NOTE: Originally this scene was going to be the prologue of the book, but after a lot of thought I decided against it. 1. Because I didn’t want to start the story with the antagonist. 2. I didn’t want to start the book with the violence and darkness.
A bright cylindrical light buzzed in the center of the small room. The only door locked from the inside. Keres didn’t want to be bothered during his experiment.
He leaned on the desk, watching as his bodyguard strapped a slim but very fit soldier to the cold metal table.
“Make sure he’s strapped in tight, Cerebus,” Keres said.
Cerebus tightened the leather straps with his thick muscular hands. The soldier flinched but kept quiet despite the obvious discomfort in his eyes.
A slight grin tugged at the corner of Keres’ mouth.
“He’s not going nowhere,” Cerebus stated. His voice deep and raspy.
“Anywhere.” Keres corrected him.
“What?”
“Never mind.” Keres stepped forward, holding a syringe of deep purple liquid.
“Sir, please don’t.” A small man with greasy auburn hair and large red rimmed glasses squeaked. He cowered in the corner with disheveled clothes and shackled hands.
Keres shot him a warning look. The man looked at the floor, cowering even smaller than Keres thought possible.
Cerebus walked over to the little man-a viologist-and towered beside him like a statue.
Keres looked back at the soldier. “I want to start by thanking you for your service and dedication to the Sicarium government. If this experiment works, you will be greatly rewarded in more ways than one.” Keres looked down at the syringe, it’s needle long and thick. “You see, this here is Parivartan Serum. Just a fancy name for a gene altercation cocktail. In it contains millions of RNAi and nano tech that have been created to go in and alter specific DNA strands in your body to help you become your best self.” He looked at the soldier whose face was pale and drenched in sweat.
Keres smirked. “Fear doesn’t look good on you soldier. I admit I don’t know how this serum will work and we don’t have the technology here to monitor, but I’ve read the research. I’m certain if this is as good as they say, you’ll survive. Though, it may hurt.” At the word hurt Keres paused, indulging his imagination before continuing. “If it doesn’t work, I thank you for your service.”
Without another word Keres plunged the long needle deep into the man’s left thigh. The soldier’s breathing quickened in and out of his nose like a bull. His brow furrowed and the vein in his neck popped out as the purple serum drained out of the syringe and into his body.
Keres took a step back and handed Cerebus the needle. He stared at the soldier with his head tilted in curiosity. What was going through that man’s body right now? What sort of biological changes were taking place within his DNA? It both fascinated and disappointed him that he didn’t have the ability to watch the nano transformation.
“How long will it take?” Cerebus asked the viologist.
Keres responded first, “Research says the full effects could take up to a week to fully restructure the DNA, but I suspect we’ll see some sort of response within the next hour. Good or bad.” Keres watched the soldier’s face relax. He laid his head back on the table as a tear escaped and ran down his temple. Where did Cerebus find this soldier? He really was weak. Keres turned toward the small desk covered in papers, a microscope, a holopad, and a decanter of bourbon.
“But sir,” the viologist spoke, “that serum has not been analyzed. I don’t know if–”
“And why not?”
“It was still in the production phase when your men. . . retrieved it. And I don’t have the right equipment here to finish my job.”
“But you prepped the soldier properly and did everything else you could?”
“Yes, sir, but–”
“Then that’s good enough. Get comfy, we’re not going anywhere till we know what happens.”
Keres poured himself a class of bourbon, swirled it around a bit, and took a sip savoring the burning sensation as it trickled down his throat. Then he sat down and grabbed the holopad pulling up his favorite war video game.
Forty minutes passed and still nothing happened to the soldier. What was going on inside that man’s body? Was the serum a dud or a fake put there to trick him? His soldiers got in and out so quickly. Maybe it was a decoy and the real serum was still safely locked away in the Viologist’s lab.
By this time the soldier was asleep. His fingers and feet twitched every couple of minutes but nothing significant.
Keres stewed, the heat rising from the pit of his stomach. He grabbed the research folder and flung it open, tearing through the pages, looking for answers. What did he miss? Was there an activation powder or gel that he needed? Or did the cultures die from the the extreme heat? The soldiers brought it back in a cooler, which was better than nothing. But they were idiots and didn’t think to steal a solar powered cooler. A non-powered cooler can only keep things cold for so long.
And sure he hadn’t scrutinized the RNA under a microscope, but he didn’t think that would affect the serum’s effectiveness. So far all gene enhancements had been tested in petri dishes in a lab outside the human body and with human hands. This was the first time they’d programed nano tech to go into the body and alter the DNA of an adult.
