CHAPTER 11: S.O.A.L.
The elevator led Jimmy to a lobby. The entire room sported a retro-futuristic look, with black and white checkered flooring, a receptionist's desk with matching lounge chairs and mounted television screens displaying static. After taking a couple of steps into the lobby, a pre-recorded voice blared over the intercom.
"Welcome," it said, "To the United States Army's Study of Anomalous Lifeforms Division, home of Project Alpha. New visitors are asked to meet with the receptionist for their visitor's pass. Please note that Sectors E through G are restricted to those without Level-5 clearance..."
"Hello?" Jimmy said, "Anyone here?"
There was no sign of anyone except for blood and slime stains splattered across some of the walls and floor. As Jimmy made his way into the facility, he passed through a room containing several giant computer towers.
"What is all this shit?" Jimmy wondered.
"Attention workers," said the intercom, "A reminder that lab coats are not to be worn outside of the facility. Kindly remove all lab gear before proceeding to the surface for any reason. Remember; what happens in SOAL, stays in SOAL!"
"This is just too weird," thought Jimmy.
Jimmy proceeded to the next room, a laboratory where all of the tables had microscopes and chemical beakers on them. The room was patrolled by several Infested, all of whom were former soldiers wielding rifles. Jimmy opted to take them out quietly to avoid being outgunned. Using the lab tables for cover, he snuck up behind each one and took them out with a knife to the throat.
Once he had taken care of all of the creatures, Jimmy heard a sound coming from inside a nearby utility closet. Cautiously, Jimmy approached the door and turned the knob while keeping his rifle at the ready. Once the door was fully opened, he pointed his rifle inside the closet.
"D-Don't shoot!" said the closet's sole occupant, "Please, I-I'm not infested, see?"
The person inside was a young scientist sporting short, light brown hair, round glasses and a lab coat.
"Relax," said Jimmy, "I ain't gonna kill ya. I just need to know what the fuck is going on!"
"W-Wait a second," said the scientist, "You're not military? But then...Er, nevermind. You appear to be quite capable of killing, and I am not one to turn down help. My name is Dr. Kyle Reed, researcher for Project Alpha."
"Project Alpha?" said Jimmy.
"Yes! Listen, I understand this must all be a lot to take in. I promise, I will tell you everything you need to know. All I ask in return is that you get me out of this facility alive. I've been trapped in that closet for hours!"
"Can you walk and talk at the same time?" Jimmy asked.
"Uh, sure! Just follow me!"
Dr. Reed led Jimmy to a door at the far end of the room. It was locked, but Reed possessed the key.
"Level-5 clearance," he boasted, as he opened the door, "I have access to most of the facility and its systems."
Unfortunately, an Infested horde waited for them on the other side.
"Oh dear," said Reed, "Er, would you kindly...?"
Jimmy eliminated the creatures while Reed hung back with his hands over his ears.
"Such senseless slaughter," Reed lamented, "I tried to warn them so many times, you know? But, they refused to listen to reason. I told them it was a bad idea to construct this facility in a populated area!"
"Who did you warn?" Jimmy demanded, "Who built this place?"
As Jimmy and Dr. Reed headed down a corridor, the doctor began to explain;
"One year ago," he began, "A small meteorite landed in a field just outside of Roswell, New Mexico. The meteorite itself was largely unexceptional, but it contained a most significant find – A microscopic being, no larger than a hair louse, housed inside the rock. This was the most important discovery of our generation! Mankind's first contact with an extra-terrestrial lifeform. Granted, the creature did not appear to be intelligent, but still..."
After opening another door, the duo were faced with additional Infested.
"Er," said Reed, "I hope you don't mind."
"Sure," said Jimmy, "Just stay back, alright?"
Once the Infested were taken care of, Reed emerged from cover.
"I say," he said, "You really are quite handy with a gun. Have you ever thought of joining the military?"
"Ahem," said Jimmy.
