Chapter 12: It hurts when you do this…
Zootopia…In an Undisclosed Location…Weeks Earlier…
Brandon groggily awoke, it was dark, he felt himself on a hard springs and a mattress, like a cot. He opened his eyes to see nearby light casting in a series of bars on the wall, he turned his head and looked, he was in some kind of cell.
He rolled over off the bed and to his feet, walking over to the bars, gripping them with his paws. He flexed on them to feel their sturdiness.
'Solid' he thought.
Looking out from the bars was an open space, with other cells, and other prisoners yet surprisingly the cell block was quiet.
The occasional gate clatter in the distance, hearing footsteps approach he retreated back away from the bars. Two figures came into his view, a Fox and a Weasel.
"What?" he muttered bewildered.
"Officer Wilde?"
The figure stared for a bit at him menacingly before answering.
"No." he replied with a bit of venom in his voice.
The weasel stepped forward.
"Allow me to introduce myself, the name is Sidney….Sidney Rid–"
"Ridgeway." Brandon finished.
This got a bemused expression from the weasel.
"That's correct, have we met before?" the weasel asked pondering.
"Never before this day." Replied the pangolin.
"So the rumors ARE true." The weasel smiled very menacingly.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." denied Brandon.
"I know who you are Mr. Meeks."
"So is this some kind of prison for bad mammals such as myself."
"Not exactly. Our residents aren't exactly ALL criminals."
"So…it's you then." Brandon replied cryptically.
"Me?"
"Yes, the one from the dreams."
"Dreams, you say? What kind of dreams?" he responded with an air of oily slickness.
"I suspect you already know."
"Know? No. But we have our theories."
"Just get on with it, tell me what you want."
"I want IT." Sid said plainly
"What are you talking about?" Brandon asked.
"You already know." Dis replied not believing the pangolin's false display of ignorance
"No I really don't, you'll have to be more specific." Brandon clarified.
Sidney took a breath and huffed, displaying his grin on the exhale.
"That's not how this works, I ask questions, and you give answers, and if I don't like those answers…"
Sidney reached into his pocket retrieving a remote holding it up. Brandon looked back puzzled.
"Perhaps you're aware of the collar around your neck. You see while you were unconscious you were fitted with a special collar, a remarkable invention really." he explained taking great relish.
Brandon reached up to his neck and felt it, it was indeed a collar, of metal and fiber and there was a box or some kind of attachment to the collar.
"What is the meaning of this?!" he demanded.
"By entering commands into this remote device I can produce pain in any part of your body at various levels of intensity."
"You will understand much more clearly if I show you, please forgive me." He replied, pushing some buttons on the remote.
The collar shocked Brandon with a sudden and intense jolt, he instinctively gasped and yelped and almost felt to his knees instantly.
Sidney leaned close as Brandon grabbed at the collar, a look of amazement and wonder on the weasel's face.
"Surprising, isn't it? Most mammals feel at first they can steel themselves against it, but they're so completely unprepared for the intensity of the pain."
"That was the lowest setting by the way." He informed with a sense of wonder and amazement.
Brandon grabbed the collar and gasped, feeling at it, giving it a small tug, he could tell he wouldn't be able to rip it off.
"What…what do you want?"
"I told you. I want it. I want what you saw."
"Saw what?! What are you talking about?"
"You know damn well what I'm talking about." Sidney said getting angry.
"I want the rest of this." Sidney reached into his lapel and pulled out a containment vessel.
The containment vessel was a cylinder metal on each end with tempered glass running the length of it, inside seemingly suspended between the two magnetic plates was a small sphere, liquid, metallic and gold. It's sheen would catch the oddest reflection of light and objects, but strangely not people.
Brandon's eyes went wide when he saw it, like a ghost or phantasm out of his nightmares, he lurched backwards until he hit the back wall, scared more of it then even the shock collar.
"No. No." he gasped as he heard the distant but familiar whispers coming from the orb.
"Where is the rest of it?" Sidney demanded.
"Rest?"
Sidney held up the remote indicating he was about to activate it.
"I don't know what you mean, 'rest of it'. Isn't that it?"
Sidney hesitated and instead explaining.
"This….This was found in the Nocturnal District about 40 years ago by my…'predecessors ', they thought it was an artifact for the longest time until about 25 years ago, one intelligent mammal among them realized it was the key to inscrutable power, the ultimate power. Forged from the energy of life itself, in fact if it wasn't for certain 'outside influences' the world would be a much different place today."
