Asterion (4 page)

Taylor looks at Trent. “Who could have done this?”

Trent shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. We’ve never seen any strange people around the lab. It’s virtually just several people in this facility and we know them all. Do we tell Milar?”

Taylor looks puzzled. “We have to. No matter what our suspicions are about her or anyone else, we have to report it. If anything, it will put a stop to any other efforts to spy on the project because they will know we are aware of the situation.” Taylor calls a meeting of the group including Devin and Milar.

In the conference room, Taylor and Trent report their findings to the group. Devin listens intently, but does not go ballistic as Taylor expected.

Devin turns to Milar. “Did the security measures fail us?”

“We’ll go over everything in the security systems database, but my suspicion is this breach was already in place before I arrived. My personnel ran a fine toothcomb over the facility, but we omitted the instrumentation from the search. There was too much risk that our investigation could contaminate, alter or destroy the experiment. The implementation of the facility shielding probably ended any snooping.”

She turned to Taylor and Trent. “Can you determine how much information was stolen?”

Taylor reveals what they know so far. “Trent determined that a virus transmitted a complete backup initially and then incrementally after that. There have been over one hundred transmissions, so working backwards using the software logs we determined that this started approximately one month ago, or a week before you arrived.”

Taylor looked at Trent for his response. “Whoever did this is clever. We chose the millimeter wavelength communication because of data bandwidth and it can’t travel far because ordinary walls easily stop it. The nano-mechs retransmitted what they received on a longer wavelength that could be transmitted some distance.”

Milar looked at the assembled group. “We’ll make our best efforts to try to determine who might be the culprit, but it’s kind of like a radio transmission, it’s hard to determine who was listening.” With that said, the team returned to the lab.

Taylor asked Christine and Trent, “You know what that means?”

Christine sighs, “We have to do a complete check of all systems before we go live with the project.” Trent nodded in agreement.

Taylor, taking a deep breath, prodded his team members, “let’s get started!’

The intercom crackled into life with Devin’s voice calling, “Taylor, come to my office immediately.” Taylor left the lab and raced to Devin’s office.

Entering, the back of Devin’s high back chair greets him.

Devin slowly turns around in the chair. “Have a seat.” He waves his hand over the empty chair. Taylor sits down and waits for Devin to speak. “Any guesses on who might be spying on us?”

Taylor tilts his head. “Hard to say, it could be anybody from other countries, competing businesses or even our own officials.”

Devin cautions Taylor. “Well, if you find out anything else or have an idea who it might be, come and see me first. As Director, these are the kind of issues that can affect all our jobs.”

Taylor smiles, “You got it!”

“Good,” Devin smiled back. “I’ll let you get back to work; I know we are close to making this work. Good luck.” With that, Taylor returned to the lab to continue testing and validating the systems.

The team works for the next week to make sure the project does not suffer any setbacks. They had a limited number of tries to be successful. After a week of long hours, Taylor decides to give everyone a break for the weekend and come back on Monday, fresh and ready to break new barriers. Taylor sees his opportunity and summons up the courage to ask Christine if she would like to go to dinner.

Catching her in a quiet corner of the lab, Taylor looks at Christine nervously, “The bureaucracy allowed a new restaurant to open in town. For them to allow that, it must be very promising. Would you like to have dinner with me there?”

Christine thinks Taylor’s nervousness is cute and smiles. “Yes, I would like that. I can be ready at eight. Is that okay?”

Taylor smiles with relief. “Yes, I’ll be there!” For the rest of the day both of them are walking on air and focusing on the project is difficult to say the least. When you devote yourself to your work, relationships take a back seat to everything else and they are rare.

Trying to leave the lab, Milar intercepts Taylor. She wants to have a word with him. “Let’s go to my office.” In his office Taylor asks Milar what is on her mind.

Milar leans toward Taylor. “Do you trust your team?”

Taylor pauses for a second. “I think I can. At least they have not aroused my suspicions in any way.”

“What about Devin?” she countered.

“Well, he seems to be a typical director. I would think that he wants us to succeed as it means success for him and his future.”

Milar sits back in the chair. “If you have any suspicions, no matter how trivial let me know. It is vital that we get to the bottom of the breach.”

“Who could it possibly be?” Taylor asked.

Milar, opening up a bit for once, “The list of foreign agents is long. A few rival domestic agencies would love to win this race. The central authority could just walk in and demand what you have at any time so I doubt it comes from the top.”

Taylor assures her. “Well, if I notice anything, I’ll be sure to tell you.”

With a rare smile, Milar stands up. “Okay” and leaves his office.

Taylor wonders why the management and security of the lab are not in concert on resolving the issue. It seems like they don’t trust each other. Taylor determined he would have to be careful as he could be in the middle of two rival interests.

CHAPTER 4 - GETTING TO KNOW YOU

Taylor races to get ready and meet Christine. Taking extra care, he obsesses over every step. He wants everything to be perfect. Checking himself for the hundredth time in the mirror, he heads out the door. He picks up Christine at her apartment and they head to the restaurant. For all the time they spent working together, riding in the car and making small talk seemed somewhat awkward. Sitting across from each other at the table, Taylor asks Christine, “What got you into this field?”

Christine finishes a sip of tea. “Well, I wanted to do something that would help society. I did not feel right being a bureaucrat or something else in business. The dog-eat-dog world did not seem appealing to me. I wanted to become a doctor, but I was encouraged to pursue the biosciences.”

The government provided for one’s education and determined how far one could go, or where the planning authorities saw the greatest need. Sure, you could go to college or university if you are capable. Just maybe not exactly in the field one desired. The great society did have its flaws.

“What do you know about society before the current one?”

