Page 35 of Resolution
“Nothing but taking samples today, isn’t that right?” Mercattor said.
He nodded, turning around with a long probe in his hand. “Quite correct. Baseline indicators, that sort of thing.”
The lab tech fiddled with a control panel on the side of the table and Melly found herself paralyzed as if she’d been stunned. Inwardly she was trembling and nauseous but there was nothing she could do to defend herself.
“My ah colleague has requested you be given alleviation today for any discomfort,” Ybidliuz said, making it plain he had no such compunctions about torturing his subjects. “I’ve agreed to some extent since this is only the first of many steps in the experiment plan.”
The lighting took on a purple tinge and now Melly was numb as well as paralyzed.
She closed her eyes and kept them closed no matter what was done to her. She had periods of discomfort and the sheet was taken away from her fairly early on as Ybidliuz complained irritably it was interfering with his sample taking. The Khagrish scientist was in a chatty mood as he worked.
“Our sponsor is going to be happy about this development,” he said. “It’s fortunate I’ve had so much experience working with human subjects.”
“You’ve done this elsewhere?” she asked, trying to keep her mind off what exactly the scientist was doing.
“Not this exact series of experiments, no. My people have been working for the Chimmer for centuries now—we’re superior scientific minds, which they and the Mawreg recognized early in their encounters with us. There were other priorities, a program which held such promise but ultimately proved to be too flawed to continue. I for one seized this opportunity to be freed from the restraints of the old contract and come here to do my own independent research.”
“I can’t say I’m happy for you,” Melly told him, gritting her teeth as she felt pressure against her spine.
“It was an interesting challenge, to build a virus we could control and take down a world. The initial results have been quite satisfactory but now the sponsor has demanded modifications before setting up a second instance on another world. More intelligence in the infected, more ability to use them as tools once the first wave of planetary sanitation has been carried out by the basic models…” His voice trailed off as he stepped away from the table.
Melly opened her eyes enough to see he’d gone to his desk and was checking his notes. When he walked toward her, she quickly closed them again.
“A few more samples and then I think we’re done for today,” he said. “It’ll take a few days to analyze all the results. Maybe a second round of sampling will be necessary but then we can go into the experiment itself.”
If Jeff doesn’t get me out of here, I’m going to find a way to kill myself, Melly thought grimly. Today had been bad enough. She couldn’t—didn’t want to—imagine what enduring an actual experiment would entail.
“Didn’t you say the sponsor wanted the infected to self eliminate more quickly?” Dr. Mercattor asked. “Will Dr. Jericho’s genetic material help with that request?”
“It might. Yes, they did indicate the current ten-year expiration was too long but for a first round it was acceptable.”
“The infected will die off in ten years?” Melly asked, not sure she’d heard correctly.
Ybidliuz made a sound of agreement as he pressed something to her shoulder. “Approximately. If the Chimmer wish to occupy a planet or to send a client race to do so, they don’t want to have to deal with the infected running amok in perpetuity.”
“The infected hunt Chimmer too?”
“Oh yes. It was quite amusing to watch our Chimmer volunteers attempt to elude the infected sample we sent into their enclosure.”
“Did they ‘volunteer’ the same way I did?” she asked.
“Convicts, I believe, but I didn’t inquire as to the exact details.” Ybidliuz stepped away from the table again and she heard him drop whatever probe he was holding onto the desktop. “All done for today.”
The paralysis and the pain alleviator snapped off. Melly grabbed the sheet, which was beside her feet and curled up into the smallest ball she could manage. Her body ached and there were specific pain points in a myriad of places.
Ybidliuz made a tasking sound. “You humans are so fragile. My previous subjects endured much worse than this without complaints. It’s a good thing General Quantike is maintaining my pool of subjects at an acceptable level. He may need to push the breeding program harder.” He looked her over in a disapproving manner. “I suppose you need more pain alleviators.”
“She’ll need a few days to recover,” Dr. Mercattor said, moving to stand beside the table. Melly inched away from her, not wanting the woman to touch her.
“Granted. I’ll need time to analyze these samples and run a few tests.” He patted her leg as if she was a dog and strode out of the lab without another word.
The lab tech administered a medinject which did reduce the pain to bearable levels and Melly was able to get dressed again in the semi-private space before Dr. Mercattor and the guards escorted her to her cell. Dinner had been brought while she was gone and her stomach rebelled at the idea of eating. The smell alone made her nauseous. All she wanted was to crawl into the bed, hard as it was and try to sleep.
“Food will help the pain meds absorb better,” Dr. Mercattor said, hesitating in the doorway.
“As if I’d take medical advice from you.” Melly made her voice as venomous as she could. She rolled over to present her back to the door and she heard it slide shut and lock. Now she was alone she allowed the tears to flow until she cried herself to sleep.
* * *