"But alas like anything, there are always meddlesome trouble makers who seek to keep mammals of power from achieving, so they eventually defeated them, but not before the council was able to secure, this."
Sidney motioned with the containment vessel in his paw.
"This is a smaller piece of a larger one but from what I have been told, that also was in turn from an even larger whole."
"So what do you need me for?"
"Well, I read about your 'experience' in that cave in."
"What's to read, according to the company, it was a mistake made by the engineer…me."
"I think we both know that's not true." Smiled Sidney.
"I think you saw something, or more accurately, you encountered something, something very old, very powerful and not of our design."
Brandon stood silent; the very description conjured up old memories.
"I'll take your silence as an affirmation."
"So what do you want?" Brandon asked, reasonably guessing the answer.
Sidney approached the bars, placing his head against the space.
"I want….the rest of it." He replied, his sharp teeth glimmering in the cell light.
Brandon's revulsion turned to an expression of fear.
"Why? Why in god's name would you want such a thing? Why would you endeavor to mess with something that is so far beyond us?"
"Because it's the key."
"The key to what?"
"The future." Sidney answered cryptically.
Brandon mulled it over a bit, rocking against himself.
"You need to listen to me, whatever you think it is, it's not. It's something powerful yes, but alive, it thinks, it….listens and watches. If you think you are capable of controlling it, you can't, none of us can."
Sidney huffed dismissively. Brandon stood up and stared at Sidney with diligent eyes.
"Why can't you comprehend the danger you're putting us all in?"
"I remember you now, so many images and visions to remember, it gets jumbled but I remember you now." He explained flustered.
"You didn't always used to be this way….Salvador."
Sidney's expression changed to one of amazement, then anger.
"How DARE you!" he replied, activating the shock collar.
Brandon winced as the collar shocked him again, he cried out in pain and dropped to his knees, then flat on the floor, still gagging on the pain. Sidney held the button for several moments before letting off.
"Never…NEVER call me by that name!" he demanded.
Piberius watching this entire exchange raised an eyebrow. Sidney crouched down to look directly into Brandon's eyes.
"If it gave you the power, if you truly CAN see the future, then you KNOW what I am going to do to you, what I WILL do to you to get the answers I seek. You can save yourself a lot of pain and anguish if you simply tell me what I want to know."
"Now who's lying?" Brandon replied weakly.
"What?"
"You already have the answer, you already know. You're not torturing me because you need to know something, you're doing it because you like it."
"It makes you feel good about yourself to see you causing someone pain, you take perverse satisfaction in the application of it. It makes you feel superior when you break someone and turn them, making them as twisted and dark as you."
"And you do it because you think that's power, power that will protect you, that it will provide you the strength. The strength you never had, the strength you WISHED you had."
"It must feel good to have that power, but no matter how much you have, you will never change things, you will never forgive yourself."
Sidney brought up the remote again and was about to press the button.
"One more word and I will turn this on and leave you in agony all night."
"You couldn't save her Sidney, you were just a boy, no one blamed you, but I know you blamed yourself, you always blamed yourself."
Sidney's finger twitched but didn't press the button.
"Searching for this will only bring death, it won't give you the power to fix your mistakes and it won't give you peace. Trust me, I know."
They sat in silence for several moments, the pregnant pause of whether or not Sidney was going to push the button. Instead he just stood up, looking down at Brandon.
"You WILL tell me what I want to know…or you will die."
Sidney walked off, with Piberius in tow, the two said nothing as they walked away from his cell. They passed several other cells on the way back to the elevator. The cells were filled with other mammals, some looking as though they have been here longer than others, all of them had shock collars affixed to their necks. Some of the cells were padded and had ballistic glass in front of the bars and sound proofed. Some of the occupants thrashed, receiving shocks, others were docile, cowering in corners. Even still others had tugged at their fur creating bald spots. Or they scarred themselves with their claws or a sharp object. Some were banging their heads against the padded walls in a soft but repetitious manner and sobbing to themselves, at the voices.
Brandon being the new arrival had not had his clothes changed, but the rest wore cool blue garb, like scrubs, with the word "Patient #" followed by an alpha-numeric series on top of the left pectoral area. It had the look of a prison and the feel of a hospital.
Sidney and Piberius got in the elevator, Sidney sliding his card and pressing the floor to their next destination.
"So you're unusually quiet." Commented Sidney.
