Many of the others didn't seem to know what he was talking about either. Kei heard murmurs and whispers rippling around the Eon Path troops. Not a good sign, in his opinion, not when the leaders were keeping secrets from the rank and file. He had seen it plenty of times before, but it tended to turn out badly.
Lauren started to say something to him, but Dr. Hammond interrupted.
“Come, come. We don't have all day to waste.”
Their escorts pushed them forward into another side hallway. Kei saw a set of double doors looming up ahead. Was this their destination, the way to open the Eon Gate?
No, he thought as they made their way inside, this was something different. Tubes and pipes ran along the walls and ceiling. Pieces of machinery that he couldn't identify lined the floor. Several clear cylindrical tanks filled with some sort of purple-tinted fluid sat off to one side, large enough to fit an adult human inside.
But Dr. Hammond and the rest of his party continued past them and headed to a single machine along the far wall. Kei saw a containment chamber with a flat metal slab inside, more machinery, and a conveyor belt that fed into a dark tunnel. Where that led was anyone's guess.
“This is it,” one of the Eon Path troops said, a female that seemed to be acting as their engineer or technical lead.
“As expected and described by the data we found,” Dr. Hammond said, the satisfaction evident in his voice. “Is it functioning?”
“As far as we can tell yes, though translation is difficult. The cipher that we pulled from our prisoners has certainly helped. And we were able to activate the system. All we need to do is to test it.”
“Excellent.”
“This is no way of knowing what will happen.”
“An unfortunate risk that we must take,” Dr. Hammond said. Kei saw him glance over toward them and give a hand signal.
Before he knew what was happening a pair of Eon troops pulled Lauren forward, and the chamber opened.
“What are you-”
“It's quite simple, really,” Dr. Hammond said. “This is the system the Ulics used to augment themselves, much like humans do these days, only on a much larger scale. And this is a necessary step. Only authorized personnel will be able to activate the Eon Gate.”
“How do you know that's going to work?” he protested. “Trying to combined augmentics meant for one species with another-”
“Ulic physiology seems to be very similar to that of a human,” Dr. Hammond said. “And thanks to the technology contained within the system should be able to compensate for any differences.”
“How do you even know that?” Lauren asked. “We don't even know what the Ulics looked like, let alone-”
“Oh, the information is out there. You just haven't discovered it yet,” Hammond said with a smile. “Funnily enough, if you look in the right places you can often discover things that others fail to see.”
“If you think this is going to work-”
“Oh, but I do. We have the proper authorization codes, and will be able to augment you so that you'll be able to open the gate. Just like I said, you'll help us whether you like it or not.”
Kei started to protest. “If you-”
“If you need someone for this, take me instead. Is that what you're going to say?” Hammond said with a wry smile. “How very noble of you. Unfortunately, with your military augmentics the transformation process will be quite difficult, and it will likely kill you in the process. We needed an unaugmented individual for this process, and with everyone going into military service during the Interstellar War those types were very hard to find.”
Kei gritted his teeth and started to struggle against his captors, but he felt a muzzle press into the back of his neck.
“Now, now, no need for that,” Dr. Hammond said. “The process should be quite safe, and it will only benefit humanity in the long run. That's what this is about, isn't it? Taking risk for the good of our species.”
“If you think that, then why aren't you the one stepping in there?” he asked, desperation and rage welling up inside of him.
Hammond smiled. “Oh, I would. If I was capable of doing so I would, but unfortunately that's not possible. Like everyone else I was fitted with augmentics during my military service.”
Kei felt his mind racing. With a gun to the back of his head his options were extremely limited, but he had to so something, anything to keep this from happening. Maybe if he ducked down and kicked back he could buy himself a moment to break free. More than likely he'd just end up getting shot, but at this point…
Lauren looked him in the eyes, her expression shockingly calm considering the situation.
“Don't,” she said. “Don't get yourself killed over this.”
“They'll kill me anyhow after-”
“You of such little faith,” Hammond chided him. “Unless you do something colossally stupid we won't kill you. There's already been enough bloodshed, and besides, you're a valuable hostage.”
“Not enough bloodshed to keep you from trying to add another body to this,” he said, feeling himself shaking with fury.
“This is necessary for the advancement of our species, and I don't take this decision lightly.”
Kei could only watch helplessly as they dragged her into the chamber and strapped her down onto the metal slab.
“I'll be fine,” she said as the door closed.
LAUREN TRIED to keep a brave face on as the machine activated and the containment chamber moved down the line toward the dark tunnel. She was stuck in here anyhow, and if this was the end she wanted to face it with dignity.
The tunnel loomed ahead. As the container slipped inside and was engulfed by the darkness she heard a thumping sound coming from the top of the chamber. A moment later some sort of fluid began to pour in, so fast that Lauren didn't have time to take a deep breath.
She thought that it was the end, a death by drowning, but as the liquid swept over her Lauren realized she could still breathe. The fluid passing in and out of her lungs felt uncomfortable at first, but she didn't feel like she was drowning.
