"Welcome to the Resistance, Private." said the rather stiff uniformed military officer.
Jason Fishermen was lead into what he could only describe as a vault. A vault of... people. Of course he had been in many military bases before. Trained as he was in the arts of being a soldier.. a lot of pressure had been put on them. Pressure from what had happened to the world, and this terrorist group they were fighting. A fight that for the moment, had to be taken under ground.
Still there was one question Jason had to know. Something that just about everyone wanted to know. "Is it true what happened to the president?"
The higher ranking officer turned with his cold blue eyes towards him."Nothing can be confirmed or denied recruit, I was sure they drilled that into you..." His voice was impeccably neutral as he used his card to get into yet another section of the complex with the sound of a chime from the main computer and a green light. In the next area they stepped on moving walkway, with small amber lights on the roof. It paused to an X-ray machine. Jason hoped he wouldn't be dosed up with too much radiation but apparently this area was the most secure base they had.
A computer quietly ticked away as they were bathed in green light again and the walkway continued.
Jason did his best to look around. His training made him acutely aware of his suroundings. This place however was incredibly secure. He even saw some laser light intruder systems... whatever was in here, nobody was going to get in here. "Sir... yes sir. May I ask another question?"
"If it is related to your service here, I don't see why not. At ease, the scan will take another minute."
Were they not already scanned? He eyed the side walls of the walkway. Oh.. damn... not just an X-ray then. They were taking thermal readings and by those suction cups drawing in air... hm... possibly of his breath? A DNA signature? Jason tried to breathe normally as he realised the scans were still going on. "Sir... why was I selected?"
The officer paused as he turned to Jason. "First of all.. You can call me Agent Black. My superior, whom I report to is White- that is as far as you need know. As to why... well... let's get you into the system first." The scan completed and they were moved like toy soldiers in a factory to another set of doors. "Place your hand on the scanner. The system will register you."
Jason did so. This was certainly one of the most overly worked systems he had ever seen. Nothing could get in here. "Where are we sir?"
'Voice print analysis confirmed.' said the computer. 'Private Jason Fisherman. Call sign selected: Agent Red."
Jason nodded in quiet acknowledgement of how he was to be known here. This was the last room. Five layers of careful security all to protect... what? It looked like a smaller version of a ground control to launch a rocket. A number of people all working here... They were all quite young, raw recruits. Just like himself.
Agent Black gave a brief nod. "You were selected because.. it is easier to remove you from the internet. No social media use, not even a mobile phone to your name. Very few pictures.. frankly we want everyone here to have as low a profile as possible. As far as the outside world is concerned, you do not exist."
"This is to do with the I5 right?"
"Everything these days is to do with them..."
Jason slowly got to know the team here. None of them look to have suffered a P-Rash.. all human.
Agent black gathered each of them into a table. "I want you all to meet Agent Red. He will be assisting to take the fight back to the I5. As you are no doubt aware, this group of bio-terrorists is the worst enemy we have ever had. We must stop them... before they do even more harm."
A young woman in a lab coat sat down on the table. She had steely green eyes and long blond hair. Her spectacles gave her an air of authority and intelligence "I won't forgive them for what they did to my husband."
Jason looked to the pretty young woman in her thirties. She had blond hair, and looked not to be a combatant. A science role perhaps?
"Agent Green.. Salina. She is our medic expert," said Agent Black. "Green, please debrief Red on everything you have learned about.. 'It'."
Green nodded and the lights in the room dimmed. A slide show appeared with various pictures of the P-rash. "We have made a couple of assumptions... first of all, we assume that the P-Rash is something that the I5 can not help as a side effect. It was determined that a line of sight was required. However recently tactics have changed. It is believed the I5 might be using a drone delivery mechanism."
"Delivery mechanism?" Jason asked looking at one section going in there. Everyone was curious on what the I5 might potentially be using to infect people.
"Unless we are dealing with a group with a knowledge of 'dimensional physics'... we must assume these bio-terrorists are constrained by the same kinds of demands and needs as many other mechanisms. Energy, resources, and opportunity. A drone could be very large such as a satellite in orbit.. or extremely tiny. Something we might not be able to see. Perhaps even on a dust-mite."
Black nodded. "That's why the scans are as intrusive as they are here. We have no idea how the I5 operate, but there must be a physical method to their approach. We make it as hard as possible for them. Air flows in this base are controlled and filtered. We're operating under a completely quarantined environment.. we will use communication to lease with those top-side in an effort to contain the I5 but if we fail this base will remain and more attempts can be made."
Jason nodded. Seemed like a good idea.. given how unknown this enemy was. "What about defending our soldiers against their weapon?"
Agent Green sighed. "Without knowing how it works, I have been working with Agent Blue to develop counter-tech. If there is some kind of tiny matter at work, electromagnetic fields might disrupt it. We have made a suit that produces a strong field, and outfitted it with weapons that use no metals. In theory the I5 can not use 'It' in the presence of such a strong field... but this is only theoretical and we have made a number of assumptions in their delivery mechanism." Working blind against such an enemy was intolerable but.. they had to try.
Jason looked over Green. It was clear this was very personal to her. "What about reversing the changes? Have you.. worked any of that out?" he appraised her carefully as he probed her with the question.
The young recruit observed as Green's eyes dilated and widened slightly. This topic was clearly something that bothered her. "No... I... can not understand, how they accomplish any of their acts of bio-terrorism. This plague... I am at a complete loss. I don't know..." she was truly shaken. Perhaps she had seen many of the victims or... or maybe she had done a deeper analysis then anyone else had. Whatever she saw in those cells... "I have seen evidence of artificial chromosomes, at least on some of the more advanced changes. These chromosomes will divide and proliferate through the body at an exponential rate... bringing changes to the way cells operate in their wake. I have been working on a viral vector that in theory could remove their presence but- this could become fatal. I can't find a mechanism yet to differentiate it from other chromosomes.. and not everyone has this signature."
Black nodded. "It's going to take a lot of work. White is performing a psychological analysis on each of these people. We suspect they should be predictable. With each change they do, we learn a little more about them. Their motivations, insights.. what kind of searches they do on the internet- Hell what porn they watch. Anything and everything to build a profile of who these people are, and to work out what they will do next before they do."
Red looked at the paper and psy-report. Each had a folder labelled one to five. "So, if we treat these people as criminals and apply methodology to their madness..." he read the report carefully.
Agent Black shrugged. To him these were just criminals that needed to be executed. "White thinks that like any other criminal the I5 might be very proud of their work. Looking up the results of their actions on the internet would become second nature, maybe even visiting their victims or 'befriending' them. The trouble is a lot of other people do the same.. so you have to filter them out. You have to look for the odd ones in all this." Black took out yet another report. It was time to drop the bombshell...
"We think we have tracked down one of them..."