"I don't like coming back here. You know that."
"Come now m'boy, this is the place of your birth, the well spring of your origin. Take pride."
"Yeah, it explains a lot." The fox muttered.
Sidney simply chuckled mirthfully.
"By the way, how DID you manage to get the pangolin out of those tunnels before they blew?" the fox asked.
"Ms. Rosanov." The weasel answered cryptically.
"The lioness?"
"Of course, M'boy. Remember she has a talent for being discreet." Sidney smiled.
"Being able to turn invisible of course helps." Commented Piberius.
"Yes, after the first bombing, I dispatched her immediately to find out the source of the trouble maker. As you well know the next phase is coming soon and I don't need any loose cannons messing things up for me."
"So why didn't you eliminate him when she found him?"
"Well several reasons, the way he spoke and referred to certain events gave me pause, that he may be the key to unlocking our ultimate goals here. But moreover, his immediate actions could prove useful in the coming phase."
"So you still plan to go through with it?" asked Piberius.
"Of course, this fair city has had its run of bad luck lately, and the people are searching for a means to an end. I mean look at it, the 'savage case' the 'plague incident', designer drugs, hoodlums and thieves not to mention terrorists running the streets, the people are ready for change." He explained.
"A change that I will provide for them." The weasel finished with a flourish.
"Assuming Dr. Doran can solve the problem." Added Piberius
"Yes, yes m'boy, I have all confidence in the good doctor." Smiled Sidney.
"Especially since she has a vested interest." He added he smiled sinisterly.
The elevator reached its destination, making a 'ping' sound as to its arrival, the doors opened and they walked out onto the level. Leaving the relatively short hallway they went through double doors into a the open laboratory beyond. On one side of the lab was a series of test chambers and cells much like the cells down on the main prison floor. On the other was a series of tanks, with a greenish liquid inside similar to the ones found in the illuminati complex that were under the city. Between them were the large array of lab equipment, tables, chairs, workstations, a veritable treasure trove of the finest lab equipment ever created. Most with the Kai Ren Medical logo on the side.
Dr. Doran, the lab coated water deer was busy reading and signing off on her staff members reports, when they walked up behind her.
Piberius cleared his throat loudly to announce their presence, which startled the good doctor, turning around.
"Ah yes, Mr. Ridgeway." She addressed respectfully.
"Doctor Doran." Replied Sidney with a sly grin.
"I'm assuming you're here for a status report?"
"Oh, I was in the area checking on our new 'acquisition' and I figured it was a good excuse to visit you." He smiled cooly.
Doctor Doran blinked several times and gulped, the only thing more repulsive to her about Sidney was when he was 'trying' to be courteous and kind, for she knew it was nothing more than a vapid façade and one wonders why he even attempts to do so.
"Yes….well if you follow me, I can give you an update on what we have been working on."
The three walked over to the left side of the room near the cells, they were all reinforced, padded, and sound proofed, the occasional bang against the wall coming from the first, but for the most part, almost complete silence from them from the outside.
"As you know we have been continuing the 'Night Howler' project, by refining the imperatives of the original serum, we considered, 'what was the serum accessing to cause its effects?'"
"When the 2.0 serum came into production we had simply refined down some of the more deleterious effects and rendered a wholly synthetic version."
"Starting with version 3.0 we have manage to render down specific serums for specific effects."
They walked up to the first chamber, it contained a grizzly bear who was clawing up the room, banging around, and generally appearing savage.
"Code name: Red Rage, this version offers enhanced strength, resistance to pain, however it also produces intense sense of aggression, borderline uncontrollable. We are working to overcome this hindrance."
Dr. Doran saw Sidney offering a slightly impressed expression on his face but Piberius however looking a bit disturbed.
"Moving on." She replied, getting their attention to the next chamber.
This chamber contained a cheetah who was moving quickly around the room, almost a blur, jumping around, testing the room's limits.
"Code Name: Blue Rush, this version of the serum elicits celerity effects, as well as stimulating the pleasure centers of the brain, producing a higher endurance effect. However this also causes the user to desire constant movement until they are exhausted."
They move onto the next chamber, contained inside is an oryx, simply sitting on the floor, pressing his hooves against his head covering his ears as hard as he can, and squeezing his eyes shut tightly, Pleading 'please stop' over and over again, seemingly in pain.
"Code name: Green Sentinel, this serum provides hypersensitivity, all the senses are enhanced to super mammalian levels, however we are still working out how to allow the user to attenuate the effects for comfort and usability."
