P-4

The following week went by quite quickly. Mike drilled me into the projects I would be helping with. I learned more about the Nanites, the technology used and what the company actually wanted to achieve.

Their work on Nano machines was already highly advanced from what I learned, more  than anything that was currently available to civilians, it almost seemed like from a science fiction movie. Even then, what they created was not enough. The researchers and the company itself had goals one could not fathom at the time.

What they wanted was nano machines that could be fully, or at the very least partially, controlled by the human injected with them. Till now the most they achieved was control through a computer interface, even that was very buggy and didn’t work at least half the time.

Their hardware and technology was amazing, however even with their hardware and data, they still weren’t able to quite get it to work like they wanted it to. Yet with each setback they improved, grew and evolved. The funding they were getting was through the roof. Mike mentioned this quietly, though didn’t say the exact number.

One might ask what exactly  did they want to achieve  if not improving the human body and prolonging of the human lifespan? Quite simple, it was what people already tried to do with cloning, creation of new life. It was more complicated than that however, as they wanted to genetically engineer new life forms. This would be achieved by using the human genome as a base and splicing it with very specific genes, using the Nanites as a tool for manipulating them.

It was quite clear to me, with what I already knew, even if it was just the proverbial tip of the iceberg, leaking any of the information or trying to quit the company would lead to my termination. That was something I wanted to avoid at all costs even if it might mean going against my own feelings and rules sometimes. Even then… there was still something in the back of my mind, slightly nagging at me and pushing me forward.

The projects moved along with me doing most of the work on programming or rather modifying the Nanite’s programing. The data and progress we got, was sent to the other divisions, so they could test and work on further improvements. Mike was there to oversee my work and clarify things I didn’t know the information yet. All in all the work was fun, but also frustrating. Fun when it worked, frustrating when it did not and for the next couple of months it went on like that on a daily basis.

It was maybe eight months after I started working on the projects, that the Nanite’s core program was usable and could adjust in different ways, due to the micro A.I. incorporated into them. It worked on the basis of a hive, one issues commands and the rest carry them out. It really simplified things as we did not have to code or give orders to each one separately, making it not only easier to control them, but also allowing for more diverse and complex commands.

The one who came up with this idea and incorporated it into the Nanite network was Jack, the scientist who was in the lab with Mike on that night many months ago.  Looking back I think maybe it was a mistake to partake in this kind of work, but I felt like something of a guardian, maybe even a father, to the Nanites after helping Mike and Jack with the project for so long.

Fortunately, both of the researchers opened up and accepted me during the time we worked together. It was fun,  and also thanks to that I was allowed to see the trials on the genetic manipulators they were conducting. That was one of the things I should have declined and just continued my work like always.

The manipulators, even though called like that, were cylindrical tubes with machinery attached to the top and bottom. About 1,5 meters in diameter and 3 meters in height, filled with slightly glowing, clear blue liquid, which was the solution the Nanites would work in.

Though normally you wouldn’t be able to see them, in the tubes the Nano machines were like black clouds, floating and moving around. It was so since they were programmed to keep together even when not working. This would allow for easier study during the testing phase.

The manipulator lab was divided into two sections, one was where the Tubes were, while the other was the control room, where the scientists were controlling and overseeing the testing. It was thought safe, as the dividing glass was 20 cm thick for precaution, if something exploded or the manipulators malfunctioned.

I was supposed to just observe the tests and see how our work was put to use in the finished product. They were going to do a trial to see if they can get the Nanites to use the culture fluid to create something new. Even Director Caen was there to oversee the trial, which showed just how important it was.
What was about to happen there would be a breakthrough, in more ways than one. It would also be a turning point not only for the company but for myself also.

I have not noticed it before, but Mike seemed to have left the control room. I wondered where he went but my thoughts were directed elsewhere, as the scientists responsible for the trial got the green light and started the process. Everyone looked mesmerized through the glass as the Nanites swirled in the tube, beginning their work.

Yet something was not right, I had a bad feeling all of a sudden, Mike was not there ang he was very eager to see this trial. It was then that I noticed something on the tube.

”What is that on the glass? Is that a crack?”

“Where?” The researcher closest looked at me inquisitively, slightly worried.

“Over there.” I pointed with my finger to the slowly spreading crack, tension in my voice.  “It’s getting bigger!”

