Thompson scowled. “Because I can’t shoot you. Guards, bring Dr. Martin to me. I want to show him something.”
When Martin was in front of him, Thompson pointed at the monitor and a wicked smile steadily crept across his face, unable to contain his wicked joy in seeing the query results. Martin thought it was some kind of sick joke to make him regret his decision. In his mind, there was nothing that would convince him that what he had done was wrong. That host woman was losing everything. The least she deserved was to rest in peace.
Martin continued to absolve himself in his mind. It wasn’t his fault he was in the lab. It wasn’t his fault they’d been ordered to accomplish the impossible. He hadn’t shot Phil. Martin believed his actions had been 100% justified. It was an unequivocal truth to Martin, and in his mind, nothing could change that.
Until he turned and read the fifth entry of host results.
Martin shook his head slightly as if he’d seen a ghost. He whispered, “That can’t be. It’s not possible.” He shook his head harder and spoke up. “No. There must be some mistake.”
Thompson couldn’t contain his cackle as he gave further instructions to his guards. “Please take your hands off of Dr. Martin. He’s going to have a lot of work to do.” With a maniacal grin, he turned his sights across the room to those attempting to assist Phil. “When I said you were going to make history, I didn’t think you’d be the history. Dr. Jessica Campbell, you’ll be escorted to the locker room. You’re the new host for the world’s first human neural transfer.”
Campbell was already overwhelmed with the fact that Phil was dying as the coldest feeling swept across her entire body. “What?”
Thompson pointed to the computer monitor. “See for yourself.”
Fearing the screen would bring her face to face with her own mortality, Campbell slinked across the lab. As she turned to view it, she immediately saw her personal data on the list, and her heart sank. The guards grabbed her by both arms.
“No!” Campbell was as angry as she was scared. “Get your hands off me! This is bullshit! You can’t do this!”
The guards began dragging her kicking and screaming toward the hallway. Thompson followed. The staff were paralyzed by fear. Martin had to violently shake his head to rid himself of shock. He ran at the guards, but Thompson stepped in his path and raised the gun to his face.
Martin put his hands up. “Let her go!” he pleaded. “Please! I’m begging you. Don’t do this! It’s my fault the first host died. Let me find another one, any other host to complete this, and I promise I will never cross you again.”
“It’s too late for that now, Dr. Martin. Fate has spoken. It’s time we all play our parts.”
Martin stomped his feet. “No! I won’t do it. You’ll have to shoot me.”
“No, Rex!” Campbell yelled from across the lab.
Thompson moved the gun from Martin’s face and squeezed the trigger.
Bang!
“Ah!”
Gasps came from the staff, Martin, and Campbell. Everyone turned to see Cindy clutching her arm, blood running down and between her fingers.
“No!” Campbell shrieked. “Stop shooting!”
Martin knocked the gun from Thompson’s hand. “Enough!”
Fire raged in Thompson’s eyes as he punched Martin in the gut, sending him reeling to his knees. “Don’t you ever lay a finger on me again! You’ll do as I say, or you all will die.”
Martin coughed hard, struggling to breathe and getting light-headed.
Thompson pointed to the exit and followed the guards with Campbell.
She pleaded. “No, you can’t do this!”
Campbell flailed and kicked her feet as the guards dragged her down the hallway. Her yelling and cursing at Thompson were cut short when she felt a sharp pinprick in the back of her neck.
Thompson appeared from behind her with his ghoulish grin. “That should help you relax. I assure you, Dr. Campbell, I can and will do this. The sooner you accept that, the easier this will be.”
Campbell’s limbs were no longer tense, but she felt as if she could still move them. Her thoughts remained intense, but they seemed much easier to process. She wanted to continue screaming, but only a hard exhale came out. Her red face was puffy and ached from her sobs, but it no longer bothered her. Whatever she’d been given was a very specific drug to reduce her anxiety but leave her relatively functional. It disappointed her deeply because her worst nightmare was coming true, and she wanted nothing more than to be unconscious for it all. Her mind was going to be completely wiped, and someone else would occupy her brain. Her life’s work was about to be turned against her. It was the same cruel joke that had been played on her all her life.
