Hypnos (Part 1: The Experiment)

There was a certain tension in the air. The studies room of the Polysomnography lab was ready for the new experiment. It was related to stimulation of certain areas of the head, through electric impulses controlled by computers installed in the investigation room. Those impulses simulated the electric discharges in the brain, which were intended to relax certain areas that patients suffering with sleep apnoea could not voluntarily and spontaneously do. 

It was a new procedure, in fact, but not considered risky. It could be a radical change if compared with any previous processes. That would be the first test to be performed and they were apprehensive about the continuity of the tests if anything went wrong. There was another issue that they had to consider as well: the procedure was not supposed to evolve to a home treatment and was not easy to be used out of specialized clinics.

For all that mattered, a new era in the area was starting. Good quality sleep was not being taken seriously anymore, but the consequences of lack of a good resting sleep were aggravated stress in a growing number of patients. Quality of life was not the same anymore and the scientists were worried about the future.

The patient was prepped. He was a graduate with a scholarship that volunteered more because of the money than for his love for science. His snoring, lack of good quality sleep and low energy were affecting his grades and his performance as student.

From where the scientists were, he looked like an astronaut in a capsule, fully wired so to provide the control room all possible information about his brain and cardiac activity during the tests. 

- Now close your eyes and relax. Count from a hundred to one backwards.

- This is stupid and scary.

- Don’t be afraid. Just close your eyes. After all, you volunteered…

- Yeah, right, but it was because of the money only… and I’m not sure I want to be part of this anymore…

The procedure started as a simple regression session. The activity in the room was being recorded by high resolution cameras inside the chamber. The sensors were attached to various points around the head and chest and they would send continuous EEG and ECG information to the computers. The patient’s arms and legs were secured to the sides of the bed by leather straps, in order to guarantee that he was not harmed by involuntary movements.

The scientists took their places in the observing room. Two of them wore high resolution headphones and could hear every single noise, including the rhythm and changes to his breathing.

The volunteer’s eyes became heavy and his breathing slowed down. He soon fell asleep. The REM followed to the satisfaction of the audience on the other side of the glass room. He was dreaming and seemed very calm and relaxed.

Suddenly, his eye movements became more evident and frantic. The sensors showed high energy pulses. The cardiogram seemed to be registering large scale fibrillation.

The man screamed once. Then a second time… and another one. Then he started shaking heavily and shouting.

- There’s something wrong! Abort! Abort! Bring him back! Quick!

The procedure was terminated immediately. The investigation team ran into the room and assisted the volunteer. He looked completely lost and scared. As soon as his arms and legs were freed, he got rid of the wiring and got up, running away from the lab, half naked.

- Bring him back. Hold this man!

- What happened?

- I don’t know, but there must be something very serious and worrying or else he would never run away that way. We must bring him back.

The security guards barely had time to close the door and stop his desperate exit.

The woman who was walking to him down the corridor had her very dark and straight hair tied up on a bun on top of her head. The local rules were clear and strict about having loose hair in the lab areas.

The man stopped and stared at her. Then he shouted.

- Get away from me.

- Calm down, man. What happened? Let’s talk a little.

- No. No. No.

He crossed the glass window and jumped off the open balcony of the fifteenth floor. What he experienced or saw was probably so disturbing and scary, that he preferred to dive down to his death instead of facing the experiment or its consequences.

***

- How are we supposed to know what he saw?

- We will have to go on with the experiment, before someone closes the lab down and prevent us from continuing with the experiences. We must be careful when choosing the next volunteer.

- We need to check the ECG’s. If we are lucky, we can find something in there.

- I don’t think so. We don’t have history records to compare results.

- True. Then we will need to create history.

- Do we really need to? That must be one case only… one in a million maybe?

- We don’t have a million… and maybe we will never have, after this incident. We will need to change the volunteers’ profiles.

- What do you mean?

The young scientist just looked at his peer and his stare answered the question without a single word.

- I got it. And who will be the first to go?

- We both go…

- What?

***

The corridors leading to the lab were empty at that time in the evening. The security guard did not ask anything when the two scientists crossed the hall and passed in front of the reception desk. He was used to seeing them walking in and out of the area, in odd hours, when they came to check and follow up the many varied experiments.

In the outer room, one of the scientists adjusted his sophisticated headphones to his ears and turned on the microphones installed in the inner capsule. Inside it, the other man tried to close his eyes.  

- Is everything ready? Are we going to use the same stimulation we did with the volunteer? What if anything goes wrong?

- Don’t start now with your fears. We need to have a hint of what he saw. That was not a normal reaction.

- I know. Ok. Ok. Let’s go ahead. Quick.

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes again and tried to relax. Soon the sleeping drug started to run into his veins, and he fell asleep.

With his eyes fixed to the terminals and the program sequence, the scientist initiated the exact same procedure they used to the other patient.

On the other side of the glass, his friend was going deep into a dream. The REMs could be observed by the cameras directed to his face.

