Through Your Eyes Page 7

  She was perfect.

  That wonderful memory was frozen in time and in my mind.

  I had always thought she looked like someone who was a famous actress once. Her name escaped me for now.

  "Are you ready, Abs?" I asked.

  She said, "I've been ready for years, darling. What about you, how are you doing?"

  She came over to me and squeezed my cheek, placing a soft hand over my forehead.

  Green eyes. Squinting. Dancing. Probing. Beautiful.

  "Now, don't start all that psychological evaluation again with those eyes, Professor Freeman," I replied with a smile. "We still have a lot of work to do."

  "Me, I would never do anything like that, Professor Berner!" she replied and winked. "You'll be fine, just remember we're here, right behind you."

  I stared at her. Sometimes she scared me, with her constant positivity and drive. How could she be so sure after all these years that it would work? I had many very dark hours of self-doubt and despair, she had always been the one to pick me up, dust me down and send me forwards with a firm kick up the backside. Not just me but the whole group. She provided all the energy, gave all the time and laser like mental concentration to pull this off. She was the experiment in a bizarre way!

  "I could never have done any of this without you," I said, earnestly.

  "Yes, I know!" she replied.

  With that her head went back and she let out a classic Abby mischievous laugh. It was almost a manly chuckle, definitely no femininity about it at all!

  "Come on, let's go," I said.

  We got into the lift and pressed the button for level 14. We were only heading to one unit.

  Freya.

  It housed the most important object of the entire organisation. Today was the day we were going to take it out and formerly present it to our board of directors, and ultimately to the world. We got out and walked down a long corridor. There were pictures of flowers and cats on the walls, I had never figured who had been behind the decor of our work place, but I hated all of them equally.

  You could at least say that I was a fair man.

  Presently we arrived at the main gate. Security. Iris scanning. DNA. We went in, and I called out to Steve who was over the other side of a room the size of an aircraft hangar. He was irate at one of his minions. The minion did actually look like a yellow munchkin from a movie I once saw. Actually, when I thought about it, Steve looked like the minion boss with his long skinny legs and hooked nose.

  He came over to us once he had dealt with his subordinate, panting and sweating profusely like a pig.

  "Come on mate, ease up on them. And do some running every now and again with me!" I said.

  I mocked him some more and then patted him gently on the shoulder.

  "We're so close now, my friend. We can't let something silly stop us, not now. They're all waiting for us downstairs and I don't want anything to go wrong. Have you seen where Chris is? I need him to check on a little software problem we're having," he spluttered.

  "Let's go together," I said. "It's our work, so the credit should be shared."

  "No, Sam. This is your baby. We've helped you, but you're the Stephen Hawking on this," he replied.

  He tapped me back on the shoulder. An honest guy, and as loyal a person you could ever have hoped for.

  We went over to a central chamber. It was made of a see through metallo-quartz alloy. Inside, it contained an inert gaseous environment to ensure the device was in perfect working order and protected. We were already aware of significant talk and interest from other groups. Some were serious players in cybernetics and others were physicists and psychoanalysts. Some were nutters, worried that we were working against the will of god, and would go to hell and be living in damnation, with red hot pokers up our arses! We seemed to have a permanent encampment outside the building, with their placards and posters reminding us of this most days.

  Maximum protection, maximum security. Thank goodness for Novertium.

  I turned to Abby and she gave me a nod and then punched me on the arm.

  "Go get 'em!" she mocked.

  I had almost forgotten how unfeasibly strong she was.

  I stared at the chamber for a few seconds and took a deep breath.

  I placed both my hands into two separate holes on the outside of the chamber. A tingling sensation, no more, and five seconds later the doors opened, the harmless gas spewing out like dry ice.

  In the centre of the chamber was a metallic box. It had a combination lock on it, requesting four numbers.

  And here was the really kick ass bit.

  I placed my finger on the lock and thought of the four numbers.

  Yes, thought.

  And, as I opened the box, I had a very strange feeling.

  I had opened the container a thousand times, but I felt a new sensation that I had never experienced before. It was new but still familiar. And then it was gone. I thought nothing of it, and reached in.

  In my hand was the device. Ten years of hard work, and now to present it to our company. I placed it in another protective carrier and placed it in my jacket pocket, and the three of us walked back to the lift.

  Abby smiled at me.

  A classic Abby, 'It will be alright, look.'

  The lift door opened and there stood two men.

  Company men.

  One little guy who was bald.

  And an ugly big guy with a hat.

  And those teeth!

  DC comics I used to think when I first met him:

  Solomon Grundy.

  Born on a Monday.

  12.

  I looked at the two curious specimens that had come out of the lift. They walked out and over towards us, but they didn't look particularly happy. Actually, I wasn't particularly happy, as this was a part of the facility these guys knew was strictly out of bounds. They were not strangers, but employees of the company. Specifically, the security services. This was the first time I had seen them up at our research laboratories, so their presence was somewhat unexpected and mildly worrying. They were comedy security bad guys. Dressed in their dark clothes that could only be compared to 'The Men in Black,' and for goodness sake, they were wearing hats! They really were out of a dodgy 1970s B movie.

