Dreamscape

March 2, 2014 - 8:00pm

Samantha Prescott lay across a black couch within the confines of Phineas Crowe's office. She was dressed in the clothes she was wearing earlier that day before her abduction in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She appeared calm and at peace in her unconscious state. Phineas Crowe was seated in a leather wingback chair about three feet away that was slightly facing his latest victim. He nodded at Marcy, his petite personal assistant. She approached the young auburn haired woman and stuck a syringe in her arm that was filled with a clear liquid. About twenty seconds later Samantha Prescott began to stir.

"Doctor Prescott? Can you hear me?" Crowe asked softly, "Can you hear me Doctor Prescott?" he asked again.

Samantha's hands came slowly to her face and began rubbing her eyes. She yawned and then tried to open her bright green eyes.

"Take it easy Doctor Prescott," Crowe said gently, "you have been through quite a lot today."

Samantha's eyes began to focus. As she lay on her back she turned her head. She had no idea where she was. She had recollection of how she got here. She felt somewhat lethargic and slightly chilly. She began to assess her surroundings.

"Where...am...I?" she muttered slowly in confusion as she tried to sit herself up in a seated position. Marcy approached to lend her a helping hand. Samantha looked at her and smiled. "Thank you." She said, politely, to Marcy.

Samantha turned to face Phineas Crowe. He greeted her with a warm and welcoming smile. She was taken aback at how rugged and handsome he appeared. She did not recognize him as being one of the richest and most powerful men in the world.

"Doctor Prescott, my name is Phineas Crowe, and you are in my office here at my home." Phineas said calmly with a wry and devilish smile.

Samantha's alertness became much more clear when she heard him introduce himself to her. She smiled a smile that pre-teen girls get when they are in the presence of their favorite boy-band.

"THE Phineas Crowe, the multi-millionaire, the owner of Humanatech?" Samantha asked giddy over being in his presence.

"Multi-billionaire, doctor, but that's not really all that important." Crowe said trying to appear humble and trustworthy.

"Mr. Crowe, why am I in your office? I don't remember anything." Samantha said as her face grimaced, trying to recall the past few hours' events.

"What's the last thing you can remember, Doctor?" Crowe asked.

Samantha sat quietly in thought.

"I...remember...checking into my hotel room because I am supposed to be giving a talk at a conference about artificial intelligence." Samantha said almost unsure of herself.

"There was an accident, Doctor Prescott, don't worry...everything is okay, but I thought it best that you be here with me right now." Crowe explained.

"What kind of accident?" Samantha asked curiously, "Wait, where did you say we were?"

"You are in my home, Doctor Prescott, in New Orleans" Crowe answered.

"New Orleans?" Samantha said as her eyes widened in shock. "How the hell did I get to New Orleans, I'm supposed to be in Pittsburgh. Wait, what day is it? What time is it?" Samantha said growing nervous and tense at the blank memories.

"It's March the second, and it's eight o'clock at night", answered Crowe, quickly and carefree.

Crowe looked at his new guest and could tell she was rapidly declining into panic and terror.

"Marcy, would bring Doctor Prescott some water please?" Crowe asked his assistant, who nodded and then moved to fetch some water.

"What am I doing here, Mr. Crowe? How did I get here?" Samantha pleaded with the handsome man seated close by.

"You arrived here this morning on one of my private planes. I needed you here with me immediately. I made arrangements to have you picked up at your hotel this morning, Doctor Prescott. You slipped in the parking garage before my people could reach you. You fell and hit your head. They found you unconscious near your car. They quickly loaded you up and gave you the medical attention you needed. We contacted the AI-NOW conference people and let them know about the unexpected emergency. We flew you here and have been caring for you all afternoon." Crowe finished.

Samantha looked shocked and bewildered at the explanation. She could not recall anything that had happened in the last twelve hours. It was all completely blank. Her head did hurt a bit as though she may have hit it on something. At this point she had no choice but to trust the story that was given to her.

"I need to borrow a phone, Mr. Crowe, I was supposed to be at a meeting in Washington this afternoon...and I need to let them know where I am and that I'm okay." Samantha said politely.

Crowe smiled at her.

