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Feb. 22nd, 2007 09:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
veiledndarknessTitle: In Thade We Trust – Chapter 4
Author: veiledndarkness
Warning: The usual disclaimer, not my property, just playing with the characters. Takes place shortly after the end of Planet of the Apes (2001).
Summary: In the darkest parts of the human mind lies the ability to be needlessly cruel and inhuman, a baser nature that separates us from the animals.
In Thade We Trust - Chapter 1
In Thade We Trust - Chapter 2
In Thade We Trust - Chapter 3
*
Dr. Naira stood in the doorway of the senator’s office, impatiently tapping one foot as he waited to be acknowledged. The senator was speaking with several of the human rights protestors, doing his best to not show how flustered he was by the commotion in his office. Naira held back a laugh. He supposed it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to laugh at the senator’s misfortune of having made far too many promises that he’d had no intention of following through on.
He tapped his files against his side as Ari slapped her hands down on her father’s desk in exasperation. Naira bit down the inside of his cheek as the urge to chuckle grew stronger.
“Father, I’ve just returned from the production fields with the most appalling news,” she said.
Senator Sandar rubbed the side of his forehead wearily. “For the love of Thade, would you please give me five minutes of peace from your ceaseless rants about the humans!” he snapped.
Ari’s eyes flashed angrily. Naira bit down harder on his cheek as he watched her toss her folder of information down onto the desk blotter. She ripped it open and spread out several glossy black and white photographs in a semi-circle.
“There, take a good, long look at this Father! These photos were taken just this morning. The humans were beaten for falling down. One had his spine snapped in half for daring to try and help a fallen worker. This must stop. I cannot stand by and watch you approve the new groups of humans for the fields,” she said, her voice low and dripping with venom.
Sandar picked up one of the photos closest to him and winced. The black and white coloring did nothing for the grimace of agony on the human boy’s face. The blood, and muscle tissue made his stomach flop, his breakfast fast rising in his stomach. He put the picture down and frowned at the other activists.
“Ari, may I speak with you a moment?” he asked carefully. “Alone?” he added, nodding his head at the other chimps. She stared at him for a second before nodding her head sharply at the others.
They filed out of the room, shooting nasty looks at Naira as they passed by. His white coat gave him away, and in their opinion, he was worse than someone who merely signed the paperwork, someone such as Sandar. Naira gave them his best blank stare. He didn’t care for their opinions, though Ari’s scathing criticisms of his work did leave him feeling regretful that he wasn’t able to do more to help the humans.
Naira stepped further into the room, seemingly unnoticed by the Sandar or by Ari. He shuffled through his paperwork, attempting to appear as though he wasn’t listening.
“Ari, you know that my hands are quite literally tied in these situations. There is very little that I can do to change the plight of the humans,” he said, his voice striving to sound reasonable.
Ari rolled her eyes. “You could try supplying more funding to the activists. Perhaps spreading the word that you don’t approve of the harsher punishments that are doled out on the prisoners…” she ticked off on one hand.
“Workers,” Sandar interrupted. “They are called workers.”
“Workers are not killed for emotions and empathy Father, surely you would know that,” she shot back.
Sandar dropped his head in his hands and rubbed small circles on the either sides of his forehead. “It is not as simple as you would believe it to be Ari. I do not wish harm to the humans but I also cannot simply let them wander the streets because you don’t approve of their treatment. This is the way things are. The humans are important for testing, you know this! How else would we be able to tell if medications for ourselves work if not for testing?” he said.
“You do not need humans for the experiments and for the testing of medicinal products. We have developed the technology to do these things without the cruel and most often unnecessary experimentations on the humans we find,” Ari countered back.
Dr. Naira took that moment to step closer to the debate. “Senator Sandar, I’m afraid my support also lies with Ari. I do have computer technology that allows me to simulate the results for most tests. The experiments with the humans are not as important as the other doctors and scientists would have you believe. They only want to understand why the difference has occurred and why the humans seem somewhat similar to the other apes.”
