Terminus Experiment

by Jonathan E Bond

  And he could tell that Wake also had a number of summoned spirits on call. Considering what the man had accomplished here, his power must be phenomenal. The other thing de Vries saw with utter clarity from the astral was that Oslo Wake was not sane, not even close.

  Insane and incredibly powerful.

  Wake was searching the ground carefully, probably for the chip de Vries had watched Pakow toss away from them. He Look a deep breath, thinking he could use a cigarette right now.

  De Vries knew he wasn’t up to battling somebody of Wake’s power-not even on a good day when he was at full strength. Now, after fierce fighting, he was magically drained, physically exhausted, and daylight was fast approaching.

  Still, there didn’t seem to be anyone else in a position to stop Wake from getting away. Taking another deep breath, de Vries stepped forward, heading toward the two waiting helos at an angle that would cut Wake off from his avenue of escape.

  “You wouldn’t happen to have a cigarette, would you?” he said. “It seems I’ve crushed my pack.”

  Wake, his back to de Vries, stiffened for a moment but didn’t turn. Continuing to scan the ground, Wake said, “My apologies, Mister de Vries. However, I do not smoke. Unlike you, smoking would shorten my life span, and that just isn’t something the world can afford to have happen right now.”

  De Vries had finally covered enough space to put himself directly between Wake and the waiting helicopters, which rested on the pad about a hundred meters distant. “My, my, my, is that an inflated sense of importance I hear? The world will get along just fine without you, Doctor Wake, or may I call you Oslo?”

  Wake finally bent down to the dusty ground and picked up something too small for de Vries to see, but it had to be the chip. De Vries could only guess what might be on it, but it was obviously important enough that Wake would risk death rather than leave it behind. There was no way de Vries could allow him to have it.

  Wake straightened up and turned, a beaming smile that looked maniacal on his hollow cheeks “My dear, dear, dear, nearly perfect vampire. There is so much you don’t understand, and so much you can’t possibly realize at this moment. Unfortunately, the rest of your compatriots are enroute to us even as we speak, so I’m not able to take the time to fully educate you. However, I offer you a trade off of sorts.”

  De Vries felt his skin crawl, something that hadn’t happened for so long he was at first unsure of the sensation. “Why do I have a difficult time imagining you offering me anything I might want?”

  Wake walked forward, slowly shortening the distance between them, and for de Vries, it seemed us if his whole life, everything he had ever done, everything he had become, came down to this moment.

  “That would just be another indication of your lack of understanding. I’m guessing you think my mission in this place was to create a mindless army of vampires to take over the world, or something equally melodramatic and wholly unviable.”

  De Vries shrugged. “I’d be lying if I said that something like that didn’t go through my mind, but now I know it’s something else. I’ve come to the conclusion that you’re simply insane, which makes any effort to fathom a logical reason for why you’re trying to destroy the world an exercise in sheer futility.”

  Instead of getting angry, Wake laughed. “I can see how that might have occurred to you. However, you’re mistaken.” He stopped talking suddenly, and cocked his head to the side, as if listening to distant voices. The effect would have been comic were it not so disturbing.

  “Say, now that’s an idea,” said Wake, looking at de Vries again, a tic causing his left cheek to jump. I don’t have time to explain it all to you right now, especially when you’re obviously planning to try and stop me from leaving. So, why don’t you just come with me? I could show you things that would change your ideas about what I’m trying to do, and you could make sure I don’t do anything to threaten the world until you’re sure I’m not insane.”

  De Vries looked at him closely. “Sort of like my own personal vacation in hell, with the devil himself as my tour guide? I think I’d rather just end this madness now, instead of prolonging it.”

  Wake stepped forward again. “De Vries, listen to me and listen closely, because I’m nearly out of time, and certainly out of patience. I can do things for you, things you could never dream. I can make you walk in the light of day again. can eradicate your blood lust. When was the last time you had a cup of coffee, ate a fresh fruit, tasted real meat? When was the last time you felt the sun shine on your face? All these things I can give you, without sacrificing any of the powers you possess.”

