Spirit Intercom

by Sean Adami

  These dreams were halted, and so was his sleep. Peeling his eyes open, he saw a red-suited guard: Rick. Andrew jumped out of the bed. His fight-or-flight instinct kicked in. Rick said, “Hey, calm down. I’m not going to hurt you.”

  Backing up, Andrew said, “What is it? Am I in trouble again?”

  “No. Wallace told me what you recently had to go through, what with the guard forcing you down here and your inability to approach the other guards. That is why I’m here to fix that.”

  “How though? Whenever I leave this room, a guard named Rufus is notified. I don’t know how he gets notified, but he just does.”

  “I don’t think Rufus will argue with my commands. I have higher security personnel than what he has.”

  “Really? How? Rufus is the main guard for my father.”

  Rick stood up taller and said, “And I’m the guard for Kurt Strawlin. My rank is higher than that Rufus kid. I’m a red while he is only a blue. He—”

  “Colors signify security hierarchy?”

  “Yeah. From highest to lowest, it goes black, which is only Kurt; red, which is me; blue, which is Rufus; yellow; and white. Robert only has access to blue, yellow, and white guards while Kurt has control over all guard colors. When I tell you I have things under control, I literally do. Let’s get the fuck out of here now.”

  Rick with his profound strength easily hatched the hatch open.

  Andrew asked, “Where are we going?” Rick hopped out the hatch.

  “Just come,” Rick said as he offered a hand to Andrew. “By the way, Wallace was impressed with your security interchanges. He is feeling more and more confident that you’ll obtain the lock combos.” Andrew accepted his hand and aborted out of the hatch. Rick added, “You’re gonna meet the head security.”

  “Hold up,” Andrew said. He stopped walking. “Now?”

  “That’s right,” Rick said. “I’ve already talked with Kurt that you want to know more about the field of security. He’s gonna give you a tour of our main station. All you have to do is positively affirm anything he says. Agree with everything he says, but don’t be a total kiss-ass. Can’t make it too obvious.”

  Checking his Mindcord time, Andrew saw it was 7:22 p.m. “ You’re crazy , man! You think that he’ll just give me the combos if I agree with his craft. This is so far-fetched,” Andrew said.

  Rick said, “I also told him that you wanted to know more about the security so that you protect your father ‘personally.’ You’re not diving into this with no swim trunks. And yes, my plan will work, and you ain’t wussing out of it.”

  Andrew sighed. He envisioned mistakes. He saw failure in this plan. Andrew resumed his walking.

  “Where is this security place?” Andrew asked. Small talk would possibly ease the tension.

  “The right complex. It’s pretty massive,” Rick spoke. “Don’t mess this up. Cause if you mess this up, it means the whole radical plan falls apart. And you’ll be dead by the time that happens.” Andrew gulped. Small talk wasn’t a depressant for his stress. Rick was heading to the elevator. Not too far from it, Andrew saw the elevator doors open. It was Rufus.

  Rufus slowly but statically walked to where Rick and Andrew stood. Rufus’ face morphed into the stank face. Rick’s jaw mutated position.

  Rufus said, “Hello, sir. I think Andrew must return to his rest.”

  Rick said, “I think not. I’ll be taking care of him for now.”

  Rufus responded, “But Robert Rutano commands that—”

  “Hey, Rufus, are you really going to disobey my authority?” Rufus shook his head. “Well, if you wouldn’t mind, maybe get the fuck outta our way, and let me deal with my tasks. I already have enough taks, and any problems avoided would be most appreciated by me.” Rufus, appearing weaker physically, looked down and walked past them. Andrew had witnessed the pure definition of dominance.

  Rick clicked floor -1. After witnessing what he just did to a security guard, Andrew didn’t question anything Rick did. The elevator reached the underground floor. However, the door did not open. Rick put his wrist up to the sensor. A blue sensor glowed. Immediately, the elevator accelerated to Andrew’s left. It stopped moving horizontally. Making a short pit stop, the elevator continued its movement upward. It moved up one floor. The elevator door opened. A whole new dimension of Spirit Intercom was introduced.

  CHAPTER 18:

  What is Father hiding?

  More importantly, what is Rick hiding?

  Desiring the approval of Kurt,

  Andrew better not be thrown into the dirt.

  Breathe in. Breathe out. Andrew’s life depended on the chief of security’s judgement. Death was lurking, and Andrew had to hide from it. Rick walked out of the elevator first. Andrew took a second, but he left the elevator, too.

