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Dark Dawn: Leviathans II (Act II)
By Vader
~ Continued from ACT I ~
ACT II: PART A - Zoological Delivery
Piper Sealey stood in front of her kitchen sink, picking up a stack of dishes, cups, and bowls and lowering it into steaming, soapy water to soak. She reached over, putting the last of the clean dishes away into the cupboard, afterwards reaching for the clothe that hung on a ring above the faucet to dry her hands.
She'd gotten up quite early that morning, as she always did, to take a shower and get dressed into her clothes for work, then heading to her quaint little kitchen to prepare a good breakfast for her husband and small daughter. Gavin had up his food readily by the time little Jezelle had awoken, still clinging to her stuffed animal, which she slept with every night. Gavin had given her a kiss, heading into the bathroom to shave and then put on a suit and tie for his day at the office.
With an deep inhale and then an exhale, Piper hung the cloth back up and turned to look at her little , who sat atop a booster seat pushed to the edge of the table, leaning over to carefully dip her spoon into a bowl of milk and cereal, making sure not to spill a think. A small smile came to the mother's face as memories then came back into her mind of when Jezelle had been born. That vision of that tiny bundle of brand-new life being handed to her just after the delivery, her heart swelling in a tremendous emotion of seeing her child for the first time. She'd glanced up at Gavin, who had the same look on his face as her, and then shifted her gaze back down the little baby. In that moment, all kinds of thoughts had gone through her head concerning how beautiful the infant was and how she would turn out to be in the future.
And now, three years later, it brought her such joy to see the child grow up. In fact, it was all passing by so fast - it was incredibly hard for her to believe that she had already turn 3 years of age. It seemed like the minute she'd told Gavin she was first pregnant was just yesterday. Time . . . it went by so fast . . .
She was at least glad that she could be a mother to such a wonderful . Then, she recalled a bit of news that she had learned yesterday and wanted to divulge to Jezelle. She walked over, leaning close to her toddler. "Hey, honey, I forgot to tell you some very good news," she spoke, causing the little to immediately drop her spoon and turn to face her parent right away.
"What is it?" she asked eagerly.
"Well, in just a month, its I get to take you to work with me at the Zoo!" Jezelle's eyes immediately grew wide as she jumped out of her seat emphatically.
"You mean I get to work with you and the animals?!"
"That's right, hon!" Jezelle leapt forward to give her mother a massive hug.
"I can't wait, I can't wait, I can't wait!" she repeated, jumping up and down, abandoning whatever she had been thinking of previously. Piper knew how much her daughter loved to visit the zoo whenever she could, so it was expected that a full day working with her mother behind the scenes would be particularly special to her.
"Neither can I - promise you I'll show you the best time you've ever had at the zoo," Piper told her, rubbing the child's back just as her husband entered the room from the hallway, slipping a file into his maroon, leather briefcase, and then snapping it shut to carry it at his right side.
"My, my, you look really handsome today," Piper playfully told him, standing up from her stoop and leaning forward to put her hands on Gavin's shoulder and give him a passionate kiss on the lips. She leaned close to his ear, so that Jezelle would not hear. "That was great last night," she whispered, with the result of a chuckle from her husband and a slap on the lower back.
Gavin winked at her and then released himself from the hug, turning to his daughter to scoop her up in his arms. "Come on, hon. Time to drop you off at daycare," he told her with a tickle to the stomach. He looked back to Piper, "I'll see you tonight, ."
"Alright, bye, you two! Have a good day at the office, Gav," she told them finally with a wave goodbye. She turned to take up the cereal bowl, putting it with the other dirty dishes, wiping off a few specks of milk Jezelle had dropped in her eating. After the final cleanup, she glanced at her watch, noticing that it was definitely time to leave for work.
Once double-checking she had her radio with her, hooked to her belt, Piper grabbed her car keys from a rack that hung by the back door and exited. She turned around on her doorstep to lock herself out, and then spun back to head down the walkway, under their trellis that separated their backyard from their driveway, and walked up to her Mercedes. She unlocked the door and the climbed in, turning on the engine once buckled up. After the whir of the cylinders started up, she slowly pulled out her property, turning to her right to drive across the street.
