He nodded and replied, “Yes. I’m going to speak with Dr. Arlington and the board. I’ll show them your work compared to mine. I won’t give them any other choice but to put your name on top of everything.”
Campbell almost choked as she stepped back. She blinked rapidly to make sure she wasn’t looking at a stranger and then quickly gathered herself. “You’re joking, right?”
With the most serious tone, Martin replied. “Credit should be given where credit is due. You’ve earned it.”
Campbell let loose a high-pitched laugh but quickly reeled in her emotions. “Well, I really appreciate this opportunity, Dr. Martin.” She followed her comment with a wink. “Don’t work late tonight. I have something special planned for you.”
Martin chuckled, but he felt awful that she wanted to reward him for simply doing the right thing. “About that…”
“Oh?”
“I love you, and as usual, you were right. I heard some secondhand murmurs that the staff thinks we’re a thing.”
It wasn’t true, but Martin wanted nothing to ruin her time in the spotlight. “I was thinking we put some distance between us for the next several months as the project comes to a close. That way, there will be no questions.”
Campbell’s grin dissipated, and she looked away from him, feeling a little rejected. After a few moments, she took a deep breath and turned back. “I never told you when my crush on you started.” She sighed. “It was senior year at the Huber Institute, and I was reading about your work on Unconscious Communications Protocol. The personal connection you made with those troops was inspiring. That’s where I think you don’t give yourself enough credit. You’ve got a big heart, Rex.”
“Thanks.” He grinned. “But those troops helped me as much as I helped them. Lana had passed away the fall before that project, and I was just looking for any kind of human interaction. While it got me by, I never thought I could truly love again. Then, I met you. Your tenacity and perseverance in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds is the very definition of remarkable, and it’s an honor to work with you, not to mention be your lover. You’re more than worth the wait while you become the most famous scientist in the field. Hell, in the world! And I’m hoping you feel the same way, J—”
Ding!
Benny had completed the maze.
“Holy shit!” Campbell eyed the lock in disbelief. “Twelve minutes, eight seconds! A new record!” Her excitement was every bit understandable given it was her diet and training plan that had steadily improved the mouse’s times.
Martin knew what it all meant. “That mouse knows this maze like the back of his paw. If we can get his mind into another mouse, he’ll definitely remember this.”
It was a sign of good things to come as the big day quickly came upon them. That morning in the lab, Campbell was at the helm with Martin behind. Benny and the other mice were frozen on the tables. Everything was in place for the neural transfer procedure to begin.
Typing into the computer console, Campbell revealed the initiator button and swung back around. She eyed Benny and the group. Here goes nothing. Then, she quickly turned and came down on the button. As usual, the lab strained under the immense power flowing through it, and the program window appeared at one percent for all subject pairs.
This time, the percentages for each mouse were much closer in proximity and stayed that way as they rose. It was then that Martin realized something. In the years he’d spent in the lab, he’d never felt more comfortable than he did in that moment. He knew he was in the presence of greatness, and it became immediately obvious that the most skilled conductor was at the helm. He closed his eyes and listened as Campbell’s orchestra performed its delicate intro.
“Forty-nine percent,” Campbell said optimistically.
The bass and percussion kicked in, and Martin opened his eyes with glee to find Benny’s group dancing to life.
Swinging back around, Campbell ran a script to double-check the numbers, and they were more than fine. But Martin hadn’t noticed because he was reveling in the chorus of her magnum opus. Joy was already overflowing within him when Campbell hit the next major milestone.
“Ninety-four percent,” blurted Campbell.
Martin couldn’t contain himself. “Another record!”
A smile slowly stretched across the doctors’ faces, and they watched as the computers and machines began the finale.
“Ninety-seven…” Martin was beside himself. “Ninety-eight...ninety-nine.”
Then, a mechanical voice spoke words over the intercom that no one had ever heard as part of an actual procedure.
“Initiating neural transfer completion for all subjects.”
A few moments went by, and the voice chimed in again. “One-hundred percent complete.”
The lab went through its usual power-down routine, and while Campbell was still monitoring her screens, Martin rejoiced in the end of a beautiful song. As the machines powered down, silence overtook the lab. The lighting returned to normal, and the voice from above provided the final statuses for the procedure.
Neural transfers complete.
Subject #1 status: Transferred and stable.
Subject #2 status: Transferred and stable.
Subject #3 status: Transferred and stable.
…
This broke Martin out of his daze. “Dr. Campbell, you did it!”
She finally broke her stare from the computer and then stumbled a little, taking in the moment. “Yes!” She ran into Martin’s arms. “We did it, Rex!”
Martin pulled back, taking her by the arms and looking into her eyes. “No, Dr. Campbell, this was all you. Now, let’s go take a look at your newly neural-transferred mice!”
On their way down the few stairs to the lab floor, their eyes darted back and forth between their subjects and the nearby gauges.
“Outstanding.” Martin chuckled as he tried to recall what came next. “They’re breathing on their own. What’s our best guess on recovery?”
