[Subject Record: J-95] (https://www.reddit.com/r/TheSkinnerFoundation/) Age: 40
“Step forward.”
Jasper did as he was told, making a point to not stare the CO down the way he would usually when given a direct command. It was the way of things in prison. You acted dangerous when you were scared. Defiant when you didn’t care. You walked the line between pleasing the keepers and the kept or you became prey.
But now wasn’t the time for that. If everything went well, after this experiment was done, he’d be free with a $2,000 stipend and early termination of his parole. During the past six months of needles and tests, he’d been terrified that they’d stop coming for him. Reject him without a word or a chance for him to beg for another shot. It was only now that he was past that final threshold of acceptance, as he was stepping into the back of a black passenger van that looked far too nice for state issue, that his fear of what was ahead of him began to finally take hold.
All he’d been told was that he’d been identified based upon his prior medical records as a potential candidate for an experiment that was conducting limited human trials. That it was nothing that he had to do, but if he wanted to get the remainder of his twenty-year sentence commuted, he should give it some serious consideration.
It hadn’t even been a question. The five years he’d spent inside had already left a permanent stain on him—he was tainted by a kind of fear and cynicism that had sunk deep into his bones, and he spent most of his time either crushingly bored or anxious. He’d learned to adapt, sure, but that adaptation had come at a cost. He wasn’t the same as he’d been when he first came into this place. Another fifteen? He wouldn’t recognize himself at all.
So he jumped at the chance. No questions, no wavering, no real wondering at what the experiment might be that it required prisoners to have willing subjects. That kind of thinking would just get him in to trouble. He had to keep his head down and follow the light at the end of the tunnel. Because that light meant escape. Freedom. A bright future that was worth a bit of sacrifice along the way.
But sitting in the back of the van as it trundled north through back roads for hours on end, he felt those doubts and worries creeping in. He wanted to ask the driver where they were going, but the man hadn’t acknowledged him beyond brief, nodding eye contact through the steel mesh that divided the driver’s compartment from the back. Even if the guy was talkative, how much did he know? Probably not much. No, better that he wait until he was there. Talk to whoever was behind this. It’d probably be some doctor or scientist, and they’d likely love the chance to brag about their stupid experiment. Talk down to the inmate, the scum, they got in to play guinea pig.
And that was fine. He could play his part. He could take some pain or shame or whatever they had in mind. Just so long as at the end of it, he…
What the fuck?
He saw through the van’s windshield that they had broken through the trees and into a large field that had been converted into a private airstrip of sorts. Three hundred yards of asphalt, punctuated by a small trailer on one end and what looked like a private jet on the other. This…this wasn’t right. What was going on here?
He leaned up as far as his seat restraint would let him. “Hey, guy? What is all this?”
The man glanced back in the mirror as he braked the van near the plane end of the runway. “This is your stop. Guy.”
With that, the man got out and went around to open the sliding door. Another man had joined him from somewhere—this one had a pistol in his hand and hard, blue pebble eyes that stayed trained on Jasper while the driver unlocked him from the seat and stepped back. Jasper caught the driver’s eye, and for a moment he thought the man was going to say more, but then he just shook his head and gestured to the guy with the gun. “Go with him. Have a safe trip.”
Ten minutes later, he was in the air.
The flight lasted over two hours, and that was followed by another three hours in the car. He had no idea where he was, but he knew the sun was setting through trees that looked like swamp cypress and the temperature was at least twenty degrees warmer than it had been at the penitentiary. That’s when they rounded the last twist in the driveway and Jasper first caught a glimpse of the strangest house he’d ever seen.
It reminded him of an iceberg and a crown and one of those spikey sea things…urchins. Its walls and windows were made of seemingly random combinations of glass and metal and stone, all swirling together as though it was slowly melting. It must have been five stories high in spots, and as large as many mansions, but for all that, he wondered how you were supposed to live or work in there. If it was a home, it wasn’t comfortable. If it was a lab, it wasn’t practical or a good use of space. In fact, it looked more like a giant work of abstract art or some kind of alien spaceship that had decided to park itself in the middle of a mosquito-ridden bog. But how could that be? Why would anyone do that? And who was that waiting out front for them? Was she the one behind all this?
The middle-aged woman stood in front of the only visible door to the building—a towering thing of black wood and jagged streaks of colored glass that seemed to curve with the rounded contours of the wall that held it.