She took a turn onto the boulevard after waiting for a break in traffic for a second - it wasn't entirely busy on the road that morning due to the earliness of the hour. She continued to drive along the road, entering the vicinity of Balboa Park, which was covered with green lawns, tall eucalyptus trees lining the roadway to her left, and several structures that had been built back in the early 1900's during the World Fair - whether it was theaters, museums, or visitor's centers. As she drove, she looked out at the orange sunrise over the canyon to her far left, the black outlines of the trees etched across the brightly lit sky.
After a bit longer, the entryway to the San Diego Zoo came up, heralded by a rectangular sign standing among a bed of colorful flowers. She flipped her blinkers on, turning down the road and across the massive parking lot. Standing among the flat, wide area for the parking of vehicles was one, tall, newly-added, three-story parking complex - built to ensure more space for visitors. She drove past it, heading forwards, also bypassing two giant bushes trimmed to look like elephants that stood over the actual ticket booths and entrance inside the zoo. She finally pulled into a parking space especially reserved for workers across from the Zoological Soceity of San Diego Administrative Building Facility, which was a two story, dark brown building that stood within a forest of ferns and palm trees, also placed alongside a back entrance into the zoo for employees only.
Piper exited her car and made her way across the sidewalk just as the mist from early morning in the immediate area began to fade. She pulled the radio up from its clinging to her belt, speaking into the receiver. "This is Piper Sealy, reporting in," she said formally, pressing the button on the top-left corner near the antenna.
"Good morning. Firstly, please head to the western bird aviary for the checking up on the Kiwis' faring," came a reply, slightly obscured by static.
"Ten four," Piper returned, placing the radio back on her belt as she reached into her pocket to pull out a large set of keys with a bright orange key chain hooked on to identify they were her own. She reached the back entrance after passing by the Admin building, and placed one of the keys into the lock on the gate, turning it, and unlocking it. With a buzz, the gate opened, and she entered inside. After turning a bend, she was faced with a small lot filled with patrol vehicles, worker trucks, and large vehicles with trailers hooked on. She headed for one of the patrol vehicles, which were white and each seated two. With another key on her set, she turned on the engine, quickly backing out, and heading down a narrow roadway that led back to the main public area of the Zoo.
Driving along a wide walkway that broke off from the main, visitor entryway to the park, she passed by the Giant Panda exhibition and a wide, long, section of dirt, which was being reserved for a future aviary to be built there for monkeys that were scheduled to eventually arrive soon. She reached the western aviary soon enough, parking on a balcony that overlooked a low- lying tropical plant filled ledge, which in turn overlooked a waterfall that flowed into the rest of the giant aviary. She stepped out, unlocked yet another gaze to enter an area marked "Authorized Personnel Only", to step onto the ledge.
She ducked down among the ferns, simultaneously taking out the small notebook and camera from her pocket and bringing it up towards her head, resting on her elbows. She barely moved forward, sticking her head through a fern in front of her to see a pair of Kiwi birds - small, brown, curry animals with thin orange beaks and feet - gathered around a small nest, made from twigs and fallen leaves, nestled among the bushes. She gave a lop-sided smile, looking through the camera lense and snapping a few shots, just before she was interrupted by a voice from behind.
"Piper Sealy?" a man's voice spoke. She was slightly startled, but nonetheless kept her cool, bringing herself up, trying to remain quiet to not disturb the Kiwi, and then turned to face a man, the one who had spoken to her, and woman, who both stood in front of a worker's tuck they had just pulled up in that was just outside the cage, recognizable as employees of the Zoo who mainly worked around the aviaries.
"Yes?" she replied. The two people reached behind to open up the truck and pull forth from its depths a long, metal cage, 6 feet by 6 feet, out into the morning light.
"This animal arrived this morning. It is something that may be of interest to the zoo," the woman replied. Piper's gaze immediately turned to the one slit in the cage that faced her, for standing out among the darkness within, was a single, gleaming, orange and yellow eye that was staring it her. A low, threatening purr began to resonate from inside, as Piper stared for just a moment longer - in confusion, surprise, and wonder - and then gestured for the animal to be brought outside and be taken to the Administrative Offices.
