The God Codex

28. Program

BOOK OF MIA: 2081

Chapter 28: Program

An hour later, a guard knocks on my door to take me to Dr Shah. To the 'debrief' she promised before her henchmen marched us to our quarters. Quarters sounds lovely like they were expecting us, and to some extent, I guess she was — except there are bolts on the outside locking us in, in our separate chambers. So perhaps Dr Shah isn't that much different from Dr Hill...

Her words still echo in my mind on a loop as I follow the guard out — another march to somewhere unknown and this time, Nate and I, and I guess Dev — we can't make a run for it. If only humans could run on water.

'I know exactly how you work. I made you after all.' Those words, spoken over an hour ago, still haunt me.

The rig is a giant labyrinth once you enter. What looked like a small building was a big, if not an enormous, minor city of its own below the surface. We walk along the outer 'viewing pods' as the guard calls it. The sheer size of the gloomy ocean — with murky rays of sunlight barely filtering through — is astounding. The further we descend, the deeper the gloom gets;  the bigger my panic gets. We are underwater. How far under, I have no clue. I just hope when the time comes to escape — and that time may come soon — I can hold my breath long enough to reach the surface.

The guard opens a door and we enter a fluorescent-lit, sterile concrete corridor, painted white. Several closed doors line either side of it with biometric security. The doors boast small panel windows to see in, but the mounting is too high for me. I only spy the tops of the rooms and they look like various laboratories.

A chill courses up and down my spine. Her words are still rattling around in my brain. 'I know exactly how you work. I made you after all.'

Could this be what she means? She 'made me', not in a womb, but in her lab? I feel it is the latter. Okay, not a feeling, but a strong sense that it is the latter. Definitely the latter.

What does that mean for me if I'm right? If I'm a lab-grown human — nay, specimen?

We arrive at the end of the corridor, at the last door there. As the guard scans his left eye to the biometric scanner, I get the urge to back away. Go back the way we came, even if I can't remember the exact way back to my quarter or the surface. I don't want to go inside. I don't want to go inside.

The lock beeps, and the light above the door turns green. The guard pushes open the heavy door and waits for me to enter. He's not coming with me. This is the end of the road for him. I try not to panic.

Where am I going to run to anyway, even if I get to the surface? And I want answers. I want answers to all the questions that have been rattling around in my mind since Camp Sweep. Why did she wake me and not the siren? Why did she save me? How?

Why me?

I pull in a breath as if I'm getting ready for one of my violin recitals — those things are scary — and I step in, not knowing what to expect. Here I go, happy Mia. Happy, happy Mia.

When I enter, I see Nate's already there, and Dev, along with Captain Light and one other guard of his. Then, there is Dr Shah, looking regal behind her giant mahogany desk. It's her office. The light in here is not fluorescent but warmer halogens. They give the sense of warmth and coziness, or the warm glow of a fireplace which isn't safe down here, meters below the water's surface.

"Ah, we were just waiting for you." Dr Shah smiles and points to the only empty chair left in the room. It's between Nate and Dev and it gives me some comfort. I'm not alone.