“If you feel you must take the high and noble route Naira, then you would be the first in line to turn in your research and waste the rest of your life protesting something that is not going to change. Revolution will not happen overnight!” Sandar said, slamming his fist down angrily.
Ari sucked in a breath. “You believe my life to have been wasted then?” she asked quietly.
Sandar swore under his breath. “Ari, that wasn’t what I meant.”
“Then what did you mean?” she asked as she left the room.
Sandar sat back heavily in his chair. He glanced up at Naira and waved his hand lazily.
“Well what news do you have for me now?”
Naira opened his folder and tried his best to keep a smirk off his face.
“The human is far more evolved than the most recent groups that we found outside the city limits. He has shown elementary speech development, and a moderate pain tolerance. He can heal in a remarkably fast amount of time.”
He paused in his readings as he looked down at the senator. He cleared his throat somewhat nervously.
“I would like to expand the tests that I’m currently working on with the human. He seems far more intelligent and I would like to explore that. With your permission of course,” he said, fighting hard now to keep the nasty smirk off his lips.
Whether the senator approved him or not, he would find a way to keep the testing going. Naira waited silently for a response. After a few minutes of internal debate, Sandar nodded and smiled at him.
“You may continue the testing. I expect weekly reports on the human’s progress.”
Dr. Naira gave the senator a grim smile. “Of course, sir. Eventually I hope to have the human moved to a better environment. It would help me to explore if the environment has an impact on the human’s life span.”
Sandar made a ‘hmm’ sound before signing the paperwork that Naira had laid out in front of him.
Naira backed up and tucked the paperwork back into his file folder. “Will you be by sometime this week for a viewing?” he asked, his face neutral.
“This week? No, I have many other pressing issues to attend to. I will be there around the middle of next week,” Sandar said.
Dr. Naira blinked. He hadn’t expected that Sandar would give him so much time to work with Leo. “Right, well I must head back to the lab now. Good evening Senator.”
He closed the door behind him, finally allowing himself to let his smirk show. He shuddered as he walked down the hallway. Oh Thade, how he hated politics.
*
Leo blinked drowsily when the door slammed shut. The slam had woken him from a lovely dream. He frowned as he saw the bars around him. A dream of freedom. He scowled at the thought.
He watched with interest as Dr. Naira muttered to himself, putting objects down too hard before sitting in his chair and rolling over to Leo’s cage. Naira ran his fingers through the fur on his head.
“Rough day?” Leo muttered, with a grin tugging at his lips.
Naira gave Leo a nasty look. “Your smart mouth will bring you pain around the wrong people, Boy.”
At the look on Leo’s face, Naira relented. “Oh come off it. I’m not going to kill you. Just a bit of warning for when others are around.”
Leo nodded. “Sorry,” he offered quietly. It galled him to think that he had to rely so heavily on the doctor for protection.
Naira sighed. “Relax, Boy. I just want to talk to you right now. I will be doing a few simple tests on you later, but for now, why don’t you tell me about yourself?”
Leo chuckled dryly. “My life story? Why not then?”
He sat up, the blanket wrapped protectively around himself as he began to talk. He spoke briefly of his childhood, his training in the space program, how they had used monkeys for the unmanned flights. He told Naira everything that he could remember about the first planet he had landed on. Everything except for the specific names of some of the chimps and gorillas that he had met. Some instinctive thought kept him from revealing this.
When he finished with how he crash landed on the Thade Memorial, Dr. Naira refilled his water bowl and handed it back to him.
“Here, you must be thirsty by now,” he said as he passed the bowl back.
Leo shook his head. “Felt kinda good to talk to someone who didn’t think I was crazy.”
Dr. Naira drummed the fingers on his right hand thoughtfully on the cage. “It does sound a tad farfetched, but I find myself wanting to believe you. The story seems too strange not to have some truth to it.”
He peered down at Leo. “However, if I find out that you’ve been lying to me, I promise the consequences will be dire, Boy.”
