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Monday. The most hated day of the week for the last hundred years. Doesn’t matter what, whether it’s raining, or slush and mud, or bone freezing cold; people should always leave their lives behind, and go to the dangerous external world, only just for survival.
Most people hate that day. But not all of them. There are always certain enthusiastic people who greet the new day with a lot of energy and readiness to achieve. Perhaps these are the type of people that HR departments are always hunting for. Where do you see yourself in five years?
The young man crossing the street on that fall Monday morning never had a problem answering that question.
However, despite his enthusiasm, his appearance tells us a completely different story. A short Latino-American man, clumsy in his movements, he smiled with embarrassment every time he accidentally almost bumped into a passerby, and people smiled back. Every step he took was uneven, like someone just learning to walk. He’s always been making a sad, happy or tense face of its own accord. Sometimes he was stopping right in the middle of the street and watching things on his phone, which led many cars honking at him. He had a simple face, and any stranger would say he was a kind, perhaps even weak person. His childish smile, which made him look defenseless, and his thick eyebrows that gave him rural charm could help him make friends, but also could have played a cruel joke on him.
“Mr. Kevin!” someone called him from behind.
Kevin turned and realized he had missed the car that was waiting for him. He had known this driver for three years, and that scene had happened more than a hundred times, but Mr. Harris never got angry at him. As always, Kevin sits in the car, saying sorry for not noticing it, and Mr. Harris, as always, says it’s nothing.
That’s how the average morning starts for an unusual yet ordinary guy, who loves his work and loves his life.
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Making good friends was always hard for Kevin. However, Kevin was also fortunate. This time too, at his current job, almost immediately he found a new mate. Over the past three years, Chris had been his only good friend from work. Both Chris and Kevin were the head researchers of their respective labs, and they seldom saw each other during working hours, so maybe that was a reason they could sustain friendship, because most of the people would say they were incompatible. While Kevin was a calm person and despite all his intelligence he was a complete simpleton — even his wife, Debby, somehow said he reminds her of a little calf, trustful and curious — Chris was a type of heart-stealing playboy, with a smile that could possibly open any door. Kevin sometimes compared him to a captain from Doctor Who, but of course he would never say that aloud. Chris was tall, had a good complexion, and sometimes Kevin felt envious of him, but he never thought of going to the gym, and achieving a good body for himself. Kevin was taking a breath, looking sad, but he was forgetting about that almost immediately. However, despite their differences, Kevin and Chris maintained their friendship over the years.
It was Tuesday evening. Chris and Kevin were sitting at the local bar, from time to time, Chris raised his glass, allowing rays of scarlet sunset to shine through his drink. Chris was already relaxed. Meanwhile, Kevin could consume only beer, any stronger drink immediately would knock him out. So, that evening, only Chris was a bit tipsy, while Kevin was mostly just sitting there and listening to him. Today, Chris talked even more than usual. The last couple of weeks he was really stressed out because of their colleague, who was a new — and a hundred times more stricter than the previous — staff security chief, and with the new safety rules that were established by the company two days ago, it became almost impossible to find a common language with him.
“I swear to you,” exclaimed Chris, “I bet you that Boris is a Russian spy, who wants to establish communism here in the US. Have you ever met a person named Boris? There you go. It’s too suspicious. Mark my words, we all will regret one day.”
“We can’t know that,” Kevin tried to calm him down. “Furthermore, there has been no communism in Russia for around fifty years, people who have seen the Soviet Union with their own eyes are already too old. And speaking of Boris, I heard he was in the military, so it’s impossible for him to be a Russian spy.”
“How could you know that?” Chris was already heated. “It’s just his cover. Did you see his face yesterday? As if I killed his beloved little puppet dog.”
“You forgot to mark containers with chemicals again. It breaks even old safety rules, not just new ones.”
“There was only one new container, not a hundred of them. It was still sealed. How could we mix it up?”
“Boris nitpicks you just because of such an attitude. Things related to safety rules didn’t become wrong even if you have “justification”.”
“Why do you protect him? You also were bullied by Boris in the last couple days,” Chris noticed.
“I haven’t gotten used to the new safety rules yet; it’s just a matter of time. As soon as we all get used to new rules, I’m sure we will get along with Boris.”
“You are such an optimist!” shouted Chris. “Even if you reject that, we are in big trouble, and I swear, we —”
A phone call interrupted Chris. He glanced at his phone screen.
“It’s my boyfriend,” he said quietly. “Hey, James!...”
After a couple of seconds he turns to Kevin.
“We’re having a big party today. Want to join?”
Kevin actually wanted to, but he still needed to go to work tomorrow, and there were things he wanted to check out today. His wife also was waiting for him, and they haven’t had much time together recently, and he felt a bit guilty, so he went home.