"Doctor, you can call them later, you just woke up and need to settle down a bit. My people will contact anyone that you need, for you." Crowe said gently and sweetly to young lady seated near him.

"It's really rather important, Mr. Crowe. I would be very grateful if you could show me to the nearest phone." Samantha said politely again, but with a bit more of a firm tone added.

"Do you know who I am, doctor?" Crowe said as he uncrossed his legs and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees to change the subject. His dark brown eyes were piercing into Samantha's gaze.

"I only know that you are a very wealthy man and that you have a penchant for flare and partying...sir." Samantha answered, "Why did you say I was here?"

"I didn't...yet." Crowe said chuckling.

Marcy reappeared with a tall glass of ice water and handed it to Marcy. Crowe stood and walked behind his chair as he watched Samantha take a drink.

"I'm working on a top secret project, Doctor Prescott, the subject of which is of the utmost sensitivity. We have reached a stumbling block on this project, and in the midst of determining the best way to go about solving it...your name came up." Crowe said as he paced around behind the couch where Samantha was seated. She looked straight ahead and nervously took another drink of water. She could feel the powerful man's eyes boring through the back of her head. The intensity and charisma in his voice was so hypnotizing.

"What project is this?" Samantha asked.

"Are you familiar with Miomex?" Crowe asked as he continued his slow circular pace around the couch like a hunter stalking its prey.

"Yes, it's the miracle drug that your company produced. It saved my grandmother's life, in fact." Samantha confessed.

"Oh, really, I'm so glad to hear that!" Crowe said feigning enthusiasm.

"Well, we are hard at work on a new drug, doctor, a drug that will make miomex look like child's play. Drugs so powerful that it will, literally, change the world." Crowe explained passionately.

"What kind of drug?" Samantha asked taking another sip from her glass of water.

"Have you ever been dreaming, and at some point in the dream you became aware that you were dreaming?" Crowe asked.

"Yes...I think so." Samantha said.

"And having realized that you were dreaming, have you then tried to actually control and shape your dreams...actually tried to produce a certain event or feeling or outcome to that dream?" Crowe asked again, having circled back around to his starting position behind his chair.

"I can't say that I actually remember trying to do that...I mean, I can recall times when I wished I could have done that, but that's not possible." Samantha exclaimed.

"Is it not, Doctor?" Crowe asked sarcastically, "What if I told you that it is possible? What if I told you that you could create a dream world of your liking that was so real and so lifelike that you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the two?" Crowe said.

"I would say that you have made the impossible possible and that the entire world would be lining up at your door for access to it." Samantha postured.

"Yes! Exactly!" Crowe said slapping the back of the chair in excitement.

"So...this drug...it isn't for a cure of some kind or to treat some ailment is it?" Samantha stated.

"On the contrary, Doctor Prescott, it will be the greatest treatment for the world's biggest ailment...L.I.F.E." Crowe spelled it out, "You see, doctor, the world is full of people who are depressed and down trodden. It is full of people looking for a way out or a way up. It's full of people who need hope and excitement and a reason to live. Now, imagine with me, all of the people in the world who need a pick me up, all the people in the world who are losing hope in their day to day menial existence...imagine all of the terminally ill people who are just waiting to die. Imagine them all," Crowe said and then paused.

Samantha had not noticed that Crowe had moved behind her on the couch and was now leaning down right near her ear. A tremble rushed through her body at his close proximity and his masculine voice echoed in her ear.

"Imagine all of those people having the ability to escape. Escape to a world of their choosing whenever they wanted. A world where they could be the king or queen. A world where they were no longer sick, or depressed. A perfect world they could create and live in as they saw fit." Crowe said softly into her ear.

Samantha coughed to break the intimacy. She cleared her throat.

"This project that you were are working on, Mr. Crowe...there's no way that the FDA would approve it. It would cause mass addiction and it would have incredible negative consequences on people's real lives. If this drug actually existed, the chaos it would cause through out the world would be...well...devastating." Samantha said as she scooted herself to the edge of the couch and turned slightly to the side.

"You are as smart as they said you were, doctor." Crowe said standing and flashing that beautiful smile at her.

"I still don't understand why I am here, Mr. Crowe," said Samantha.

