The Fate of Fractured Lives

019 The Showers

Morden walked into "The Showers." It was another underground part of this secret facility. The room was a shower room in a sense. It was meant for cleanup. It was the disposal facility for Morden's operation. Metal tables, drains on the floors, movable water sprayers hanging on the ceiling and on the walls, and of course the industrial incinerator. This is where all the people who had once been plugged in ended up. The ones who did not survive experimentation were also brought here.

The surgeon, nurse, and various other lab techs and personnel stood along the wall in silence. The twins were brought in and laid on the tables. The doctor, nurse, and others stepped up and calmly went to work. They removed the network components from the twins' heads and carefully freed the remaining wiring and circuitry from their brains. This was very rare and specialized equipment so anything that could be salvaged and recycled was treated with special care. The twins were then slid into the incinerator. The doctor keyed the start sequence as the rest cleaned the tables. Then they all went back to standing still along the wall. Morden cleared his throat and spoke.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you have all performed admirably and most effectively. It prides me to say I chose you all well for this project. Miss Leah is now fully integrated into the system."

And pause for dramatic effect. Yes, he actually paused as if he was waiting for these people to applaud.

"The project has reached its final phase. Unfortunately this means we will no longer be requiring your services."

More than one of those standing in silence had tears running down their faces and were trembling slightly. They knew their end was coming. They just didn't know the specifics of that end. Morden continued with his monologue. He almost sounded genuinely remorseful.

"I know this is not what you had in mind for your lives but please take some comfort in knowing that you have served the greater good of this country, I suppose, and the good of humanity as a whole. I would rather not have to retire any of you, but the security and secrecy of this project must remain at all costs."

The men who wheeled Leah into the control room now wheeled in a large silver box resembling a metal coffin. They stood up the box next to Morden and then took their places lined up along the wall. To the creeping, fearful dread they all felt, sheer terror and panic was added. Now they knew the specifics of their end. Death would not come painlessly or quickly for any of them.

"I would also prefer you all to be handled more... gently. But I have a colleague that needs to burn off a lot of steam. A lot. Your sacrifice will help me keep her... sated," said Morden.

He turned to look at the box and sighed. Its surface was almost polished enough to see a reflection. Morden's stare at it lingered for a few seconds, almost as if he questioned the necessity of bringing death to these people. But in the end he did what he thought must. Morden opened the box and a very disheveled Daytona stepped out. She had a faraway look in her eyes and her hair was a mess of flyaways and tangles. He gently moved the hair out of her eyes and whispered into her ear.

"You wanted blood. This is my gift to you. Some of them are even the ones you want to hurt. So remember, you can't say I never did anything for you."

Morden patted Daytona on her head like she was a pet. Then he took a small roll up pouch from his inside jacket pocket and placed it on the table next to Daytona. It was made of a sturdy plastic and was closed together with Velcro. On the table next to the pouch were a hairbrush and a mirror.

"Make it last. There won't be any more freebies after this," he told her.

He walked out of the room and closed and locked the door from the outside. The people along the walls were becoming visibly more distressed. Fighting hard to move, they accomplished little more than mild shaking. He had left Daytona another gift, a little command in the minds of the people in the room.