  The new complex made Andrew appear weak. A blue-gray reception desk stood in the front. An elegant woman in a white blouse sat at the desk. A touch-recognition phone operator was ingrained into the desk as well. Behind the receptionist was a giant yellow bee emblem. Under the emblem read “Spirit Intercom’s Robust Security.” Hallways ran down on both ends of the reception desk. The woman said, “Hello, Rick. Anything I can help you with?”

  “I have an appointment with the chief,” Rick stated.

  She said, “Ah, yes. Kurt is waiting for you in his office. Pop in there anytime you like.” She locked her eyes back to her computer screen. Rick, appearing grateful, thanked her. Her eyes were still retained on the screen, not on his gesture. Rick pulled Andrew by the hand as he walked to the right. The hallway they were on turned left. Andrew steered his vision to a door sign. It read “Mr. Strawlin.” Andrew’s chest felt the aftershock of his heart’s pumping.

  Rick heard Andrew’s hyper-ventilation. He said, “Make the rads proud, buddy.”

  Andrew tightly winked both eyes. “I can’t do this. I’m gonna let my anxiety get the best of me.”

  “Then spit that toxicity outta ya mouth, and take control! We’re all depending on you.” Rick opened the office door. Andrew needed to put on a show in front of Kurt. He had to.

  Kurt, sitting on a desk chair with high poise, wore a pitch black armor suit. Only his face and hair were visible. A bald eagle badge stuck to the left side of his chest, marking his covenant with the U.S. government. The mouth region of his face had deteriorated. Disfigured blemishes perimetered around his mouth. However, his mouth was a gray zipper with a small tassel at the end of it. Unappealing to Andrew, the mouth was unzipped by Kurt’s hands. The mouth didn’t look like a mouth. It was a small dark hole with no teeth and only a small sliver of a tongue. Kurt finally released a sound. Unable to enunciate consonants, he said, “Hewwo, Wick. Is dish duh shon of Wobert?”

  Rick said, “Yes, he is, commander. He was interested, and, as you know already, I invited him here to gather more of a glimpse of this place.”

  Kurt said, “Uh-huh, makesh shense .” He stood up. Half of his left arm was missing. He talked in a relaxed manner. “Sho, Andwoo, what do you wish to gain in dish tour? Knowedge ? Exper-exper-ex-ex . . .”

  “Expertise?” Rick suggested.

  “Yesh. Do you wish to gain expertishe , Andwoo?”

  Slightly pestered with Kurt’s mispronouncing of his name, Andrew said, “Yes, commander. Being the son of such a great scientific industry makes me more interested in the safety of this place. The more time I stay here, the greater the passion I have for it. That is why I want to be updated on all the security advancements that you all have succeeded on.” Kurt’s quirky caricature kept catching Andrew off guard.

  “I shee, I shee,” Kurt said. Every time he spoke a consonant, his tongue floundered in his mouth. “Wet ush go on a tour den. Fowwow me.” Inching around his desk, he exited the door. Rick forced Andrew forward, hinting at him to follow directly behind Kurt.

  Kurt walked down the hallway, past the reception desk, and to a high-reaching door. The door marked the words “Physical Training.” Using his right hand, Kurt
put his wrist up to the door. He did not need Robert’s eye; he could use his own wrist. The door levitated up. The room was dark with minimal lights on the 15-foot ceiling. Security guards stood on both sides of the door. They both acknowledged Kurt. Raising his eyebrows, he said, “Hewwo, men. Howsh duh twaining going?” The guards smiled and said something affirmative. Kurt looked at Andrew. “Andwoo, dish ish duh pwace where our men weach tip-top shape. Wigowous pwepwawation of our men ish wequired if worshe comesh to worshe .” It took Andrew some time to piece together his words. He understood the main gist of what Kurt said. Rick was still surveilling behind Andrew. He tapped his back.

  Andrew said, “Yes, commander. I understand.” Trying to come up with an interesting question, he asked, “How much do they train?”