  “You mean I can be a freak like D’imato and his son? No thank you.”

  Wake shook his head violently. “Don’t be absurd, no, nothing like those… creatures. What I’m offering you is the next step in the evolution of humanity. And from what I know of you, no other vampire deserves the chance I’m offering. Even without my help you’ve retained more of your humanity than any other vampire I have ever known. You are a crusader on a quest as serious as my own, a vampire who doesn’t seek to exploit metahumanity for his own purposes, but hopes to save it. You have become, on your own, something very close to what I am trying to achieve.”

  De Vries felt his jaws tighten. “You’re babbling. Get to the point.”

  “I will try one more time,” Wake said, but if you don’t get it on this pass, I’ll be forced to leave without you. Imagine a world where every human and meta had all of the strengths of a vampire, without any of the drawbacks. No allergy to sunlight, no bloodlust, no fear of getting a splinter under your skin. Where disease is virtually unknown, and most important, a world where the evil ones, those dark vampires that exist now, would become second-class citizens. Doesn’t that sound like paradise?”

  For just a moment, De Vries held his breath. What Wake was suggesting was fantastic, beyond anything he’d ever thought possible. “You’re saying that you’re trying to save the world from vampires by turning everyone into vampires?”

  Wake nodded.

  A chill washed over de Vries. “You truly are mad. You have no idea what becoming a vampire does to a man’s soul, and I don’t think you’ve given the slightest thought to the ramifications of mutating the whole world without anyone’s consent.”

  De Vries moved quickly, hoping his words might have thrown Wake off-guard. He leapt through the air, feeling the mana build under his skin. The moment of truth.

  Wake stared at him coming, and simply waved his hand in the air, a look of boredom crossing his skeleton face.

  De Vries felt his body crash into a barrier that wouldn’t give. The momentum bent his back, and Wake’s barrier slammed him to the ground. He felt his body wrack with pain as the drain of his own failed spell coursed through him.

  “So the little vampire wants to play? We can play.” Wake’s voice was distant over the roaring pain in de Vries’ head.

  He felt exhaustion wash over him. He didn’t have much left to give, and he knew that another spell of that power would knock him unconscious.

  Wake stared at him for a moment. “I can see that the fighting has weakened you. Perhaps another time I’ll have the chance to see how you might have fared if the playing field were a bit more level, so to speak. However, that pleasure will have to wait for another day. I’m sorry you couldn’t see the light.”

  With that, Wake stepped around de Vries and walked toward the two waiting helos, which began to power up on his approach.

  With everything he had left in him, de Vries played his last card, he focused himself channeling his power into a tiny corridor, aimed not at Wake himself, but at the chip Wake still held in his hand.

  Pushing outward, with an effort that caused stars to dance in front of his eyes de Vries lashed out with his spell.

  The chip in Wake’s hand exploded.

  Wake stopped walking, and looked down at his now empty hand, as if he’d never seen it before.

  De Vries tried to get to his feet
, but was simply unable to make the effort. Even concentrating enough to change to mist form was beyond him for the moment. He was completely at Wake’s mercy, and for the first time since seeing his unborn, vampire baby, de Vries was filled with fear.

  Wake looked at him for a moment, then started to laugh, the sound rising into the air like the scream of a banshee. Still laughing. Wake turned and walked to the closest helicopter.

  De Vries struggled into a sitting position, listening to the whine of the rotors. He shook his head, and turned to look back toward the burning glow of the complex.

  Just over the side of the hill, he saw a form approaching, standing tall and walking with a quick, confident stride. For just a moment, de Vries couldn’t figure out what he was seeing, but then his sense of smell told him. It was Rachel. and she was carrying something over her shoulder.

  She reached him in moments, and as she came closer, he knew what she carried. It was a rocket launcher, the same kind Julius’ men had used to hit the compound.

