36: Scientific Curiosity
The lights switched on within the facility. Again, Jonas had to assume that someone, somewhere in this place had an eye on them. All this did was put him and the others on high alert, and so the trio moved cautiously, entering the large loading area that took up the space beyond the facility's entrance.
Large containers were stacked against one wall. A corridor started through an opening at the far end, through what Jonas figured was some kind of security checkpoint. There was a set of metal stairs ahead, leading up to a walkway on the level above. There, a door was present, leading into a room where a set of reinforced windows offered a view of the entire loading area from above. At a glance, the facility seemed lifeless, the lighting dry, white, even sterile. And yet dust had settled on most surfaces, and it lingered in the air with the disturbances brought on by the trio who had entered.
The doors had closed behind them. Jonas, Daniel and Major Kav'rak crossed the large, concrete space. Silence seemed to reign all round. It was, in some ways, worse than there being any noises present. Silence was an unnatural state of affairs, even down here underground. The footsteps of the three of them echoed loudly around the open space. Jonas had taken the lead and the others followed, even though he did not actually know where he was going.
They moved to the security gate and the corridor beyond it. As they neared, there sounded a hissing noise from nearby. All three swivelled about, searching for the source. It seemed to come from all around them, a static-like hiss that shifted into low, guttural noises interspersed with bursts of screeching feedback.
"What the hell is that?" Daniel asked, his eyes widening. They stopped by the security gate, noticing the gate itself was wide open. Jonas held up a hand, one finger raised. He was searching for the source, and he needed quiet to do it. The noises continued for several seconds before they stopped altogether, with the unnatural silence setting in once again. Jonas squatted by the desk before the security gate, his attention drawn to the defunct and outdated computer set within it. The screen was covered with a thick layer of dust that he brushed away with one sleeve. A speaker was next to the display, forming part of an intercom system.
Jonas tapped at the screen, before he put a hand to the intercom and toyed with the dials and switches. The noise started again, first with the static hissing and then the warbling. Now it was clear that it emanated from the speaker of the intercom (and many other such speakers scattered around the place), and Jonas immediately pressed the button below it that was for accepting the incoming call.
"Hello? Is someone there?" The noises stopped suddenly. No response came. Jonas took his finger off of the button and looked to Daniel. He was about to suggest that someone may have been trying to speak to them through the PA system within the facility. Before he could make that suggestion, a voice came through the speaker, tinged with an electronic tone and somewhat stilted in its delivery:
"Identified: Quinn, Jonas. You are expected." The voice was that of a male, and the computer screen set upon the desk suddenly flickered into life. To Daniel, he noted that it looked like a computer made in the early eighties, thick and bulky, the image comprised of a singular shade of green against a stark black background.
"I'm expected? By who?" Jonas narrowed his eyes. As they had suspected, someone had anticipated their coming here.
"The Watcher."
Daniel and Jonas exchanged glances. Even Kav'rak looked a little bemused. The term meant nothing to either of them. It could have referred to anyone or anything.
"Who am I speaking with?" Jonas asked. It appeared that he was the spokesperson for the group now, seeing as how this computer had its attention directed on him.
"I am the Specialised Security Protocol for the Republic of Kelowna's Advanced Research Facility Nine. I was developed by Doctor Vandre Bence as a means of automating the workings of this facility. Doctor Bence would often refer to me as 'Protocol' for ease of reference. It has been one-hundred and ninety-three days since this facility's reactivation."
Again, the trio looked about the quiet, sparse loading area.
"No signs of reactivation here," Jonas said, redirecting his gaze to the computer. On the screen, there had appeared a simple horizontal green line that bobbed and wobbled and widened as it spoke.
"This facility is one of a dozen such facilities scattered across the nation of Kelowna. They are all connected via an underground railway system. So far, only this facility has been reactivated. The others remain locked down to the outside world."
"What kind of work goes on here?" Daniel was the one to ask this, stepping up alongside Jonas. Maybe they would get the answers they needed, as long as this computer played ball. Judging from its age and the way its voice occasionally hiccupped, it appeared that it had seen better days. This whole place had, really.