Leo huffed angrily. “I told you my name is Leo, not Boy. And I am telling the truth. What do I have to lose? Why shouldn’t I tell the truth?” he snapped.
Naira observed him, his mind already processing the physical reactions that Leo was having.
“Indeed, you did mention that. My apologies, Leo.”
Leo suppressed the urge to scoff. He pulled the blanket tighter while Naira jotted some information down on his sheets. He sipped from his water bowl again, noticing for the first time that his water tasted a bit funny. He swished the mouthful around and struggled to identify the strange flavoring.
“What’s in the water?” he asked quietly.
Dr. Naira looked up at him sharply. “What?”
Leo raised one eyebrow. “The water tastes off. Like something’s in it.”
Dr. Naira blew out a breath, once again rubbing a hand over his face.
“The very fact that you can taste that…” he mumbled.
Leo dropped the bowl as a sweeping dizziness fell over him. The room was tilting from one side to the other. Leo griped the cage wall, and made a feeble groaning sound.
“What…what the hell…” he stuttered, his tongue feeling heavy, like it was made of lead.
Dr. Naira replaced Leo’s sodden blanket with a fresh one. “I’m very sorry Leo. They’ve been drugging you for a few days now. It’s a mild sedative.”
“Mild?” Leo muttered. He swayed again, the colors of the room running together.
Naira spun around quickly, swearing loudly as he opened a nearby cupboard, scanning the shelves frantically. He grabbed a black bottle and yanked a syringe from the side table. He plunged it into the bottle and withdrew it, tapping it quickly. He grasped one of Leo’s arms and brought the needle down.
Leo wheezed as the fluid flooded his bloodstream. He sighed as the room shifted back into focus. “The hell was in that?” he gasped.
Dr. Naira slammed the cupboard shut. “Someone’s tampered with my water supply,” he thundered; his eyes dark and threatening.
Leo leaned back against one side of the cage and closed his eyes. All he’d wanted to do lately was sleep. He rubbed at his stomach anxiously as the nervousness returned.
Naira strode over to his desk, each large step loudly echoing in the room. He lifted the phone receiver and dialed impatiently. The other line rang twice before someone picked up.
Leo pulled his knees up and wrapped himself tightly. He rested his head on his knees and listened carefully to Naira’s conversation.
“Ari!” he barked. “I want to speak with you immediately. Come down to my office now!”
He waited a moment before rolling his eyes and snorting. “I don’t particularly care if you are busy. If you’re not in this office in ten minutes or less, I’ll be going straight to the head of the funding department.”
Leo watched with growing interest as Naira’s mouth formed a grim smile. “I thought you might agree. Do be on time, dear girl.”
He dropped the phone, rubbing his eyes irritably. “One bloody thing after another these days.”
Dr. Naira went over to a small fridge beside his desk and pulled out a bottle of water. He thrust it between the bars of the cage. “Here, you’ll be safer drinking this Leo. And please, no speaking in front of Ari when she gets here.”
Leo gulped down two big swallows of water before answering. “And that would bad why? She seems to actually care if I live.”
Dr. Naira sat back down in his chair and drummed the fingers on one hand absently. “If she, or the others, were to see just how evolved you are compared to the other humans that we have on our planet, they would no doubt try to rescue you. I’ve told you before Leo, and I’ll say it until you understand, you are much safer here with me.”
Leo swallowed another mouthful of water before screwing the cap back on. “What about the other doctors? Would they kill me?” he asked, suppressing the voice in his head that whispered of his fear.
Dr. Naira nodded solemnly. “I’m sure of it. You are a prize in a way Leo. But not in the manner that would make you untouchable I’m afraid to admit. I do want to study you. You are by far, the most interesting human I’ve ever seen. I mean you no harm Leo, but this...is out of my control.”
Leo sighed then, rubbing his hands together for warmth. “What luck I have,” he muttered.
