Ann
Shooting an angry glance at Lyle Odenheim, Ann said, "I thought you made the Janus protocol transparent." Lyle swallowed. A thin man with a thin moustache tracing his upper lip, his eyes bulged constantly. Coupled with the halo of hair that always seemed to float about his head, it gave him the appearance of a person who was in a perpetual state of surprise. This impression only became worse when he swallowed, his slender neck bobbing above the collar of his coveralls. "Uh…" "He cut off. Right after saying that they were going to catch more 'things' later." Ann had learned how to glower from her mother; she used the skill well. "This isn't why I contacted you." "Look," said Lyle, shifting from foot to foot, his nerves obviously frayed. He kept licking his lips and glancing at the door. Ann could guess that he wanted to get to the Hangar--she'd been lucky to have caught him before he'd heeded the evacuation call. And there had been blood--there was blood everywhere, it seemed--on their hasty trip to his workstation, where Ann sat now. He was still shaken by that. "Look," he said again. "I did the best I could. You told me--earlier today, as I seem to recall--that Janus was a no. Now it's a yes. I didn't have time to run everything I wanted to on the program." Ann felt dirty. Biting her lip, she considered her words carefully. "I don't like what this is. Were we not in an emergency situation, I would never have done this." "It's not unethical, if that's what you're worried about," said Lyle, putting his hand out to reassure her. "The concept has been thoroughly vetted by a consortium of private army CEOs and some of their ethicists." "That doesn't really assure me of anything," said Ann, standing up. "And that's beside the point. I don't want this protocol in our system. Once this situation is tidied up, I want your work expunged from the Compound's mainframe." Lyle licked his lips. "Chief Timpson, I beg you…" She pointed at the aedee-pad on his workstation. "I only need one more thing from you." "What?" he asked, sounding defeated. "I need you to find me the coordinates of Korryn, the woman that he was talking to." "I can do that," said Lyle. His attitude was sycophantic mixed with pride, which made for a most unpleasant combination to Ann's mind. "No problem." He wiggled his fingers in a pattern that was both too fast for her to recognize and too unfamiliar to remember. A moment later, he held out his hand. Ann touched his palm, allowing her aedee to download the information via a tactile transfer. "This will keep a bead on her until you tell Janus to stop. I've given you access to control that, as needed." Lyle looked morose. "But, please. Don't get rid of it until you've at least talked to me." Ann stared at him, her expression a cold blankness that she knew was more discomfiting than neutral. "I'll think about it." "Okay." Lyle nodded, his throat bobbing. "Okay. Thanks." "I'm going to make sure that you're escorted safely to the Hangar," she said, gesturing at the door. The workstation was one of many of the engineers who worked in the same space. Their terminals dotted the room, making it a less-than-straight path to the exit. Still, Lyle knew what she was doing. He headed in the right direction, pausing once as if to ask a question, then changing his mind. When the door dilated, one of her crew was there, waiting for him. "Come with me, sir," said the officer, but whatever else she said was lost as Bertram Callaway slid past the two and into the room. "Bert," said Ann, somewhat surprised to see him. His skin-sheath was noticeable beneath his security coveralls, and he carried an aedee-rifle with him. The weapon was considered to be safer than any other designed by the PAs, but Ann thought the possibility of having a corporate entity be in control--even tangentially--of the weapon that was supposed to save her life was a possibility too large to agree with. While having a safety lock that only contact with one's aedee made sense in a theoretical way, the practical application of it was that Ann had to trust in the goodness of Desert Peaks to let her use her weapons. That didn't sit well with her. Bert, though, disagreed. They'd gone more than one round--both in drink and in conversation--about the topic. "Chief," he said, adjusting the gun that also sat on his hip. "You wanted someone?" Ann tried to recall. There had been a lot of orders, a lot of things to remember and keep moving. At last, it came to her. "Yes, yes. I wasn't expecting you, Bert." "I was close by." "How's the evacuation going?" "We've had some problem spots, but we're moving along pretty well. The major thoroughfares are all broken into, so the system has sealed them shut." He grimaced, shaking a lock of his dreadlocked hair from his piercing brown eyes. "It is what it is, but it has made it harder to get anyone anywhere." Shrugging, he added, "I hope to finish up in the next couple of hours. Barring any unforeseen circumstances." Ann tweaked an eyebrow. "Yeah, barring those." He chuckled, but she couldn't sense any humor. "There are some casualties--we're looking at about nineteen deaths that we know of, plus twice that in injuries. Some are minor. Sprained ankles and wrists, a few bruises from panics. But we're still getting reports. The energy problem