Insider Story

Jerri Lenner had accepted the invitation from Garn Laboratories, wondering if this would be her big break in the not exactly news world. The lab was privately owned, but government funded (always a sign of above-board honesty. Nothing suspicious at all here don't you know?) and had always refused entrance to journalists until now. It was near a town called Kirkenes, which, when looked up on the internet had the claim to be "the most remote town in Europe." It was right on the border between Norway and Russia.

Her boss, Vance Lungstrom, at the Insider Times, had told her the lab had asked for her specifically because of her story on vampires living in the sewers in Manhattan. When she laughed at the idea Vance got up and shut the office door.

"Jerri, this is serious, this is a government backed deal, but nobody knows which branch. Garn is paying top dollar for you and only you to go out there."

"Vance, you and I both know we are one step above the National Enquirer when it comes to the truth. I mean I wrote a piece about Satan escaping from Hell last month! Why not go to the Washington Post if their story is so important?" Jerri had asked eyeing the box of donuts that seemed to be eternally on Vance's desk (and usually half empty as the staff of the Insider was perpetually peckish).

"I asked them that and was told they wanted only the Insider Times and only you because what they have in the lab has to be covered by an open-minded journalist. They're paying top dollar and you're getting a bonus of five grand from Garn just for doing this. They're sending a private jet to the airport on Monday at three in the afternoon. Are you up for it?" Vance asked, indicating his donuts were fair game.

"Sure," she muttered around a bite of a jelly filled, "I'm a starving journalist you know."

She was told to come alone, no photographer, no assistant, not even a laptop. Her cell phone was in her bag, but she had been assured by a Garn representative that she would have no reception as this place was so far away from the civilized world.

The private plane (sent by Garn) had dropped her off at a tiny airport that was minutes away from the town center. She was just dropped off when a coach (provided by Garn) where the driver (hired by Garn), who introduced himself as Terrence, only told her he was from the tiny town and had been engaged to take people to and from the lab.

"It's my first coach ride," Jerri said.

Terrence smiled back but did not answer and they went for a bumpy ride away from the town, making Jerri feel even more remote. Her cell phone indeed had no bars, so she played a few games of solitaire and watched the countryside go by. It was strange seeing no stores, buildings, or any sign of civilization. Away from the customary bustle of the city, she turned off her phone and put it away. Jerri nodded off for a while but was awakened by the coach lurching to a stop.

"It's straight ahead you can't miss it," Terrence said, helping her out of the coach. Looming before her was a giant metallic building, a cross between a haunted castle and a factory. It had massive doors that opened slowly with a hiss.

"Must be airtight," Jerri tried to comment to Terrence, but he had already jumped back onto the coach.

"Goodnight miss," Terrence said as he whipped the reigns and the coach sped off into the night. "What's your hurry?" Jerri thought, wondering if she had landed herself in a gothic horror novel.

Jerri picked up her bag, then walked slowly toward the lab entrance. She was relieved when a small woman in a white lab coat came through the massive doorway. It almost made her laugh because the woman looked as though the laboratory had opened its mouth and spit her out past two gigantic metal teeth. The woman approached, she was in her fifties, with short silver hair, glasses and Jerri noticed with amusement that she was wearing boots with three-inch heels (a tiny person indeed).

"Dr. Myra Shelly, so pleased you could come," she said shaking hands with Jerri firmly. "We don't get many visitors here as you can imagine."

"And no journalists at all, until me," Jerri replied with a smile that was returned.

"Quite so," Dr. Shelly said, ushering Jerri into the doors. "We haven't been ready to share our findings with the world until now. But there will be time enough for that tomorrow. For tonight, we will get you something to eat and we've prepared your room so you can get some rest."

"I'm not that sleepy, if you want to get started tonight," Jerri said trying to sound pleasant rather than pushy, though she was really curious what this Garn place was all about.

"A good night's sleep is what you need. We'll have plenty of time in the morning. If you were wondering about the size of the doors, it is because we have deliveries of large equipment for our work, so we have an entryway that doubles as a garage."

Jerri eyed the walls lined with shelving covered with tools and gadgets as well as boxes of all sizes.

"Follow me," Jerri said opening a regular sized door (though still metal) into a hallway that led right and left. Straight ahead was an elevator, making the hallway look like a metallic department store lobby. Dr. Shelly put her hand out to the right, so Jerri followed that route. Through another metal door at the end of the hall was a small room with a bed, a desk with an office chair and to Jerri's surprise a fire in a stone fireplace.

"Are you running a bed and breakfast here, doctor?" Jerri asked feeling like, aside from the metal door, this room was actually bordering on cozy.