It had happened in high school. The basketball coach praised her own daughter for assisting on a game winning shot in lieu of Campbell who’d made it.
It had happened in pre-med. As part of a group project, Campbell had discovered a new disease. One of the males in her group fudged the documentation to get credit. The professor didn’t think twice.
In had happened in med school. A professor forced her to put his name first on her groundbreaking research. He said it would get more references that way, and as co-author, she’d get just as much recognition. She hadn’t.
Even landing the position at Oceanic Laboratories had been a miracle despite her being obviously more than qualified. Once reality had set in, she realized that OL was just another place where she would be exploited.
Rex had been the only shining light in her otherwise dark journey to becoming a scientist. He’d been her biggest advocate since the moment they’d met. He’d promoted her research when none of the other senior doctors would give it the time of day. He’d given her the neural transfer lab on the cusp of greatness. And when the board had refused to acknowledge her accomplishments publicly, Rex distanced himself to limit the possibility of him receiving the credit.
But there she was. Being dragged to the punchline of the sick joke that had been her life. Her sedated mind was failing to hypothesize a scenario that didn’t end in her death. If she didn’t comply, she would watch her staff get killed one by one. She would watch Rex be killed. And then she would be killed anyway. The same was true should Rex refuse to do his part.
Suddenly, her mind began to do what the mind of good scientists always did. She eliminated all subjectivity and bias from her mind. She had to accept the undeniable hypothesis she’d reached. Strangely, a warming peace washed over her in that moment. Suddenly, she was resolute. She didn’t want anyone else to get hurt or die. So, she wouldn’t resist the procedure.
Then, another notion took hold in her mind. She would tell Dr. Martin to complete the procedure without interference—he would need to hear it from her—but in order for him to go through with the neural transfer, he would also need to hear something else.
They arrived at the locker room, and Thompson opened the door.
On his knees in the analysis lab, Dr. Martin rocked back and forth, mortified and convulsing from the gut shot Thompson had delivered. Martin was failing to reconcile the situation while his body struggled to keep him lucid. He began disconnecting from reality and his thoughts swirled out of control. He fell back on the floor, and his vision began fading to black. As guilty as he felt, part of him welcomed the lack of consciousness because it would give him a little relief. To his disappointment, the insentience didn’t stop his mind from racing, attempting to process what he’d done. He was taken back many years to the memory of the very first experiment he’d ever attempted. It had ultimately been the thing that led him to a life of science.
Twelve-year-old Rex had just gotten home from school, and his mother shooed him away. “Rexy, honey, please go play outside until dinner is ready.”
Like a good little boy, he’d done as he was told and wandered into his back yard. It was a half-acre, fence
d-off, and due for mowing. In the far-right corner, a massive ancient oak had always begged to be climbed. His mother’s vegetable garden was off to the far left. Rex knew to stay away from there because the bugs were something awful. The center of the backyard was where he spent most of his time, on the large, wooden playset his dad had constructed. A ladder led up to the “Captain’s Quarters” where he’d oversee the pirate fleet as it sailed across the ocean blue. Even at a young age, his sense of ethics had been fairly heightened, so his pirates were actually indigent sailors who had their land stolen by bureaucrats. He felt justified in waging war and reclaiming what was rightfully theirs. A blue spiral slide served as the emergency exit in case the enemy came aboard and wanted blood. Jutting out from the ship had been a swing set that helped to turn the sails.
On this day, he had it all figured out. His fleet would divide in half. The first three ships would storm the beach and use savage fighting tactics to reign chaos on the beachside village. As enemy reinforcements showed up, the second group would attack the shipping port ten miles to the west. The whole plan seemed perfect as he mapped it all out, and he was ready for the invasion.
