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 Posted: Fri Jan 19, 2007 3:39 am
The red dots on the screen were more numerous than before. More numerous than ever before. It was like an autopsy table, all that red, with a few splashes of green in the middle. They weren't holding up. Allen sighed harshly, angrily pushing his hair back over his brow and typing some more. He paused, in deep thought, and closed his eyes. Then...
"Activate Synaesthesa." he barked sharply.
"Confirm activation of unit S-1 Prototype model."
"Confirm. Password: My Immortal Beloved."
There was a pause. "Activation. S-1 Prototype at 25, 45, 65, 100% Power."
A beep on the console, and as Allen looked down the red of the screen started to fade, bit by bit, from the top down. Like water washing a screen caked with dirt. He sighed again, a weary sigh, and leant back on his chair, rubbing his temples. That was it for one day.
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Posted: Fri Jan 19, 2007 3:49 am
A ripple in the water up ahead. Not a large one, but one filled with an eerie sense of dread. Cyriel stiffened uncontrollably, one of her folder arms reaching up to her face and rubbing her lip nervously. It had returned. Deep in the gloom, a faint silhouette wafted gently through the water. It was smaller than she remembered, about the size of a plate, probably because bits of it kept being removed by the science crew to build their research projects. So far, only one had survived the operation, and was now lying dormant in the holds of the Fortissimo base. Least, it was last she checked. Though the thing in the water had no eyes, she could have sworn it was looking at her with fatal, hungry eyes. It remembered her, that much was certain, and she knew therefore that this was not some irrational fear she was suffering. She knew that very well. All that blood...
It flickered, making her jump, and started to make its way across the tank in sharp, spasmodic movements. Somehow, though, the word spasmodic seemed too comical for such a... sinister movement. It was like a sharp bolt of electricity, darting through a computer circuit. She wanted to move, to get away from it and wipe it from her mind, but she couldn't, she was bolted to the floor by her own fear. She whimpered softly, shutting her eyes tight. Why couldn't anyone see, such things were best left fossilised.
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Posted: Fri Jan 19, 2007 4:18 am
Matarael's footsteps echo down the halls of the research lab. He was at a loss, it seemed Allen didn't need him today. He'd let him know if he did. A heavy door stood before him, most likely the entrance to the actual research wing. It was ajar. Curious, he thought, stepping forwards, the security should have made sure such errors as these were gotten rid of. This place contained some very sensitive material. He walked inside, checking about cautiously. His hand went to a semi-automatic at his belt, purely out of instinct. His eyes narrowed.
Inside the room, a girl was asleep upon the desk. About his age, it seemed. His attention then turned to the rest of the room, his spirits rising a little as he realised he might have a chance to see the legendary flandamerite. He was dismayed, however, to find no sign of anything distinctly like the picture in his mind. He sighed, disgruntled, and turned his attention back to the girl. There was obviously no intruder, perhaps the door was stuck, so he bent down to check to see if she was alright. He took a look at her face. She was... pretty. Very pretty. Matarael found himself mesmerised by her beauty. His subconscious was screaming out at him. Danger! it cried out, You are acting irrationally! For the first time in his life, Matarael pushed the voice of reason aside.
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Posted: Fri Jan 19, 2007 6:27 am
The flandamerite was active, it’d escaped from the tank and was somehow moving around the base, there was sirens going off down every corridor that she turned, she found herself in the top floor, far away from the available exits of the base. It looked suspiciously like a mech, one of the ones she’d been recruited to work on, only this one was blood red. Or rather, it was covered in blood. Everyone was dead except for her. So opened the final door and behind it was the creature she most feared and admired, great claws slashed across her face…
Anne’s crystal blue eyes snapped open with a gasp to be greeted by the sight of Matarael’s face. She squeaked and scooted back in her chair away from him.
“Who are you?” she demanded, furious, “where’s your authorisation?” her eyes flickered up and down him, taking him all in. He had a gun! She was determined not to let him see but she couldn’t stop her eyes opening just a little too far.
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Posted: Fri Jan 19, 2007 11:58 am
Taken aback, Matarael hurredly got to his feet.
"Of course." he said quickly, pulling his ID from the pocket opposite that which held the gun. He handed it to her, all the time looking her in the eyes. Those eyes...
"The door was stuck open." he explained, gesturing with his hand at the malfunctioned door, "I thought someone might have broken in." he left his speech at that, small talk was not his speciality, after all. She was dressed in the uniform of the research crew, so it was pretty obvious why he'd never seen her before. He never spoke to the scientists, partly because the scientists would never speak to him. They were intimidated by him, as many were. Not that he could help it.
