The Fruits of Progress
"Status report."
"Sir, if I may advise--"
"You may not. Status report."
The researcher sighed, shuffling the papers on his clipboard as he tried to keep up with his boss. A man with slick, dark hair and a deceptively casual outfit strode down pristine halls towards a sleek-looking elevator at hall's end. By comparison, this slightly frantic researcher seemed far less composed, silent for a moment as he attempted to form coherent responses.
"Y-yes, well..." the researcher cut off slightly with a cough. "S-120 is still resisting A-001's control. We may have to terminate this one if this keeps up. But the Core Project seems to be going well besides that." The researcher flipped through the papers on his clipboard, seeming relieved at a slower pace as his superior reached the elevator and pressed a button. As they both came to a halt to wait for the elevator, he continued. "H-001 remains stable and we should be able to utilize him by week's end. H-002 remains feral. We believe this to be due to the lack of a Creature Series to bond--"
The other man gave a cool look as a crisp ding signaled elevator's arrival. "Get to the meat of the matter, doctor. We both know what I'm really asking for." The elevator opened silently and the superior stepped inside, followed closely by his underling. Said underling spared a cautious glance down the hall, making sure they would not be overheard as the elevator's doors closed one more.
"Yes, sir. Progress is going well... or as well as we can expect, anyway. He remains resistant, but it's only a matter of time before Z-000 is subdued."
"Good, good," the other man muttered, seeming pleased and unsurprised. "What of Z-001? Any news on that venture?"
The doors slid open again and the pair walked out, pace less brisk as the superior observed various cells and tanks. Many were empty, awaiting subjects to hold, but in a few-- a sleek blue creature with scales and feathers, a strange amalgamation of flesh and claws, what resembled a pile of scrap metal aside from softly glowing strips-- these few held the current projects for testing. And at the end, the magnum opus, the destination.
"Z-001 seems to have no effect. I suppose the control only extends to the Alpha Series." The comment was almost rueful, as if either subject was to blame for this flaw. "And it would be far too tricky a process to attempt to create a Zenith for Triple-Zero. We aren't even sure if our current methods will have any effect in the end. There are just... some things man isn't meant to control, sir."
"The laws of nature are meant to be molded to our will, doctor."
"But sir, this isn't nature." The scientist was back to seeming apprehensive, nervous. Entering a soft green glow, the other man's features were cast in sharp relief, and he seemed to be barely listening to the researcher's words as his eyes fell on a gigantic glass sphere that took up the majority of that end of the room. "What we're messing with, this is-- this isn't--"
"Silence." The man seemed to have finally noticed his scientist's rambling. "No, doctor, this isn't nature. This is science. This is pure, unadulterated progress." He placed a hand on the glass sphere, and something stirred within the inner green glow. Something powerful. Something primal.
Something angry.
The scientist took a step back from the sheer rage emanating from the sphere. Colored lights on a panel nearby shifted from green to yellow. "Sir, if Triple-Zero breaches containment, we can't guarantee... adverse effects from the taming process. Everyone in this facility will die."
"Then don't allow for a containment breach." The panel's hue further slid from yellow to orange as the man walked along the sphere's perimeter and a shifting mass within followed the movement. "Besides, doctor, some things are simply worth the sacrifice of human life."
"Sir!" The scientist yelped. "There are easily ten thousand people working at this site at any given time, do you really--"
"And I will gladly let ten thousand people die to see this project to fruition!" The other man's temper seemed to finally have broken, and he rounded upon the researcher to cast him a sharp glare. But then his features smoothed out once more, and he turned to gaze upon the sphere once more. "Now leave me, doctor. I wish to remain down here a moment longer."
The scientist, who had cringed back upon his boss's outburst, now simply gave a look of mild confusion at the request. "Mister Payne, it would be best to have supervis--"
"Get back to work!" The man now identified as Payne snapped. The scientist gave another frightened yelp and nearly ran from the room to follow his new orders. Payne watched him go, watched the elevator close again, and he was alone with the experiments. Alone in a softly-lit room full of feral experiments and defective robots and a very powerful presence that actively wished to kill him. At any moment this presence could shatter its glass prison and escape, killing him, killing every researcher, destroying the city and- if the report on its mental state held true- possibly the entire planet.
And so Payne laughed.
"Triple-Zero." The man's voice was barely more than a mutter. "They're too afraid even to speak your name." He turned again to face the seething presence, unflinching. "Or maybe they just rebel at breaking what they believe to be the natural order of things. They think that you're some untouchable force, some all-powerful deity." Payne placed his hand on the cage again.
"But no," he whispered. Searing hatred flowed over him from the creature he was speaking to and yet the man remained unfazed. "No, you aren't. You are the symbol of how far we've come. The bearer of all our progress."
