Tamisan, p.6
Tamisan, page 6
I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Could it be…? The guards provided me with the answer.
“What’s his problem, anyway?” one was saying.
“The Eebalin thingy didn’t go too well on this guy,” the other answered. “He’s s’posed ta have that Mosuti guy in his head.”
I sucked in my breath and held it. I could hardly believe what I was hearing. They did it to other people? To Mosuti? Dr Starrick had told me that all the others were dead, but Mosuti would have to have been alive for them to do the procedure and transfer his consciousness into this man’s head!
Chapter 8
I could feel the tears in my eyes. What if he was still alive right now? He might still be okay. The procedure was supposed to leave him unharmed.
“Yeah, well, it ain’t the first failure he’s had,” the second guard said. “So many of ’em have been stuffed up. The only one it’s worked on so far is that Zeena girl. I tell ya, he’s losin’ ’is touch or somethin’.”
“Better watch whatcha say, Marik, or maybe you’ll be the next ‘body donor,’” the other warned him.
I realised I was holding my breath again and willed myself to breathe normally.
“Starrick wouldn’ do that!” Marik said in a half whisper.
“Don’ you bet on it! Who do ya think this guy used ta be?”
“No…” he said incredulously as he looked closer.
“Yeah. Kaylan. He used ta clean the kitchens. Now I guess we need a new mop-and-sponge boy.”
They grabbed him by the arms and led him into the room in front of them – no longer amused by the state of the poor guy. After a short while, they emerged and Marik used his thumbprint as identification to lock the door behind them.
I waited until the sound of their footsteps and voices faded away, then headed back down the corridors toward my horrid little room, deep in thought.
If Mosuti was alive, could I find him?
On the way back, I found an open door not far from my room. It must have been closed when I’d come past before. I didn’t remember seeing it along the way. I peered in and saw that the room was filled with tables and chairs, with a Vid phone on the far wall. My hearts leapt – maybe I could contact someone! Alert the authorities and they could come and get me out of here and arrest Starrick and all the others that were involved!
I hurried over to it, feeling shaky and on-edge, pressed the button that turned down the sound, put my thumb on the scanner, waiting and wondering if my ID would work, or if I even had one.
“GOOD MORNING RAJENDRA SHEA,” appeared on the screen, along with a small blinking red light.
Rajendra Shea? That was my new name? Assigned to me by Dr Starrick? I didn’t like it. I stood there frowning at the machine. Rajendra. No. It was awful.
I want to pick my own name! That’s only fair after what they’ve done to me! ... Or they could at least find something decent.
Yeah, I know that sounded childish, but I couldn’t help it. I looked at the screen. It wanted my attention.
“WOULD YOU LIKE TO MAKE A VIDEO CALL OR VOICE ONLY?”
Voice would be quicker to connect, but I chose to make a video call so they could see my new face as evidence. I punched in the code for Interplanetary Communication, but was presented with an “ACCESS DENIED” message that flashed red on the screen.
“YOU ARE NOT AUTHORISED TO USE OUTSIDE LINES, RAJENDRA SHEA.”
I pressed the button to see if I could access a line within the base, but received a similar message.
Then why ask me if I would like to make a call?
I shouldn’t have been surprised, and I guess I really wasn’t, but I couldn’t help the heat rising up to my face. I turned from the machine and hurried back to my room.
“Shoulda known,” I mumbled to myself as I walked, my hair tickling my arms when it moved. As if they were going to let me call Earth and tell them what they did to me. Of course they’re not going to let that happen!
I wiped away tears. Tears of anger. It was stupid of me to think I could get the word out so easily. This was a serious situation when you consider that the Eibhlin Process was highly illegal and Starrick was set up here and running experiments without his employers having any knowledge of or giving any authorisation for it. Well, at least, I was fairly sure they didn’t know. He would be prosecuted and sent to prison for this. They might even throw away the key.
I made it back to my cell without being seen and pressed my thumb on the lock. Nothing. What if I was locked out? How would I explain what I was doing outside the room to Dr Starrick? Before I could panic, the door swished open. It must have still had a problem after I shorted it out. Or maybe it wasn’t locked from the outside. Either way, I was glad I’d made it. I raced in and sat down on the bed to think – still shocked about Kaylan and what they’d done to him. And as silly as it sounds, the new name I’d been given still bugged me.
I knew I couldn’t be Zhenna Rhodarma anymore – I’d already come to that conclusion – but I really felt I should’ve had a say in the choice of my new identity – or at least been told about it. I wondered if I didn’t like it because I thought it was a horrible name, or because someone else had chosen it for me. I was sure it was because they had chosen it. Was I just being selfish? Was I being silly? I hadn’t had a say in my birth name. But then, I was now an adult, and quite capable of choosing a name for myself. It wasn’t like me to be this upset. What was wrong with me? There was a whisper in my mind about me having no soul. Was that why I was feeling so angry? Maybe it had nothing to do with the name at all. I pushed it from my mind. I had other problems to worry about. I was stuck here. Trapped and at the mercy of people who obviously didn’t care about me or any of the other victims of their experiments. And I had no contact with the outside world.
