by Kevin George
Charles nodded and began walking away, reaching The Mountain’s only functioning elevator. He addressed Samuel a final time without turning to him.
“No shortcuts,” he said.
Without waiting for his son to respond, Charles disappeared into the elevator. Charles breathed deeply, the easiest breath he’d taken since discovering Nigel working on the Blast. He also felt a stronger desire to please his father than ever before, as well as to follow his father’s wishes. As he made his way back to the boardroom to give Nigel and the others the good news, he stopped and tapped the communication device in his ear.
“Smith,” he said.
A few seconds later, the head of security answered his call.
“You know the order to take all trespassers alive and deliver them to Dr. Weller?” Samuel asked.
“Of course,” Smith grumbled.
“Cancel that,” Samuel said.
“Copy that,” Smith said.
Samuel knew Nigel would not be pleased, but giving him even one human to experiment on had been one too many. No shortcuts, Samuel told himself.
As he opened the door to the boardroom, he couldn’t help being wary of how Dr. Weller and members of The Board stopped whispering when they saw him.
THREE YEARS LATER
AN EMAIL FROM ONE, CORP.’S JUNIOR LEAD SCIENTIST RUSS RUTHERFORD TO SAMUEL JONAS
Hello Mr. Jonas,
I apologize for not contacting you sooner. Dr. Weller has made it quite difficult for me to have access to his inner labs.
First, the positive. Our results have been amazing, to say the least. I won’t get into the specifics of our work; I’m certain you have plenty of other things to handle. But after you approached me a few years ago asking to be kept abreast of research Dr. Weller might conduct in secret, he seemed to figure out not to trust me. Luckily—or unluckily as it might turn out—he required my assistance in his inner lab a few days ago. I was appalled by what I saw, but this was the first opportunity I had to contact you about it.
Though our ‘official’ experiments with genetic hybridization have been limited to plants, simple-celled organisms and rodents exposed to extremely cold temperatures, I discovered that Dr. Weller has already conducted preliminary testing to include mammals (as well as humans) and birds.
This is the exact situation your father warned you about. After studying early test results of these genetic modifiers (Blasts)—even those lifeforms in the official tests—I believe your father was correct to be worried. Lab rats injected with genetic modifiers of polar bear DNA have shown an increase in aggression and hunger (I won’t begin to explain what happens when we put two injected rats together). Despite the side effects, Dr. Weller moved onto primate testing with similar results.
As the world continues to collapse into eternal winter and we learn to operate in a scientific community lacking all regulations (and, in many cases, all ethics), I thought it prudent to inform you about this questionable practice happening in the heart of The Mountain. Please let me know how you’d like me to proceed in monitoring the situation. I would be more than happy to deliver these findings to your father and explain what’s happening.
I may not have the knowledge of Dr. Weller, but I’m more than capable of taking over this program and continuing his research in a more ethical—albeit slower-paced—manner.
MESSAGE FROM ONE CORP.’S SAMUEL JONAS TO DAVE SMITH, HEAD OF MOUNTAIN SECURITY
Urgent! Please remove Dr. Russ Rutherford (of our First Bio division) from The Mountain premises immediately. Ensure Dr. Weller that his colleague is untrustworthy and might be infringing upon his research.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Samuel marched down the hallway, his blood boiling. Every floor of The Mountain’s scientific division teemed with the brightest minds remaining in the world. Every man and woman knew Samuel by name, and every man and woman nodded their appreciation to him. Samuel normally acted jovially to them, engaging in discussions about their research projects, asking about their families, wondering what The Mountain could do to make their stay better. But today was different. Samuel barely gave the scientists a second glance.
His stomach churned. He hated being on this level, hated what he was about to deal with. Samuel had been trying to ignore this section of The Mountain for more than a year, but Weller had grown sloppy and now Samuel had to deal with the fallout of an email sent to him by another First Bio scientist. Samuel had nearly forgotten he’d asked several scientists to keep a close watch on Weller. . .
He stopped in front of Weller’s lab and placed his eye in front of the retinal scanner, waiting for the reading. When a short, sharp beep was followed by the flashing of a red light, anger erupted within Samuel’s chest. There wasn’t a single other place in The Mountain to which he didn’t have access. It was bad enough all security cameras had been removed from Weller’s lab.
Samuel pounded on the door without a care for the shocked stares he received from scientists streaming past. He needed all of his willpower to stop from calling out for Weller. When the lab door finally opened, he came face to face with a large man he recognized as having once worked on the main security level.
“What are you doing here?” Samuel asked.
“Mr. Jonas,” said the security guard, Jim Segata, who was clearly surprised. “I was reassigned here about a year ago. Not my favorite posting, but it’s better than being stuck in one of the battlements outside in the cold.”
“Who reassigned you here? Smith?”
Segata nodded. “Told me the call came from ‘higher up.’ Assumed that meant you, but maybe he was referring to—”
“The Board,” Samuel said with a sigh. “No matter. Let me through.”
The guard frowned. “Of course, sir.”
Samuel marched into the lab’s outer room and headed for the next door.
“Open this one,” he ordered the guard.
