Mirrored Man: The Rob Tyler Chronicles Book 1 (26 page)

“I think I may need something on my
you-know-what.” Rob held his injured hand up.

Greg nodded. “Stop by my office before you
head to the lab. I got just the thing.” And then he was gone.

Rob closed the door and looked at the bottle
again. With a resigned sigh, he removed the cap and sniffed. The
fumes burned his nostrils, and made his eyes water and roll back
into his head. He held the bottle at arm’s length, took a deep
breath, and picked up one of the washcloths.

“Great.”

A little over an hour later, he was in his
scrubs in the dressing room leading to the laboratory. Greg was
there too. Rob had met the doctor in sickbay, where he had applied
some antimicrobial ointment to the cut and performed the other
unpleasant but necessary task of the morning, the enema.

As he stood there, the butterflies in his
empty stomach had returned with some severity, but he wasn’t hungry
anymore, which was an unexpected benefit. He was nervously waiting
the signal from Jimmy that the professor and Don were ready for
him, when a question popped into his head. “Why do they call the
spectrometer Chloe?”

“Excuse me?” Greg asked.

“The mass spectrometer?”

Greg stared blankly at Rob.

“The big, huge, sideways phone booth-y
lookin' thing that's gonna scan me. Why do they call it Chloe?”

Greg shook his head. “I didn't know they
did.”

Rob had forgotten that Greg had only
recently joined the cloning team.

* * * * *

JIMMY WATCHED ROB
closely from his
office and thought of the night before. As was his custom, he had
gone to the parlor late that night after all the others had retired
to their rooms. He had gone into the kitchen and made a late-night
snack and then planted himself in front of the television in one of
the recliners. It was then that he had noticed Rob seated in the
one next to him. It had startled him at first, but he had soon
realized that the commander was deep in thought. Several minutes
later, Rob acknowledged his presence after Jimmy had tried to sneak
the remote control from his lap.

The two hadn’t spoken much during their
hours together, but last night Jimmy had done some thinking. He
began to realize that Rob was just an ordinary man. A man who would
participate in what could ultimately amount to the greatest medical
leap forward in history. Jimmy had decided that Rob probably had
many doubts and misgivings about his involvement. As he’d watched
Rob, still and contemplative, he’d considered apologizing for some
of the remarks that he had made in a blatant attempt to make Rob
uneasy. But in the end, he had decided against a show of weakness.
Instead, he made a mental note to go easy on Rob for the rest of
his time inside the facility.

As he now stared at Rob's image on the
monitor, Jimmy found himself feeling sorry for him. He hadn't
experienced this emotion with any of the other test subjects. Even
Paris and Charlie. Jimmy couldn't understand it. Yeoum had assured
him, like the others, that the chimps’ side effect was the result
of the anesthesia. They weren’t using any, so Rob should suffer no
ill effects. So w
hy do I feel sorry for him?
He's gonna
be fine.

* * * * *

INSIDE THE SECURITY
office, two airmen
monitored a bank of more than two dozen screens, each with a
different view of the complex. The convenience store, the interior
rooms, and the main entrance of the fallout shelter on the base
were all displayed. No angle was left unwatched. The centermost
screen showed the dressing room, the same image that Jimmy was
watching.

Benny, Eddie, and Cal were there, along with
Sergeant Covington who was standing with his arms folded in the
corner of the room nearest the door. All eyes were glued to the
main screen.

“He looks nervous,” Eddie commented.

Benny huffed. “Wouldn't you be?”

Cal was smiling behind Eddie and Benny. He
was barely able to contain himself. “I am so stoked! Can you
believe we're about to watch a man get cloned for the very first
time in history?”

“What's the contingency plan?” Eddie asked,
ignoring the young man.

Benny glanced at him and then back at the
screen. “If anything goes wrong that can't be handled locally, we
load Rob into the truck back at the convenience store and take him
to Greg’s office in town. It's set up as a sleep study. From there,
we'll call an ambulance to take him to the hospital, where the
major has privileges. He will come and check on Rob there.”

