by Gideon Mills
Jonathan turned to them. “We will have to walk the rest. The air is bad here.” He handed them masks to wear that would filter the air they breathed. “Don’t take them off.”
All of them exited the car, and Amita could tell the air was unbreathable just by the way it felt on her skin. Amita wanted to burn the clothes she wore when she got back to her place and take the longest shower of her life.
It was a long and tedious walk. They arrived at the edge of a giant chasm. It was deep, and in the distance, Amita could make out people slaving in it, carrying or pushing out whatever it was they were digging.
“What is it?” Marcus asked.
“What makes the cybernetics possible,” Jonathan explained. “The mineral that is in the implant and the body parts we have. What makes it all possible. Allows us to scan people, see what they have. It flows through us.”
“Oh.” Marcus didn’t seem to know more than her. That made her feel better. Amita had no clue how it all worked.
“I’m guessing that most don’t know that they have this mineral in them?” Amita asked.
“Nope,” Ihor said. “It took us forever to find out what it was.”
“How did you find out?” Marcus asked.
It was tough to hear what everyone was saying clearly. The masks they wore muffled their voices. They needed to get back soon. Amita didn’t want to stand out here breathing this in even with the mask.
They watched the mine. The workers were a constant stream and next to them weren’t people but droids. The droids whipped them and guided the slaves. It angered Amita that the Mara Corp used the droids to control the slaves. Keres and her people could have just as easily used the droids to do the work.
“When we found the experiments—” Jonathan started.
“I’ve seen enough.” Amita turned and walked back to the car. She didn’t bother to see if the others followed or not. Seeing this was horrific. If Marcus made them go through the other part of this, soon, Amita was sure she was going to witness something else even more horrific. When Amita got back to the car, the others were close behind. Inside, they removed the masks. Amita breathed in. Her lungs hurt. Her body ached. All of it, from head to toe, was in agony. This was one of the worst places she’d ever seen.
“That is terrible,” Amita said.
“It is,” Ihor said. “Never like seeing it. Luckily, I’ve only seen it three times. We show people to prove it to them.”
“Has it helped?” Marcus asked.
Jonathan had started up the car and was already getting us back to the city. “It does.”
“Good,” Amita said. “How many people are fighting?”
“Not enough,” Ihor said, “but that isn’t what is important. We just need to make sure those we have do their jobs and stop this mine. Once Keres gets what she needs, she’ll be able to use it to control everyone.”
“Say what?” Marcus had a look of complete shock and confusion.
“We didn’t tell you the worst,” Jonathan said. “That implant in the brain.”
The only time Amita had ever seen Marcus this scared was when he was getting beaten. Amita didn’t like seeing him this way.
“With the right technology, it can lead to mind control,” Jonathan said.
Amita couldn’t believe what she'd just heard. It couldn’t be possible. That was pure science fiction. It didn’t matter that she lived in a time when people modified the body. That just wasn’t possible.
“No way,” Marcus said. He was just as lost as Amita was. “That can’t be the case. My family wouldn’t have anything to do with that.”
Ihor sighed. “I’m sorry, old friend.”
Amita hurt for Marcus learning this about not only Keres but his family. She didn’t know about the upper echelon of people, but from what Amita gathered talking to William, they were just a step below the Maras.
“Even my brother?” Marcus asked.
“He knows. More so than your father. Your dad may be a director, but he isn’t involved as much in the cybernetic side. He’s more into the droids. He knows about the slaves.”
Marcus hung his head. “This is all too much. I thought we were past all this. The tech was supposed to make us better, more unified.”
Amita didn’t want to point out that even without this knowledge, that wasn’t the case. She grew up in the same city, but it couldn’t be any more different. Nothing about this New Republic was what it seemed. It was nothing but a facade to make those in the top tier feel good. Those like Marcus.
But he had seen the light. So had Amita.
16
Experiments
Marcus rode in silence the rest of the way. The knowledge he'd learned was so much that it nearly overwhelmed him. It disgusted him beyond belief. How could they try to control the people?
It had been bad enough to see the slaves. That barbaric activity had been wiped out ages ago. Seeing it back in action made Marcus sick to his stomach and angrier than he had ever been.
Out the window, the landscape changed from the barren waste surrounding the city to the street level. The filth upset Marcus even more. The whole thing did. Marcus gritted his teeth and clenched his fist.
Amita sat next to him and gave him a concerned look. She was beautiful and smart. Marcus wasn’t sure what was going on between them, but he didn’t want to mess it up. It killed him that this trip might have done just that. Seeing what his family was part of, and how that might have been her, had to be going through her head. Marcus might have saved her, but Jameson could have sent her away to be a slave.
“Are you okay?” Amita asked.
Marcus glanced at her. “No.”
Amita patted him on the shoulder. “You aren’t your family. Don’t worry about them. The Marcus I know wouldn’t do any of this. He is trying to stop it. He’s trying to help those being oppressed, to be better than the rest of the elite.”
