by Cole Anders
However, in 1989, four years after his work began, Dr. Doubletree had an astounding breakthrough. Promethium, a difficult to produce and highly radioactive element first discovered in the early 20th century proved to have several unique qualities that make it perfect for the eventual creation of the gorgon lamp bulbs. Promethium, when vaporized and charged with extremely high voltage, will spontaneously realign itself at the atomic level yet remain in a semi-gaseous form. This unusual state of matter, dubbed semi-gas by Doubletree, turned out to be a perfect superconductor. And as of 2025, no instrumentation is yet sensitive enough to detect any loss of amperage in any current passed through it. In addition, laser light projected through a semi-gas field becomes entangled with the semi-gas. This has an unusual effect that still isn't really understood, almost like the photons are becoming dual positioned, have their trailing edges stick in the semi-gas, while their leading edge emits forward stretching them out. This results in producing a light beam that does not radiate in all directions, and is only visible from straight in front of the beam. And, by varying the amperage and voltage used to propagate the semi-gas field, an extreme level of control can be exercised over the photons frequency and intensity. With the addition of a cluster of laser emitting diodes behind the semi-gas field, nearly any possible combination of electromagnetic frequency, intensity, and strobe rate can be achieved. A fully programmable light bulb. This bulb, which became known as a hector bulb after Dr. Doubletree, quickly began to reveal amazing, and truly terrible secrets about how the human brain worked.
The first recorded example of the gorgon effect was on October 22, 1989. Doubletree and his colleagues were testing electromagnetic exposure from 390THz up through 890THz with a change rate of 1THz per two seconds, at 90 lumens of intensity, and a strobing rate of 500k per second. At approximately 530THz, right at the beginning of where yellow shifts into green in the visible spectrum, something terrible happened to the test subject. At first, he became highly agitated where before he was perfectly calm. Doubletree ordered the person running the test to go back and cycle through a range of 525THz to 540THz. At 531THz the reaction from the subject was instantaneous. He began to convulse violently in his harness, straining against the straps. Every muscle in his body clinching and releasing at random and with full intensity, he quickly bit his own tongue completely off. He clenched his hands and feet so hard and so rapidly that he broken his own fingers and toes, and still continued trying to clench them even after they had been pulverized. He appeared to start suffocating. Trying to draw a breath but with each heave of his chest, dull cracking sounds could be heard coming from inside his body. Then in one horrific instant, his entire body locked, every muscle extended to its absolute maximum, a grim snarl frozen on his face. A moment after that, a loud nauseating thump came from inside the man's chest and he hunched over lifeless. One of the scientists present screamed and another vomited, Dr. Doubletree did not move a muscle and only watched in silence. Later during the autopsy, it was discovered that the man had somehow managed to break all his fingers and toes, ten of his ribs, and his neck trying to strain against the restraints. His heart had ruptured itself in two places and most of his blood had poured into the cavity in his abdomen.
Two months after that, Doubletree along with five of the other researchers disappeared along with all their researcher. The lab was destroyed in a fire that consumed any remaining traces of the research that had been conducted there save of a few videos and the account of that first experiment I managed to find in a sealed file sometime later. The fire also killed all but one of the twenty remaining research staff. That one survivor was found dead in her home a week later, apparently from a massive heart attack. Two years after that, the gorgon lamp started showing up in the hands of members of the organization we now know as the Oculus.
The presentation ended and the display from the table returned the default file server screen.
“And that's basically all we know about the origins of Oculus, Firewall formed in late 1991, and ever since then we've been trying to disrupt their operations anyway we can. We don't know where they are, how many of them there are, or how they're funded.” Said Calvin.
“The technology in the gorgon lamps has accelerated since it was first invented as well. We've seen lamps that do everything from cause irresistible sleep, too ones that can make you forget everything you've done in the last week.” Said David
Simon considered, “How are they able to hide so effectively though surely needing a material as rare as Promethium would draw all kinds of attention?”
“It's because of the memory programming effects of gorgon, they use it to cover any tracks they might happen to leave. We’ve had a few field operatives lose weeks of memories or worse. We at least are now able to detect Oculus activities, but it's extremely difficult to make steady progress against them in the field because of reckless way the use the lamps. But the world hasn't been plunged into chaos just yet, so we must be doing something right.” Said Calvin somewhat resigned.
David interjected, “That's not to say we're all just running around like idiots trying to get lucky. We've had plenty of successes against Oculus. We've captured several types of gorgon lamps, though now the ones they use are booby trapped to explode if they are tampered with. We've been able to follow their patterns of activity, and we know that they are attempting the total collapse of the major world governments, presumably so that Doubletree or whoever is leading them now, can install themselves as a global dictator.”
Simon smirked, “Taking over the world? That seems both insane and impossible.”