As he held the papers up, scrutinizing every diagram, his hand shook, the papers rattling with it. He drew in a sharp breath, slamming the papers on the table. “Why is it taking so long!”
“Could it be no good?” Cerebus asked.
Keres stood and moved with purpose toward the viologist who’d been sitting with his back against the dingy wall. Keres grabbed the viologist by the front of his white shirt and pulled him up to his feet. “If it’s a fake, you’re dead.”
Clanging came from the table. Startled, Keres released the viologist and spun around.
On the table the soldier convulsed violently. His body tensed and relaxed like a stress ball as his arms and legs flailed under the restraints. The veins in his arms and neck bulged and bubbled turning an unnatural violet color. Suddenly the soldier arched his back till it lifted off the table. His eyes rolled back in his head. For a long moment he stayed there, hovering. Then, his body fell limp and his head rolled to the side. A mix of purple foam and blood spewed out.
Cerebus stepped forward placing two fingers on the soldiers neck then stepped back. “No pulse.”
Keres stared at the dead soldier, his hands in tight balls, his eyes on fire. It was a dud. The viologist tricked his men. Made them get the wrong serum. A toxin instead. He spun around toward the viologist. “Where’s the real serum!”
The small man’s eyes grew wide. “That-that was-there’s nothing-” the man stuttered, unable to spit out a cohesive sentence. Keres charged at him. The man trembled. His hands flew up, covering his face and head to defend himself.
Keres let loose, raining down one swift blow after another, cracking bones. The man fell to the ground, not bothering to fight back. He curled into a ball, screaming and crying out for mercy. Keres kick him repeatedly, blood splattering onto his shoes and pants.
When the man no longer moved or screamed, the red dissipated from Keres’ eyes and he relaxed. Cerebus handed him a towel to wipe the blood and sweat from his hands and face. Keres tossed the towel onto the viologist and turned back to the soldier. Now what? He crossed his arms. Maybe he needed to go for a more establish tech instead of something so new and unexplored.
“This is unfortunate sir,” Cerebus said. “I know you was depending on this to work.”
Keres turned to Cerebus “These things happen. We’ll get something else.”
A knock came from the door. Keres unlocked it, and in stepped a tall slender man with ebony skin and an all black uniform.
“Governor,” Keres said nodding hello.
The man scanned the room. “What happened in here?”
“It didn’t work.”
“Hmph.” With this hands behind his back he walked over to the dead soldier, stared at him a moment, then spotted the viologist in the corner, blood seeping across the floor. “And him?”
“He’s why it didn’t work.”
“That’s too bad.” He chewed on his lip as if mulling over what to do next. “No matter. I recently received word about new tech that may be exactly what we need to build our army.”
“Better than this?”
“Much. It’s a Human Computer Interface or HCI that can be implanted into the brain and enhance both physical and mental performance. We can program the chip to have them do whatever we want. Our own army of super humans.”
Keres laughed. “Oh that sounds amazing. Why didn’t we start with that?”
“Because one it’s in Airei. My spy over there recently informed me of this new technology before he went dark again. I suspect they’ve moved the lab again. We need to find where they moved him, and break in to steal the tech. We’ll also need a highly skilled surgical engineer who can both program and implant the chip.”
Cerebus leaned over and whispered, “Sir, that’s enemy territory.”
Keres playfully punched Cerebus’ shoulder. “Oh come on, Cerebus. Where’s your heart of adventure? We live in a tech frontier, a wild west. And if we don’t risk a little, the bad guys win. Walling and I are trying to build a new utopia, better than Overlord Darius.’ We can’t do that unless we win. Go put a scouting team together. I don’t want to walk into the Aeriusvi’s territory blindly. But keep it quiet. Only those we can trust to keep their mouths shut.”
Cerebus nodded and walked out of the room.
Keres eyed Walling. “Any ideas on where to find this surgical engineer we need?”
“No. That’s the problem. No one can seem to find him, but he has a sister in the system.”
“How does that help me?”
“Use your imagination. Those women will do just about anything to ensure their family is taken care of. That is what they were told when they joined anyway. Food and protection for the family they left behind.” Walling snickered. “Anyway, she’ll be easier to find than the brother and with her, you can get to him. I’m sure of it.”
“I look forward to it. It’ll be nice to get back out in the field with my own army again.” Keres and Walling shook hands. Small mishaps lead to better gains.