"Are you alright?" he added, throwing caution to the wind, "You were asleep just now."
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Posted: Sat Jan 20, 2007 7:17 am
She paused, momentarily stunned by such a high-level clearance, this must be one of Allen’s inner circle. Gathering her wits, she tried to smile, “Oh, I’m just fine, I’ve been working for a while and I was just settling down to do the paperwork. It’s very kind of you to ask, M-Matarael, is it? Sorry if I’ve got it wrong, my memory’s reserved for numbers not names.” She blushed; she was rambling, what had gotten into her? She’d hardly met this gentleman and she was already babbling at him like an idiotic school girl. He certainly was hansom.
“I’m sorry, I’ve clearly gone daft, I’m Anne; can I help you with something?” It suddenly occurred to her what a horrible state her office was in, she barely managed to resist the temptation to dissolve into a frenzy of tidying and organising.
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Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 7:41 am
"Err..." he tried to buy himself some time. His mind was going at a snail's pace, "No, that's alright. I was just, just checking to see if everything was alright. Actually..." he added, giving another look around, "Is this where the flandamerite experiments occur? I've always been interested in them. The... flandamerite wouldn't happen to be around here somewhere, would it?" he turned his head about again, just to make sure.
Anne certainly seemed like a nice person, if not the most organised. Allen would probably have a word or two for Anne if he ever saw it. He suppressed a grin, at least Cyriel would be back in with a fighting chance. He shook the thought from his mind. In any case, the very core of Crescendo Ops was quite unlike his expectations.
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Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 1:05 pm
Anne stared at him a while, this attractive man had wandered down here on the off chance that he would see the very charge that she had just sent to its tank. -What are the chances… Oh God, he’s looking at the disgusting mess of my office, I don’t stand a chance!-
“I’ve just sent the flandamerite back to its tank, there’s a viewing area around here somewhere, I must admit, I don’t spend much time just looking at it. I’m mainly interested in the data it provides.” She paused, uncertain if she should go on but then decided, what the heck, he had the highest security clearance she’d ever seen! “I could call it back up for you, if you’re interested, I don’t know as much about it as a few of the people here, I mainly look after the experiment and take readings from various boring systems.” She shut up, hoping beyond hope that he didn’t think she was a simpleton, that he’d take her up on her offer and that she’d get to spend some time with this mysterious, hansom fellow. There was something about him that sent shivers down her spine. Decidedly pleasant shivers, it was just the babbling and the butterflies that she didn’t like.
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Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 1:22 pm
"No, that's fine." he replied curtly, "It would only be a bother."
He took another sweep across the room with his eyes, picking out the various file names and essay titles. It all went over his head. He wasn't the smart one of the trio, that was Allen, plain and simple. He was the logical one, the tactician, so he seldom dabbled in the magic of science. Nor did Cyriel, for that matter, though she could easily have done if she wanted. Now that he thought about it, Allen didn't really show off his scientific knowledge all that much. Matarael simply assumed he had it, seeing as every strange and mystical device he created worked perfectly. Incendiax's technology level had gotten so high, he could no doubt create whatever he dreamed of.
He suddenly realised he was thinking for too long, when he should have bee talking. "You said you would'call it up'." he remarked, "You make it sound as if it it's, somehow, sentient..."
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Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 1:34 pm
Anne smiled, “It’s certainly sentient, the first few times we called it up, the computers went barmy, everyone of them beeping prime numbers in E flats in various different octaves. We’ve only just got the computers to ignore him when he’s up here.” She sighed, “It’s a shame really, I’d really love to communicate with it but, well, let’s just say we’ve been discouraged.” She shuddered slightly, remembering the letter from Allen saying that by no means should anyone try to communicate with the creature without express permission. The consequences of disobeying that particular order were rather explicit, and painful.
“It’d certainly be no bother, it’s not like the flandamerite sleeps, it only eats and grows and thinks.”
-I wish I knew what it knows, how much it know, a prime number sequence is the sure sign of educated intelligence, yet there has been no-one to teach it.-
“It’s really quite soothing, like fish in a coldly metallic sort of way,” She smiled wistfully, -If ever there was true grace and beauty, it’s in the movement of the flandamerite.-
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Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 1:41 pm
"I'm afraid I wouldn't know." Matarael admitted, though without shame. Shame wasn't his style, "I've never seen it before. Those who have, though, would also say its movement is somewhat... idiosyncratic." he allowed himself a small, arrogant smile. Surely his use of long words would impress her. Although... did he really want to. He decided it was best not to think of the consequences.
