As she sat up, a low humming sound drew her attention to the first of two cameras covering the cell. Between the pair, whoever was watching had an unobstructed view of the entire room without any blind spots. She offered a wave and just seconds later she heard the lock on the door move. A young soldier in standard khaki combat fatigues entered. He was holding a gun, but it looked unlike any weapon she had seen before. The design was similar to that of a taser and she assumed this was a prototype not yet on the open market.
‘Dr Rayne,’ the soldier began, ‘the colonel will see you now.’
‘Can I at least get dressed?’
‘You don’t have any clothes to put on.’
She realised that he spoke the truth and instantly raised the blanket to her chin to shield herself. They had robbed her of her shirt back at the train and before putting her into the bed they had also taken her jeans, leaving her in just a bra and knickers.
‘It’s a little chilly here, so do you mind if I take the blanket?’
She interpreted his lack of a response as an acceptance and wrapped the rough cotton blanket around her before joining him at the door.
‘You’re not authorized to remove any items,’ he told her, sharply tugging the blanket from her shoulders and throwing it back onto the bed.
‘I have rights,’ she protested.
‘Not here, you don’t.’
The soldier grabbed her roughly by the arm and pushed her out into the corridor where a second soldier was waiting. They then both escorted her to an elevator, which took them up three floors to where another corridor led onto a large office. Two men were inside. One of them was the same man that had apprehended her on the train. The other was obviously the colonel as he had lots of meaningless medals stuck to his chest and was sat behind a large wooden desk. The office reminded her of her grandfather’s.
She felt a feeling of instant disgust seeing her captor again and judging by the expression that he pulled, the feeling was mutual. He strutted towards her with a cruel arrogance, but as he got closer she realised that his disdain was not directed at her.
‘You are both arseholes,’ he said to the guards as he took off his jacket and placed it around her shoulders, giving her back some of her dignity.
‘I’m sorry,’ he told her, unable to look her in the eyes.
She did not know if he was apologising for the taking of her clothes or her freedom. She did not show him any gratitude for she still believed he deserved none. In her experience, those following orders were just as culpable as those who issued them.
‘Take a seat,’ offered the man behind the desk.
She did as she was told and then waited for him to start talking. The cell, the humiliation, it was all a front for their real intentions. Unlikely as it seemed, she was the one with the most power in the room. She had knowledge and skills that they would pay anything for. Since money held no interest to her, their main bargaining power would be built around empty promises and sincere threats.
‘I’m Colonel Rodman. This is Special Agent Esteban Cruz, our CIA liaison.’
She looked at Agent Cruz, attempting to gauge his character. He had earlier shown an act of kindness and she hoped this may be repeated if the negotiations did not go in her favour.
‘Liaison?’ she asked.
‘I do his dirty work. The military has certain rules it has to abide by, whereas my organization is a little more flexible.’
‘At least you’re honest.’
‘Not really. That’s why I’m so good at what I do.’
She turned back to face the colonel.
‘Let’s just cut the crap. I know what you want from me and you won’t get it. My machine caused so much misery. Hundreds of lives were needlessly lost. There’s nothing that could make me want to build another.’
‘Don’t be so sure,’ replied the colonel. ‘There is more at stake than you know.’
‘Now you have me in your custody there’s nothing more you can take from me. I no longer care what happens to me. You can throw me back into a cell to rot or put a bullet in my skull right now. The choice, Colonel, is all yours.’
‘I do not think it needs to come to either of those things. When you understand what we’re up against, I’m confident that you’ll reconsider.’
‘I already told you there’s nothing more you can take from me. You have no bargaining power. Try torturing me and see where that gets you. The bond between mind and body is a little more flexible with me. I can end my own life as easily as turning off a light bulb. Then what have you got?’
The colonel grinned. It was more of a smirk than a smile. He was beginning to enjoy the exchange. His prisoner had passion and he knew more than most how passion can be manipulated.
‘What if it were not your life on the line? Would you be willing to condemn others so easily?’
She smirked back at him.
‘If you mean Jimmy then you’re welcome to give it a go. I don’t know how you got him to help you, but believe me when I tell you that it would be a mistake to try and hurt him in any way. That boy has no idea of his own power. Have you ever seen what happens when a snake is backed into a corner?’
‘You’re bluffing – the boy is harmless. He’s a simpleton; he can’t even control what little power he has.’
‘And my grandfather was just a crippled old man in a wheelchair. Are you aware of Einstein’s theory of special relativity?’
‘e=mc2 you mean?’
‘Let me rephrase; when I said aware, I should have asked “do you understand?”. As you probably know; the “e” in the equation equates to energy; the “m” is mass and “c” represents the speed of light. Given that Jimmy’s mass is about 70 kilos and the speed of light is damn near 300,000 kilometres a second, why don’t you try working out the “e” part.’
The colonel shrugged.