Their conversation was interrupted when they
heard Rob on the monitor.

* * * * *

“
ARE YOU A SPIRITUAL
man, Major?” Rob
asked.

Greg was taken off guard. “Not really.”

Rob was compelled to do something that he
did rarely outside of his own home. In the nearly three weeks that
he had been inside the complex, he had spent more time reading his
Bible than he had during the previous six months. On the day he
arrived, he had started the New Testament from the book of Matthew,
chapter one. When he had awoken this morning, Rob had read Paul’s
words from book of Romans. “Be joyful in hope, patient in
affliction, faithful in prayer.”

He needed to pray.

“Well,” Rob said, feeling suddenly
embarrassed. “I'm a Christian. It's kinda sad if you didn't already
know that about me, but I am and I need to do something here. I
need to pray.”

“Alright.” Greg, unsure of what to do,
closed his eyes, lowered his head, and began to wonder how long
this would take.

Rob cleared his throat. “Heavenly Father, I
ask for your forgiveness of my sins and thank you for the many
blessings you have allowed in my life. I thank you for the
fellowship of Greg, Jimmy, Don, June, Juan and the professor, who I
have spent so much time with lately, and the security police
protecting this program, and Special Agent Perez and the other NCIS
agents that are here. I ask that you bless both them and this
undertaking, and that your will be done here today and in the
future with its results. I humble myself before you and pray these
things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.”

* * * * *

DID HE JUST PRAY
for
me?
Eddie stared at Rob's image on the screen. None of his team
had spent any time with the commander, and frankly, he hadn't given
him a second thought. He didn't know Rob, and he didn't want to
know him. This was just an assignment that was keeping him away
from his own bed. But something changed when he heard Rob pray.
Something tugged at his core and began to gnaw at his very being in
a way that made the old lawman feel uncomfortable.

The other men found themselves drawn into
the prayer as well, especially Benny. Even the two airmen had
gotten caught up in the simple words Rob had spoken. Like Eddie,
they were moved. All except for Covington, who stood motionless,
arms still crossed in front of him, peering intently at the men on
the screen.

* * * * *

JIMMY WAS BRINGING
the systems
online. “Are we ready, SIS?”

“Systems are one hundred percent,” the
female voice responded. “Power is fluctuating between one hundred
four to one hundred seven percent. Flow simulations are good.
Materials are good. Nursery is priming. Environment will be optimal
for structure commencement in approximately five hours, forty-seven
minutes, fifty-two seconds. Chloe is ready to receive test subject
Robert Orson Tyler, Commander, United States Navy.”

“SIS, I need you to make a syntax change.
Calling the mass spectrometer Chloe is acceptable. However, it is
no longer acceptable to refer to Commander Tyler as
test
subject
or any other synonym. Understood?”

“Understood, Jimmy. What is the acceptable
term or terms to reference the—” SIS was stumped. The computer
system had been programmed to use the term “test subject” from the
time that the applicable software had been written. It couldn't
“think” of anything else to call Rob.

“Refer to him as Rob or Commander
Tyler.”

“Confirmed,” SIS said. “Chloe is ready to
receive Commander Tyler.”

Jimmy smiled again, wider this time. “Maybe
we better work on that one for a while, huh SIS?”

“Whatever you say, Jimmy,” the almost
melodic voice responded.

“Okay, Jimmy. We're ready down here.” Don's
voice came over the intercom.

“Right.” Jimmy punched a sequence of keys.
“Here we go, SIS.” It was 11:57.

* * * * *

IN THE DRESSING ROOM,
Jimmy's voice
came over the intercom. “Okay, they're ready for ya, Neel.”

Greg placed a surgical mask over his mouth.
“I'm gonna take you to the chamber. Before you step in, you'll need
to disrobe.”

Rob nodded as he put his own mask on.