A faint noise distracted him.
“Cheep. Cheep. Cheep.”
Still in his fantasy, he thought that a seagull had flown into the Captain’s Quarters. But when he looked around the wooden space, he saw nothing.
“Cheep. Cheep. Cheep.”
Curious, he peered out of the Captain’s window. There on the ground had been a baby robin. Rex had immediately posited that it probably came from the oak. Using his escape slide, he made his way down to investigate and observed the chick before doing anything else. While it had appeared to be in fine health, it also seemed too young to fly. Rex knew in an instant that the chick’s very life depended on getting back in its nest.
He scooped up the small, fluffy bird and went off to the tree. He peered up to see if a nest was visible, but nothing stood out. He gently gripped the baby robin and used his free hand to grab a limb. Up he went through the first layer of the tree, but still had trouble seeing a nest. Frantic chirping from above confirmed that he was going in the right direction. After a few more feet, he saw his prize and pulled himself up the last bit of oak. Two other chicks chirped and trembled in a nest perched in the crook of forked limbs. The nest had been clearly constructed with space for another chick. Fortunately for Martin, there had been a lower limb on which he could sit. In doing so, he freed up his other hand to softly place the rescued chick next to its siblings. After a few moments, it was obvious that the two other babies accepted their sibling back. Rex was more than content with his decision to intervene.
“Rex!” his mother had yelled from below. “How many times do I have to tell you to stay out of the tree?”
“Sorry, Mom. I was just putting a baby bird back in its nest.”
“Rex! Get down here now.”
He was deliberate in his descent to make sure he didn’t fall. By the time he got to the ground, his mom was pretty upset.
She’d taken a knee and explained to him what he’d just done. “Listen, Rex. Honey. By touching that chick…that nest…the mom and dad birds won’t come back. It would have been better to just leave it alone.”
Rex’s young mind tried to process his mother’s words, but the extreme shift in his emotions was nearly too much to bare. He went from thinking he had saved one baby bird to believing that he condemned a whole nest of them. It was more than awful. Traumatic. Rex instantly become obsessed with the idea that he was a murderer of baby birds, and he couldn’t shake it. He burst into tears.
His mom hugged him. “It was an accident, honey. Now, come on. Let’s go have some dinner before it gets cold.” She stood up and took him by the hand.
Rex continued crying while staring at the oak as his mom led him inside.
The next twenty-four hours were the hardest in Rex’s young life. He woke up groggy from the little sleep he had gotten. He had no appetite for breakfast. He found it impossible to focus in any of his classes. All in all, it had been the longest day of his life. When he finally got home, he was exhausted and starving. Still, all he could think about was that nest and those chicks. “Mom, can I go out in the backyard?”
“Yes, honey, but don’t climb that tree or else.”
“Okay.”
He headed outside and peered up. It was a cloudy day. He saw several adult robins flying through the air, then looked down and saw more adult robins bouncing in the yard, finding worms. He was fairly certain that the parents of the chicks were among them. He darted in their direction to scare them away, hoping they’d fly off into the tree. None of them did. He walked over to the tree and looked up, but couldn’t see or hear anything. Looking back, the robins had again begun bouncing around the yard, so he again chased them. Still, not one went to the oak.
As badly as he wanted to climb back up the tree, his mom’s warning echoed in his head. He was also too scared of seeing withering chicks in the nest. Instead, he just stood, looking up. For nearly a half hour, the depths of his disappointment had grown when no adult robins returned to the nest. Eventually, he decided to take to heart his self-imposed label, “baby bird killer.”
Broken, Rex stepped away from the tree and walked through the backyard, right past the playground without any hope of future pirate wars. The backdoor to his house seemed the only viable refuge, and he wanted only to go inside and mope for the rest of his life. Rex reached for the door when something swooped down near his head. He fell to the ground, trying to dodge whatever it was, then turned around to see. There, flying toward the oak, was an adult robin with the juiciest worm ever in its mouth.
