...A Hard Place...
I'm not a Luddite, but 'm not a Techno-nerd either. Still, I've had this laptop for almost 2 weeks, and there's still some stuff I can't figure out. I remember the first computer I bought, which was for my daughter, and it came with all kinds of manuals explaining how to do everything. That was comforting. This one came with a piece of paper, with illustrations, on how to set it up and get started. All the other Help features are - apparently - built in to the different programs. I have yet to figure them out.
One of the only applications I can access is my e-mails, and I've been pretty good at checking this daily, but there's one message that I haven't touched yet. The one from James, sent to me last Tuesday - the day after I met with Doyle and Givings. The day after they gave me this laptop. The day after I agreed to take the next step in the program. The day after I was given my first assigned target......Dr. Grace Forrest, a member of my Cardiology team.
I haven't opened it, because I'm scared to. By opening it, I take the first step towards staging the Event that will remove her, permanently. But I did agree to do this. I did agree to 3 new Events in 6 months. I knew they'd be giving me names, specifying targets. I didn't know that the first one would be someone I knew.
I haven't slept well, but I've finally decided to get on with it. The Cardiology team has been good to me, God knows. I wouldn't be here without them, literally. To target one of them seems like a betrayal. And yet...........
I remember that one day, lying in the hospital bed, my ex-wife in the room. There had been a lot of tests, and I recall this being a quiet day, with nothing scheduled. We were reading the papers, so it was a Sunday, I think. We were relaxed, comfortable...then Dr. Forrest came to the open door and said...
"We've done everything we can for you."
....and left before we could react. That really put a crimp in things!
The next day, she came back to explain that they would be putting me on the waiting list for a transplant, but the damage was done.
I can also remember that she'd had trouble trying to perform a couple of procedures on me, and having to get the main doctor to finish, and a couple of times doing biopsies on me which should've been through my neck. She couldn't get it, so wound up going through the groin - not a comfortable situation to be in.
Even now, if I were to meet her in the hallway, she passes by as if she doesn't know me. The only one on the team who doesn't even say hello.
This may all seem like nitpicking, but it's a way to goad me into going forward. Of all the people on the team, I owe her the least.
I think I'll be opening that e-mail tomorrow.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
ARC 2
Back in the Saddle Again.........
It's been 4 weeks since I got that last message. Those 2 words- Stay Tuned - have kept me going, but I wasn't sure for how much longer until I got the call yesterday. Doyle would be waiting for me at the Woodbridge Mall, around the central atria in the Macy's wing at 9 o'clock. I got there early, but he was there already, sitting at one of the small tables overlooking the atria. Givings was with him.
"Denny! Glad you could make it!" He sounded enthusiastic, as he pushed out the 3rd chair at the table for me. Givings didn't say anything, but she did nod in my direction.
"How's it going? What's up?" I was too anxious to be sociable.
"Well, we've got some good news for you, we think. But first we gotta finish with the original project, so to speak."
I started to question what he was talking about, but he held up his hand.
"Givings has the results, so please let her make her report and then we can get on with things." He turned to Givings. "Fran, if you would..?"
She took a notebook out of a briefcase at her feet, and thumbed through until she'd found what she wanted.
"First, the People Upstairs were pleased with your results. 12 Events in 6 months. They hadn't thought you could do it, originally, but were humoring Doyle. Now, they can see some interesting ways to go with it." She paused, then closed the book.
"That's all? Shouldn't there be at least a 'second'?"
She looked right at me. "Second, is a question, or series of questions. Some things for you to consider."
Doyle said nothing, just indicated with a shrug that I should answer Givings.
"Do you miss the work?"
"Yes." I didn't have to think about it.
"Do you find yourself still looking for new Event situations?"
"Yes. Again." No thinking so far.
"Would you like to continue?"
"Yes."
She stopped, and opened the notebook again. "Did you ever go back to determine if any of your Event subjects might need help? Might still be alive?"
This I thought about. "No. I didn't."
"You took us at our word about the Flasher, and what it would do?"
"Yes."
She looked at Doyle. He nodded, and took over.
"Denny, all of those people are alive." He held up his hand again to stop me. "The Flasher we gave you disrupted the targets' systems, and knocked them out for about a half hour. We know you never went back because we had a team on you at all times - remember the implant? Once you used the Flasher, we'd sweep in disguised as EMT's in an ambulance and pick the"victims" up. We'd treat them, and bring them back to where we'd picked them up. They went on with their lives as if nothing had happened."