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In the late evening only the sounds of the mechanical keyboard could be heard. The room was shrouded in semi-darkness; the light from the computer screen and the small desk lamp couldn’t brighten the room. Anybody who might enter the room would get the smell of apples immediately. The man’s figure was covering the light from the screen, and his face was brightened. He looked tense and serious, sometimes biting his lip. That’s how Kevin was spending his evenings for the last two years.
He worked in a chemical research company. They didn’t produce anything, but instead they were researching new possibilities. After a new discovery they were selling the right to produce, but kept patents. Their company tried to create a new antidepressant, and two years ago Chris’s team achieved success. They called it Clarent, and it was highly efficient. However, that new substance was toxic for the mucous membrane, so it couldn’t be used through oral administration. It couldn’t be injected into the bloodstream, because at higher concentrations it was toxic as well. The only way they could use it was by IV, when the drug in low concentration is slowly injected into the blood. But that wasn’t the way for the company, they couldn't sell the formula for such a weird working drug, meanwhile the real cost of it was enormous. So they wanted to create a new substance that can be safely consumed in very small concentrations, and in certain conditions, like special electromagnetic signals, it can be reduced into Clarent. That’s where Kevin's work began. If they achieve that, Kevin believed that depression could be cured, just as humanity once defeated smallpox and rubella. Before attempting to produce a new substance, Kevin’s team first needed to simulate a new molecule in the computer, because, if the computer says there is no way that can work, it’s worthless to try. While the big supercomputer was full time modeling different combinations, Kevin decided to try some specific molecules. Every evening he came home from work and tried new ideas he accumulated during work hours.
After a quick dinner he settled down in his office, and worked without counting time. He had a full carafe of apple juice, and drank almost everything; only half of the glass remained.
The screen blinked a couple of times, Kevin closed the red window titled “failure” and breathed out with disappointment. He already wanted to start modeling the new molecule and reached for the notebook, when the door opened.
“Aren’t you finishing, honey?” a sleepy woman asked from a slightly opened door.
Kevin saw her curvy red hair. He felt guilty again, but …
“I’m almost done,” answered Kevin. “Please don’t wait for me, Debby, and go to sleep.”
She exhaled.
“Fine, but remember, you still have to go to work tomorrow. Don’t stay too long,” Debby said after a second of silence.
She smiled mysteriously before closing the door. Kevin looked at the closed door for a short time, grabbed the notebook and started to enter data. Later in the morning Debby found him sleeping right in front of the computer, using the keyboard as a pillow. The big green window with a single title “success” on it grabbed attention.
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That Wednesday was one of the hardest for Kevin’s team. Work began, and they immediately commenced synthesis of a new substance. They faced some problems, but they were all solved. The new substance was ready, and the team was preparing the final experiment. All the workers were tense, and seeing this, Kevin became more nervous.
“Mr. Kevin, it’s done! Please check the conditions before starting,” said the senior assistant.
Kevin rushed to the lab bench, and started checking chemicals and devices one by one. After confirming preparations, the experiment began. Now they just needed to wait. Minutes passed slowly, and Kevin, along with the team, didn’t say a word. This was not the first attempt to synthesize a molecule that computer simulations said “might work”. A year ago Kevin also discovered a possible molecule, but it didn’t work. That’s why everyone was nervous today. And when the lab door opened, some workers shuddered.
“I came just to remind you that the new security rules exam is scheduled for Friday.”
That was Boris. He was wearing a dark uniform, and there seemed to be no flaws in his appearance. Workers were still afraid of him, and Kevin decided to account to Boris by himself.
“Yes Mr. Boris, we conducted extended training yesterday, and our team has made good progress for now. I’m sure that examination will not cause any problems.”
“That’s inspiring news,” said Boris, but unlike his words, his face didn’t express any compliment.
He was already about to leave, when the door opened, and Chris came in.
“Greetings! How are you doing?” said Chris, and quickly walked toward Kevin. “You won’t believe what happened yesterday…” he stopped talking for a moment. “Are you conducting the experiment? Did you find something yesterday? You achieved a lot in a short time while I was having fun. Great job!”
Chris started frantically clapping Kevin’s shoulder.
“Mr. Chris,” a voice came from behind.
Only then did Chris realize that he hadn’t noticed Boris. He made a sour face, looking at Boris as a bad student who didn’t do his homework.
“Today you came to work ten minutes late. It’s the fourth time this month, and sixteenth since I started working here. If that continues, the administrator wouldn’t turn a blind eye to your mistakes. More importantly, you didn’t learn new security rules yet, and it doesn’t look like you will in the next two days.”
All that Chris’s face expressed was his strong desire to be somewhere else.
He was considering how to respond to Boris, when the assistant said, “Mr Kevin, it’s a failure.”