A sharp pain like a needle laced through her right arm, and a moment later Lauren felt drowsy. Anesthetic, most likely, but though it clouded her mind it didn't make her slip into full unconsciousness.
Another needle slid into her left arm, and Lauren felt a burning sensation. It started as a mild, dull pain, but moment by moment it started to grow more intense and spread through the rest of her arm. As the pain moved into her chest Lauren tried to remain calm, but her body felt like it was burning. The agony became too much to bear.
She screamed.
CHAPTER TWENTY
She was gone, and Kei didn't know how to react. He wanted to lash out at his captors, to fight back and make them pay, but with the muzzle of a gun still pressed to the back of his neck it would be a futile gesture.
He barely noticed Dr. Hammond walking up to him.
“I can see that you're upset now, and I don't blame you. But this was necessary. A necessary evil for the advancement of our species.”
Kei didn't respond. At this point his mind felt… blank.
“But we need to continue forward. Forward toward the greatest discovery and treasure our species has ever known. And once we reach the center of this place all will be made clear. We need to get there to greet Miss Maxwell.”
Kei fixed him with an icy glare. “Why?”
“Because this is a system, and it's not contained to this room,” Hammond explained. “It's much like an assembly line. It's utilized for augmenting biological forms. Ulics, or in this case a human.”
Kei continued to glare at him.
“I know that you don't approve of it. None of the others did. They're constrained by their theories, their need for control and for safety. Tell me, was anything ever discovered without someone putting themselves at risk?”
He still didn't answer.
“I see. So you believe that as well.”
“Maybe becau
se what you just did and what you're trying to do goes against every bit of basic medical science ever discovered?” Kei replied angrily. “Are you completely insane? This isn't even your field of expertise. What makes you think that you're capable of making a decision like that?”
Dr. Hammond smiled, a chilling expression that froze Kei in place for a moment.
“Oh, I might not have the piece of paper that says I'm supposedly qualified to study something like this, but does that truly matter? What are degrees and certifications but limitations on who can exercise knowledge? There are other ways to learn. Other ways to discover. And the cosmos holds the answers, for those that take the time to look for them.”
Kei wasn't listening at this point. He didn't need to hear anything more. Dr. Hammond was a madman, a raving lunatic willing to sacrifice anything and everything to achieve his goal. And he had a charisma, something that allowed him to amass a huge number of followers to his cause. At this point Kei believed all of his protests about the nature of Eon Path were nothing more than lies. In fact, the terrorist organization reflected their founder very well.
“We have a lot of ground to cover,” Hammond said, brushing past him, “and we had best not delay. It won't do to have Miss Maxwell reach the end with no one here to greet her there. Let's go.”
Kei followed along, directed by his escorts. He had no other choice at this point, other than to fight back and effectively commit suicide.
He was alone.
SHE WAS HEARING voices in her head, or at least it felt that way. Lauren couldn't tell what was real and what might be her imagination. The combination of anesthetic, pain, darkness and the fluid surrounding her made everything seem blurry.
The voices continued to speak, whisper to her, but she couldn't make out the words. It was probably because they were speaking in Ulic.
No, she realized, that wasn't it. Lauren had a difficult time hearing anything properly, but she thought that she could comprehend the words a bit. They were just too quiet for her to hear.
How long had she been trapped in this chamber? A few hours? Days? Lauren couldn't tell, but the process had taken its toll on her. The anesthetic had dulled the pain significantly, but she remained somewhat lucid throughout the entire nightmarish affair. Machines and tools had cut into her flesh, and Lauren felt them fusing something to her spine. Her limbs had gone numb, and for a few awful seconds she had been paralyzed, but feeling returned soon enough.
The voice kept murmuring, drifting in and out of her dream-like state. Though she still felt the pain from all of the various operations, Lauren was becoming used to her environment. Machinery had stripped away her clothing before the major work began, and the slab had retracted into the floor of the containment unit, leaving her floating freely in the warm, almost soothing liquid.
Lauren remained somewhat aware of her surroundings, but her eyes felt heavy and her mind cloudy. Was this what it felt like to be in the womb? In her mind that was the only thing she could compare this sensation to. She drifted, completely helpless but comfortable considering the situation. Her wounds already seemed to be healing, or at least the pain was fading away.
And the murmuring voices kept calling to her in the background. She wanted to call back, to answer them, but with fluid in her lungs she couldn't find her voice. Besides, she felt too tired to answer.
Despite the pain, despite the fear she had initially felt and the uncertainty she faced, Lauren felt strangely calm, all things considered. Floating in the tank felt so… serene, so peaceful. All the cares of the outside world had faded away. It was just her, the containment unit, and the voices.
Only, one of them seemed to be growing louder and louder. Lauren still couldn't tell what it was saying, but the words seemed gentle, calming, almost like a mother speaking to her child. Even in the dark she felt warm, safe. The haze still clouded her mind, but she continued to hear the words steadily becoming clearer.