“I can’t, sir.”
Samuel spun, his eyes narrowing on the larger man. “I can make you disappear from The Mountain if you don’t do as I say. You know what happens to anyone I deem to be traitorous to our way of life. Do you want to return to the real world? To a society of people turning on each—”
“It’s not that I won’t open it, Mr. Jonas,” Segata said. “It’s that I can’t. Now that Dr. Rutherford has been removed, Dr. Weller is the only person with access. My only duty is to stand in this room and ensure the doctor isn’t bothered. . . and that he keeps his research contained in his lab.”
Samuel stepped closer to Segata until they were nearly chest to chest. The guard kept his head turned to the side, his eyes down.
“And what exactly is that research?” Samuel asked.
Segata shook his head. “I’ve never seen. Whatever he’s doing has stayed inside, and I sure am glad for that. But the noises. . . the screams of. . . animals?. . . I haven’t been able to ignore those.”
Samuel nodded. “Wait in the hallway,” he said, an order the guard followed without question. Once Samuel was alone, he pounded on the inner lab door. “Open up, Nigel. It’s me!”
His yelling was met with the clanging of metal and high-pitched screams, noises unlike anything Samuel had ever heard. He almost wished the door would stay closed, that he could turn around and leave the lab, ignore whatever was going on inside and return his focus to running The Mountain. But he was as responsible for Weller’s Blast program as the doctor was and he’d ignored the lab long enough. And now that Weller was becoming more brazen in his research and The Board had their fingerprints on more of what was happening here. . .
The door opened and Weller stuck his head out. His hair had grown thinner on his head and longer on his face, but not long enough to hide his sunken cheeks. Bloodshot eyes were weighed down by heavy bags, but those eyes darted from side to side. The putrid smell that wafted through the open door caused Samuel to recoil. He had to cup a hand over his nose to stop from becoming sick. Samuel doubted a human could possibly create such an
odor, but Weller’s soiled, yellowing lab coat showed that he was adding to the smell.
But the shrill screaming sounds were far worse than any stench. Samuel stepped forward to look through the open doorway but Weller shifted in his way, his eyes focusing on the man standing in front of him.
“Samuel,” the doctor said, as if snapping out of a haze. He frowned. “One moment please.”
Weller disappeared back into the room. When he screamed ‘shut up,’ his voice was high-pitched and maniacal, causing a shiver to course through Samuel. In that moment, Samuel realized he’d waited far too long to check on the doctor. Still, Weller’s warning was met with a few metallic rattlings and then silence. He reemerged into the outer room, this time wearing a smile.
“Sorry about that,” he said. He looked behind Samuel and frowned. “No humans for testing?”
Samuel shook his head. “Sorry, we haven’t had intruders for months. Most humans from this area of the country have migrated south, not that that will help much longer. Anyone who stayed is hunkered down and wouldn’t survive trying to make it here, whether they’ve heard about The Mountain or not.”
“Then you’ll have to approve of people being flown in to use as test subjects,” Weller said. “Unless there are any troublemakers in The Mountain that we shouldn’t be wasting resources on? I heard through the grapevine that construction on The Mountain’s highest level has been halted.”
Samuel nodded, explaining how he decided that the luxury suites being built atop The Mountain were abandoned, that the weather was worsening at a quicker rate, that the construction crews were reallocated to other projects deemed more important.
“And those rooms are being used as jail cells for troublemakers?” Dr. Weller asked. Samuel frowned but confirmed that the doctor was correct. “Why bother keeping them around then? Give them to me. You could’ve given me Russ Rutherford instead of sending him away.”
“I sent him away because of you,” Samuel said. “I was afraid he’d go to my father about what you’re doing. Rutherford had serious concerns.”
Dr. Weller snorted, shaking his head. “He was a good lab assistant, good at running tests for me, but he lacked true passion and vision. He wasn’t ready to do whatever was necessary to help us succeed. I used to think you were with me—that you would allow me to do whatever it took—but now. . .”
Samuel leaned in closer, even though the two men were alone.
“I trusted you the first time with a human test subject and what happened to him?”
Weller frowned. “I learned a great deal from that man. And I swear to you, he didn’t suffer. . . at least not for long. If you hadn’t stopped me from trying again, I would’ve figured out what went wrong and had a usable version of Blast by now.”
“Or you would’ve tortured countless more humans for no reason,” Samuel said.
Weller chuckled. “Sounds like I’m speaking to your father now.”
“We both know my father would’ve shut you down had it been his decision,” Samuel said. “I’m not trying to pick a fight here.”
“I know,” Weller said, placing a shaky hand on Samuel’s shoulder. “I’m not complaining about doing more animal testing. It’s allowed me to create a safer balance between the host’s DNA and the DNA being spliced in. My results have shown more of a change in the exterior appearance of test subjects, but a safer balance in temperament and behavior. This has been the case across several species.”
Samuel searched Weller’s face for any sign of deception but found none. He’d come to the lab expecting problems but suddenly felt hope rising within him. Each section of One Corp.’s three-pronged survival plan had suffered serious setbacks during the last few years, leaving Samuel more convinced that the Blast would eventually be their people’s best hope for long-term survival. He hadn’t expected to hear such positive news.