The woman didn’t speak to them initially—simply opened the front door and ushered them inside. The interior was more curved walls intersected by straight angles. Not just the walls, but the floors and the ceilings too. It felt like being trapped in a funhouse mirror, and they weren’t through the third room before he felt his growing sense of disorientation turning into nausea. The room they ended up in lay closer to the center of the building, and while its shape was no less disconcerting than the rest, at least he was given a chair to sit in and a glass of water before restraints were placed on his ankles and wrists. The way they tied his arms was strange—out to his sides and with his palms and inner forearms pointed toward the rippled ceiling. He didn’t like it, especially in this place, but he didn’t expect them to leave him loose, and maybe they needed to get to a vein or something for…whatever this was. He just had to play it cool, wait for them to tell him something or start doing something, and see what…
“I bet you’re wondering what you’re doing here.”
The voice came from behind his right shoulder and was distinctly feminine, with a slight lilt to it that sounded European. Turning his head, he saw that the woman was smiling down at him. “I understand how you must feel. This place, these proceedings, it’s all very strange, isn’t it?” She gestured to the two men who had tied him down and they pulled her up a chair before stepping back to the edges of the room. Moving to it, she sat down and scooted closer to him, her pale grey eyes seemingly magnified behind the gold-rimmed glasses she wore. She looked like an owl studying a mouse, and he found himself wishing she wouldn’t sit so close, staring at him like…wait, she wanted a response.
Trying to return her smile, he shrugged as best he could. “I’m curious, but I’m just happy to help. This is a big opportunity for me, so I’ll do what you need doing.”
The woman’s smile widened. “How wonderful. I appreciate your cooperation and your candor.”
He realized with a jolt that maybe she wanted to tell him about it. To brag, just like he’d guessed that morning. Swallowing, he hastily added, “No problem. And if you want to tell me about it, I’d sure like to hear what the experiment is about.”
Letting out a small chuckle, she glanced at her watch and nodded. “Certainly. We have a moment to spare before we begin, and I think I’d feel better if you understood what’s going on. The importance of what you’re a part of.” She leaned back in her chair and folded her hands into her lap as she regarded him. “You never knew your parents, did you?”
He felt his eyes widen in surprise. “Um…no. No, I didn’t. I was an orphan until I was twelve, and then I lived with my foster parents until I ran off at sixteen.”
She nodded with a sigh. “Yes, I know. It’s hard growing up without knowing where you’re from, isn’t it? I’m much the same, you know. My father raised me, but my mother died during childbirth, and we had no other family close by. I spent my childhood reading, learning from my father, and playing with the housekeeper’s son.” Shaking her head, she reached out to pat his forearm. “But, much like you, I was destined for more than just sliding through the husks of my ancestors. We…” she took her hand from his arm and placed it under her nose before sucking in an expansive breath that caused her nostrils to flare. “We are meant to outgrow that which has come before, yes?”
Jasper felt his heart starting to pick up speed. This woman might not just be rich and strange. She might also be crazy. Dangerous. He tried to maintain his poker face, but he was already wondering if he had enough leverage to flip his chair or break out of the restraints if he suddenly needed to. Escape was the furthest thought from his mind—he knew that never worked in the long-term—but he didn’t want to get tortured to death by some nut-job either.
Still, for now she was just talking, going on about genetics or something, and wait, what?
“Excuse me, can you say that last part again?”
The woman blinked and then smirked. “I said that I was so happy when we found you again. Even then, we had to confirm your genome was intact, that your genetic structure had not been compromised in some fashion, but no…you are for all practical purposes, perfect. 99.92% perfect, to be exact.”
He felt himself frowning, but he didn’t care. “Lady, I’m far from perfect. But what do you mean, ‘found me again’?
Her smile widened as her owl eyes danced behind their panes of glass. “Just what I said. You are the product of an experiment that has been going on for nearly a century since its inception in Zasole. Genetic manipulation, selective breeding, trait mapping down to nearly the atomic level. All to create a keystone that could unlock the wonders of the universe.”
Jasper shook his head slightly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. And that…that’s okay.” He felt his tongue growing thick in his mouth and he swallowed again nervously. “Why…why don’t you just tell me what you’re planning on doing to me?”
Now the woman laughed, patting her knee lightly as she glanced at the other men in the room. “Why Mr. Emerson, that’s exactly what I’m doing.” She suddenly frowned at him. “Do you know what Geomancy is?”
He didn’t know what she was talking about, but he didn’t want to make her angry by giving the wrong response either. In the end, he settled for just slightly shaking his head. Seemingly mollified, she gave a curt nod and went on.