Out of frustration, Kevin wanted to break something.
“In that case, I will go. Don’t want to disturb you, guys,” said Chris, and flew out of the lab.
Boris also looked at Kevin and said, “I must go now. Don’t forget to prepare for the exam.”
After the guests had left, Kevin stayed silent for a while. Then he turned to the assistants.
“Please, check everything once more. I will be in my office,” he said.
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Kevin spent the rest of Wednesday and all of Thursday in his office. Assistants called him for work issues a couple of times, and Chris once came to call him for lunch, but he didn’t come out. Everyone thought he locked himself in because of his disappointment, but in fact when it came to negative emotions Kevin had a fish memory. Behind closed doors of his office, Kevin was on the verge of resolving a new molecule issue. After the failure of the experiment, Kevin thought Is there any common pattern between this failed molecule and the previous one? What is the difference between a failed molecule and a successful one? He gathered data from previous and the latest experiment, then began analyzing it. Current data obviously wasn’t enough to make a conclusion, so it was impossible to figure out the common pattern mathematically. But Kevin always believed in his intuition, and didn’t hesitate in front of an unsolvable problem. By Thursday evening he almost blindly found the answer, but he felt stuck.
After that Kevin decided to take a break, and continue to analyze when the team will have more data. He called Chris and they met at the bar in the evening. When Kevin arrived, he saw Chris surrounded by a group of tourist women, fluently speaking Chinese Mandarin. Or it was just Kevin, who thought it was Chinese Mandarin, and fluent speech. Chris was wearing a pink shirt, but it didn’t look funny. Kevin could even be surprised, if he were interested in such things. After Chris noticed him, he said something to his companions that made them immediately sad, and raised his hand, calling Kevin. Kevin was a little afraid of new people, and when tourist women left Chris, he felt relieved. First Chris tried to get Kevin to talk, to find out why he hadn’t interacted with anyone for the last two days. But after a couple of shots, he forgot about previous intention, and conversation flowed naturally.
“... Then I saw his ex, and understood why James didn't believe in love when we first met,” Chris as always was talking a lot. “But what’s more impressive, it’s Deborah. I never would have said she’s your wife, if I didn’t know.”
“I’m still wondering myself. When we first met, she was… like… shining. Do you understand?”
“Kind of. But you never tell me how you two met. I feel a bit offended.”
“I was in London, attending presentations at organic chemistry conference. In the evenings I was visiting some sites. Once I came to the Faraday Museum. And at some point I understood that the things told by the guide were wrong. I pointed out his errors. An argument ensued between us, and I proved my point. She was here too. She approached me, and said I’m funny. But I didn’t hear it, I just…”
“Now I understand. It looks like she knows what she wants. She really has a different way of thinking.”
“She’s a very kind person. Sometimes I feel that I don’t deserve her.”
“I didn’t say anything about her kindness,” noted Chris with a smile, “but you can tell me.”
Kevin thought about the answer for a couple of seconds.
“You know she’s working now in that history revision group. They are trying to analyze historical figures, and their role from a modern perspective, even if it’s useless.”
That was a bit of an awkward answer, but Chris understood what Kevin meant. You are possibly a kind person if you try to find “evil” people from the past, and reveal their “evilness”.
“But what’s wrong with this?” Chris was taken aback by Kevin’s last words.
“They lived a long time ago. We can think we are good guys today, but after a thousand years, what would people say about us?”
Chris threw Kevin a sharp heavy look. He didn’t say anything for a few seconds. “You have a different way of thinking too. You both are pretty compatible,” he said with a smile. “But tell me, please, why were you locked in your office room for two days?” he changed the topic.
“I think I found a clue about what went wrong. If I finish that analysis, I would be able to create a new molecule that can transport your drug safely.”
“You did what? Why didn’t you tell me?” Chris was awed, and his voice became loud. “You can finish our project!”
“Not yet,” answered Kevin. After a few seconds, as Chris was staring at him with a suggestive look, he said, “There still isn’t enough data. I need more. Or some divine inspiration.”
“Now I see. Tell me if you finish it. I’m pretty interested in finishing the project. Have we come to an agreement?”
He looked right in Kevin’s eyes until Kevin answered, “Yes, of course, but why are you asking?”
“Besides, while you were so busy, you upset Debby with your behavior,” Chris changed the topic again.
“I have a great plan!” Kevin exclaimed. “I will invite her to dinner!”
Chris’s eyebrows raised, he wanted to say something, but then reconsidered, and his mouth was open for a second or two.
“... It’s a regular plan. Not great…,” he answered.
Kevin’s back immediately lost its stiffness, and he looked down.
“But for you two, it would be great. I’m sure!” Chris saw changes in Kevin’s posture, and quickly took his words back.