Dr. Naira chuckled dryly. “Now Leo, don’t go feeling sorry for yourself. Be thankful that I’m the one studying you, rather than Dr. Opalle. His major area of interest is in gene mutation.”
Leo quietly denied to himself that those very words struck fear in his heart. He nodded at the doctor, before lying down as a knock sounded at the door. Dr. Naira stood up, his eyes flashing once again.
He pulled the door open harder than strictly necessary. “Ah, Ari. How kind of you to be prompt,” he said as he ushered her in.
She walked in stiffly, her face carefully empty of any emotion. Dr. Naira sat behind his desk and motioned at the chair beside Ari. “Have a seat, my dear.”
Ari gave him an undecipherable look before sitting down, her arms hanging loosely by her sides. Leo lay as still as he could, not wanting to draw her attention. He peered over the edge of the blanket as Naira cleared his throat.
“Ari, I know that some of your people have been in this room recently,” Naira said calmly.
Ari gave a short, fake laugh. “I’ve no idea what you’re talking about,” she said.
“Really?” Dr. Naira said blandly as he tossed a cassette from his desk drawer onto the blotter in front of Ari. “Then I’m sure you can explain why I have footage of someone who bears a striking resemblance to Elis, breaking into my office and tampering with my water supply.”
Ari’s left eye twitched. “If that were true, then I’m sure Elis would have spoken to me about it.”
Dr. Naira nodded his head before answering. “Perhaps. Or perhaps he wouldn’t have because he would have already had orders to infect my water supply, knowing that the water was being given to the human, and not to myself. Tell me something Ari; did you really think I wouldn’t find out?”
Ari’s eyes glittered slightly. “I couldn’t tell you as I honestly don’t know, nor was I made aware of any activity by my group.”
Dr. Naira made a scoffing sound. “Please don’t insult my intelligence Ari. You and I both know that Elis is an overzealous protestor. I wouldn’t put it above him to be the first one to volunteer for a mission of this sort. After all, a rescue mission such as this would be wonderful media coverage for your group. And what better way to bring more attention to a topic that people, oh say perhaps like your father for one, would rather sweep under the table than admit that there is something fundamentally wrong with human testing.”
Ari twisted one hand with the other, struggling not to show her anxiety. “I would not ask any of my group members to do such a thing.”
“Ari, this has gone on long enough!” he said sharply. “I am on your side in the debate for the testing. I have supported you and sent funding whenever I could. This intrusion is a slap in the face to all the work I’ve done with you, and to be perfectly frank, I am furious that you would try and do such a thing to me. This human is safe with me and you know it.”
Ari stood up then, blinking fast and angry now herself. “I see no example better than you when someone asks me about the hypocrisy of our government. You are no better than my father. You give a pretty speech to those who would hear it, but when it comes down to it, you’d rather keep the human and experiment to your heart’s content,” she hissed.
“Ari, you are treading on dangerously thin ice. If you are not careful, then certain information will be made available to the public about the funding of your groups. And maybe a few details about the adventures in sabotage that various group members have partaken in,” Dr. Naira all but growled at Ari.
“You wouldn’t dare,” she breathed.
Dr. Naira stared at Ari for a long moment. “Wouldn’t I?” he asked softly.
Ari’s lips trembled. “Damn you, Naira. This is not over yet.”
Dr. Naira smiled gravely. “I wouldn’t dream of ending this so soon.”
Ari slammed her door on the way out. Leo jumped at the loud noise, startled by the quiet laugh that he heard from Dr. Naira. He glanced over in confusion to see Naira slipping the cassette back in his top drawer.
Dr. Naira grabbed a second bottle of water from his fridge and sipped from it leisurely. He looked down and smiled widely at the look on Leo’s face. He leaned back and swallowed some more water.
“Is there something that you’d like to ask me?” he said.
Leo blinked. “Nah, I think I got it all.”
Dr. Naira studied the door for a minute. “It’s amazing how far a blank tape and good bluff can get you,” he said, a small smile of victory on his face.