Marcus couldn’t believe it. She was trying to make him feel better. It shamed him. Marcus wished to be the one helping her. He wanted to console her and tell her it would be all right, yet it was the other way around. She was so strong. Perfect. An angel.
“I’ll be okay,” Marcus said. “Thanks to you.”
Amita grinned. That smile melted his heart every time. Marcus needed to tell her what he felt before it was too late. If he waited too long, he might never get his chance. But Marcus feared that it would scare her away. They hadn’t known each other long, and to confess he loved her and wanted her might freak her out.
Marcus was going to do it but as casually as possible. That was his plan. He wanted to make sure she knew even if it made her run away screaming. He had never felt like this before.
The car stopped at the same place where they had found it. Jonathan stepped out first, and the rest followed him out. He turned to Marcus. “You still set on going to the see the experiments?”
Marcus nodded. “I am. More than ever.”
Amita walked around the car. “Me too. Maybe we can find something to stop this or let the rest of the world know.”
“Even if you did, they wouldn’t believe it,” Ihor said.
Amita had a lot to learn about people. She had too much faith. After tonight, Marcus had lost that. He knew better than to trust people to do the right thing. They would just pretend things were no different.
“Not all would ignore it,” Amita said. “Some will join us.”
Jonathan hung his head. “They might, but we’d get killed. Keres is a mean old bitch.”
Marcus agreed with him. She was a cruel person. It really didn’t surprise him that she was capable of this. William and Luke were the only two Maras who hadn’t been mean at some point.
“They have to,” Amita said.
She had such passion. Marcus couldn’t help but stare at her. She was a firecracker right now. Her emotions were high.
“We must,” she added. “If not tonight, then some night. Someday.”
Marcus agreed with her. They co
uldn’t be idle for much longer and let Keres do what she wanted. “Let’s go see what we can learn, and then make some choices.”
“Sounds good to me,” Amita said.
Despite everything they'd just seen, they smiled. Marcus felt a little bit of hope.
On the fourth level, the group traveled together to the building that was home to the experiments, at least according to Ihor and Jonathan. It wasn’t that Marcus didn’t trust them and what they said. They had already proven they weren’t lying with the slaves.
This was worse in some ways. At least the slaves weren’t tortured and used as lab rats. Marcus couldn’t help but cringe at the thought of them doing that to humans. It was bad enough that it was okay to do it to animals, which was strictly controlled. To do it under the radar to humans, without their consent, was terrifying.
Marcus loathed himself right now just at the thought of his family being a part of this. Getting past that wasn’t going to be easy. He had to see it all first to truly believe it was happening.
“We’ll drop you off and drive around,” Jonathan said. “In thirty minutes, we’ll be back. If you aren’t back, we’re leaving without you.”
Marcus nodded. “Understood.”
“Before you go,” Ihor said. He handed Marcus and Amita a device. “Keep that close. It will block the scan, but will draw more attention to you. Be careful with it, and don’t lose it.”
“Thank you,” Marcus said.
They weren’t going to linger for long this close to a Mara Corp building, especially one this secure and essential to Keres. This was one of the most insane things Marcus had ever even thought about doing. To make it even worse, he was dragging Amita along for the ride. He needed the support, and she was the only person Marcus trusted.
But it pained him to risk hurting her and getting her into trouble. She was already under a lot of stress with Keres keeping tabs on her and wanting to know all about her. It was a lot for her to handle in such a short period. Her world had been turned upside down, just as much as Marcus’s. It was his fault. He never should have accepted that stupid dare.
“You ready?” he asked.
Amita nodded and bit her lower lip. “I am.”
The car pulled up to the massive building. Marcus was mildly surprised that Keres housed such a secret project on the fourth level. Then again, that in and of itself might be a way to keep it hidden. Everyone would expect the top-secret stuff to be level five.
When the car stopped, Marcus and Amita jumped out and walked to the door. Marcus had never been here before. He knew of it because his brother had talked about it some, but he'd never gone into great detail, which was strange for him. Jameson was a talker about most things. Now, it made sense why he hadn’t.
“Just follow my lead,” Marcus said.
“I will,” Amita said.
She was tense and stiff. The trip had had an effect on her. Clearly, she was ready for anything and everything. Marcus didn’t know a lot about her past other than her parents had died and she had been raised in an orphanage. It sounded terrible, and he hated that so many people had the same experience on the street level.
He hoped she was able to defend herself in case anything happened. From her test results, it shouldn’t be an issue. At least the raw talent was in her. After this, Marcus might see about getting her some training in case they did more of this type of crazy stuff.
At the door of the building, Marcus pulled out the access card and swiped it. The door opened, and inside, a Security Force member stood at a station. Marcus walked past him and nodded. The member didn’t give him a second look. At least that had gone their way.
Past the guard to a bank of elevators. Ihor said his brother was a part of it, and the one thing Marcus knew about Jameson’s work was that he worked on the tenth floor. Inside the elevator, Marcus pushed the button.
“You sure about that?” Amita asked.
“Yeah.”
Amita stood tall—well, not tall, being barely five feet, but she had her presence about her. She gave Marcus strength. He had said he’d tell her what he thought of her. Why wait?
