around the area you want to wall off. My guess is that the primers are at various points around the fencing and it super imposes an image of the compound – on the compound…with a few modifications. Like the absence of the hatch, the gate or even something small, like, the console."

"Sounds tricky." Said, Bazooka.

"Actually – it's not," said Gamgee. "Creating the huge matrix is easy. They do it all the time at GameWorld. All you need is a large space and a lot of projectors."

"Is it just me – or does this matrix seems to be linked to the electromagnetic shield in someway?" said Sandman.

"My guess is," said Smith. "Either the shield is the matrix or vice versa. But that doesn't account for one thing."

"What?"

"When we first landed – if this shield was operational – at the time, the choppers navigational controls would have gone berserk. Electromagnetic fields can cause a lot of screw ups with our electronic equipment especially mobile objects like choppers. The only explanation is that either there is no field – or that…"

"…that it was shut off, to allow landing." John completed for Smith. Something was wrong; John felt something tingling at the back of his neck. Something was going wrong right now.

"The tricky part is just coming." Poet said, unaware of the queer expression on John's face. "The second part – which is the making it feel real is the tricky part. The matrix becomes four dimensional. In 2D you can see that it's not real, because of the lack of depth – the third dimension. In 3D it seems real but if your hand through it and you know that it is not real. In 4D, with height, width and depth – you get touch. You touch a certain part of this matrix – the equations trigger a tactile stimulus in your brain."

"Does this technology exist?" Samantha said.

"Even if it did exist – it would be really tough to simulate it for a wide area. "

"It could be fair," said Genghis, who was chewing his lip pensively, "to suppose it is alien technology – considering that this ark was not built by us."

"That's too far a shot," said Poet. "I had access to all recovered technology from the dig at Nevada and Olduvai while I was in R&D. There was no such technology – I don't think anybody dared to hide it, even if they did…" Poet broke off and sighed. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that this technology may not be possible for humans to even imitate."

"Not for Union Aerospace." John said suddenly.

He looked up at all the eyes focused on him. His mind was trying to remember something – he didn't know what.

"Yes," Poet said, his face showing his confusion. "Not for Union Aerospace or anyone else."

"No." John said, coolly. "Not for Union Aerospace, alone."

He looked at each member of the team, one by one until his eyes focused on Phoenix's grey expressionless ones. The tingling had gotten more annoying. His mind had done a mental count – nine were present before him. Two were missing.

Realization dawned on him suddenly. John sat up and looked around. "Where are Gryffin and Hobbit?"

"They're above surface." said, Poet. "I sent them to scan for possible primers. Why?"

John stood up and looked at Genghis. "Gamgee, stay here with Sam and guard her with any form of defence you got. We're going above."

"Woah! Woah! Wait!" Genghis interrupted. "What's wrong?"

"They're in trouble."

"What?" Genghis barked. "How do you know that?"

"I'm coming!" Gamgee said, loudly.

"No, you're staying here."

"Na-ah!" Gamgee shouted. "That's my brother up there."

"And this is my sister, down here!" John growled.

Gamgee came up to him and caught his collar. "Then you'll understand –" the shorter man said, gritting his teeth, trying to hold his anger back. "Why I want to come."

"Hey!" Genghis roared. "How the fuck do you know they are in trouble?"

John inhaled deeply. If something had already happened to Gryffin, Gamgee's emotional lability would compromise them..

"You haven't answered me yet, Reaper!" Genghis shouted. John ignored him. He would have much rather had Phoenix as part of their group – her instincts were damn near as good as his. Which was also a good reason why she should protect Sam. John considered that against Gamgee's loyalty to his sister and decided that the lability was a more reliable thing to handle

"Okay – Phoenix," He said. "Take care of Sam." With his eyes, he added 'please!'

She read his message and nodded curtly – obviously unhappy about babysitting.

"When we get up there, we'll lose contact – so you two be careful."

The women nodded.

"All right! Men! The only way up is by one surface elevator. When we reach there, we split. Smith and Sandman. Gamgee and Bazooka. Poet, you and Genghis are with me. We need to talk. Let's move!"

"I'm not going anywhere, until I know what the fuck you're talking about." Genghis began to grumble. "I'm the one giving the orders."

"I SAID, MOVE!" John growled.

Genghis gave him the evil eyes and then muttered. "This better be good." Then he shouted at his men, "All right! You heard the man!"

Nothing was said in the elevator. When the elevator stopped on surface level, John assigned each sector to each pair of men and left the larger southern sector to his group.

"Don't attempt to use your comms until you need help, or you are sure the area is secure, or if you have confirmed the positions of Gryffin and Hobbit. Am I clear? I'm not saying don't use it but you don't wanna give away your position unnecessarily. "

"Why the hell…" Genghis started but was silenced by a look from John. He nodded.

When they reached the surface and had split up; Poet, John and Genghis formed a triangle around each other with their weapons aimed into the darkeness. All they could see was faint vegetation – and the forms of the other men who were heading towards their assigned directions.

"Why am I following your orders, Reaper?" Genghis mumbled.

"More importantly," Poet whispered. "You said we needed to talk. About what?"

Reaper waited as his instincts guided him. He adjusted his nightvision goggles and then said, "What do you guys know about TethysCorp?"

John wasn't surprised when Poet and Genghis stopped in their tracks and turned to look at him.

----------------------------------------------------

(A/N: Sorry it took me so long. Ran into writers block. Thankfully it was one wonderful reader's reminder about the gore that set me back on track. Now you know why I am so desperate for reviews?

Btw I know nothing about all the techno stuff I wrote – which I'm assuming is fake. So any likeness to anything real is purely coincidental. This is what I like about SciFi. It's so easy to make up your own technology!

PLEASE REVIEW!)