Special Thanks to my Editor who made this readable: Gravinaux
Ch. 01: The Beginning
Peter pulled into the near empty parking lot at work. He was one of the people who arrive at work earlier than most. The asphalt was damp from dew or from a light rain the night before. The large modern building before him had a surreal appearance like a presence. It looked as though it was an entity all it's own. The morning twilight added to the color of the otherwise plain steel and white walls. He looked back at the chain link fence with spring barbed wire above it. Feeling contained and somewhat safe at the same time. Work had been most enjoyable the last few months. He and his colleagues achieved a worldwide break through. They had won so many awards the last week, he was still suffering from the anxiety of the presentations and Press talks. Peter worked with a new concept of organic nanomachines, microscopic organisms based on virus principles. The organic machines programmed with DNA were such a revelation that the world as we know it was about to change. Neither the world nor his colleagues knew just how far he has gotten with the technology.
Peter held several Ph.D.s, his first two before the age of 19. He was a typical highly intelligent introvert. He gazed into the retinal scanner to open the first door among many in the complex. The robotic guards greeted him as if they really cared. He had several at home; a few with external flesh as real as one could get and a few of the advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) robots of female likeness as well, all his programming. All the publicity and the new fame he gained recently left him in a bad mood. If only the world would leave him to his work, he thinks. He realized this morning that his time has come.
He walks through a maze of hallways with many steel doors. Electromagnetic and physical barriers hide numerous labs. Few of them known to him, known to anyone except those who work within them. It's all a need-to-know system. Some people he's known for years have shared not a word about what they do, only what they know, weather, public advances, etc... He comes to the front of his lab, he opens it with a combination of voice recognition, retinal scanner and a DNA extractor lock. A tiny needle pricks his thumb, extracting blood. The DNA is then read and matched. The door opens. He walks past experiments, test tubes, isolation tanks, bags, vials and microscopes. Many insects fill the isolators, hordes of mosquitoes and similar bugs, that appear life-like, but in truth were manufactured.
He enters his office and turns on his computer with the same type of DNA lock used to enter the lab. The screen flashes with light, screens and screens of text scroll. Then it all goes blank. He begins speaking instructions in a whisper to the computer. It beeps and a few text displays acknowledge his commands. He's writing several software programs. Well into the night he works. His co-workers come and go totally ignoring him; they know better when he's in such a state. It is after midnight before his complex programs are complete. He presses a few buttons for the first time and the lab spins into action with a whirl of activity. Large robotic arms flash with inhuman speed through the chemicals, equipment and mechanical insects.
Peter takes out his personal PDA against all security measures and work ethics. He connects it to his work computer. After the software transfer he shuts down his terminal then goes into the lab and opens one of the tanks containing the new artificial mosquitoes. They fly out, unnaturally, and secure themselves in the Peter's hair, hidden. Several fly out into the vent system. He seals up his office and leaves the building. When he enters his car he speaks commands to the mosquitoes in the building though his PDA. With a sinister smile on his face and a glazed look in his eye, he leaves the parking lot. It's Friday and he has a weekend of fun ahead of himself.