The Quest For Perfection (Is A Damn Fine Thing)

Part II: The World Beyond The Water - Chapter 13

13

The day started like any day usually starts; with the daily fight against the alarm clock. The groaning and the first cold steps on the bathroom floor coupled with the desperate, almost lustful, desire to return to the duvet, pull the covers over him and go back to sleep, cuddling a wife that didn't exist – Ray wasn't married which made his decision to join the project easy. When Ray got out of bed that morning at 6:05, it felt like any other day. He shuffled bleary eyed into the bathroom, checking his reflection in the mirror – the grey of his skin catching up with what little hair he had left and the base of his stomach getting doughy. He got showered and dressed. He made himself coffee and ate a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon and toast. He checked in on the rest of the world via the Internet. It was a normal day for Ray Samson. He had no reason to suspect the day was going to end any differently than it usually did; certainly not in the manner in which it would. If he had, he probably wouldn't have gotten out of bed at all.

Standing outside his house, Ray waited for the 7:05 shuttle to pick him up for work. The cold wind bit into him, and he looked out at the sea that his view provided. It was choppy and the water as dull as the grey clouds above, with no sign of land (or the world) beyond. When Ray signed up for the project, he half expected a trip to the deserts of America or the outback of Australia. But when Tom and Issie, had suggested an abandoned Scottish island called St. Kilda, his heart wept. When he asked why, Tom's answer was simple. "Let's go somewhere where the world isn't looking."

And he was right. The island had been abandoned for years, save military personnel, some volunteers and scientists during the summer months. When Ray had researched the island, he'd asked Tom and Issie what the plans where for those who may already be there working. As ever, he was told that the Wells Foundation had it in hand. Ray's guess was they had either bought over the island or had bought whichever company was sending these personnel out. Either way, when Ray arrived, the project was fully underway, and there was not a single person on the island who wasn't involved in, some capacity, with either Tom, Issie or the Wells Foundation. They had built on old army barracks for the majority of personnel, with some more luxurious housing for the likes of Ray and those who were further of the flag pole; including the view of what Ray described as the edge of the world. As he took in this view now, he longed for the dusty desert of Nevada and to be a bus ride away from Vegas.

He was hoping the shuttle was quiet this morning. At the very least he was hoping that neither of his colleagues were on it; he'd never before worked on a project who's staff created more problems or talked as much about what could go wrong than this one. Sure, it was a high stakes game; but it was tight-lipped for a reason and Ray liked it to remain that way, especially out of the 'office.' Besides, he took the early morning shifts for a reason. The world was still asleep and when the world was still asleep there was less chance of somebody ruining your day. This little philosophy was something he'd cottoned on to in his 20s and had stuck with him ever since. He liked people sure, but he liked to start off the day without them more. As the little 20-seater pulled into his street, he was weighing up how to spend the commute; nap or newspaper. When he looked through the shuttle window as it got closer, his heart sank a little. He could see Peter, one of the project analysts, up front nipping the drivers ear off.  He considered for a brief moment whether he ought not to slip back into the house and get the next shuttle or better yet step out in front and let the wheels take him, but it was too late; the shuttle was pulling to a stop and Peter, lab coat already on, was waving at him frantically. With a sigh, and a last glance back out at the edge of the world, he stepped onto the shuttle.

"Morning Ray! Ready for a fun-filled day at the office?" chirped Peter, winking the last word.

Ray climbed the steps to the shuttle and showed the driver his ID and exchanged a quick roll of the eyes before the doors shut and the shuttle moved off again. Ray made his way to the back, followed closely by Peter, and grabbed the seat nearest the window, avoiding the cigarette stain on the plastic seat.