Future Findings
10

It had to be far later than midnight, though I couldn’t look up at the sky to be sure. I hopped out of bed, already fully clothed. I wouldn’t need much. Just the keys to the car that I had gotten from Angus. It hadn’t dawned on me that the door leading out would be locked, and miraculously it wasn’t. I thought that The Elders may have had something to do with that. I didn’t need a pack for this mission, and I decided to leave a face mask. I wouldn’t be outside long.

The stairs were high and tortuously long in the quiet dark. But when I made it up, the world was dark. I found my way to the car, and headed towards the city. I kept the radio off, and just focused on my thoughts. I focused on what I was going to do next. Would I use the time machine? Likely not, I couldn’t leave my friends. Would I help Laura and learn more about the inventions her company has manufactured? Yes. Whether I did it in the name of love, or because I disagreed with AMO and thought that technology truly did benefit mankind, I didn’t know. And I didn’t care.

Once I had made it to the Baker complex, I didn’t bother to park far away. I stopped the car right in front. There was no point of trying to blend in and remain anonymous, Laura knew I would come back. She had been expecting me. I got out, and discovered that even for the time, the sidewalks were jam packed with people. I become acutely aware of the amount of people with mechanical implants. A man with nearly indiscernible robotic limbs, a lady in a hijab with wired and metal ears. Even a little kid with one laser eye. It seemed that all their implants were simply for function. Yet I saw numerous people with hair that changed color-- a result of hormonal robots in the scalp (or, at least that’s what Eddie had said they were). There was even an entire group of people with robotic wings on their back; that were capable of flapping and moving on their own, yet didn’t seem to have the power to lift the wearer off of the ground. None of these things were created to allow the user abilities that humans didn’t currently possess. But I was near certain that that’s what I had returned for.

I made my way into Baker Building One, and headed over to the elevators. I took it up to the highest floor, and hoped that I could navigate my way to one of Laura’s offices. But after upwards of half an hour spent searching through glass hallways, I was met with Laura herself.

“You came!” she exclaimed, with what seemed to be fake delight. She gave me a warm hug, and I remembered the day I had first met her. The day she hugged me, and the way I felt after she let go. “You want to go back? Don’t you,” she said as if she already knew my intentions. I shook my head, and she gave me a puzzled look. She was silent, waiting for me to explain.

“For the other experiments. The ones you said I’d enjoy,” I said.

“Yes. Of course,” she said as she clapped her hands together. I felt a pit in my stomach, one that had slowly formed ever since I had decided to sneak out of AMO in favor ofr the future. Being in there was just so much like a prison. No phone, no computer, no outside contact.

She grasped my hand, and led me down the hall. We waltzed by multiple men in expensive looking suits, and they openly gaped at me. Lucky bastard, I bet they were thinking. And I was lucky. Lucky to have Laura holding my hand, and lucky to be able to see what inventions and implants were available for me. She was completely overwhelming, and I felt that for many people it was near impossible to look into her hazel eyes and deny any request she made. We didn’t walk long, but even so it flew by like nothing. When we came to a stop, we stood outside a large double door room, and above where both planks of wood came together-- a sign. It read; Laura Baker’s Main Office.

So I was right, she had multiple offices. We stepped in, and I was immediately stunned. It was nothing like you would expect the owner of a science-tech corporation to work in. In fact, it looked more like a hippie’s dream house. Plants sat on nearly every available surface. They rested in chairs, laid themselves out on counters, and even sat in front of Laura’s computer. Countless flowers hung suspended from the ceiling. Laura seemed to take notice of my awe.

“Yeah. Well, it’s good to have a balance between nature and the new world. Too much nature, and there’s no progression in humanity. Too much of the new world, and we lose our roots, our souls, and our planet.” Huh. Where was the progression in AMO? If this was how the whole company operated-- with a balance like this-- why were we attacking them? I wondered if I was on the wrong side of this fight. If, just maybe, all my friends were the ones at fault. But then again, Laura was captivating and intimidating. This may all just be a ploy to get me to do whatever she wants.

She made her way to the counter, completely ignoring her desk.

