The Samantha Project

by Stephanie Karpinske

  “Let’s move on. Hannah, pull up the hearing tests.”

  “Wait,” I said. “Tell me what you did to me. What did that procedure do?”

  “It enabled your abilities. You’ll see as we go through the week. Of course, some of your abilities won’t show up for a few more weeks, or even months. We aren’t even sure of all you can do yet. Your DNA is still responding to the procedure. It’s similar to how your DNA adjusted after the different enhancements we’ve made to you over the years.”

  “What enhancements? How did you make enhancements? How did you get access—”

  “I can’t go into the details. But over the years we’ve been able to experiment with turning different sections of your genes on and off in order to get them to do what we want them to do. Such as express certain traits.”

  “What kind of traits?”

  “Behavioral traits, mainly. We simply enhance the personality traits that we want you to express and suppress those that we don’t. Samantha, haven’t you ever wondered why you’re so obedient? So diligent about following rules and doing what you’re told? Always doing what society expects of you rather than following your own path?”

  I thought about each word. He was describing me exactly.

  “We designed you to express those traits through your genes. But just recently, you’ve been acting out more, questioning things, and even defying authority. Just look how difficult you’ve been since you woke up here. We aren’t sure why this is happening. We’re actually working on fixing that now.”

  I couldn’t believe what he was saying. So my whole personality had been created? Was any of it really me? And what did he mean when he said it was being fixed? Was my real personality trying to break through? Actually, since the accident, I was starting to feel like I was thinking more independently than I ever had before. And I was starting to question things more.

  I reluctantly went along with Dr. Murray’s testing that day, mainly to learn for myself what I was capable of. The hearing tests showed that I could hear words spoken in a whisper up to 100 feet away, which was even better than the exceptional hearing I had before the procedure.

  My vision was also tested. It was better than 20/20, which wasn’t extraordinary but was far better than the 20/200 vision I had before. Dr. Murray explained that vision takes longer to develop, adding that I would see a significant improvement over the following weeks. An unexpected outcome of the procedure was that I could now see perfectly in the dark, like having built-in night vision goggles—an ability that could be useful in an escape. Because of that, I didn’t mention that ability to my captors.

  The next few days were grueling. Hannah continued to document every minute, but Dr. Murray was replaced with a group of neuroscientists brought in to study and evaluate the new powers of my mind. I was put through an endless series of tests, with machines scanning my brain continuously. Images were flashed in front of me while monitors recorded my brain’s response. Videos showing different versions of the same scene played for hours, apparently to see how my brain would react during times of stress or uncertainty.

  The tests gave me excruciating headaches and left me weak and nauseous. Even though I just had to lie there, my mind never got a break. I was given a strong stimulant that kept me alert. Every day, I pleaded with them to stop the tests or at least give me a few minutes to rest, but they refused and kept me clamped down to the hospital bed, unable to move.

  By the morning of day 5, I was allowed to finally get up and move around. I was told that I would need to take a more active role. Before that, the machines simply recorded things while I lay there. I had no say in what was being done and I had no idea what they were monitoring or testing.

  The researchers entered my room that morning armed with a new set of instruments and devices. Dr. Anderson, the head neuroscientist, gave me his usual two-minute speech about what his team would be doing to me that day. Of course, he always spoke in such general terms that he never really explained anything at all.

  “Today we’ll be looking to see how you communicate. We’ll need you to tell us what you hear, feel, and/or sense. Be very open. Describe everything you’re experiencing. And don’t leave out any details. Any questions?”

  After suffering days of severe pain, my headache had finally ceased and I was able to focus again on the fact that I was a prisoner and needed to escape. I hadn’t learned anything new about my abilities the past few days and didn’t know what they planned to do with me after their tests were done.

  I was sick of being their lab rat, strapped to that bed and having no control. It was time to make things difficult. If they needed me to actively participate, I wanted something in return.

  “I’m not going to tell you anything. If you want information, just scan my brain like you’ve been doing.”