  “You solid?” she asked, her voice emotionless, exhausted. De Vries nodded.

  She jerked her thumb toward the two helos that were just starting to lift off the ground. “That the bad guy?”

  Again, de Vries nodded.

  “Good. Thought so.” With that, she pulled the rocket launcher from her back, and settled it onto her right shoulder.

  “You know how to use one of those things?” De Vries found the strength to stand.

  “Point and shoot. What could be simpler?”

  De Vries laughed. “Might as well save the round. He’s got magic power enough to bat that thing out of the air. You probably won’t even get close.”

  Rachel shrugged. “Never know until you try.”

  De Vries watched her track the twin flying forms and heard the settling of her breathing. Then she pulled the trigger.

  A gout of flame shot out the back of the launcher, as the rocket flashed through the night sky, tracking the lead helo, which was just below the other one.

  De Vries watched in fascination as the rocket ran true, and for just a moment, he let himself hope that Wake was less prepared than de Vries imagined.

  Suddenly, de Vries could see a ripple of the flames around the helo, and he knew what was happening. Wake had called on a fire elemental. The rocket detonated in mid-air, well before it hit the helo, and de Vries knew that Wake had managed to escape death again He was about to say so to Rachel, when the second helo flew directly into the path of the blast and exploded.

  Like a train wreck in slow motion, the burning wreckage of the second helo tipped downward, smashing into the one carrying Oslo Wake.

  The first helo collapsed as its engines flamed out.

  Both copters came crashing to the ground.

  41

  The shadows are deadly enough at night, my friends: do not let them grow to darken the sky at noon.

  –Martin de Vries, Shadows at Noon, posted to Shadowland BBS, 24 May 2051

  Rachel stood in the middle of Warren’s old flat, the noon sun filtering through the windows and making the dust motes dance in the air. She looked around at the sculptures that stood in all the places she remembered them, but now were coated with a layer of grime.

  It had been two weeks since the battle out in Hell’s Kitchen. Two long, hard weeks that had changed everything for Rachel. They had searched the wreckage of Wake’s helicopter, but had found nothing they could identify as Wake’s body. Maybe he had somehow managed to escape, even though it seemed impossible.

  So they had backtracked. Evidently. Julius had come across something about Zulu BioGen before the first assault, and it turned out to be the only lead worth anything. The company was owned by a series of dummy corporations, which finally led them to something called UbiqueGenetics, out of Austria, UbiqueGenetics was the sole property of one Oslo Wake.

  So de Vries and Short Eyes were off to Austria, and Sinunu was going with them.

  Rachel ran her fingers through her short hair, brushing her palm against the new datajack just below her hairline. She had thought about letting the hair grow back out, but she couldn’t bring herself to do that. Just as she knew she could never again return to her old life.

  Rachel walked over to the work table and threw back the drop cloth from the piece of stone sitting there. The demon was just as it had been two weeks ago, though it seemed more like two lifetimes. It had been almost ten days since Warren was released from the private clinic, but he hadn’t set foot back here. Hadn’t come back to the things he’d loved so much. Instead, when he learned of his father’s death and that the workings of his fathers and his uncle’s wills had made him sole owner of Fratellanza, Inc., he’d gone straight to his father’s former mansion in Magnolia Bluff and taken up residence there. Apparently, he planned to carry on the D’imato name and business.

  Rachel hadn’t even been able to see him since his release.

  She smiled wryly. Even if I was able to go back to my old life, most of my old life doesn’t exist anymore.

  Flak was gone, Warren had changed, and even more important, she herself had changed. Rachel thought about how excited she’d been, in this very room, to meet Wolf and to begin seeing real shadowrunners in action. The memory almost made her laugh. She touched the still-tender datajack on her forehead, looked down at the scars on her hands, and felt the comforting weight of Sinunu’s Manhunter at her back.