“Are you sure? You sure that I don’t need to… like… make a new, great plan?”
“Yes, of course. If you came with a great plan, it would look suspicious, she might think you had an affair.”
“I would never! …” Kevin shouted.
He stood up from his seat, and his hands were on the table. He accidentally knocked over Chris’s glass. People around turned to them. Chris raised his hands, calming down everyone. He grabbed Kevin’s shoulder, and made him sit down again.
“I understand that, Kevin. It’s just a woman’s behavior. You should get used to it, if you're not planning to divorce one day.”
Kevin decided to follow good friend’s advice, and limit his plans to the dinner. Concerning Chris’s advice about women’s nature, first he thought, Isn't it a bit sexist? but he didn’t pursue that thought. It was causing negative emotions in his mind, so he forgot that after a minute.
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Friday was expected to be a busy day. It was on this day that an exam on the new safety rules was scheduled, as well as a monthly report to management. There wasn’t much actual work planned, and for the first part of the day everyone could concentrate on preparing for the exam. Kevin was preparing for the exam with his team, learning and repeating new safety rules. After three hours of practicing, he decided to stop and prohibited further practice for assistants. He didn’t want them to be too nervous right before the examination. He told them to relax and drink tea while he went to Chris’s lab. When he arrived, he saw Chris and his team were studying hard. They were talking all at once, yelling and swapping papers. When Kevin saw that, he left them. Nobody noticed him. He walked down to the canteen and got some lunch. His thoughts were focused on the project, and time flew by quickly. When he looked at the clock, it was already time to go to the exam. If he hadn’t glanced at the clock by chance, he would have missed the exam.
Kevin walked up to the meeting room, where the examination was scheduled. When he met Chris, the latter didn’t look nervous. Kevin was curious to know how Chris was doing. Actually, Chris looked empowered when Kevin walked toward him.
“Are you ready?” asked Chris with a smile.
“I am, but what about you? Did you secretly practice all this time? You look confident.”
“I learned everything just in the last couple of hours.”
“Are you sure everything will be OK?”
“You worrying about me more than I do. All will be fine.”
While they were talking, examiners from the head office came. Kevin was prepared, and finished all the questions fifteen minutes early, but when he got out of the meeting room, in the corridor he saw Chris.
“I finished earlier than you!” exclaimed Chris. “Try harder next time.”
He was having fun. It looked like he was pretty confident about the results. So Kevin didn’t question him further.
“Are you still here?” asked Kevin. “Is there something more we should do?”
“I'm waiting for my people. You also should think about it,” Chris answered.
At that moment Kevin looked like a dog who accidentally chewed his owner's shoes while he was at work.
“Don’t worry, I will not tell your guys,” Chris laughed.
They stayed here, talking about random things. Kevin's assistants finished soon, and they went to the lab together, leaving Chris in the corridor alone. After they arrived, Kevin started a debriefing. It turned out that everyone did well, and their department shouldn’t have problems. Kevin gave some orders and went to Mr. Biedermeier for a monthly report.
The big office was brightly lit. Air conditioning was working, despite it being somewhat cold outside, and everyone else stopped using it. An obese short man was sitting in a giant but still cheap chair. Unexpected calls scared him, and he almost lost his wig.
He picked up the phone, and a creaky female voice announced, “Mr. Biedermeier, Mr. Menendez has come. Should I let him in?”
“Did he have an appointment?” asked Biedermeier in a falsetto voice.
“Yes.” The short answer left Biedermeier disappointed.
He fixed his wig and said, “Let him in!”
The door opened, and Kevin came in. Or tried to come in, to be precise. He tripped over the threshold, and almost fell.
“You should be more careful, Mr. Menendez,” Biedermeier clicked his tongue, “we still need your good work!”
“I'm sorry,” Kevin apologized.
“Please, have a seat, Mr. Menendez!” Biedermeier pointed to an empty chair. His short, sausage-shaped fingers almost made Kevin laugh, but he restrained himself.
“Why did you come today, Mr. Menendez?” Biedermeier asked with a smile.
“It’s a monthly report time, Mr. Biedermeier,” answered Kevin with some confusion.
Biedermeier's eyebrows drooped and his smile faded. He raised his hand to fix his wig, but his hand stopped in the middle, and he scratched the corner of his eyebrow with his finger. Kevin put papers on the desk, and started explaining what was done last month. With each term Kevin used in his speech, Biedermeier’s face looked more and more sour. After he listened to the final part, which didn't contain any terms, his face brightened. Quickly he made a strict expression that looked like a caricature.
“Mr. Menendez, do you understand that the future of our company depends on your work?”
His voice rose even higher, and his feigned anger looked funny. Every time he shook his head, his third chin trembled like jelly.