“Still,” Weller continued, “I’m afraid my current form of the Hybrid Blast can’t proceed much further without proper human testing.”
“Current form?” Samuel asked.
One side of Weller’s mouth curled into a smile, his eyes lighting up. Before the doctor even responded, Samuel knew there was far more to the story than he’d known. More than three years had passed since the Blast had been tested on a single human, and Samuel should’ve known Dr. Weller hadn’t just gone back to completing simple animal tests. Weller started to ramble about the possibility of using different types of DNA, of creating different varieties of Blast, though Samuel had a feeling the doctor’s ideas weren’t simply theoretical.
“But, of course, I must perfect this first version of Blast before moving on to future versions,” Weller said.
“I’m not sure my father will agree to human testing without definitive proof,” Samuel said. “Maybe if you allowed me inside your lab to actually see what you’ve accomplished to this point. . .”
Weller shook his head, closing the door completely behind him. He draped an arm around Samuel’s shoulder, leading him back toward the hallway. Samuel turned his head away, trying to avoid the smell.
“You worry too much about your father’s approval,” the doctor said. “I may spend most of my time working, but I hear about what happens in the rest of The Mountain. Your father is getting older and barely spends time here. From what I understand, he’s more focused on the outside world than our own.”
“He’s focused on the future for humankind,” Samuel snapped, though his voice lowered an octave.
“The same as we are,” Dr. Weller said. “As is The Board. They agreed that human testing can commence with your approval.”
Samuel stepped back sharply. “You met with The Board without me?”
Weller shook his head and smiled. “It’s not what you think. I ran into Martin and Betty one night and they were asking about the Blast’s progress. Everything was very unofficial. We agreed that formalities shouldn’t be so important with the fate of humanity at stake, but everyone still believes your approval for testing is vital.”
Samuel took a final glance toward the lab’s inner door. A voice in the back of his mind urged him to head for that door, to demand to be let in, even if it meant having security eject Weller from The Mountain. But he also wondered if security would follow such an order, if Weller and The Board had become more powerful than he realized. Afraid of what that meant for the future of the Jonas name at One Corp.—as well as the potential safety of his father and Horace—Samuel nodded. Dr. Weller clapped his hands a single time.
“As long as you start off with a small number of test subjects,” Samuel added, receiving a nod from Dr. Weller. Samuel frowned. “I’m not sure where we’ll find those test subjects.”
“Don’t worry about those details,” Weller said. “I’ll handle it. I’ll start with only one and won’t rush the results.”
Weller opened the outer door to the hallway, where Segata remained on guard, quickly looking away when he spotted the doctor. Weller ushered out Samuel, promising to find him as soon as he had updates. Samuel could do nothing but nod and walk away, each step coming faster than the last, practically running away from the problem he’d helped create. He kept his head down the entire time, ignoring the scientists he rushed past, wondering which of them might be a spy for Weller or The Board. Samuel had spent the last three years loosening the knot in his stomach, becoming the face of One Corp. in The Mountain, overseeing more and more employees being trained to live in ISU-Ville, as well as the continued digging of the City Below.
Now, he questioned everything around him and whether The Board had simply allowed him to focus elsewhere while they took control of—
“Mr. Jonas,” a voice suddenly said nearby, snapping Samuel out of his swirling thoughts. Samuel recoiled, nearly calling for security, when he looked up to the familiar square-jawed face of Sean Curran, One Corp.’s lead survivalist instructor. “I just saw Horace a few minutes ago.”
Samuel frowned. “I’m sorry. Was he pestering you again?”
Curran laughed and clapped Samuel on the shoulder, nearly knocking him off balance. Samuel snorted and kept walking, hoping Curran would take the hint. He didn’t.
“I have to admit, I always look forward to Horace’s visits,” Curran said, keeping step beside Samuel. “I haven’t had any villagers to train for months and I’m starting to feel useless around here. Still, I’m proud how everyone in ISU-Ville has thrived the past few years. And who knows? Maybe your son will finally escape and make his way outside, huh?”
Samuel excused himself from the survivalist, sneering at Curran’s back as the man walked away. Samuel entered a nearby elevator and stared at the buttons, suddenly unsure where he most belonged. He considered heading to the top level—to see if security had placed anyone in the cells, or even for a view of the outside world from high atop The Mountain—but ultimately pressed a different button, traveling to a level he’d been avoiding after taking a larger leadership role in The Mountain.
He emerged in the security center, which now contained countless holographic images from micro-cameras installed throughout The Mountain.
“Samuel Jonas,” a deep voice said from across the large space.
A barrel-chested man marched across the room. His small, beady eyes appeared to be set too closely together, his nostrils were flared, and his brow seemed constantly furrowed. He looked like a man who’d never attempted to smile.
“Where’s Dave Smith? I need to talk to him,” Samuel said.
“Gone,” the man said simply.
Samuel’s eyes widened and darted around the room, searching for the man who’d run Mountain security since day one.
“Gone where?”
The new security leader shrugged.