‘Let’s just say it all adds up to a very large number,’ she continued. ‘In fact, the amount of compressed energy held inside a typical human being adds up to many times the energy that was released by the Hiroshima bomb. If you’d seen my grandfather just before his death you would’ve known just how dangerous he’d become. All that separates him and Jimmy is about a hundred IQ points. If you’re smart, you’ll handle Jimmy with kid gloves.’
The colonel looked to Esteban, but the other man could only return the uncertainty. They both knew very little of what ultimately happened at Jackson’s Hill and could not discern if the scientist was bluffing.
‘Now I have a proposition for you,’ she said. ‘If you let me leave here with Jimmy and do not follow us, I will cure him. I’ll ensure he is no longer a danger to anybody and then we will both disappear forever.’
The colonel regained his patronising smirk. It seemed to be the default expression on his face. Either he did not understand what she was saying or he did not care. In just the brief time that Emmy had known him, she assumed either option was equally likely.
‘Okay then,’ he told her. ‘I accept your terms. The two of you are free to leave here right now, if you so please. Of course, in doing so you’ll be condemning one hundred and thirty seven people to almost certain death.’
‘One hundred and thirty seven?’
She was concerned, but not quite worried. There was a strong chance that wherever he was going with this, it was a bluff.
‘That’s right – one hundred and thirty seven. That’s the number of people you infected with your poisonous experiments. Well, actually it’s the number of people that you infected who’re still alive. There’s no official figure for the casualties that were incurred. With nothing we can do for them there’s not really much point in continuing to prolong their lives. I’ll terminate all life support once you’ve left.’
Her heart sank until it became an indigestible weight deep in the pit of her stomach. She had hoped for and dreaded news of other survivors in equal measure for the past three years. If what the colonel said was true then she had no choice but to help. As fa
r as she understood the nature of the radiation, there was only one effective way to immunise against it and in theory there was a chance the same process could provide a cure. There was just one problem; it required building another astral projection unit. In doing so, she would be handing over the most dangerous technology on the planet to one of its most reckless and aggressive organisations.
‘If I do this; I work alone.’
‘That would take years, which is out of the question. We already have experts that understand the basic underlying principles of your machine. With their help, you’ll be able to have the project up and running in a matter of weeks at most. We have already rebuilt as much of the original as we could. All you have to do is fill in the gaps.’
‘Let me think about it.’
‘Sure. Take your time. In the interim, I will have Esteban escort you back to your cell. There will be ample opportunity for the thinking that you need back there. Then should you make the right decision, I may think about allowing you to move to more comfortable quarters.’ He gestured to the agent with a wave of his right hand. ‘Take her away.’
The CIA liaison was not as rough with her as the military guards had been. Once they were out of the office, he started asking her questions of his own.
‘Is that true what you said in there about Jimmy – is he really a ticking bomb?’
‘That’s not what I said and to be honest, I have no idea exactly how much danger he does pose. The radiation has a devastating effect on ninety nine per cent of the humans it infects. Jimmy and my grandfather are the only exceptions I’ve come across, but they are at opposite ends of the scale. I doubt he could ever exercise the level of control that Pops did. Of course, that doesn’t mean he isn’t dangerous. The equation I gave you holds up. If we had the right technology or capabilities, absolutely anything could be turned into an atomic bomb.’
‘In that case, I will make sure Jimmy is never placed in a situation that could cause him to...explode.’
Emmy chuckled, though not with any real glee. For some reason, she was now finding Esteban quite disarming. Judging him by his reactions to what the colonel had to say during their meeting, he appeared to be a moral man. She even wondered if he too was being forced to act under coercion.
‘I’m sure we’ll be fine,’ she told him. ‘Just don’t go letting your boss know that.’
‘Your secret is safe with me.’
‘Somehow, I don’t think anything is safe in this place.’
They did not say anything more for the rest of the short journey to Emmy’s cell. They had already said enough for now. In the delicate game of establishing whether either could trust the other, they had both scored equal points.
Chapter 13
The images supplied by satellite surveillance were inconclusive. They did, however, provide the strongest lead yet on the missing scientist. If the Americans had not yet found her, they were getting extremely close.
The team appeared to be black-ops. Its apparent leader was a onetime Special Forces operative believed to have gone rogue. He had sacrificed his previous career in order to save the life of a headstrong young woman not too dissimilar from the current mark. If they were looking for Emmy Rayne then the presence of Esteban Cruz confirmed that their intentions were to take her alive. This, in turn, implied two things.
Firstly, they had not yet developed astral capability.
Secondly, they still had every intention of achieving that goal.
Charles Nguyen was the man tasked with making sure they would not be successful. Since his escape from Jackson’s Hill three years earlier, he had been afforded seemingly limitless resources in order to rebuild and refine the technology that had taken first the sanity and then the life of his former mentor; Professor Jackson Fox. Thus far the project had been an overwhelming success.