"Doctor Bence was a pioneer in the field of genetics. However, the nature of his work remains classified to this day." The computer, Protocol, spoke in a level monotone. Jonas realised then that they were not going to get their answers as easily as they had been hoping.
"We're here, now. Looks like that clearance doesn't count for squat." Daniel looked past Jonas, towards the corridor ahead. He could see the computer's image displayed on another monitor down the hall. Its voice echoed from the speakers of each screen and from the PA system itself. The entire facility was lit up with the same image, that of the computer program's simple analogue representation of itself. If anyone else was in this place, then they would certainly know now that there were 'guests' present.
The computer did not reply. In fact, it remained silent, even after both Daniel and Jonas reiterated the question. The line on the display before them bobbed idly, indicating that the computer was still there and attentive, but for whatever reason had simply stopped replying. Instead, a line of yellow lights suddenly came to life along the left-hand side of the wall. They were small fittings, and some flickered or otherwise did not work at all. Nonetheless, they were indicating a path to take, going along the left-hand wall and around a corner further ahead.
"We're wanted somewhere else," Daniel said, when he saw the indicator lights switch on. Jonas looked the same way and frowned.
"You get the impression we're being strung along?"
"All the time," Daniel replied. "But have we any other choice?" He was right, of course. They had come here for answers and no matter the dangers that lay ahead, they both knew they needed to go deeper into this place to find what they were looking for. Talking computer or not, they would have gone down that way anyhow.
"It could be a trap," Kav'rak said. Jonas and Daniel started into the corridor, and the makalvari Major quickly hobbled into step behind them. His yellow eyes darted around in an alert, even anxious fashion. He was expecting something horrible to jump out at them. For now, though, the place seemed empty. And the silence had returned, with only the sounds of their footsteps breaking through it. The yellow lights took them around a corner and down a long, winding corridor that travelled at a gentle incline. They were going deeper underground, and at the end of this corridor was a set of metal double doors. Warning signs were pasted on the walls near it, indicating the need for biohazard protections and the like. A bulky monitor suspended on the wall above the doors flickered into life, once again presenting the innocuous and wavering green line that represented the resident security protocol computer.
"This is the main laboratory. From here, one can find their way to the underground rail system." The voice spoke in an unremarkable monotone, bereft of any genuine emotion. It sounded like a tour guide, albeit a very stilted one at that.
"Is it safe to enter?" Jonas asked. The group stopped before the double doors. Jonas felt some anxiety when faced with what he might find behind these doors, convinced that something terrible awaited them. It was a natural response, no less, and he readied his weapon in anticipation of those doors sliding open.
"Sensors in the laboratory do not detect any hazardous biological material," the computer, Protocol, stated. "Nonetheless, it is recommended that visitors take the proper precautions. Biological hazard protection suits can be found in the storeroom to your left." There was an otherwise unremarkable door situated off to the group's left. Kav'rak, driven more by curiosity than anything else, approached the door and pushed it open. It squeaked loudly upon its ageing hinges, revealing a dusty locker room. All the lockers were wide open and all had been cleaned out of anything useful. This included any biohazard suits, causing Kav'rak to emerge with a somewhat disappointed look on his face.
"It was worth a try," he remarked.
"What was Doctor Bence doing here?" Daniel asked the computer again. The question was delivered with something more demanding in his voice. His patience, as was Jonas' own, was starting to wear thin. "And forget security clearance. This place has been out of action for decades."
The computer did not reply. Jonas approached the double doors, trying the control panel set into the wall at their right. It was a keypad to which he did not know the code. After a few attempts, he sighed and turned to the others. Kav'rak approached then, pulling a thin metal rod from his vest. A few lights blinked along its length, and the narrow antenna-like implement was connected to a small, palm-sized black box. There was a display on this, along with various dials.
"Allow me," the Major said, and he made a move for the keypad. "This technology is primitive compared to our own. An old electronic lock is hardly going to cause us problems."
"Jonas Quinn has full permissions to enter," the computer declared, before Kav'rak could get close to the keypad. A light upon the keypad suddenly blinked green, and a quiet click sounded, indicating that the lock had come open. The double doors slid apart slowly, revealing a small airlock space beyond. The doors at the other end of that confined room also slid open, seemingly overridden by the resident security computer program.
