Refraction | Part 1 | Darwin's Steroids
8) Dark Side
General Wanamaker stared down at his feet, and counted off the seconds as he waited for the computer to guide this giant machine he was in into it's proper docking spot. He felt the customary thud and shudder run throughout the vehicle as air pressurized and systems began winding down into their standby modes. This great ship was never completely cold, always ready for the quick getaway, always warming up on the tarmac. It was the General's personal shuttle from place to place around the globe and beyond, and it was all systems go, all the time.
The General oriented himself to his new surroundings as he walked down the gangway of the ship and into the welcoming area of the base. His methodical brain calling up geographical information about the base, reviewing faces and names of the men and women he had met that worked in this hyper-secret facility, and giving himself a brief internal pep talk intended to shake off the bad feeling he always had when he spoke with the man he had come to see.
His large brown eyes swiveled slowly across the view in front of him, he acknowledged the salutes of the two UWMC soldiers guarding the entrance to the base, a touch of his finger to the broad forehead beneath curly dark hair cropped severely close to his head. He spoke briefly to an attractive middle-aged woman in a lime green jumpsuit, she noted something into her computer and spoke rapidly into air while poking herself in the lymph gland. The general was momentarily surprised to see this technology already in use at the base, and wondered what other bionics she might hiding beneath God's flesh.
A be-spectecled young man walked into the room and introduced himself to the General as as Mr. Yu. His eyes seemed to contract and dilate rapidly as he read information on the General which projected onto the surface of his eyes from the inside of his glasses. The resulting effect was a man who had flashing red eyes, which never appeared to be looking directly at you.
"Please excuse me General, the glasses can make me appear rude, but they their design is amazing, and allows a gentleman such as myself to attend to my tasks as diligently and well informed as I may possibly be."
"May I see them?"
"Of course you may sir, but they are calibrated to the exact distance from my retina to the projection laser in nanometers sir, it is highly unlikely you will see anything but the room in which we stand. A sort of simple security system we lucked upon when we realized we would have to project the image directly into the eye."
"Well, I see. Excellent. This place really is quite bespoke is it not?"
"Yes General, " replied the young scientist, smiling softly, "Quite."
The two men stood looking at each other and not looking at each other for a quiet moment. The general processing information while the young man flashed his creepy red eyes at him, waiting, expectant.
The General took in a great lung full of air and blew it out quickly in one fast whoosh, noting it's lack of smell or taste, it's artificial recycledness making it seem dryer than he knew it to be. Here the air was always the same comfortable temperature, the same humidity, the same barometric pressure. It was important to note it's sensation on his palate and body, to be aware of it, because if it seemed to dry out too much, or if he noticed himself shivering perhaps, or perhaps if he should (god forbid) feel his ears pop, he wanted maximum advance warning, and in 63 years no system had worked better for the General than his own finely tuned senses.
"Well," the General announced suddenly, clapping his large hands together, "Shall we get on with it then?"
"Yes, sir, of course sir." replied the young man, then turning to the augment in the green jumpsuit, "Six, would page Dr. Fook's office and let him know the General has arrived for his tour of the facility, thank you"
He spun back to the General and swept his arm toward a slightly claustrophobic looking hallway that led out of the room. Gold lights suddenly appeared along the wall and followed the hallway before turning left around a t-junction some 15 meters away.
"Ah there they are, if you'll just follow me, it appears the Dr. is in the main observation area, you'll be able to see the fruit of his labors to date."
"Excellent, Mr. Yu. Thank you for your assistance." The General looked grimly around the room again, nodded at the UWMC soldiers, and marched down the hallway, turning left and disappearing from view.
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