ACT II: PART A - Meeting
Piper sat in on the side of a wide, oblong table, its wood polished to give reflection of the lights the shone from the ceiling of the room. Next to her sat several zoo employees, all in the generally the same uniform, and the across the table sat two of the most important figures in this meeting - Jonah Crockford and Joan Westerfeld.
Crockford was the head of the Zoological Society of San Diego, overseeing most of its operations and had a rather large office just above that board room meeting place. He had black hair, which had begun to gray, and an already grey mustache, dressed in a blue suit and tie with a white button-down shirt underneath. Westerfeld was one of the Zoo's main lawyers, and was often consulted when legal matters were of the upmost importance and would fight for the Society in court whenever such would be needed. She was rather pretty, around forty years of age, with short, brown hair, and wore a blue dress with a gold shirt underneath.
Both of them would prove to be essential in the arrival of the brand new animal they had received that morning. Piper still could not get that image out of her head of that one, gleaming eye staring out, threatening her with its purr. That vision was broken as two more individuals entered the room, dressed in black jackets and pants with grey overcoats. They both immediately removed from their belt two leather cases, flipping them open to reveal law enforcement badges. "I'm Agent John Reno," the older one of the men spoke, around fifty years of age with handsome features and grey hair, turning to his accomplice that stood next to him. "This is Agent Ronald Key," he introduced the younger man, who had a cross between and red hair, and looked to be around 30 years of age.
"Thank you for coming, gentlemen," Crockford reached out to shake their hands, motioning at a pair of chairs for the newcomers to sit down. "Were you shown the animal by the guards waiting out front?"
"Yes, we did. Impressive," Key replied with a nod.
"Good. Now let's get down to business." Westerfeld reached for several pieces of paper that had been resting in the center of the table, pulling towards her, Crockford, and the agents.
"This is the contract that was sent to us with the animal. It actually starts with an explanation of where exactly they found it - they claim in the vicinity of Valley, California. From what they say in the document, it appears they do not know of the creature's source, and that there was nothing there to indicate if it belonged to anyone or any company," she explained. Reno raised his hand to scratch his stubble-covered chin.
"In what way, exactly, did they find it?" he asked curiously.
"In the same cage in which it was sent to us, here. They said it had been hidden within the sand dune areas in the eastern area of the Valley, but that they could not pinpoint the exact spot."
"Huh," Key shook his head. "I wonder what they were doing in Valley anyway."
"Who knows," Crockford replied. "They are a rather mysterious company - RiCorp Insurance they are called. They say they have no use whatsoever for such a beast, and are willing to turn it over to us for a fee of 2 million dollars."
"I see," the agent understood. But then, Crockford put his hand down on the table to denote something else.
"That isn't all," he then turned to Piper, gesturing in a forward motion. "Piper? Bring out the chip." At that, she reached down into a protective bag that rested beside her, placing it atop the table, unfolding the bottom end, carefully reaching inside the grasp the feeling of cool metal to pull out the object. Everyone stared at what looked to be a computer ship, mostly silver, but displaying some shades of green and orange in the center, only 5 centimeters long and 3 centimeters wide. "This is what is called an Artificial Intelligence Insert - it also found with the cage. The contract states that if inserted into the space behind the animals brain and if hooked up properly beside the veins, it could actually control the body's actions!"
The two agents were immediately suspicious. "How?" Key asked.
"Well, it would take extremely technical surgery to place the insert into the spot it should be in. But once in place, they claim it will do marvels. Everything a life form does - jumping, running, even moving a finger - is done by lightning fast signals moving between the brain and the body part that is moved. Those signals can be halted by the A.I.I. chip, and the chip itself can actually send its own signals to different areas of the body. The bottom line is, that if the chip is inserted and activated, you may have complete control of the animal - all of its thought, movements, and actions."
"At least that is what RiCorp says," Westerfeld added.
"Yes, of course," Crockford agreed. The two agents seemed to grunt at the same time, turning to look at each other knowingly, and then facing back at Crockford.
"Mr. Crockford, I shall get right to the question that I wish to ask: Do you want this animal and this insert for the Zoo?"
Piper's eyes drifted between the agent and her boss, the head of the Society, in anticipation of the answer, until finally, Jonah spoke up. "Yes. I myself feel it would be an important and groundbreaking addition to the San Diego Zoo, and all of the colleagues I have consulted feel the same. Of course, before signing the contract, we would want to test out the insert first - actually RiCorp has made allowances for this."
