Terminus Experiment

by Jonathan E Bond

  Sinunu rolled her pink eyes. “Oh, joy.”

  De Vries went on as if he hadn’t heard her. “Before my life took its current course, I was married. Did you know that?”

  Sinunu shrugged. “Didn’t know, didn’t care. You going for some sort of point here?”

  De Vries smiled softly, and for just a moment, Sinunu was sorry she’d responded so callously. “Yes, I was married, to a wonderful woman named Josephine. I’d just finished up my doctorate in hermetic studies, and it looked as if I was on top of the world. Of course, I gave no thought to the fact that things like vampires and wendigos were running around the earth again. And even if I had, it wouldn’t have caused me any concern.”

  Grunting, Sinunu said, “Yeah, ignorance can be a real killer.”

  De Vries smiled again. “Exactly. Well, Josephine got pregnant, and I was going to be a father. She Was only five months along, but she was a delicate woman and the pregnancy was hard on her. I was called to a faculty meeting one night, and it ran late.”

  Suddenly the short, white hairs on the back of Sinunu’s neck stood up straight. She realized she didn’t want to hear the rest of what de Vries was going to say, didn’t want to feel any sympathy for this creature, but his eyes held her.

  “I came home to an empty house. Josephine had simply vanished. I contacted the police, and they searched. For six days I went out of my mind. I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep, I sat by the telecom in that big empty house, and I prayed.”

  Sinunu thought about her days at White Oak, those hateful days when she was being groomed to become the great mother of all white humanity. Prayer had been a big thing at White Oak, and she had come to despise all the pitiful wishing and pleading that seemed to go hand in hand with bowing to some higher god. Still, when de Vries spoke of it, she felt the desperation he must have known during that time. Sinunu turned to look out into the hot darkness as de Vries continued.

  “On the seventh night. I was sleeping fitfully in my chair in the living room. I suppose if I’d been able to sleep well, I would be dead now.”

  De Vries paused, and despite herself. Sinunu said, “Josephine?”

  “Actually, no. Not at first. I woke feeling something crawling up my leg. I thought I might still be dreaming, because when! looked down, there was a tiny, white thing hanging off my trousers. Malformed and hideous, it was no more than twenty centimeters long, white as a ghost, still covered in a sticky red slime. Its tiny arms were digging into the fabric of my pants, and as I looked down, the thing looked up with bright red eyes.”

  Sinunu knew what was coming, and for the first time in years, she felt nauseous.

  “That’s when Josephine came in. And in a flash, I knew what had happened. I knew. Josephine stood there in the doorway with the dim light behind her, like some kind of dark angel. But she wasn’t looking at me. She was looking at the thing on my leg, calling to it, like any normal mother whose child has crawled too far for her to be comfortable.”

  Sinunu turned to him. Your child?”

  De Vries nodded. Yes. I understand what happened now, When Josephine was infected with the virus, and her body died, it rejected anything of flesh that was not its own. It purged itself of the little fetus. Unfortunately, the fetus was also now infected so in a fashion, it survived the miscarriage.”

  Sinunij thought her heart was going to break at the thought. “What did you do.”

  De Vries shrugged. “I staked them. Josephine didn’t even resist. She simply begged that I look out for her baby after she was gone.”

  Sinunu found herself taking a step back from de Vries. The utter coldness in his voice chilled her to the bone.

  “They were the first. After that, I managed to find the creature who had done this to my family, and I staked him as well. My life was changed from that moment on, and it has led me down paths so dark and frightening that very little of the man I once was remains.”

  Sinunu felt anger rise in her like a volcano, heaving and out of control. “Why are you telling me this?”

  De Vries’ eyes softened. “I said very little of that man remains, but enough for me to understand how you feel about tonight. Enough for me to realize the care you have for the elf and the concerns you have about bringing Rachel along.”

  “So?”