“I like to have most talks and discussions away from my desk, in order to be rid of the overseer-worker ideology.” Makes sense. There sat a multitude of folders, all with different labels. “Here,” she began. “Is our full list of new prototypes. There’s everything, to be fully honest. It ranges from x-ray vision to Edward Scissorhands.” But wait. Wouldn’t these inventions change me? Wouldn’t they corrupt me? It seemed that I still had a part of AMO inside of me.

“But won’t I lose a little bit of myself with every piece of metal I get stuck on me?” I asked. Laura smiled warmly, and answered.

“Not at all, Abid. With each new bit of technology, you improve yourself. You keep all the old: the memories, the emotions, the ideas and thoughts, and add the new: the abilities, the strength, the possibilities.” I should tell Eddie about this! We could do some real good with this, I thought. But I forced the idea away, I left AMO. Maybe I would return. But for now, I was here. My grandfather had always said that if you were to truly take a side on a conflict, you had to first see it from both angles. That was just what I was doing.

“Which ones can I have?” I asked, looking at the dozens of folders and trying to find augmentations that would benefit me.

“Whichever ones you want,” she responded.

I woke up in Laura’s office. I had spent the night there, while she had gone home. I had peered over every single folder, and taken out ones that interested me. When I had opened my eyes at the crack of dawn, I was very confused. Why can I see the Sun? I had become accustomed to the eternal dark of AMO’s base. It was a pleasant surprise to have light shine down on me as I slowly woke up.

The first prototype I wanted to be a lab rat for was very minimal. It seemed noninvasive, and was only for improved vision. It was similar to laser eye surgery, but replaced your your retinas completely. “You’ll never have to use glasses, contacts, artificial tear drops, or even a magnifying glass”, the handwritten note inside stated. With the replacement of your retinas, it allowed you a sort of telescope vision. Supposedly, I could zoom in and out at will, much like a camera.

When Laura came back, I asked her about it. “Oh. they work all right. Shouldn’t hurt too much-- at the worst it’ll be like a shot. 15 minutes, just a quick procedure. You should try it, I’ve been wanting to try it out for a while now, but nobody has volunteered to test it. I would myself, but I don’t want my eyes accidentally boiled away.” I looked at her with pure fear. “That was a joke, of course. It’ll either work, or it won’t. Everything’s reversible, Abid.” That made me feel better, but I still felt a little apprehensive. Finally, I decided to do it.

Laura escorted me to the elevator, but didn’t enter with me.

“Down two floors, then just take a left and you’re there. They know you’re coming, so don’t worry. Just walk right in and do as they say,” she said as it closed. She must be very busy, she can’t spend all her time with me. Nevertheless, it hurt somewhere deep inside to see her leave. I didn’t know when I would see her again. Actually, I didn’t know if I’d ever see again. But I did as she had told me to do, and found my way to the lab room.

A kind man wearing two pairs of glasses was the only other soul there. He was in white from head to toe. His pale skin, even the top of his head, was devoid of hair. He was like some horribly cast angel in a play.

“Hello!” he bellowed. “You must be Abid!”

“That’s me,” I said, and hesitantly entered his lab.

“I know you’re a little nervous, but trust me… there’s nothing to worry about! Mrs. Baker tells me that this isn’t the first time you’ve been the lab rat?”

I nodded, and filled him in on my journey through cryogenesis.

“That’s amazing! By the way, I’m Dr. Breckenbrough,” he exclaimed. He was turned away from me now, messing with some machine that appeared to be the claw from a toy machine. After a moment or so, he turned back to me. He ripped the white glove off of his right hand off, and extended it toward me. I shook it. His hand was cold. He ushered me over to the far side of the room; which was taken up by what seemed to be a dentist’s chair. I sat down on it, and he stood over me. “I’ve just got to do a preliminary check-up, to make sure you’re capable of vision.” Capable of vision? How do you think I got here? How do you think I shook your hand? Nevertheless, I let him go through with his check-up. After a few minutes, he backed away from me and approached the claw. It sat atop a wheeled cart, and had multiple wires running from it and out of sight.