The trio looked into the room ahead with some tempered curiosity. It was a large, sterile space, all whites and stark greys. Pods lined the walls at either side, each nearly seven feet in height, large enough to carry a body. Given their overall shape, that was the first conclusion Jonas made when he saw them: they were for bodies, or specimens, and he shuddered at the thought of whatever 'research' had been carried out here.
There was another room at the far end of the laboratory. Workbenches and gurneys were spaced at intervals along the laboratory's length, each flanked by defunct monitoring equipment. There was another door, off to the far corner of the laboratory, and the sign over it indicated it to be an alternate exit of sorts. There were vents along the ceiling, intended to keep the fresh air coming and to filter out anything harmful that might go floating into the outflow ducts. There was a thin layer of dust upon most surfaces here, although some of what was on the dark linoleum floor had been noticeably disturbed. Footprints and smudges were apparent within the dust, and they showed up well under the sterile white lighting of the place.
Nearly every functioning computer monitor inside here took on the same wavering, green line that served to represent 'Protocol'. It spoke as the three of them walked through the laboratory, its voice cutting through the uneasy quiet in an abrupt, almost grating manner:
"Doctor Bence had a team of experienced scientists at his disposal for the duration of the program," the computer stated. There was no pride to its voice, nothing that indicated legitimate emotion. There was just the same flat monotone, flecked with patches of distortion and hiccups that broke the occasional word.
"Doctor Bence was attempting to tap into the Langaran genome," the computer continued. Jonas paused by the entrance into the sealed room at the far end of the laboratory. Daniel poked around one of the metal gurneys nearby, finding a trolley next to it covered with pristine medical implements. Aside from the dust, they were in perfect condition, and he picked up one particularly nasty looking thing that resembled a scalpel, albeit longer and with a small hook at the tip of its blade.
"He had uncovered certain anomalies within the genetic makeup of a select few Langarans," the computer added. Jonas perked up then, and Daniel looked his way with a similar sense of realisation. Now Jonas turned to the nearest monitor, one that was situated on a wall a few feet off to his right. It was irritating, having to talk to a computer with no face, but it appeared that this faceless stream of binary code had some answers for him.
"What anomalies?" Jonas asked. There was no immediate answer. With a burst of anger, he thumped a hand against one side of the bulky analogue monitor. "What anomalies?"
"It was estimated only a small subsection of the Langaran population carried this gene," the computer explained. "Doctor Bence directed his research onto uncovering what this anomalous part of the genome was and what its capabilities were."
"What did he find?" Daniel asked. Kav'rak, meanwhile, had moved to the door at the corner that was marked as an exit. He tried the handle, finding it locked. His raptor-like features narrowed into a frown, and he attempted to catch a glimpse of whatever lay on the other side through the frosted over window set within the door's centre. No such luck there. At the same time, he only half-listened to the exchange taking place some paces behind him.
"Doctor Bence uncovered evidence of direct manipulation into the Langaran genome, affecting only a small percentage of the population. Using randomly collected samples from all across Langara, Doctor Bence was able to determine a rough estimate as to what percentage that was, in this case only five. These anomalous genetics appear to have been inserted into the genome in such a way as to be very difficult to isolate."
"Kelowna's only real geneticist," Jonas remarked, glancing at Daniel. "My people are still decades behind yours."
"Sounds like this doctor had the right idea," Daniel said.
"Doctor Bence became convinced that at some point in Langaran civilisation's early history, an outside force had attempted genetic experimentation on some of this world's population. Advanced experimentation of his own to tap into the manipulated genome indicated the potential for superhuman abilities. Telepathy, for example. However, many of the test subjects perished during these experiments."
