Disclaimer and Notes: see Prologue
The Experiment – HST 17
by Belladonna
~Chapter 3~
Jonas opened the door to a nearby room, closed it carefully behind him and then threw his green interface clipboard onto the table. He now was inside his surveillance room, a room that was directly next to the laboratory and made also his office. There were computer terminals alongside the wall like in the lab and he activated them, looking at the settings and changing them to fit the subjects needs. Then he transferred all the data from his interface into the computer to gain some ground data to begin with, which he all received from now on via those neck implants. That implant had been another invention of his and Jonas was extremely proud of that one. His office had no windows at all, considering where it was located that wouldn’t have made any sense at all but he didn’t give it a second thought ever. Not that he could have had windows, even if he wanted them. On the wall facing the lab there was a huge window through which he could watch both men behind without them noticing. And since it wasn’t the usual mirror wall used in interrogation rooms, it was much more inconspicuously from the other side. Jonas ran his fingers through his hair and turned towards the window to the outer world as he used to call it with a huge smile.
He watched both of them, how they for the moment just were there and would see later how they interacted with each other, a thing that would give him material of high value for his next project and also for the possible next step of this one. After he had seen enough for now, Windsworth still sat there on the chair where he had left him, staring into empty space while desperately trying not to have to see the other one or to have to deal with the other and beware to have to interact once the other would awaken again, Jonas turned back to his data.
He sat down behind his desk, calling upon his data on his guinea pigs and quickly scanned over them. He wanted to find out what had made Windsworth react the way he had, trying to determine the reason for his apathy since he had no explanation for that behaviour; other subjects before had not shown any signs of this. But then these had been just rodents so far or hadn’t survived the separation process. It couldn’t be from lack of nutrition since they had made sure that Windsworth was fed enough before enticing him into the loving care of this experiment and he shouldn’t need anything else for a longer while. According to Jonas’ previous studies it was simply impossible for him to show such abnormal behaviour. Jonas then noticed a small anomaly at the hormonal and enzymatic readings from Windsworth as well as a disturbance within his electrolytes while he still received normal readings from the unconscious sleeper. At least as normal as the vital signs of a vampire could be and received by his sensors.
His desk looked like in any other office too; in the corner stood a glass with pencils and pens, some others lying on the table on top of several folders and in the other corner there stood a lovely framed picture of a joyful smiling woman that embraced a cute brown and hairy dog. Jonas glanced over to the picture with a gentle and loving look in his eyes before he scribbled his theories about a possible treatment for Windsworth onto the clipboard and wanted to indulge himself into further studying when he remembered his other two pets who undoubtedly would be nagging on the bars of their cages.
“Well there sweeties, I almost have forgotten you. But no worries, you will get something to eat in a second now”; Jonas said softly, smiling and fetched from the small fridge in his office a plate with tiny cheese bits. He took the plate and walked towards the two little cages which stood on a small table in the corner of his office.
Inside said cages there were two small white mice, one had a darker black spot on the left side of the back, the other one was identical to it with the spot on the right. Both mice were indeed nagging at their cages and looked up hungrily towards Jonas who neared with the cheese plate. One of them even tried to climb up on the bars nose up going for the smell of cheese while the other one patiently waited at the floor.
“Well, my little ones, you must be really hungry today”; Jonas said while he fed both mice. Hungrily both of them devoured the bits of cheese but Jonas then noticed something strange. After a while one of them tucked some bits of cheese away as if it wanted to keep them for later; the other mouse wolfed the cheese down like it wouldn’t be getting any more.
“Clever little thing”; Jonas thought to himself, appreciating it from the scientists perspective and opened the cage. He petted the small mouse on the back, almost tenderly and the little one pulled up its head, necking his finger with its nose to return the affectionate gesture.
“You do understand me, my little ones”; Jonas said to them and wanted to pet the other one too, but he pulled his finger really fast out of the cage again once the other mouse snapped at him. Turning himself towards the first one, he continued to pet it, deep inside his thoughts until the door to his office fell back shut. He nearly jumped and turned around to face the intruders.
In front of him stood Professor Maggie Walsh, the leader of the Initiative and the whole project here in Sunnydale and her right hand, a rather inconspicuous looking student, Riley Finn. But in his eyes the cold of year long conditioning by the Initiative and the military showed clearly that he wasn’t as innocent and farm-boyish as he might appear to others outside the complex here. His eyes were as cold as those Walsh’s, but it was her whom Jonas feared most; her and her absolute unscrupulous attire towards everything. Jonas straightened himself and then stepped towards them after closing the cage of his little one. Inside him he felt insecure and the first naggings of fear.