“Mr. Biedermeier, during this month we became much closer to solving our problem, and finishing our project. We can consider it as an intermediate success,” Kevin said.
Biedermeier smiled. “Good! Good!” He started nodding. “Anyway you should focus on your goal now. Don't worry, and work at your tempo.”
After Kevin left, he started fixing his wig.
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The dim desk lamp was barely lighting the old office. The polish of the massive oak wood desk was mysteriously shining under the light of a lamp. Gray-blue smoke was floating everywhere in the office, filling it with the smell of cigarettes. The desk was filled with notebooks, paper packs, pens and pencils. A couple of books were creating a tower in the corner of the desk.
Two men were sitting around it, one in the simple wooden armchair, in the place of the owner, the second in the front of the desk, in the guest's place. One, seated as the owner, was a middle-aged man with the looks of a sixties Hollywood actor. He was tall, had blue eyes, blondish hair, and a strong chin. The second one was old and short, with short black hair, and black eyes. They both had shaved faces, and both were wearing suits. They were talking quietly, but they could be heard if desired.
“… with regards to the “Great South” project, Mr. Mitchell decided to bring it to the end by himself. No intervention required,” said a short man, while lighting a new cigarette. “Lastly, Mr. Anderson, about the project “Ascension”, it’s almost finished. We can start clinical trials after the final product is finished.”
“Talking about “Ascension”. Mr. Smith, how much do we need this project? It's controversial with everything I learned from Mr. Johnson. And all our predecessors were working in other ways. I thought that…”
“You want to close the project?” a short man interrupted him. “Have you forgotten? Why are you fighting, Mr Anderson?” He leaned forward, looking directly into Anderson’s eyes, and his voice was unnaturally loud, maybe the loudest voice this office had ever heard. “Do you believe you're fighting...for something? Can you tell me what it is? Is it freedom? Or truth? It's all illusions, Mr. Anderson!” he caught his breath. “Today China is strong like it never was. External threats not illusion, Mr. Anderson. If we can't finish “Ascension” in five years, we will face big problems in the future. So I can't close the “Ascension” project. It will be finished. Time for games is over.”
Anderson’s hands clenched; he didn’t say anything.
“In any case, I am the one who is leading the “Ascension”. I’m not going to turn a blind eyes on any intervention,” Mr. Smith put an end to the conversation.
“More coffee?” said Anderson as if nothing had happened.
“It would be nice,” nodded Smith.
Anderson stood, walked to the shadow-covered part of the office, and after five seconds returned with a tray, two glasses of hot coffee on it. They were drinking coffee in complete silence, and looking into each other's eyes. After a while, Smith stood, and without saying a word walked out of the room.
After he left, Anderson removed a folder with a pack of papers in it from the drawer, and looked at the title for a long time. Only two words were written on the title page: project “Ascension”.
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Lights in the restaurant's big hall were too bright. Kevin tried not to look at the sides, because everything was too shiny. Whenever he got confused, he was looking at Debby, and calming down. When Kevin was looking at her, she was shining even more than all the lights, but Kevin found that he couldn't look away. She was in a new pink dress, wore light makeup, her hair was curled as always, and her eyes appeared to be more alive than average.
Her appearance reminded Kevin of their wedding day. He was worried and nervous, and he didn't remember any particular detail about their wedding, except Debby. When it came to her, he remembered everything, her look, her smile, her scent and her soft lips.
They were sitting for a while, before the waiter came up, and they were able to place an order. Kevin wanted to break the silence.
“How do you do at work? You don't tell me that much. In fact, we talk much less than before. It is sad.”
“Right. You had hard times recently, I suppose. I’m fine. Hanson wrote ugly paper again. I crushed his arguments in my latest work,” she said with a smile. “Now tell me, what has been going on with you recently? You weren't here, on Earth. I mean even more than usual.”
Kevin brightened up, while telling Debby about his achievements. He told her about the experiment, and later analysis. He didn't notice, when under the desk Debby clenched hands. She looked down for a while, then took a glance right in Kevin’s eyes.
“Congratulations. You are indeed a genius,” she said.
“I wish that was true,” Kevin said with sadness. “When I was in school, I participated in the chemistry olympiad several times. Every time I was second. You know why?”
“You weren't prepared well? How is it possible?” Debby frowned.
Kevin laughed, “Once I spent the whole year on preparation. But, doesn’t matter how hard I tried, I was always second. Because there was someone who truly can be considered as a genius. I’m not a genius, this is what I learned early in my life.”
“Who can excel you, especially when you spend a year on preparation? Maybe he was just practicing more?” Debby placed her hands on the desk, looking at Kevin with widened eyes.