“Politics interrupt science so frequently,” he said.
*
Author: veiledndarkness
Warning: The usual disclaimer, not my property, just playing with the characters. Takes place shortly after the end of Planet of the Apes (2001).
Summary: In the darkest parts of the human mind lies the ability to be needlessly cruel and inhuman, a baser nature that separates us from the animals.
In Thade We Trust - Chapter 1
In Thade We Trust - Chapter 2
In Thade We Trust - Chapter 3
*
Dr. Naira stood in the doorway of the senator’s office, impatiently tapping one foot as he waited to be acknowledged. The senator was speaking with several of the human rights protestors, doing his best to not show how flustered he was by the commotion in his office. Naira held back a laugh. He supposed it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to laugh at the senator’s misfortune of having made far too many promises that he’d had no intention of following through on.
He tapped his files against his side as Ari slapped her hands down on her father’s desk in exasperation. Naira bit down the inside of his cheek as the urge to chuckle grew stronger.
“Father, I’ve just returned from the production fields with the most appalling news,” she said.
Senator Sandar rubbed the side of his forehead wearily. “For the love of Thade, would you please give me five minutes of peace from your ceaseless rants about the humans!” he snapped.
Ari’s eyes flashed angrily. Naira bit down harder on his cheek as he watched her toss her folder of information down onto the desk blotter. She ripped it open and spread out several glossy black and white photographs in a semi-circle.
“There, take a good, long look at this Father! These photos were taken just this morning. The humans were beaten for falling down. One had his spine snapped in half for daring to try and help a fallen worker. This must stop. I cannot stand by and watch you approve the new groups of humans for the fields,” she said, her voice low and dripping with venom.
Sandar picked up one of the photos closest to him and winced. The black and white coloring did nothing for the grimace of agony on the human boy’s face. The blood, and muscle tissue made his stomach flop, his breakfast fast rising in his stomach. He put the picture down and frowned at the other activists.
“Ari, may I speak with you a moment?” he asked carefully. “Alone?” he added, nodding his head at the other chimps. She stared at him for a second before nodding her head sharply at the others.
They filed out of the room, shooting nasty looks at Naira as they passed by. His white coat gave him away, and in their opinion, he was worse than someone who merely signed the paperwork, someone such as Sandar. Naira gave them his best blank stare. He didn’t care for their opinions, though Ari’s scathing criticisms of his work did leave him feeling regretful that he wasn’t able to do more to help the humans.
Naira stepped further into the room, seemingly unnoticed by the Sandar or by Ari. He shuffled through his paperwork, attempting to appear as though he wasn’t listening.
“Ari, you know that my hands are quite literally tied in these situations. There is very little that I can do to change the plight of the humans,” he said, his voice striving to sound reasonable.
Ari rolled her eyes. “You could try supplying more funding to the activists. Perhaps spreading the word that you don’t approve of the harsher punishments that are doled out on the prisoners…” she ticked off on one hand.
“Workers,” Sandar interrupted. “They are called workers.”
“Workers are not killed for emotions and empathy Father, surely you would know that,” she shot back.
Sandar dropped his head in his hands and rubbed small circles on the either sides of his forehead. “It is not as simple as you would believe it to be Ari. I do not wish harm to the humans but I also cannot simply let them wander the streets because you don’t approve of their treatment. This is the way things are. The humans are important for testing, you know this! How else would we be able to tell if medications for ourselves work if not for testing?” he said.
“You do not need humans for the experiments and for the testing of medicinal products. We have developed the technology to do these things without the cruel and most often unnecessary experimentations on the humans we find,” Ari countered back.
Dr. Naira took that moment to step closer to the debate. “Senator Sandar, I’m afraid my support also lies with Ari. I do have computer technology that allows me to simulate the results for most tests. The experiments with the humans are not as important as the other doctors and scientists would have you believe. They only want to understand why the difference has occurred and why the humans seem somewhat similar to the other apes.”