“It’s a form of divination. A way of seeing the future and unlocking knowledge usually kept away from the likes of us. My family has practiced it for centuries with great success, but always with certain limitations. In more recent times, however, we have turned to science for help. Science is…well, it’s very limited and crude, but it is an effective tool at times, yes? It can give new perspectives and resources.”
She gestured at the room. “For instance, this building was built with the assistance of 3d-modeling, machine fabricators, and synthetic polymers that are not even available commercially yet. Its nuances, the exacting demands of its shapes and patterns…well, it would have taken decades to build in times past, and even then the slightest flaw could have ruined everything. Now? We built it in four years, and I have no reservations when I say it is practically perfect as well.”
Her gaze fixed back on Jasper as she stood and began to pace. “As it must be. It is part of the greatest geomantic structure ever constructed—an edifice that not only represents the collected occult and scientific knowledge of untold centuries, but will, when complete, provide a divination tool that is powerful beyond imagining.” She paused to turn back to him, her smile wolfish as her eyes found his own. “Others have tried, you know. They’ve made temples. They’ve drawn elaborate mandalas. Some, recognizing the power of living patterns, have even fashioned skeins of bleeding flesh. But they’ve all failed to achieve what we will achieve here tonight.” Her voice was louder now as her words and breath quickened. “You are the keystone to this miracle, Jasper. Your cells, the lines of your hair, the whorls of your fingerprints, have all been shaped and refined from all that came before you so that you will fit perfectly into the center of this beautiful, all-seeing eye.” Spittle was flying from her lips now as she shouted, and when she gestured savagely at the men, they didn’t hesitate to rush forward and slide away a portion of the floor, revealing a man-shaped indention in the stone below. “You want to know what you’re here for? Better that I just show you.”
He tried to fight when they pulled him from the chair, but it was no use. They were stronger and clearly knew how to handle unwilling participants. In a matter of moments, he was snug in the floor’s hollow and strapped into place. Every curve of the cold stone hugged him tightly, as though it had been made just for him. If what the woman had said was even partially true, he supposed it was.
She was over him now, a grim look on her face as she showed him a scalpel. “I said you were perfect. And I meant it. But as I also said, you are only practically perfect. 99.92%, remember? And unfortunately, I need to make some minor adjustments to ensure our success.” Straddling him, she drew a line of fire down his shoulder. “Nothing too major. Just a bit of muscle cut away here, a vein shifted over a bit there…you’ll live, I assure you.”
“Ma’am? Didn’t you want us to give him pain meds first?” He barely registered the man’s voice through the agony, but he heard her response clearly enough.
“I’ve changed my mind. They’re unnecessary. Counter-productive, even. Just be ready to cauterize.”
The next few minutes were a white flame with him trapped in the middle. He felt like he might burn there forever, pain being heaped upon pain. But then it all began to fade. Jasper didn’t understand how or why, but soon all he could feel was the cool pressure of the woman’s face against his own, her eyes boring into him with a black intensity that robbed him of all feeling, all thought. He felt himself falling away from everything save her voice, which was sharp and booming and everywhere.
“Show me. Show me what’s next. Show me the shape of what’s coming. I demand you show me everything.”
As she spoke the last, everything seemed to freeze. To crystalize. The world, time, his very existence, seemed so delicate and temporary in that endless moment without time. And then it was all set afire as something roared through him like a river of suns. He wanted to scream and cry and die and laugh, but he couldn’t do any of that. He was simply a conduit for something other. Something greater. Something…
“Oh…Oh God.”
The woman was crawling away from him now, her voice small and trembling. In the distance, Jasper could hear the men rushing to her side.
“Did you see? Did he show you?”
She let out a choking sound and then forced out a croaking command. “Gun. Give it to me.” There was the brief sound of movement and then two gunshots rang out. The next moment, he heard the men’s bodies as they slumped to the floor. Then the woman was crawling back on top of him, her face now speckled with her guards’ blood, her eyes were wide and bloodshot as she stared down at him.
“Did you see what I saw?”
Jasper shook his head slightly. “No. What…what was it?”
Letting out a wild, cackling laugh, she sat up on his waist before jamming the gun under her chin. She was still cackling when she looked down at him one last time. Cackling and crying, the tears cutting tracks across the bloody fields of her thin, pale cheeks. She looked like a lunatic, except in her eyes. They were terrified but steady as she met his gaze. “You’ll see, Jasper. You’ll see.”
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