"They prescribe various specific rites for the attainment of pleasure and power to those who are full of desires, and hold the attainment of heaven as
the highest goal of life. The rebirth is their fruit of action."
- Bhagavad Gita quotes
Astor Row, Harlem; New York City US 6:05 am
"Tony!.... Anthony?! BIG BROTHER WAKE UP!!!"
"WHA?! NO GOD PLEASE!"
The large form which had been previously lying thrashing abut in the bed now sat up, but continued thrashing. Slowly the panting man calmed himself as his eyes darted about the shadows, his hand fumbling on the nearby nightstand for..
The lamp clicked on, illuminating the scene.
"Big brother? Are you ok?" the small child said as she slowly reached out and tried to wrap a tiny hand around his thickly muscled forearm.
"Yeah short thing." he panted. "I'm good." sweat rolled down his face and stung his eyes and he looked over to see the small girl kneeling beside his bed, one leg still twisted in the hastily discarded blanket. "Dang, are YOU alright? I didnt knock you off the bed did I?" he reached over and hefted the now smiling child to his lap.
"Well, sorta, but I aint hurt. I was goin down the hall to use the bathroom and I heard you yelling. I thought you was having another one of those bad dreams so I came in and checked on you and you was all waving your arms and crying. I tried to wake you up but you kinda threw me off you."
"I'm so sorry B, I didnt mean to. Thanks for waking me up. You sure you good?" he said, hugging her to him.
"I am, I am just glad your ok. It was so scary seeing you like that. You aint gonna die are you?"
"Nah I aint gonna die." he half laughed. "It was just a bad dream. Shouldnt eat that pizza before bed."
"But you had that dream 3 nights this week."
"And I been eatin too much pizza."
She looked at him crossly "Tony, we didnt have pizza til last night."
"Girl you think too much." he said as he kissed her on top of the head and sat her back on her feet beside the bed.
Anthony slowly rose to his feet and stretched his arms above his head, wincing at the soft pops and cracks even as he yawned. Rubbing his still heavy eyes he glanced over at the clock.
"Damn, would be gettin up time soon anyway, huh? I'll go down and start on some breakfast. You go get showered and ready for school."
"But school dont start for another two hours!" the small girl exclaimed, putting her hands to her hips in defiance.
"Go watch some cartoons or some infomercials or somethin then."
The little girl watched as her older brother lumbered out of the room still yawning, and turned down the hall towards the toilet. She half smiled and then cast a wary expression back towards the shambled bed.
Brighton by the Sea New Jersey US, 1:30 am
The empty parking lot was dimly lit, yet the exterior of massive compound was dark. No light shown the great, black-glass plinth which prominently jutted forth from the front of building, the center piece of the otherwise blue steel and concrete structure. Just outside the chain link fence which surrounded the the complex, however, light cheerfully shown upwards from incandescent lamps artistically placed amid the colorful flowers and small park benches. They clearly illuminated the large, mirror polished steel sign. "Scientific Studies: Ex Nemus Scientia - Brighton Facility".
Deep inside the labyrinthine compound, however, it was not dark at all. Down at the end of shadowed halls, in a large, domed room, lights flooded the walls and made them glow a brilliant, sterilized white.
A deep thrumming filled Laboratory A15 and made the glass panels lining its balconies rattle gently in time with its tone.
The brow of the lanky, blonde haired man furrowed complaintively as he looked at the data rushing across the flickering monitor. His had gripped the mouse it held tighter for a moment, then slowly released as he took a deep breath and sighed.
"Robins, we just...we should call it a night." the blond man said as his rose from his black leather desk chair and straightened his lab coat. "This data just isnt what we are looking for."
"What?!" Across the room, a larger man appeared from behind a large nest of wires, quickly shoving past them and out into the open.
"Dr. Iko, we're on the verge of a breakthrough here." he exclaimed as he walked towards his colleague, half tripping over the spawl of cables which covered grid work metal floor. "I mean those last readings werent that far off, I was looking at them myself just now and there is less than a 2% variance!"
Dr. Iko sighed once more and place his thumb and forefinger to the bridge of his nose, and shut his eyes as if trying to hear something far away.
"Dr. Roberts... Anthony. We've been over this before. This project, this device, its too dangerous to bring up to full power as long as the variance is above 1%. I PERSONALLY feel it is too dangerous until we get the variance down to .2% or even less."
"But Dr. Iko!" Roberts protested, pointing sharply toward the set of large metal rings, each spanning some 20 feet with a 20 foot gap between them at the center of the room. "We have worked this project down from a 70% variance since I've been here alone. Hell when you began this project everyone told you it wasnt even possible, but you MADE it possible." he glared towards the blonde man across from him. "It was your baby, you believed in it, you even sold Mr. Frank on it personally. When I first started you were all worked up to get things rolling if we could just get it down to a 50% variance. Then 50 became 40, 40 became 25, 25 became 10." The black haired man shook his head in exasperation and clutched his clipboard. "I just dont get what's wrong with you. Dont you want to see this project completed?"