- Well, well… What’s next?

The sensors were acting normally. He was relaxed. The previous volunteer could have had an allergic reaction to the drug used, although there was nothing in his medical records that would support that theory. Maybe the electric impulses, associated to the stress and fatigue… Maybe? Who would ever know now?

He looked at his friend and relaxed a bit too.

- Side effects probably… what a waste!

He heard a beep. The cardiogram line moved up and down quicker. He did not change anything in the program. It was probably a reaction to the dream the patient was having. The man started moving his head from one side to the other.

- Oh, oh… and what now?

 He could not change the program while the procedure was running. The cardiogram seemed jumping up and down now in arrhythmic activity and high pulses. The patient clenched his fist and moved his body in uncontrolled spasms. Then he screamed once… then again and again.

- Oh, fuuck! Not again!

He switched the paraphernalia off, got rid of his headphones and ran into the room, opened the capsule and ripped the terminals off his colleague’s body and head. He injected glucose and caffeine in his veins, without freeing his arms and legs. He called his name a couple of times, shaking his upper torso. The other man reacted, finally, still quite sleepy.

He stared at his friend and said:

- Fuck, man! What was that?

- What did you see? Tell me!

He fixed his stare into his friend’s eyes and said, slowly and in a low voice:

- I know what happened... We are in big trouble… and it’s a very big trouble!

***

The Thirteenth (Part One)

- This is the thirteenth.

- Thirteenth? I did not think there were so many...

- See this spectacular specimen! It is stronger than the others.

- Should we work better on it? Their useful life is not very long, as far as we know.

- Yes, it's true. But this one seems to have more than the others do. Let's look at it more carefully. It is our responsibility to select only the best of the best and this one seems to be one of them. It will need more careful attention.

- The Supreme must know. Are we calling him or reporting directly?

- Neither. We're not going to do anything yet. We have to be absolutely sure before anything else. If we make a mistake now, the Supreme annihilates us and you know what happens next.

- I know and I do not like the thought of it. But we have to keep this secret just between us. We must separate it from the others or it will be discovered, before we can be sure of anything. It calls too much attention. If someone sees it…

- I have an idea. Let's take him to the Stellar Station. There it will be well analyzed and we will be able to check better all the details before it is ready. I know very well who will take great pleasure in helping us evaluate, investigate some details and even take care of him…err…it, in the meantime.

He looked seriously at the other man, who soon realized who he was speaking of.

- And what do we do with the others?

- The same as always. Soon they will be prepared, but they will have the same use of so many others, that were produced before them.

- We'd better hurry then, before somebody comes in here.

Better wait till everyone leaves. Meanwhile, we segregate these others and send them forward. We cannot arise any suspicions. If we take too long to dispatch them, the others will think there is something wrong happening in here. We must also complete the reports and confirm the count.

- I'll do that, so we can handle the rest of the things later.

- OK. I'm going to close the lab to make sure we have no inconvenient surprises. We'll be back later.

***

The day had begun normally, like every other, in a routine without surprises. The Stellar Station was virtually deactivated, with just a few features still working and had not been visited by many people so often, so it was easy for the two scientists to go unsuspected.

The Thirteenth was safe. They did not know for how long, however. They had to be steadfast before presenting it to the Supreme, or they knew they could be sent to one of the least significant lines. 

They had reached their positions within the structure because they were wise. They also knew that others before them, who had gone wrong in the selection, had been forgotten in the Glacial Station, on the other side of the planet, where the anomalies were studied and the vaccines for the next generations developed. Although it was an important job in the application, the conditions were restricted and uncomfortable. It was a rather cruel fate with a very short prospect for the future. It was the reward for the errors. A second error would be punished more severely.

The Supreme was rigid and devoid of feelings. Things had to work perfectly. As in a vintage wine, the selection was very judicious. Only the best could be sent to him, who would then approve, classify and define their destinies.

The two of them came together and went straight to the depressurizing room. After changing their uniforms for sterilized clothing, they went to the Council room where their hostess was awaiting. She received them with evident satisfaction.

- Well? What do you say about it?

- He's practically perfect. I've never seen one so well done and vigorous.

- Then we got it right. We can take him to the Supreme.

- You were right, yes. But there is a small, but workable, problem.

- Small…?

- Problem…?

They both looked at the woman, who smiled at them and as she got up, she asked them to accompany her.

***

- Workable? How can this be a workable problem? We will be damned...

- Calm down. I said it was workable, did not say he was presentable to the Supreme.

- And now? What will we do? If we are discovered, we will be in a dreadful trouble!

- Dreadful? Is that word still used?

The man laughed. The other looked confused. He had no idea where the colleague had taken that term from and was not going to ask. He was more concerned with how to solve their little “workable” problem.

The woman, with deep green eyes, spoke before being asked.

- We must get him out of this station, before anyone finds out we have him here. It will not be easy to hide him for long.

- And where can we take it to? We do not have many alternatives.

