Sara and I walked side by side the whole way and I wanted to say something… I just couldn’t find the words… This was far beyond confusing.
It was actually painful to be next to her and not be able to embrace her or show any affection… I had to keep reminding myself that I didn’t even know her and it was just a side effect of stasis. Like Horus said, different people experience different things… It wasn’t real…
Eventually, we were all led into a massive auditorium; the other teams were beginning to show up as well.
After we found seats, I looked over at Sara and I could tell both of us felt the same around each other now; confused and somewhat uncomfortable. Hopefully this would just fade away and our minds would return to reality.
I liked her from the moment I met her and I didn’t want this to ruin any kind of relationship we might have. I just hoped she didn’t avoid me from now on or anything like that…
She touched my shoulder and said “Don’t feel weird, it’s fine. We can’t help it; we just have to remember it’s all in our minds. There’s no need for you to act uncomfortable around me I promise… We were obviously going to become friends anyway. Right?”
I smiled and said “Yeah I know… Thanks for saying it though.”
So maybe I was wrong… I guess I was the only one who felt strange. I suppose it could be that as a scientist she was able to better understand what had happened and rationalize it. She probably looked at it more like something to study… I guess that made me feel a little better.
Once the other teams all arrived, Horus made his way through the crowd and up to the front of the room.
“Ok everyone, let’s begin… We are less than one hour away from X-451. Once we have arrived, the Sirius will orbit the planet and scan for air, water, and land quality, along with deposits of chrysos… Once it’s confirmed that the environment is in fact similar to Aeris, we will begin sending the teams down. This will take approximately one day, which on this planet consists of around 24 hours, just like Aeris… Please take this time to explore the ship and settle in. Work begins as soon as possible… Expect long hours.”
He paused and cleared his throat. “On a more unfortunate note… We have detected no satellites or space stations of any kind, so it’s safe to conclude there is no advanced civilization on this planet.”
By the end of his statement the disappointment had already set in. I was like Horus, I truly did think we would encounter a civilization similar to ours. He must be so heartbroken, even though he wasn’t showing it.
I was upset, and I had only known about the high probability for a few days. I could only imagine how long he had been thinking about it. If there are no signs of life similar to us, this journey would be a complete waste of his time… He was starting to get older and it would be years before he got the chance to go on another mission in search of his dreams.
I looked over at Sara and I could tell she felt the same.
I said “I really thought there was a good chance…”
Sara replied “Yeah me too... But there will still be plenty of other things for me to study. He only mentioned no intelligent life. There could be millions of new species to discover… but yeah I’m disappointed.”
I could hear it in her voice…
Just then Horus walked up “Come on everyone, I have news that’s classified to our division. They’ve set us up with a private laboratory, offices and quarters.”
He didn’t seem upset at all, if anything he was smiling when he said it…
Sara and I looked at each other. I could tell he had something important to tell us. For something to still excite him after the news about not detecting signs of intelligent life, means it’s something big, just like I thought…
The lab was absolutely mind boggling. I had no idea what any of it was; all I knew was that I’d never seen anything like it in the Capital. I was clearly beginning to see that the ACI was decades beyond the public’s level of technology… Maybe even more.
There were at least two dozen computers, and an array of the most complicated looking machinery I had ever seen. I guess Horus wasn’t over exaggerating about the funding needed for this division, and why it’s so small.
Horus made his way to the front of the room and waited for everyone to settle in and give him their undivided attention.
“... I was taken out of stasis yesterday… They took me out early for a meeting. The probe we sent ahead of the ship discovered something extremely interesting… Before I tell you what it is, let it be known this is classified at the highest level and anyone who divulges any information what so ever will be charged with treason. That basically means life in prison… Not only for you, but anyone who you inform… … The rest of the ship will soon find out the minor details, but for now, these are the rules…”
He stopped and ran his hands through his hair, then put them behind his back and started pacing.
“The project we will begin may border the unethical and cause more sensitive people emotional… discomfort… But it is of the highest importance… If you wish to be moved to another division of study, please speak now.”
Horus paused and took the time to lock eyes with everyone in the room, as if to ensure their compliance.
This was definitely something big… I could even sense a change in him. His eyes, his voice, even the way he carried himself. Every aspect of him was suddenly different… Although I was really wondering what Horus meant when he said the experiments would “border the unethical” and causing people “emotional discomfort”…
“What has been discovered will provide us with an unprecedented opportunity to study our evolution... The probe sent back video confirming that this planet is indeed inhabited by our species. Only they have not fully evolved. From what I’ve seen of the video evidence, it would appear as though they’re only about a million years away, possibly less…”
I could tell everyone in the room was shocked… I know I was… I looked over at Sara but she didn’t turn her gaze away from Horus. I heard people whispering and even start to openly talk among themselves.
