by Robert C Ray
* * *
Charlie Hall was a man of science. The unified field theory was his holy grail, until a woman that they all knew as Mirage, the only genetically engineered operative to survive the “birthing” process, had placed a critical thought within his logical brain.
"If you considered a subatomic particle field," she told him, "with the property of the particles repelling themselves from other like particles, while coming closer to other like particles, within the presence of common matter, you might find that the universe begins to make far more sense."
The more he thought about it, the more it did make sense. Such a particle would create a thinned field around matter, creating what we call gravity. In other words, the path of least resistance, and even Einstein, with all his understanding, could not calculate such a thing.
It also made sense of inertia with its equal and opposite reaction. If such a field existed, it would exhale an amount equal to what it inhaled, as it moved through the field, but there was more.
There were also magnetic fields, which would attract at one end, while repelling at the other. Such a particle could be accountable for such a mystery, considering that the flow of the particle would be in accordance with the rotating object, but the final effect unearthed a mystery even far greater than that.
If such a particle were possible, it would exist in a geometric shape that would explain the experiments that led to the quantum theory, without the need for "magic". Suddenly, the universe would begin to make sense again.
Mirage was as kind as she was wise, and he missed her dearly. How unfortunate it was that she chose not to conform to their system, and decided to run away.
Sure, he felt that she deserved all the freedoms that any normal human enjoyed, but now she was being hunted, and these people were relentless. They would do anything to keep this little black Ops project from becoming known by anyone. Surely, the president would not be pleased if he ever became aware of it.
They only told him what he needed to know, but the buzz around the facility was that the triplets were close to finding her again, and shortly thereafter, they would have someone there to shut her down. She was a talented woman, and might make it difficult, but they would never stop. It was only a matter of time, and he could only hope that she would find peace in the afterlife.
For a brief moment he wondered if she even had a soul to go to an afterlife, but quickly determined that she not only did, but that it was likely that she had a special place reserved for her, more beautiful than any normal human being would enjoy.
Removing his reading glasses, he put them away, and closed his laptop. He had been staring blankly at it for some time now, and he seriously doubted that he could return his mind to his work.
He had heard that she had put Captain Ryan Pierce into a coma when he had caught up with her, although he found that hard to believe. Charlie could see the way that she looked at him, and despite the fact that she was artificially created, he could see in her eyes that it was genuine love that she felt for him.
Actually, Charlie Hall was quite envious of Ryan. Not just because Mirage was created to be as beautiful as they come, but more so because she was equally beautiful on the inside. Never had he known a woman to show such true compassion for all life, while having the intellect of a Havard professor.
What made it all so difficult to understand was that she had only been “birthed” for a month prior to running away. No one could figure out how she had learned so rapidly, or how she could learn things even before they were taught to her.
Truth be told, Charlie would have fallen deeply in love with her, if he had not noticed how she had felt for Captain Pierce. Despite this, he had a mild affliction of love for her anyway.
Casually Charlie glanced around the lobby that sat just outside of the firing range, and noted that it would never be the same without her. A small smile grew upon his weary face, as he realized that this area would remain forever more beautiful, because she had graced them with her presence here.
Picking up his laptop, Charlie Hall began toward the hallway that would lead him out of the building, but turned back once more to gaze at the last room that he had ever seen her in. If to no one else, it would always be a special place to him.
Turning, he walked through the door with a grin. Sure, he was scrawny, had ugly, curly red hair, and certainly his face was not as macho as many of those who roamed these halls, yet he was still certain that Mirage saw none of those things as a flaw. She was beautiful like that.
Continuing down the hall, he removed his white lab coat, and draped it over the arm that was not carrying his laptop. It was late, and so few remained, so his only purpose now was to go home, and get some rest.
As he approached the door with a sign that read "lab one", he paused. This was where Mirage was “conceived“, and then “birthed“. It was later that she herself called her own apartment.
Charlie smiled again as he shook his head, and continued down the corridor, still awash in her memory.
Further down the hall, Charlie came across the sign that read "lab two", and he knew what was inside of there. It was the next G.E.O. due to be “birthed“, and her time was soon coming.
Rumor had it that Mirage did not like her, though this made no sense at all. Viper was not actually alive yet. She was simply there within her large, glass tube, awaiting her “birthing” time.
Sure, she was supposed to be different, because they had found a way to train her before she was “birthed“, but how could she be that much different?
He shook his head in bewilderment, and turned to leave, when suddenly he heard a dull, thumping sound come from within the lab. This was when he noticed that the door was closed, but not so much that it had tripped the lock.
He started to reach for the handle, but he froze. He did not have approved access to this room, despite the fact that he had once been inside there to program her computer skills. Computers were his place... his reason for even being in this facility, and nothing else.
Then it came again... three light thumps.
His curiosity was overwhelming, and no one would know that he peeked inside, as he used his elbow to nudge the door open.