Christine set her utensils down. “Living on bases, I did not have the opportunity to learn anything about what society was like before now, but I was always curious. How do you feel about religion?”

Taylor swallowed hard. “That’s a sensitive subject. I presume you asked because you believe.” Taylor constructed his words carefully. If invited to put himself out there, he wanted her to be out there also.

Christine, felt that Taylor is at least laying out some of his cards. “I noticed that you didn’t use profanities like everyone else does and you don’t approach your relationships with the casual, self-serving attitude of most people.”

Taylor commits to revealing his beliefs. “I don’t know what your particular persuasion is, but I’m a Christian.”

Christine’s got excited. “Me too.”

Looking around they are careful that no one is listening to their conversation. They laughed at their simultaneous reaction. You had to be careful about being religious. Unconsciously, their hands met in the middle of the table. The warmth of their hands together is magical. The evening sped by too quickly and is soon at its end.

At the door to her apartment, Christine turns to Taylor. “I had a great time tonight.”

“Me to, Can I see you again?”

She smiled, “I would be mad if you didn’t.”

Taylor’s heart leapt. “I’ll call you.”

With a hug and a kiss, they said goodbye. Taylor is excited. Thinking of her, he didn’t remember the drive home. Christine felt lightheaded and dizzy and she couldn’t fall asleep for hours wondering if there would be a second date. She went to sleep, happier than she had been for a long time.

In the predawn hours on Monday, the team assembled in the break room for donuts and coffee. Excitement is in the air as they anticipate starting the process of creating a creature that will make the world a better place for all.

Devin, not missing an opportunity to shine, stands up. “This is what we have all been waiting for and I know we are ready to make history here. What we accomplish here will make our personal lives better and make the world a better place. It will help us compete in the world economically and make us stronger. That’s security for all of us.”

Milar stands up. “When you left on Friday, I placed electronic seals, undetectable by normal means at the perimeters of the lab. Today, they are intact and security removed them, so that the project can begin. Nothing has been tampered with in those areas.”

Devin had the look of surprise on his face. Taylor guessed that Devin thought he is privy to everything going on at the facility. Maybe it is good to have competing interests overseeing things here. One might be good and the other could have ulterior motives, but then again they could both have their own agendas.

The team left the break room and entered the lab. Retrieving materials from the lab refrigeration system, the instrument is loaded with the stuff dreams are made of, or maybe nightmares.

Trent checks the system monitors. “Systems are up, initialized and it’s ready to go.”

Christine confirms her status. “DNA material, reagents and other reactionaries loaded. All systems report ready.”

Taylor turns their way. “All temperatures are nominal, it’s a go. Hit the start button. It’s now or never.” The instrument whirs into life. It initializes and performs initial checks on itself. The fluid systems fill as the clear tubing shows the liquids slowly traveling, pushing air out of the system. The system, flushed and primed is ready. The process begins.

CHAPTER 5 - COWARDLY NEW WORLD

Later that day, Taylor meets Christine in the break room for lunch. After some small talk, Taylor looks around to make sure they are alone. “I have that documentary,
Unintended Consequences
. Do you want to come over and watch it with me tonight?”

With a worried look on her face, “Can they trace it to you?”

“No, I got it from a fellow Christian by hand, not over the Net.”

Christine is excited. “I’ll be there,”

Back in the lab, early data shows that everything progressed well during the DNA sequencing steps. They proceed to the next steps in the process.

Later that evening at Taylor’s apartment, Taylor is preparing snacks for the evening. Christine watches him from the sofa. She likes his sandy hair. He looks back and smiles at Christine. He seemed so genuine to her. Honest blue eyes and a strong jaw revealed a soul she wanted to know better. He’s tall, with a lean muscular build that exuded confidence. A byproduct if his past military experience. He returns to her, hands Christine a bowl of popcorn, and sits next to her. He starts the playback device. The strains of introductory music reminiscent of many of the informational programs they remember from their childhood greet them. The title,
Unintended Consequences,
flies from the background to loom large on the screen.

The somber narrator speaks from off camera. “Good intentions, good deeds and other noble endeavors fill the pages of history. However, for just about every good, there are unintended consequences and not all of them are beneficial. Less than one hundred years after the founding of our nation, we fought a civil war with the intention of righting wrongs perpetrated upon our fellow citizens of this world. No one would argue that abolishing slavery was a great endeavor that cost dearly in lives, but it started us upon a path that directly leads to today.” Taylor and Christine look at each other wondering how the Civil War of the eighteen hundreds could have led to the austere world they live in today. “You probably can’t see the path yet, but as this program progresses the path will be made clear.” This piques their interest and their eyes focus intently on the images on the monitor. “This country, founded on the concepts of individual freedom that allowed anyone to explore and create with their imagination, encouraged the innovative spirit of its people. Their ingenuity created the many innovations that made America a great nation at one time.”

Taylor looks at Christine. “We still are a great nation, aren’t we?”

Christine raises an eye. “I think so.”

Focusing back on the documentary, they listen intently. Time charts appear on the monitor, “As the Twentieth Century begins, the federal government finds ways to deal with issues such as crime and drug abuse that cross state borders. We now call states provinces, but in the past, states had powers that the federal government did not specifically have in the Constitution. That change came because of the finalization of a central authority with the provinces becoming the regional arm of the central authority. All power radiated from Washington down through the smaller and smaller regions of the country. That set the stage for one entity, run by one man, to control the destiny of all citizens. The unintended consequence of dealing with national problems across state borders was the creation of an all-powerful central government like others that dot the timeline of the past. Some of them tried to expand beyond their own borders to rule the world. That progressed throughout the century and in the early Twenty-first Century; the nation arrived at a crossroads in its destiny.”