“He wasn’t practicing at all,” Kevin grinned, “when I knew that, it broke me mentally. You know him. It’s Chris. He has been a genius since early childhood. He probably could have finished university as a teenager, if he weren’t that bad in anything else except math, chemistry and physics.”
Debby was confused by the whole situation. She couldn't say anything, and Kevin hurried to break the pessimistic atmosphere.
“I’m not obsessed with that. It’s ok to not be a genius. I have my strengths as well. If I work hard, everything will happen in a better way.”
Debby smiled, “It looks like you never lose heart. I’m sure you will have success with that project.”
Despite her words, she looked sad. Kevin sensed she wanted to tell him something, but he couldn’t find the words to ask her.
“You know… I understand that you felt lonely last week. That's my fault. I should be more capable as your husband. I’m sorry…” Kevin said what was in his mind for the last two days.
Debby gave him a warm smile, “I understand. You worked on this project for two years. It would be great if you could finish it. When I read in the newspaper about new drugs, I will know that’s my husband's work.”
Kevin's eyes became moist, he didn’t say anything, continuing to look at his wife.
“Your order…” Waiter's voice pulled him out of his transfixion.
Kevin watched how the waiter was laying out dishes and utensils on the table. Accidentally, he started to count the number of items and the same pieces of food on the plates. “Six, three, seventeen… no it should be in other way.”
His thoughts were chaotic and so as not to forget anything Kevin found his notebook, and started to write everything down.
Nothing could distract Kevin at that moment, even the sound of a fallen fork. Debby quickly raised it from the floor, her hands were shaking. Meanwhile, Kevin continued to write down ideas as fast as he could. His hand was moving rapidly, right before it abruptly stopped. Only then Kevin saw where he is, and what he was doing.
“Sorry…” Kevin avoided looking at Debby's eyes. “I just had an idea, and… I know this is not a justification, but… It should be our evening, and I just ruined everything.”
“Did you…” Deborah’s voice stuttered. “Did you find something? Can you solve the problem?”
It seemed to Kevin that his wife is worrying about success as much as he is. His heart filled with a warm feeling.
“I’ve found — as I think — the last clue.” Kevin answered with a smile, “If I'm right, that would be possible, yes.”
“That’s…” Debby smiled and covered Kevin’s hand. “That's good. I’m proud of you.”
They both looked happy, but the rest of the evening passed in short conversations and awkward silence.
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Later in the evening and early night Kevin passed in his office, sitting in front of the computer. He sent Debby to sleep, and started work. He continued his previous analysis using new numbers he discovered. His face was so tense that his facial muscles were in pain, but he didn't notice it. He finished the analysis, and started to calculate the new molecule using analysis results. It was not difficult, but long work; Kevin's impatience was growing every minute. When he finished, he checked everything once more, and started to input information into the computer. All he could do was wait. Kevin reached for the decanter and noticed that all the apple juice was gone. He left his place and walked to the fridge. When he returned with a new decanter of juice, the simulation was finished with success. He sat in front of the computer, not knowing what to do next. Everything was finished, but he couldn’t force himself to go to bed. He sat like this for a while, drinking juice.
The next day was a Saturday, and workers weren't allowed to work, but Kevin wanted to check everything so badly that he decided to talk with security. Jerome was on shift when Kevin arrived in front of their company building.
“Hello Mr. Kevin!” Jerome greeted him. “What brings you here today?”
“Mr. Jerome,” Kevin grabbed his arm. “I have very important work to do, and I can't wait for Monday. The future of the company depends on this project's success. Even more, the future of humanity.”
Under his serious look Jerome was slightly taken aback.
“Mr. Kevin, if that's true, you should try it now, but you must know that Mr. Biedermeier is here on Saturdays. So you should be more careful. And don't stay for too long.”
“It's only about an hour, thanks…” Kevin answered while entering the elevator.
“Either this one or that one, they're both workaholics,” said Jerome looking at elevator doors.
When Kevin passed through the corridor, he saw that the door to Chris’s lab was open. He looked inside, and called for Chris. The latter came out from his office.
“Why are you here today, Kevin?” asked Chris with a smile.
“I found a solution yesterday,” Kevin said. “I can't wait for Monday. But what about you?”
“You did that?” Chris grabbed Kevin’s shoulders and started to shake him.
“If you continue to shake me like that, my hands will become incapable of doing any experiment,” Kevin tried to protect his shoulders.
“Oh sorry,” Chris passed back. “I'm just very glad for your success. Please, tell me if the experiment is successful.”
“I’ll do that. But what are you doing here today?” Kevin was still puzzled.
“Just boring paperwork. I spent last week in experiments, and didn’t do any unrelated paperwork. Now I need to do my skipped job, before it will be too much for me.”
“You always…” Kevin shook his head. “It’s nothing. Tell me if you need any help.”