“This machine right here is gonna do the magic. It’s already programmed to do everything, so all I have to do is watch the magic happen!” the man said giddily. He was like a little kid, so happy. I wondered if all scientists were this excited when they discovered something newknew or had the chance to test their work. It made me feel good inside, being able to make him this happy. In fact, it was somewhat intoxicating. Before this first implant was over, I had the urge to do another. Not even with the purpose of enhancing my body, but with the intention of making someone feel good.

“And what do I do while it’s working on me?” I asked. The man smiled, and slipped his gloves that he had used for my examination off.

“Just sit back and relax, it shouldn’t take long. And don’t worry, the claw may look intimidating, but it’s just there to keep your eye open while the operation goes on. I took a deep breath, and laid back in the dentist’s chair. I felt a little queasy, but ignored it. My left eyes was worked on first.

It really didn’t feel like much. Maybe a little irritating-- the claw shoving my eyelids apart wasn’t all that comfy, but it wasn’t horrible, either. I could feel something ripping into my eye, but the sensation was nowhere near pain. The sound of a drill filled the room, and didn’t cease until the claw had relinquished its grip on my eye. Afterwards, I could hear clapping. Dr. Breckenbrough walked back into my field of vision. He was smiling from ear to ear-- on account of his technology not destroying my eyesight.

“Try not to look too much out of that eye until the other one is done. If you do, it could mess with your vision,” he told me. So I obediently closed my eyes while he wheeled the claw to the other side of me. “Open wide!” he said, and I did. The operation was exactly the same as the first time. Once it was over, I sat up.

“Try it out, please.” I made my way around the room, first noticing that no matter how small or far away things were, they were perfectly clear. The same could be said for large and especially close objects. But I still wasn’t able to zoom in on anything, so I asked Dr. Breckenbrough about it.

“Well, it should be sort of like a sensation. Similar to flexing a muscle, but in your eye,” he told me. So I tried flexing the muscle in my eye. It hurt at first, but eventually dulled. I had closed my eyes so that I could concentrate, but opened them after a short time. Dr. Breckenbrough was standing far too close for my liking, so I backed away. But then I turned around, and the chair was nearly touching me. It had worked. I flexed again,and my sight returned to normal. It would take quite a bit of getting used to, but I thought that it was a great device.

“I love it,” I said. He smiled at me and bid me a good day once I left his office. Now what? I supposed I would head back up to Laura’s office and talk to her. She would try to encourage me to try a few more tests, and I would allow one or two smaller ones. Then she would offer to let me go into the time machine, and I would refuse. I wasn’t here for that. I was here to see what humanity was capable of, and how technology was improving our world. I met nobody in the hallway, and the same could be said for the elevator. And yet again, one could say the same thing for Laura’s office. Yet the door was open, and the lights were on. I took it as a invitation to step inside.

The files and folders were still spread out, and I picked up one that I had selected as a good candidate the night before. It was a filtration system inserted into the neck, and had the ability to filter out any bacteria or potentially harmful elements out of anything you drank. It was injected through a syringe, and didn’t seem especially harsh. Without bothering to wait for Laura, I read about the creator of the invention on the backside of the file. They were located on the 14th floor, West wing. Might as well, I thought. And, without even thinking about it, I grabbed two others. One was something about pain numbing via receptors in your brain, which were accessed by putting a little robot up through your nose. The other was about rapid creation of muscle tissue that worked with a mechanical implant that sat just on the outside of your ribs.

I was able to find the filtration lady’s office easily enough, a woman by the name of Dr. Sandra Shettler. She was terribly excited to see me, so excited that I thought she would have a heart attack. It was clear that she was of an elderly age, judging by her gray hair, loose cheek skin, and sagging body parts.

“It should only take an hour or so for the results, and the syringe will be in and out within 30 seconds,” she told me. I sat down on a chair, and she brought the syringe over. It sickened me. It was about as long as the distance between my elbow and wrist, and contained what looked to be a smoothie made out of kiwis, broccoli, and turds. She rammed it into my neck before I could give it a second thought. I felt the fluid drain into my body, and had to repress a shudder.