- Him… He’s not a thing… We have but a few alternatives. One is the Glacial Station. Someone who is there owes me a big favor.

- Oh. No. We cannot accept it.

- And what are you going to do? Take him to the Supreme? Leave him here?

- It's a very high risk. And we will not have guarantees that we will be successful.

- Let me handle this. He can never be brought back here, anyway, unless we find a way to sort this out. I’ll speak to the Supreme.

The two men did not know what to say. The woman had put them in check and they had no better alternatives.

***

- I cannot accept that, Leona. You know he's unpredictable and no less dangerous.

- He's my brother. I spared his life in the face of a crime punishable by death… or, at least, a life sentence. He will not hurt me. I need to talk to him.

- We have not heard of him in years... Why the urgency now?

- It's a personal reason.

- However personal it may be, he must not be brought back here.

- I will not bring him back here.

The Supreme did not like the idea, but he had a lot of respect and affection for the woman. He knew she was coherent and very responsible. He had endured her decisions and spared the life of her brother, who had murdered her lover, in front of her. He was sent to the Glacial Station, along with the scientists, who developed the vaccines created from the development of a prototype studied by their father.

- You know I do not like this idea at all. If anything happens to you, I'll be responsible.

- No. I'll be the only one to blame. I'm going to prepare for the transport.

Leona took the experiment with her and went where she was meant to solve the small problem, which was caused by another small problem. At the Glacial Station's transportation terminal, the alarm went off, announcing the arrival of visitors. A man with very deep blue eyes approached the room and waited a couple of seconds to see the woman he knew well materialize. Only she was not alone.

- Leona! What a great surprise! What good winds bring you here?

The chief scientist was still the same as he had been when he was in the main building. It had been his choice to move to the Glacial Station, so he would have time, distance from problems and inadequate questions, as well as space for his research, development and production of the vaccines.

Besides the young scientists who came with him, he had, under his wing, some workers brought from the cloning center and, to his agony, the only outcast he knew in that world. 

The man at the Station, by exile, was very different from the other individuals of that base and time. He seemed completely out of context and functions. But at least he was alive. The chief scientist kept him under constant surveillance, but the initial rebellion behavior had diminished over time. The man seemed much calmer than when he had been sent to the base and had adapted to the duties assigned to him. As time went on, he achieved the level of trust and confidence necessary to work in the logistics of shipping and storing the vaccines for the inhabited stations.

The chief scientist turned off the power field at the transport terminal and stepped forward.

- I see you brought someone over.

Leona smiled and greeted him, but there seemed to have a cloud upon her head and face.

- Look at this specimen. We first thought he was the most perfect sampling to be proud of, but look at this.

- Ah! I see.

- We could not take him to the Supreme, until we were absolute sure he was presentable and now we can no longer do it for this obvious reason. And leaving him there would be the same as admitting we had made a big mistake.

- And what can we do?

- I hoped you could help me decide. I have an idea and I need your help to put it into practice.

***

- I cannot accept it, Leona. It's very dangerous.

- But it's our only option… besides...

-The chief scientist's eyes widened. He could not admit the other alternative. He was trapped. Either he accepted one thing or another. In any case he was in check.

- I cannot take care of him. I have too much work to do. I'll have to find a way...

- I think that might be easy to deal with. The logistics manager owes me a favor.

- Oh. No. No. No.

The little man was afraid of the consequences. He could not accept such a responsibility.

- Let me handle this.

- Leona, that's very risky. If anything happens, we'll be both responsible.

- I know. But what can happen? We are dealing with something that does not exist, after all...

The man looked at the visitor with a little concern. She seemed too cold in the face of that problem. That was not the Leona he knew.

For some reason it seemed to him that there was something behind that mystery. He just hoped it was not a problem for him and his future at the Station. He considered his work and his position with great appreciation. He was not at the Glacial Station because he was banned or because of demerit, but by choice. The legacy of Leona's father, which had been improved throughout the ages, was his greatest pride. He was living proof that the vaccine was effective. 

And so was she.

The scientist, Leona and her brother, before all the others, have been the ones to test new versions of the vaccines voluntarily...

Now there was a mutation... a problem to be studied; a riddle he still did not know how to solve.

The old scientist looked at the clone and set it on the laboratory table. He unwrapped it completely from the sheet that housed it and said.

- Let us then try to unravel this mystery.

Leona smiled and said she was going to see her brother. She had things to deal with. She knew there was another alternative, but it was not time to mention it.

The old scientist came and went back to the object of his attention. He was no longer interested in the conversation Leona was going to have with her brother.

- So, my boy, how did this happen to you? Was it a side effect of the medications in your body?

The pale creature looked at the little man with quiet eyes and almost no expression shown on his face. The man began to examine the experiment and decided to take blood samples to analyze the mutations in his DNA. Before making any decision, he had to know what he was dealing with.

On the other side of the building, at the end of a long corridor, Leona had a very firm idea in mind, hoping it would work properly...