The Project

Tuesday Afternoon
18h30

BEEP BEEP BEEP

Not again...

BEEP BEEP BEEP

“Hades.” I squeezes my eyelids tighter while pushing my head deeper into my pillow. “I didn’t... set an alarm.”

“Good afternoon, Researcher V,” said Hades from somewhere close by. “It’s currently thirty past six in the evening. You are in danger of being late for Management’s meeting.”

Dammit. I yawned. Opening my eyes was easy, but keeping them like that took more effort than usual. The simple act of sitting upright elicited fifty percent more groans than usual. I’m not going to age gracefully, am I?

“Researcher V, your bio-metrics are outside normal deviation.” I narrowed the location of Hades’ voice to my Sleeve. “Are you feeling okay?”

“Not really.” I started to shake my head, but quickly abandoned the thought. “Killer headache.”

“That matches my readings. Would you like some painkillers?”

“Please.” I squeezed my eyes shut as a wave of pain rolled through my head.

“Very well. I’ll dispatch some. You can find the pills in your bathroom cupboard.”

“Thanks.” It took half a minute to navigate myself into the bathroom. The face greeting me in the mirror would be quite startling had I the capacity to react accordingly. True to Hades’ word, two greenish pills waited for me when I opened the cupboard. A glass of water sent them on their one-way trip into my stomach. Previous experience said they took about ten minutes to kick in. I only hoped I would still be alive by then.

“Would you like to read-?” The crash of water splashing against my face interrupted Hades.

“Sorry?”

“Would you like to read the unscrambled message?”

Right, the message. I sighed. “I’m guessing I won’t like what’s in there.”

“I doubt.”

“Very well.” It took two blinks before I could focus on the Sleeve.

***

Spark: Report in.

Pyre: Present.

Blaze: I told you this would happen!

Spark: We have no proof that the Firewalker was involved.

Blaze: You think anybody else in this shit-hole would have the guts to do it?! Accept it, Spark. Ember’s demise lies solely at the feet of the Firewalker.

Pyre: But why strike now? Our community has been stable for some time. Did the machines affect his brain in some way?

Blaze: WHO CARES?!

Blaze: It’s time we face facts. Ember is dead. Would you rather wait for another to join him in death before we decide to act?

Spark: Pyre, what is the Firewalker’s current status?

Pyre: All activity normal.

Blaze: Bullshit.

Pyre: The Firewalker hasn’t activated the fabricator since its installation. There are no anomalies.

Blaze: Then he found a way to fake the signals.

Spark: I disagree, Blaze. There is no way the Firewalker can interfere with the device. It has to be someone else.

Blaze: Our colleagues can barely forage for food in the mornings. Their skill-set is limited to working, eating, and screwing. Killing another is as likely as V regrowing her head. I dare you to prove otherwise.

Pyre: @Spark: Blaze puts it bluntly, but her point is correct. The methods of termination thus far are typical of an... enhanced mind.

Spark: Believe me, Blaze, I’d love to agree, but the evidence doesn’t agree. We have yet to find anything that would motivate the Firewalker to act. In fact, they seem quite content in our society.

Blaze: Well then, if not the Firewalker, who else?

Blaze: Who else here would want to kill Ember?

Pyre: I agree with Blaze. We have to assume this is The Firewalker’s work.

Spark: Again, we lack proof. Bring me that, then we can present it to Management.

Pyre: What about a recall? We sedate the Firewalker and perform a deep scan on the fabricator.

Blaze: We should replace the damn thing while we’re there.

Spark: Hell will freeze over before they agree to that.

Pyre: It could work. The pain response should be gone now that the body has adjusted.

Spark: They won’t accept based on an assumption.

Pyre: We’re on the bleeding edge, Spark. Assumptions are all we have.

Spark: Blaze?

Blaze: I’ve been suggesting something similar since the start! I vote yes.

Pyre: As do I.

Spark: Very well. I will make the necessary arrangements and discuss the Nano Project’s schedule with Management. Can we perform the procedure on Friday at five in the afternoon?

Pyre: Saturday, please. I have a deadline on Saturday, and I’m behind schedule.

Blaze: What happens if the Firewalker strikes again?

Spark: We cross that bridge when we get there.

***

“Well, this proves Management is involved in all of this.” I skimmed the message a second time. “But what is the Nano Project?”

“Analysing archives... no results.”

“There’s a project you don’t know?”

“So it would seem. That is why I wanted you to read the message.”

“Put it in layman’s terms for me, Hades, I’m struggling to think right now.” I wiped my face with a cool cloth. The cold seemed to help the headache. “Can’t you ask Management to give you access?”

“My programming forbids this.”

“So you want me to do it?”

“Correct.”

I sighed. “And what makes you think Management will tell me?”

“You are the only one the Firewalker has initiated communications with since the murders started. That intrigues Management. It stands to reason that they might be more lenient with your requests.”

The door slid open when I slid my Sleeve across the scanner. “Fine, but I’m going to be somewhat upset if I get a pay deduction because of you. Or worse...”

“I understand.” I blew out a breath as Hades’ circle disappeared from my Sleeve. Gotta ask my boss what kind of shady deals they’ve been busy with. Just another day in the facility.