“Rest. Rest. Sleep.”
Lauren decided to do just that and closed her eyes.
DR. HAMMOND FELL in beside him, and Kei wasn't sure how to respond. His rage at what had happened to Lauren had faded a bit, but the anger still burned deep inside of him. With his arms unbound he wanted to reach out and put his hands around Hammond's throat, but once again that would only get him killed. Like it or not, he had to tolerate his presence.
“I understand why you're upset,” Hammond said.
Kei glanced over at him. “That's funny, because I don't understand you at all. What would possess you to do something like that? Are you really one of those people that thinks any means are justified?”
“Isn't that the way that all humans think? What's the difference?”
Kei shook his head. “Where should I start?”
“Perhaps it's a perception of morality? And who decides that? You're a soldier. Most people would say that murder is evil, yet killing is suddenly justified during a war, simply because a government tells you that it's allowed.”
“That's not the same thing.”
“And why not?”
Kei hesitated for a moment. “You know what, I'm not going to debate that point, because it's meaningless to you. But you're wrong.”
“Am I? Can you be sure of that?”
“I am,” Kei said. “It has nothing to do with being weak-willed, or perception. There's a deeper reason for that.”
“Ah yes, the struggle of humanity to define ourselves as the center of the universe. We're the most important thing in the cosmos, or so we'd like to believe. A very human goal, but an incorrect one. Even with our advances, even with all our efforts to carve our place among the stars humanity remains tiny. We're an infinitesimally small speck in the grand scheme of the infinite universe. What do our human morals and restrictions mean when compared to a power that can create a new dimension of its own?”
Kei frowned. “I always thought that was the point.”
“Oh? And what of it?”
“Humanity is tiny,” he said. “That much is true. In the grand scheme of the universe individual lives don't matter. But that's not the point. I don't think on a universal scale, and neither can any other person. Anyone claiming that ability is delusional. Humans think on a much smaller scale. We understand the people around us, and that's where we focus our energy and attention.”
“Some things must be sacrificed for the advancement of our species,” Hammond said. “Without the men that died in the attempts to leave earth we would have never come that far.”
“Yes. And they were all volunteers. You really don't see the difference between what they did and what you just did?” Kei asked. The conversation felt like nothing more than a waste of time.
“An insignificant distinction.”
“I think that our ship's AI has a better understanding of human morality than you do.”
Hammond shrugged. “And what is that but a mere facade? Something that people do because they feel it's expected of them, because their surroundings and society tell them so. But strip that away from them, and the truth comes our. Our species is prone to savagery.”
“And in order to advance our species you're willing to tap into that savagery. Do you not see the contradiction in that?” Kei asked.
“Things are not as simple as that.”
Kei didn't say anything more. What was the point? Rowen Hammond was clearly nothing more than a raving madman, a demagogue acting as the leader of a terrorist organization, luring followers with poisoned words and pseudo-intellectual theories.
But then, he also seemed to believe what he was saying. Whether it was wrong or right, whether he realized the contradictions and paradoxes that riddles his philosophies and theories, Hammond believed them, and that was enough to make him very dangerous. It was one thing to deal with someone going through the motions. It was another thing entirely when they worked with conviction, believing their cause even thought it might be nothing more than a lie.
He certainly believed in it enoug
h to throw someone into a machine to be cut up and dissected with no guarantee they'd come out the other end alive. And he had been willing to reach out to Lauren, to talk to her and act like a friend to her. Was it just sociopathy or were his convictions so strong that it allowed him to push aside any qualms he might have?
Kei wasn't sure he wanted to know, but it made little difference to him. No matter which was true, Dr. Hammond was monstrous, willing to sacrifice anything and everything to achieve his goals.
No, Kei realized, that's wasn't quite true. Hammond wasn't willing to put himself at risk. He'd let everyone else do the dirty work, and he was always playing the angles. He suspected that his continued survival was just another ploy, a way for Hammond to hedge his bets against any unforeseen circumstances. He'd either try to turn Kei to his side, or more likely protect him in case the rest of the team managed to catch up and spring an ambush.
He was dangerous, far too dangerous. Kei believed that he posed a much greater threat than Bray, probably more than the entire Eon Path unit as well. At least they were known enemies, but Hammond remained an enigma, apparently willing to play both sides for his own benefit. And the knowledge contained within his head wasn't worth keeping him alive, not when so much was at stake.
If he got the chance then Dr. Hammond was dead, even if it killed Kei in the process. If he had to make a suicidal charge at him he'd do it.
But he'd only get one chance at it, and Kei wanted to make it count. He wanted to survive if at all possible, and if he could do something to help the rest of the team and Lauren…
It seemed like an impossible task, but Kei had been through tough situations where all possible outcomes had seemed dire. Siva Nor hadn't killed him, and this wouldn't either. Somehow, some way he'd survive.
For now he'd bide his time.
Eon Gate (The Eon Pentalogy Book 1) Page 22