  De Vries stepped in close, and it took everything in Sinunu’s power not to fling herself backward. “Just this. There is more to Rachel than you can guess, and she stands to lose as much as you tonight, so in one sense, she had a right to insist on coming along. Also, if things go wrong, and our target is damaged in any way, we need her there. He’ll need to see a familiar face, or else he might screw the whole thing up.

  “But I didn’t tell you that story to justify my backing Rachel’s desire to come along. I simply wanted you to know that I understand your concern and now it is mine as well. If everything goes right, then we’ll all get out safely, a little wiser about how dark the night can be, but otherwise no worse for the wear. But if things go wrong, I’ll make you this promise. I will do everything in my power to keep you from having to go through the same pain I went through all those years ago.”

  Through tight lips, Sinunu asked, “That supposed to make me feel better?”

  De Vries smiled. “It should. Over the years, I have become more powerful than you could possibly imagine. I will use every trick, every skill I possess to make sure your love comes through tonight intact.”

  Sinunu smiled, a tight, ugly thing. “And if she doesn’t?”

  De Vries stepped back. “Then I will help you put her out of her misery.”

  15

  Of course the procedure was radical and involved incredible risks. Surely, you realize that the potential benefits outweighed those risks. That’s why I was using SINless, rather than citizens. After all, it s not like they would be missed.

  –Oslo Wake defending his use of metahuman subjects before the Board of Ethics and Review Universal Omnirech, New York City. Transcript #ETH678, p. 678, 21 September 2051

  Oslo Wake’s office was a small, private place buried deep beneath the main compound. Rough rock walls contrasted sharply with the soft lighting and the rich Persian rugs that covered the floor. The air in the office was warm and damp, heated naturally by a thermal spring in the bedrock, and it smelled slightly of sulfur.

  Sitting at his antique oak desk, which had begun to warp from the sultry atmosphere, Wake slipped the small dermal patch into the crook of his right elbow, and hissed as the shaking tension immediately eased up. He rolled his sleeve down to cover the patch as well as his emaciated arms. In the last two years Wake hadn’t slept more than three hours a night. For a while, it had been the work that kept him awake, kept him at his deck trying to crack the secret of the virus metagene, But after a time, despair had invaded the work.

  That was when the drugs had become a necessity. The goal was close now, so close he could almost smell success, but there was still so much ground to cover if his plan to save metahumanity was to work. He would not rest until all metahumans could be infected without any deleterious side effects, and that presented complications that still boggled Wake’s mind.

  He was very close to a breakthrough on normal humans. They were the easiest to work with, and not just because there was so much more information available on them, but because the HMHVV strains acted fairly consistently on humans. With metas, Wake had discovered the hard way that each strain not only affected the individual species differently, but there had also been marked differences in how each strain affected each test subject. Most variants were due to magical ability, but with some strains of the virus, there were variables that Wake hadn’t even come close to pinning down.

  He put his head in his hands, rubbing the heels of his palms into his eyes. Then he took a deep breath, the light from his touch screen playing over his face. There were times he wished he could risk getting a datajack. It would make his work so much easier, but he also knew what it would do to his magical ab
ility. Even a trode rig had the nasty habit of giving him a headache. Flatscreens had sufficed for years, and they would continue to do so.

  He had been working on this one genetic sequence for almost a week now, and he was nowhere closer to figuring where the nips and tucks should go than when he’d started.

  Wake took a deep, shuddering breath, rubbed his watering eyes, and tried to calm himself. “All right,” he said softly to himself. “The metagene seems variably activated, depending upon background mana levels. So what I need is a scale to accurately measure the mana at a particular time and place. It must be kept constant.”

  He squinted and leaned in close so the screen, which was filled with a scrolling mass of nucleotide sequences and a modeling of which ones would be activated at a given mana level.

  Suddenly, his private line beeped. “Go ahead,” he said, without taking his eyes from the information rolling in front of him.

  Just to the left and at the bottom of his screen, a small square opened, showing the heavily made-up face of Marco D’imato. Wake suppressed a vicious grin. The pushy bastard just Wasn’t going to learn.