"Right, right," said Reed, "Where was I? Oh, yes! Soon after the discovery, the SOAL division was formed. We initially set up a research facility near the impact site to analyze the creature, which at this point in time was dubbed 'Organism X'. It was there the creature began to grow at an exponential rate. Within two weeks, it was the size of a football. Within a month, it was the size of a refrigerator. Eventually, its growth did stagnate.
We also learned that the creature was capable of secreting a substance, which, when ingested by a human being, grants heightened senses, higher pain tolerance and greater overall strength, though at the cost of the Infested's higher mental functioning. A couple of poor security guards learnt that lesson the hard way in the first month."
"Ouch," said Jimmy.
"Ouch indeed," said Reed, "But the United States military saw massive potential. They sought to use the so-called Slime to create an army of 'supersoldiers', if you will. Immensely powerful, but completely obedient to their will. There was just one problem; In order to conduct more tests..."
"You'd need guinea pigs," said Jimmy.
The duo reached a corridor that was sealed tight. On the other side of the metal door, a massive fire was raging due to a leak in one of the gas pipes overhead.
"Hm," said Reed, "Can't go by there. Ah, I know what to do! Follow me!"
Dr. Reed led Jimmy into a large nearby room containing more computer towers. In the centre, a massive circular structure lay.
"What is this place?" Jimmy asked.
"The central computer room," said Reed, as he approached a console, "And this fine piece of art is the Omnipotent Variable Analytical Computer, or, OMNIVAC. Most of the facility's systems are controlled from inside this room – Temperature, oxygen levels, air flow – Truly state-of-the-art. See, the OMNIVAC is based on Harvard architecture, which means that when I input data, it..."
"Yeah, yeah," Jimmy interrupted, "I came here to kill Slime, not for a fuckin' science lesson."
"My apologies," said Reed, "Just a moment, then."
After typing some code into the console, a long sheet of paper emerged from the OMNIVAC's printer. Reed adjusted his glasses and skimmed through it.
"There we are," he said, "I turned the gas flow off, so we should be able to walk through that corridor now. Hmm, it also appears there is a large amount of power flowing into the central chamber."
"So?" asked Jimmy, "What does that mean? Is that bad?"
"Nothing I can't fix with the push of a button...However, it has given me a rather brilliant idea on how to permanently deal with the Slime. Bear with me for a few moments."
"Well," began Jimmy, "You'd better hurry the fuck up, 'cause we have company!"
"Please keep them off my back while I work, yes?"
Several Infested came pouring into the room forcing Jimmy to hold them off with his rifle.
"You really are good at killing," Reed spoke while typing, "If the military is not your thing, then perhaps I can put in a good word for you at SOAL security – If we survive, that is."
"Could you shut the fuck up?" snapped Jimmy smacking an Infested in the face with his rifle, "I'm tryna concentrate here!"
"Er, sorry."
Some of the Infested were armed with pistols which they fired at Jimmy, forcing him to take cover behind some computer towers. A few stray shots struck near the console where Dr. Reed was working.
"Do take care not to hit the OMNIVAC," he pleaded, "We kind-of need it now!"
"I'm doin' my goddamn best!" screamed Jimmy, "Why don't you try fightin' 'em?"
"I am just saying."
The OMNIVAC printed another long sheet of paper. After reading through it, Dr. Reed signaled to Jimmy.
"Can we go now?" Jimmy asked, "This place is about to get fucked!"
"Yes, yes," said Reed, "Quickly!"
The duo escaped the computer core and sealed the door behind them. They returned to the hallway that was on fire moments earlier. With the gas turned off, Dr. Reed was able to open the metal door and proceed onward.
"I redirected all of the facility's electricity flow to the central chamber," Reed explained, "You'll see why in a moment."
"Sure, whatever," said Jimmy, "Are we close to it?"
"Certainly, come!"
As Jimmy followed Reed down another corridor, he glanced around.
"So," he began, "How did this place end up getting built?"
"Right," said Reed, "So the military needed test subjects for its experiments with the Slime. Naturally, no one was willing to sacrifice perfectly fit and healthy soldiers for the task, so it was decided the subjects would be criminals, thugs, scoundrels...People such as yourself."
Jimmy glared at Reed.