“If you feel you must take the high and noble route Naira, then you would be the first in line to turn in your research and waste the rest of your life protesting something that is not going to change. Revolution will not happen overnight!” Sandar said, slamming his fist down angrily.
Ari sucked in a breath. “You believe my life to have been wasted then?” she asked quietly.
Sandar swore under his breath. “Ari, that wasn’t what I meant.”
“Then what did you mean?” she asked as she left the room.
Sandar sat back heavily in his chair. He glanced up at Naira and waved his hand lazily.
“Well what news do you have for me now?”
Naira opened his folder and tried his best to keep a smirk off his face.
“The human is far more evolved than the most recent groups that we found outside the city limits. He has shown elementary speech development, and a moderate pain tolerance. He can heal in a remarkably fast amount of time.”
He paused in his readings as he looked down at the senator. He cleared his throat somewhat nervously.
“I would like to expand the tests that I’m currently working on with the human. He seems far more intelligent and I would like to explore that. With your permission of course,” he said, fighting hard now to keep the nasty smirk off his lips.
Whether the senator approved him or not, he would find a way to keep the testing going. Naira waited silently for a response. After a few minutes of internal debate, Sandar nodded and smiled at him.
“You may continue the testing. I expect weekly reports on the human’s progress.”
Dr. Naira gave the senator a grim smile. “Of course, sir. Eventually I hope to have the human moved to a better environment. It would help me to explore if the environment has an impact on the human’s life span.”
Sandar made a ‘hmm’ sound before signing the paperwork that Naira had laid out in front of him.
Naira backed up and tucked the paperwork back into his file folder. “Will you be by sometime this week for a viewing?” he asked, his face neutral.
“This week? No, I have many other pressing issues to attend to. I will be there around the middle of next week,” Sandar said.
Dr. Naira blinked. He hadn’t expected that Sandar would give him so much time to work with Leo. “Right, well I must head back to the lab now. Good evening Senator.”
He closed the door behind him, finally allowing himself to let his smirk show. He shuddered as he walked down the hallway. Oh Thade, how he hated politics.
*
Leo blinked drowsily when the door slammed shut. The slam had woken him from a lovely dream. He frowned as he saw the bars around him. A dream of freedom. He scowled at the thought.
He watched with interest as Dr. Naira muttered to himself, putting objects down too hard before sitting in his chair and rolling over to Leo’s cage. Naira ran his fingers through the fur on his head.
“Rough day?” Leo muttered, with a grin tugging at his lips.
Naira gave Leo a nasty look. “Your smart mouth will bring you pain around the wrong people, Boy.”
At the look on Leo’s face, Naira relented. “Oh come off it. I’m not going to kill you. Just a bit of warning for when others are around.”
Leo nodded. “Sorry,” he offered quietly. It galled him to think that he had to rely so heavily on the doctor for protection.
Naira sighed. “Relax, Boy. I just want to talk to you right now. I will be doing a few simple tests on you later, but for now, why don’t you tell me about yourself?”
Leo chuckled dryly. “My life story? Why not then?”
He sat up, the blanket wrapped protectively around himself as he began to talk. He spoke briefly of his childhood, his training in the space program, how they had used monkeys for the unmanned flights. He told Naira everything that he could remember about the first planet he had landed on. Everything except for the specific names of some of the chimps and gorillas that he had met. Some instinctive thought kept him from revealing this.
When he finished with how he crash landed on the Thade Memorial, Dr. Naira refilled his water bowl and handed it back to him.
“Here, you must be thirsty by now,” he said as he passed the bowl back.
Leo shook his head. “Felt kinda good to talk to someone who didn’t think I was crazy.”
Dr. Naira drummed the fingers on his right hand thoughtfully on the cage. “It does sound a tad farfetched, but I find myself wanting to believe you. The story seems too strange not to have some truth to it.”
He peered down at Leo. “However, if I find out that you’ve been lying to me, I promise the consequences will be dire, Boy.”