“Two to four days. But we’re now in uncharted territory, so we’ll just gather as much data as possible.” She spoke like a true scientist, unfazed by her breakthrough.
Dr. Martin would have none of it. “That shouldn’t stop you from hitting the Success Alert button.”
“Right now? Shouldn’t we wait—”
“Dr. Campbell, you’ve just orchestrated the world’s first transfer of minds into empty vessels. I believe the rest of the scientists in our lab deserve to know about your breakthrough and some congratulations are in order.”
She shrugged, then walked to one of the side walls of the lab and trepidatiously lifted her hand, giving Martin one last look.
He nodded. “Go ahead!”
With confidence, she pushed it, and the rest of the facility was alerted to her accomplishment. Within minutes, a flood of other doctors entered the lab in response to the automated announcement, and they all walked right over to Martin with their hands extended.
“I always knew you’d figure it out, Rex! Put ’er there!”
Martin shook his head. “Sorry to disappoint you, fellas, but it was all Dr. Campbell. I was merely an aid to her greatness.”
They seemed a bit befuddled. Martin had spoken with Dr. Arlington, who agreed to let Campbell run the lab, so Martin wasn’t entirely sure why the scientists seemed surprised. From the back of the crowd, a large scientist burst through, arms full of bottles of champagne and plastic stemware. “We knew you could do it, Rex!” The scientists distributed bottles and glasses to eager hands.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
“To the pioneer of digital neural transfer, Dr. Rex Martin!”
The crowd cheered, “Hip, hip hooray!”
The celebration had turned out to be an excuse for the other male scientists to drink on the job. As the frat party kicked off, Dr. Campbell scowled at
Martin and wandered to the other side of the lab. Martin attempted to follow, but a wave of scientists got in his way, giving him undeserved praise. It was another thirty minutes before all the buzzed doctors left, allowing Martin to escape.
Martin found Campbell analyzing the results of the procedure. “I’m sorry, J—”
“Save it, Dr. Martin,” she said through her teeth. “There’s more work to be done.”
“I swear I spoke with Dr. Arlington. I told him this is your lab.”
She shook her head. “I’m not surprised. I’m used to getting my work stolen. But if those mice don’t wake up with similar abilities as they did before, it doesn’t matter who gets credit. We’ll lose our funding, and it won’t matter whose name is on it.”
“It does matter because this is your work, and I know it’s going to be successful. I’ll ask for reassignment. I won’t set foot in this lab until after the mice awaken. They won’t have a choice but to give you credit.”
“I know how this goes,” Campbell sighed. “They’ll just find another way to give you, or someone else, credit for it.”
He put his hand on her shoulder. “They might. But they can’t force me to accept it.”
She shrugged him off. “Thanks. Now, there’s work I need to finish. If you’ll excuse me…”
Thirty-six hours later, Dr. Campbell was working alone in the lab re-analyzing data from the transfer. The dull tone of Benny’s alarm clock across the lab startled her. She immediately felt silly that, after all the hours she’d put in after the procedure, she’d forgotten to reset Benny’s clock to coincide with him awakening from the procedure. The alarm quieted, and she made a mental note to turn it off before the following morning. She attempted to resume her work but became instantly annoyed by a high-pitched squeal of some equipment in the lab. She took a deep breath in frustration and tried to brush it off.
Then, it dawned on her. “Holy shit!”
Campbell dashed across the lab and nearly fell over as she slid to a stop in front of the terrarium. Her jaw dropped at what she saw. The new Benny was already completing his daily tasks, and he seemed to be on his usual pace, maybe even a little faster. Eventually, he disappeared into the wall, and Campbell cackled delightfully as she followed. Benny darted through the clear tubes, and Dr. Campbell knew that it must be a record as she struggled to keep pace.
“Benny,” she squealed, “you’re amazing!”
She was so engrossed in Benny’s migrated abilities that she almost failed to hear the opening of the door to the Labyrinth behind her. No one had been scheduled to assist her that morning, and she certainly hadn’t alerted anyone to the progress she’d just witnessed. Alarmed, she stopped chasing Benny and spoke loudly over her shoulder. “This area is off limits right now. Please—”
“Good morning, Dr. Campbell.”
She spun around and stumbled back at the sight of a gargantuan man in a dark suit and trench coat. Her initial instinct said he was from the lab offices and had gotten lost. “Excuse me, but this is a restricted area.”
A normal-sized, balding man in an even nicer suit appeared from behind the brute and walked up to Dr. Campbell. “You’ve successfully digitized and transferred the minds of mice into new hosts.”
Campbell scowled. “Wait? Who are you? How the hell did you—”
“My apologies,” the smaller man said, “for never finding the time to meet you. This is my associate, Ernesto. I’m Michael Grant. I’ve been one of the key contributors to the work here.” He extended his hand to her.
Campbell had just witnessed the biggest accomplishment in her career and was pissed that this Mr. Grant was ruining it. But if it was true that he was an investor, she knew she had to maintain civility. She even had the passing thought that he might overrule Dr. Arlington and give her credit for her work.