"And then they shut him down," Jonas added. He shook his head slowly. "Even the people who were funding him must have become shocked by what he was doing out here." An outside force had altered Langaran genetics; that was a possibility Jonas had pondered over the many years since he had learned of his own unusual genetics. He had, for a brief time, been blessed (or perhaps 'cursed') with the ability to see potential futures. In the end, he had lost that ability, yet it had clearly been brought about by manipulation of the abnormalities in his genetics that had lain dormant for most of his life. Nothing so unusual had happened to him since, and as far as he could tell he was a normal human being like so many others on so many worlds. Even so, what had happened all those years ago lingered in his mind, sometimes coming to the fore when he least expected it. He had never had any solid answers as to why he was 'special' on the genetic level. At least now he had something resembling an answer, but it was not enough.
"What outside force manipulated Langaran genetics?" Jonas asked, directing his hardened gaze towards the monitor before him. There followed another long pause, and Jonas was about to smack the display again before the computer's voice broke through:
"Unknown. Doctor Bence hypothesised that extra-terrestrials may have been responsible, and they would have carried out these experiments hundreds, if not thousands of years before."
"One thousand years ago, maybe?" Daniel suggested. No answer was forthcoming. He looked to Jonas, concern creasing his brow. "Are you all right, Jonas?"
"I just want answers," Jonas said. "I mean, if this is all in the past, where did this plague come from? And who the hell is the 'Watcher'?"
Again, no replies came. The green, wobbling line on the screen only wobbled some more. Kav'rak was fiddling with the door in the corner, apparently determined to get through it. He had his hacking device out now, the same one from earlier, and he was attempting to work the keypad lock by the door with it.
"Did Doctor Bence ever develop anything? A virus, perhaps?" Daniel looked to the monitor near Jonas, his face easing into something more curious than anything else.
"Doctor Bence developed a retrovirus with the intent of transferring the genetic mutations to other test subjects. However, it remained in prototype stage when the program was shut down." At least the computer was forthcoming with this slice of information. Daniel perked up, recalling the many misadventures that had occurred with the Atlantis expedition and their use of such viruses.
"These samples, where were they?"
A light blinked on in the room ahead, the one that had previously been sealed. Daniel approached the opened door, peering into what he could only assume was an operating room of some kind. There was a bench in the middle, with another one of the pods suspended against the far wall. This one had a small window set within it, and his face turned grim when he saw what was inside.
"Jonas, come take a look at this." Daniel stepped further into the room and Jonas joined him, looking about the sterile, blue-toned space before his eyes went to the pod and its small, dusted over window. Inside, a pale visage was apparent, the eyes closed on a vaguely human face. However, the nostrils were slitted and the face itself was bereft of any hair, as was the scalp. The skin tone on this humanoid was also much paler than any normal human.
"A test subject?" Jonas asked.
"Maybe." Daniel paused. He spoke aloud then, aware that the resident security computer was listening in: "Who came here recently? As you said, this place was reactivated not too long ago?"
The computer did not reply straight away. It was built on technology that would have been cutting edge in the 1970s on Earth, so Daniel supposed he should not be surprised at its frequent stalls. However, in the case of this latest question, he sensed a change in the security computer program. The green wavering line on the display within the room, the simple representation of the computer program itself, changed into a deep blue. Jonas saw this too, and his expression took on the same worried and uneasy frown that Daniel's now wore.
"Jonas Quinn: There is a message for you." The voice was deeper, the electronic edge more pronounced. Suddenly, another voice broke through the speakers scattered about the laboratory. It was a voice Jonas recognized straight away; one he had come to expect as a prelude to serious trouble.
"You found the place?" Gorum Kavul sounded almost gleeful. "I knew you would. You always were a smart man, Jonas. Too smart, maybe, but I never held that against you. What purpose would that serve?" A slight pause followed, and Jonas felt his right-hand clench into a fist. It was an involuntary movement when it came to hearing Kavul's voice. This man had wrought so much misery in his life and had taken the lives of so many others. All Jonas wanted to do was find him and throttle him with his bare hands.
"Come out, Kavul!" Jonas shouted. Daniel turned to him, shaking his head.
"I think it's a recording," he said, and Jonas realised with some disappointment that he was right. Kavul continued talking, oblivious to Jonas' call. It seemed the man had left a parting message for Jonas to find, knowing full well he would follow the trail here sooner or later.