People panicked, myself included, no one knew what to do and they just tried doing something, but only managed to input a few commands or just create more chaos in the control room. Fortunately not everyone panicked like that. The director reacted quickly, shouting orders and getting the panicked researches back together.

“Stop the test!”

One sentence is all it took to make the researchers calm down and start fixing the situation. They started to abort the procedure, some cursed some were still a bit frantic, yet no one disobeyed.

“What the?! What is Mike doing there?”

Someone shouted, I looked through the window into the other room the moment I heard that. I saw him, Mike looked confused as if he didn’t know where he was, just standing there watching the cylinder. I don’t remember much from what happened afterwards. Only bits and pieces.

I ran out of the control room to get him out of there. Going through the doors to the lab portion, I remember that I grabbed him and wanted to pull him out of there. I do not know why he was standing right at the cylinder, just watching the crack expanding.

Though he finally snapped out of it and I got him to move I heard glass cracking loudly behind me. Instinctively I pushed Mike towards the door, a slight smile appeared as he stumbled through the door. Right after a loud sound of shattering glass could be heard, and instead of running I turned around. That was when I  saw the blue culture fluid gushing out of the tank, coming down on me. It was like getting water over my body, yet I felt it sticking to my skin.

The last thing I heard before blacking out, were footsteps and the loud voice of Director Caen, trying to get medics over.

“Maybe she isn’t as bad as I thought she was.” Was my last thought before darkness took me into her gentle  embrace.

P-1

After opening my eyes all I could see was destruction. It was inside of a building, more of a lab than an office, though with all of the damage done one could not be sure. Still I couldn’t believe how calm I was, unfeeling, looking at this from above as if I was watching a movie.

It was not important, after all I didn’t feel like I could interact or change anything, yes, I was clearly just an observer, bound to watch over this place for some reason. However what caught my attention was the unmoving body of a man, probably an employee of this place, he looked in his thirties, though that was hard to tell as not only was he lying face down, but also  in a pool of blood due to the bullet wounds he suffered.

He’s a goner, that’s for sure, the bullets probably pierced his organs. The man’s whole form spasmed, it seemed as if he was driven to move, something he still had to accomplish even despite his wounds.

“Why is he even struggling?”

I asked myself, just looking at him one would cringe feeling sick, the blood, his torn flesh, it looked as if some has been torn out by the bullets leaving chunks missing. The pain he was in should be unbearable to anyone, how could he even stand like that. Something stirred inside of me, but it was not compassion or uneasiness, it was curiosity.

I had to know why, why he tried so much, despite the pain and suffering he was going through. His back was facing me this whole time so I could see where he was headed. A door, a very sturdy one at that, it seemed to have been hit by bullets, however there were only a few small scratches on it. I was drawn towards the sealed place, however once I passed the researcher I caught his face in the corner of my eye.

“No… impos….ible…”

That face, just a glimpse made me turn to face him. I felt fear, even though before I didn’t feel anything. His… no… MY face, was looking at me, no at the door… How was this possible unless… It dawned on me, I was looking at my own memories.

It is said you go through your life from beginning till end right when you die. It seemed partially true for me, as I still didn’t know why I wanted to open that door, as if my memory was fragmented. I didn’t even notice when I calmed down, this surprised me, yet felt as if I, in life, was a person who just accepted things as they went.

“But still… Why am I…?”

It hit me as I asked that question, not the reason, but a memory, it was that of the attack, or rather the moment when the bullets pierced my body, the pain I felt, but not who it was or why. There was something else though, a thought that formed in my mind then, “Stay put and wait, you still have a final job to do.” Why, what was this last mission I had to do…More questions than answers. So I watched myself, watched as my body sluggishly limped towards the door, moving thanks to will alone.

“My head…”

I clutched my head, the pain unbearable, the images, feelings, all of it jumbled an chaotic, running through me as if everything I forgot just broke through a dam and flooded my consciousness. I have no idea how much time passed, seemed like decades, but it seemed it was only a fraction of that time, as the me I watched only managed to open the door now.

“I remember…”

Indeed, I knew what was there and why I tried to open it so much, however I had no idea if I succeeded, as this memory was somehow far from me. Maybe if I start at the beginning, at how all this started, I will remember…

I shook my head, death is a funny thing, ultimately all in existence will die, no matter who or what you are. I felt no sadness, no pain anymore, just… an inkling I still had to do something, that this was not over…

“You get born and you die, that is the course of life…” I took a deep breath…

“My name is Paul Vhid and this… is my story…”