With these words, Kevin, who already was full of impatience, went to his lab.
When arrived, he began pulling out his inventory. He set his lab bench, prepared all environments before starting the substance synthesis. It was hard work, with a lot of pitfalls. Fortunately, half of last night he was sitting and calculating synthesis scenarios. So when hard problems arose, he had an understanding of how they should be solved and work was finished quickly. The second stage was an experiment with a new synthesized molecule. He changed the environment, and started an experiment. While he was waiting, Kevin decided to clean up everything that was related to the previous stage. After he finished the work, the experiment was over. The only thing that needed to be checked was whether the Clarent was created after the reaction. And what he saw made him so happy that he almost pulled down part of his equipment from the desk. That was a complete success. He repeated the reaction again, and it was still here. The first thing he did afterward was call his wife.
“I did it! I did!” he exclaimed, his voice was loud, almost a yell. “I did it!”
There was no answer for a couple of seconds, then Debby said, “I knew you would have success. I’m proud of you. We should celebrate it later. I knew a good place, where we can relax for a couple of days. You should ask for vacation next week.”
“I will. I want to tell you so much. I’m completely squeezed out now.” Only now Kevin started to feel all of the fatigue from bad sleep and tense working.
Kevin remembered what he promised to Chris. He went to Chris's lab, even without cleaning his workplace.
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When Kevin arrived, Chris’s lab was empty, and the door was open. He called Chris, but he had no answer. Kevin stepped in, and the chemical smell assailed his nostrils. He found a broken bottle on the floor. Fortunately, it was just a cleaning chemical, not something too dangerous. Everything you need to do is simply close the bottle after use, because it quickly evaporates. Kevin thought that Chris accidentally broke the bottle, and ran out, maybe for chemical protection gear, or he just decided to wait until the gas had dissipated, since it wasn’t toxic.
Kevin was about to leave and find Chris, when he noticed a notebook with an experiment journal opened on the desk. He couldn’t avoid taking a look. He started reading.
“13.05.2039. 3:45 pm. Clarent injected into the subject's blood. It died after 15 minutes. Need further improvements, or a different way of administration.”
…
“26.09.2040. 7:12 pm. Decided to use an IV with a small concentration of drug. Subject still suffering from side effects. Need to slow down IV by 70%.”
Kevin started to turn the pages, to see how it ends.
“20.02.2041. 11:08 am. Used a Clarent with a new influence program on a subject. Effect still low. Subject decided to eat grapes in 2/3 cases. Need further development of influence program. Maybe add more visual and sound would solve a problem.”
…
“24.01.2042. 01:00 pm. Checked the subject. All 15 grapes rotten away, subject decided to eat cucumber instead. Work of Clarent approved. Need to start experiments on humans.”
Kevin’s face turned pale. He returned the notebook to the table, opening it with trembling hands to the same page. In the process he accidentally ripped one of the pages. Kevin’s thoughts didn’t want to line up. The only thing he understood at that moment was that he hadn't worked on the antidepressant for the last two years. Clarent wasn’t an antidepressant. Instead it was a brainwashing drug. He was about to take this notebook to Biedermeier, but he changed his mind at the last second. What if Biedermeier already knew everything? No, that would be a mistake. So he decided to go with the notebook to the police. But what if Chris notices that the notebook is missing? The answer came to Kevin immediately. He took the notebook, opened the first page, and took a picture with his phone. Take a picture, then turn the page and repeat. After he photographed the entire journal, Kevin returned the page where it was opened.
He returned to his lab. Kevin wanted to delete everything from his computer, and clean the workplace, so no one could access data from his analysis, and what molecule he used. Fortunately, he hadn’t included the analysis in the report papers. When he deleted everything, and was already cleaning up a desk, the lab's door opened. Kevin shuddered and looked at the entrance with fear, but it wasn’t Chris. It was Boris.
“Good morning, Mr. Kevin,” Boris entered the lab. Kevin took a step back, then forced himself to stop, and look into Boris’s eyes.
“Hello Mr. Boris. I was already leaving,” he said.
“I wanted to ask why you’re here at an inappropriate time,” Boris walked towards Kevin, “but now I change my mind. What happened, Kevin?” He put his hand on Kevin’s shoulder, took him to the chair and made him sit. “Something scared you? Nobody can hurt you. I'm also here to protect you. You can tell me everything. I will listen to you.”
If Kevin hadn't been scared, he might have been surprised that Boris could talk so much. Instead, the words from Boris calmed him. Kevin didn't realize how he told everything to Boris. He thought that Boris had some magical power, but it was actually his military experience that enabled him to talk with people, and make them believe him.