"Now you've seen what I saw when I went into that place. I was led there, the angel told me where to go and how to get in. It told me a great deal about Langara's place in the universe. We were destined for far greater things, but the last war saw all that pushed aside. They were going to make us gods among mortals, Jonas!" The passion and the insanity was clear as day in Kavul's voice. Jonas had heard it before, many years ago, and he could easily imagine the manic expression on the terrorist bomber's face he would have no doubt worn when making this recording. Jonas recalled Gorum Kavul's trial, the one that had seen him locked away for life: he had taken the stand and proclaimed how proud he was of his work, that he would gladly do it all again and that he saw the government of Kelowna as disgustingly corrupt. He had wielded the same tone then, the kind only a man convinced of their righteousness to a fanatical extent could truly muster.
"A new leadership class for their cause," Kavul continued. "And now that they've returned, they enlisted my help to resume those plans. They spoke of the predecessors, the engineered race they had used for that same purpose. They revolted nearly two-thousand years ago and their descendants live on in limited numbers. Apparently, you know some of them."
"The Nomads," Daniel muttered, the pieces falling together in his mind.
"You have the capacity for it within you, Jonas. I know that, same as they do. Many Langarans don't, the genetics required are imperfect or barely there. The virus serves to weed out the weak from the capable. Those who are suitable find their way to the Watcher, and there he will elevate them to something more than human. And the weak perish, as they should. There is no room on the future Langara for the weak, Jonas. I always used to say that, that a weak government would render the people weak. You never used to listen to me."
"I stopped listening to lunatics a long time ago," Jonas stated, for what little good it did. Gorum Kavul was not here, had not been for some time. Daniel was alert now, and Kav'rak had appeared in the doorway with a worried expression on his raptor-like features.
"What is he talking about?" The makalvari Major asked. He looked from Daniel and then to Jonas, his confusion shifting into something more suspicious. "You two know more than you're letting on, don't you?"
"Now Jonas, my old friend, you have a choice." Kavul's voice cut through the air again like a knife, and Kav'rak's question went unanswered. All heads went to the computer monitor at the other side of the room, from which the voice emanated. "You can proceed to your elevation, which I think is a better fate than you deserve. Or you can die like the rest of them, just another weakling destined for the dustbin of history." There followed a pause then, and Jonas could envision the smile on Kavul's face as he pondered his finishing remark: "Here, I'll give you a little encouragement."
The image on the computer monitor died, as it did on every other screen scattered about the laboratory and the facility as a whole. Jonas, eyes wide, looked to Daniel and then past Kav'rak. There followed a few seconds of silence, and all three of them tensed in expectation of whatever dangers Kavul had in mind. They need not have waited long, for there sounded a dull rumble from somewhere back towards the way they had come. Multiple explosives, set at certain points along the walls of the loading bay at the facility entrance, detonated simultaneously. The rumbling was interspersed with several deep and abrupt thumps as each charge went off, causing the laboratory around them to shake. Trails of dust fell from the ceiling. Cracks started along the surrounding walls. And the explosives continued detonating, one after the other, working their way back along the corridor leading into the laboratory.
All of this happened in a matter of seconds. Kav'rak looked back down the laboratory, towards the door they had entered through. The whole thing was torn out of its housing by a particularly loud and devastating bang, followed by an eruption of smoke and dust and flame. Kav'rak ducked on impulse, and the ceiling beyond the doorway began to fall in. Metal struts gave out and chunks of concrete and steel rebar began piling into the corridor.
The door Kav'rak had been toying with over in the corner suddenly slid open. The makalvari saw this and motioned towards it, less concerned for what lay beyond it and more concerned with the imminent need to get out of this laboratory.
"This way!" He shouted, and Jonas and Daniel started running after him. They emerged from the partitioned space in which, Jonas now suspected, numerous horrible experiments had been conducted on hapless victims. It was also the very place Kavul had likely found the virus that was now killing countless innocents across Langara. No doubt the late Doctor Bence had created an antidote to that virus, some means of counteracting it. No apparent 'genius' would create a disease without also creating a cure for it. Presumably, Kavul had that as well. No wonder his followers seemed unaffected by the plague.