"We need your expertise with artificial intelligence, Doctor Prescott", Crowe began, "We have the ability to merge the nanotech with the host DNA. We have figured out how to have the nanotech read peoples thoughts and dreams, but we have not been able to get the nanotech to induce the visions and feelings within the brain that will be necessary to create the kind of experience we are searching for." Crowe said as he continued his pace around the couch.

"And you think I can create some kind of interface or artificial intelligence for the nano to be able to learn and adapt within the brain to produce and control the visions that the host is trying to create?" Samantha stated as much as she was asking.

"Exactly." Crowe said confidently.

Samantha paused. She thought to herself for a brief moment.

"Mr. Crowe, I don't know who told you about me, but even if I could create something like this, and I'm not saying I can, but if I could, I know that I would not want to be responsible for helping create a drug that would ruin everyone's life that it touched. I mean it sounds great to hear you explain it, but I'm not certain you have thought through the full ramifications of such a venture," said Samantha.

Crowe sighed audibly.

"Samantha, I'm so sorry to hear you say that." Crowe said in a very disappointed tone of voice.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Crowe, but I'm not your girl. Now if you would excuse me, I would like to collect my things and be on my way." Samantha said standing to her feet and straightening her dress.

"You are most definitely my girl," Crowe said as he leaned back against his desk, "I'm sorry to tell you, but you can't leave right now, Samantha."

"Excuse me," She said defiantly, "You can't keep me here and you can't tell me what I will and will not do."

Samantha turned and began marching towards the door. She reached it and twisted the knob, but found that it was locked. She turned back to look at Crowe still leaning against his desk with a smug look of confidence on his face.

"Open the door!" Samantha demanded.

"And where would you go, my dear?" Crowe said as the trap he had set began to close. "Who would ever give a dope head like you another job?"

"What in the hell are you talking about?" Samantha asked incredulously.

"You don't have to hide it from me, Samantha," Crowe said mockingly.

He reached over and pushed a button on a small black remote. The large television monitor hanging on the wall came to life. Samantha was horrified at what she saw.

There was a picture of her seated on the ground. Her hair was a mess; her skirt was hiked up nearly to where her underwear was visible. There was something tied around her arm just above her elbow and a syringe sticking out of her arm. She appeared to be drunk or hungover or high. She couldn't quite decide.

"What the fuck is that?" She shouted angrily at Crowe. "That's not me! I never did that!" She exclaimed.

"The pictures never lie, Samantha, in fact the toxicology report here on my desk," Crowe said placing his hand over a manila envelope, "well, it says that you have heroin in your system."

"What?!" Samantha shouted in fury.

"No one is going to want a heroin addict working for them, Samantha." Crowe said in a flat monotone voice.

"I'm not an addict! I've never done one drug in my life. Hell, I barely drink alcohol!" She exclaimed in shock.

"And if being a heroine addict wasn't bad enough, if you could somehow prove that you were sober" Crowe continued on, pushing another button, "they certainly aren't going to hire an internet porn star that plays out such crazy sexual fetishes like this." He said nodding at the screen.

Samantha's eyes widened in horror as she saw herself stretched out and chained up in the nude. Her porcelain skin set off her auburn hair beautifully. She collapsed to the floor as the scene played out in front of her. Tears streamed down her face as she watched Marcy bring her body to orgasm after orgasm. She gently cupped her breasts after she watched Marcy slap them. She began to sob on the floor as the she heard herself moan with pleasure as she came again and again. She began to become aware of the soreness that still lingered between her legs.

"Doctor Prescott, your career is over. You have no life to go back to outside of these four walls." Crowe said explaining the facts of the situation to her. "There is nothing left for you...unless." He paused.

Samantha lifted her tear stained face to his. Her bright green eyes were blurred with tears.

"Unless what?" She asked through her sobs.

"Unless you help me complete this job. Do the work I need you to do. Finish this and complete it! Then - this video and those pictures will all go away, and you can go back to living the life you always dreamed of." He said laughing to himself at the pun he just made.

"You haven't done anything with this stuff?" Samantha asked confused.

"Not at all. I just need you to know that I have it, so that if you ever decide to try and stab me in the back, or do something careless...well, it gives me the leverage I need to have you do what needs to be done." Crowe explained as though this were an everyday event in his life.