“Now all we have to do is wait,” she told me. Though her lips hung down with her cheeks, I could tell by the gleam in her eyes that she was ecstatic. That was more than enough to make the pain worth it. Even then, I would get a cool implant that allowed me to drink whatever I wanted. I sat while she made herself busy running simple tests on me. She checked my pulse, blood pressure, and looked down my throat every few minutes. Finally, after an hour had passed, she said; “I think you’re ready.”

“Ready for what?” I inquired. Then she produced a glass from a cabinet, and stuck it under the faucet. She filled it about halfway, then pulled two red pills out of her coat pocket. She broke them open, and poured the contents in with the water.

“These should make you throw up in a matter of seconds. That is, unless my invention worked.” Doctor Shettler handed me the glass, and I drank it reluctantly. It went down smooth enough, except for a cough or two afterwards. She looked at me as if I were a specimen under a microscope for upwards of a minute. Finally, once the two minute mark had been reached and I hadn’t thrown up, she deemed it a success.

“Yes!” she exclaimed. She danced around the room, and I couldn’t help but smile at her ridiculousness. For all I knew, this could have been her life’s work. Then one day I show up, and she’s able to prove that it works. I wondered why she hadn’t been able to test it on anyone else, but chalked it up to overbearing limitations on the science community. As I left the room, she thanked me at least ten times and planted a sloppy kiss onto my cheek.

“Well Abid, what’s next?” I asked myself. I was on a high, and needed a hit before I lost the rush.

I decided to go with the muscle implant, deeming that it would be cool as hell to have bigger muscles. And I wasn’t particularly looking forward to having a robot shoved up and through my nasal passages. It was located just a few floors above me, and I decided to take the stairs. On the way to the stairwell, I passed a security guard. The very same one that had stopped me on my way out of here after I had snuck in. He stopped dead in his tracks, gave me a dirty look, and turned and walked the other way. Wow. I made my way upstairs, and found the next person. Next two people, actually.

A man and woman, obviously a couple. The man seemed to be not much older than a college kid, while the woman was a few years older. They were holding hands when I entered. After explaining why I was there, the man looked at me incredulously.

“A lab rat? But our machine has barely been approved on actual ra--” he began, but the woman cut him off.

“Amazing! We can have you set up in a matter of a few hours. However, the implant does have a needle, that’s how it enters your bloodstream and alters your regenerative muscle tissue.” If there’s a needle, then there’s likely going to be blood. There was only a drop or two in the last experiment, but I judged that this one would have more.

“That’s fine, I’m ready,” I said with determination. The man looked at me nervously, but the woman got the setup ready. I was standing, and leaning on one of their desks. The woman had everything ready, and asked me to remove my shirt. I did so quickly, and allowed her to map the entrance point on my ribs with a sharpie. After that, she asked the man to help her insert the needle. He seemed reluctant, but got up to help her anyway.

“This may hurt, just a little,” the woman told me. Together, they slowly pushed the needle into my skin. But it must’ve been the wrong place, because the woman shook her head. “We’ve got to pull it out, but don’t worry. We’ll cover it up in a jiffy and try again!” The man gave me a worried look, but quickly looked away.

“1...2...3.” The woman pulled it away, and there was a second or two of calm before the blood came. It spurted out of me, giving the scientists a kind of red shower. It didn’t show any sign of stopping, and I could feel my body losing blood. It wasn’t a lot, but it did look ugly. Then I remembered; I’m squeamish of blood. My vision went black, and I dropped like a sack of potatoes.

I woke up in Laura’s office. Though I was seeing everything from the ground level, I felt very comfortable. Too comfortable for me too just be laying on the floor. I sat up. My head was woozy, but I didn’t feel like passing out again. I was laying on a mattress that somebody had dragged into the room. It was light in there, and the clean air seemed to help clear my head. It wasn’t too long before I realized that I wasn’t alone. Laura was in there, sitting behind her desk. She was using her computer, and hadn’t seemed to notice that I was awake. I felt a flare of pain from my side, and realized that there was a lump underneath my shirt where layers of bandaging had been applied.

Laura seemed to be very interested in whatever she was looking at, and I realized that my new abilities could be useful here. So I flexed my eye’s muscle, but nothing happened. I tried again, but was only rewarded with a flare of pain in my abdomen from trying too hard. What? Why wasn’t it working? I shook my head, and the movement cause Laura to notice me.