“Amita,” he said.
“Yes?” She looked up at him and smiled. It made his heart flutter. She really was amazing.
“I wanted to tell you in case this goes bad, but I don’t want to scare you.”
She smiled. “You will never scare me. Never. Tell me anything. Everything. I want to know every last detail about you.”
That made Marcus happy, and it was easier to say what he wanted, to get it all off his chest and tell her what he thought of her, how he felt about her. “I love you,” he said. “You are the most amazing woman I have ever met. You make me happy. You complete me. You’re my soulmate.”
She was silent, unresponsive at first. Then, she cried and hugged Marcus. “I love you too. You are incredible. You know that.”
Marcus hugged her back and cupped her face, brushing her long hair aside. He looked deep into her brown eyes. He knew she was perfect, perfect for him.
Leaning to her, he kissed her, pressing his lips against hers. She was soft and luscious. Just feeling her made his body tingle and his mind race. His heart pounded. She really had an effect on him, one that he loved. The kiss felt like a lifetime yet was only a moment.
The elevator opened, but he was breathless from her. He hoped now more than ever that they survived this, and he would be able to kiss her again, to hold her.
For now, he had to not think about feeling her, about consuming her. They had work to do.
Outside of the elevator, the floor was a typical office.
“Nothing here,” Amita said. She held his hand, and that helped relax Marcus.
“I’m sure this is it.”
Marcus went to the left and down a hallway. It was a large building with many rooms. All they had to do was find the right ones, find them doing experiments on people. Marcus hoped beyond hope he wouldn’t locate it.
Hand in hand, they passed door after door of nothing. Each peeked into rooms as they went. They didn’t have much time left. If they were going to find something it had to be now.
Only nine minutes before Ihor and Jonathan left without them. Marcus opened the door to a large room. Muffled screams sounded.
“Here,” he said.
They entered the huge room. At first, it looked like nothing special. A moment later, Marcus realized it was different. It took up at least a quarter of the floor and covered multiple levels of the building. They were at the top of it. Looking down, he could see people strapped to tables.
“No,” Amita said. “No. No.”
Each person was in different stages of upgrades. The only place this was supposed to be done was at the hospital where Marcus had taken Amita.
It was true. All of it. No proof that Jameson was part of it, but still, Mara Corp was doing terrible, disgusting things. Worse, no one knew or was trying to stop them.
Marcus wanted to get a closer look since there was no Mara Corp person in sight. They descended a flight of stairs to the left and walked to the person on the table.
Together, they leaned over the person. The man at this point was more robot than human. Marcus scanned him.
Thomas Quinn: Factory worker
Stats:
Intelligence: 2
Strength: 4
Cunning: 1
Speed: 0
Modification: in progress
Other: experimental, subclass, not worthy of upgrade
Marcus had seen the other descriptors before, and the ‘not worthy’, and it always annoyed him. But the ‘in progress’ and ‘experimental’ was new.
“Help me,” the man whispered.
“We have to do something,” Amita said.
“What? We’re only two people. Look at all these people. We can’t just save one.”
“You’re right,” Amita said. Her voice was filled with remorse and sadness. She wanted to save the world. Make it better, and Marcus loved that
about her.
The door above opened, and a Security Force member entered. “An alarm sounded,” Marcus said.
Another guard joined the first.
Great, Marcus thought. They needed to get out of here without drawing any attention. That wasn’t going to be easy. If he knew this building better, it might be easier.
Marcus grabbed Amita’s hand and rushed to the wall so they wouldn’t be seen. From here, Marcus could hear the men walking down the stairs. Marcus turned to Amita and pressed his finger to his mouth, telling her to be quiet. Not that she needed it. Marcus figured she would have experience not drawing attention to herself.
It wasn’t likely, but if they could stand completely still as they went by and not look in their direction, Marcus and Amita might be able to get past them. It was a long shot but possible. Marcus hoped that it happened.
Marcus pressed himself against the wall, and Amita followed his lead. The two highly modified Security Force members reached the bottom of the stairs. Marcus would guess that they upgraded at least the eyes or the ears of these guards, plus their legs and arms. It was possible for many other options. Marcus was glad he wasn’t one of these men, especially with what he had learned about Keres. The whole brain control was too much.
The guards went past them and entered the large room. It amazed Marcus that the guards didn’t look in their direction. It was incredibly careless on the guards’ part, but it worked out for them.
Once they were far enough away, Marcus moved up the steps, Amita on his tail. They stepped slowly and methodically. Marcus hoped that limited their chance of drawing the ire of the Security Force.
With luck, they reached the top of the stairs with no reaction from the Security Force members who were moving deeper into the room.
Making as little noise as possible, Marcus and Amita exited the room and rushed back to the elevator. It was a tense ride down. Marcus’s heart raced, and he had trouble breathing. He worried the doors would open, and they would be greeted by a group of people.
When they reached the ground level and departed, it was empty. Marcus sighed. The two exited the building and went to the meeting point with Jonathan and Ihor.