6.

ONLINE. TIME ELAPSED: 00:00:00

_BEGINNING FEED. RADICAL SUBJECTS A61 AND B22 RELEASED.

_HYPOTHESIS:

IMMINENT TERMINATION OF SUBJECT A61.

"Hello… ?" It was the first word Astrid had spoken, and it felt loud and unwelcome, even as she whispered it across the dark threshold. She looked back at the computer screen, whirring with activity, and rose from the seat, standing in front of the open doorway. She peered into the dark, trying as best she could to ready herself for what lie beyond, and might want in.

Her legs were trembling as she stood slightly crouched, her balance and weight on the bare pads of her feet. Air hissed in and out of her clenched teeth as she crept closer to the doorway, stretching out her quaking fingertips to push the ingress open further. She stood at the ready.

Nothing arrived, and her eyes began to adjust to the dark of the unknown, beyond her room. There was a vague, blue light, somewhere. Astrid forced herself to step forward.

Her toes found only more soft carpet, beyond the thin, cool, steel barrier of the open door. Panting and sweating slightly with fear and anticipation, her fingers traced lightly along the rough walls.

It was another room, identical to her own. She looked over her shoulder, the door still open. What was this?

"Hello?" she tried again. There was only silence. Astrid nearly screamed as her eyes at last made out a figure in the dark.

A form was slumped lifelessly at the desk beside the glowing computer screen, facedown. Carefully, Astrid approached, raising her brows with curiosity, then recoiling with horror. Smears of dried blood discolored the nearly paper-white torso of the corpse that lay before her. Astrid looked back at her room again, wishing immediately to return to it, and get away from the body. But she could not, as there could be something there that she could use. Swallowing back her dread, Astrid knelt, plucking at the pockets of the lifeless form.

She felt something hard, and reached inside to draw out a thin, sharp shard of black plastic, chewed flat at one end to create a small hole. A bundle of white thread was twisted around it, and she sat back on her heels for a few moments to examine the sheer creativity of the simple contraption.

Hands seized her by the throat, and she felt herself lifted as she dropped the needle, her fingers scrambling for the grip that held her, as she and the corpse crashed onto the floor.

She stared up, horrified and unable to breathe, into sightless white irises. Her senses returned to her at last, and she brought up her knee, slamming her opposition in the ribs sharply and kicking them away. She rolled to her feet, readying for another assault.

He coughed into the carpet, holding his middle as he panted with pain. He looked up, pinpricks of blue light in his eyes as he scrambled backward, against the wall, where he sat, shivering, with his arms over his head defensively. He stared at her in frightened awe.

Astrid's breath caught, and her eyes widened. This was no corpse, obviously, but an old man, extremely wan, with graying curls and very pale blue eyes. Angry lacerations spanned his chest, stitched shut with what she could only assume had been the makeshift needle she had discovered. His lamp-like gaze was distant and slightly cloudy, if even a bit lost, and Astrid feared the man might even be blind, as asked tentatively, "Hello?"

He did not respond, blinking slowly, as if uncertain of what he was seeing.

"My name is Astrid. Astrid Farnsworth," she approached, overjoyed at the simple sight of someone else, no matter how strange they seemed. He shrank back into himself, shaking fearfully. Astrid decided to keep back, "I'm sorry I hurt you. You just scared me, was all. Are you alright?"

At last the old man spoke, his voice barely above a breath; "Peter."

"Yes- Utopian serpent, right? Do you know him?"

"Where is Peter?" hostility returned to his demeanor, his face turbulent.

Astrid carefully dropped to her knees, creeping closer, "I don't know. We have to get out of here and find him, okay? Who opened this door, do you know?"

Walter looked up, over her shoulder, and Astrid looked back as the door slammed shut, "What…?"

Astrid gave a cry as he attacked her again, struggling as he pinned her to the floor, pressing a hand over her mouth, "Shh!" he whispered hurriedly in her ear, "They're scanning! They cannot know that you've gotten out!" Astrid lay still, her heart hammering in her ears as they waited, listening. He gave a small sigh, and removed his hand, rising, "..it's over."

Astrid took his offered hand and got to her feet, straitening her shirt, "Scanning? What do you mean?"

"They only scan for one entity. If we were close, they might mistake us for one, which seems to be the case. But it's only a matter of time, before they realize you've gone," he made his way to the desk, stooping to collect the tank and pull it over his shoulders, "I must apologize for my half-nudity, I… I wasn't expecting company, ha ha." He turned to her with a small smile.

Astrid watched him with slight speculation, "Who are you?"

"I am Dr. Walter Bishop, know to you simply as 'glassmouth'." he offered his hand to her, "And may I inquire of your name, miss?"

"My name is Astrid. I've told you already," she watched his face, as he continued to gaze past her, and at last she waved her hand before his face slightly, "are you…?"

There was a sharp slap, and Astrid jumped in surprise as he gripped her wrist, "Blind? No. And don't do that." he released her, turning away. He began to pace the room, his fingers tracing the wall lightly, "Now, there must be a reason she's here. They don't simply make mistakes- they've been doing this far too long. They did in the beginning, but not now. No, no, there must be a reason. They've put her here, I know, but why? She's quite cute, I think. And smart. But why? Is she a spy? She might be a spy, she might be one of them-"

"Excuse me," Astrid said, breaking his concentration. He looked disoriented for a few moments, "You're thinking out loud. I'm not a spy, okay?"