“Morning, sleepyhead,” she said with a smirk.

“Hi,” I replied grouchily. She stood up, and made her way over to me.

“They say you took quite a tumble, but it looks like you’re good now. It’s actually not a bad thing that you passed out, they were able to reverse everything while you were under.” Reverse everything?

“What?” I asked. “Why aren’t my implants working? I can’t use my new eyes.” My sight had returned to its unzoomable, slightly hazy life.

“Abid, they had to take everything out. Didn’t you know they weren’t permanent? We couldn’t just let you walk around with revolutionary technology inside of you. It’s a liability, after all,” she told me. Then, I connected the dots. They’d taken the supervision back. And the filtration. And the muscle regeneration. But if they took it all back, why am I even here?

“Well, tell the scientists to put them all back in!” I exclaimed, suddenly angry. Laura fixed me with a smirk but steady eyes, as if she were about to reprimand a child for doing something that was naughty but also slightly amusing.

I needed those. I needed to feel better, stronger. I needed to have something to show that I was different. Unique. After all this time, though I didn’t act like a worthless janitor, I still looked like one. I still felt like one.

“They can’t do that, Abid. They tested their inventions, and they worked. You’re a lab rat. You don’t get to keep them. I thought you knew that,” she said. But I wanted my abilities! I was so focused on being a more advanced human being, that in that moment I had forgotten why I had really agreed to the implants; to make people feel better. But somewhere along the journey, I had become greedy. The abilities made me better than the average person, they gave me power. Power was what I wanted, and power was what they took away from me.

“That’s not fair!” I yelled. I knew I was acting incredibly childish, but I didn’t care. Laura just stared me down. Her unwavering gaze pushed me over the edge, and I stood up. My vision momentarily went dark, and I was heading to the door before it had even returned.

“Abid, wa--” Laura had begun to say, but I shut the door before she could finish. I scrambled to the elevator, and rushed my way out and to the car. The drive back was all in a daze.

I got to the top of the stairs, and slowly made my way down. The drive had been spent in anger, but it had long since dissipated. Now, I was tired. I got to the bottom of the stairs after what felt like forever, and quietly let myself in. It was near dark by the time I made it back to AMO, and I hoped that everyone was asleep. They weren’t. At least, not everyone.

Eddie was in the hallway as I walked in, so I couldn’t avoid him. He looked at me with worried eyes, and rushed over to embrace me.

“Abid! I was so worried! I wanted to go look for you, but The Elders didn’t let me. Where have you been?” he said as he hugged me tightly. I couldn’t help my smile at the calming, comfy presence his chest had against mine.

“I went to find Laura. I.. I almost didn’t come back. I almost left you guys for good. But I’m back now, and I don’t plan on ever leaving,” I responded. I didn’t bother telling him about the experiments, or that the only reason I came back was because I lost my chance at being special. Even after we done talking, Eddie held me. After quite a while, but what was far too short of a time, we let go of each other. Eddie was smiling brightly.

“I’m gonna go tell The Elders. And Angus and Beck! They’re asleep, but they’ll want to know that you’re back safely, I’m sure.” With that, he left me in the hallway. I realized that I was actually starving, and headed to the cafeteria. I didn’t want to have to look at Matt’s face again, but I somehow missed him. Besides, the cafeteria was the only place I’d be able to eat at. I entered, and was again pleased to see the place lit up brightly. It was completely deserted, except for a single table in the back.

There was one lone figure sitting there, dressed in a gray sweatshirt and jeans. The hood was up, and they were hunched over whatever they were eating. I could just barely see Matt in the kitchen, and he offered a grin and a wave in my direction. His smile and empty eyes were sickening, but a smile was a smile, and I did my best to return it. I figured that lonely company was better than plain loneliness, so I headed over to the other lone soul in the room.

Donnie was halfway through a burger and side of fries when I sat down next to him. I smiled warmly at him, but he did his best to avoid my eye contact.

“Hey,” he said quietly.