She shook Grant’s hand. “Sorry. How may I help you…Mr. Grant?”
“Please. Call me Michael. I attempted to speak with Dr. Martin. He refused to say anything about the recent breakthrough. He insisted I talk with you.”
A slight smirk involuntarily appeared on Campbell’s face.
Grant continued, “I understand that one of the mice has just awakened and is highly functioning?”
Campbell was shocked that this man already knew about the discovery she’d made only minutes prior. She quickly deduced that he must be very important to be able to monitor the lab that closely, and with that, she felt like this conversation could finally be her big break. “That’s correct. I was just watching him complete his first maze.”
“Good. Listen, these new results are a big step forward. I’m going to talk to the partners about tripling your funding.”
Campbell gasped. “T-triple?”
“That’s correct.” He nodded.
Campbell knew that kind of cash wasn’t handed out for nothing. She knew exactly how to inquire about it. “How will we be expanding the project, Mr. Grant?”
He peered around the Labyrinth for a moment, seeming to choose his words carefully. “It’s Michael. Let’s just say you’re going to need a bigger place.”
Campbell was about to respond when she was interrupted.
Ding!
Dr. Campbell glanced back at Benny, seeing 12:06 on the clock. She gasped, again.
“And doctor?” Mr. Grant said, grinning.
“Yes?” She turned back in a stupor.
“Clear your schedule for the next year.”
Chapter 3:
Pure Minds United
“Clear your schedule for the next year.” Jack pointed out the main garage door as he turned down Bob’s ancient rock music blaring from the garage’s stereo system.
I peered up from the Volkswagen Bug I was working on. The garage opened to the west and the setting sun stung my eyes. I put my hand over my brow and looked out in the direction of a rumbling noise. After a moment, a steady stream of big rigs chugged past the building. The first five were stacked high with old cars, and the next few had seemingly random items like steel plating and giant tires. They were headed for the storage lot down the block.
The commotion pulled everyone out from under their respective cars. “I didn’t want to say anything,” Jack continued, “until the trucks arrived, but we got contracted to do another one of those 2020 demolition movies. Get ready to do some custom work to make those gas-guzzling beasts battle-ready.”
Bob laughed. “Well, holy shit. I haven’t seen a Chevy since they went out of business a decade ago. And damn Buicks too!”
After only a couple of weeks on the job, I instantly recognized nearly all the makes and models. “There were a couple Chevy Traverses. And a Buick Enclave,” I said with a smile.
The crew liked to give me shit for knowing so much without a formal education or real experience.
“Let me guess, Ryan.” Jenny, another mechanic, could hardly contain her laughter. “You can replace a Cadillac’s alternator with your eyes closed!”
Laughter exploded in the shop.
I shot back. “Just ’cause you can’t tell the difference between a Ford Edge and Ford Escape doesn’t mean you gotta take it out on me.”
That certainly set everyone off.
Jenny shook her head, still smiling wide. “The rookie’s got jokes!”
Eventually, the excitement from the new contract died down, and everyone went back to work. I finished replacing the clutch on the Bug just in time for the end of my shift and headed to the locker room to get cleaned up. I took off my jumpsuit and tossed it in the combination auto-washer and dryer, then went to the sink to scrub and dry my hands. At my locker, I dressed in fresh clothes and walking shoes from my ADG duffle bag, then went back to the sink to comb my hair.
The locker room door busted open, startling me.
“You’re a Goddamn savant, kid!”
I saw who it was in
the mirror, but I would have known simply by the voice. “Oh, thanks, Bob.”
He walked up next to me as I put my comb away, and in the mirror, motioned for me to look at him. “I mean it. Your work on that clutch was fast and good.”
I turned. “It was nothing.”
Bob shook his head. “No, it was flawless! Tell me again how you know so much about old cars.”
Having gone over it a couple times, I was starting to think he didn’t believe me but responded the same way as before. “A very close friend showed me everything.”
Bob made a face like he was mulling it over, and I had no idea what he was going to say next. “No shit. Friendships like that are rare these days, what with all the virtual screens and fantasy worlds.”
Trying to act casual, I nodded for Bob to continue and then walked over to my locker.
“Say, where’s your friend now? We could always use another pair of good hands.”
I winced at the thought of Charlie, but I fought through it to open my locker.
Bob noticed. “Oh. I’m sorry, kid. I didn’t mean to pry.”
“No, it’s fine. It’s just that…working on the cars. It makes me miss him.”
Bob took a deep breath. “He been gone long?”
Grabbing my empty duffle bag, it felt good to talk about Charlie even if I wouldn’t get into specifics. “Just a couple of months. It’s strange. When I’m elbow deep in an engine and not sure what to do, I swear I can hear his voice telling me the next thing to try.”
Bob’s face went from concerned to depressed in an instant.
I had to say something. “You okay?”
Between Two Minds: Revelation Page 5