A-10: A Mind Control Story
Part 1: In the Interests of Science
They call the stuff A-10. Dr. Meghan O'Connor (or "Legs" - as the guys all call her) was in charge of the project. It was some sort of top secret government program; said to be backed by the CIA. It's the kind of thing they do around here all the time. I still don't exactly what A-10 is, but then I'm no scientist. Just a lowly computer guy, a mere nerd —"Computer Technician III" at Wildfire Labs.
It's not a bad job; loads of spare time; mostly manning the help desk, waiting for the phone to ring. Usually pretty quiet. So quiet in fact, I used to be able to kick back and do a little porn surfing on a boring afternoon, even dropping in on a chat room or two. At least I could do that till they put in the usage tracking software to spy on how the peons spent their time. Actually, I was the one who installed that particular piece of shit!
Anyhow, now I sit in my cubicle and spend my free time browsing through the inter-office e-mail. That's how I found out about A-10. It ends up that they're developing this stuff for the CIA to use when they interrogate some terrorists they're holding in one of those detention camps. I found out that they've been experimenting - trying it out on the ones they caught to see if they can make them more "cooperative." Now I really got interested!
It's no big thing for me to get access to lab notes on any of the projects, even though they think they're supposed to be so secure. I can get in there anytime I want. So I started reading up on A-10. It turns out that it's designed to make the subject feel helpless, totally dependent on the interrogator. A few drops in the morning's orange juice, and in an hour or so a guy's paralyzed. He can't move a muscle. Then he goes into a kinda trance. He can see and hear okay, but he can't move or speak. While they're under like that they become supersensitive to their emotions, mood swings, that sort of thing. They don't seem to be sure of the long term effects of the drugs, but most of their test subjects would fall into a deep sleep afterwards, and when they woke up - they wouldn't remember a thing!
I was scrolling through the weekly summary on A-10, when Dr. O'Connor herself stuck her head into my cubicle to pester me about the new security system we were installing. She was wearing sneakers, and I was so engrossed in what I was reading, I never heard her coming. She scared the shit out of me! I quickly closed the file and spun around to face her, praying she hadn't seen what was on my screen.
Dr. O'Connor, "Meghan," she says we're supposed to call her, is a first class pain-in-the-ass; but she's one hot babe - with that set of long elongated legs all bare and left on display In fact, the guys call her "Legs" O'Connor because one Saturday afternoon last summer, when she was off duty, she showed up at the lab in a pair of tight denim shorts with those tall and shapely legs on display from her toes all the way up to her crotch. A mouth-watering sight! After that you couldn't help thinking of those gorgeous legs of hers, even though they were almost always hidden by the baggy pants she often wore under her lab coat. Yeah, Legs O'Connor is a real piece all right; she is also an arrogant, stuck-up bitch who treats the staff like dirt. A pretty, but prickly piece, is our Dr. O'Connor.
Right away she started giving me hell about not having the damned testing done. I tried to explain that we had some real interface problems here, but she didn't want to hear it. That bitch could sure be unreasonable, especially with the technical staff. Finally, she said something about how if I couldn't get the job done, they'd find someone who could. Then she stormed out.
***
Driving home from work that night I got to thinking about A-10 and Dr. Meghan O'Connor.
I planned it all very carefully. One thing I knew about Legs O'Connor was that she was a workaholic. I knew from the times on her e-mail that she sometimes worked long into the night after the lab was closed and everyone else was gone. I knew she would take a break to eat a lunch at her desk, and I also knew she liked using the watercooler just outside of her office - kept it filled with some kind of fancy purified water that she liked. I needed to hang around after work till I saw she was staying late. Then I'd make my move.
I knew it wouldn't be a problem to get my hands on some A-10. I know this place is all top secret, and the public thinks that it's like CIA headquarters or something. They'd be surprised. Sure, it's damn near impossible to get in the front door, but once you're in, and with the right clearances, you can go anywhere, do anything, and nobody's going to say a word to you. I had an "Orange Badge," which meant that I had unrestricted access. I waited for my chance, ducked into lab number 5, poured some of the clear liquid into a plastic coke bottle, screwed on the cap, and placed the bottle inside a lunch bag which went right into the bottom drawer of my desk. It took less than a minute. Phase one accomplished!
Now I began staying late myself, waiting for the day when she would work into the night. I sat engrossed in my computer screen as people started to leave. Tying my webcam into the building's video system had been easy enough! I could now watch the lobby while, one by one, the staff signed out at the front security desk.
I had to wait almost two weeks, before I got my chance. It was a Wednesday night, and I was sure she hadn't left her office. The door was closed, but I hadn't seen her leave, and her office lights were still on. A quick check of her computer showed she was on the intranet. I raced on tiptoes down to the watercooler and back in record time. Then with heart still pounding, wildly excited, I sat down to wait, scared, hoping and praying that she'd take the bait. I sat in the darkened cubicle for what seemed to be forever.
It was just after 6:30 when I heard her door open. I switched the video feed to the secretary's office right outside her door, and there I saw Dr. O'Connor go over to the watercooler. She seemed to hesitate, but then filled up her cup and turned back towards her office.
I forced myself to count slowly to 60, then I crept down the hall to her office door. I knocked. No answer.
I knocked again, louder this time. Again, no answer. I knew she was in there. Cautiously, I cracked open the door to peek inside. I saw her standing there beside her desk. Her back was to me, and she seemed to be looking out the picture window behind her desk. The coffecup sat on the desk at her side.
Very quietly I said: "Dr O'Connor?"
The woman didn't move.
I tried it again, louder now. Again there was no response. She stood perfectly still. I fought down the surge of wild elation. I had done it. Legs O'Connor was mine!
End Part 1