Project Z-1664: Chapter Two

Suspended in the tube, attached to many twisting wires and electrodes, was a girl. She looked no more than ten or eleven years old, her young flesh looking extremely abstract amongst the cold steel machinery. While the girl was obviously human, she had a look about her that didn't fit. Floating there, in the tube which must have been some kind of nutrient bath, she looked like an eerie green ghost. Her face was concealed behind an oxygen mask, but it was clear that she was asleep or in some kind of stasis.
Samuel saw the looks of horror on his guest's faces. "No need to be alarmed. This...this experiment has been planned for many years. So many years. In fact, you might even say that this is her destiny. Yes." His eyes glinted fiercely in the green light. Hartby took a step back. His mind was racing. This was one of the most horrible things he'd ever seen, yet, he felt he wasn't as surprised as he should have been. Human testing? He'd seen it coming. But why a young girl? Surely that went against all moral laws. But what did Samuel say? This had been all planned..?
Elfy put a hand on the glass. She turned to Samuel. "What has this got to do with us?" she asked slowly. The question seemed to take both Hartby and Samuel by surprise.

Now it was twenty minutes later, and Samuel, Hartby, Elfy and Greg were all seated in a conference room on the first floor. All the blinds were closed, as Samuel had stated that his eyes were not used to the brightness. Hartby now realised that while Greg was a little pale, Samuel was chalk-white, and his skin looked like it had never even been touched by the sun. Images and stories of vampires danced around in his mind as Samuel looked just like one, apart from his hair and eyes. He also realised that Samuel looked a bit younger than Greg, but he had a certain air of superiority and dignity.
Greg cleared his throat. "So, your commander hasn't told you the full story of what's going on here, right? I thought so. That's precisely the reason Mr. Hal summoned you here today. To discuss this matter, as your role in this project is very important." Samuel remained quiet, smiling. He looked rather distant, his gaze fixed on a watercooler by the wall. Greg paused to see if Samuel had anything to add, but looked as if he already knew his boss wasn't paying attention.
"Some years ago, well, fifteen to be precise, The Whitehouse declared that the Z labs were legally allowed to carry out human testing and genetics engineering work. After a few years of testing with little things like cloning cells to repair organs and nerve therapy, we decided to start a major project. However, round about the time we were granted permission, the NYPD was falling into a crisis about employment issues, and the President decided that this was a most urgent problem. We agreed to devote our tests to solving it, and started a few experiments with an enhancing serum to make the willing members of the force stronger. However, we couldn't quite crack it, and the serums produced were all about as useful as milk. They helped, but not much, and not nearly fast enough."
Hartby actually remembered hearing something like this before, from one of his lieutenants. He looked at Elfy, who was hanging on every word, he nodded, and Greg was about to continue when Samuel suddenly snapped out of his daze and cut in. "It turns out that the serum would only properly work on certain arrangements of DNA, and we couldn't get the right combination. So we figured, why not just make the certain strand of DNA that the serum was designed for?! It would be the easiest thing. And it was! Oh how it was. Genetic engineering is the way of the future." he said with much enthusiasm. Greg looked almost embarrassed at this behaviour. Samuel went back to staring at the watercooler.
"Anyway" Greg continued, "As Mr. Hal said, we decided that genetic engineering was the answer. But how to incorporate the right DNA into a human's body? Injecting an artificial insemination egg would be difficult and would raise many problems; also it is 'morally wrong'. So we had a problem on our hands-" He was interrupted by the fact that Samuel had suddenly stood up. He was smiling broadly. "And then, and then! She arrived. Like a sign from God! It was indeed glorious."
Greg smiled slightly too. "It was the strangest thing I've ever seen actually. I'm sure it was rigged somehow, but anyway, the girl you saw...she was abandoned as a baby outside in the car park. Just left in the bushes in a basket. There wasn't even a note or anything." His smile faded. "I heard her crying when I was about to get in my car. I found her and took her inside. Mr. Hal was smitten with her, and insisted he would raise her..." His voice sort of trailed off. Samuel looked down, as if he was disappointed that Greg didn't finish the story. So he carried on instead. "So I took her in. Let her live here with me, in the residential area of course. After a few months though, I was curious to learn who she was...so I did a blood test and checked her DNA, and while there was no match of any relations on record, I found that her DNA was different from most humans. It was, in fact, unique. Her blood had some different properties altogether..." He looked over at Hartby, who had a doubtful look on his face.