  "Mr. Woakes and Mr. Smithwick," I smiled, "How good of you to join us. Now you know all of the offices here are restricted areas to you gentlemen, so if you wouldn't mind going down to the main hall, we will join you there, along with the board of directors. We have considerable work left to do, we need to put the finishing touches on our presentation and get the device ready."

  Woakes, the smaller, bald guy, said, "I'm afraid there has been a change of plan. The directors would like to have a look at the device before you present it. It really won't take very long, but those are my orders."

  He had always creeped the team out with his manner. He had reminded me of the bad guy from 'Raiders of the Lost Ark,' searching for the lost amulet. He had a reedy voice and horrible cracked lips, attached to a face that resembled a pig with a long snout. We used to joke about undescended testicles and other childish humour about this guy.

  "Preposterous," I said, "They have never intervened in our work, ever. They will have to wait like everyone else. Go and tell them that," I snapped.

  I didn't have time for this idiot, not now, not when there was so much at stake. We had so much to finalise before the presentation, and this interruption was really very bad timing.

  "You, don't, seem, to, understand. Not, a, request," said the Grundy lookalike.

  He was a Neanderthal. His staccato words were obviously a second choice of communication for him. A total moron, but he was the muscle of security. He, as opposed to Woakes, was actually scary. I didn't know what it was about him, but I had always been very uneasy whenever he showed his face. Actually, the truth was he terrified me sometimes.

  "Is that a threat, Smithwick? Now sod off back to the rock you just crawled out from," I shouted.

 
; Smithwick took a step forward and snarled with his horrible dark teeth on show, but Woakes intervened quickly, standing between us with his hands up, and his reedy, whining voice kicking off with its sing song kind of delivery. I had never thought too much about it, but was he Welsh?

  He said, "Now calm down everybody. No need for this. No need for this at all. It's just a simple misunderstanding. We will go down and wait for you there to sort this all out. However, they still want to see the device before presentation. Let us call it a sneak peek, that’s all, Professor. See you all downstairs in about thirty minutes."

  Five maybe ten seconds of pondering and staring at me. It was like you could see his brain slowly churning round, like an old style mechanical watch, turning its tiny cogs and wheels. He then gave me a last dirty look and turned around. Before I could say anything clever, they had gone down in the lift, Smithwick scowling at me as the doors were closing. His teeth were on display as he grinned like a shark.

  Jaws from Moonraker. I really would have to talk to the board about their security personnel, as well as the human resources department.

  I motioned to Abby and Steve and said, "I don't like it. They've never done something like this before. What is it they want to do at such a late stage?"

  Steve said, "What harm could there be in just showing the device. They would have absolutely no idea what it was for. To them it would appear to be just a silly black box. Are you afraid they're not going to be impressed with what we have done with all their investment?"

  I mulled it over. Steve knew what he was talking about, where as I could be an occasional hot head. He was probably correct.

  I nodded and said, "Hmm, alright. Maybe I'm being a bit tetchy about this; it's just been so hard over the last months to get it ready on time. They have been good to us over the years, but I haven't liked the way they have dictated their timetable to us in the last six months. Shall we agree to let them have a look, maybe even a quick demonstration?"

  "Sammy, it's up to you my man, but I'm all up for keeping them sweet for another day," said Steve.

  He was still wiping the beads of sweat from his face and forehead; did this hyperhidrosis ever stop?

  "I don't agree, darling. Something is wrong. I can feel it. Those two idiots have never come up here before. I don't like the big guy just like you, but I've never seen him being threatening before," said Abby.

  "What shall we agree to then, guys," I said.

  Abby said, "There's something going on. I haven't seen many of the board of directors for ages. The usual people simply haven't been around, so I don't know what is happening. Usually, I hear rumours and gossip, but recently I’ve heard absolutely nothing from anyone."

  "Surely, no news is good news," I asked.

  "No Sam, I've heard nothing at all. It's like the board of directors don't exist anymore. I'm worried. I haven't wanted to bother you about this because you've been so busy recently, but something is definitely up," she added.

  Abby started to say something else, but we all stopped in our tracks, as there was a noise coming from the chamber. We looked over, but couldn't see through the thick gas spewing out of it. The device was no longer in there, but if there was a problem in the chamber, then that could indicate a potential malfunction with the technology itself.

  I walked over and examined it. I couldn't see anything for all the milky, white gas inside. I thought maybe the container with the device was perhaps misaligned, just needing a quick tweak from our computer techs. I briefly stepped inside to take a look around, and could hear a beeping sound coming from the containment unit. I stepped in a little further to investigate when, without warning, the doors closed together, which seemed very strange to me. No, not strange, I thought, totally impossible, and very dangerous. I was the only person who could open these doors and the container. It was only my DNA that could do that.

  So the first concern was how did the doors close without my authorisation?

