CENTER 82 (RATION)

by Christina J Thompson

  “You promised to give me information,” Andreas hissed, ignoring his question. “Now, David’s notes mention something about supplement transport at a cellular level, but he doesn’t elaborate. What can you tell me about it?”

  Ayn sighed. He needed buy time until his ankle healed, while also giving her just enough information to keep her from cutting into him to figure it out herself.

  “There’s a protein mutation that prevents the supplements from crossing my blood-brain barrier,” he told her. “David isolated it the day Noah destroyed his results.”

  He stressed the last part, and as expected, Andreas’ eyes filled with curiosity.

  “Did you see what happened that day?”

  “Yes,” he answered.

  “Tell me.”

  Ayn pursed his lips thoughtfully.

  “It was July 28th, almost a week after you and David talked about his preliminary findings. Noah was hiding in the storage room―”

  “And you said he had the access codes for David’s lab?”

  He nodded.

  “David was dictating the test results to himself, and Noah was listening in.”

  Ayn closed his eyes; he recalled every word, but he didn’t start at the beginning.

  “Supplement compounds three through twelve are rendered ineffective for anesthetic and behavior-control purposes due to the defect. It is my belief that said defect lies within the original donor material, which renders it beyond our capabilities to repair. Therefore, it is my opinion that the ration program should be immediately phased out due to ethical and moral conflicts that exist. We can’t continue killing people, we need to implement the algae harvest.”

  Andreas made a face.

  “David wouldn’t have said that. There’s no way he would have recorded evidence of his moral objections.”

  “Believe it or don’t, but it’s the truth,” Ayn replied. “David hadn’t backed up his data to the server yet, he was going to print everything first, but Noah unplugged the entire system. He said he had been promised a chance to retake his qualifying exams in exchange for finding sympathizers, and he was going to report both of you.”

  “Only the board can authorize exam retakes,” Andreas said, pursing her lips. “He must have been working with one of them.”

  “That’s what I figured,” Ayn agreed. “I think that’s how he got the access code for David’s lab.”

  She frowned.

  “Did you actually see the test results David’s dictation was based on? Did he say how he reached his conclusion?”

  Ayn cocked his head. That was the part he had omitted. He shrugged, preparing to change the subject, when he saw movement through the window to the lab’s entryway.

  “You have company,” he muttered, quickly averting his gaze.

  Andreas glanced towards the door as the ration fell silent, raising a brow when she saw Brenda march into the lab.

  “What do you want?” Andreas asked, bristling at the woman’s presence. Brenda pursed her lips, stepping towards the desk and sitting down on the edge. She crossed her arms.

  “We need to talk, Monica.”

  Andreas swiveled around in her chair, mimicking the woman’s posture as she waited. Brenda cleared her throat.

  “It would appear you’ve defeated me again,” she stated coldly. “I don’t know how you’ve managed to keep your luck from running out, but I have to admit, I’m impressed. You’re just full of surprises.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Andreas replied, setting her jaw. “The board was wrong about David and about me—that’s not luck, it’s just the truth.”

  “Let’s stop with the charade for a moment, Monica, it’s just us here. You want to talk about the truth? How about the fact that you sold all of us out just to keep from being removed with David?”

  Andreas scowled.

  “That’s not what happened, but let’s pretend for a moment that it did. I’d think anyone in that situation would do anything to avoid an unjust punishment.”

  “The board’s proceeding was fair based on the information we had at the time―”

  “No, it was based on your insane paranoia about sympathizers, Brenda. David never gave anyone a reason to think he was anything more than a gifted scientist, but you all jumped at the chance to remove him.”

  “We had to eliminate the threat to the ration program, too many people were already asking questions. He was doing everything he could to make his unproven research public knowledge, he was trying to incite panic even though he couldn’t produce any evidence to support his theories.”

  Andreas narrowed her eyes.

  “I wonder where his evidence went.”

  “It’s not like you were concerned about it at the time,” Brenda replied flippantly. “Need I remind you that you declined to testify on his behalf?”

  “You could have given him time to recreate his results,” Andreas scoffed. “No one cared about the validity of his work, you killed an innocent man just because you didn’t want people asking questions.”

  “We removed a threat, we still don’t know that he was innocent. I’ve yet to see any real evidence that proves that his claims were correct.”

  “You saw the ration with your own eyes―”

  “I saw a very minor aberration that doesn’t exist anywhere else in our program,” Brenda snapped. “That’s what I came here to discuss with you.”

  Andreas leaned back in her chair.

  “There’s nothing to discuss yet, I still have tests to run.”

  “This ration stands to cause a lot of problems for us,” Brenda said. “There is no evidence to suggest that abnormal function exists past one individual specimen, and I’m concerned that an irrelevant anomaly could lead to a disruption of the ration program.”

  “I haven’t had time to determine if it is an anomaly,” Andreas countered. “I hope to address that question once I begin testing.”