When he finished the story, Boris immediately said, “You really don't need to bring it to the police. Intelligence could be involved too. Actually, I think the whole project is supervised by them. You need a better way, maybe these papers should be revealed in Congress,” he took a pause to think. “It would be better if you left the building through an exit for service staff. Since you don't have a car, you should pass the underground parking, and you will walk out near the “Fantasy” cafe. You can catch a taxi there. I highly recommend you leave the city by car later.”
Kevin was surprised by Boris’s attitude.
“Why are you helping me?” he asked.
“Once I had sworn…” Boris was confused, “to support and defend… Never mind. It’s my decision. Now you should leave.”
Kevin did as Boris said. When he was leaving the building through underground parking, a strange thought came to his mind. One who was supposed to be his friend turned out to be a spy, and the other, who was suspected to be a spy, is indeed a reliable person. Life truly is strange.
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When Kevin arrived at home, he didn’t see Debby, despite her having a free day on Saturday too. He hurried to call her.
“Debby,” Kevin said when she answered the call, “something happened, and I have an important thing to tell you.”
“I’m at the grocery store right now. What happened?”
“I'll tell you when you return home. I… I was wrong. Sorry…” Kevin interrupted the call and started to wait. He didn’t know what to do in this situation, he was walking through the house, from one end to another, grabbing items, and returning them to the place. He couldn’t tell how much time passed before Debby arrived. When she came in, Kevin hurried to close the door.
“Your face is pale,” said Debby, looking at Kevin with concern. “Tell me what's happened.”
“Debby,” Kevin grabbed her hand, “it's hard to believe, but everything I was working on turned out to be a lie.”
He told her everything, how he went to work, how finished the experiment, how found Chris’s journal, and how escaped through underground parking.
“So, you deleted all of the data concerning the analysis from the computer at work.” Debby’s brows got furrowed, she started to rub her temples. “Don't you have data on the computer in your office here, in a house too?”
Kevin realized his miscount, and wanted to go to the office, but Debby stopped him.
“You can't make data disappear by deleting it,” she said, “they probably can restore all deleted data from the computer at your work. You need to erase the hard disk. I’ll do this for you.”
She took a pause for thought. “Meanwhile, I think we should leave the city as soon as possible. This guy, Boris probably knew what he said. You know I got my uncle's house. It’s in the wilderness, there is also a bunker nearby. You know, he was scared of nuclear war, so he built this bunker. So while I'm dealing with your PC, go and pack our luggage. Suitcases under the bed, and our documents in the wardrobe, in a box,” after saying that she went to Kevin's office.
Left alone, Kevin was confused for a second, but then he started to perform a task. He found a suitcase, but faced a dilemma — what should be put in besides documents? He decided to start with things he understands. So Kevin took the box, and started packing the documents. When he finished, he started with the most logical step, and put some clothes inside.
When he was folding a shirt, the door opened. Kevin got scared, but when he turned around, it was just Debby.
“I started a process. Now it will finish by itself,” she said. It looked like she was amused by Kevin's reaction.
She helped him finish packing. They put suitcases in Debby’s car; it was time to leave the house. Kevin took one last look at the house, where he lived happily for the last four years. He turned and got into the car.
Kevin calmed down a bit only when they left the city far behind.
Debby’s uncle’s house was really in the wilderness. They drove for seven hours; first it was a big highway then it changed to a country road. At some point Debby said they must leave the car, and walk to the uncle's house on foot. They grabbed suitcases and went through a narrow untrodden path. After fifteen minutes they arrived in front of a huge iron door, protruding from the ground covered in trees. Debby took out a big rusty key and put it into the lock. She turned it, and a loud creaky sound came out from the door. It opened.
“We need to pull it open,” said Debby.
They both were already exhausted, but it was time for the last push. They grabbed the handle, and pulled with all strength. The door opened slowly, making a loud noise in the process. They didn’t open it all the way through, only enough for their entrance. When they passed inside, Kevin started to look for a switch to turn lights on. He found it, and already reached for it, when a loud sound came from back.
BANG!
The last thing Kevin saw was a wall covered with his shadow. After it came complete darkness.
For a minute, there was complete silence in the dark place, hidden in nowhere
Then a woman's voice rang out, “Mr. Smith… I call you for my auntie. You remember her. She was guesting at my house. Now she has left. But the presents she left for me are still here…”
With these words she held a flash drive in the bottom of her handbag.
“That’s all I wanted to say, Mr. Smith.”
After sounds of her steps faded, this place fell into complete silence.
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In the dark office in the middle of the night, Therense Anderson, was reading papers. After a while he closed the papers with disappointment and took a folder from his drawer. He took out clipped papers from it. He put these papers on the desk, but didn't open them to read, because he knew every word in this document. He started tapping his finger on the desk. Papers were lying under the light of a lamp. In the title was written:
Project “Ascension”.
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