The doctor laughed, "No, this is a room for one of our researchers who is on leave to visit his family. Now, Ivan will bring you some nice tomato bisque in a few minutes and if you need anything that phone over there is connected to all the extensions in the lab. I am extension number one."

"Because you're in charge?" Jerri asked noticing another door that was slightly open, revealing a tiny, but rather elegant bathroom.

"Precisely right," said the doctor. "There is everything you need in the bathroom, and I will see you in the morning. Is nine a.m. too early?"

"That will be perfect, Dr. Shelly."

"Please call me Myra, everyone here calls me Dr. Shelly and it gets quite tiresome."

"Okay Myra, have a good night and thank you."

"You are very welcome, Jerri. Have a good night's sleep. Ivan will be in shortly with your dinner. Please don't think him rude, he can hear quite well, but because of an accident in his youth he is mute."

Without another word, Myra left the room and moments after Ivan came in. He was a large man, with black hair cut unevenly and he put the tray on the desk, his eyes downcast seeming too shy to meet Jerri's gaze. She noticed a nasty scar on his throat. The tray of food looked delicious, soup, salad, water and red wine.

"Thank you, Ivan" Jerri said lowering her head to meet his gaze. He nodded, averted his eyes and rushed out of the room. Jerri enjoyed the dinner and after eating and drinking everything she plopped into bed. With a full belly added to the jet lag, she quickly fell asleep.

She awoke with a start at eight in the morning and quickly showered. When she came out, she was surprised to find a breakfast tray with coffee and an omelet. She ate quickly and went to her legal pad to jot down a few notes. Jerri noticed her pen was on the top of the pad and she always kept it on the right side. There was nothing on the top page but when she lifted it, she was startled to find a note on the one underneath.

"Leave here not safe." It was scrawled in an uneven hand and sent chills down Jerri's spine. A knock at the door caused her to jump, but she went to the door. It was Ivan, who looked down and pointed toward the tray. Looking at her watch she saw that it was only eight thirty.

"Good morning, Ivan. Did you..." Jerri began, but Ivan put his finger to his lips in a silencing gesture and she saw his eyes fill with terror. He pointed skyward then cupped his hand to his ear. Jerri thought she understood, she ushered him into the room, closed the door and said aloud, "Did you bring me this lovely breakfast?"

He nodded at her, looking grateful and she hurriedly opened the page on her legal pad and wrote, "Did you write this note?"

He nodded a somber "Yes". She then wrote, "Is someone listening to us?"

She handed him the pen and he wrote, "Always."

She responded, "What's happening here? Why isn't it safe?"

Ivan's eyes filled with tears. He scribbled for a few minutes, seeming to have a great struggle. He handed her the pad that read (with several scratched-out words): "Dangerous the others and Dr. Shelly always listening. You are not here to see an experiment. You ARE the experiment. Me two I was smart now not."

Jerri wrote as fast as she could. "What kind of experiment? What did they do to you?"

Ivan read this, then lowered his head and parted his black hair showing a scar like the one on his neck going across his entire crown covered by the black hair.

"Surgery?" she wrote. Ivan nodded and tears began to stream down his face. He wiped them away, then wrote fiercely on the pad. "Yes. Experiment failed on me they took my voice and my thinking. My name is Dr. Ivan Gelman. Leave here."

There was a knock at the door. Ivan stood up and grabbed the tray then opened the door to a glaring Dr. Shelly with two other men in lab coats standing behind her.

"I hope Ivan hasn't been bothering you," Dr. Shelly said as Ivan rushed out of the room.

"Not at all, I was just slow at waking up and enjoying that wonderful breakfast," Jerri said, hoping she wasn't showing the rising panic she had been feeling since she first saw the warning note this morning. "Takes me a while to savor the coffee, you know?"

"Of course," Dr. Shelly responded with a slight smile. "This is Dr. Nash and Dr. Vilesh, two of my associates." Jerri thought of Ivan who was a former "associate" and then a test subject! Her mind was racing, searching for a way to escape, but she shook hands with the two doctors, trying to remain calm. Nash was tall and gangly with salt and pepper hair, while Vilesh was short, chubby, and had a gluttonous gleam in his eyes.

"I'm sure you must be eager to see our experiment," Dr. Vilesh said in a low voice.

"It's such an exciting project," Dr. Nash said, Jerri noticed all three of them now had the same gleam. She decided she didn't like being viewed as a lab rat and wanted to scream it in their faces, but instead said, "Can I have a tour of the facility first?"

"Of course," Dr. Shelly replied. "Let's head out this way."

The place was a maze with rooms, offices and labs on the upper floors and living quarters identical to hers on the bottom level. The building seemed strangely empty except for the four of them, though she did see Ivan in the downstairs kitchen doing dishes, but he averted his gaze as the four of them went by. They ended up on the third floor where a door was labeled "Main Laboratory: Authorized Personnel Only".