"Very well then," Reno nodded, seeming to be not all that happy about the reply. "However, before signing, allow us and the FBI to look into this matter - I feel it would be important to search the general location they claim to have found the animal in Valley and look into the background of the company itself. In that way, if any obstruction of the truth or criminal acts were found, you would know of it before crossing the "t"s and dotting the "i"s. But until we report back to you with the results, keep this entire matter out of the public's eye. Understood?"
"Absolutely, Agent Reno. We are grateful for your help," Crockford shook the gruff- looking man's hand again.
Piper had watched the entire conversation take place right before her eyes. Everything about it - the animal itself, the insert, the exhibition - would be the most revolutionary feature any zoo in the entire world, both past and present, had ever experienced. She knew that nothing had been confirmed just yet, but she could not help feeling excited about the possibilities . . . the endless possibilities . . .
* * *
The room's walls were completely white, having a faint blue lighting due to the lamps that had been stationed high above. The beams of light blared down upon the center of the room, where lying on a long, bright, cot, was the body of a creature about 11 feet long and 3 feet high at the hips. It's skill was scaley and dark orange, yet patches of feathers were found in places like the back of the arms, around the neck, and along the spine. The body sported a lengthy tale, strongly built legs, each having a abnormally-sized, lethal foot claw, and slender arms which carried their own set of thin claws. It's mouth was barely open, hardly revealing over sixty, razor-sharp fangs.
And yet, while appearing to be so incredibly dangerous, the animal, for the moment, was virtually helpless in its tranquilized state. Surrounding it were three medical assistants, each with tables full of medical tools at their side. At that time, the animal doctor entered the room through the door on the left wall as employees outside watched through a glass panel. The docter, dressed in a light-blue robe and a mask to cover his face, lay a transparent, blue-tinted, protective bag upon the table, underneath the animal.
He motioned for the assistant to right to hand him one of the tools from the tables, and a sharp, metal device was plopped into his palm. He grasped the handle, bringing it forward and placing the tip of it on the top of the back of the neck, just under the actual skill. After waiting a moment, he pressed down, cutting into the skin, the gleaming metal becoming immersed in red liquid. He cut in a small circle, tearing the skin open carefully. Finally, he removed the tool, handing it back to his helper and tipping the cut flap of skin backwards, to reveal a sea of muscle tissue and nerves underneath.
He reached out again, expecting another tool, examining the life-form's insides at the same time. After receiving what he wanted, he steadily lowered the tool to the nerves, holding it above them just before snipping them apart, causing the feet, hands, and tale of the animal to suddenly go into convulsions. Quickly, his swooped up the bag he had brought, taking out the shining computer chip and carefully placing it in between the cut nerves. He mended the nerves together, bringing both sides into the front and back end of the chip and inserting them within small spaces provided.
He turned to the window panel, giving a thumbs up to the men outside, and suddenly, there was a low hum, as a tiny, red light buzzed on the top of the chip to indicate it's power having been turned on. Within seconds, the convolutions of the animal had stopped, and stitching up of the cut skin began. The surgery was a success.
ACT II: PART C - Testing and Results
Piper sat in a comfortable, leather office chair among two other specialists, in front of a control panel, filled with all kinds of buttons, switches, levers, and monitors. In front of them, outside of the shed, through a window, was a wide, grey room, built for testing matters that would require specious area, but could not be done in an outside, public environment. The man to her left, moved his hand forward, pressing a button, several lights to begin blinking around them and a technical readout of a computer chip to come up on the screen before them - the A.I.I.
Piper gazed at it until her attention was drawn to a long, iron cage that was being lowered downward to the floor. Through the slits, she could make out the outline of the animal that would be used in the test. It stared hungrily at a slab of meat that had been placed far across to the other side of the room as bait, ready to sink its teeth into the tempting, mouth-watering, juicy morsel. Attentively, everyone watched in complete silence as the cage sat on the ground, the animal's muscles tensing and contracting, preparing to sprint for the food.