"Yes, Anthony, I do." Dr. Iko cast his gaze towards the apparatus, with its rings and wires and tubes attaching it to the ceiling.
For a moment Iko's eyes shown and a small smile began to form his partner's lips at the sight of it. But it was short lived.
"But we cant risk it, not yet."
Roberts began to speak again, but Iko's outstretched hand stopped him.
"I know I was once more eager than this to begin real human testing. I was almost ready to step in and try it myself after the first large animal test, and that was only at 40%. But you stopped me, remember?"
"I do." Roberts muttered under his breath. "I guess I got all your enthusiasm."
"Oh I am still enthusiastic." Iko laughed. "I guess I am just a little bit more anxious to make sure the first human teleportation traveler comes back with all his pieces. Still attached to all the proper places."
"But you know that in a few days Mr. Frank is gonna be touring this facility himself. He is gonna be expecting some big results. Sending a dog through wont be enough this time. Its been over a year. What if he cuts our funding?"
The blonde haired scientist merely shrugged.
"I guess we can always get a show on Discovery eh?" he laughed as he turned and began walking towards the large metal door. "Your so eager, you shut everything down and log us out tonight, eh Anthony."
Anthony Roberts watched as the doors slid open with a soft "hiss" and then shut with a dull "thump", re-establishing the sterile vacuum seal which kept the room isolated. A standard, Scientific Studies procedure.
"That fool, he is going to lose us everything." he thought as he turned and looked towards the apparatus. "Sure its risky, death would be only a small risk given the fact one could become lost between dimensions, getting stretched atom thin and vaporized, or even being safely transported between gates, but arriving in.. less than pleasant condition. But then again, going to the moon was risky, and the first men willing to do THAT had been immortalized." An idea began forming in the back of his mind. "People did risky things all the time. Why they could die at any minute from any number of things just within their own bodies alone. And history DID tend to remember those who took risks..." He slowly turned to look at the monitor bank and a smile crept over his face.
A few hours later Doctor Anthony Roberts staggered from the doors of the Brighton Facility. The security guards would notice his confused looks, his disheveled appearance, but researchers often put in long hours at the complex so none pay it any mind. None also saw as he stared at his automobile in confusion for 10 minutes before finally managing to clamber inside. And none would notice when the sweaty and pale scientist sitting in his darkened car would look into the rear view mirror, his blue eyes now glowing a malicious red.
- Bhagavad Gita quotes
Astor Row, Harlem; New York City US 6:05 am
"Tony!.... Anthony?! BIG BROTHER WAKE UP!!!"
"WHA?! NO GOD PLEASE!"
The large form which had been previously lying thrashing abut in the bed now sat up, but continued thrashing. Slowly the panting man calmed himself as his eyes darted about the shadows, his hand fumbling on the nearby nightstand for..
The lamp clicked on, illuminating the scene.
"Big brother? Are you ok?" the small child said as she slowly reached out and tried to wrap a tiny hand around his thickly muscled forearm.
"Yeah short thing." he panted. "I'm good." sweat rolled down his face and stung his eyes and he looked over to see the small girl kneeling beside his bed, one leg still twisted in the hastily discarded blanket. "Dang, are YOU alright? I didnt knock you off the bed did I?" he reached over and hefted the now smiling child to his lap.
"Well, sorta, but I aint hurt. I was goin down the hall to use the bathroom and I heard you yelling. I thought you was having another one of those bad dreams so I came in and checked on you and you was all waving your arms and crying. I tried to wake you up but you kinda threw me off you."
"I'm so sorry B, I didnt mean to. Thanks for waking me up. You sure you good?" he said, hugging her to him.
"I am, I am just glad your ok. It was so scary seeing you like that. You aint gonna die are you?"
"Nah I aint gonna die." he half laughed. "It was just a bad dream. Shouldnt eat that pizza before bed."
"But you had that dream 3 nights this week."
"And I been eatin too much pizza."
She looked at him crossly "Tony, we didnt have pizza til last night."
"Girl you think too much." he said as he kissed her on top of the head and sat her back on her feet beside the bed.
Anthony slowly rose to his feet and stretched his arms above his head, wincing at the soft pops and cracks even as he yawned. Rubbing his still heavy eyes he glanced over at the clock.
"Damn, would be gettin up time soon anyway, huh? I'll go down and start on some breakfast. You go get showered and ready for school."
"But school dont start for another two hours!" the small girl exclaimed, putting her hands to her hips in defiance.
"Go watch some cartoons or some infomercials or somethin then."
The little girl watched as her older brother lumbered out of the room still yawning, and turned down the hall towards the toilet. She half smiled and then cast a wary expression back towards the shambled bed.