  “What can I do for you, Mr. D’imato?” Wake kept his voice neutral, and went back to studying the DNA sequence.

  “We might have a situation on our hands.”

  Wake touched the screen, and the flow of information came to a halt. “Do tell.”

  Marco paused, and for just a moment, Wake got the impression that the vampire was uncomfortable “First, let me ask you a question. How is the progress on Warren?”

  Wake leaned back, actually intrigued now, This game of cat and mouse wasn’t usually Marco’s style. Wake steepled his fingers under his chin. “Excellent, actually. We are using the latest strain of the virus, which should allow for more improvements on the original model than even you had hoped for.”

  Marco’s eyes shifted, but Wake knew that was simply an effect of the contacts sliding slightly. Still, it only made him look more nervous. “Good, good. Keep up the work. When can we expect Warren to be finished with the process and ready to make a public appearance?”

  Wake smiled, though he hid it with his fingers. “I’d estimate about a week.”

  Now Marco’s discomfort became apparent. “Not any sooner? There is no way you can push the process along?”

  This time Wake laughed outright. “We are not making a cup of soykaf, here, Mister D’imato. We are performing an experimental procedure that is probably the most delicate blend of science and magic this side of Aztlan’s delta clinics. Or, to be more succinct, no. I cannot rush this.”

  The vampire sighed, and then nodded. “Just had to ask. I think I might have been a bit too hasty.”

  Wake steepled his fingers again. “Oh?”

  Marco nodded. “I had intended to kill two birds with one stone. My brother is an extremely calm man, except when it comes to family, I had thought to convert Warren to the cause and use his father’s natural protective nature to eliminate a potential problem. Not to mention getting vengeance on the man who has interfered with my plans.”

  Marco paused, and Wake, smiling softly, said, “And things did not turn out quite the way you expected them too?”

  Marco grimaced. “I underestimated my brother’s determination. I fully expected him to find my son’s killer, which is well within his abilities, and I even had a high degree of confidence that he would be able to dispose of the killer with little problem. However, I was a bit too slow.”

  Wake leaned forward. “How do you mean?”

  Marco shrugged, looking like a little boy who’s just broken his mother’s favorite vase. “I intended to destroy the small scrap of Warren’s genetic information before my brother could try ritual magic. Unfortunately, he beat me to it.”

  Wake settled back slowly, letting the cracked leather of the chair comfort him. “You realize that this is a bad thing, of course.”

  For a moment, anger flared on Marco’s face, but it died quickly. “Yes, and coupled with the fact that I can’t reach him… well, frankly, it has me worried.”

  Wake shook his head slowly. “Assuming your brother has a mage competent enough to penetrate my magical defenses, what kind of force can he bring to bear?”

  Marco shrugged again. “Actually, your best bet is the fact that Julius has no idea who you are, or where you are. I kept him in the dark about everything to do with you, as per our agreement. Also, if he still believes that my son’s killer is the one behind his son’s disappearance, then he might underestimate your compound’s particular capabilities.

  “However if he has any decent recon info, then I would suggest you find a way to get out of there. Julius can bring enough firepower to bear to wipe out the entire area.”

  Wake nodded. “And what exactly do you expect me to do?”

  Marco paused, as if he had been about to say something, then changed his mind. “About Julius, he’s expendable. I’d rather he was captured, but if there is no alternative, then he can be replaced. As far as the rest of the men are concerned, they are disposable.”

  Wake nodded. “Very good. You continue trying to stop him from your end, and I’ll make sure he doesn’t get through from this end.”

  Marco shook his head. “You don’t understand If I can’t reach him and stop him, he will roll over you and your defenses like they don’t even exist.”

  Wake smiled, letting his grin go wide. For the first time since he and Marco had met almost a year and a half ago, he saw something close to fear on the vampire’s face. “Don’t underestimate me. Your brother will not make it past my first barrier. Do you honestly think I would be foolish enough to show you all of my capabilities? Don’t flatter yourself. If you value your brother’s life at all, then I suggest you redouble your efforts to stop him. If he comes after me, I will destroy him.”

