Evil Intent

Chapter 5

Several hours later…

Sheppard sat extremely upright in something akin to a large wheelchair. He had no idea how long he had been out. Once again, painful restraints held his wrists and ankles. His head was immobilized by some sort of metal apparatus, and he could feel straps buckled tightly across his chest and upper legs. On either side of him were the man and woman. He could hear the woman whimpering, most likely crying. Muffled grunts of frustration came from where the man was as he struggled in his own chair. They must be absolutely terrified, thought John, and he despised the fact that he was completely powerless to help them or, for that matter, himself. He didn't know who his fellow prisoners were; they had never been able to speak to each other. While they were unconscious they had been gagged with leather appliances like those used in psychiatric wards. They had also been relieved of their clothing, which had been replaced by white, scrub-like pants and tops and some close-fitting slippers. John also felt the unpleasant presence of a catheter. Tape pulled at the skin of his right hand and upper arm; he must be connected to multiple IV lines. He heard some soft beeping nearby and guessed that a heart monitor was attached to the chair.

He heard a door opening, and then the sound of footsteps. Nash suddenly appeared in his line of vision, looking frighteningly confident. Sheppard couldn't help breaking out into a cold sweat. The increased beeping of the heart monitor belied his attempt to appear calm as Nash fixed him with a painful stare.

"Now that you're awake…," Nash began. "John, you know why you're here, but the others don't, so let me provide a little background."

"Nancy, Kevin, John: In a nutshell, the three of you possess an amazing genetic trait that I cannot wait to exploit. In just a few minutes, your minds and bodies will be integrated into the machine next to you. I imagine you're quite terrified right now, but rest assured that soon much of that fear will be gone. Come to think of it, much of what makes you, you, will also slowly be taken away."

"How much do you know about human anatomy, specifically, the human brain? Nash continued, rapidly changing the topic. "I myself am fascinated by the limbic system. Now, in case you don't remember what you learned in high school biology class, the limbic system includes, among other structures, the amygdala, hippocampus, and hypothalamus. These are very important, because they help regulate emotional responses such as fear, anxiety, panic and depression. With your help, my device will create a powerful force that I can use to stimulate those parts of the brain. Applying it against individuals or groups that I need to…influence – or make go away – will help me achieve certain goals. It will be the perfect weapon, invisible, that my enemies will never detect and against which they'll have no defense."

"Nancy, Kevin: You should understand that it takes more than the presence of your genes to operate the machine. You must actively, willingly, "think" it to work. And if you don't, I'll kill you, plain and simple, and find someone else to suffer in your place."

"Sheppard, I have no doubt you'd be willing to die rather than cooperate. You have the strongest gene and are the person I need the most. But at the slightest hint of resistance from you, one of them will die. And you know I have plenty of replacements on hand."

With that verbal flourish, Nash's maniacal speech came to an end. He then motioned to the burly bodyguards that John was so fond of. Two approached his chair; they lifted it with ease and carried him to one of the three large compartments. Given his inability to turn his head, Sheppard could not quite see where they would be "integrating" him. He was turned to face outwards in the large room; he could see Nash staring at him, practically bursting with anticipation. With some jostling and with several loud snaps, his chair was secured. I'm some kind of freakish Lego toy, John thought, a hysterical giggle threatening to push its way past the gag. Now what? He had his answer almost immediately. One of the physicians wheeled over a cart bearing yet another covered tray. This time John knew it wouldn't contain a fake iPod.

It certainly did not.

Sheppard's chest heaved in panic as he strained against the tight straps. He watched as the doctor donned gloves and carefully removed two small, silver-colored metal objects from a glass jar filled with a clear liquid. They were circular, completely solid, and were about 1/4 inch thick and about 2 inches across. One side was smooth; on the reverse, three tiny barbs aligned like a triangle rose ominously from the surface. John flinched as the doctor approached. What had happened to that medical school oath, "to do no harm," huh?

John's head and neck were supported by a curved metal headrest which fit firmly against his skull. On both sides of his head, just above the ears, a ring – the size of the silvery discs – was affixed to the edge of the curved metal. The doctor snapped each circle into a ring and pushed the barbed surfaces hard into the skin at John's temples. He then stepped back, engaged a switch on the chair, and observed as Sheppard began to violently convulse.

A gasp choked in John's throat as he was hit with an excruciating sensation of cold throughout his entire body. Icy needles of pain stabbed through his head and cascaded down his spine. He feared he would bite through the leather gag and tear into his tongue. But then, within moments, the agony mercifully began to fade, leaving him drained and shaking and terrified. He became aware of Nash near him, Nash speaking to him. "…..sync your neural pathways…..shock of integration, but it abates quickly. Sheppard? Uh, Sheppard, are you with us?"

Sheppard unscrewed his eyes and looked blurrily at Nash. He could hear Nancy and Kevin's panicked wheezing as they realized they were next. Whatever it took, he would kill this man and get them all home. But he also realized that, as much as he believed in himself, he could soon lose the physical or mental ability to escape. It might turn out that only Atlantis and his friends would be able to save him.

One day later…

Nash was a happy man. Things were proceeding fairly well and on schedule. He looked across the room and marveled at what he had accomplished.

Nancy and Kevin had been successfully integrated. Nash had feared they might not, seeing how hard it had been on Sheppard – who was physically and emotionally stronger than they were. There had been a glitch, though. Nancy and Kevin had been so frightened that, despite mild sedation and threats, they could not adequately focus. Nash had solved the problem by initiating a failsafe the Ancients had built into the prototype. It was well known that a gene carrier's state of mind could interfere with the smooth operation of an Ancient device. Like some Ancient technology, Nash's machine was able to exert subtle control over those two and keep them on task, whether they wanted to or not.

Sheppard was cooperating – he had no other choice. But Nash would not take his acquiescence for granted, however. To do so could be fatal. He had decided, for the time being, to keep John mildly sedated, leaving him malleable to Nash's influence and blunting his desire to resist.

The three subjects would now remain ensconced in their compartments for the next week or so, extracted for two days for recuperation, then put back into service. All of their bodily requirements would be seen to, of course, and their overall health would be carefully monitored by his staff.

The energy output thus far had been very good. Of the 7 storage nodules he had online, three were at capacity. Nash remained frustrated at his failure to obtain more nodules; his machine could accommodate ten. He knew that one had been found 6 months ago but was having difficulty acquiring it. The mission to re-visit the ruins on MM4-287 that he had managed to get assigned to an Atlantis team had been successful – a nodule had been found several days ago.

And most importantly, his two inaugural targets were now in possession of their particular electronic devices, oblivious to their true purpose.

Three days later…

The Vice President of Research and Development for a large defense contractor, at their annual stockholders meeting, burst into tears, climbed up on a table, declared he was becoming a pacifist and resigned on the spot. A massive stock sell-off followed.

And a prominent union leader, for reasons unknown, drove his car off a bridge as he was taking his kids to school.

TBC…