Brighton by the Sea New Jersey US, 1:30 am
The empty parking lot was dimly lit, yet the exterior of massive compound was dark. No light shown the great, black-glass plinth which prominently jutted forth from the front of building, the center piece of the otherwise blue steel and concrete structure. Just outside the chain link fence which surrounded the the complex, however, light cheerfully shown upwards from incandescent lamps artistically placed amid the colorful flowers and small park benches. They clearly illuminated the large, mirror polished steel sign. "Scientific Studies: Ex Nemus Scientia - Brighton Facility".
Deep inside the labyrinthine compound, however, it was not dark at all. Down at the end of shadowed halls, in a large, domed room, lights flooded the walls and made them glow a brilliant, sterilized white.
A deep thrumming filled Laboratory A15 and made the glass panels lining its balconies rattle gently in time with its tone.
The brow of the lanky, blonde haired man furrowed complaintively as he looked at the data rushing across the flickering monitor. His had gripped the mouse it held tighter for a moment, then slowly released as he took a deep breath and sighed.
"Robins, we just...we should call it a night." the blond man said as his rose from his black leather desk chair and straightened his lab coat. "This data just isnt what we are looking for."
"What?!" Across the room, a larger man appeared from behind a large nest of wires, quickly shoving past them and out into the open.
"Dr. Iko, we're on the verge of a breakthrough here." he exclaimed as he walked towards his colleague, half tripping over the spawl of cables which covered grid work metal floor. "I mean those last readings werent that far off, I was looking at them myself just now and there is less than a 2% variance!"
Dr. Iko sighed once more and place his thumb and forefinger to the bridge of his nose, and shut his eyes as if trying to hear something far away.
"Dr. Roberts... Anthony. We've been over this before. This project, this device, its too dangerous to bring up to full power as long as the variance is above 1%. I PERSONALLY feel it is too dangerous until we get the variance down to .2% or even less."
"But Dr. Iko!" Roberts protested, pointing sharply toward the set of large metal rings, each spanning some 20 feet with a 20 foot gap between them at the center of the room. "We have worked this project down from a 70% variance since I've been here alone. Hell when you began this project everyone told you it wasnt even possible, but you MADE it possible." he glared towards the blonde man across from him. "It was your baby, you believed in it, you even sold Mr. Frank on it personally. When I first started you were all worked up to get things rolling if we could just get it down to a 50% variance. Then 50 became 40, 40 became 25, 25 became 10." The black haired man shook his head in exasperation and clutched his clipboard. "I just dont get what's wrong with you. Dont you want to see this project completed?"
"Yes, Anthony, I do." Dr. Iko cast his gaze towards the apparatus, with its rings and wires and tubes attaching it to the ceiling.
For a moment Iko's eyes shown and a small smile began to form his partner's lips at the sight of it. But it was short lived.
"But we cant risk it, not yet."
Roberts began to speak again, but Iko's outstretched hand stopped him.
"I know I was once more eager than this to begin real human testing. I was almost ready to step in and try it myself after the first large animal test, and that was only at 40%. But you stopped me, remember?"
"I do." Roberts muttered under his breath. "I guess I got all your enthusiasm."
"Oh I am still enthusiastic." Iko laughed. "I guess I am just a little bit more anxious to make sure the first human teleportation traveler comes back with all his pieces. Still attached to all the proper places."
"But you know that in a few days Mr. Frank is gonna be touring this facility himself. He is gonna be expecting some big results. Sending a dog through wont be enough this time. Its been over a year. What if he cuts our funding?"
The blonde haired scientist merely shrugged.
"I guess we can always get a show on Discovery eh?" he laughed as he turned and began walking towards the large metal door. "Your so eager, you shut everything down and log us out tonight, eh Anthony."
Anthony Roberts watched as the doors slid open with a soft "hiss" and then shut with a dull "thump", re-establishing the sterile vacuum seal which kept the room isolated. A standard, Scientific Studies procedure.
"That fool, he is going to lose us everything." he thought as he turned and looked towards the apparatus. "Sure its risky, death would be only a small risk given the fact one could become lost between dimensions, getting stretched atom thin and vaporized, or even being safely transported between gates, but arriving in.. less than pleasant condition. But then again, going to the moon was risky, and the first men willing to do THAT had been immortalized." An idea began forming in the back of his mind. "People did risky things all the time. Why they could die at any minute from any number of things just within their own bodies alone. And history DID tend to remember those who took risks..." He slowly turned to look at the monitor bank and a smile crept over his face.
A few hours later Doctor Anthony Roberts staggered from the doors of the Brighton Facility. The security guards would notice his confused looks, his disheveled appearance, but researchers often put in long hours at the complex so none pay it any mind. None also saw as he stared at his automobile in confusion for 10 minutes before finally managing to clamber inside. And none would notice when the sweaty and pale scientist sitting in his darkened car would look into the rear view mirror, his blue eyes now glowing a malicious red.
