Tomoko Niita
Rockfort Island Lighthouse, Laboratory
October 9, 12:31 AM
Dr. Niita might not have even noticed the security breach if it hadn’t been for the hunters; it seemed they were useful after all, though not in the way they’d been intended.
She’d spend most of the day in the lab, dreamily pondering the pressurized canisters standing by the entrance, the shining steel glittering seductively in the soft light. Once she’d made the decision to let the virus go, she’d realize that there was really nothing else to do. The hours had flown by; each glance at the clock had been a surprise, though not an unpleasant one. She’d be the first, after all, the first to convert the way of the world. With that in front of her the only task with which she needed to concern herself was getting the canisters up to the lighthouse- and with the doctors waiting silently, patiently by, even that was taken care of. Just before dark, she’d give them their final instructions- and then proudly lead the human species into the light, into the miracle of peace.
Something Japan should have done during World War II.
It had been the thought of the hunters, that had finally drawn her out into the caves, the only concern she hadn’t already dismissed as trivial. She’d already made a mistake with the Leviathans; once she’d taken over the facility, she’d lowered the cove gates on impulse, wanting them to be free as she’d felt. It wasn’t until the next day that she’d realized the government might find out and come looking, effectively putting an end to her plans. She’d continued to send in weekly reports to keep up appearances, but there was no good explanation for the “escape” of the four creatures. It had been sheer luck that the Leviathans had returned on their own.
The hunters were a different matter entirely, of course. Unlike the deltas, they were too violent, too unpredictable to be let out. But letting them starve to death in their cage didn’t seem right, particularly not when they, too, would enjoy the effects of her gift; it wasn’t their choice to exist as creatures of destruction, even to exist at all. And since she’d played a small role in their creation, she felt a responsibility to do something for them…
She’d stood in front of the outer gate for quite some time, considering the problem as all five of the animals hurled themselves repeatedly at the heavy steel mesh, their strange, mournful howls echoing through the damp and winding caves. There was a manual lock release near the enclosure, another in the lab- but there was no way to loose them from the lighthouse, and she certainly couldn’t let them out before she got to safety. She could send one of the doctors to do it, but the hunters had a much slower metabolism than a human’s, and there was a risk that they would get to her before they made the change. About a month before her takeover of the compound, Dr. Takahashi and two of his vet techs had made the mistake of trying to tend to one of the sick ones; it was a bad way to die, and although she’d be oblivious to the pain once she’d made the transition, she meant to stay with the new world for as long as possible.
Niita had finally decided that euthanasia was the only reasonable choice. It was a reluctant decision, but she could see no alternative. Although the lab was well stocked, poisons weren’t her forte, so she’d decided to look up the information on the mainframe- and there, in the cold comfort of the concealed laboratory, she’d discovered that her sanctuary had been invaded.
She sat in front of the computer in a kind of shock, staring at the blinking cursor that indicated system use in one of the bunkers. There was no chance that it was a mistake. Except for the lab terminals, and parts of the nearby military city, the rest of the compound had been powered down days ago.
The government had come.
The first emotion to break through her stunned astonishment was rage, a sweeping, red-hot fury that tore away all reason, descending over her like a blinding fire. For a few moments, she was lost, her body taken over by the primal force, grasping and rending, tearing at the useless, meaningless things that fell beneath her burning fingers.
-they will NOT will NOT stop me will NOT-
When her hands touched the cool metal of the canisters, the fire turned to ash. The smooth, silver tanks were like a splash of reason, brining her back to herself. Her control returned as abruptly as it had gone, leaving her breathless and sweating.
My creation. My work.
Blinking, gasping, she found herself standing in a sea of ripped papers, broken glass, and torn circuitry. She’d managed to destroy the computer, the bearer of bad news, in pieces on the cold floor. On another day, she might have been ashamed at the hysterical tantrum, but on this, her eve of greatness, she allowed that the rage had been justified.
Justified, perhaps, but pointless. How will you keep them from stopping you? You can’t release the strain from here, and you can’t risk taking it outside, not now… What are their plans? How much do they know?
She could find out easily enough. There were still two other terminals in the lab and she walked quickly to one of them, glancing at the mute doctors, sitting quietly by the airlock. If they’d even noticed her rampage, they gave no sign. She felt a small rush of hatred for them, for creating the useless deltas; the “unstoppable” guards had failed her now that she needed them most- and regret for scrapping the invincible Testudo project…
She sat down and turned on the monitor, impatiently waiting for the terminal to boot up. The security network for the compound’s system was based in the lab; she’d be able to see what the intruders were seeking without alert to her presence, if she could remember how to access the information…
She tapped several keys, waited, then typed in her clearance number. After the briefest of pauses, lines of glowing green data spilled across the screen.
She’d done it.
‘ Seek, find locate… ‘
She frowned at the information, wondering why the hell anyone from the government would be searching for the laboratory- and for that matter, why they’d try looking for that information in the mainframe at all. The system designers weren’t idiots, there was nothing about the layout of the facility in the files…
…and the government would know it. Which means…
Relief coursed through her, cool and pure relief so great she laughed out loud. She suddenly felt quite silly at her childish reaction to the breach. The searcher wasn’t from the government, and that changed everything. Even if they managed to find the lab- an unlikely proposition at best, considering its’ location- they wouldn’t be able to gain entry without a keycard. And Niita had destroyed all of them-
-except for Hirokane’s. His was never found.
Niita froze, then shook her head, a nervous smile on her face. No, she’d searched practically everywhere for the missing card, what were the chances that the interloper would stumble across it?
And what were the chances that they’d make it past the deltas, hmm? And what was Kenshi up to during those hours when you couldn’t find him? What if he got a message out? You only checked for transmissions to the government, but what if he contacted someone else?
Even as the dreadful, impossible thought occurred to her, the computer began to spit out information on the logic skills tests. The socio-psychological series tests that Hirokane had designed.
Niita felt her control slipping again. She clenched her hands into fists, refusing to give in; there was too much at stake, she couldn’t afford to let her emotions take over, not now, she had to think.
I’m a scientist, not a soldier, I don’t even know how to shoot, to fight! I’d be useless in combat, totally…
Unpredictable. Uncontrollable.
A slow grin spread across her features.
Blood was seeping from her fists, from where her ragged fingernails had dug into the heels of her hands, but she felt no pain. Her gaze wandered around the open, silent laboratory, resting briefly on the airlock. Then to the blank, stupid faces of her doctors. To the cylnders of compressed air and virus, her miracle. And finally, to the controls for the mesh gate that led to the animal enclosure.
Dr. Niita’s smile widened. Blood patterned to the floor.
Let them come.
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