  Dr. Anderson looked surprised because I hadn’t spoken much before then. “We need you to actively participate, Samantha. The testing we’re doing today can’t be recorded. The machines can just see brain waves. You need to interpret for us what those brain waves mean. Do you understand?”

  “I’m not participating. Do you understand?”

  Dr. Anderson’s temper flared. He was getting impatient at the delay that my rebellion was causing. “Stop this, Samantha! We don’t have a minute to waste.”

  “I have all the time in the world. I’m not going anywhere. I can’t go anywhere.” I waved my arms around the room, displaying my white concrete prison.

  “What’s going on here? I don’t have time for games.”

  “I want to talk to Dr. Worthings. Now.” I wasn’t sure exactly what my plan was, but I had to buy time. And I knew that finding Worthings, who was probably somewhere in Europe, would take at least an hour or two.

  He laughed. “Yeah, wouldn’t we all?” He looked at the other researchers. “Dr. Worthings is a very busy man. He runs this division—worldwide. He’s never available. In fact, we’ve never even met him.”

  “I’ve met him. And I think he would talk to me if you got him on the phone.”

  “We don’t have a method for reaching him. He has a private secretary, and only a handful of people even know the number of that secretary.”

  “Then you better hurry up and start looking for someone who has the number.”

  “This is nonsense.” A researcher who was always referred to as “Reynolds” stood up. “Let’s just inject this in her brain and get going.” He grabbed a long needle from the table.

  “No!” Dr. Anderson grabbed the needle from Reynolds. “The pain would be so great that she wouldn’t be able to interrupt for us.”

  “We don’t know that. We don’t know how much pain she can take. I think we should try.”

  Dr. Anderson considered the idea. I looked over at Hannah, who, for once, actually looked concerned for me.

  “No, we can’t chance it. She could go into a coma and then we’d get nothing out of her.” Dr. Anderson looked over at Hannah. “That computer guy. Dave, is that his name? He can get Worthings, right? Call him up. Now!”

  Dave, I thought. Yes, that’s it. That’s my demand. I had to see Dave. One last time. I wasn’t sure if he could help, but I had to see him again.

  Within 2 hours, Worthings’ holograph appeared before me as I lay, strapped down again, in bed. “Well, well Samantha. Look who’s turned into the rebellious teenager. After all those years of being our good little girl. Doing what you’re told. Taking orders. We’ll get you fixed soon enough so that you’re back to normal. But for now, I must say, your refusal to cooperate takes guts. A person in your position making demands? Perhaps the researchers have been too kind to you. We have a lot more invasive equipment.”

  “I don’t care what you do to me. I’m not helping you.” I paused to see his reaction but got nothing. “I’m not helping you unless you let me see Dave. One last time. I never got to say goodbye and I want to see him.”

  “Isn’t that sweet. Dave betrayed you, Samantha. And yet you still w
ant to see him?”

  “You heard me. And I don’t want anyone else in the room. Just Dave and me. Oh, and no restraints. I want to be able to get out of this bed. Do we have a deal?”

  Worthings mulled it over. I could see his mind imagining any possible way Dave could help me escape. He grinned, obviously thinking Dave was far too inept to ever override the many security features built into my underground prison.

  “Sure, see Dave one more time. I’m sure it will be a lovely reunion for you both.”

  Dr. Anderson and the other scientists made a grunting noise, angry that more time would be taken from their research.

  “Now before I go, you, over there,” he pointed at Dr. Anderson. “Will she be ready for Monday? Because if she’s not, you and the others are terminated.”

  Dr. Anderson’s face went white and his forehead started to sweat. He was clearly not prepared to be addressed by Dr. Worthings. And from his reaction, I was guessing that “terminated” meant more than just fired. “Yes, yes sir. Of course. We’ll be here day and night if need be. She’ll be ready.”

  “Fine, then I expect you to arrange this little reunion with Samantha and Dave right away so you can get back to business.” Worthings’ image disappeared.

  Silence filled the room as the scientists tried to compose themselves. Dr. Anderson’s face started to get color in it again.