  “You need to consider the bigger picture, Monica. The ration program is under threat every moment this test subject is permitted to exist.”

  “That’s not true,” Andreas said, eyeing the woman suspiciously. “The program is threatened by the fact that this ration came into existence in the first place.”

  Brenda sighed with annoyance and got up from the edge of the desk, her eyes flashing with severity.

  “Let me be blunt, doctor, as it seems you’re incapable of comprehending a more delicate approach—the test subject needs to be resolved immediately pursuant to the standing order from Project Nine. You may consider this a new project, but this ration is still subject to the previous decision made by the board.”

  Panic surged through Andreas’ veins—Brenda had discovered that the ration was David’s original test subject.

  “But I need to study it!” she snarled in protest, jumping to her feet.

  “And you can—after it’s euthanized. I’m giving you notice, you have two hours to deliver the specimen to cold storage.”

  “I can’t study its cognitive processes in a goddamn post-mortem! I need its brain functioning!”

  “Dr. Andreas, do not forget to whom you are speaking,” Brenda warned, glancing at ration. “I could order you to euthanize it right here in front of me.”

  Andreas lifted her chin in defiance as she squared her shoulders.

  “No, you couldn’t. You know exactly how this works, I’m entitled to challenge the resolution order.”

  Brenda smiled smugly.

  “The order is over six months old, doctor. The challenge period ended after the first two days, the order stands. Now, you could always try to appeal to the board for the right to challenge out-of-time, but convening the board would take a week. You would be in violation of the resolution order until you could notice up a meeting, which would give me grounds to remove you without further hearing within twenty-four hours.”

  Andreas’ eyes grew wide as realization daw
ned on her.

  “You recognized the strain number at the hearing, didn’t you?” she breathed, anger rising in her throat. “That’s why you looked so shocked, that’s why you ended it so fast—you didn’t want any of the others to notice and say something about it! You intentionally waited until the board had adjourned so I couldn’t present a challenge!”

  “Be careful what you accuse me of, Monica,” Brenda replied, turning on her heel. “You can’t win this time. Resolve the ration today and be content with escaping your earlier charges, or you can wait twenty-four hours. The ration will be resolved either way, but I’m hoping you’ll go with the latter of the two. I would love the chance to personally oversee your removal.”

  “What’s your problem with me?” Andreas demanded. “Why do you hate me so much?”

  “You’re a coward who betrayed us all to save yourself,” Brenda shrugged as she headed for the door. “If that’s not reason enough to hate you, I don’t know what is. If I don’t receive confirmation that the ration is dead in the next two hours, I’ll be coming for you tomorrow morning.”

  Andreas whispered a curse as the woman left, turning to glance at the ration.

  “Well, I think I have an idea of who Noah’s been working with.”

  Ayn sighed as he met Andreas’ gaze.

  “She seems determined to get rid of you—are you going to do what she wants?”

  She rolled her eyes.

  “Of course not! I need more than two hours to confirm David’s results!”

  Ayn’s lip curled in disgust.

  “Oh, I see. How noble of you.”

  She didn’t answer, stepping towards her desk and grabbing a pen.

  “What are you going to do?” he called out to her. “I heard what that woman said, you can’t challenge the resolution order.”

  “Not with the board, anyway,” Andreas muttered. “There’s always a way around things, you just have to know how to play the game.”

  “I’m glad you think it’s a game,” Ayn shot back. She set the pen aside and headed for the door, then she paused and turned around.

  “You need to go inside the cage,” she told him. “I’m not leaving you out.”

  Ayn rolled his eyes at the look on her face; she really thought he was going to do what she said.

  “Right, because a naked ration limping through the facility in the middle of the day isn’t going to draw any attention,” he chuckled sarcastically. “Believe me, you don’t have anything to worry about.”

  Andreas scowled.

  “Unless you want me to amputate one of your feet, I would suggest you do what you’re told.”

  “I’d love to see you try,” he grinned menacingly. “I can’t go anywhere right now anyway, thanks to you. My ankle is going to take weeks to heal.”

  He held up his foot; she didn’t know that he had given himself serum, and the bandage that hid his already-healing skin was still stained with old blood.

  “I’ll be here when you get back,” he told her. “I have no interest in being resolved, which makes me just as invested in finding a way out of this situation as you are.”

  Ayn could see the dismay in her eyes as she clenched her teeth, and she stared at him for a long moment before giving a curt nod.

  “We’ll revisit this subject after you heal,” Andreas snapped as she headed for the door. “I’m not letting you escape, ration, you may as well accept it now.”

  Ayn waited a few minutes after she left before standing to his feet and retrieving another vial of serum. The tendon she had tried cutting was extremely slow to heal, but if he could manage eight more double doses before tomorrow night, it should be just enough.

  ≈

  Andreas ran down the stairs until she reached the level-four walkway, heading for Dr. Trent’s lab.