“Hi,” I responded. For a short time, that was the only conversation at our table. Donnie seemed plenty content with the violent silence, but I wasn’t. “So.. how’s it going?” I asked. Matt brought a burger over to me, and I took it gratefully.

“It’s okay. I couldn’t sleep, so I figured I’d come in here and eat,” he told me.

“Fun, fun.” I chomped into my burger, and relished the taste of perfectly cooked meat.

“So you ran out on us yesterday?” Donnie abruptly asked me. I had to swallow my mouthful before I could respond.

“Well, yes. But I’m here now, and that’s what matters.” Yikes, I thought. I’m sure Donnie doesn’t take abandonment easily, what with his parents and all.

“It’s like I’m a curse of something. Everyone that I meet either dies or tries to leave. Soon, it’ll be Eddie-- and he’s pretty much all I’ve got,” Donnie said grumpily and sadly. I felt for the kid, I really did.

“I didn’t leave, Donnie. I’m your friend. And Eddie isn’t all you’ve got. Everyone here is your teammate,” I told him in an effort to lighten his spirits.

“What use are teammates if your parents are fucking dead? What’s the point of having friends if you’ve got no family?” he asked nobody in particular. That was when I realized that Donnie had tears steadily flowing from his eyes, and dropping onto his half-eaten food. God, what this kid has been through. I threw my arm over his shoulders, and he collapsed into my chest. I could hear his sobs nearly stifled by my shirt. I rubbed his back and rocked back and forth. I just wanted him to not hurt anymore.

Though I hadn’t known him for long, he was already something of a close companion to me. I leaned in, and whispered to him. “You’ve got family, Donnie. Eddie’s your family. I’m your family.” With that said, he only started to cry louder. It dawned on me that he was still only a kid, after all.

He looked up at me between the tears and floppy black hair, and uttered two words; “Thank you.” I held the poor kid until his tears had dried. Then, I walked him to the Living Quarters and helped him into bed. I discovered that Eddie was out, too. I gave Donnie a little kiss on the forehead and headed back to the cafeteria. Sleep wouldn’t come tonight-- I knew that. Besides, I still had a burger to finish.

I got back to the cafeteria, but my food was already gone. Matt had taken it back to throw away. He was just leaving the kitchen, and the lights were off back there. He was heading out-- there was nobody else to feed.

“Can I get another one of your world famous burgers?” I asked. Matt turned, looked at me, and smiled.

“Sure can! Give me fifteen, and I’ll have a pair to share!” he exclaimed, and walked back into the kitchen. I was glad that he had invited himself into my dinner, I’d be glad to have someone to talk to. Even if the person was hard to look at. I took a seat in the middle of the room, and busied myself wondering how long Matt had before he left this world. He didn’t look much worse than when I first saw him, but I had no way to tell when a person infected with Monster Mutt’s time came.

Soon enough, Matt pushed his way into the room and sat right across from me. He slid a burger over, and I began shoving it into my mouth. He ate with a little more dignity, taking the time to wipe his mouth every time he got a smidge of ketchup or meat juice on his lips.

“Matt..” I started to say, but found out I had no way to bring it up. Fortunately, he had the answer all ready for me.

“I’ve got two days, half a week at most,” he informed me between bites. Damn.

“I’m so so--” but he cut me off.

“Save the sorries, everyone’s got to go at some point.” I looked him in the eye, and saw that I could still see that old, jolly, witty Matt inside the shell of a corpse. The more I looked at him, the less of the Monster Mutt I saw, and the more of him was revealed to me. I no longer got sick looking at him.

We talked completely through the night, and well into the morning. At some point Eddie waltzed in and told me that our mission to destroy the power in the Baker complex would happenhappy tonight. Deciding that I needed some sleep before then, I stood up to leave. Matt hopped up as well, and went around the table to shake my hand. There was a good chance he wouldn’t be here by the time my team got back.

Instead of shaking his hand, I hugged him. There was a good chance I wouldn’t be back here at the end of the mission, either. At first he was rigid and shocked, but he quickly loosened up and welcomed my embrace. After I let go, I saw that he had a tear to running down his face.

“See ya around, Matt,” I said.

“Yeah, see ya.” With that, I headed back to the Living Quarters.

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