  She was a shadowrunner now, and there was no way she could step back into the light. But if she had known then what she knew now, maybe she wouldn’t have been so determined. Walking the shadows meant giving up everything. It meant losing people you cared about, until you found it hard to care about anyone.

  Standing there, she felt a cool breeze swirl through the room, as someone opened the front door. She didn’t bother to turn. “Hello, Warren. Long time no see”

  From behind her, a low chuckle filled the doss. “Rachel, I see you’re as perceptive as ever.”

  Rachel still didn’t turn. “Thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule to meet with me.”

  The voice was closer now. “Don’t be like that. Rachel. You know I’d have been to see you before now, but I’ve been up to my hoop trying to figure out what I’m going to do with the business.”

  Rachel smiled to herself. “Of course.”

  She felt the touch of his hand on her shoulder. “I just can’t figure out why you wanted to meet here.”

  “You can’t?”

  Rachel gestured toward the stone demon. “You know, when you first started working on this, I remember thinking it was ugly. It frightened me. Now, I can’t imagine why I ever felt that way. It’s beautiful. Look at the strength in the torso, the grace in the wings. And it’s not even finished yet.”

  She finally turned to look Warren in the face. His hair had been cut, the long pony-tail replaced by the buzzed, functional cut favored by so many corp types. Somewhere he’d found the time to catch a tan, and it suited him. Still, it only emphasized that the man she’d loved seemed to have vanished.

  “How come you don’t get all of this stuff and take it to your new place? I know you’re busy, but aren’t you ever going to finish any of these?”

  For a moment, Warren looked angry. Then he turned away. “I don’t have time for this anymore. Nor the desire. You’ve got to understand. I have an entire corporation to run, and even if I did have the time to waste with this… hobby, I’d be too tired to try.”

  Rachel nodded to his back. “I thought you might say something like that. But somehow it’s not quite right. When was the last time you ate, Warren, or maybe I should say, when was the last time you fed?”

  Warren turned in a smooth motion, but found himself looking down the barrel of the sawed off double-barrel shotgun that de Vries had found for her. “Rachel, have you flipped?”

  “When was the last time you fed?”

  Warren smiled, and reached a finger up to his right eye. With a grin, he popped the brown contact o
ut, leaving only white, with a pinhole of night at the center. “You mean when was the last time I killed someone and sucked their life out of them?”

  Rachel shrugged. “Whatever you want to call it.”

  Warren put the contact back in, and laughed. “I thought you might have guessed. That’s why I’ve avoided you. If anybody would know, it would be you. Still, to answer your question… the one you asked, not the one you implied, I had chicken primavera this afternoon in my office.”

  Rachel pulled back the double-cocking mechanism on the antique weapon.

  Warren smiled. “It’s true. I eat, I drink coffee, wine, whatever. I sleep during the night and am awake during the day.”

  Rachel laughed. “Your uncle could pull that off, too.”

  Warren stepped toward her slowly. “I promise I’m not going to try anything. But I want you to do something. Touch my skin.”

  Rachel thought about it for a second, figuring the angles he might use, thinking about his speed, about what tricks he might still have up the sleeve of his Armante jacket. Using her free hand, she reached out and touched his face. “Damn.”

  Warren smiled. “No makeup. Except for my eyes, I seem to be completely normal. Well, not completely normal. Better than that, better than I’ve ever been before. I can hear things, see things, do things I would never have believed possible before.”

  Rachel stepped back from him, the twin barrels of the shotgun still centered just below his nose. “You’re telling me you got all this with no drawbacks, no side effects?”

  For the first time, Warren looked sad. He turned and gazed around at the sculptures. “You know that’s not true. There are… side effects. I can’t do my art anymore.”

  “Thought so.”

  He turned back to her. “I tried. I came here right after I got out of the clinic.” He shrugged. “Nothing. There was just nothing there.”

  Rachel continued backing toward the door. “And that’s it. You lost your art, and that’s the only thing wrong with what happened to you?”