A. I. Evolution: The Coming of Christopher

Chapter 31

The plane lands with a slight bump on the runway at the Seattle Airport, and taxied to a hangar at the end of the extensive line of buildings that stretch out to either side of the main terminal on the west side of the numerous runways. The large main doors are open on the side of the hangar, and I can see the soldiers lined up with rifles ready, just in case there is any trouble.

Jane leans over on her left arm to look out the window of the plane along with me. "They seem to be ready for any trouble."

Mark glances out the window beside his seat that is facing backwards, just on the other side of the low table in-between us. "They like to show off their training here. There is an army base just on the other side of the hill behind the hangar, so whenever we arrive for any reason, they send over the trainees for some practice. It is damn annoying, if you ask me."

Jane smiles at him. "Maybe Christopher should take a walk and get far enough away so that Wong can teach them a lesson with his moves."

"That would be interesting, but I am afraid that we would not see anything, if what you said in the hotel is true."

I look from one to the other. "What do you mean?

Jane turns to me. "Well, Wong, when he is not under your control, can move faster than a normal person's eyes could follow, because the connection between the conscious and subconscious is instantaneous."

"I don't follow you," I respond.

Jane stares out the window for a moment. "The conscious mind has to process the information from the subconscious, which takes about a second and a half to accomplish. Wong's mind, because he is working directly from his subconscious, can make it seem like he is flashing by everybody."

I process this latest information, and it comes to me as to why the TV seemed to be so hard to watch when I first arrived home from the clinic. I was processing information faster than normal people, and the information flowing down the screen was too slow for me. I glance over to Wong and can only imagine what it must have been like for him when he was fully in his subconscious.

The plane comes to a halt and Mark goes to the door and lets down the short steps, so we can exit the Lear Jet onto the tarmac in front of the hangar. I step down and stand up straight as I get to solid ground again. The armed escort moves forward to the side of the plane, extending their line to fill the space between the plane and the waiting black vehicle. They stand ready in perfect formation, providing a corridor of rifles to the Suburban that waits a short distance away, preventing any thought of escape. We climb into the large vehicle, and I look back at the sleekness of the plane that brought us here. "That is the only way to travel. Lots of legroom and a fully stocked pantry and bar." I make a mental note to work on making that a reality.

Jane nudges my shoulder. "Where have you been? What is going through that mind of yours anyway?"

I turn to her and smile. "Maybe you should hook up a TV and watch what is going through my mind."

"Now, that would be interesting. A woman that can see what her man is thinking about," smiles Jane, before her face changes to one of concern. "Well, maybe that would not be such a clever idea. Men are driven by certain thoughts that women should probably not know about."

I smile back at her. "That sounds like a very good idea."

The Suburban moves down the side of the hangar and pulls out onto the highway that leads out towards the hills behind the city, where the Firm's labs are situated in a large grove of tall pines beside a natural lake. They arrive in under thirty minutes, and Jane is leading them into the structure that looks ultra modern, with high hallways beside large wall sized windows on the south side that shows the city spread out below them. An upper balcony reveals glass sided offices and tables for two to sit at, close to the polished metal railings that overhang the hallway below.

Jane gets to the end of the wide hallway and hits the button for the elevator that will take them down to the underground secure labs and test facilities for the Pharmaceutical giant. Jane's lab is no less impressive than all the rest. Steel work benches, with swivel chairs, line two sides of the space, with a sealed clean box area in the center, complete with rubber-sleeved gloves extending inward. Cabinets line the third wall, some with what looks like freezer door handles, giving away their obvious purpose.

Jane wastes no time and moves knowingly to one of the refrigerated cabinets and pulls it open. Reaching in to get a small metal tube standing in a test tube holder, she brings it to the work bench and sits it down, before returning to one of the other cabinets to get a white jug half full of a liquid that flows around as she brings it to the bench.

She turns to Christopher. "Can you get me a cup from the table over in the corner?"

I look where she has pointed her head, to see what I imagine is a place to have lunch. A coffee maker sits there with small individual cups of coffee ready to be brewed. I get one of the mugs from the rack beside the coffee maker and return to Jane with it.

Jane smiles at my choice. "That is my favorite one. OK, now for your infusion of Nanos."

I watch as she pours some of the liquid from the jug into the cup, not a lot, but enough for me to swallow in one good gulp. Next, she takes the metal tube in gloved hands because of the cold and opens the stopper. She holds them both up to the light and pours a small drop of thick liquid from the test tube into the cup and swirls it around. She hands it to me. "OK, you need to swallow the whole thing all at once. It is important that you not miss even one drop."

I take the offered cup and after looking to everybody, I tilt it up and down the contents in one swallow. The taste is bitter, and my throat wants to expel it violently. I shake my head and force it to stay down. "What was that?"

Jane smiles at me as my face screws up at the bitter taste of the liquid and the uncontrollable shiver that runs through my body, as a result. "Why, it is the Nanos that you need to replace the ones Wong removed from you, of course," smiles Jane, as she remembers how he did that.

I turn to Wong and see him smile and shrug his shoulders in response to my unspoken question. "It was the only way I could do it without destroying them. Was it good for you?"

I want to give him a piece of my mind, but realize he already has gotten enough from me, when I feel a very strange sensation start behind my eyes and move as if it was a wave flowing across my consciousness. I turn to Jane. "What was the other liquid?"

Jane turns to Mark before answering the question, because the substance is one of the most banned drugs in America. "Well, it is the delivery system, that will take the Nanos where they need to go."

I am feeling even more disorientated now. "OK, what is it exactly?"

Jane glances to Mark again, who folds his arms over his chest and looks to her suspiciously. "Well, it is called DMT. The brain produces it deep inside the lower brain cavity and sends it to the saliva gland where it travels along with the food we eat, and every time we swallow. It then passes directly through the stomach and enters the blood stream on a direct course to the brain, where it makes the synapses fire between the neurons. It is the substance that allows our brains to function."

"OK, so why do I feel so strange then?"

Mark injects his thoughts on the subject. "That is because DMT is the most banned substance on the books. It is a hallucinogenic drug that causes the brain to go out of focus. To much can do permanent damage to the brain, which is why it is banned."

Jane's face is twisting and going in and out of focus, as I turn to her again. All I can get out now is, "why?"

"It is the only way of getting them into place, without drilling a hole in your skull and using a needle to implant them, and hope that we hit the right spot."

"Oh,and you are just telling me this now," I get out as I sway on the stool and almost fall off. Mark and Wong rush over and lay me down on top of the glass clean space in the center of the lab. Jane places a folded lab coat under my head, and I give myself over to the multi-colored kaleidoscope of images that are now flowing across my consciousness.