The Eden Projects (EDITING)

Chapter 38. Moniker.

- Maliver - 

"That naive little-" 

Dr. Simon Maliver shuffled his papers together with a chuckle. "-he thinks he's playing me." Slamming them down with a thump on the metallic lab table that stood in the middle of the exam room. He rolled up his sleeves quickly. Twisting the sink faucet on. Spraying his hands down. "Unbelievable." 

Maliver had been at it for years, and now, he was beginning to wonder how much longer he could keep Ace alive in good conscience. He wanted to kill the conniving bird-man. "Pests. Filthy plague."

"Sir. We're ready when you are." A woman dressed in a black lab coat slid into the room.

He nodded to her and she quickly held open gloves for him that he met with clean hands. Maliver followed her out into the brightly lit hall. Holding his hands up, another clean set of gloves were slid onto them and they walked a while longer until they came to their final stop. A metal door. Locked twice from the outside. With a flash of both his and an accompanying nurse' keycards, the door popped open. 

Giant metal rails guided the hulking thing into the wall with a hydraulic hiss. He stepped through and the tracking lights above fluttered to life. The edging beeps of machinery greeted him, perfectly timed, monitoring precise measurements of various dripping and oozing fluids. "Condition?"

"Stable. There haven't been any significant hiccups to report."

"Significant? Everything is significant." He pulled a clipboard from the wall. Looking over the reported administrations. "This here, this peak. What was happening in the room?" 

"He's been dreaming again... muscle contractions." The attending nurse tapped the I.V. drip that was bracketed to a pole on large metal clips. With delicate fingers she pinched off the line. 

"About?" Maliver flipped to the second page. Brow furrowing, he read the activity report. "He has no concept of home. What do you mean by home."

"We can't say for sure, we've wiped him twice and still, we're getting activity in several areas of the brain related to long term memory during induction."

"Memories?" Maliver looked to her. "The dosage was changed as I ordered?"

She nodded. "Just as you suggested. He has a rapid rate of adjustment. It takes more to keep him stabilized."

"How long did the effects-" He flipped to the final page and shock nearly doubled him over. "-two days?!? Is that all?" He rubbed his forehead. "We move now. Whether he's ready or not."

"Not to concern you or anything, but we are on our last box of gloves as well." She readied a scalpel set on a tray. "Solution as well." 

He nodded to her. "Time's up." Taking the cue, she quickly left the room. Closing the door behind her. Maliver let out a sigh and nodded to a camera mounted in the corner. The light flashed to green and the recording began.

"No radical events... Blood and Oxygen are level. Mutations are minimal, Cellular turnover is stable and occurring rapidly as assumed. We are looking at a completely new metabolic process. A system overhaul. This will be called a "Hyper-Metabolim" going forward. Organs are all healthy and intact contrary to the common Flickers we've all come to know. Compound injections progressing without issue... Extraordinary. He ceases to impress." Maliver ran a hand along the edge of the tray. 

"What is it about this bloodline. On a structural level, he's no different from the rest of infants born during the year... other than the mother's drug use during pregnancy. F.A.S, Illicit drug abuse, what have you, can't have caused this alone." Maliver slid over to the exam table where the subject laid, strapped down and waiting unconsciously. He tapped a button on the floor with his foot. "That wouldn't account for this degree of hardiness. No- if anything, the side effects should be negative. Developmental delay, weak immunity..." The table powered on. Righting itself. Putting the subject in a standing position. All the chords that ran from his arms and chest like silicone worms flexed and adjusted.