Page 7 of Monstrous Rampage
What was the saying? Better to rule in hell than serve in heaven? Especially if “serve” meant torture for information.
I stood and moved closer. At first, I wasn’t going to touch him—but curiosity got the better of me. I wanted to see if he was physically here or just a hologram. If he’d have a human-like hand or if it’d feel cold like metal. Or something else entirely.
So I slipped my fingers into his outstretched hand.
Warm, seemingly alive skin moved beneath my fingertips as he tucked my hand around his arm in a courtly, old-world gesture. Silver melted back into his Dr. Snyder professorpersona down to his wide, charming smile. “Well done, Miss Price. Prepare to be amazed at all we’ve wrought.”
5
HOLLY
Istepped out of my cell into a futuristic laboratory. If I were being honest with myself, it was my dream laboratory, except I’d use all the equipment to study plant cells, not people. Sleek metal and what looked like glass panels glowed with mysterious designs and panels. I felt like a kid in a candy shop, even though I had no idea what most of the machines would even be used for.
Except for the narrow hospital-looking bed in the center. With metallic arcs at the arms, legs, and head area.
Restraints.
The circular laboratory was surrounded by large dark metallic panels. Other cells, maybe? Or just doorways to other areas of the ship. The fourth wall of my cell shimmered back to opaque, a light panel unlike the rest of the sturdy looking doors.
“So what do you notice first, Miss Price?” Snyder asked.
“There aren’t any people.”
“Exactly so. We take contamination very seriously. All technicians you’ll see here are constructs, like this body I’m using. We’ll ensure they have human features for your comfort.”
“Constructs…? Like androids?”
“For human understanding, that is the closest analogy. However, these bodies aren’t robotic with organic camouflage. They’re made from a blend of liquid metals and Sirian cells with extensive programming that make them walking super computers. Our forms are entirely moldable and changeable, and we can seamlessly interact with all of the ship’s systems by thought alone.”
I couldn’t remember whether he’d been present in all the conversations with Natalie and the squad, but I had to assume he knew the truth about Sirian cells. They’d been created—stolen—from Myrm cells. DSC used the dyni squads to exterminate “wild” cells to control the technology. “Why are you so concerned with mrion contamination if that’s really what Sirian cells are made from?”
“Sirian cells are perfected and interface with everything. Rogue cells may contain inferior—or potentially dangerous—programming. Be glad I command this ship, Miss Price, and not DSC, because I guarantee the first thing they would’ve done was extract every single mrion from your body, regardless of any damage that might have caused you.”
I had no idea how such an extraction might have been accomplished but it sounded painful and invasive. “So you’re worried about contamination from me.”
“It’s a calculated risk. I believe the contamination you carry is exactly why we’ll be successful where DSC failed.”
I wasn’t cold but I couldn’t suppress a shiver. I rubbed my arms briskly. “You mean where human women were eaten by a squad?”
“Exactly. You see, I believe the reason Kroktl saw Natalie as something other than food in the beginning was the presence of fractured Myrm particles in her body. You, my dear, have complete mrion cells. They’re already changing you, preparing you to mate a squad.”
My skin felt too tight. My hands trembled. “How am I changing? I don’t feel any different.”
“Let me show you.”
He led me over to one of the gleaming clear panels. My image stared back at me like it was a mirror—but not his. I didn’t see him touch anything on the panel but the image changed to an internal view. Almost like a CT scan but fully in color and perfectly clear. My heart thumped, blood flowing from one chamber to the next, in and out through arteries and veins, flowing through my lungs and organs. It was live, not fake, because the heartbeat accelerated, matching the frantic thump of mine. I lifted my arm, and the image did as well.
“At first glance, everything is normal. However…” The view shifted to skeletal images like an X-ray. With a slim pointer, he indicated bright spots on my spine. “These glowing areas are generated by a concentration of mrions. They’re lining your spine, reinforcing your bone structure and increasing bone density. If we focus on the energy spikes, you can see where the cells are working.”
The glow ran up into my skull. Affecting my brain.
“If we eliminate the energy…” The image went back to a normal looking scan. “With.”
Bright. All of my internal systems gleamed with energy.
My brain insisted it had to be a trap. Fake news. He’d programmed the images to confuse me and make me think I was changing.
“I don’t feel any different,” I repeated hoarsely.
