Sunset and the human rush hour started. A black ford car raced at almost the speed limit to a secretive lab. Mr Gordon punched in his security number, and placed his hand on the panel. The computer verified his identification as he went deeper into the bowls of his company.
He met the head scientist who was just starting his shift. Dr Michello who had phd's in just about every scientific branch. He was his greatest expert... and cost an absolute fortune to keep him employed. Still, it was completely worth it.
"I want you to test this sample immediately," Said Gordon, showing the bag and a single white hair in it.
Dr Michello looked curiously, rubbing his small beard. "Why did you have to rush this on a weekend? We have other samples that deserve just as much priority."
"You don't understand... this one is different. She's human. As close to human as I've seen anyone. Also. I will be getting a sample from woman who exhibits chimeric cells."
Michello nodded understanding the significance immediately. Still he disliked changing the protocol. Such behaviour tended to make mistakes."...well now, that could be interesting." He took the sample. "I will do a few tests... and get back to you."
He kept the hill on his sights, ever wary of the light in its pause on the edge of sunrise.
Seek the light, to avoid being burned by the light? How could that make any sense? Who was that woman!Yet that seemed to be his only option at the moment if he was sincere in his desire to help Jenny.
He prided himself in meticulous plans, never one to take leaps of faith. Others do to their doom, but he found a parachute would help. But here, he had nothing. Just his wits... his gun was gone. No weapon... nothing.
He was nervous, and that brought the vague desire for a cigarette. What was stranger still though, was that the thought also elicited repulsive feelings in him now. Probably because he gave it up... there was no memory of him actually 'enjoying' it. He eventually felt the incline on his feet, as he started at the hill.
Why would Jenny want him to come here? At the base of this hill, he did not realise quite how high it was. It didn't seem this big in the distance... The girl brought him here...wanted him here... why? How would he be safer here?
He steeled himself, taking another step. He had to climb this hill.
The ground felt hard, and the incline became steep very quickly. Every step was becoming painful to his feet, and now, he really was feeling physically tired. Still he had to climb... that peek up there, that point of light... he had to get there.
The hill became even steeper, he was starting to have to crawl on his hands. He paused, out of breath for a minute, to survey the landscape and laid on his back. The sunlight seemed to be rising faster, now that he stopped. He felt tired... he needed to sleep...
"NO!" He shouted... He had to go on! Even if that was the center of an inferno... that inferno would spread out here, and he would not survive. No matter how dangerous it seemed to be at ground zero, it was safer then being here.
He crawled faster, up the incline. "Find... Jenny... Find the girl... get out of here..." He coughed as he felt the bitter wind in his throat. He was calling up reserves he never knew he had as if the wind was whittling down his very soul.
After what felt like hours, he thought he was at the top... but no. It was a sheer cliff. He eyed the natural wall. Going around seemed impossible. It would take him beyond the dark ends of this narrowed landscape. Could Jenny have climbed up that? It didn't seem likely... he wasn't sure even he could with equipment.
At his hesitation, the sky brightened slightly. He glanced up, knowing if he stopped now, his fate would be consigned to that burning light. This was impossible!
"How... am I to get up that?" He asked himself... he couldn't. It was too steep.
The lightened sky intensified... He put his doubts aside and tried to climb up the sheer cliff. On his first attempt his foot slipped. The light continued to brighten.
Was he beaten? No.. not without a fight. He can't give up. Not now... He dug his hands into the wall, wincing in pain at a broken nail. He tried to get a foothold... inch by inch... "Left hand one..." He panted. "Right hand... Two..." He pulled up his weight, surprised that he didn't seem quite as heavy as he remembered. "Left foot... three..." He tested the weight, making sure it was supported. "Right foot... four..."
He repeated the motion, climbing with deliberate care... finding every foothold and hand grab he could. This seemed to be the final hurdle... he just had to climb...
... just a little... further.
Hiro was glad he was still able to dream. He wondered if true AI's could? After all, when they were off, they were off... but as a cyborg, Hiro's mind had different gradations of activity with an independent module. The closest analogy he could think of was that he was running two operating systems with different strengths and weaknesses in a visualised environment, allowing independent viewing of the other in all its states.
His dreaming tended to be more lucid. It was like he always knew when he was dreaming, and could either take direct action or allow himself to just go with it.
Right now, he was having a nightmare. His cybernetic arm had just hurled his sister across the wall, like a rag doll. The machine nature of his body was active, and was acting on it's own strange logic.
Hiro's first thought was to terminate this dream... but he wasn't sure he should. He had already fiddled with his brain enough today. If he was dreaming this, there had to be a purpose behind it. The fact that he knew he was dreaming, was enough to let him be detached from the whole thing, even as his body was going on a rampage through the streets.
It was like watching a movie... one he could feel everything in.
He relived the moment he electrocuted himself. The pain his organic parts responded with, silenced at the time yet now free to express it.
He then saw the image of the flower girl... and his cyborg arm, was about to go for the flower on her head. It was about to pluck it off, just to see what would happen...
That's when he decided to stop the dream. He... couldn't watch what might happen next. Clearly he was full of doubts. He realised his artificial system had also 'recorded' the dream. He wanted to purge it, but he wasn't sure he could forget it even if he removed the file.
Gordon arrived home. He felt guilty... but it was done. This could help the world find a cure. Not just for his own children, but everyone. Anyone would understand why he did it...
He did not expect a phone call from the lab so soon.
"Gordon? It's Michello..."
"Yes? You found something?" Gordon asked curiously. So soon?
"You said... that girl was as close to human as you have ever seen?" Michello said very strangely.
"Yes," Gordon nodded.
"Well... I don't see how. This sample is completely different from any sample we have had. For one thing.. its a quadruple helix structure."
"W-what?" Gordon raised an eyebrow.
"quadruple helix. The DNA is wound up in quaternary helical form. We had to do crystallography tests to be sure. It gets a bit more interesting... her chromosomes are grouped in fours... tetraploid arrangement."
Gordon had to sit down. This didn't seem.. possible. "How many chromosomes?"
"sixteen... four groups of four," Michello explained. "None of our techniques can read the DNA structure. We are not set up for it..."
Gordon nodded. Such an alien sample would resist the usual scientific protocols.
"Gordon... you should know something else." He said carefully.
"What..."
"The sample... was stolen." Michello said carefully.
"W-WHAT!?" Gordon nearly lost it at that point. "How! Who!"
"I have looked at the security cameras... near as I can tell, it just vanished. All the data on it is gone too. It's like... it was never here."
Gordon got very quiet at that point. It wasn't supposed to be like this... He swallowed. This was unexpected. This line might not even be secure if they had stumbled onto something... ""Okay... forget it happened."
"Boss?"
"Forget... about it. We'll look for something else."
"Okay.." Michello responded, putting the phone down.