  “Should I call Dave?” Hannah finally broke the silence.

  “No. I want to talk to him in person. I’ll go get him. He’s on the second floor, right? East wing?”

  “Yes. His office is in the lab,” Hannah replied.

  Dr. Anderson stormed out, furious over the delay this was causing. The other scientists remained, unsure what to do. Soon they, too, left. Hannah stayed behind, still tapping away at my chart.

  I sat wondering if I had made the right demand or if I should have picked something else that might actually help me get out of there. It was as if I had one wish from a genie and I used it up too quickly without giving it enough thought. But it was all I could think of. At the very least, I would be able to see Dave again.

  Within a half hour, Dave appeared at the door with Dr. Anderson.

  “Hannah, remove the restraints,” Dr. Anderson ordered. Hannah removed them, then shut down the digital screens that still appeared on the walls.

  “Make sure they can’t access those files,” Dr. Anderson warned. Hannah looked at him, annoyed at his assumption that she was incompetent. The two of them had been at odds all week. Hannah’s patience was running thin.

  Hannah finished up, then left the room. Dr. Anderson pushed Dave into the room. “You have 30 minutes,” he said, closing the heavy metal door behind him.

  I ran to Dave, beyond excited to see him. He put his arms out to give me a hug.

  “My God, Sam. What have they done to you?” He pulled away to look at me and survey the room. “Have they hurt you?”

  “No, well yes, I guess, in a way,” I didn’t want to worry Dave but could tell that whatever he was imagining was probably even worse than what I had been through.

  I looked around and was about to say something about my living conditions when he grabbed my shoulders and shook me slightly, trying to get my attention. He seemed to want me to look at him.

  “Now listen carefully, Sam. They can hear our every spoken word. Do you understand? Every spoken word.”

  “Yes, but—” I stopped, realizing that Dave had not spoken. His lips had not moved. And yet, I had heard his words.

  “What did they do? Tell me, Sam.” This time Dave did speak.

  He took his hands off my shoulders and looked to see if I understood what had just happened. When I gave him a look that I did, he hugged me again for the cameras in order to buy us some time.

  I continued to hear him even though he wasn’t speaking, but I really had to focus. “Sam, you should now be able to use your mind to interpret what I’m thinking. This is one of your new abilities. You didn’t know about it because the people you’ve been working with wear a device that scrambles their brain waves so you can’t hear what they’re thinking. I’m guessing they’ll take those off today so you can practice this new skill. When they do that, you need to act like it’s the first time this has happened. Now remember that I can’t read your thoughts, so you’ll just have to listen. But we have to keep saying things out loud so they think we’re just talking normally.”

  Dave pulled away again. “I’ve worried about you so much, Sam. Now please, tell me that you’re okay. That they’re not hurting you.”

  “I don’t want to talk about the testing. I want to know why I’m here and what all this is for.” I wasn’t sure how much Dave could say, but I thought I would ask anyway because it’s something they would expect me to say.

  “There’s a big meeting on Monday, Sam. A lot of important people will be here. People from around the world. And they want to see you. Because of your extraordinary abilities. You’re the future. They want to see what you can do.”

  “So I’m like some circus act? Putting on a show?”

  “You’re more like an experimental breakthrough. It’s hard to explain. We have so little time.” Dave went back into mind-talk mode. “I need to tell you things, Sam. So I need you to do the talking. Just talk about how you miss Colin or Allie. Stuff that will still allow you to focus on what I’m saying.”

  I started talking about Colin and how I wanted to be back home. After a while, I wasn’t sure what I was saying because I was too focused on listening to Dave. He outlined a plan for how I might escape. He gave me details about the guards and the buildings, saying that Monday morning, before the big meeting, was my best chance to get away. He would set off an explosion to divert the guards. He would have a car hidden in the woods about a half mile east of the building that had money and a bag of clothes.

  My mind raced, trying to collect and remember all that he was telling me. I had so many questions and yet I couldn’t ask him anything. What would happen to him when I escaped? And where was I supposed to go?