"Mr. Hartby, what would you say-"
"Sergeant." Hartby automatically corrected him.
"Yes, of course, of course. Sergeant Hartby, what would you say if I told you that the girl was a, well, mutant?"
Samuel took the stunned silence as a cue to continue. "We think that there was some illegal human testing going on somewhere else before we were granted permission, and this poor girl was the result of an attempt at some kind of DNA merging experiment. Funny thing was, from her blood, it looked like the experiment had been a success. Because the girl's genetic code contained some strands of the DNA of a reptile!"
Again there was silence, and many raised eyebrows. Even Greg looked as if he still couldn't believe it. Samuel waited for a response, then sighed impatiently, as if dealing with a young child or someone who didn't speak English. "Don't you understand? This gives her many unique and powerful abilities! The possibilities are endless!" he yelled. Greg nodded and stood beside him. "Mr. Hal, I'll explain, you're getting yourself worked up. Please, sit."
Samuel took a deep breath and went over to the watercooler for a drink. Greg turned to Hartby and Elfy, and smiled apologetically. "Mr. Hal is rather excited about this girl. As are all of us here at the labs, this is a new frontier in genetic science! While we still have no idea who actually performed the experiment, we know what the obvious desired effects were. You see, this girl has the power to actually heal herself rapidly, and she might have remarkable strength and speed-"
Elfy now stood up. "If she's all that great, how come she's been stuck in a tube?!"
Greg looked over to Samuel, who was leaning against the watercooler, gulping down cup after cup of water. He glanced over to Elfy and answered as he was filling another cup from the cooler. "Remember what Greg said about the NYPD's employment issues? And how we said we'd help them out? Well, we're making her into the perfect police officer. Subliminal messaging through machines is the key. Fast. Effective. It'll help us all. She'll be just perfect!" He finished the cup in one gulp. Elfy was clearly outraged. "She has the right to live a normal life! Why can't you just raise her properly then send her to the Academy just like everyone else?!" she yelled at him. Hartby put his hand on her shoulder to calm her. "Elfy, please-" he murmured, but she shook him off. Samuel crushed the paper cup in his hand, and threw it in the bin. "Because, 'Elfy', she isn't like everyone else. She wouldn't belong. No-one would understand her. And once it got to press that she was super strong and fast and just about invincible, people would start asking questions, and eventually envying and despising her, they would do anything to get rid of her. I don't want that to happen. No-one will hurt her. NO-ONE. I won't let them!" He slammed his fist into the watercooler, knocking it over. The top came off and the remaining water spilled all over the floor, seeping into the carpet. Samuel, with his head in his hands, stumbled over to the nearest chair and heavily sat down. Greg immediately rushed to his side, and gave him a small pill from his pocket. Hartby looked over at Elfy, who had been shocked into silence. She stood looking at the floor, watching the dark puddle grow larger.
A man in jeans and a t-shirt appeared at the door. "I heard a crash, is everything ok?" he asked, and looking down he saw the watercooler lying on the floor. "I'll, um, get someone to clean this up for you-" he mumbled, and left.
No questions asked, thought Hartby. Does this happen every day or something?
Greg sighed. "I think we'll have to continue this some other time... We'll be in touch." He shook both their hands, not looking them in the eyes. He showed them to the lift and said goodbye, then hurried back to his boss. Hartby and Elfy got into the lift, and the doors closed.
Elfy sighed. "What was that all about?" she grumbled. It was if she denied that she had anything to do with it.
"You shouldn't have yelled at him Elfy. Can't you just know your place for once? He's a scientist with numerous PhD’s and you're a street cop. You must have greatly offended him, you know." Hartby said in a stern tone. Elfy looked doubtful. "Don't you think he was weird? And not just the anger management issue, either. He kept repeating himself, and smiling eerily. Greg even gave him a sedative pill. I think he's a psycho." Hartby raised an eyebrow. "Sedative? You're sure?" Elfy nodded. "No doubt about it, white, about five millimetres in width and had no slit. It was stamped as well, though I didn't see what the letters were. The only other pills you get like that are some laxatives, and somehow I don't think Greg would need to give him one of those. At least I hope not!" she laughed.
The lift doors opened slowly, and they stepped back into the sunlit main hall.