"No offense," Reed said, "And New Reiswald has a 'reputation', shall we say?"
"So you built a facility in this stinkin' city with the intent of converting gangsters like me into mindless Slime soldiers?"
"When you put it that way, it does sound a little cruel, doesn't it? But the soldiers, as it turned out, were far from mindless. See, they do have a mind – One that they share with Organism X. In fact, it was around this time that we began referring to Organism X as the 'Alpha-Mind', as it is the one mind that controls all other Slime units, much like how the OMNIVAC controls this facility's systems.
"How the fuck does one creature control thousands of individuals? What is it, psychic?"
"The process is still not fully understood. What we do know is that when an individual is infested by slime, all of his needs, wants and desires are purged and replaced by single-minded devotion to his queen; that is, the Alpha-Mind."
"So the Infested are puppets," Jimmy recalled Lenny's words, "And the Slime its strings..."
"That's one way to put it," Reed chuckled, "I like to compare the Slime to an ant colony or a beehive. Thousands of units, all working as one on behalf of their queen."
As they walked along the corridor, Jimmy heard a noise. He shushed Dr. Reed and peered around the corner, where he saw a lone Infested ambling about.
Jimmy motioned to Reed to stay behind, then snuck up behind the Infested to kill it.
"HELP!" Reed screamed.
Jimmy returned to where he left Dr. Reed and saw the young man was being grabbed from behind by another Infested. Jimmy ran to its side and struck it with the butt of his rifle, however the noise attracted additional creatures.
"This way," said Reed, "We must get out of here!"
After running for a few minutes, the duo found themselves in the clear.
"We're a bit out of the way," said Reed, "But I know another way to the chamber."
"So," Jimmy continued, "Where did it all go wrong?"
"You mean the experiment?" began Reed, "Well, for one, the facility's entrances were not initially as secure as we had hoped. Once, a gang of criminals found their way inside, from where I don't know. Fortunately, security was able to apprehend them. We used all but one as test subjects. The one we let go was mentally unfit to undergo testing, so we fed him some hallucinogens in order to ensure his story would not be believed by anyone, then released him."
"Lenny the Loon..."
"Otherwise, the experiment was going swimmingly. That is, until the 'incident'."
"You mean the second meteorite?"
"Correct. When we felt the earth shake, we suspected that our worst fears had come to pass."
Reed led Jimmy to a massive iron door resembling a bulkhead. It was sealed shut and protected both by key lock and password. The wall around the door was decorated with warning signs about not entering and needing level-5 clearance.
"And what were your worst fears, exactly?" Jimmy asked.
"That the Alpha-Mind was only feigning stupidity. See, all this time, we believed that it lacked sentience. We were wrong, oh so wrong. It is very much sentient – Intelligent, even – And it had outsmarted us all. For one year, it led us to believe we were gaining ground in our experiments, getting closer to perfecting our super-soldiers. But little did we know, it was secretly emitting signals to its brethren in Earth's upper atmosphere, preparing for a massive invasion.
We were unable to even reach the new meteorite because all of our subjects came to life right then and there. Our super-soldiers - Our experiments - Turned on us and began to wipe us all out. A mini-infestation down here to complement the large-scale one occurring above. The military chose to seal our facility off and basically leave us to our own devices."
"The military sealed off New Reiswald as well," said Jimmy, "We're all trapped in town."
"Of course," said Reed, "Then it is likely by 8:30 tomorrow morning, they will have carpet-bombed the city in order to permanently rid the infestation."
"WHAT?"
"Hammer protocol, they call it. All Slime units on the surface will be destroyed along with the city, while this facility survives. Footsoldiers will then be deployed to kill any stragglers and reclaim the Alpha-Mind. But this is what they don't understand; this nightmare will not end with New Resiwald's destruction. Additional meteorites will land and this whole mess will begin again."
"Then it's up to you and me to end this. Once the Slime is gone, they won't have to bomb this place no more, right?"
"Correct. Help me open this door."
Once Dr. Reed input the code and inserted his key, he and Jimmy worked together to open the massive bulkhead.
"Behold," Reed said, "The Alpha-Mind."