Horus coughed a few times and cleared his throat. “Please everyone!”
“The ACI has entrusted us with a very important experiment that may further humanity as a whole while we wait for the atmosphere to heal… Our goal is to artificially advance this species as far as possible.
We are to study the effects on their brains and physiology, while experimenting with several different classified procedures. All the information will be given to a secret division at the ACI upon return. That is as far as I will go for now… Questions?”
The room was completely silent for almost an entire minute…
Horus walked forward and started looking around the room with an entertained look on his face. Almost like he was surprised everyone was speechless… Or even found it comical…
Then a woman stood up. She appeared to be very agitated.
“I’m sorry but I want to be moved to another division, I refuse to have any part of this. I’ll sign whatever legal paperwork you want and keep quiet, but I will not be participating.”
Horus looked annoyed. He put his hands on his hips and let out a long sigh.
He closed his eyes for a moment and said “I made it clear that this project would cross some lines. Are you sure this is what you want?.. As a scientist you aren’t interested in this opportunity?.. You’ll never have another chance like it again… You do realize that?”
Without pause she answered “Not at all, this is sick! I don’t even want to discuss it or hear anything else…” and walked over to the door.
Horus sighed again and picked up the phone “We have one that refuses to participate; she’s agreed to sign the treason agreement. Send someone.”
He looked up and said “Everyone stay quiet until she’s gone, then I will continue.”
He had changed; I could see it in his eyes. Almost as if he was a completely different person. The Horus I met w
ouldn’t want to do something like this…
I’ve always thought this kind of thing was totally illegal…I didn’t really know what to do, I had already come this far. I wouldn’t actually be doing any of the experimentation and I wanted to know what else Horus knew… There was obviously a lot more going on here than any of us thought…
I was in disbelief… It was extraordinary to actually find our species in the process of evolution on another planet… It would change everything… I just couldn’t believe what he was suggesting. It almost took away the excitement of the discovery… And made it clear why everything was “classified” and we were just all threatened…
There was nothing but silence… Within a minute, two soldiers showed up and escorted the woman away. Though the way one of them roughly grabbed her arm and led her away made it seem more like an arrest…
Horus stood back up “Ok, so everyone that’s still here wants to participate, correct?.. Good. I’ll dive right into the details.”
I looked over at Sara and she was obviously just as concerned as I was. I whispered “What’s going on with Horus? How can this be happening Sara?”
She looked straight ahead and said “I don’t know but I’m kind of scared… he’s acting really strange. Just keep quiet…”
Horus continued. “As I speak, a team is already on the way to secure eleven subjects; they project completion in less than 24 hours... If you notice, there are eleven separate smaller labs off to the side. Each one of the subjects will be assigned to a lab, and two of you will be assigned to each subject. Leaving one left over for my personal studies in my private lab… Which no one is ever to enter. If you need to discuss something just knock and wait outside.”
He coughed again. “Each team will be given a separate packet with the details of your experiments. Each team will also keep this information as personally classified. The only person on this ship that you will speak to about anything you do is me, until otherwise informed… Does everyone understand?”
Everyone in the room promptly answered “Yes”.
Horus began to walk around the room and then proceeded to give a long speech about how science should be boundless. He said we shouldn’t look at the subjects as victims, but as “necessary sacrifices for the greater good.”
He then said to be prepared that most of the subjects will not survive and there will very likely be multiple trails of eleven…
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I looked over at Sara and I could tell she was very upset too… that she was starting to regret being here just as I was.
As he talked and I looked into his eyes, and listened to his voice, I could see that the Horus we knew was longer here. It was almost as if he acted the way he did just to draw us in… draw me in. Maybe everything he said was a lie. I know for a fact this kind of thing would be illegal in our society.
Something wasn’t right... That must be why he’s threatening everyone with treason charges and life in prison.
When he finished, he ordered everyone except me to return to their quarters. They all stared at me as they walked out. Some looked excited, some looked indifferent, and some looked frightened.
I started to think about asking to sign the paperwork and go back to my original position. There was a war going on in my mind… My curiosity was trumping my sense of ethics as I wanted to know everything Horus knew…
As Sara started to get up, she quickly leaned in and said “Don’t ask to leave.”
…What did she mean by that? That she didn’t want me to leave her, or did she mean something would happen to me? All I know is that she really did look scared and I had to get away and talk to her as soon as I could.
Once everyone left the room Horus called me over to his desk. I sat down and just waited for him to talk.
He leaned back in his chair.
“So what do you think of all this Atlas?”