“Don't take the mask off until you're inside
… what did you call it?”

“Chloe.”

“Inside Chloe. Make sure you toss it out
before the door closes. After that, just lie down and stay as still
as you can until the scan is complete.”

“That's it?”

“That should be it,” Greg said, as he turned
to open the door.

“Good morning Commander Tyler, Doctor
Mathers.” A pleasant female voice greeted them over the intercom as
they entered.

“June?” Rob asked, uncertain of the voice
and suddenly self-conscious about undressing.

“That's the computer,” Greg said.

I hope I don't hear that voice the whole
time
.
What would Carol say?
Rob thought humorously,
trying hard not to think about the coming event.

Greg hurried him through the open glass door
to the spectrometer, but Rob's curiosity got the better of him. He
walked over for a close-up view of the nursery. The entire tank was
sealed. Rob could see a shadowy mass attached to the back wall.
Reddish brown in color, at its base it was as big around as a
dinner plate and then it tapered out about four inches to a three
inch concave face at its center.

“Is that the—”

“Umbilical? Yes,” Greg answered from the
doorway.

Rob turned back to Chloe, smirking behind
his mask. “That’s gonna be one heck of a bellybutton.” He then
tossed the garments out behind him.

The major was already closing the outer door
when Rob began to undress. He laid his clothes on a corner bench
that he hadn't noticed the day before.

“Commander Tyler.” It was Yeoum. “I am
compelled to thank you once again for your participation in this
program. Six hours from now, you will begin to see the results of
your efforts.”

“Provided you all do your diligence, and get
it right the first time,” Rob said.

“I'm afraid that depends more upon you than
us, Commander. You must refrain from as much movement as possible,
I must remind you.”

“Yeah I get it. Just don't pipe in any
kicking tunes. I may get the urge to boogie a little bit.”

“Nope,” said Don. “There won't be any music
or sound of any kind while you're in there. The sound waves could
disrupt the scan.”

Rob looked disdainfully through the glass at
them. “That wasn't on the brochure.”

“My apologies, Commander,” Yeoum said
unconvincingly.

No wonder there was a psych eval
.
I may go nuts by the time this is over
. “So I'll be alone
with my thoughts. For six hours. Great.”

He stepped into the spectrometer, ducking
his head to fit through the opening. The inside seemed to glow. It
was well lit, but Rob couldn't tell from where. Its surfaces were
cool to the touch, but not uncomfortably so. The interior was
cylindrical, four feet in diameter and eight feet long with a
concave floor. The black outline of the human form was traced where
Rob was to lie. At its head was a rather uncomfortable-looking
cradle.

“I wonder if this is what a Vienna sausage
feels like?”

He lay on the floor and settled his head in
the cradle. “Snug as a bug in a really big rug.”

He heard Don say, “Try not to go to sleep.”
The glass door closed with a
hiss
and his ears popped as the
pressure equalized. After a minute, he could hear the muffled sound
of electric motors and felt machinery moving in the floor. It moved
slowly back and forth, spreading out to his left and right.

“No turning back now, I guess,” he said out
loud and then he began to think about the lyrics to Don McLean's
American Pie
as he settled in for the duration.

ROB WAS RELIEVED BEYOND
measure when
the successful scan was finally over. Provided the growth process
went well, his part in the experiment was complete. It was still
necessary for him to remain inside the complex, but his mobility
within was greatly increased. He was even given permission, over
Yeoum’s initial objections, to go as far as the garage and the
security office.

Just after the scan, he spent a few hours in
the computer center. He then attempted to wear himself out by
exercising and shooting hoops, and later found himself alone in the
parlor, still feeling restless. It seemed that the more he worked
out, the more restless he became. Those not involved with the
cloning had busied themselves throughout the scan and then retired
to their quarters early. Since his appetite for the big meal he had
dreamt of before the scan was gone, he settled into a recliner
with a bowl of popcorn, a soda, and the television remote.