Walking to the next chamber its lights are dimmer than the rest but is empty with no one inside.
"Code Name: Yellow Luster…."
"Uh, did you lose someone doctor?" asked Piberius.
"Oh no, here let me get that."
The Doctor types some commands into the nearby panel which causes the glass to polarize and display thermal emissions on it. All of a sudden a lioness appears on the screen.
"What?" Sidney remarks.
"As I was saying, Code Name: Yellow Luster, causes the cells of the user to exhibit gradation in the refractive index, and frequency of light, which normally is seen only in meta materials, thus causing…"
"Invisibility?" asked Piberius.
"Yes." She answered.
"Amazing doctor." Sidney replied with a perverse smile.
"However, there is a side effect."
"Such as?"
"We um….can't bring her back." She answered reluctantly.
"You mean she's….." uttered Piberius pointing with his paw.
"Stuck…Permanently invisible."
"Have you finally done it? Unlocked a genetic key?" asked Sidney with an excited smile.
"No sir, it's still chemical, the invisibility is caused by the serum, essentially staining the cells with the spectrum shift, and we are unable to reverse the process, we essentially need to develop a 'solvent' if you will to break down the serum and return her to visibility."
"Ahh…a shame, I thought you had done it." Sidney replied disappointed.
"We're still working on it sir." she replied coldly.
The lioness came over to the glass and pawed at it weakly, caressing the glass in front of Piberius. The fox winced for a second, he could feel her staring straight into his eyes.
"Can she see us?" asked the fox motioning towards the lioness.
"No, the inside is polarized so the test subjects can't see out, the light is simply refracted back so all they see is a white wall."
"For normal mammals though." He added.
"What do you mean?"
"Well you said something about the gradients and frequency of light, so do you think she is seeing the world in a different spectrum?"
Dr Doran puzzled that for a moment and then went over to the comm panel, activating it.
"Patient A062, can you see us?"
At first she kept pawing but then answered.
"Yes." Her voice was soft and sweet, yet raspy with burden and exhaustion.
Dr. Doran let off the comm button for a moment "I'm sorry, I didn't realize she could see out."
"Why is she doing that?" Piberius
"Patient A062, why are you touching the glass?" Dr. Doran asked.
Taking a moment again before answering.
"Because his light is different." She answered cryptically.
"What?" he replied.
"She probably is seeing refractions of light along your fur differently or something similar. Pay no mind." She explained.
"Wait." He insisted.
Piberius walked up to the glass and clicked the panel.
"How is my light different?" he asked.
She looked at him but didn't' say anything. He repeated the question. Still nothing.
"Mr. Piberius, she's in an alternate state of mind, I really wouldn't take anything the test subjects say seriously." Dr. Doran suggested
Piberius thought about it for a moment and seemingly nodded in agreement. He was about to turn and walk away when she finally answered.
"It's different…warm…soft…like the summer. Not like the others."
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"They are grey, muted, like old movies, like paper and ash. You're different but you try not to be."
Piberius simply stared at her in silence, what did she see, what did SHE see that he couldn't.
"I want to sleep." She said.
"Then why don't you?" he asked.
"Because even when I close my eyes it's bright."
"Why?"
"Because my eyelids are invisible silly." She replied with an unexpected child like response.
"I'll see what I can do." He replied.
"I see things so differently now."
"How so?" the fox asked.
"I see the truth of it all, even the hidden things."
"Like what?"
"Shadows in the dark." She smiled in a childlike state.
The lioness back off the glass and went back to the center of the room and just lied down against the padding face down presumably to block the light from her eyes.
Turning to go back to the other two, looking a tad disturbed, he turned to Dr. Doran.
"Get her a sleep mask or something, so she can rest."
At first Dr. Doran looked apathetic as if she was trying on a proverbial mask of her own, but Piberius saw a twinge, a twinge of guilt, it was small and it was brief, but it was something.
"Ok, I'll get her something." She said.
Piberius nodded at her as they walked onto the final chamber. Dr. Doran was visibly reluctant about opening her mouth to start speaking, looking into the chamber, and then taking a deep breath.
"This last one…is a recent addition, Code Name: White Space….um plain and simple, it increases cerebral capacity and neural speed, hand-eye coordination, perfect for data analysis or some kind of high speed data processing."