He heard the sound once more before he stepped into the lab, but everything was quite dark. He wanted to run back out, but something inside of him would not allow it.
"Hello," he muttered softly, as he glanced around. It seemed that no one else was there.
Then he heard it again, but the thumps had grown softer, and when he looked up to where the sound had come from, his jaw dropped. It was Viper, and she was awake inside of her tube, staring right back at him.
His first thought was to run and report what he had seen. As he turned, he could not help but to look upon her once more.
Charlie could see the glint of light off her pale green eyes, and her expression was that of confusion mixed with fear. He knew that he should tell someone, but as she pressed her hands against the glass he could feel her pain.
For an instant, he glanced down at her perfect, petite body, only to fight off his instinctual feelings, before looking back up at her.
When he did, he found her trying to tell him something in sign language. The only problem was that he did not know sign language.
"I don't understand," he told her as he placed his lab coat on one of the tables, before setting his laptop next to it.
Despite the fact that she had a feeding tube down her throat, and a mask for oxygen, he could see her gently smile. What she did next, however, was also confusing.
Reaching forward with her index finger, she began to tap a message in Morse code, lightly upon the glass.
"I don't know Morse code either," Charlie nearly shouted in frustration, before pacing the room, in search of a solution.
He could almost feel her elation when she softly began to write letters on the inside of the glass. What she wanted, however, was complicated.
P-L-E-A-S-E-H-E-L-P-M-E, she wrote
, and a look of terror overcame her.
Help her how, was his first thought, and with what? She was a G.E.O., and his job, if not his own life, hung in the balance with that very request.
Charlie thought once again about running to tell someone, though her beauty and innocence kept him there. Sure they had created her, but they had also created Mirage, and look how she turned out.
Looking back at her, he watched her spell out upon the glass, P-L-E-A-S-E-D-O-N-T-T-E-L-L.
At this point, his eyes belonged to her. Her face was so beautiful, and her expression was so innocent, and full of fear. She was new to this world, and they were only going to use her for bad purposes. It was at this moment that he decided to help her as much as he could, which could not be much at all.
Charlie Hall couldn't help but to glance back down at her body, before blinking as if to act like he hadn’t done so, and then choked on his words to tell her what he could possibly do.
"I can overload the power," he said as he put his glasses back on, before raising his gaze once more, "and that will give you three seconds to turn off the machine that is monitoring your vitals."
At this she signed something, and he was certain that it was a "thank you". This, of course, was enough to make him feel a little better about his involvement.
Quickly he glanced around, and found the latex gloves. He needed them because he knew that it should never be known that he had been here, and he had to access the computer.
Pulling them on tightly, he cracked his fingers before wiggling them above the keyboard, and paused.
Turning his head back to her, he saw her hands pressed against the glass, and her eyes that continued to scream, "help me, please". This was more than he needed to continue.
Frantically Charlie pecked at the keyboard for about five minutes, before he looked back up at her, and then raised his eyes to her own once more.
"The power will go down, then you will have about three seconds, just like I promised," he told her before standing, and grabbing his laptop. "I'm sorry, but that’s the best that I can do."
The smile that she threw at him almost caused him to stay, but he was well aware of what he had just done. If it allowed her to escape, Charlie could not be anywhere near her when it happened, or he would be as dead as she was likely to become. He was happy, however, believing that he had done the right thing, and he hoped that she had a chance.
Quickly he left the room. It was a timing situation, and he needed to get as far from there as he could. This was when Charlie realized that the cameras would have recorded him going into the lab, and exiting it, and he wondered how he could be so stupid.
Entering the main lobby, Charlie marched straight for the exit, but one of the guards had to ask a question. It was a simple question, though his nerves were at their breaking point, and his answer was paused.
"Stayed late again, doc?"
Stopping, he tried to grasp what he had just done, before turning to answer.
"Don't I always?" Charlie replied, yet when he turned again to leave the building, the room went black.
"What the...?”
"It seems you are going to need an electrician," Charlie responded, hoping that a series of explosions were not soon to follow.
Just then, the generators kicked in, and the building came back to life, though certainly, it was not that simple. All the computers had to reboot, and although they were very fast, this left a tiny moment of uncertainty.
Charlie almost felt compelled to stay, but he knew what he had just done, and was quite uncertain of the consequences. If Viper had succeeded in freeing herself from the tube, no matter whether she actually escaped or not, they would likely trace it all back to him.
He felt so foolish. How could he have allowed her to talk him into helping her like that? She was incredibly beautiful, and his heart still felt like it was the right thing to do, though that did not make it a wise decision.
"Why don't I just stay a moment while you sort this all out," he told them as he approached the counter, laid his laptop upon it, and then his forearms. "Maybe I can help."
"It's not likely, doc," one of them told him, without looking up from what he was doing, "but if you're curious, feel free to stand around."
