“He says, ‘Yes, I’m alone. I punched in the secured line. I’ll bring them to you and we can go over them.’ The doctor then hangs up. He has the file…”
“Oh, shut him down. We want to get into the room, not follow this doctor.”
“No, it’s okay. We’ll see where the doctor’s going, find out more about this project. Follow him, Agent. Where’s he now?”
Zoom. Cut.
“Entering another level. Gray carpet. Looking up. Different…I can’t see well.”
“Follow him, Agent. I’m here with you. Don’t be afraid.”
“The passage is light, then dim, then almost shadowy. Like a tunnel with strange walls. The doctor knocks on a door. The pounding’s so loud! He palms the scanner and the door slides open. The doctor steps into the—oh, my God—”
“Shit! He’s screaming like he’s in pain! Why’s he covering his eyes?”
“Agent, what’s wrong?”
Dark. Dark.“Can’t see, can’t see! Loud! Mental block. Can’t see! Headache. Get me out, get me out!”
“That’s the second time his stupid headaches have interrupted the sessions. I say let’s use someone new.”
“Please, please, I need another dose.”Dark. Gone.“It hurts! The air is like water. The energy is beating on my head.”
“You’re right. The drug has eaten his brain or something. Look at his vitals. He’s having difficulty breathing.”
“I say let him suffocate. It would be natural causes, right?”
“No. They’ll discover the serum in his system. We don’t want anyone to be suspicious about any of the patients here. Let’s snap him out of it. Agent, can you hear me?”
Dark. Dark. Very, very dark.
COS COMMAND CENTER
Kirkland put down the files he had brought along on the huge desk that dominated the room. The private living quarters suited the owner—stark, simple, and work-oriented. He couldn’t find a single thing there that betrayed anything about the man who was casually putting on some clothes in front of him. Like the desk, his presence dominated the room. He wondered whether the man had any other life outside here.
“Here they are. Nothing unusual. I assume the session went very well? She mentioned you both were falling from a great height. Did you plan that?” Dr. Kirkland sat down.
He watched the man throw the wet towel into a bin nearby, then walk with that unhurried air he always had toward the small kitchen.
“No, it was unplanned,” he said as he poured a drink from the refrigerator.
Kirkland nodded at the silent offer of a glass. “Was it a test of her reflexes? Or how she was adjusting to VR?”
The Portal was the newest tech advancement for VR and with its brain wave synchronicity mode, he was concerned about the complex issues behind the program. As a doctor, he was excited to see two candidates so suited for the new program. He had been a junior aide during the first experiments in the V-Program years ago, and now he was part of the main research team of V2, as COMCEN had secretly renamed this program.
“Yes.”
“They like to file every finding and effect about Miss Roston ASAP,” Kirkland said.
“Later, Doc. Tonight.”
Kirkland usually advised against that, but he was talking to a man who could recall a memory of a map of a hostile camp down to the color of the coffee cup in the hand of the man he had assassinated from six years ago. He would never forget the amazing show of the man’s computation abilities during the initial stages of finding and approving the trainer role for V2.
“Will you be at the Q and A session?” Finishing the cold protein juice, Kirkland got up to put the glass in the kitchen sink.
“Probably, if I’m back. I’ll want to listen in on the tape if I’m late.”
Kirkland noted the new shoes the man was putting on and wondered what assignment he was going into. “I’m sure Miss Roston will be asking a bunch of questions. She’s the one taking all the risks, after all. She’s been very cooperative, though. Her psych profile said she wasn’t a team player but I find that to be untrue.”