  Kurt said, “A wot. It ish unfadomable . No one worksh ash hard ash our men. I’m gwad you ashked dat.” The way this man kept talking tripped out Andrew, but he was optimistic with the question he asked. Gym stations and weight sets rested on the veneered floor. Wearing white gym clothes, some guards lifted weights. The room was so big that there were yoga mats with a yoga instructor, leading the other guards to inner peace. “Moving on,” Kurt announced. “ There’sh weawwy no more to dish woom . Wet ush move on to duh next woom.” Departing out the door, he strayed down the hallway, stopping before the reception desk. He made a left and another tall door read “Surveillance.” Prompting this door open with his wrist, a smaller room awaited Andrew. A barricade of flat screens stood in the shape of a pentagon. There were probably about a hundred screens, displaying different angles of the labs. Andrew peeked over Kurt’s tall shoulders to get a better look. Sitting in a chair in the middle of the pentagon, a guard studiously watched the cameras to keep in check with their safety. Kurt said, “We musht monitor evewy nook and cwanny at all times. We cannot wesort to waziness, and evewy pwecaution ish accounted for.”

  Putting on a face of awe, Andrew said, “Wow, that’s amazing. How many cameras are there?” Rick poked Andrew’s back, possibly noting that he said something wrong.

  Playing around with his zipper, Kurt said, “I’m showwy , but I cannot weweashe that information. I wike your curioshity dough.” Rick removed his finger from the poke of Andrew’s back. Andrew felt at ease with everything so far. The commander did not seem like a harsh guy that he envisioned him to be. Kurt asked, “Sho, how are thingsh going, Farwand?”

  Farland, the watchman, appeared hesitant and stiff. He said, “I’m sorry, commander, but there appears to be an intruder on ProxiCam 65-2A. The intruder is holding a musket.” He pointed to the exact screen among the hundreds of other screens. Kurt, Andrew, and even Rick gazed on the intruder. The man on the screen stood outside the main lab fence, wearing nothing but drab underwear. He looked psychotic, jumping around in a fritz. He banged the fence and shot bullets up in the air. Andrew lost this attention to the screen next to it. The camera angle displayed a lab researcher bedroom. It was the same white room that he slept in, and the angle focused from the desk. A realization struck Andrew. They were surveillancing his room through the fountain pen. The fountain pen was just a security camera to spy on him. He was furious.

  Kurt said, “Farwand, you should have shpotted dat man when he was a hundwed feet fwom duh fenshe . Why did you jusht find him now? Do you think your pwecautions were accounted for?” Andrew was not focused on this conversation. He was extremely upset at Rufus for giving him the fountain pen.

  Fear broke into Farland’s eyes. “Uh-uh-uh, I’m so sorry sir. Like you said, my precautions were not accounted for.” Ashamed, he bowed his head down. While his head was down, he rolled his eyes around to see if anything would happen. And something would happen. Andrew was still thinking of the fountain pen situation.

  “I musht take pwecaution for your mistakesh ,” Kurt said. As Kurt lifted up his amputated arm, a one-inch wide metallic scalpel, the length of a sword, arose from his armor sleeve. He brought it closer to Farland. Andrew was slowly bringing his attention to this situation.

  Farland started sweating. Turning his head around, he said, “I’m sorry, sir! I’m sorry. Please don’t use the Claver on me! I will be more responsible next time. I promise!”

  “ Dispway your handsh out pawm-down .”

  Trembling, Farland displayed his hands to Kurt. Angling the scalpel, or the Claver, towards Farland’s index fingernail, he penetrated the blade under the nail. The fingernail popped out and flung to Farland’s face. Now only blood, the index finger gushed. Farland winced every facial muscle. He screeched in agony, convulsing his fingers together. Andrew had lost complete thought of the fountain pen. This hell overrode his thoughts.

  Andrew was horrified. He was left in discomfort. Kurt said, “Wet ush continue duh tour,” as he walked out the door.

  Every assumption Andrew made about Kurt was eliminated. He was more scared of Kurt than anybody else. Even Rick’s face was troubled after this. Andrew saw Farland sat on the floor, latching onto his index finger. He felt bad for him. Rick, grabbing onto Andrew’s shoulder, directed him to follow the nail-picker. As Kurt moved to a different room, he sheathed his Claver. They turned down the hallway, past the reception desk, and past his office. They reached a door entitled “Motor Configuration Beta Training.” This was the biggest out of all the doors so far. Andrew kept his distance from Kurt. Biting his nails, Andrew saw Kurt’s eye open the door. Kurt walked forward. Putting his mouth up to Andrew’s mouth, Rick whispered, “This is the last room he’ll show ya. Get those lock combos.”

  Andrew pushed his face away. “Don’t rush me.” The technology in this room was the most advanced out of the rest.