"How..." he paused, before deciding to go on, "How can you bring yourself to work with a living thing as if it were a power source?" he asked, "Doesn't that seem... wrong, somehow? Especially if it's sentient." he added, suddenly thoughtful of what Flanny's wrath would look like. It near made him smile again. If he had been Anne, Allen or Cyriel, however, he would not have done.
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Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 2:11 pm
-Idiosyncratic?- she thought to herself, -Is he trying to impress me?!- She smiled kindly in response to his smile, -He seems quite sweet really, I don‘t know what the others are possibly scared of!-
“As far as I know…” She looked down at her papers, once again reminded herself of his high status, “As far as I know, this creature produces all this energy for the purpose of seeing in the darkest of waters, it sends it out in the form of light, the intensity of which varies with the murkiness of the water that it lives in. As it can see perfectly in this water, the energy is going spare.” looking up and meeting his eyes, she added, “We also think it uses a lot of energy for reproducing, not that it’ll be doing any of that around here!”
She managed not to blush, what would her mother think of her, flirting so very badly with a complete stranger! Standing up slowly, she stepped towards the door, it’s really be no bother, I’m sure ol’ flanny would like the company.”
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Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 2:34 pm
"I-is that so." he managed, diverting his gaze to the ceiling lights. They were certainly bright. "No, really, I'm sure we both have more than enough work to get on with, I'll leave you to your research."
He was about to move his feet, when he remembered something relevant. He stopped and reached into his pocket, removing a scrap of paper that he had printed from the company database, a spoil of his endless meddling. He unfolded it and showed it to Anne.
"Before I leave, I wonder if you know this woman." The scrap contained the profile image, name, age, rank and ID number of one 'Evangeline Roberts'. Matarael explained. "She was the head of the research division until a few months ago, when it seems her data disappeared from the system. Nobody seems to remember her. The only reason I have this is because I managed to acquire it before the date of her disappearance. Incidentally," he added, "on that day Incendiax suffered a power failure in these decks, meaning there was no security footage."
Cyriel had been there that day, he remembered. She had returned looking pale, though she said nothing had happened. She had let slip, though, that Allen himself had been called down to witness whatever it was that 'hadn't happened'. He, too, didn't utter a word about it under questioning. It was all too suspicious.
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Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2007 3:34 am
“'Evangeline Roberts'” Anne grew pale, she didn’t want to remember that day,
“I-I think I’ve heard the name,” she lied. She knew the woman very well, had worked under her since she’d been here, ‘nothing happened’ was the official story, she hadn’t been in the room but she’d heard the screams. No-one saw anything with all the lights off, even the emergency flood lights were dark. Once the lights came back on, Evangeline Roberts had gone. Allen had made it clear that everything was alright, a trifle of an over exaggeration on the part of Ms. Roberts, nothing to be worried about. It was a few days later that the notice arrived for them to not attempt communication with the creature.
“When I first started, I had very little to do with the more important jobs on the research team,” another lie, she’d flown straight to the top within weeks of arriving, “I think she was in charge before my predecessor.” Why was it so hard to lie to this man, she knew it was in her best interest not to mention anything about the woman in case Allen found out she’d been talking about things she wasn’t qualified to know.
She didn’t want to look at that face but she couldn’t help it, that woman had been a great friend to her when she was new to this cold building, this hard work-place, Eve had been very kind; a great mentor. She turned quickly to face a wall covered in a curtain, she didn’t want this man to know what she knew, she walked towards it a little too quickly and stumbled a little over the wheelie-chair leg, she managed to maintain her balance but she still blushed.
Arriving at the wall she pulled open the curtain to reveal two large cages and a large wooden chest. One of the cages contained a monkey but the other seemed to be empty apart from a cardboard box filled with torn-up paper. She opened the chest revealing Tupperware containers filled with fruit and bugs.
“Eve was quite a legend, it’s a shame she had to leave.” She murmered.
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Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2007 3:46 am
Mark toured the penultimate floor of his tea-duty in a less than satisfactory mood; Matar was no-where to be seen. He hopped into the lift and made his way down to the lower lab level to see if Anne had finally quit working. He wasn’t allowed in the lab itself so he took the back route to her office, fully prepared to leave another neglected cup of the strongest coffee he’d ever made. The second door to her office was closed and windowless but he could still heard movement, violent movement as he drew closer, it sounded like someone had fallen of, Gods forbid, been pushed. If there was an intruder on the lower levels, he was duty-bound to report it, especially if they were ruffling up his friend of many years. Leaving his trolley where it was he drew closer to the door and stopped to listen, he didn’t want to send a false report.
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