We were all quiet for a few minutes. They were waiting for me, and I wasn't sure how to react. The only thing I could think of was...
"Why? Why go through all of this?"
"As a test. We knew you'd do what we asked, but we didn't know how well, and we didn't know if you'd hold together or go to pieces. You did well. Better then we expected." He actually grinned at me.
"Now what? More testing? What more do you want?"
"No. No more testing. The People Upstairs have decided that we should move forward with something more precise. Givings has the details."
Reading from the notebook again. "The People Upstairs have decided to have you do something more specific. They are going to name 3 specific targets and give you 6 months to stage the Events." She reached under the table again, and lifted up a laptop computer.
"We will give you the name of the first target today, if you choose to go forward. This laptop is for you. You will report you progress at least once a month, but preferably every two weeks. You'll have to check your mailbox daily for anything from "James", since the People Upstairs may contact you at any time for an update. Once the first target Event has been staged and confirmed, you'll receive the second name. How or when you stage the Events will be entirely up to you, but you will have only 6 months to complete all 3. Do you understand this? Do you have any questions?"
"I thought this was about reducing the...the drain on our resources, what about that?"
"That was the initial scenario, and to an extent it still applies. At least in the future in will, but now is different. Now the People Upstairs are raising the ante on you. They want to see just how far you're willing to go. How far they can push you. It's their game. They've changed the rules. That's all."
I thought about it, but we all knew that I was going to do it.
"Do the same guarantees exist? Will I be protected if I'm suspected or caught?"
"To an extent. We will continue to monitor LEO traffic and attempt to step in as early as possible to prevent the situation from escalating into an arrest. But there is an element of risk involved."
Doyle spoke. "Same as before, Denny. If I have to, I'll come waltzing in waiving the Patriot Act."
Me - "What the hell is LEO traffic?"
Givings - "LEO is an acronym for Law Enforcement Organizations. We monitor every one that we don't directly control. Anyway, we need to know you answer." Pretty blunt.
Me - "Is this gonna be for real, or will I be shooting blanks again?"
Doyle - "No blanks. This is the real deal. Whatdya say?"
Me - "I'm in." I took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "What happens now?"
Givings slid the laptop towards me, then rose, nodded, and left. Now it was just Doyle and me.
"She doesn't need to be here for this. She already knows this part." He reached into his inside jacket pocket and took out a small cylinder, and an envelope.
"This is the Flasher you'll use now. It's real. It will "deactivate" a subject completely. This one can be used up to 3 times before it needs to recharge. That's 3 shots, then it can't be used for 24 hours. The envelope contains the name of the first target. Givings is notifying the People Upstairs that you accepted, so there'll be some information about the target emailed to you. The laptop will be monitored remotely as far as any Internet research you do or emails you send or receive , but for all intents and purposes it's yours to use any way you want. Questions?"
I couldn't think of any. He shrugged, stood, and said.."OK. We'll be in touch. Good Luck." And walked away.
I opened the envelope. There was one piece of paper inside, and only three words on it. The name of my target. Dr. Grace Forrest.
She was one of the people on my cardiology team.
It's been 4 weeks since I got that last message. Those 2 words- Stay Tuned - have kept me going, but I wasn't sure for how much longer until I got the call yesterday. Doyle would be waiting for me at the Woodbridge Mall, around the central atria in the Macy's wing at 9 o'clock. I got there early, but he was there already, sitting at one of the small tables overlooking the atria. Givings was with him.
"Denny! Glad you could make it!" He sounded enthusiastic, as he pushed out the 3rd chair at the table for me. Givings didn't say anything, but she did nod in my direction.
"How's it going? What's up?" I was too anxious to be sociable.
"Well, we've got some good news for you, we think. But first we gotta finish with the original project, so to speak."
I started to question what he was talking about, but he held up his hand.
"Givings has the results, so please let her make her report and then we can get on with things." He turned to Givings. "Fran, if you would..?"
She took a notebook out of a briefcase at her feet, and thumbed through until she'd found what she wanted.
