Mobius (4 page)

After two hours, I heard the sound of activity from the hallway—the scuttle of feet, the squeak of a door, the command of an orderly, and finally the reply of Mage’s fragile voice.

“No,” I whispered. “She doesn’t deserve this, not now.”

I struggled with my thoughts.
I must be good. She wanted me to stop.

I grabbed the pulse drill from under the bed. I had to know.

I need more power.

I took the remaining three power-nodes and coupled them together. I risked an overload that could’ve blown off my head. I didn’t give a shit. I turned it on and it pulsed with triple intensity. An hour had passed when the pulse beam broke through the other side of the wall. I frantically shut it off, fearing the beam had shot through the other side and caught the attention of the doctor and orderlies.

After ten minutes, when neither orderly nor doctor burst through my door, I was confident I had gone undetected. I put the pulse drill down and eagerly gazed into the peephole.

I saw the doctor standing beside the sphincter beast, its nano-fiber tendril extending into the doctor’s forehead. Mage was apparently still within the confines of the bio-mechanical creature. I wondered what was truly happening before my eyes. I wondered about my memories of the past.

How can they be? Are they divined from the sphincter beast, the doctor, or insanity?

For hours the doctor was linked to the so-called “rehabilitation vesicle” until he shook with something like annoyance.

“The fusion isn’t stable!” he said to the orderly beside him. “The quantum threshold collapsed! She’s no longer a possible subject.”

I’d heard those words before, when the orb scanned me after my own treatment.

What’s a quantum threshold?
I wondered.
What’s he trying to fuse with us? This isn’t about our mental health. This is something bigger.

A moment later, Mage’s limp body spilled from the sphincter beast in an incontinent birthing. I looked on in horror as the orderly approached her, bent downward, and spun her head. A gruesome crunch nearly caused me to vomit. I trembled.

Motherfuckers! Why? She didn’t deserve this. I’ll kill them. All of them.

“Throw the body into the incinerator,” said the doctor. He gestured to the wall behind the sphincter beast and it rose up, revealing a secret chamber.

Within was something so grotesque that I couldn’t process what I saw. Many female figures hung from the ceiling connected by a network of transparent tubes attached to their mouths and genitals—some kind of pink nutrient broth flowed through them. Their bellies were swollen. Were they pregnant? Was it some kind of awful experiment? Where were the babies being birthed from these poor, tortured women?

I watched as the orderly carried Mage’s body to the center of the secret room and cast her into a dark hole. I heard an intense electric surge and Mage was gone.

My view drifted to the doctor, who swung a look of awareness to the peephole. I shrank back in panic. I quickly hid myself under my blanket and faked sleep for an unbearable period.

I heard the click of my door’s magnetic lock and feared I’d been discovered. When no one entered, I realized it was merely morning.

I sat at the library view-panel. My plans had changed. I was getting the fuck out as soon as possible. It didn’t matter what was going on. It only mattered that I wanted to live.

Sensimion approached. “Have you had more memories materialize?”

“No,” I said.

“Well then, what has your attention so focused?” Sensimion poked his head in front of the view-panel. “Human anatomy? Why do you wish to learn such boring things?”

“Leave me alone.”

“What’s wrong with you, Theron? You’ve learned something, haven’t you? Did you finish drilling the peephole? What did you see?”

I’ve seen the work of pure evil,
I thought.

“Well?” said Sensimion.

“I haven’t broken through,” I lied. “You’ll know when I do.”

At that moment, the doctor entered the congregation room, wearing a white suit with a decorative stitching of interlaced circles and helixes.

“What’s going on?” whispered Sensimion. “The doctor rarely gives us the privilege to look at his hideous bulk, unless we’re being treated.”

“I bring words of encouragement to all,” said the doctor with a disturbing satisfaction.

I’ll kill you. I’ll kill you. I’ll kill you,
echoed my thoughts.

The doctor continued, “After many invigorating treatments in the rehabilitation vesicle, our friend Mage has at last achieved a new and healthy mental stasis. Last night, I released her to the world. She now flies free like a regal bird toward a promising future.”

Sensimion scowled. “You’ve sent her away without letting us say goodbye?”

“The mental strain of sad goodbyes wouldn’t have been good for her. Once one is cured, they must be completely separated from this place so a sense of rebirth can be attained. Remember, Sensimion, if you’re confident of yourself and of your treatment, you too shall reach this final goal.”

My insides boiled.
Liar! Murderer! Monster!