Leo huffed angrily. “I told you my name is Leo, not Boy. And I am telling the truth. What do I have to lose? Why shouldn’t I tell the truth?” he snapped.
Naira observed him, his mind already processing the physical reactions that Leo was having.
“Indeed, you did mention that. My apologies, Leo.”
Leo suppressed the urge to scoff. He pulled the blanket tighter while Naira jotted some information down on his sheets. He sipped from his water bowl again, noticing for the first time that his water tasted a bit funny. He swished the mouthful around and struggled to identify the strange flavoring.
“What’s in the water?” he asked quietly.
Dr. Naira looked up at him sharply. “What?”
Leo raised one eyebrow. “The water tastes off. Like something’s in it.”
Dr. Naira blew out a breath, once again rubbing a hand over his face.
“The very fact that you can taste that…” he mumbled.
Leo dropped the bowl as a sweeping dizziness fell over him. The room was tilting from one side to the other. Leo griped the cage wall, and made a feeble groaning sound.
“What…what the hell…” he stuttered, his tongue feeling heavy, like it was made of lead.
Dr. Naira replaced Leo’s sodden blanket with a fresh one. “I’m very sorry Leo. They’ve been drugging you for a few days now. It’s a mild sedative.”
“Mild?” Leo muttered. He swayed again, the colors of the room running together.
Naira spun around quickly, swearing loudly as he opened a nearby cupboard, scanning the shelves frantically. He grabbed a black bottle and yanked a syringe from the side table. He plunged it into the bottle and withdrew it, tapping it quickly. He grasped one of Leo’s arms and brought the needle down.
Leo wheezed as the fluid flooded his bloodstream. He sighed as the room shifted back into focus. “The hell was in that?” he gasped.
Dr. Naira slammed the cupboard shut. “Someone’s tampered with my water supply,” he thundered; his eyes dark and threatening.
Leo leaned back against one side of the cage and closed his eyes. All he’d wanted to do lately was sleep. He rubbed at his stomach anxiously as the nervousness returned.
Naira strode over to his desk, each large step loudly echoing in the room. He lifted the phone receiver and dialed impatiently. The other line rang twice before someone picked up.
Leo pulled his knees up and wrapped himself tightly. He rested his head on his knees and listened carefully to Naira’s conversation.
“Ari!” he barked. “I want to speak with you immediately. Come down to my office now!”
He waited a moment before rolling his eyes and snorting. “I don’t particularly care if you are busy. If you’re not in this office in ten minutes or less, I’ll be going straight to the head of the funding department.”
Leo watched with growing interest as Naira’s mouth formed a grim smile. “I thought you might agree. Do be on time, dear girl.”
He dropped the phone, rubbing his eyes irritably. “One bloody thing after another these days.”
Dr. Naira went over to a small fridge beside his desk and pulled out a bottle of water. He thrust it between the bars of the cage. “Here, you’ll be safer drinking this Leo. And please, no speaking in front of Ari when she gets here.”
Leo gulped down two big swallows of water before answering. “And that would bad why? She seems to actually care if I live.”
Dr. Naira sat back down in his chair and drummed the fingers on one hand absently. “If she, or the others, were to see just how evolved you are compared to the other humans that we have on our planet, they would no doubt try to rescue you. I’ve told you before Leo, and I’ll say it until you understand, you are much safer here with me.”
Leo swallowed another mouthful of water before screwing the cap back on. “What about the other doctors? Would they kill me?” he asked, suppressing the voice in his head that whispered of his fear.
Dr. Naira nodded solemnly. “I’m sure of it. You are a prize in a way Leo. But not in the manner that would make you untouchable I’m afraid to admit. I do want to study you. You are by far, the most interesting human I’ve ever seen. I mean you no harm Leo, but this...is out of my control.”
Leo sighed then, rubbing his hands together for warmth. “What luck I have,” he muttered.
Dr. Naira chuckled dryly. “Now Leo, don’t go feeling sorry for yourself. Be thankful that I’m the one studying you, rather than Dr. Opalle. His major area of interest is in gene mutation.”
