Broken Mirror: Apophis 2029

by Michel Savage

  Though his paranoia was clearly validated, Cypher took great measures to keep from putting himself at risk of meeting the same fate that had befallen the rest of the facility staff. He had seen how his coworkers had been mercilessly mauled and slaughtered; and turned into those walking husks of what they once were. The dread of it kept him awake for days on end while he devised layers of security to guarantee his safety and remove any chance of exposure.

  Former workers on detail at the base had been removed to the outlying shelters shortly before the comet strike, personnel such as Beatrice who had been relieved of her duties in the blue level as the research tasks were left to be compiled by automation. Millions of chemical recipes and DNA strands from the infected hosts of this new disease had been left for the computers to analyze and sequence. When the mercenaries revolted against the research base, they had left the system crippled and slowed its progress. With no more active staff on duty a failsafe lockdown of the contagion samples were left unhampered to continue its programmed functions without interruption.

  The system was protected by a security encryption fire wall that Cypher was unable to access from the floor where he had imprisoned himself. After a great deal of probing, he revealed there was an entirely separate data server connected to the phase development lab, which was heavily shielded from changes to its initial protocols. It had a direct power connection to both the redundant and reserve power source as a safety measure to keep it in operation. These were the very test samples that had been supplied to the military labs and cryogenic chambers, which had been relocated to the resident shelters along with the scientists while they secretly worked on infected humans with the experimental drugs.

  The electrical coil which carried the power to the blue level was engineered to be foolproof. If development lab should ever accidentally lose power, then the specimens that had been mixed and stored in refrigeration would be lost. Years later, without human intervention and unused by the outlying labs, the robotics had accumulated thousands of stacked samples, which were currently drawing excessive amounts of power from the crippled power supply. The top floor security systems were starting getting buggy, so Cypher had applied all his efforts towards repair of the prototype ship. However, he found that remote control of the robotics in the launch bay had its limitations.

  The service drones he had reset as sentries that roamed the halls of the lab building had kept the upper levels free of any wandering Weepers, but there were countless hundreds left roaming the massive facility in the floors below. Understandably, Cypher did not wish to become one of them. By chance of her arrival, the functioning chip implant in Betty's hand would grant her clearance to certain security operations they might come across. He only had to craft a way to manipulate her to his will.

  Cypher kept the core sample in his possession, counting on the fact that that it could be used as leverage against Beatrice. With Tasha accepting solace regarding the fate of her father, the rest of us were stuck in a situation we had little control over. Getting to the lab had become a one-way trip and there was little here to keep our interest. Cypher had promised us answers, but what he had offered still left us feeling unfulfilled.

  Having sequestered the entire top floor for himself, Cypher agreed to let us return to the level below. Though Beatrice tried, she noticed her security chip would no longer override the controls to the elevator. Cypher had partial command of the facility, except for access to the shielded systems in the Development lab. We returned to the break room in remorse to find that the bodies had been removed and their blood sanitized from the scene. With worry, we searched the floor and finally found Serena and the mute child at the far end of the Foyer, both huddled under blankets asleep in a dark corner.

  "Are you two alright?" Thorn asked as he gently swayed Serena awake with his hands, speaking softly enough not to wake the boy cuddled up next to her. She seemed a little shaken, but recovered enough to answer.

  "After you left, another robot entered the room and removed the damage one we had shot up; then it came back and took the bodies of our friends," she shuddered, "It didn't attack us; I was alone there and didn't know if shooting it would provoke it, so we left the room to find a safe place to hide," she finished.

  We disclosed what had happened upstairs on the top floor to her, and our eccentric host with whom we had met. Tasha and her friends had retired back to the break room with Beatrice, as she found she was now unable to open any other doors on the blue level. Apparently, Cypher was able to block her access to the stations computer, to keep her in check. I left Thorn there while he shared his tale with Serena as I walked back to the window to look out at the evening sky. I stood there peering at the dark swirling sky as lighting flashed far in the distance.

  It had been a long time since I had seen the stars, as there were only rare times when the clouds would part in the evening hours. Perhaps that is why I kept moving, always on the go; trying to find a better life for myself where there weren't hordes of weepers or people killing one another for mere scraps of food. There was no way to escape that world anymore; maybe I was just searching for another place where I could finally see the stars once again.

  An intercom came on from a miniature video board beside a maintenance door on the far side of the room. A voice issued from it, calling my name.

  "You are the one they call Caitlin," the hushed voice hailed from a distance. Curiously, I strode over to the sound to find a palm sized view panel on the wall meant for video intercom use. Cypher sat there framed within the small digital screen.

  "Yes," I answered in confusion, "...what do you want?" I inquired, and feeling a little bewildered why he was contacting me in secrecy.

  "I have a proposition for you, Miss," Cypher submitted with feigned politeness, "to help you and your friends ...if you will do a favor for me, that is," he offered. I was listening. There wasn't much direction any of us had planned for after escaping this place, if we managed to get out of the building alive. Topside, the facility was placed beside a river gorge with high cliffs that circled the perimeter. The mountain tunnel was permanently blocked, and the main lot below functioned as the shaft plate to the launch chamber. Since we didn't have the equipment to scale the high cliffs, there was no way out but up. I did not realize until this moment that would be an option. To my surprise, Cypher offered to take us with him on the launch.

