CROSSFIRE - Atlantis DSV - New Cape Quest

dominant nature over human DNA. Over time, the process of human cell reproduction was
being „re-programmed‟ with the information of the strain. Brain chemistry changed, neural
activity increased, but without a control agent, that process would eventually lead to a
terminal failure of the body‟s most basic functions.
It had taken nearly three years, but Ballard finally had her smoking gun. The vial on
the desk in front of her, loaded in to the back of a long, hypodermic needle, was the answer.
Like pieces of a puzzle – every advance in the catalyst‟s structure had added a new level of
complexity to the equation, but the equation thus far had made no sense. One plus two, plus
three, plus four, in this case, only made nine. There was always something missing.
Yet, every experiment needed its control. There had to be something by which to
measure the weight of results. Introduced to a subject who had already undergone four or
five stages of genetic manipulation, this one would produce little more than another bracket
to the maths. She had to know what it could do on that which was „clean‟.
Ballard squeezed her hand hard she looked at the syringe again, and closed her
eyes. It had been seven years since she‟d been diagnosed with her condition and it had
never – to this point – interfered with her work, but the parallels could not be denied.
She was dying. Over time, her neurological functions would inevitably fail as they
continued to misfire and decay. Ten years at best, is what they had told her. And the end
would be painful. She experienced some of that even then as chronic migraines, headaches
and pains pulled at the insides of her skull.
The vial in front her might not cure her condition, but it might slow it down enough to
give her a little longer. Five years ago it might have been enough, but the damage was
already done.
She took a breath as she stood and removed her coat, hanging it from the hook on
the wall. She wore little more than a tank underneath, and she grabbed the alcohol swab
and dabbed her arm before grabbing the needle.
Priming it, she drew a breath sharply and felt fire lance through her arm as she
squeezed the syringe. The sensation was unreal as it coursed through her veins, and her
vision started to blur. Her head spun as she removed the needle, and let it drop to the desk.
Anne Ballard felt the world turn as her eyes continued to blur and fade. She stepped
back from the desk after a moment, and began to wonder if she had made a terrible mistake.
Finally, the headache returned – hitting her like a hammer on the inside of her skull. She
never even realised what was happening as she passed out, and collapsed to the floor.
Nine Days Later, August 18 th , 2030...
The girl threw herself at the mirror, a violent „crack‟ as the glass splintered making
Doctor Ballard wince as the retched soul continued to thrash around the cell, losing her
mind. She put a hand to her mouth as Sanaa eventually collapsed to the floor, the
convulsions and spasms slowly subsiding to leave her sprawled – bruised, shaken and
exhausted – across the white, tiled floor. The display had lasted over half an hour, and the
entire time, Captain Samuel Ezard had simply watched in silence, emotionless, and
seemingly uncaring for anything except a result.
He regarded the doctor, unimpressed, but didn‟t say a word. Ballard took a breath
and shook her head. “She‟s been like this since we administered the treatment,” she
explained. “She won‟t eat, sleep or talk. She just starts these tantrums, repeating the same,
unintelligible nonsense over and over again. Eventually she just collapses, from sheer
exhaustion. It we don‟t find a way to stop this, she‟ll probably enter synaptic shock... and
then we‟ll lose her.”
“The subject‟s survival is paramount, Doctor,” Ezard said dryly, his voice grinding
over the words like gravel. “Find a solution, by any means.”
Ballard looked uneasy. “Captain... We‟re running out of patients. We lost twelve more
in just three days from the last stage of the catalyst. That‟s twice what it was at stage four.
This isn‟t working.”
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