"I don't understand," Samantha sobbed, "why me, why are doing this to me?"

"Because there is no one else, Samantha, you are the smartest person on the planet when it comes to artificial intelligence. So it had to be you." Crowe said.

Samantha collapsed on the floor and sobbed. The dark and grim reality of her future wrecked her inside. She had never felt so manipulated and abused before in her life. She looked back up to the television monitor to see Marcy sticking some kind of clear plastic thing into her butt. She sobbed louder as she reached around behind her dress to, sympathetically, hold the violated entry point.

"You need to understand something very clearly, Samantha. You cannot escape. We have sent messages to your family explaining the sudden disappearance; as well as to all of the people you are currently assisting. Everyone will think that you just needed a break and some rest. All contact with the outside world is forbidden, and should I ever learn that you have done so or even attempted to do so...all of the pictures and this video will be released to news organizations around the world." Crowe said as though he were reading off some fine print at the bottom of a contract.

"Do you understand me, Samantha?" Crowe said as he bent down next to her toppled body.

She nodded through her tears.

"Very good. Marcy will show you to your room. Tomorrow I will introduce you to the rest of the team." Crowe said as he nodded to Marcy and walked back to his desk.

Marcy approached the young woman. She gently touched her shoulder. Samantha turned to look at her and when she recognized her as the dominatrix in the video she screamed and jumped away.

"You are going to need some help with her," Crowe laughed as he watched it unfold before him.

Marcy went to the door and pressed a button that was affixed to the wall. About thirty seconds later, Lydia appeared in the door.

"Lydia, I need your help to get Doctor Prescott to her room." Marcy said to the young Hispanic girl.

They both approached Samantha.

"Doctor, please come with us, I will help get you settled in tonight." Lydia said in her thick Hispanic accent. She reached down and offered a hand and a gentle smile to the beautiful auburn haired woman. Samantha looked into her dark chocolate brown eyes and at the smile gracing her bee stung lips, and she felt a calming presence come over her. Her breathing slowed, the tears stopped, and she reached out and took her hand.

Her mind raced as tears flowed down her face. The two young women led Samantha down the winding twisting corridors and up a couple of flights of stairs until they ended up at the guest suite where Sean Mallory had stayed the night before. Lydia helped Samantha into the room to the closest couch.

"You will stay here tonight. I will be back in the morning at eight o'clock to retrieve you for breakfast. If you happen to need something between now and then, just pick up that phone," Marcy said, pointing to a phone sitting near the bar, "it will ring in our servants quarters and someone can assist you with whatever you need. Lydia will help you get settled in. Good evening Doctor Prescott." She turned and left the room.

"I'm so sorry that this happening to you, Doctor Prescott." Lydia said as she made her way to the kitchen area for a water bottle.

"How can you work for such a cruel man, Lydia?" Samantha said through tears, "Are you here because of something like this too?" she asked.

"Mr. Crowe owns me, Doctor Prescott," Lydia explained. "He bought me from my pimp in Brazil three years ago."

"You are his sex slave?" Samantha asked with a shocked look on her face.

"I am anything that Mr. Crowe wants me to be. I am here to serve him as he commands." Lydia responded.

"Oh my God!" Samantha exclaimed, "That sick fuck! What kind of twisted monster is he?"

"Doctor Prescott, trust me when I tell you that you must do what Mr. Crowe asks of you. He is a very rich and powerful man. He gets his way with anything he wants. If you try and stop him or resist him...well...it would not be very good for you." Lydia said, as she approached Samantha with a water bottle.

"I'm so confused," Samantha cried taking a drink, "I don't know what to do."

Lydia sat down next to her and put her arm around the sobbing woman. She gently pulled her head down onto her shoulder and lightly began caressing her hair.

"Shhh," She whispered gently, "It's going to me okay." She said reassuringly.

Lydia jumped when she felt a buzz from the little beeper attached to her hip. She looked down to see that it was Crowe.

"I have to leave you now, Doctor," She said calmly standing to her feet.

"But why? What am I going to do?" Samantha said, pleading with her to stay.

"Just get some rest, Doctor. Tomorrow will be better, just wait and see." Lydia answered as she hurried out the door.