  The first thing Andrew witnessed was a Chef Bot. Not just one though. There were about a hundred of them, aligned into one row. Kurt put his hand on the orb of one of the bots. He said, “Ash you can shee, Andwoo, deesh are duh chef botsh dat accompanied you wast meal. But deesh machines have a twisht .” He took a pause, wanting an answer back from Andrew.

  Andrew, who was lost, said, “What’s the twist?”

  “Deesh botsh have two bwain hemishpheresh . Of courshe dey don’t have weal bwainsh . Dey have pwoshesshor unitsh inshtead . Well, anyway, the firsht hemishphere ish for cooking. And the shecond hemishphere ish for exter-exter-ex-ex . . .”

  Rick completed, “Extermination?”

  “Yesh, dank you, Wick. We have maneuvered their coded motor neuronsh to accompwish two tashksh . I will demonshwate .” As he lifted up his left arm, Andrew was afraid that the Claver would reappear. Instead, Kurt pulled out a highly-advanced touch screen. It was a remote control to ignite the Chef Bot. Kurt clicked the green button, ordering the Chef Bot’s orb to flash red for three long seconds.

  The Chef Bot said, “Hello, Kurt. What can I cook for you today?” Kurt pressed the red button with his abled hand. The Chef Bot grew dysfunctional for five seconds. Then, its orb flashed a green light for three seconds. Immediately, all eight of its arms retracted its kitchen appliances to deadly blasters and guns. Its two wheels underneath retracted and turned into legs. It now stood at the height of a human. Andrew was frightened of this image but impressed by its mechanics. In a deeper automated voice, the bot said, “Who should I exterminate?”

  Kurt said, “Andwoo Wutano.”

  Andrew feared for his life. He began sprinting for the door until he heard Kurt say, “Wewax. I’m jusht kidding.” He let out some inaudible laughs. Andrew’s panting cooled down. He was pissed, but he couldn’t upset the lock combo dealer. Continuing, Kurt said, “We have deesh wobots to pwotect ush fwom the webelsh and waiders h. We even have inshight of an organization named the Shpirit Wadicals h, but dere is not much known about dem. In addition, dese wobots transhfiguh duh attacking movement thwough Beta Twanshfiguration . Fowwow me.”

  Walking further down the giant room, Kurt waited for Rick and Andrew to follow his lead. Several computer setups docked up adjacent to the wall. Looking like electrode pads, these circular pads connected to the computers thr
ough a thin wire. These pads stuck to different muscular joints of humans. Andrew saw multiple people, wearing these pads, move in awkward motions, raising their hands up, kicking each leg, and even holding a fake gun in the correct stance. Another set of electrode pads connected from the computer to several other Chef Bots. These Chef Bots tried replicating the movement that the humans were making. Kurt said, “We pehfect duh coded motor neural movementsh thwough configuration. Duh motionsh our teshters do are shtored in our communicator shyshtems . The communicator wepwicatesh the motor neuwons to duh Chef Botsh . Fashcinating , ishn’t it?”

  Andrew spiked his head up and down. He lost track of how many times he was frightened on this tour. To think that bicameral-minded chefs could be used as killing machines haunted him. Kurt said, “While I’m at it, I might ash well show the armowy . It’sh further down the woom .”

  As they walked, Rick whispered, “Andrew, stop canoodling with Kurt, and ask for those damn lock combos already!”

  Andrew spiked his head again. Moving closer to Kurt, he asked, “If an emergency were to occur, how would you all escape safely?”

  Kurt said, “I’m gwad you ashked dat . I will show you after the armowy .” A new door appeared, but it wasn’t the normal vertical-shifting door. It was a simple pair of doors that had to be opened manually. Using his only hand, Kurt pulled the knob towards him. Shelves of limitless weapons hung. Infrared blasters, electron-bursting guns, gamma blasters, manual guns, shotguns, submachine guns, AK-47s, and melee weapons were locked within the shelves. They were not accessible unless activated. “We have evewy pwecaution accounted for. When doomshday hitsh , we are weady.”

  Andrew asked, “What’s doomsday?”

  Kurt said, “ Doomshday ish appwoaching cwosher dan we expected. Dis day occursh when duh geothermal cwishish harms on everyone . By dat time, all our wegishtered gueshtsh will be up and running on the Shpirit Contwivanshesh. Shcientishtsh predict dish can happen any day . Ash duh pweshident shtated , anarchy ish here. And we will pwepared for anyding dat happensh outshide dose Shpirit Intercom gates.”