  Marco took a deep breath, and let it out. “Of course I’ll do my best.”

  “As will I.”

  Suddenly, Wake touched his screen and Marco’s face sprang to life-size. A nervous tick was causing the vampire’s left eye to jump. “Show me your hands,” Wake said.

  Marco looked troubled, and his left eye jumped even more frantically. “Why?”

  “Just hold them up in front of the telecom.”

  With a frown, Marco did as he was told. His hands, also coated with dusky make-up, twitched and fluttered as if they a life of their own.

  “When did the tremors start?”

  Marco looked down at his hands as if they had betrayed in. “Almost two weeks ago. However, it’s nothing. It passes quickly.”

  Wake cursed. “Why didn’t you inform me?”

  Marco shrugged again. “I told you, it’s nothing.”

  Wake shook his head. “With a procedure as delicate and radical as the one you underwent, there is no room for posturing. I should have been informed immediately.”

  Suddenly there was concern in Marco’s eyes, and because Wake had never seen it there before, it took him a moment to recognize it for what it was.

  “Is it something I should worry about?”

  Wake considered his response for a moment. “I’m not sure. I’m going to conduct a few tests with the tissue samples I took from you after the procedure. I’ll let you know if I find anything. However, for now, try to identify the times when the tremors hit, and what triggers them. That could be very important. It might be something we can easily correct.”

  Marco nodded. “All right, I will. And I’ll try to find Julius again.”

  Wake nodded and cut the connection.

  He sat back in his chair and rolled up his sleeve again. Pulling another dermal from his desk drawer, he slid it into position next to the first.

  Things are getting messy here, he thought, as the drug soothed him. He touched his screen again, and Pakow’s dark features Filled it. The man looked exhausted and wary. His thick hair was greasy, and a line of grime clung to the side of his forehead. “Pakow here.”

  “We might have a situation o
n our hands. Go to code seven-red. We should ready thirty of the controlled troops, and bring another thirty onto standby. Deploy the hounds as well.”

  Pakow’s thick eyebrows shot upward. “You’re expecting an assault?” His voice broke on the last word.

  Wake shook his head, half in pity, half in disgust. “Get a grip on yourself. There’s a possibility that our friend D’imato may have led the wolf straight to our door. However, I don’t think it’s anything we can’t handle. If D’imato is correct it will be an assault of the frontal variety.”

  Something very much like relief spread across Pakow’s face. “Certainly. I’ll call up for seven-red immediately.”

  Wake rolled his neck, hearing his vertebrae crack back into alignment. “Excellent. I’ll be working here all night. I want hourly reports. Also, it would appear that Mister D’imato’s deterioration is progressing well ahead of schedule. I want you to run a full battery on the gene sequences we still have on him, and find out if we’ve missed something, or if his condition is an anomaly.”

  “Of course.”

  Wake cut the connection, and keyed his console to show him the trid views of the grounds. It would be interesting to watch and see just how effective his creations were. He smiled. This might just work out nicely.

  16

  After de Vries resurfaced. it became apparent that he himself had somehow contracted vampirism. It is unlikely any vampire would have willingly given him this dubious gift had he known de Vries’ purposes and identity. Some European runners claim he deliberately offered himself for infection, intent on learning more about his prey by becoming one of them. However it happened. de Vries became a paradox: a vampire who maintains his own essence by feeding on other vampires. Only in utter desperation does he prey on any other targets.

  –Posted to Shadowland BBS by Doktor Freeman and the Deathcore Kid, 22 March 2055

  Sinunu sat in the back of the stepvan, listening to the distorted rumbling of the six Honda Vikings that were acting as escort. She had no idea where the go-gangers had come from, and didn’t care. All she knew was that with the gangers riding wing, her team wouldn’t be hassled by anyone as they made their way through Hell’s Kitchen.