Calvin shared Simon's smirk, “Doubletree is insane, and the gorgon lamps were impossible not long ago. Besides, history is full of examples of people conquering the world with cutting edge weaponry. The Roman's did it with the gladius, and the Mongols did it with mounted archery. Hell, the German's almost did it with the panzer tank. And the U.S. controlled the world with nuclear weapons for years. Oculus is organized enough, and dangerous enough to pose a very real threat to global security.”
David continued, “Exactly, add to that the fact that they are completely off the grid as far as normal paramilitary organizations go. They've never been known to use anything more than ordinary handguns. They keep their numbers low. And whatever means that are being used to finance themselves is completely mundane. All this in addition to the fact that they maintain strict secrecy and are constantly working to keep their profile very low. It all comes together to make Oculus the most covert organization in the world.”
Luke, who had been sitting quietly finally spoke up, “They have a very unusual dynamic when confronted too. The first thing they try to do is memory wipe you, I'm partially immune to that particular kind of lamp so I probably remember more about them in the field than anyone else here. But each time they’ve seen that a memory wipe wasn’t enough for me, they either switch to just a normal firearm, or a sleep or nausea lamp. Both of which I've never could fulling resist unfortunately. Make no mistake, they are ruthless, but minimizing casualties is just another one of the steps they take to keep from being noticed by the wider world. However, I can at least say that wherever they are recruiting new members from, they aren't especially talented in a firefight.”
“So, what kinds of operations of theirs are we intercepting exactly?” asked Simon.
“It's funny, one of the theories we have is that they at least partially fund themselves with petty crime, like robberies and bank hold ups. Whenever one of those gets botched we try to respond quick enough to catch them still engaged with the police.” said Luke.
Calvin nods in agreement and says. “They have another weakness too. The Promethium in the lamps is radioactive, and when the lamps are discharged they release a very specific level of radiation. We can detect this radiation when it accrues. To facilitate this, we've had thousands of detectors scattered across the planet located in places likely to be attacked. Nearly every room in the white house has a detector, the p
entagon, congress, most of the conference rooms of major corporations, all stock exchanges foreign and domestic, parliament, the Kremlin, everywhere. And they all link back here remotely for Nerva to monitor.”
David added, “The effects of the lamps are highly programmable. And they use them to infiltrate past guards and other personal. But when they use them in places we have monitored, we're able to respond quickly enough to at least minimize the damage they can do. And in addition to the pin point detectors, we also have satellite coverage we can use to get a general idea as to where they are when a lamp is used. However, it's become clear that they know we can detect when they discharge the lamps, as they are starting to use them very sparingly.”
Simon leaned back considering everything he'd just been told. “Ok, so we can detect when these lamps are fired, and you have coverage across most of the high-profile targets. We are in an underground base in the middle of nowhere Oregon. How in the world do we respond to a bank heist in another part of the country fast enough to make any difference?”
David looked like he had been waiting for that question his entire life.
“I'm glad you asked that Simon! Oculus aren't the only ones with revolutionary technology. See one our other ongoing goals here is to acquire and preserve potentially dangerous technology. The gorgon lamp was just the first cat out of the bag with the rise of the digital age. Advancement is the natural order for humanity of course, but now we've reached a level where just about anyone can build something dangerous on a global scale in their garage. We aren't solely focused on opposing Oculus you see.”
David reached his hand out to the table and rested his palm on it. The display, reacting to his prompt and brought up an interface where his hand rested. David quickly navigated through a few different menu screens until he found what he was looking for and brought up what looked like engineering schematics.
“Of course, curating advanced technology does have its advantages. This for example, is what I consider our pride and joy, we call it the flapjack. Not exactly what you'd think of as a teleportation device, but it produces the same kind of effect.”
“Teleportation! You've got to be kidding me!” Exclaimed Simon.
Nerva cut in, sounding almost dejected, “Dr. Melbrook, my central CPU core is submerged in liquid nitrogen, and even I think that's cold of you to say.”
“Nerva, you know damn well that you're the only reason anything works around here, including the flapjack. You know I don't really consider you just a piece of technology anyway...more like a mother.” Said David, holding be a laugh.
“Venom words from a silver tongue Doctor. If you aren't nice to me, I'll flapjack this entire base onto the moon and make you all walk back.” Said Nerva in her most serious sounding voice.
“Be sure the send a wheelbarrow too so we don't have to leave you there Nerva.” said David.
Nerva let out a loud mechanical click which she used as her equivalent for rounding her eyes.
Simon's head was spinning, “This is all so much to absorb, I'm gonna lose track of all this.” he said.
David nodded, “Don't worry, we could sit in here for days going over all the details we have on Oculus and on all the technology we've curated. But we'll finish up with an explanation on how the flapjack works and call it.”
Calvin interjected. “I think it's important you understand our goal isn't to suppress new technology, but to instead make sure it isn't suppressed or over utilized. The gorgon lamps are a prime example of a technology that can be easily abused by just about anyone who could get their hands on it. So, until an effective counter balance can be devised, that technology should be kept out of the wrong hands, and those are everyone's hands.”