Sidney and Piberius finally looked in to see what Dr. Doran was having trouble describing. The chamber inside contained an ergonomic chair with a slight upward tilt, sitting in the chair was jaguar, the boy couldn't have been older than ten or eleven making him the youngest of all the test subjects. He had monitor equipment connected to him to watch his condition and straps to keep him from leaving the chair.
The room was dark, illuminated only by the light of the displays just above him, a split keyboard under each one of his paws, pages and pages of data moving very quickly across the screen, his eyes darting seemingly able to read it all, fingers frantically typing, a slight pant to his breathing, his tongue lolled out of his mouth occasionally as if having fun.
"What's the catch here?" asked Sidney.
"Well, the act of usage of the enhanced prowess causes stimulation of the pleasure center of the brain, and the rate of growth is not entirely controllable."
"So?"
"Well, basically it's sustainable, eventually the rate gets to the point that the subject….experiences…"
"What Doctor? Come on now, don't be shy." Sidney encouraged.
"Cerebral aneurysm, fatal brain hemorrhage."
"So they burn out?" He asked
"Eventually." She said almost apologetically.
"Well Doctor, you know what they say when a light bulb burns out. Right?" Sidney asked.
She didn't answer.
"Just screw in another one." He finished, smiling, making a twisting gesture with his paw.
"Yes, sir, we are working to overcome ALL of these issues." She replied putting on a respectful smile as best she could.
"Ahh, I assumed so, the need to continue your precious research and all."
Sidney pulled out the orb and gave the containment vial to the doctor who held it in her hooves.
"Continue the good work doctor, I'm endeavoring to find the bigger one, and then we can really change the world."
Sidney turned to leave.
"Come Piberius." He called.
"Just a moment, I wish to speak with the good doctor." Piberius countered.
"Alright, but don't dawdle, we have things to do. M'boy" Sidney replied as he walked away.
"It will only be a few minutes." He replied.
Sidney said nothing in reply and walked out of the lab.
As soon as he left Piberius mannerism changed, he spun around to the doctor.
"What the fuck is this Doctor?" he asked angrily, gesturing to all the chambers.
"Exactly what Mr. Ridgeway requires." She answered sadly.
"And you condone this?"
Dr Doran took a deep breath, the huff of her exhale pretty much punctuated her mood.
"When I started this I wasn't exactly made aware that I would be experimenting on children. But it's not my idea if that's what you're asking." She said trying to stay calm and whispering.
"They're children doctor." He whispered back.
"Yes, they are. And don't you dare try to put all of this on me. You were with him EVERY step of the way, you helped set ALL of this up, and even supervised the creation of the capture teams."
Piberius incensed grabbed the doctor by the throat, gritting his teeth.
"I never kidnapped any children." He growled softly trying not to make a scene.
"And I never told them I needed children."
"Then why?"
"Because Sidney has read Dekker's work." She replied, looking Piberius directly in the eye.
Piberius relaxed and let go of her neck, she reached up and rubbed the fur.
"What about Dekkar?"
"Dekkar said that based on what he knew, from his work on Project Rosslyn, that there may be some kind of 'genetic destiny' for Zootopians. And that where we are right now is the cusp of some transition and that these next coming generations would be the first steps towards….something. " she answered
"I don't like it anymore then you do, Piberius."
"Then why do you do it, why do you stay?" The fox fired back.
"For the same reason you stay…Because Sidney has that which we want, and he knows we won't leave or betray him as long as he does."
"Now if you'll excuse me, I have patients to take care of." She said, dismissing Piberius.
Minutes later…
Dr. Doran had followed the medical technician into the room with the young jaguar kit. The technician was unhooking the boy from the computer and chair assembly.
"So, did I do a good job?" he asked excitedly, apparently not aware of his situation.
"Yes, you did a very good job, Michael." She smiled sweetly.
She noticed a trickle of blood coming from the boy's nose, she took out a napkin and casually cleaned his face.
He clambered onto her, clinging to her neck and gave her a hug.
"Thank you." he said sweetly.
"What for?" she asked puzzled.
"For letting me make the world a better place." He replied, as he hugged her again, burying his head into her shoulder like a babe to its mother.
Her eyes glossed over slightly, a deep feeling in the pit of her stomach, and realized she was just as trapped as her patients.
"What was this all for Judy? To make the world a better place? Dr. Doran asked."
"I can only wonder how in 100 years how people will look back and judge us for what we have done today."
"My hope, Anabel, is that in 100 years, there will still be people TO judge us." Judy replied."