He withdrew, finally sparing the panels a look. At the removal of his touch, the beast seemed to calm slightly, the warning lights settling on a bright lime color. This was common. No concern. The beast hated him, but it was only him. And as long as he didn't rile it up to red, there was no danger-- hell, there might not be any danger even if it did turn red. No wonder the scientists always wanted to accompany him down here. It wasn't about keeping him safe-- it was about keeping Triple-Zero from breaking out in rage.
Payne sighed.
He gave the sphere a rueful look. "I don't understand you, you know." At his voice, the mass stirred again, the panels yellowing. "We're pursuing all you stand for. You should be pleased! This is all in your name!" He started pacing, the entity following his movement, seeming to grow agitated. "The scientists poke and prod at you and you don't give them any trouble. But I come and try to talk and everyone's afraid you'll break out!" Payne scoffed as he stopped pacing, coming to rest directly before the sphere.
The yellow gradually was becoming orange.
"You should be giving us your blessing, you know," Payne said with fervor. He placed both hands on the sphere. "This is all for you. This is all with your aid. This is all your influence. And yet you rage at me and deny my offerings." He pounded a fist into the glass. It made a dull thunk, but if it could contain a beast of such great power one raving man wouldn't scratch it.
"But you see what happens when you don't cooperate," he whispered in what was almost a hiss. "You get stuffed into a glass ball and tortured. That is what this is to you, yes? Torture. How cruel it must seem to you that we captured you to begin with. That we keep you contained in this dark, lonely room with nothing but the fruits of our progress to keep you company. That you are kept in reinforced walls miles underground while your brother is allowed his freedom." The man paused as the mass writhed within, seething with fury and violent urges. The panel slowly shifted to a bright, eye-searing vermilion, a sharp beeping ringing out through the room. But nobody would hear, for Payne was alone.
And so he smirked.
"Maybe the doctor was right," he continued in that low, intimate whisper. "Some things aren't meant to be contained by man. But what is man without innovation, and what is innovation without progress?" He stepped away, leaving the creature to rage and writhe within its prison. Payne stood for a moment, staring at the sphere and the force held within.
The smirk became a more easy, composed smile. "Or maybe the doctor was wrong. We can't know unless we try." And so he turned to leave, striding towards the elevator once more. He allowed himself his silence the whole way, until he came to the elevator. The door opening once more with an uncaring ding, Payne looked back one last time before leaving entirely.
"Perhaps man isn't meant to tame a god, but we can certainly weaponize one."
"Status report."
"Sir, if I may advise--"
"You may not. Status report."
The researcher sighed, shuffling the papers on his clipboard as he tried to keep up with his boss. A man with slick, dark hair and a deceptively casual outfit strode down pristine halls towards a sleek-looking elevator at hall's end. By comparison, this slightly frantic researcher seemed far less composed, silent for a moment as he attempted to form coherent responses.
"Y-yes, well..." the researcher cut off slightly with a cough. "S-120 is still resisting A-001's control. We may have to terminate this one if this keeps up. But the Core Project seems to be going well besides that." The researcher flipped through the papers on his clipboard, seeming relieved at a slower pace as his superior reached the elevator and pressed a button. As they both came to a halt to wait for the elevator, he continued. "H-001 remains stable and we should be able to utilize him by week's end. H-002 remains feral. We believe this to be due to the lack of a Creature Series to bond--"
The other man gave a cool look as a crisp ding signaled elevator's arrival. "Get to the meat of the matter, doctor. We both know what I'm really asking for." The elevator opened silently and the superior stepped inside, followed closely by his underling. Said underling spared a cautious glance down the hall, making sure they would not be overheard as the elevator's doors closed one more.
"Yes, sir. Progress is going well... or as well as we can expect, anyway. He remains resistant, but it's only a matter of time before Z-000 is subdued."
"Good, good," the other man muttered, seeming pleased and unsurprised. "What of Z-001? Any news on that venture?"
The doors slid open again and the pair walked out, pace less brisk as the superior observed various cells and tanks. Many were empty, awaiting subjects to hold, but in a few-- a sleek blue creature with scales and feathers, a strange amalgamation of flesh and claws, what resembled a pile of scrap metal aside from softly glowing strips-- these few held the current projects for testing. And at the end, the magnum opus, the destination.
"Z-001 seems to have no effect. I suppose the control only extends to the Alpha Series." The comment was almost rueful, as if either subject was to blame for this flaw. "And it would be far too tricky a process to attempt to create a Zenith for Triple-Zero. We aren't even sure if our current methods will have any effect in the end. There are just... some things man isn't meant to control, sir."
"The laws of nature are meant to be molded to our will, doctor."