has put comms down in certain sectors--we're still trying to figure that part out." "Keep it up." "Thank you. How are you holding up?" Ann sighed. She'd expected this question, but it didn't make it any easier to answer. "I'm hanging in there. I don't have the luxury of feeling bruised, tired, or old." "Well, don't burn yourself out. We need you." She gestured at him. "You've been running pretty well without too much oversight from me or Captain Rall." Bert shrugged. "You designed the procedures that we follow. If there are any changes to it, I'll let you know." Ann nodded. "Excellent. Thank you." "Yes, sir." Bert turned to go. "Hey, wait." He faced her again, his large arms unconsciously flexing as he adjusted his aedee-rifle on his shoulder. "I need you to do something for me. Can you assign someone to watch over the Brig?" He arched an eyebrow. "At a time like this, sir, we need every hand to help." "I know. Pick someone green, anxious to prove herself." Then she shook her head. "No, never mind. Pick someone that you can spare for whatever reason. I'd…I would feel better knowing that there's a guard down there." "Why?" "I don't trust Senton." "Doctor Trapp?" Bertram frowned. "He's in the Brig?" "Long story. Point is, I need someone watching." "I'll get someone there as soon as possible. Anything else?" Ann shook her head, returned his salute, and sank into the chair. Having had Lyle here and finally compromising on the Janus protocol made it difficult for her to think clearly. She'd long resisted the power that the Janus protocol meant she could take, and, to be honest with herself, she'd expected more benefit for having sacrificed her good judgment. Still, she could keep track of Korryn with the access Lyle had given her. So maybe some good would come through? Out of curiosity, she turned on the viz-player with her aedee, letting it project its three-dimensional version of her workstation. The new file glowed softly, letting her know that she had yet to access it. She reached out, then hesitated. Maybe it wasn't too late to walk back from a mistake? But was it a mistake? Not being able to take care of these rogue elements--and how quickly she'd come to think of the small conspiracy between Korryn and Senton as "rogue elements" when the best she had was an understanding that they wanted to do something with the baby Dentolura--was dangerous. There were lives being lost because of Senton, so was it a sense of justice? She didn't want an emergency to prevent her from enforcing the laws of Prospero and those from the greater whole of humanity? Or was that petty? She'd used the idea of emergency to justify the way that she was behaving with regard to Janus. What other exceptions could she make? The ideas rattled around inside her head, distracting her and making the omni-present headache that much worse. What she wouldn't do for a bit of Calm--not a lot, of course, but enough to take the edge off. Sighing, she pushed past the frustration and tapped the icon on the viz-player. Immediately, the display showed a map--a poor one that lacked detail, in Ann's estimation--of the Compound. There were two glowing icons, both labeled. One was for the doctor. Still in the Brig, not moving around at all, of course. The other was for Korryn, who was, to Ann's surprise, headed toward--at best guess--the Laboratory wing. Frowning, she leaned in, squinting at the spot on the display. Her aedee zoomed in automatically, but there wasn't any more detail to understand. The program was showing the positions of the two people's aedees. That was it. Waving away the display, Ann leaned back. She needed to get out there. She needed to help the rest of the colonists who were in danger. It was not the time to slip. But there was so much banging about in her mind. From the attack to the different creatures to the fact that her sister was here to the downer from the Calm, all of it seemed too much. The last thing she needed to do was slip into a buzz, to take a hit that would impair her judgment. Frustrated, she slapped the top of Lyle's desk. The force of the blow caused something in the drawer to rattle. Surprised at the sound, she peeked into the man's desk. There, tucked into a corner, likely freed from her blow, was a small, familiar package. Calm. She could use this Calm, saving the one in her pocket for another time. That felt like a good enough reason to not fret about the high. She had an opportunity here that she couldn't--or maybe even shouldn't--waste. Reaching in, she snagged the container. It was smaller than what she was used to, and the label on the outside a different color. Unsure what that could mean, she hesitated. But the pressure--the need--resurfaced. She held the container to her face. A flick of the finger, and she'd calm down. She'd Calm down. She hesitated, but only for a moment. Finger moving, she triggered the release. The package popped open, Calm misted her nose and mouth, and the drug acted immediately, sending her away, clearing her mind of what she'd done. Outside, in the hallway, she heard screams. |
What is this?This is a NaNoWriMo project that publishes, day by day, the chapters I'm writing for 2017. If you're confused, go to Chapter 1 Ann and start there. ArchivesCategories
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