The doctor glanced at me for an instant, and I thought to see the corners of his mouth turn up, ever so slightly.

Before I exploded, the doctor briskly left the congregation room. Many of the patients showed signs of enthusiasm for the doctor’s brief dialogue.

“Are our suspicions wrong?” asked Sensimion. “Are we paranoid? Your mysterious memories are proof. Aren’t they?”

I chewed my lower lip, restraining my anger for Mage’s murder. “Don’t let the color of the doctor’s words paint over the truth.”

“Aha!” said Sensimion. “I knew you were acting strange. What aren’t you telling me, Theron?”

“I’ll tell you everything tomorrow morning.” I looked at the force field of the sanitarium’s main portal. “Listen carefully, Sensimion. In the morning, make sure you’re awake and dressed an hour before your sleeping quarters are usually unlocked. Don’t sleep late. Time is of the essence.”

“Why?”

“Please, just do it.”

“Your mood is troubling, Theron. Why won’t you tell me? What do you know? What are you planning?”

“You’ll understand in the morning. Right now, I have something important to do.”

I left the congregation room and returned to my sleeping quarters. I began my modifications to the pulse drill. I no longer needed it to pulse. I needed a steady, concentrated beam that would kill and cut. After a few modifications, I returned the micro scalpel back to its original function. I tested it on a piece of synthetic meat I had brought back from dinner. It sliced it in half with ease.

“They’ve driven me to this course of action. They’re liars and murderers. My actions will be justified. Afterwards, I’ll carry on without remorse.” I held my breath for a moment, and then spoke with ultimate conviction: “I’m not insane.”

I silently waited in my quarters until I heard the computer tone indicating bedtime. I listened carefully as all the patients were escorted to their sleeping quarters by a single orderly, who then locked the doors, one by one.

I heard the heavy steps of the orderly approaching my door—the last door to be locked—and pushed the door outward with all the weight of my body behind it. The door smashed into the orderly, knocking him out.

I nervously peered down the length of the hallway—no one saw. I took hold of the orderly by the armpits and dragged him into my quarters.

With the micro scalpel in hand, I stood over the orderly.

Am I really going to do this?
I thought.
Will I be as bad as them?

Despite my hate for the doctor and the orderlies, I still dreaded the hideous act I was about to commit. I examined the orderly’s face and felt a disturbing comfort.

“It was you... your hands... your action.” I smiled. “I do this for Mage.”

I tucked my blanket in the crack at the base of the door.

Hopefully, this’ll be sufficient. Soon there’ll be much blood.

I couldn’t believe what I’d done. Despite guilt and disgust, I wore it. Humid and hot, it stuck to my skin. It was heavier than I’d thought it would be and confined me terribly. I could barely breathe within it. I walked down the hall with a labored gait and finally came to Sensimion’s quarters. I released the magnetic lock and swung the door open. Sensimion sat up in his bed, his expression that of absolute terror.

I stepped within.

Sensimion drew back. “Who are you? Is this a dream?”

I pulled it away from my face, revealing myself.

“What have you done, Theron?”

“I’ve flayed, and now wear, the skin of an orderly.”

“You’ve gone crazy.”

“No, I haven’t,” I said defensively. “They didn’t let Mage go free. She didn’t get well like the doctor said. They broke her neck and threw her into the incinerator like garbage.”

“And wearing their skin like a wild-eyed lunatic is your revenge?”

“No. I wear the skin of an orderly so I can pass through the main portal of the sanitarium. It was
you
who told
me
that the force field of the portal can discriminate the DNA of anyone trying to pass through.” I peeked into the hallway. “We must escape now, unless you want to join Mage in the incinerator.”

Sensimion agreed, and we snuck to the main portal. The doctor and orderlies were nowhere in sight.

I whispered, “I’ll pass through first, remove the skin-suit, and throw it back through the portal. When you put it on, be sure to secure these straps to close the openings at the arms, legs, and back. This will ensure your own skin won’t be detected by the portal.”

Sensimion shuddered.

“Do you understand?” I said.

“Yes.”

I tested the orderly’s flesh, moving my hand toward the portal’s barrier. It passed through freely. Without further delay, I stepped to the other side. I quickly removed the skin-suit and threw it back through the portal to Sensimion.

I stood nervously.
What’s taking him so long?

Finally, Sensimion appeared. He pulled off the skin-suit with panic and revolt. “What now?”

“Let’s first get clear of this place,” I said, looking down the dim corridor in which we now stood.