  Secondly, how the heck would I get out?

  Within the mists, I could just about see the container. I walked over to it to see if there was some kind of problem, but it was still open as I had left it. I closed it up carefully, turning around to open the doors, as I was sure there was a manual override somewhere in the wall panel.

  And then, I felt something. It was distant at first, and then it became more familiar and close. The smoke started to clear slightly, but started to form more ordered lines of white gas.

  It then started to change colour; bright and green and golden.

  A feeling, a touch on my shoulder, a smell, a presence.

  I felt a cold tingle on my face, and this extended down my entire body. There was something here with me. Outside, I could see the pressed faces of Steve and Abby against the glass, but I didn't think they could see in.

  Then the gas started to clear and something extraordinary happened.

  A face from within the ether.

  A mirror.

  My eyes were looking back at me.

  I shook my head and rubbed my eyes. What was I looking at? Was it my imagination or were these gases forming into the shape of a person? Maybe all the hard work over the last ten years was finally catching up on me!

  And then this image flexed and distorted, and it had eyes which twisted around and stared at me. I then had the feeling of limbs and hands and fingers. And movement. No words were necessary because he looked at me and touched my hand. Not a handshake, not a grab and hold, definitely not a hostile movement or attempt to cause me any harm.

  It was more of an attempt at communication.

  A mutual transfer of information, like sharing a conversation with a long lost friend. The closest way I could describe it was an exchange of knowledge. And within a split second I knew everything. All his knowledge and more. My knowledge when applied to his created a newer understanding of what was and what would be.

  I knew of alleyways and blood.

  Of one eyed men and devices.

  Of Gemma.

  Of tailor's shops and whisperings.

  Of men with nasty teeth and red lights.

  And of men called Solomon.

  And of poor Siris. Surely, it couldn't be true.

  I realised the gravity of the future situation, and the need to control the device. To get the device to a future version of us. We had been given a mission, a calling far greater than anything we could have imagined.

  To save Abby? What had happened to my Abby? The destruction of the city. Huge collateral damage. To put an end to it all.

  I also understood treachery amongst us. A traitor in our midst. But I didn't know the identity of this person, but would soon find out.

  And I immediately understood.

  And he immediately understood.

  And we stared at each other, as you would at a mirror in a steam filled room. He was scared at first, but his very mind seemed to flex as we looked at each other. I could see into his very thoughts and I presumed he could see into mine. A vast intellect in comparison to my relatively feeble one. And he knew what we had to do. He gave me the device without question. It felt strange to hold two devices at the same time, his one definitely felt different to my own. And when I placed it with the other, I felt a strange, odd surge of energy, like replacing a forty watt bulb with a hundred watt one.

  I smiled at him, and he gave me a nod. The kind you might give yourself in the mirror to gee yourself up. I was almost tempted to point a finger at him, and give him one of my dodgy winks! And I took his hand in mine again, this time in a proper handshake, and I told him what I had to do. Of Gemma. Of Abigail. Of Abby. Of Abs. She would have to come with me. It would be too dangerous for her to remain behind. He would also have to make certain sacrifices right now.

  The energy got stronger, and I reached out my hand, starting the next stretch. Of ribbons and curtains, of light and film. But this time it was slightly different. The ribbons and curtains were harder to perceive. That was because I was not holding them
tightly anymore. Was the second device, though not activated, producing this surge? Perhaps it was the cause of this change in sensation?

  Whatever it was, it felt like the most wonderful feeling I had ever experienced in my life, and I felt I was able to move with greater freedom. I only hoped that the good Professor and his colleagues were going to be alright. As I understood it, I had just pinched their lifetime's work, and I didn't believe their employers were going to be particularly happy with this bargain we had just made.

  I was beginning to have some serious concerns about our masters, the Novertium group.

  13.

  I had left Siris that awful day in the tailor's shop, as he had commanded me to. It could have been two minutes or twenty years. I could not tell. The movement seemed to be instantaneous, but equally well could have been an eternity. He asked me to go, to save myself whilst sacrificing himself for me. What was it about me that was worth sacrificing himself over? Something was eating away at my mind, a terrible feeling that I couldn't place. However, now that I thought about it, the answer was simple. Yes, I knew I was not very brave, and I did stupid things on a regular basis, but I had never considered myself a coward. How could I have left him there on his own to face those nasty goons all on his own, and to feel their awful red beam on his body?

  In my travels I had seen many things. I had stood and watched images of myself from alleyways, music halls and my old house. The eerie feeling of being the watcher rather than the watched. Watching from afar and seeing myself and others was a very curious experience.

  The watcher watching the watchers, watching me.

  There was a bit too much voyeurism going on for my liking, and this was all doing my noodle in! And I did indeed watch those intruders watching me from various vantage points and places over recent days. Until, however, I noticed from the good Professor's thoughts, the identities of some of these people, and that it was them that had been after me. But why? What did they want from me? What had I done or what would I do to make these people so interested in me?