  It seemed like a bizarre gesture. One that I wasn't sure if I found appealing, but I didn't want to speak for the rest of the crew. Sure, I had always wanted to visit space as a child, but I sure as fuck didn't want to stay there forever. His offer didn't come without risks, there was a great deal we would have to do.

  "Why are you just asking me, and not the others?" I inquired with a shrug of my shoulders as if I was nobody. It didn't make sense to me, I didn't exactly come across as the leader type.

  "You and Beatrice appeared to have a history together," Cypher explained, "I have your image and data on file from your short stay with her at the Fallhaven shelter, Miss Caity Lee," he admitted, having hacked those files from their source.

  I really shouldn't have been surprised. The rail network had connected the bunkers to one another; so it would be safe to assume there was a data cable secured to each facility from the main research base. It was clear to him that we did not share any love for the old woman and wanted me to ask the others of my crew if they would accept his offer. Those that agreed, he would grant passage to the Mirage station if they so desired.

  "And what about any of us who don't want to go, even if we do help you?" I had to ask, speaking for myself at the moment.

  "The prototype vehicle was originally designed as a shuttle, rather than a simple rocket booster," Cypher countered, "that is why it was a 'prototype'. The final version was too large for that additional feature and had been reengineered to the revised specifications. That means I can drop off anyone within a thousand mile radius before leaving the atmosphere; as long as I have time to alter the flig
ht plan, of course," he answered with that annoying signature grin of his.

  His offer actually wasn't a bad one. He could give us as many supplies as we could carry and even locate an abandoned bunker or two within flight range for anyone who wanted to stay behind on the surface. Personally, he squabbled to question why anyone in their right mind would turn down the chance to live on the orbital station considering the current global conditions; but he was a man obsessed with science. I found the thought of living the rest of my life in a sterile vacuum under artificial light and filtered air entirely abhorrent. There was no replacement of the wind in my hair and the earth beneath my feet, and to go where I wanted; that was a sense of freedom I valued above all else.

  Grudgingly, I agreed with Cypher that I would try to inquire with the others about his offer, but made no promises. To this concession he nodded, and ended our brief conference with an tribute to have a robotic unit bring us water and a prepared meal to the break room. With a click, the screen went black and I was left to ponder this new situation.

  I advised the Tasha and the other ladies that supplies were being delivered to us just moments before an automation arrived which made them jump out of their skin. Thorn enticed Serena and the boy back to the main room where we ate the best meal we've had in years. Even the grub at Fallhaven paled in comparison to the finer quality of this cuisine Cypher had presented. The administration here had apparently spared no expense of the taxpayer's money when it came to acquiring lavish personal perks, and given the circumstances, Cypher had been living it up quite well these past years.

  "Wow, fucking champagne!" Serena touted as she took another swig straight from the bottle. We had all lost our grip of lesser etiquette somewhere over the years, some of us more than others had. The smile fell from her face when she set the bottle down only to linger in thought as her eyes were drawn down to the spot where Haiti had died. The breakroom was probably not the best place for us to stay, considering, but there were no other tables in the main foyer. Our host hadn't considered that we could forget our friends so easily; but in his limited psyche, he probably couldn't even fathom how strongly it would affect us on an emotional level.

  Beatrice sat alone at a second table, feeling shunned for her previous involvement with the viral outbreak and her former connection to this classified facility. The fact was, she had a lot to be ashamed of, but she was just one of many government workers who shared that guilt. However, in light of it all, the unexpected feast we had been gifted helped to lift our spirits. It had been a good play on Cypher's part to offer us this carrot as a peace offering, especially so after suffering the whipping stick that took the lives of our two friends earlier that day.

  I had to find a way to speak with each one of them in privacy, in effort not to show our hand to Betty about the proposition Cypher had made. Of course, Thorn was first on my list. We had some quality time to make up for as it was. I took his hand and dragged him out to the windowed foyer while Tasha and her girls heckled under their breath. It was all in good fun.

  "I'm sorry about what happened to your friends, Thorn," I whispered, savoring the moment together once again. He still looked shaken by the thought of what had happened earlier.

  "Yeah, I'm going to miss Haiti and his funny accent, he was always upbeat," he glanced away with a heartbroken smile, "and though Killroy was a hard ass, he knew his shit," he turned back with a flash of shame over his choice of words in my presence, "...I mean, knew his stuff," he apologized, not wishing to seem crude. I thought it was cute.

  Like the rest of the crew, we were all exhausted; it had been a very taxing day. We turned when we saw Beatrice exit the break room with a blanket and head down the hallway towards the Development lab. Feeling unwelcome, she was going to spend the night in there alone. Cypher actually let her in, noting he could keep an eye on her from the security cameras if she managed to get herself into any trouble, so we were not too worried about it. It was probably for the best, and was by design of by our host, which gave me the opportunity to openly speak with the rest of our companions in privacy without Betty overhearing. I just wanted to clear things with Thorn first.