“Well, Professor Walsh, what can I do for you?” He asked her unsure of what had brought her to him, but then he should have known that she would never let him run a project that important like his latest experiment completely by his own.
“Jonas, how’s the progress of the experiment!” Walsh did not waste any time with preamble or niceties but instead got straight to the point. Jonas did not remember to have her act anytime differently but he kept this to himself. Her eyes flashed dangerously and her whole demeanour signalled that she would not tolerate any hesitating or insecurities by her opposite, this time that being Jonas. She held out her hand and demanded to see the Interface to gain her own picture of how things were progressing before Jonas could even begin to explain it to her.
She would await his explanation nonetheless. Walsh had her short dark-blond hair tied on the back of her head, tightly and giving her an even more hard appearance than her whole attitude could which was really hard to accomplish and she too wore a lab coat like Jonas over her civil clothing. Later she would discard the coat and go back to her students for another psychology class; innocent and unsuspecting young people who had no idea what their professor truly did in between and after classes.
Riley Finn had taken his place one step behind Walsh and stood there like a stone column, the perfect soldier he was with his hands behind his back but always ready and his senses awake. He wore his green military uniform and would probably be patrolling afterwards before going back to class himself. The calm inside the base and especially inside the laboratories made him a bit uneasy, even though he would rather die before admitting this in front of Walsh or showing it. Jonas took one more glance at the window before answering Walsh’s question. But not before he had taken another calming breath.
“Everything is going to the fullest expectations and according schedule”; Jonas answered calmly, at least as calm as he managed to appear on the outside and tried to show confidence, more than he ever would have in his life while hiding his suspicions from the prying eyes of the professor. If Walsh would notice something within his data,…
“Everything progressing to my expectations”; Jonas repeated and then continued his report. “The separation process has been completed successfully. The subject had to be sedated again and it in good health”; Jonas explained, beginning with the second man that Walsh clearly was more interested in. “William on the other hand is like expected a bit distressed and rattled, afraid. He does not understand what has happened to him, not yet but I do expect him to accept his new situation soon. His vital signs are excellent by the way and absolutely within normal parameters. Should all proceed as planned, we can soon start the reprogramming process, the second step of the experiment, his conditioning and re-education. Matters that concern Spike”; here Jonas used Windsworth’s chosen and more fitting name for the mirror image, “are that he is strong and aggressive. His vitals are equivalent to the data from the beginning but I need some more tests before I can tell anything more about the demon: that is once I can handle him restrained.”
Walsh looked through the window and watched with real fascination both men. Windsworth had walked over to the second diagnosis table, carefully avoiding any eye contact with the other man, still ignoring him entirely. They were so much alike on the outside but on the inside two different people and she smiled coldly. Once this experiment would prove successful, it was a new method of treatment and creation for her organization. With cold and calculating eyes she turned her attention to the monitors of those computers, studying the bio data and displays there; acting like she knew what they meant but she was not a geneticist. Jonas had to grin inwardly at that but refrained from showing his amusement.
”Keep me posted, doctor”; Walsh said then and went to the door, gesturing Finn
to follow her. The young man, whose eyes had been glued to the window with
unhidden fascination and curiosity stood at attention and started to follow.
“Fascinating, isn’t it?” Jonas asked him when he passed, but only received a growl as answer. Then Finn followed Walsh out of the observation room and left Jonas alone again.
Jonas took a deep breath when they finally were gone, relief washing through him. He couldn’t tell Professor Walsh what the strange readings from William Windsworth meant for the experiment and he was once again glad for the fact that Walsh hadn’t even the slightest clue about his work. Or at least that was it what Jonas hoped, otherwise he’d be so screwed, but he could not imagine that woman knowing what he did do inside his lab. She might be the head of the Initiative, but for nothing a geneticist or biologist. And Jonas himself, being a small authority on his field of expertise had no idea about it. He decided to give the mouse with the spot on the right side an extra piece of cheese and then returned to his studies. Now he wanted to study the reactions and behaviour of both of them towards and with each other.
Jonas woke the unconscious man up by stimulating the implant inside his neck and waited.
go to Chapter 4
back to Chapter 2