I wanted to confess my distaste for the idea and even question the legality, but after what Sara said…
“I’m trying to figure out how these experiments will help advance mankind… And I thought our main priority was to fix the atmosphere on Aeris…”
Horus looked surprised “Sorry Atlas, but that information isn’t something I can give you just yet. Just think of it as classified for now and I’ll tell you when the time comes…”
He leaned forward “Atlas, you’ll understand when I tell you, just be patient and prove yourself to me… prove you’re dedicated to assisting me through this project. No matter what you see, or hear, you have to remember it’s all for a much larger and greater purpose… Now I have personal work to do, and many things to prepare, so go take a walk around the ship. I’ll call you when I need you.”
As I walked out I got a chill...
When he looked at me and said “No matter what you see, or hear” I could no longer see compassion in his eyes. They had become cold and devious, his voice and way of speaking had really changed. Something was very wrong and I had a feeling I was going to bear witness to some terrible things…
I also got the feeling that I was right to listen to Sara and not ask to leave… Suddenly I didn’t feel safe anymore…
The moment I walked out of the lab, I looked around for Sara, but she was gone... Why would she say that to me and then not wait and explain herself?
I was getting even more worried; did she know something? I had to find her so I headed to the team quarters. As soon as I turned into the hallway she was there waiting for me.
Before I could speak she said “Listen to me Atlas, I’m only going to tell you this once and then we can never have another conversation like this again…”
I nodded and she continued. “I had a friend tell me that they were involved in classified work and every time someone quit and asked to be dismissed to another group - they were never seen or heard from again. Do you understand me? The ACI is very powerful and we’re years away from home…”
I had to go against my promise not to question her.
“What do you mean I can’t ask you any questions? You can’t do this to me… What’s going on here Sara?”
She shook her head and took my hand.
“I’ve said all I can say… just listen to me” and she walked away.
I felt myself starting to panic so I decided to just go back to my room and think; there was nothing I could do at the moment.
What kept coming to my mind is… why am I here? Why would a guy like Horus just approach me with a fake personality and make me his personal assistant?
It didn’t make any sense, especially since I was just some military grunt… Even if he did supposedly “see something in me.”
That fact alone started to scare me deeply…
Now Sara tells me people who quit classified projects disappear… My heart was pounding out of my chest... It’s almost as if they know that once we’re all the way out here, we won’t have a choice. We’re all vulnerable. Was this all a just a psychological trick to force people to perform unethical experiments by using fear?
Another thing I couldn’t help but question was Horus’ knowledge of the situation. He went from hoping to meet an intelligent species to totally forgetting about it and pitching the experiment like he’d been thinking about it for months… Everything he’s been telling everyone was a lie…
I was almost completely convinced that his behavior proved he’s probably known about all this since before we left… Why else would the lab be set up in such a specific way?.. Who was I kidding… He obviously knew… This was all planned and set up long in advance…
I think I can honestly say I’m worried for my safety… and Sara’s. The effects from the stasis are still making me feel the need to be around her and constantly think about her… I just had to accept that it wasn’t real and worry about myself for now.
I had to find out what was really going on here. Maybe all those people on the outside were right to distrust and even hate the ACI… Everything that just happene
d was enough evidence to tell me that it wasn’t the humanitarian organization it pretended to be...
There was no way I could relax. I just spent the next half hour walking around my room in somewhat of a panic; trying to rationalize everything that just happened... After a few more minutes, I decided to wander the ship and try to get my bearings while I thought things through.
I was really hoping to run into Kayin… but what would I say? I couldn’t tell him anything; it could endanger both of us. If I did see him I’d just have to pretend nothing was wrong… This wasn’t going to be easy…
As I walked around The Sirius I continued to see so many incredible things, but none of that mattered anymore. All I could think about was Horus, his deception, and what would happen to me.
We were all going to be here for at least another four years. We were in another galaxy, five years away from Aeris... This entrapment had to be part of their plan; I know because it’s working on me…
What I really needed to do is calm down… I wouldn’t be in any danger if I just went along with this. If anything, getting nervous and acting strangely could really endanger me.
If what Sara said was true, Horus dismissed that woman like she was nothing. If she was really killed and disposed of, he would have to know about it, which means he sent her to her death without blinking an eye. If anything he was annoyed…
At the same time, I may see the woman again tomorrow. Sara and I could just be perceiving something that isn’t there. Paranoia could be an aftereffect of the stasis. We might be able to quit without being in any danger at all.
This is why I had to do my best to think objectively… I didn’t really know anything yet, so I just kept going and trying to collect my thoughts…
Chapter 5
I’d been walking for hours, I didn’t even know what time of day it was. In space time kind of loses its meaning. Not having a sunset or a change of light just makes you forget about it I suppose.
Either way I’m sure Horus will call us all back to lab as soon as the subjects show up. Apparently the team sent to retrieve them said they’d be back within 24 hours and I don’t even know when they left. It could be any minute or 20 hours from now.
The Experiment Page 5