Leo quietly denied to himself that those very words struck fear in his heart. He nodded at the doctor, before lying down as a knock sounded at the door. Dr. Naira stood up, his eyes flashing once again.
He pulled the door open harder than strictly necessary. “Ah, Ari. How kind of you to be prompt,” he said as he ushered her in.
She walked in stiffly, her face carefully empty of any emotion. Dr. Naira sat behind his desk and motioned at the chair beside Ari. “Have a seat, my dear.”
Ari gave him an undecipherable look before sitting down, her arms hanging loosely by her sides. Leo lay as still as he could, not wanting to draw her attention. He peered over the edge of the blanket as Naira cleared his throat.
“Ari, I know that some of your people have been in this room recently,” Naira said calmly.
Ari gave a short, fake laugh. “I’ve no idea what you’re talking about,” she said.
“Really?” Dr. Naira said blandly as he tossed a cassette from his desk drawer onto the blotter in front of Ari. “Then I’m sure you can explain why I have footage of someone who bears a striking resemblance to Elis, breaking into my office and tampering with my water supply.”
Ari’s left eye twitched. “If that were true, then I’m sure Elis would have spoken to me about it.”
Dr. Naira nodded his head before answering. “Perhaps. Or perhaps he wouldn’t have because he would have already had orders to infect my water supply, knowing that the water was being given to the human, and not to myself. Tell me something Ari; did you really think I wouldn’t find out?”
Ari’s eyes glittered slightly. “I couldn’t tell you as I honestly don’t know, nor was I made aware of any activity by my group.”
Dr. Naira made a scoffing sound. “Please don’t insult my intelligence Ari. You and I both know that Elis is an overzealous protestor. I wouldn’t put it above him to be the first one to volunteer for a mission of this sort. After all, a rescue mission such as this would be wonderful media coverage for your group. And what better way to bring more attention to a topic that people, oh say perhaps like your father for one, would rather sweep under the table than admit that there is something fundamentally wrong with human testing.”
Ari twisted one hand with the other, struggling not to show her anxiety. “I would not ask any of my group members to do such a thing.”
“Ari, this has gone on long enough!” he said sharply. “I am on your side in the debate for the testing. I have supported you and sent funding whenever I could. This intrusion is a slap in the face to all the work I’ve done with you, and to be perfectly frank, I am furious that you would try and do such a thing to me. This human is safe with me and you know it.”
Ari stood up then, blinking fast and angry now herself. “I see no example better than you when someone asks me about the hypocrisy of our government. You are no better than my father. You give a pretty speech to those who would hear it, but when it comes down to it, you’d rather keep the human and experiment to your heart’s content,” she hissed.
“Ari, you are treading on dangerously thin ice. If you are not careful, then certain information will be made available to the public about the funding of your groups. And maybe a few details about the adventures in sabotage that various group members have partaken in,” Dr. Naira all but growled at Ari.
“You wouldn’t dare,” she breathed.
Dr. Naira stared at Ari for a long moment. “Wouldn’t I?” he asked softly.
Ari’s lips trembled. “Damn you, Naira. This is not over yet.”
Dr. Naira smiled gravely. “I wouldn’t dream of ending this so soon.”
Ari slammed her door on the way out. Leo jumped at the loud noise, startled by the quiet laugh that he heard from Dr. Naira. He glanced over in confusion to see Naira slipping the cassette back in his top drawer.
Dr. Naira grabbed a second bottle of water from his fridge and sipped from it leisurely. He looked down and smiled widely at the look on Leo’s face. He leaned back and swallowed some more water.
“Is there something that you’d like to ask me?” he said.
Leo blinked. “Nah, I think I got it all.”
Dr. Naira studied the door for a minute. “It’s amazing how far a blank tape and good bluff can get you,” he said, a small smile of victory on his face.
“Politics interrupt science so frequently,” he said.
*