What was I going to do? How could I get away? How was I going to sit through the tests like everything was fine and pretend nothing had happened? Pretend I didn’t see the guy with scattered brains. Pretend that I didn’t know Mosuti could still be alive... I had to bide my time somehow, and I had to get out.
Dr Starrick wouldn’t want anyone knowing what he was doing here at Maztec, so I had to be careful. I was determined to contact someone and tell them everything I knew. Someone had to put a stop to the horrible experiments that were being performed here. I hoped I could do something before someone else got hurt. But how?
I sat, thinking hard. Not moving. Hardly blinking. I didn’t know how long I sat there. The things the guards had said were eating at my thoughts. I wasn’t the only lab rat. Mosuti had also been through it, but his mind hadn’t been successfully transferred. He didn’t make it through in one piece. I wondered if any other crew members were still alive after the attack. If Mosuti was alive, it was quite possible there were more.
Dr Starrick had taken advantage of a disaster and used it to further his sick research. He must have saved the lives of any passengers he could, but told Jannali and the company back on Earth that we’d all died.
How many? How many made it?
It was driving me crazy. I had to resign myself to the fact that I might never find out. He wouldn’t tell me, I was sure. He’d deny everything. I was locked in my room – sort of – kept away from everyone and told a bunch of lies.
The guards had also said I was the only successful experiment. I shuddered to think how many things must have gone wrong with the others. Would any of them be alive after he’d finished with them? And what else did he have planned for me? He could do anything he wanted really. What could I do about it? How could I stop him?
Oh, crap. I have to get out of here!
My best chance of contacting someone would be the other station here on Althar 3 – Station Jannali. If I could at least find out where it was...
Chapter 9
I was still deep in thought when Dr Starrick arrived to start the tests, and I gave a start when the door slid open and he strode into the room. “Well, then, ready for the first tests, my dear?” he asked with great enthusiasm, apparently not noticing my reaction.
I frowned up at him. Haven’t you ever heard of knocking? I could have been naked.
It was hard for me to be enthusiastic when my mind was still filled with thoughts of his experimentation on innocent humans – and innocent natives – but I forced a smile that probably looked more like a grimace and nodded my agreement. I would have to play along until I could figure something out. I wondered how long he could keep me here before the authorities caught up with him. Too long...
But then what would happen to me after that? Maybe I would become someone else’s lab rat. I shuddered.
“Let’s begin then, shall we?” He hadn’t noticed the shudder either. He was probably too excited about the tests and too self-absorbed to notice anything around him. I stood reluctantly and followed him from the room.
The first tests were to determine the strength of my muscles, the quality and range of my hearing and vision, and general reflexes. Starrick informed me that they couldn’t perform these tests accurately on Sifayah because of the language barrier, and, as hard as they tried, they couldn’t obtain the necessary cooperation from her. I searched Sifayah’s mind and knew why. Sifayah had read Starrick’s mind and could plainly see what he was really like, and so she refused to cooperate at all. A smirk crept across my lips. Clever girl.
I decided I’d do the same, sort of. I wouldn’t give him any more information than I had to. Wouldn’t tell him anything important. Just give him basic answers to his general questions and some I don’t knows and nos when he asked about the Waikari or about memories that weren’t mine.
Dr Starrick informed me that it was also necessary to do the tests to find out if any of my basic functions were still normal and unharmed by the procedure. I wondered how they could possibly know what was normal for Sifayah.
The tests revealed that I now had – as I’d first observed – a very strong and fit body. My vision and hearing were enhanced – I could actually see quite well in the dark and I could hear a range of sounds above and below the normal human hearing range. My reflexes were also pretty good. I didn’t tell Starrick anything about being able to read his thoughts or that I could remember almost everything from Sifayah’s life.
When I thought about it, the enhanced hearing, vision and reflexes were needed for life under the ocean. It could get very dark in places deep down in the ocean or in muddy rivers. And even back on Earth, the sea creatures emitted several sounds that were inaudible to the human ear. Quick reflexes were a tool of survival, and all that swimming would keep the body strong and fit.
Dr Starrick asked me more than once during the tests if I could remember anything or if there were thoughts or images in my mind that were not mine. I lied outright, determined not to give him anything. He seemed to be getting annoyed and frustrated about it, but I didn’t care.
There was an instant during the testing where I thought I’d heard what Starrick was thinking again, but I wasn’t sure. I tried harder, like I did with Kaylan, and I heard everything that was in the forefront of his mind.
His mind was on the task at hand, running through the data they’d gathered. I was surprised at how easy it was to see into someone’s mind. It was second nature to Sifayah, but this was something new to me. It was amazing. But then I had to turn my attention away to answer a question one of the other doctors was asking me. That broke my concentration.