Somewhere further behind them, part of the laboratory exploded with a thunderous crunch. Fires spilled across numerous specimen tanks, swallowing up metal gurneys and dusted-over medical implements. Sparks flew from ruptured power conduits and shattered screens. Lights in the ceiling flickered for a moment and then gave out. Orange firelight spilled into the rest of the laboratory, just as part of the ceiling down near its entrance began to crumble. An engineered demolition, very much Gorum Kavul's handiwork. If there was one thing that man was truly good at, it was blowing things up.
The corridor through the unlocked door was grey and bare, travelling a few metres to another door that was, thankfully, also unlocked. Beyond that, a storeroom of sorts, neighbouring a stairwell that went down. It seemed to plunge much further down than any of them had anticipated, with the lighting sparse towards the bottom. Jonas looked over the railing, wondering just where these stairs might take them.
The explosions had stopped. Much of the laboratory behind them was full of debris, rendering the exit unreachable, buried behind piles of rubble. And even if they somehow got through that, the rest of the facility behind them had been buried as well. Kavul wanted them going one way and one way only: down. Right on down into the heart of whatever nightmare had been constructed here.
Nonetheless, the three of them took a moment at the top of the stairs. Kav'rak activated his earpiece then, trying to get a signal through:
"Fire team, this is the Major. Please respond." He waited a moment, hearing nothing. He spoke again: "This is Major Kav'rak. Anyone who can hear this signal, please respond." Again, nothing. They were too far underground, or perhaps something was jamming the signal itself. Kav'rak deactivated the device and emitted an irritated huff, the plume of dark feathers on his head visibly ruffling in agitation.
"We're cut off," he said, his voice brimming with frustration. "And it looks like all we have is a way down, not up."
Daniel looked more thoughtful as he pondered the way ahead, or rather down. He turned to Jonas, seemingly searching his friend for some sign as to how he felt. Jonas simply felt a coldness, the kind of numbness that had fallen upon him when his wife and daughter had been killed. This time around, it was because of the apparent trap they had walked into. In all honesty, Jonas was not surprised. They had walked into it knowing the risks. Even so, he suspected that whatever awaited them downstairs was nothing good.
"The enemy was attempting to augment the Langarans," Daniel said. "Maybe they found something unique here that drew them to this world?"
"Maybe. If they had to give up their plans last time around, then the Calsharans might have hindered their advance. Pushed them back into whatever dark corner of the galaxy they came from." Jonas frowned, trying to piece it all together: for years now, he had wondered why he had seemingly been blessed with some unusual genetics that, for most of his life, had done nothing for him. Once tapped into, however, he had been able to see into the future whilst slowly dying of a brain tumour. After that had been removed, he had lost that ability. Presumably, whatever had brought on that episode was still in his system, once again dormant. Had these unusual traits been present before or after the ancient enemy had come to Langara? Are these unusual genetic traits what the Scourge wanted, or as the Nomads called them, 'Demons of the Void'?
They had used Gorum Kavul to lay the groundwork for their return. Maybe Kavul did not even realise he was little more than a pawn to them? Perhaps he was simply too crazy to figure it out, or perhaps he knew and simply did not care?
"Whatever the reason, we'll probably find out somewhere down there." Jonas motioned over the top of the railing, indicating the several flights that led further down into the darkened sub-basement of the facility. Presumably, the path down would take them to the train and tunnel network that connected similar facilities scattered across Kelowna. That is, if the words of that security computer were to be believed.
"We'll find a way out down there," Jonas added. "I mean, there has to be another way out. A tunnel, even an underground tram."
"We'll be going where Kavul wants us to go," Daniel stated, and his tone suggested he was not at all enthused by the prospect. He had a point, of course, but all three of them knew they had little choice in the matter. There was no way out back the way they had come. Kavul had seen to that, in his own signature way.
"I'm getting real tired of being railroaded by that guy," Kav'rak spat. Nonetheless, he started down the steps, readying his weapon as he moved. Jonas and Daniel exchanged glances before they followed, plunging further down into Kelowna's dark heart.