Once astral capability had been achieved, the first obstacle to overcome was the radiation problem. By installing lead shielding around the projection chambers, which could be flushed after each journey, they were able to filter and channel the radiation into containment tanks buried deep underground.
With the radiation problem solved, Charlie had then been able to take the research to levels that neither he nor Emmy could have dreamed of when they had started out. Of course, this was balanced by a redefining of his objectives. Defence rather than exploration was now at the heart of his work. Thousands of miles of borders could be patrolled by a small team of just a few men and they had the power to repel any attack – either physical or otherwise.
Unlike the Americans, China was not so preoccupied with interfering in the affairs of other nations. They did not rely on instability in the Middle East to strengthen their trade position. They already held a monopoly on exports in practically every industry. They were reinforcing their position as the world’s fastest growing economy and the flow of the money was weighted strongly in one direction. Put into the simplest possible terms; they received a lot more than they gave.
‘How long will it take you to find her?’ asked General Tao.
‘Assuming it was Dr Rayne on the train, and that is by no means certain, they will take her to a covert base of operations. Depending on how far along their program is; she could help them to achieve astral capability in a matter of days. All we then have to do is wait.’
‘For her to show herself?’
‘Yes. She will have to test her work and I believe I know exactly where she will do that. I will be waiting for her.’
The general showed his approval with a delicate bow of his head.
‘Will you be going hard or soft?’
Hard and soft were the terms given to the two levels of astral travelling. Back in Jackson’s Hill, only a soft journey had been possible. This was the standard out of body experience where physical interaction with the material world was all but impossible. It was the safest and most stable application of the technology.
‘Soft will be adequate to set the trap. Emmy has been out of the game for a long time. She could not begin to guess at what we will have in store for her.’
‘Excellent. In that case, I will trust you to make the necessary preparations.’
Charlie offered the general a bow and then watched as his commander left the laboratory. Once he was alone, he let out a large gasp of air.
The general made him nervous. Members of the military always did. After the appalling handling of the crisis in Jackson’s Hill, he had little doubt that soldiers were not equipped to deal with this new technology as either friend or foe. There was no way that he would allow his work to directly aid the military, but if he was successful, he hoped it may be used to negate the military.
There was only one obstacle left that posed any real risk to his research. Emmy had once been his partner and she had always been his friend. They had worked on the astral project together from the start. Betraying her was not going to be easy.
He only hoped that when she saw how far he had come without her, she would understand. Because if she did not, she would become his enemy. It was a prospect that saddened and terrified him in equal measure.
Chapter 14
If there was ever any doubt as to whether she would cooperate with the Americans, it was removed when she saw the hibernating residents of her hometown. It was the first time she had witnessed the consequences of the radiation on the wider population as opposed to just what it had done to her grandfather. Until that moment she had always focused on the cause rather than the effect.
They were completely helpless and she was their only hope. Not only that, she was also the reason why they were now trapped as prisoners in their own bodies. The fundamental purpose of science was to aid and protect mankind. Her lust for discovery had yielded the opposite result and she had to make things right.
As ever, the military were prepared to place as much trust in her as she could reliably place in them. This was, of course, none whatsoever. They insisted she undergo a polygraph test and that she should also fa
ce a rigid interrogation by a psychiatrist. It was an inconvenience for her to have to do this, but relatively speaking, only a small compromise to make.
The first two sessions with the shrink proved beyond reasonable doubt that she was mentally competent and entering into the process without ulterior motive. The third session did not run quite so smoothly, as this time the focus was placed upon the implications of her work rather than her mental faculties. This took them beyond the boundaries of established science and into the realm of metaphysics, which is highly subjective, to say the least.
‘Tell me again,’ began the psychiatrist, a woman of greater age but significantly lesser intelligence than Emmy. ‘How is it that you believe you can travel such vast distances in an astral state?’
‘I believe it simply because it is the truth,’ Emmy replied.
The psychiatrist was unconvinced.
‘I do not doubt the experiments you were engaged in were successful to a certain extent, but surely the ability to travel from the Earth to the outer solar system is in direct contradiction with the laws of physics.’
‘Maybe if you actually read the research, you’d understand,’ suggested Emmy, who was already tiring of the conversation.
‘I want to hear it from you,’ replied the psychiatrist.
Emmy rolled her eyes. They knew the technology worked otherwise they would have no use for her. Yet they still insisted on such tiresome bureaucracy. She wondered if this whole thing was a deliberate set up for her to fail, which could later be used as evidence against her on whatever bogus charges they could come up with.
‘The process is called quantum tunnelling,’ said Emmy. ‘Particle physicists witness its occurrence quite regularly. Usually it involves a single particle that appears to burrow through solid matter. What actually happens is that the particle disappears on one side of a wall and then reappears instantaneously on the other. It’s sometimes referred to as a quantum leap, but thanks to a certain sci-fi program from the nineteen nineties, the term has fallen out of favour.’
Emerald Sky Page 8