Salt: A Ninjago story

25: The Ghost and the Machine

Pixal cut off communication from Zane. Something had seemed, different. His farewell was no less caring and attentive, but his voice was subtly changed 'Hmmm' she let a wondering sigh escape.

Misako turned to her 'everything OK Pixal?'

'I sensed a change in Zane's phonetic intonation'

'Could he be anxious for the mission?'

'No. No it wasn't anything like that. It was something new. I will ask him about it, when he returns'

'That's probably best. It's wonderful that you can both be so open with each other. You don't fear questioning or reactions'

'We have no need to hide things from each other and logic and reason is a major part of our function'

'I envy you that!' Misako laughed 'No matter how hard we try, humans always seem to supress logic and reason!'

'That's very perceptive of you Misako. I think you do very well with these functions'

'Well thank you Pixal, that means a great deal to me'.

Pixal smiled at her friend and continued with her analysis of the Shadow Ninja's scan. As a matter of course they had full body scanned her, for health purposes and for the possibility of hidden weapons. The team had scoffed at this 'where the hell is she going to hide a spare Katana?' Jay had blurted out, laughing.

Pixal smiled at the memory. Zane had cut Jay off as surely as if he wielded a blade himself 'A hidden Katana would be as obvious as your retort Jay' and then conceded to Pixal so she could continue.

'A weapon can be many things and it's the possible outcome of an items presence that defines its danger as one; a capsule of poison, a tracker, a communication device, or explosives; all can be equally destructive and all of which can be concealed inside the body'

'Eww, grim!' Jay replied.

Indeed. It was grim. But her job was the health and safety of the team and the temple; and she took it very seriously, very seriously indeed.

She was pleased to see that the scan was clean, but her analytical mind could not stop at the obvious. The body before her begged to be explored and she may have spent a little longer scanning the subject than she should have. The initial scan, had shown all cavities to be clear, but the new scans showed the dark pathways of inner space, winding their way through the body. Pixal's own personal fascination with human cognitive function had drawn her to make detailed scans of the subjects' brain. She had studied many, including Misako's, who had been an eager participant. All brains followed unwritten laws that made them the same, yet unique. But here was something she had never seen before. At first she thought an area of the brain stem was diseased, but it didn't really match any findings of her scientific journals. Pixal had wired the subject up and had been monitoring her in the induced coma. Everything was as it should be. She scrolled down the findings. The sleep stage cycles hit every expected target 'yes, yes' Pixal muttered in disappointment, as she scrolled. She hoped she might have found... 'something'.

'I'm sorry Pixal, what was that?' Misako asked.

'I may have found something' Misako came to Pixal's work station 'the subjects sleep readings are consistent; except for every one in five cycles. Though while she has been with us, she has only had two sets of five cycles. We would need to continue to monitor her to see if this aberration is continually reoccurring.

'What happens in that one cycle?'

'Well, instead of the brain leaving the REM stage and cycling back to stage 2, it remains in REM for the entire length of a full cycle'

'Well I hope she is having a very long and happy dream' Misako chuckled.

'Indeed' Pixal murmured, confounded by the abnormality. 'In fact... She should be in one of these prolonged REM stages now' Pixal turned the security monitor to view the subject, who was as she should be, asleep in her infirmary bed.

Misako adjusted the camera and zoomed in to the small figure 'well look at that'

'What is it?' Pixal asked.

'Her eyes are open'

In the room on the screen, the lights flickered. There was a soft bang. 'Pull out Misako'

'What was that? There's nobody else here but us'

'Pull out please' Pixal repeated. Misako pulled the camera view out as far as it would go. They were both silent. The door was ajar; a thin stream of smoke rose from the doors' system lock and a charred patch had burned the wall where a small explosion had occurred.

'What happened to the lock?'

'Overheated? Perhaps a fault in the wiring?' Pixal offered.

'Well, even if she's in a coma, the door needs to be locked. I'll go to the workshop and get a dead bolt. It won't take long to install'

'Thank you Misako, that is a good idea. I will begin research on the possible causes of her Nocturnal Lagopthalmos'

As Misako left, Pixal looked at the girl on the screen 'well, you are turning out to be quite an interesting subject after all'

The lights in the room flickered.

Pixal stood. She had a sudden sensation of being watched. She looked around, but she was alone. She pushed the temple wide intercom 'Misako? How are you doing?' There was no response; she tried again 'Misako?'

'Oh, Pixal, sorry I was up a ladder. I have the bolt and tools, I'm on my way up'

'That's great' Pixal checked the monitor again 'The subject is still asleep in her bed'

'Well of course she is, she's in an induced Coma' Pixal hesitated to reply and Misako questioned her 'Pixal? It's not like you to worry. There are many reasons why she has her eyes open'

'I am aware of this Misako. It's not that... its...' Pixal shook her head 'It's nothing... Just a fleeting feeling' she laughed 'I have been known to have them every now and again!' she broke off from the coms and the lights flickered again. 'What is going on with the electrics?' She turned back to her console and typed in Nocturnal Lagopthalmos. As the many documents were listed on the screen Pixal glanced back at the subject and stood abruptly at what she saw. The girl was now sitting on the edge of her bed. The screen and the lights flickered and again Pixal became aware of a vibration next to her. She stepped back, looking intently around her. But there was nothing there, nothing she could see or scan. The screens around her flickered and buzzed wildly, the lights blew and in that moment of darkness she saw an aura. Her eyes flicked back to the monitor. Between the buzz of the white noise the image of the girl shone through, her arm outstretched. Pixal sensed her; she could almost feel the girl's fingertips reaching to barely touch her. She juddered, her delicate web of inhuman circuitry seized and she fell to the floor.