"The perimeter is still secure," the other one chimed in, but Charlie knew that the threat was not coming from the outside.
Leaving the counter, Charlie began to pace the lobby, as the two guards continued to do what they were doing. If she were free, they would either find out when they checked the security camera in the room, or she would make it quicker than that, and they would be about to meet her face to face.
Each passing moment caused Charlie’s heart to beat a little faster, and his forehead began to glisten. It was not treason, he told himself, since the operation was not actually approved through proper channels, yet the punishment could very well be the same.
"Everything's good," the taller of the two guards stated as he looked up at Charlie. "Set your mind at ease, doc. Go home, and get some rest."
For a moment he thought that he was being toyed with, but the man quickly went about his business, as if what he had told him was truthful. It was difficult to believe, though perhaps Viper chose not to leave after all.
Charlie breathed a sigh of relief as he went back to get his laptop, and it really felt like he had dodged a bullet. Now he almost understood what it might feel like for those brave men out in the field.
"See you tomorrow night," he said with a smile as he exited the building.
Charlie’s pace to his car was quicker than normal, but hardly did he realize it. The relief from not being caught doing the unthinkable thing that he had just done forced adrenaline through his veins, and the feeling that overwhelmed him was excitement.
Still, he could not help but to think about Viper, there in the glass tube, obviously against her will. It was not his place to decide her fate, yet his heart still reached out to her, and oddly enough, he felt a desire for her, reminiscent of puberty. He always fell short back then, too.
He wondered what would become of her now that she had awakened prematurely, especially since she was not even supposed to realize that she was artificially created. Would they still find use for her now that she was aware, or would they simply terminate her, and try again?
Reaching his car, Charlie paused, and then looked back wondering if there might have been something else that he could have done for her. Mirage had taught him that even though they were created in a lab, they were every bit as sentient as the rest of humanity. Surely Viper deserved more than what they had to offer her.
Pulling the door open, he climbed inside of his black Intrepid, and fastened his belt. Whatever was right or wrong, Charlie knew that he had little to do with determining it. He was, after all, simply a government hacker, though this was another reason why he felt so strongly for her. Her computer skills came directly from him, so he felt that there was actually a part of him inside of her.
Pulling away, Charlie determined that he was beating himself up over nothing. He did what he could to help her, and there was likely nothing else that he could have done, without alerting everyone of what he was doing. He was not the one to create her, and although he felt sorry for her, he should not feel as though he was to blame for it.
He did anyway.
Thumbing through his CDs, Charlie felt that Chopin might offer a little solace. For a short while it did, but soon his mind began to wander back to Viper. He had seen her naked in the tube before, but this time was far different. This time she was more than simply something growing in a lab. She was moving, and her motions, though innocent, were angelic in their own way.
The more he thought about it, the more she reminded him of Mirage. Sure, they were created to be physically beautiful, but they both seemed to radiate an innocence that was as equally beautiful.
With Mirage, this made perfect sense, because she had not been given a memory before her “birthing“, despite t
he fact that some had felt that she could sense them even before she was awakened. Viper was given a memory. Charlie knew nothing about it, because it was a "need to know" thing. He figured that it would make her a bit different.
He had heard that they were making her a heartless assassin, though he did not see that at all. All he could see was a frightened woman, uncertain of what to do, or of what was to be done to her.
Several times along the fifty-minute drive, Charlie opened his glove box, and thought about reaching for the cigarettes that were inside. He had given up the habit almost two years ago, but always kept them there as a reminder. At least that is what he told himself.
Closing it back up, Charlie determined that tonight was not that stressful. It was certainly mind wracking, although he felt comfortable enough to believe that everything would work itself out.
Stopping at the nearest fast food joint, he ordered a value meal, then pulled into an empty parking space. The meal did not change his course of thinking, but he had not eaten anything all day. It was not the best of meals, but he ate it slowly anyway.
For a spell he sat there thinking, even after the food was finished, and a couple of times he almost reached back to the glove box. Polluting himself even further than the quality of food he had just ate had done would solve nothing.
Leaving the nearly vacant lot, Charlie turned left, and continued the short journey that would lead him to more comfortable surroundings, but still that journey seemed endless.
Pulling into his garage, Charlie breathed a sigh of relief. He was home at last, and the day had not ended as badly as he speculated that it could have. Chopin did not take his mind off of Viper, but it seemed to fit the mood that he was in, so he brought the CD inside.
Opening the door to his modest home, Charlie was greeted by Furball as usual. She was by far the most beautiful, longhaired Siamese cat that he had ever seen, and she was probably the most affectionate as well.
Right now, however, she only wanted rubbed, while on the way to her dish. She loved her pet human a lot, yet her purring, and her brushing against his legs was all the attention that he was going to get while he opened her can of food, and served her the way that a queen should be. She was, after all, the ruler of this dwelling.