  While I was holding his hand, I told him how Cypher had contacted me while he was tending to Serena, and of the offer he had made us. I explained how Beatrice fit into that equation, but the less she knew about it, the better. The plan made sense to Thorn as I spelled out the details. Little did I know that Cypher was listening to every word as we conversed in hushed whispers out in the foyer.

  Cypher's plan was relatively simple, considering we were fully aware that he only needed a few lackeys to complete it. The strategy he proposed was to go down to the launch bay and detach the power coupling to the lab and link it to the fuel cells of the prototype shuttle; all while avoiding any weepers in the area. He needed Beatrice to assist with granting security access to the power panel on the blue level to allow the encrypted security protocols to disengage.

  "And how does he plan on convincing her to do that?" Thorn asked suspiciously, knowing what kind of a stubborn fruitcake Betty could be at times.

  "He is going to use that fragment we delivered as some sort of 'primary core sample' or some such. Apparently, there had been a special room built to secure the meteor fragment, and introducing it into the system chamber will trigger a redundant program to reboot the development lab automations to start utilizing new test specimens from that fragment somehow," I repeating as best I could what Cypher had related to me earlier.

  The transition to the core specimen from that fragment would release the power lock, and allow him to reroute the energy into the coils of the ship. Cypher would be employing us to do the dirty work, of course; but the offer to walk away with as much supplies as we could carry and a ride off this base was good enough for most of us. Then there was the question of who among us might want to go to the space station.

  As much as I desired for time alone with him, it was news that simply could not wait. Thorn relayed the plan to Serena and the other girls in the break room who were picking through the last of the scraps. It was a dicey plan, considering how large and dark that launch bay was. It appeared like a giant maze when we had viewed it from the conveyor belt when we had first arrived. None of us knew crap about space ships or energy coils, so we were leaving those details to Cypher to work out for us.

  A new robotic servant, neither of us had seen before, rolled in and began cleaning up the table as we jumped out of the way, wary of how deadly they could be. This time it stopped in front of me and a panel popped up on its front, presenting a strange wristband with an elongated bar of black glass attached to it. With hesitation, I finally grabbed it; whereupon the panel promptly snapped shut and the robot resumed its duties cleaning up our dinner mess.

  The rest of the crew looked at me peculiarly with an air of anticipation, which persuaded me to strap the device on. After a moment, a glitter of pixels lit up on the black panel and began to stack upon one anther as little lights around the edge of the glass tapered towards them. A holographic screen materialized on my wrist with Cypher's dull face staring back at me. It soon switched to a red screen showing a layout of the direct path to the power coupling located in the launch bay.

  "I see you got my gift, good," Cypher stated before the display switched, "we will use this device for communication during your jaunt downstairs, so I can help guide you. In the meantime, get some rest and I suggest you keep this little toy hidden from Beatrice." At that, the display blinked out and we settled down for the night. Thankfully, the break room lights dimmed as we laid down to rest, and I wrestled with the strangest dreams that night.

  I woke up next to Thorn on the floor in the foyer, which was certainly not the place I had fallen asleep. It was already late morning and he began to stir the moment I sat up. Quite dazed about why we were lying next to the window.

  "How did I get out here?" I yawned in confusion, while glancing out the west facing window to the grey clouds above.

>   "You were having nightmares and talking in your sleep last night," Thorn confessed as he petted my hair, and then plopped back down into the blanket crumpled up on the hard floor, "so I helped you out here because you were waking the others."

  I felt a little embarrassed about that, but I certainly didn't remember getting up and coming out here. It was all a blur. I had a lingering feeling of something unpleasant but also a strange sense of relief. I blamed it on the stress; this day was starting off on an unusual note.

  A chime came over the loudspeakers throughout the entire floor followed by Cypher addressing us that breakfast would be served shortly and that we should all assemble in the break room. Large stainless steel bowls with extra gallons of water and a few towels were carted in by another automaton; allowing us to bathe to some extent. I made a mental note to try to follow one of those robots sometime to find out where they were coming from, since Tasha had reported that all the other doors she found were locked tight. Any attempt to bypass one would likely be thwarted, as Cypher was likely watching every move we made.

  Another serving of high quality rations were presented for us to gorge ourselves; though notably, there was no alcohol provided this time. Thorn revealed that he had already spoken with the rest of our companions the previous evening while letting me sleep out by the entryway. Curiously enough, Betty didn't join us out in the break room for our morning meal. It was interesting to discover that both Serena and the child were eager to go to the Space Station when we completed our mission. Tasha and her friends were still undecided, but were leaning toward staying and were thinking about being dropped off somewhere by the coast.

  Thorn did not immediately answer when I asked him about his plans. I didn't know why he was keeping it a mystery, and felt a little dismissed by his avoidance to give me a clear answer. For some reason I began to feel slightly guilty because I may have come across a little too anxious to follow his decision. I rolled up my sleeve to reveal the hologram wrist radio when it began to make a soft ticking sound. Cypher addressed the group on the holo-screen when it popped up.