"But sir, this isn't nature." The scientist was back to seeming apprehensive, nervous. Entering a soft green glow, the other man's features were cast in sharp relief, and he seemed to be barely listening to the researcher's words as his eyes fell on a gigantic glass sphere that took up the majority of that end of the room. "What we're messing with, this is-- this isn't--"
"Silence." The man seemed to have finally noticed his scientist's rambling. "No, doctor, this isn't nature. This is science. This is pure, unadulterated progress." He placed a hand on the glass sphere, and something stirred within the inner green glow. Something powerful. Something primal.
Something angry.
The scientist took a step back from the sheer rage emanating from the sphere. Colored lights on a panel nearby shifted from green to yellow. "Sir, if Triple-Zero breaches containment, we can't guarantee... adverse effects from the taming process. Everyone in this facility will die."
"Then don't allow for a containment breach." The panel's hue further slid from yellow to orange as the man walked along the sphere's perimeter and a shifting mass within followed the movement. "Besides, doctor, some things are simply worth the sacrifice of human life."
"Sir!" The scientist yelped. "There are easily ten thousand people working at this site at any given time, do you really--"
"And I will gladly let ten thousand people die to see this project to fruition!" The other man's temper seemed to finally have broken, and he rounded upon the researcher to cast him a sharp glare. But then his features smoothed out once more, and he turned to gaze upon the sphere once more. "Now leave me, doctor. I wish to remain down here a moment longer."
The scientist, who had cringed back upon his boss's outburst, now simply gave a look of mild confusion at the request. "Mister Payne, it would be best to have supervis--"
"Get back to work!" The man now identified as Payne snapped. The scientist gave another frightened yelp and nearly ran from the room to follow his new orders. Payne watched him go, watched the elevator close again, and he was alone with the experiments. Alone in a softly-lit room full of feral experiments and defective robots and a very powerful presence that actively wished to kill him. At any moment this presence could shatter its glass prison and escape, killing him, killing every researcher, destroying the city and- if the report on its mental state held true- possibly the entire planet.
And so Payne laughed.
"Triple-Zero." The man's voice was barely more than a mutter. "They're too afraid even to speak your name." He turned again to face the seething presence, unflinching. "Or maybe they just rebel at breaking what they believe to be the natural order of things. They think that you're some untouchable force, some all-powerful deity." Payne placed his hand on the cage again.
"But no," he whispered. Searing hatred flowed over him from the creature he was speaking to and yet the man remained unfazed. "No, you aren't. You are the symbol of how far we've come. The bearer of all our progress."
He withdrew, finally sparing the panels a look. At the removal of his touch, the beast seemed to calm slightly, the warning lights settling on a bright lime color. This was common. No concern. The beast hated him, but it was only him. And as long as he didn't rile it up to red, there was no danger-- hell, there might not be any danger even if it did turn red. No wonder the scientists always wanted to accompany him down here. It wasn't about keeping him safe-- it was about keeping Triple-Zero from breaking out in rage.
Payne sighed.
He gave the sphere a rueful look. "I don't understand you, you know." At his voice, the mass stirred again, the panels yellowing. "We're pursuing all you stand for. You should be pleased! This is all in your name!" He started pacing, the entity following his movement, seeming to grow agitated. "The scientists poke and prod at you and you don't give them any trouble. But I come and try to talk and everyone's afraid you'll break out!" Payne scoffed as he stopped pacing, coming to rest directly before the sphere.
The yellow gradually was becoming orange.
"You should be giving us your blessing, you know," Payne said with fervor. He placed both hands on the sphere. "This is all for you. This is all with your aid. This is all your influence. And yet you rage at me and deny my offerings." He pounded a fist into the glass. It made a dull thunk, but if it could contain a beast of such great power one raving man wouldn't scratch it.
"But you see what happens when you don't cooperate," he whispered in what was almost a hiss. "You get stuffed into a glass ball and tortured. That is what this is to you, yes? Torture. How cruel it must seem to you that we captured you to begin with. That we keep you contained in this dark, lonely room with nothing but the fruits of our progress to keep you company. That you are kept in reinforced walls miles underground while your brother is allowed his freedom." The man paused as the mass writhed within, seething with fury and violent urges. The panel slowly shifted to a bright, eye-searing vermilion, a sharp beeping ringing out through the room. But nobody would hear, for Payne was alone.
And so he smirked.
"Maybe the doctor was right," he continued in that low, intimate whisper. "Some things aren't meant to be contained by man. But what is man without innovation, and what is innovation without progress?" He stepped away, leaving the creature to rage and writhe within its prison. Payne stood for a moment, staring at the sphere and the force held within.
The smirk became a more easy, composed smile. "Or maybe the doctor was wrong. We can't know unless we try." And so he turned to leave, striding towards the elevator once more. He allowed himself his silence the whole way, until he came to the elevator. The door opening once more with an uncaring ding, Payne looked back one last time before leaving entirely.
"Perhaps man isn't meant to tame a god, but we can certainly weaponize one."