All at once, the silence was broken, as the cage door slammed open, and the creature lunged out into the open with a load, starved, shriek. It ran at an incredibly fast rate, almost near the food it so strongly d. And then, all at once, the specialist flipped a lever downward, causing the animal to suddenly stop in its tracks, falling to the ground with momentum as the readout of the insert blinked a red color on the monitor within the control room. The power of the A.I.I. had been activated.
All at once, the controller released his grip on the lever, allowing the animal to get up, albeit confusedly, preparing its muscles to pounce forward atop the meat. Once springing itself into the air, the controller flipped the lever again, making the animal fall flat on its face with a groan. After detaining it to the floor, the second specialist pressed several buttons in a flurry, and right before Piper's eyes, the animal got up, trotting backwards to where it came from, into the cage. After the door was shut, the lever was released, releasing the animal of their ultimate control as the detaining device was contracted upwards once again.
Piper could not help but feel slightly . . . bad for the animal, denying it of its food as they had. "Make sure it gets a proper meal," she told the man to her right, feeling a little better as she did. Afterwards, all other concerns had been temporarily placed into the back of her mind at sheer amazement of watching what had been done. "It works . . ." she whispered to herself.
* * *
The Zoo had complied with the FBI's wishes, promising not to sign the contract that had been sent from RiCorp until further notice. Days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months, Spring turned to Summer, until finally, a full thirty days after the first meeting in the board room had been held, a second one was called by Agents Reno and Key, requiring all participants and onlookers from the first get-together to return for the next discussion. At the news of such a request, all the Zoological Society of San Diego's employees were struck with an instant wave of wonder at how the investigation's results had turned out.
Nobody was more anticipatory than Piper Sealy, who had been awestruck and enchanted with the thought of displaying such a magnificent creature inside the most widely praised and famed zoo in the world. Of course, she was left in the dark as to the very origins of the carnivore, but she was more concerned about its fate - she desperately wanted the Zoo to own it. In her mind, the Insert chip that had been included opened up a far larger opportunity than just having the creature put inside of a cage or aviary. As long as they could have complete control over that animal's body they would not even have to set up fences - they could allow the people to see it without having to watch behind glass or bars. As if that plan were as successful as she could see it being, then the same could be incorporated with every other animal in the zoo - from the lions, to the tigers, to the hippos. It could even happen within every animal park in the world - a worldwide revolution.
Yet, she kept these dreams to herself for the moment, as she sat at the table in the very same meeting room as before. Once again, Crockford, Westerfeld, and the other employees from before sat in the same spots. It was as if no time had drifted by since the last meeting. And then, the moment finally came, as the two, familiar agents strut into the room, stern looks upon their faces. They each took a seat, all pleasantries aside. "Thank you, everyone, for coming back once again - I wish to speak to everyone who was here the last time," Reno began, to the affirmative nods of everyone else.
The senior agent paused, giving a long heavy sigh, causing everyone else to believe that the findings had been incredibly negative. But after such a bleak facial expression, he next words were a shock the employees of the Society. "Nothing was found the indicate that RiCorp was lying or had been involved in criminal acts. As far as our investigation shows, their story is true, and there is no way of telling how exactly the animal got to be in such a desolate desert. We've contacted several other agencies and businesses throughout the U.S. and have requested international support in doing the same - but nothing has turned up as to where the animal came from."
"So this means we can sign the contract?" Crockford eagerly asked, leaning forward in his seat. The two agents did not look happy about the answer they were about to give at all, and Piper came to the conclusion they were strongly against the Zoo owning the creature.
"Yes, it does," Key answered, to the relieved sighs and positive whispers from the Society's members sitting across from him. "If you sign the contract, the animal legally belongs to you, as well as the A.I.I. insert."
"Well," Westerfeld grinned widely, bringing the contract forward once again, "Here's to the Deinonychus!" Jonah's eyes were twinkling like a little boy's as he removed his expensive pen from his shirt pocket, spinning the top to cause the point to slip out of the curved bottom, and bringing it down atop the dotted line on the back bottom of the legal document. Piper watched as he moved the point around, the ink etching into the grain of the paper the legit ament signature of the head of the Zoological Society of the San Diego, permanently. And that was it . . . it was done.
All at the table began to clap proudly at the new they made, a few even giving some cheers - everyone, that is, except for the glum and foreboding looking FBI agents.
~ Please Comment ~
6/30/2002 1:47:36 PM
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