by David Harp
Chapter 55
The Program
“Hello foxy lady!” The voice called out from behind the caged wall. It was Robert Lomax after his arrival from Kansas. “I thought I was familiar with every prison in the country, but this one has me stumped. I didn’t know this place existed, but I’m not complaining. The food’s good, the large screen television is real nice, and most prisons don’t provide memory foam mattresses.”
“We want you to be comfortable,” the young woman responded in an unemotional tone.
“I can’t see you very well through this cage wall. Why don’t you come in and get to know me?” He laughed, taking pleasure in taunting the girl.
To his great surprise, the young woman passed her hand over a console and the door opened wide. He hesitated for a moment, wondering if it was a trick. The pretty young woman was alone with him. She had no obvious weapons or pepper spray, and there appeared to be nothing to prevent his escape.
He lunged and clasped his hands around her neck, squeezing with all his strength. Her neck felt strangely rigid, but she put up very little resistance and her lifeless body fell on the floor within minutes.
“You’re a real disappointment bitch,” he snorted, “I usually have more fun with my quarry.”
He jumped through the open cell door and started running down the black corridor. The tunnel was pitch black. He kept running and bumping into walls, and running and bumping into walls. There seemed to be no end. The room slowly filled with light when he stopped to catch his breath. He was less than thirty feet from the cell where he started. “What the Hell?” he mumbled.
The young woman he thought he’d killed was standing beside him looking completely unruffled.
“You’re a real disappointment bitch,” she snorted, “I usually have more fun with my quarry before I put them back in their cage.”
She bent down and grabbed his wrist with so much force he screamed in agonizing pain while she effortlessly dragged him back to the cell.
“What in god’s name are you? Where is this place? Am I in Hell?”
The cell door slammed shut and a man’s voice spoke to him.
“Good evening Mr. Lomax. Welcome to the Institute. The young woman you encountered is a synthetic machine. We call her the Ice Queen. I trust you realize you’re not in Kansas anymore.”
“This isn’t what I signed up for,” Lomax said, still rubbing his arm. “They told me I was going to a comfortable facility for therapy, not the twilight zone with a friggin mechanical doll!”
“This is exactly what you signed up for Mr. Lomax. You aren’t here to be incarcerated, you are here to be rehabilitated. You can call it therapy if you like. This place can be your worst nightmare, or it can be your salvation. It’s your choice.”
Lomax started laughing. “Better men than you have tried to rehabilitate me. I am what I am. I have no regrets.”
“That’s because you aren’t capable of regrets Mr. Lomax, but we’re going to change that. When we’re finished, you won’t be able to harm others without feeling remorse. And although you don’t deserve it, you’ll also know the joy and intimacy of being human.”
Lomax howled with laughter. “You’ve got to be kidding! That’s the craziest crock of crap I’ve ever heard.”
He sat quietly for a moment. “O.K., I’ll play along. This joint ain’t so bad, and the mechanical lady is real easy on the eyes.”
“Since no one else is allowed in your cell, she’ll be your only regular visitor. Please refrain from putting your hands around her neck. She’s on loan from my boss, so we don’t want to get her dirty. Besides, one wrong move and she could snap your spine like a twig. I don’t think she likes you.”
“Aye, aye, sir!” Lomax saluted facetiously. “And may I ask to whom the voice belongs?”
“My name is Steve. The other voice you hear will be Tammy. We’ll be asking you several times each day what emotions and sensations you’re experiencing. Answer honestly and you’ll be fine. Lie, and you may suffer brain damage.” Lomax nodded, then stretched out on his bed.
Steve had learned a lot from testing the ODR on Dan. The device altered both his physical and emotional perception. One setting made him laugh uncontrollably while another made him sad. Steve identified dozens of points which he used to verify if Lomax was being honest, assuming Lomax had the same response as Dan to the device.
Tammy’s study revealed DNA alterations within the brain could result in personality changes within months rather than years.
Lomax’s physical response was the same as Dan’s, but his emotional response was extremely low. Steve and Tammy had to amplify the signal tenfold to get a minimal reading, but after six months of treatment his personality was conspicuously different.
It started with little things like saying please and thank you. His favorite television shows evolved from violence to science to romance. His demeanor changed from sour and angry to cheerful, and even playful. Robert Lomax’s brain scans showed a measurable increase in the Ventrolateral Frontal Cortex responsible for emotions as his DNA changed.
Meanwhile, the Qabalah had learned of the project and twisted it into stories that the ORION Institute was taking psychopaths and turning them into super soldiers. Robert Lomax was their “Exhibit A” and they found a nationally syndicated columnist to broadcast the story. The publicity was doing exactly what Claude had feared, damaging the Institute’s reputation.
Alicia Welker was a well-known reporter whose sister had been sadistically killed by Robert Lomax. She detested him and felt he should have been sentenced to death, but he got life without parole.
After she discovered Lomax was transferred from Leavenworth, an undisclosed source informed her of the ORION Institute’s connection. She followed the informant’s lead and found prison personnel and a driver to verify the information.
When the same source implied Lomax was one of an army of psychopaths being developed into super soldiers, she didn’t ask questions. The story was perfect for tabloids and exactly what she expected from a secretive organization like the Institute.
Ms. Welker was an excellent journalist, but in this case her judgement was impaired. She hated Lomax and wanted revenge. The idea of him living comfortably at the Institute was more than she could stand. Lomax must be properly punished! Alicia felt she owed it to her little sister and the other victims.