Chapter 10
That night I probed Sifayah’s memories again, and spent a long time ‘remembering’ the good times and bad times of a person who no longer existed. It was sad to think that a life had been taken to save my own. Sifayah was young, intelligent, Talented, and had everything to live for. She was such a vibrant person and so full of life. So unlike me. My life before I came to Althar 3 was boring and monotonous. There was no adventure and no one like Jarleth to give my life some kind of meaning. There was a part of me that really missed him, and another part that was jealous of Sifayah. That was messed up.
I decided to push all that aside and move on with other aspects of her life. I learned more about Sifayah’s Talent. Her Talent enabled her to move larger objects than most and she could communicate telepathically over a greater distance. She was a powerful Talent, even amongst people who used telepathy in their everyday lives.
It was expected that she would lead one day, although there had never been a female Zheav before. Sifayah had no real wish to lead her people, but knew it was expected and had accepted it as her future. Aside from that, all she hoped for was a future with Jarleth and a happy, carefree life. And of course, that was now impossible…
I found myself wondering if I’d gained any telekinetic abilities as well. That would be awesome. I couldn’t see any reason why I wouldn’t have the ability. The part of the brain that used any psychic capabilities would have been left untouched if my theory was correct.
It was some time in the early hours of the morning that I finally drifted off to sleep, but even my dreams were filled with visions of swimming in the oceans of Althar 3 with my friends all around me, mingled with visions of life on Earth and then death and violence in the jungle.
Chapter 11
After a few days of testing, it was getting repetitive and boring. The next tests they had lined up for me were in water, and I’d been looking forward to them all morning. But still, I sat staring into the tank, thinking about how my life had completely changed, and a tear rolled down my cheek. Was this to be my life now? Being poked at and watched and tested until they were satisfied that they could gain no more from me?
Then they would probably pass me on to the next team of scientists to play with when they were done with me. I was a lab rat. Nothing more. The moment the Eibhlin Process had commenced, my life was forfeit. I was Dr Starrick’s property, like a piece of lab equipment. And so were the other people they’d subjected to it.
I refused to join the hustle and bustle going on around me. I wanted to stay there in the safety of my mind.
Although my old two-piece swimsuit didn’t fit me as well as it used to, I’d still wanted to wear it. The top was adjustable, thankfully. Starrick’s people had recovered some of my belongings from the shuttle and it turned out the swimmers were almost the only things that would fit me now. I hoped that if I wore them, I might somehow feel a bit like my old self. But it didn’t work. I hadn’t really felt that way since I woke up here at Maztec and found out what they’d done to me. And I certainly didn’t feel that way right now. How could I when I was about to dive in and breathe underwater while they watched?
The thing was, they could only find about half of my belongings. That didn’t make any sense. My bags were all in the cargo hold with everyone else’s and I had one small carry bag with me. And the only thing I really wanted, the thing that was missing and couldn’t be replaced, was my locket. Kaliya had given it to me for my birthday three years ago. I usually wore it everywhere, but I’d taken it off when we’d headed out of the shuttle and into the jungle because I didn’t want to lose it. I’d put it in my carry bag before we went outside. Before we were attacked. They didn’t find the carry bag at all.
I looked down at the small tabs that were stuck to various parts of my chest and arms. They were sensors that were waterproof and could send a signal remotely so the doctors could monitor my vital signs while I was in the tank. I could feel them all over my head too. And I looked ridiculous.
The doctors were nearly ready for me. I looked at the tank. It was deep and large enough for me to swim around freely, with a viewing window on one side for Starrick and the other quacks to observe my movements, but I did not want to be on show.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Starrick walking over to where I sat, and felt a strange sensation as I became part of the rest of the world again. I was no longer in a private place within my mind. I looked up at him with distaste, but forced myself to smile.
“Okay, let’s begin,” he announced, and I read his thoughts and emotions as plainly as if he had thrown them at me. Annoyance, boredom, an eagerness to get started, and an interest in what I could do, but he wanted to get it over with.
I was shocked and disgusted at what I’d felt from him. So much so that I nearly fell into the water. I was amazed that my Talent was so strong, and shocked that he was definitely not what he seemed.
“Come on, Zhenna, we don’t have all day!” he squawked.
Chapter 12
Yep. That’s more like the real you.
I glared at him. It took him a moment to regain his composure. Then he smiled awkwardly and said, “I’m sorry, I have a bad headache today. It was rude of me to take it out on you.”
I could see his real thoughts, even as he spoke the words, and of course they didn’t match. I simply nodded.
This man was going to be impossible to work with. Most of the tests so far had been handled by other doctors and scientists, with Dr Starrick overseeing, but from now on he was the one I would be dealing with. And things were off to a bad start with him giving me a small peek into what he was really like.
How am I going to put up with this? I asked myself. He’s like a spoilt child. Snapping at me for no reason. And he doesn’t even have a headache!
I’d just have to ‘grin and bear it,’ as the saying goes. What else could I do? I’d have to do as I was told for now – until I could figure out what to do.
I hoped that maybe now I could grab his attention long enough to talk about what story we were going to tell everyone back on Earth about what had happened to me. So far he hadn’t had time to sit down and discuss it properly. Or so he said.