"Who said spy?"

"You did. Just now."

"Did I?" he raised a hand to scratch the back of his neck, "Well, that's quite stupid. You can't be a spy. They know everything about all of us, why would they need a spy?"

There was silence, and Astrid realized suddenly that he had been addressing her, "Oh- um-"

"You must be a test for me. Or I might be a test for you. Do you remember me?" he came forward, checking her pulse at her throat, then beginning to lift her eyelids before she pushed him away.

"Of course I remember you, we met ten seconds ago. I'm Astrid, remember?" she began to seriously doubt his state of health as he ignored her comment, beginning to pace again.

"No, she's far too young. But really very cute. She couldn't possibly… but do I…?"

"You're babbling again," Astrid said flatly.

He looked up at her again. "Boolean?"

She smiled, "Yes. Boolean. Astrid Farnsworth. I work for the FBI."

"Conclusion: cute, but useless. Damn cute."

Astrid found herself exasperated as he took a seat on the floor, muttering to himself again. Walter was an obviously precarious individual, and she was wary of just how deep his flaws ran, and if she had anything to fear from him. She stooped, collecting the shard of plastic from the floor.

Walter bounded across the room, snapping it up form her fingertips, "Where did they cut you?" he asked.

Astrid looked up at him. Genuine concern shown on his face, and slight sadness. In made his face seem older.

"My arms," she answered.

"May I see your arms, miss?" he said.

At length, she raised her left hand. Walter took it, drawing his palms down the run of her arm. He repeated the process, pausing now and again to rub certain spots, his fingertips pressing firmly on her skin. Astrid flushed slightly at the odd experience, looking up into his face, which was poised in contemplation.

He stopped at a place on her underarm, just above her wrist, "There. It's there. Do you feel it?"

Astrid felt the skin where he had indicated. What felt like a small, hard object lay under the thin white band of a scar. Her eyes widened with horror, "What is that?!"

"It will be out in moments," he said calmly, and Astrid retracted from him, her heart beginning to race.

"What?! What will be out?! What the hell is this thing?!"

Walter stepped forward, "Miss, it has to come out. It isn't deep, simply inserted under the thinnest part of the epidermis. I won't lie, it will hurt, but-"

"No! You're crazy! Get away from me!" Astrid cried, backing away.

"Please calm down," Walter said firmly, showing his palms in a gesture of trust, "I'm a quite talented surgeon, not that you'd know it now, by the looks of me."

"You said you were a teacher," Astrid said cynically.

"I was. For about a year, I was a professor of physics, at Harvard. But that doesn't matter, now. If the disk stays where it is, you'll most likely face some horrible consequences. You must let me remove it."

"No!"

Walter frowned, "You're being unreasonable."

"Said the crazy guy!" Astrid snapped.

"That may be so. But I'm completely capable of popping that bad boy out. Now come here, it'll be done in a matter of seconds," he held out his hand, his other on his hip in the manner of a tolerant parent.

Astrid felt of the disk beneath her flesh, "What does this thing do?" she asked.

"I don't know. But they put it there, so the faster we get it out, the better."

Astrid swallowed, and took his hand. They settled on the carpet in the glowing light of the computer screen, "You may want to bite down on something," he said gruffly, "A shirt works."

"I'm not taking off my shirt," she joked.

He smiled gravely, and plunged the plastic wedge into her arm.

Astrid started to cry out, and bit it back, as Walter drew the sharp edge up, splitting open her skin. Blood ran to her elbow, dropping down to stain Walter's knees. He pulled the shard out, glancing up at her. The implement stabbed into the wound again, with a quick twisting, prying motion. He plucked the disk out, holding it up in his bloody fingertips for her to see.

Astrid was panting slightly, "that's it?"

"Yes."

"That hurt like a bitch."

"I know. I'm sorry," Walter patted her knee gently, "go on and wash the laceration. I don't think the incision is deep enough to warrant stitches, so you'll be alright."

Astrid rose, going to the sink and twisting on the tap. She hissed softly as she ran her wrist under the water, averting her eyes to the scratched nonsense that spanned the ceiling, "How did you know that that thing was in there?"

The tap was turned off, and Astrid looked up as Walter began to carefully wind a strip of clean bed sheet around the cut, "I can't really say. I can't really remember when I found them," He replied, "I just find them, and destroy them."

"Why? What if they can help us?" Astrid asked.

"Oh, they do help you. They simulated the rapid tissue regeneration- how do you think you've healed so quickly? But even so," he added seriously, noting her gape of awe, "they have inserted it. Nothing that they do is good. Everything they do must be stopped."

xXx

FEED SUSPENDED. TIME ELAPSED: 00:21:30

_SUBJECT STATUS: A61 AND B22 CURRENTLY RADICAL.

_HYPOTHESIS:

INCONCLUSIVE.

_BEGIN FEED ON CONTROL SUBJECTS A24 AND O21 Y/N?

Y. Code sequence: BELL.

_CONTINUED OBSERVATION STATUS ACTIVATED.