"First, the People Upstairs were pleased with your results. 12 Events in 6 months. They hadn't thought you could do it, originally, but were humoring Doyle. Now, they can see some interesting ways to go with it." She paused, then closed the book.
"That's all? Shouldn't there be at least a 'second'?"
She looked right at me. "Second, is a question, or series of questions. Some things for you to consider."
Doyle said nothing, just indicated with a shrug that I should answer Givings.
"Do you miss the work?"
"Yes." I didn't have to think about it.
"Do you find yourself still looking for new Event situations?"
"Yes. Again." No thinking so far.
"Would you like to continue?"
"Yes."
She stopped, and opened the notebook again. "Did you ever go back to determine if any of your Event subjects might need help? Might still be alive?"
This I thought about. "No. I didn't."
"You took us at our word about the Flasher, and what it would do?"
"Yes."
She looked at Doyle. He nodded, and took over.
"Denny, all of those people are alive." He held up his hand again to stop me. "The Flasher we gave you disrupted the targets' systems, and knocked them out for about a half hour. We know you never went back because we had a team on you at all times - remember the implant? Once you used the Flasher, we'd sweep in disguised as EMT's in an ambulance and pick the"victims" up. We'd treat them, and bring them back to where we'd picked them up. They went on with their lives as if nothing had happened."
We were all quiet for a few minutes. They were waiting for me, and I wasn't sure how to react. The only thing I could think of was...
"Why? Why go through all of this?"
"As a test. We knew you'd do what we asked, but we didn't know how well, and we didn't know if you'd hold together or go to pieces. You did well. Better then we expected." He actually grinned at me.
"Now what? More testing? What more do you want?"
"No. No more testing. The People Upstairs have decided that we should move forward with something more precise. Givings has the details."
Reading from the notebook again. "The People Upstairs have decided to have you do something more specific. They are going to name 3 specific targets and give you 6 months to stage the Events." She reached under the table again, and lifted up a laptop computer.
"We will give you the name of the first target today, if you choose to go forward. This laptop is for you. You will report you progress at least once a month, but preferably every two weeks. You'll have to check your mailbox daily for anything from "James", since the People Upstairs may contact you at any time for an update. Once the first target Event has been staged and confirmed, you'll receive the second name. How or when you stage the Events will be entirely up to you, but you will have only 6 months to complete all 3. Do you understand this? Do you have any questions?"
"I thought this was about reducing the...the drain on our resources, what about that?"
"That was the initial scenario, and to an extent it still applies. At least in the future in will, but now is different. Now the People Upstairs are raising the ante on you. They want to see just how far you're willing to go. How far they can push you. It's their game. They've changed the rules. That's all."
I thought about it, but we all knew that I was going to do it.
"Do the same guarantees exist? Will I be protected if I'm suspected or caught?"
"To an extent. We will continue to monitor LEO traffic and attempt to step in as early as possible to prevent the situation from escalating into an arrest. But there is an element of risk involved."
Doyle spoke. "Same as before, Denny. If I have to, I'll come waltzing in waiving the Patriot Act."
Me - "What the hell is LEO traffic?"
Givings - "LEO is an acronym for Law Enforcement Organizations. We monitor every one that we don't directly control. Anyway, we need to know you answer." Pretty blunt.
Me - "Is this gonna be for real, or will I be shooting blanks again?"
Doyle - "No blanks. This is the real deal. Whatdya say?"
Me - "I'm in." I took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "What happens now?"
Givings slid the laptop towards me, then rose, nodded, and left. Now it was just Doyle and me.
"She doesn't need to be here for this. She already knows this part." He reached into his inside jacket pocket and took out a small cylinder, and an envelope.
"This is the Flasher you'll use now. It's real. It will "deactivate" a subject completely. This one can be used up to 3 times before it needs to recharge. That's 3 shots, then it can't be used for 24 hours. The envelope contains the name of the first target. Givings is notifying the People Upstairs that you accepted, so there'll be some information about the target emailed to you. The laptop will be monitored remotely as far as any Internet research you do or emails you send or receive , but for all intents and purposes it's yours to use any way you want. Questions?"
I couldn't think of any. He shrugged, stood, and said.."OK. We'll be in touch. Good Luck." And walked away.
I opened the envelope. There was one piece of paper inside, and only three words on it. The name of my target. Dr. Grace Forrest.
She was one of the people on my cardiology team.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