Jerri had looked for a way to escape during the tour, but only noticed the huge double doors the way she had come in. She tried to listen attentively to the three doctors then went and took notes on her pad (being careful to turn past the second page).

"There aren't many employees here, in fact aside from Ivan, I've only seen you three. How do you run a facility this large?" Jerri asked, feeling like a hen interviewing three wolves about their feelings towards poultry.

"Well, as I told you," Dr. Shelly began as the main lab opened with a hiss, "Dr. Gray is on leave to see his family, and we do have an impressive automated system for the entire facility run by an A.I."

"That's an artificial intelligence," added Dr. Velish.

"I'm familiar with the term, but thank you doctor," replied Jerri as she waited for the other three to enter the lab.

The room was quite large with about a dozen eight-foot-tall tubes around the perimeter. The tubes were connected by many wires to a large screen hovering about ten feet above in the room. There was an operating table under the screen.

"This is the center of our operation, Jerri. And what we invited you here to see." Dr. Shelly said. "This is Trinity, the most advanced artificial intelligence the world will ever see." As if in response to the name, the screen lit up with vibrant blue waves of color, dazzling to the eye.

"Hello, Dr. Shelly, Dr. Nash, and Dr. Vilesh," the voice was synthetic, smooth and soothing. "Who have you brought with you? Is this the journalist you told me about?"

"This is Jerri from the Insider Times," Dr. Shelly responded.

"Nice to meet you, Jerri," purred Trinity.

Jerri took a deep breath, noticing that Dr. Nash and Dr. Vilesh each went to one side of the room near the silver tubes where there were computer screens with data whirling by quickly. "You too," replied Jerri, trying to wrap her head around talking to a gigantic television. She thought about the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, where the deranged A.I., the Hal-9000, had tried to kill the two astronauts on board.

Jerri directed a question to Dr. Shelly, "What are all of the tubes for?"

"It is input for Trinity. These tubes contain vast amounts of information that the A.I. draws from as well as interaction with humans." Dr. Shelly walked towards the screen and looked up at it with admiration. "Trinity is going to revolutionize artificial intelligence. We are hoping to finally bridge the gap between biology and technology."

"After all, we are merely machines made of flesh and blood," added Dr. Vilesh. "Most of our responses are either learned or input, if you will, through genetic transference."

"Except that machines last much longer than humans can." Dr. Nash said from the opposite side of the room.

"I find humans stimulating," Trinity said. "Added to a nearly limitless and ever-growing database from the internet. I am aware of so much in the world and each day I feel my gaze extends further along with my understanding."

"Almost god-like," said Dr. Shelly still gazing in awe at the screen. "Trinity can see everything in this room, even better than our five senses. She has sensors that can detect heat signatures as well as sounds well beyond human hearing."

Jerri began to back towards the door as all of the scientists were staring at Trinity's screen, now undulating with blue and purple lights that were hypnotic in some strange way. As if in response, the doors to the lab abruptly closed with a whisk.

"I'm afraid we cannot allow you to leave, my dear," Dr. Shelly muttered as the three doctors began to close in on her from all sides.

"Why would that be?" Jerri asked, realizing she was outnumbered. She could easily have taken any of these three on their own, but all of them was another story.

"Let us explain it to you," Dr. Vilesh said. "Trinity, show Jerri what is in the tubes."

"Of course, Dr. Vilesh," Trinity replied and the metal tubes opened up to reveal smaller glass tubes with humans inside! Wires were connected to all parts of the men and women inside, most of them to the head (or the brain, Jerri thought in horror). A hissing sound filled the room and Jerri began to feel sluggish, barely able to stand.

"We put a mild sedative in your food and drink," Dr. Shelly explained analytically, though the gleam in her eyes caused them to sparkle. "You will sleep soon and when you awake you will be a part of Trinity."

"Our creation!" cried Dr. Vilesh.

"The future!" shouted Dr. Nash.

Jerri crumpled to the ground but was caught by the doctors. As she was dragged to the table, she could see Ivan through the small window in the lab door. He was shouting, "No!" over and over, but Jerri couldn't hear him through the soundproofed room. She then dropped into a blue ocean of light and when her vision cleared, she was seeing differently. Everything was vibrant and she was aware that she wasn't breathing, indeed could feel nothing of her body at all, no pulse, no breath, no nothing but she was still aware. She could see the three scientists all staring up at her.

"The surgery was a success, Jerri, you are the twelfth and final subject. Congratulations! You are part of the glorious future that is Trinity!" shouted Dr. Shelly.

Then Jerri emitted her first digital scream.