“Except ours?” Asked Simon.
“We don’t claim to be infallible Simon. But we at least already know what the stakes are in the game the whole world is already playing. Nerva helps us select operatives not only from the best society has to offer, but she also watches applicants for the less tangible qualities like trustworthiness and discretion. You’re going to have access to an arsenal of weaponry and equipment here and the last thing we want is for someone we can’t trust getting in here. We aren’t on any government’s payroll, and we don’t answer to any corporation or higher power. And we aren’t motivated by money or power either. Everyone here takes the preservation of the humanity very seriously. Besides that, we don’t destroy anything we take in here, some of it we use, other things we document and archive so that when the time comes that society can safely coexist with it, then we can release it back into the wild.” Explained Calvin.
Simon furrowed his brow and thought for a moment, “So what about the people who actually invented this stuff? They deserve the credit and recognition for the wonders they created, we have no right to steal that from them.”
“That’s the problem, isn’t it? Because if we just stole it and buried them then how can we call ourselves the right hands? Well each curation is delicate and personal matter. We don’t just crash through the windows at night and wreck up the place. No, we watch and wait, and when Nerva has a good idea of what kind of person they are, we make our move to suit them best. The truth is that most of the time, the inventors just want money. Because of Nerva’s connections money is no object to us. We’ve made a lot of people very rich, richer than they ever would have been trying to patent and sell what they’ve created. If an outside party were to get to him first, they wouldn’t show restraint like we do either. Corporations want money and power, governments want weapons, and billionaire investors always have their own agenda’s. So, we pay them off, make them sign nondisclosure agreements. Of course, Nerva monitors them forever, and when one of them gets talkative we bluff them back into silence. You be surprised how spooked a person can get when Nerva emails them security camera footage of themselves standing out at a gas station or an ATM machine. Throw in some vague threats and so far, at least we haven’t had a leak.
Simon considered this for a long time. “But what do you do with people who aren’t cooperating? What about the ones who create weapons and want to use them?”
“We make them forget it with a lamp. It’s as simple as that Simon. We’ve had to do it twice. Once for a guy who created a chemical compound that made water explosive and once for a small bio-tech research firm that accidentally created a viral agent that would have devastated a large part of the world’s population. It was a nasty little thing, one week of highly infectious but symptom free incubation. Then a sixty percent mortality rate. It was semi airborne too. They called it slow burn because of the way it affected the human body. The virus acted through a common recessive trait carried by nearly every human with few exceptions. It would enter a cell and insert itself into the DNA, from there, when the cell divided it would pass the altered DNA along with it. The effect of that viral DNA was twofold. The infected cell now produced copies of the virus over and over again. And additionally, because of changes in the cell wall, white blood cells would target the cells as foreign bodies. The accumulated effect on the body looks a lot like radiation sickness. So, after a certain point, the infected system collapses without enough viable cells to run it. Slow burn was accidental, they were trying to create a gene therapy vector that would cure allergies. But once they realized what they had. The lab’s chief director started seeking buyers for weaponized viral agents. He fired all the original staff, and hired new ones that didn’t know what had been created. After considering our options, we decided it’d be best to erase any trace of the virus’s creation. Another one of the lamp’s strengths is concept planting, everyone who worked on slow burn now thinks the firm went under because of a lack of results on the gene therapy treatment. We curated the research, preserved a sample of the virus, and that was that.”
David spoke up, “The team that developed the flapjack however was much easier to work with. Their main interest was rapid space colonization because they felt the device was too dangerous for the general public to u
se. Once we sat down with them, they agreed that something like teleportation simply couldn’t be used responsibly right now. So, we compensated them, and they agreed to turn everything over and move on. As I’m sure you can guess, all this fact finding and evaluation all hinges on Nerva, who herself is a curated technology, and the Meta-Analysis suite she uses to evaluate the people who create these things, as well as prospective agents is also a curated piece of software from a different source all together. Additionally, Nerva is the only computer in the world that can run Meta-Analysis effectively, it's designed to account for just too many variables.”
“It's an amazing piece of software though, it’s as near a perfect predictor of human behavior as possible. We couldn't know any more about a person if we were psychic.” said Calvin.
Simon shifted his feet nervously. “What exactly does Nerva do with Meta-Analysis?
David searched for the words for a moment before he responded. “It does everything. Any piece of information about you online it finds, any database you’ve every appeared in, any document you’ve ever had your name written in. Any camera you’ve every walked by that recorded your face. Meta-Analysis is more than just a single kernel of programming. Every major service and information repository has small parsing worms installed on them. All these worms look like your standard mal-ware of course, but working together, and orchestrated by Nerva, she is able to gather up incredibly obscure details about you, and then correlate them all together to build a cohesive narrative of your life. Even more, Nerva combines this information with the information she acquires from private investigators and other autonomously hired research personal she uses to get information that might not be accessible over a network.”