  Time was almost up, yet I felt like I only had half of my escape plan. How was this ever going to work?

  Dave reached in his pocket and pulled out a tiny box, wrapped in Christmas paper with a bright red bow on top. “Sam, I didn’t get a chance to give you a Christmas gift so here.” He handed me the box and I started unwrapping it, confused by his gesture.

  Before I could see what was in the box, the steel door opened and Dr. Anderson raced toward me and grabbed it. “What is this?” He turned to Dave, shoving the box in his face.

  “Come on, Anderson. Seriously? Just let her open it.”

  Dr. Anderson opened the box and pulled out a shiny silver chain with a silver coinlike pendant attached. The pendant was imprinted with a circular pattern that went from the outside to the inside of the flat, silver surface. “A necklace? What does she need this for, Dave? She’s not attending any teen dances in her future.” He chuckled as he bundled up the necklace in his fist.

  “It was her mother’s,” Dave said softly, looking me in the eye. “It was a 10-year anniversary gift from Stephen. The circle represents their never-ending love. It was very special to her mother.”

  I looked at Dave like he was insane. My mother never had a necklace like that. It wasn’t even her style. It was too plain. Actually, it was more like my style. I couldn’t hear Dave’s thoughts, so I tried to read his face to figure out why he was offering me the necklace.

  “Well, that’s a sweet story, Dave, but she’s not getting it.” He put the necklace in the pocket of his lab coat. “And you’re lucky I don’t punish you for giving her that. You know the rules.”

  “Yes, I know. Can at I least say goodbye?” Dave looked over at me.

  Dr. Anderson hesitated.

  “If you don’t let him, I won’t cooperate today.” I stood there with my arms crossed.

  Dr. Anderson turned to me and moved his face an inch from mine. “I’m tired of your threats, Saman
tha. But I’ll let you say your goodbyes. After all, this is the last time you’ll see him.”

  I ran over and hugged Uncle Dave. Would this really be the last time I saw him? The thought caused tears to run down my face. As I hugged Dave, I could hear his thoughts loudly in my head. “You must get that necklace, Sam. It’s your only hope.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Mom's Necklace

  Dave’s thoughts were moving so fast that I could barely keep up. “The necklace disables the tracking mechanism they implanted in you. If you don’t have the necklace, they’ll know exactly where you are and you’ll never escape.” We couldn’t stay in this hug much longer before Dr. Anderson would pull us apart. Dave continued, even quicker. “When you escape, run as fast as you can to the car. Ditch the car once you get out of town. Find a ride south, to Texas. Go to a little town called . . .”

  Dr. Anderson yanked at my shoulder. “Enough of that. You’ve said your goodbyes. Times up.”

  I stared at Dave, desperation in my eyes. Go to where? Where do I go? I could tell he was trying to communicate with me, but I couldn’t hear him. What was wrong? Was he too far away? Maybe I was too stressed. I took a deep breath as my tears continued to flow.

  “Are you crying?” Anderson asked, laughing at me. “I guess you really like this old washed-up computer guy.”

  “Goodbye, Sam. Be strong. You can do this.” By his words, I knew Dave was talking about my escape, but Dr. Anderson assumed he was referring to the testing.

  “That a boy, Dave. Get the girl back in training mode. Maybe I won’t tell on you for that necklace stunt after all. Now get out of here.”

  Dave left, looking back at me the whole time. He gave me a stern look of confidence. He knew I put my chances for escape at less than one percent. I didn’t like doing things unless I knew I would be successful. Any doubts could keep me from even trying. But Dave’s look was clear. I had to try. No doubts. I had to believe in myself. I had to be certain that I would succeed. Or I would never, ever leave this place.

  As Dave left, the researchers returned with even more carts full of equipment. Within minutes they had me hooked up to some machine. But I was at least allowed to sit in a chair rather than be chained to the bed. They retested my hearing and vision, which had already advanced tremendously from earlier in the week.