Rex’s legs had a mind of their own and took him toward the tree in a hurry. At the base of the oak, he looked up, and sure enough, he could see the tail of the adult bird bobbing near the branch of the nest. But it wasn’t enough for Rex. He had to be certain.
Against his mother’s wishes, Rex reached up and begun his ascent. Step by step, limb by limb, he made his way to the nest. With his goal in sight, he watched the adult robin flutter off and gave the last bit of effort to hoist himself up.
“You get down here this instant!”
He was shaken by his mother’s yell as he peered into the nest and slipped from the tree, plummeting twelve feet down. Right before hitting the earth, his mother screeched his name.
Oddly, her voice began morphing to a more masculine one and calling him by his full name, then again by his professional title.
“Rex Martin! Rex Martin! Dr. Martin! Dr. Martin!”
Martin shook his head and awoke on the floor of the analysis lab. He stood up to find Jamal and Armando baring down on him.
Jamal wasted no time digging in. “You told me to just follow instructions. You said it was all we could do. Well, Phil’s dead. Cindy hurt. And Dr. Campbell is next.”
Martin was still groggy and panted, “You’re right, Jamal. I’m so sorry.” He stood up and with tears flowing from his eyes, he turned to Cindy sitting in a chair nearby. “How are you?”
She trembled, holding gauze to her arm, but that didn’t stop her from scowling. “Better than Phil.”
Martin sighed and nodded. “I’m really sorry.”
He turned to Armando, who was red in the face like he was holding back words.
Those words finally came out. “You’re sorry?” He shook his head. “That won’t bring back Phil. Sorry won’t stop Cindy’s arm from bleeding. Sorry won’t save Dr. Campbell. This is all your fault.”
Martin had no argument. His whole body ached as he gathered his thoughts. He shook his head. “I’m going to be with Dr. Campbell.”
He wandered to the locker room. As he approached Thompson and the guards, Martin put his hands up, conceding. “I promise. I won’t try anything. Can you give me a couple minutes alone with Dr. Campbell? We’re together.”
&n
bsp; For the first time since he’d arrived, Thompson showed an almost human side, surprised by Martin’s confession, but he quickly got back into character. “Fine. You have five minutes. And Dr. Martin, there will be hell to pay if there is any more nonsense.”
Martin nodded and went to Campbell’s locker as she undressed. It was the hardest thing for Martin, looking at her, knowing what he’d done. But it was also excruciatingly obvious that his feelings were nothing compared to what she must be going through.
“Jessica, I’m so sorry. I was just trying to do right by that host woman. And maybe even get us out of this hell. I thought…” He looked into her bloodshot eyes, focused on him as she put on a gown. “Well, I don’t know what I thought. But it sure as hell wasn’t this.” He leaned in and whispered, “I swear I won’t go through with it.”
She sniffed and took Martin by the hands. They sat down on the bench, and she finally responded. “I know you were trying to help, but please just follow orders from now on.” She sighed.
“But I—”
“Promise me, Rex. That poor host woman. And Phil.” She shook her head. “And Cindy? How is she?”
Martin took a deep breath. “She seemed more shaken than hurt.”
Campbell nodded and shuddered. “No one else gets hurt. Okay? Promise?”
He took another deep breath and held it.
“Rex?”
He exhaled. “I promise.”
She wept softly.
Rex put his arm around her. He would never have another opportunity to be honest with Jessica, so he just started talking. “You know. Over the years, I had to actively convince myself I was making the world a better place. It was so hard because I refused to face the fact that I wasn’t. In the end, it was always about me. Whose work could I steal? What connection could I make to extend my fame? Even when I noticed Lana’s symptoms, I somehow made it about me. I held my tongue, and she died because of it.
“But when I met you, I wanted to change. I really wanted to see you become the most famous scientist in the world. You deserve it. I was going to break it off with you for good to get out of your way. I was just too late again.”
Between Two Minds: Revelation Page 14