  “Move!” she hissed, pushing her way through a group of people standing outside the couriers’ office. She froze mid-stride as a thought occurred to her, then backtracked and stuck her head inside the office door.

  “Can you have someone sent to my lab by five?” Andreas asked, waving at the man standing near a desk on the other side of the office. He nodded.

  “What lab?”

  “Special Project A.”

  “Sure thing. Whose request?”

  She hesitated before answering.

  “Dr. Jason Trent.”

  “Gotcha. I’ll have a courier sent up.”

  Andreas hurried towards Lab Four and knocked as loudly as she could.

  “Jason! Open the door, it’s me―”

  The door flew open just as she began knocking again, throwing her off-balance for a moment. She dropped her hand; she had almost hit Trent in the face, but he didn’t seem to notice.

  “Jason, I need to talk to you.”

  He rolled his eyes in annoyance; he looked exhausted, and he groaned as he covered a half-yawn.

  “I’m busy, Monica. I can’t deal with you right now.”

  Dozens of researchers were crowded inside the lab, and Andreas lowered her voice as she leaned in closer to him.

  “I need you to come with me,” she whispered urgently. “It’s about the ration, I’ve made some progress.”

  “I don’t have time for this,” he said, stifling another yawn. “The board ordered me to begin dissection on three of my test rations and I haven’t even started.”

  He jerked his head towards the room behind him as he stepped aside. Three tables had been arranged in the center of the lab; the researchers in the room were huddled in close, and through the tightly-packed throng, Andreas saw that the test rations had already been placed on the tables. She frowned. Part of her couldn’t help wondering if these rations were anything like the one she had.

  “I thought you were waiting until they finished their growth cycle,” she said. “You still have a few more days based on what you told me.”

  “The board wants me to get the problem figured out immediately,” Trent answered, his words slurring together as he forced his eyes open. “I’m supposed to let three of the test batch finish growing while I start preliminary examination of the other three.”

  “Well, you can spare a few minutes for what I have to show you,” she told him. “You made me promise that I would give you first access to anything I found.”

  “And what did you find that could possibly be more important than getting this strain ready?”

  “Come with me and see for yourself.”

  “Andreas, I’m busy. I haven’t slept since yesterday―”

  “Neither have I, but I promise you, it’s worth it.”

  Trent sighed.

  “How about we skip all of that and go straight to what you want. I can’t give you any of my time on the power net, so don’t even bother―”

  “I don’t need that anymore, I was given full power to my lab,” Andreas answered. She handed him the page she was holding. “I need you to call a conference for me, tomorrow morning at eight.”

  He raised a brow.

  “You can call one yourself, you don’t need me.”

  “It’s complicated, Jason, I can’t explain it here. Just come back to my lab and you’ll see―”

  “That’s really all you want, just for me to call a conference?”

  Andreas nodded, and he shrugged.

  “I’ll have one of the assistants prepare a memo now.”

  He turned to go back into the lab, and she grabbed his hand.

  “You can’t tell anyone you’re doing this for me,” she told him quietly. “Don’t say what the conference is for, everyone will just assume that it’s about the new strain.”

  “Sure, whatever. Tomorrow, eight in the morning, don’t mention you. Got it, go away.”

  Trent closed the door, and Andreas ran towards the stairs.

  †‡†

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Ayn watched as a group of lab assistants carried the broken restraint platform o
ut of the lab. A new one had been left in its place, and when the assistants were gone, Andreas pointed at it.

  “Move to the platform, ration,” she commanded. “Go on, we have work to do.”

  “You don’t have to talk to me like I’m an idiot,” Ayn muttered, exaggerating his pained expression as he stood to his feet. “I’m not stupid.”

  “I gathered as much,” Andreas told him as she followed him towards the platform. “Your ISA results were unbelievable. A score of 67 has never been seen before.”

  “I’d still like to know what you were trying to accomplish by using that damn prod on me,” he said. He lay down on the platform and glared at her. “There was no reason for it.”

  “I was trying to force you to react.”

  She reached out to buckle the restraints; Ayn shook his head in warning, and she cringed as she dropped her hands. He gave her an incredulous look.

  “So you proved your theory that I was smart enough to control my behavior through all of the pain of your stupid tests, yet you thought a prod would break me?”

  Andreas shrugged.

  “I was desperate, it was worth a try.”

  Ayn rolled his eyes.

  “Did you tell anyone about Amber while you were gone?”

  “No,” she answered, stepping over to her workstation and reaching for her notes.

  “Why not?”

  “They’ll find out soon enough on their own. The less I admit to knowing, the better.”

  She furrowed her brow as she began reading, then she glanced up.

  “Let’s go back to the mutation,” she said. “There are several ration-specific transport proteins engineered into the donor material, did David ever say which one was affected?”

  Ayn shook his head.

  “No, and you don’t have the machine you need to figure it out,” he answered, staring up at the ceiling. “It was destroyed right before David was removed, during the lab incident with the unmedicated ration.”