lr.12
MEGAZONE 23
"Baaa...baaaa...baaaaa--BABUM!!! bom bom bom bom bom bom
bom"
--Thus Spake Zarathos
EARTH
At the top of the GENOM tower, Largo turned from
observing his complex to answer the telephone.
"Largo."
"This is Orbital Station Three, sir," the voice at the
other end said. "Project Ikazuchi is nearing completion."
"How long?"
"Four weeks maximum, sir."
"Excellent. Proceed. I will contact you later." He
hung up, then dialed a three-digit extension. "This is
Largo," he announced. "I want a status report on Project
I.C.Z.E.R. immediately."
"Astbury here, sir. Things are moving right along--I
expect I.C.Z.E.R.-2 to come on-line within the next hour.
I'll call you before we bring her up."
"Good work, Professor." He again depressed the hook,
then called a second extension. "This is Largo. Give me the
latest information from Deep Space Seven."
"DS7 has kept close watch on the Wedge since it
reacquired their neutron trail on the fourteenth," the other
end replied. "As you had hoped, the quantum redistribution
field allowed it to ride their warp drive emissions and
follow them without a drive of its own. The latest reports
indicate that the Wedge has docked at a large orbital
facility of some sort, in the Cygnus Beta system."
"Hmm...have the exact coordinates sent to the project
centers for Projects I.C.Z.E.R. and Ikazuchi. Report any
further developments to me." He hung up the phone and sat
back.
So the Wedge Rats were in Cygnus Beta, and they appeared
to have help. Hmm. That made things interesting. Still, if
the I.C.Z.E.R. Project's second prototype turned out, her
operational parameters would far outstrip those of any
orbital station...
The telephone rang. "Largo," he answered.
"Astbury, sir. We're preparing to bring I.C.Z.E.R.-2 to
full online status now. You wished to be informed."
"Indeed I did. Do not proceed until I arrive." Largo
hung up, stood, and walked calmly to the elevator, arriving
almost immediately at the biolab where the second I.C.Z.E.R.
prototype was being constructed. He entered the room to see
the Bio-SculptTM tank that had held the prototype in the
initial stages, now connected to floor and ceiling by large
cables and the like. Doctor Astbury and his aides were
making final preparations; they all wore welding goggles.
"Proceed," said Largo.
"Sir, you'd better wear these," Astbury said, holding
out a pair of goggles to Largo.
Largo pushed the scientist's hand aside. "Do not waste
time," he said quietly. "Proceed at once."
"Yes, sir, if you insist." Astbury took his place at
his control station, checked a few readouts, and said, "Count
down to full online status. Open all power gates. Begin
neutrino flux."
"We have partial online. Confirm consciousness, repeat
confirm consciousness," said a tech.
<<What...where...who am I?>>
"Hold test. Check all levels. Report."
"Level three, no errors. Two is at one point six, well
within the tolerance levels. One and zero, no error. All is
within error limits."
"Proceed with final countdown," Astbury ordered.
<<Red...indistinct...this a fluid. How do I know?>>
"Ten seconds to full online," an aide reported. The
lights all over the GENOM complex dropped as the activation
equipment began to draw all the power it could from the
subterranean power core. A deep throb filled the biolab, and
a red glow began to radiate from the Bio-SculptTM tank.
<<Wh--what...is happening?>>
"Nine. Eight. Seven."
As he counted, the throb got higher and faster, and the
light became brighter and began to pulse with the throb;
inside the capsule, Largo could make out a shape, as if it
were an egg held up to the light. Lightning began to crackle
over the thick cables attached to the capsule.
"Six. Five. Warning! Critical overload--danger of
equipment failure! Recommend abort."
<<AARGH! WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME?>>
"Keep going, damn you! To hell with the equipment!"
Largo bellowed.
"As you wish, sir--two! One!"
<<WHAT--WAIT! I KNOW!>>
There was a tremendous flash of red light. Control
boards and various wall panels exploded. The huge cable
entering the top of the tank broke free, writhing for a
moment until the power stopped. The Bio-SculptTM tank
exploded; a flood of red nanotechnology goo rolled across the
floor, smoking, and splattered all around the room.
<<I KNOW WHAT I AM!>>
As the smoke and debris settled and the lights rose,
Astbury and his men picked themselves up off the floor to see
Largo gazing raptly into the smoke cloud where the tank had
been. Something was moving in there, a silhouetted shape--
The shape waved an arm and the smoke was blown away;
Largo, Astbury, and company beheld the fruit of their labors.
It is very difficult to look commanding when one is
naked and dripping red slime. Even more so when the person
you are attempting to look commanding to is Largo. Yet the
woman standing before them pulled it off with ease. Techs
hurriedly averted their eyes in fear that she would see them
looking at her. Astbury shuddered and crossed himself.
She was a tall and attractive woman with straight red
hair to her knees; she looked perfectly human, save for her
elongated and pointed ears. She turned her cool black eyes
on the nearest hapless tech and pointed a long-nailed finger
at him.
"You," she said in a melodic, yet dark voice. "Get me
something to wear." Then she turned back to Largo, who was
standing, spattered with red Bio-SculptTM material and
looking as dumbfounded as it was possible for him to look, a
few feet away.
"Largo, I presume," said Iczer-2 coolly.