ic [IC] Fight the Power

[olopi]

GM

 

Sarah smiled just a bit taking a closer look at Synth’s outfit.

“Oh, it’s not a bad outfit! But if you really want one of these, I guess you’ll have to get that job you were talking about. “

 

The next question made her stagger for just a second. She probably went through the options in her head. After perhaps a second, she nodded.

 

“Oh, sure. Not a lot of activity today, I’m sure they won’t mind a visitor. Let’s go then, I can show you around! Let’s go!“

 

As Sarah more or less dragged Bella after her towards the building, she continued to keep up the conversation.

 

“Soo, Bella,  Biochem, huh? What made you chose that field? Most people have some kind of funny story regarding that, right? Anyways, so, this is the lobby. About what you’d expect, people come in, people go out. Lots of traffic, not a lot happening other than that. “

 

Then, she walked over to the reception. There was nobody in line, so it all went a lot quicker than usual, probably. She sounded quite excited, truth be told.

 

“Hey, Morning. Say, could you give me a single guest card? I’m showing the office to somebody.”

[Supercape]

Synth

 

"Biochem? Oh, I just find it fascinating. If you take away the dull bits" answered Synth, as a half dozen memories churned in her synthetic brain. Images of complex hydrocarbons, multi-dimensional graphs of physiological parameters. It was enough to spin her head. 

 

"It's an up and coming field too. Genetics is the future" she said, elaborating. This was hardly an act, with all those memories, both of factual information and of fascinated enthusiasm. She could feel the power of those implanting memories start to seep over her ego, almost like drowning. 

 

She grounded herself in the now, to stabilise her psyche against its peculiar origins. The Lobby, yes. Taking in the sounds and smells. The architecture of the place. 

 

She was pushing her luck, but luck needed to be pushed. 

 

"I'm so grateful. Say, I hope I don't get you into trouble?"

[olopi]

GM

 

Sarah’s smile grew ever bigger as she showed Synth to the elevators. Once they’d closed, and Sarah entered the desire location, she replied.

 

“You could say that. I don’t know much about it, but that is pretty much our motto here. There’s so much we can still accomplish with genetics. It’s a huge field, full of possibilities. But I’m sure I don’t have to tell you. “

 

“You did your homework, I see. Also, don’t worry about that. Not a lot’s gonna happen today, so unless you turn out to be an alien invader or something, I’ll be totally fine. “ She laughed, as the doors opened, and Synth was greeted with a layout similar to what she’d seen the night before. The furniture seemed to be the same, and it was arranged in similar ways, accounting for the difference in room size and shape.

 

“This is the first floor. Mainly HR down here, with some parts of Accounting too. We’re actually large enough for them to have a fair chunk of influence. Even if they don’t always show it. “

[Supercape]

Synth

 

Synth continued to study the layout, trying to memorize the architecture. In case i have to run...

 

"Well, this is Freedom City. Alien invaders do happen" she smiled back. "But I am afraid I have no flying saucer". 

 

"HR. Well, that's something I should poke my nose into. I hope they appreciate a go-get-em job seeker. There is a fine line between keen and pushy, I suppose" she commented. "But I guess right now, I need to get a feel for the place, huh? " she asked. 

 

"May as well work out what this place could offer me, as well as what I could offer it? Although you seem to be doing a good job enticing me" she commented, pleased with her double-meanings. 

 

"I suppose if they do genetic research, that would be something I would be interested in, and good at..."

[olopi]

GM

 

 “Well, going in there without a CV might not give the best impression. Besides, I doubt any of them are actually in right now. We have more weekend activity than most offices, but even then it’s only a few core positions. And while HR is important, their job can usually wait until Monday.”

 

Sarah’s reaction to Synth’s statement was that of a slight blush and accompanying smile, which she did the best to hide. She continued to lead Synth around the floor, before getting back into the elevator.

 

“They’re almost always looking for new researchers. But if you want to know what specifically they do, I fear I can’t really help you. I mean, I’ve seen some of the reports when I needed to forward them. But I wouldn’t understand them. There’s a reason most of these people have PhDs, after all. “

 

The door opened, revealing a similar layout to below.

 

“This is where most the meetings happen, we’ve got two big meeting rooms, and about … five I think … smaller ones here.  Most of Finance also happens on this floor. “

[Supercape]

Synth

 

Guilt infected her. She was manipulating a perfectly nice woman. Despite the desprate situation, she did not know how much more deception she could tolerate. It gnawed at her brain.

 

"Very nice. You are giving me a good view" she said, almost wincing at herself.

 

"Lots of money here I guess. Is that a good or bad thing? I like to balance paycheck and morals, but that's a greasy tightrope...."

[olopi]

GM

 

 Synth could notice how her guide’s stance had changed ever so slightly. A more confident stride for sure, and perhaps she was also walking in a way that better showed off her body? Perhaps it was just Synth’s perception, perhaps Sarah was really doing something, as she led her around the different rooms, opening up a door leading into an approximately 15 by 50 ft. large room, a central table in the middle, a large screen on one of the walls.

 

“So this is one of the big meeting rooms I talked about earlier. Most of the tech’s pretty recent, and as you can see, a huge screen for presentations. There’s also capabilities for older methods, but hardly anybody here uses them anymore. “

 

“Well, from what I understand, we pay better than much of the competition. Some of the really big ones can do even better for some positions, but it’s always like that, isn’t it? Now, I obviously don’t know of everything that happens, but I’ve never heard of anything morally questionable “

 

Sarah inched a bit closer towards Synth, looking right at her face. She had a pleasant tone in her voice, one that indicated concern. Not about the situation, but for the person she was speaking to, and what may have happened.  “You seem to be pretty concerned about that, did something bad happen in the past?”

[Supercape]

Synth

 

"Everyone has a history" she replied, Enigmatically. 

 

"Impressive" she commented, touching her lips in contemplation with one hand. She was almost unconsciously playing along with the femme fatale archetype, some bubbling memories of female scientists in her head. The idealised vamp of dreams. She cautiously embraced the memories, feeling the edges of her ego dissolve. 

 

"I mean, Impressive salary. And view"

 

And Sarah, after all, was a good person. Or appeared to be. The charm was not entirely one way. 

 

"And what about the people at the top? Williams and Knight? Do they have a story? Do you have a story about them?"

[olopi]

GM

 

“Oh, Williams died back in 2004, and Knight’s been retired ever since … 2000 I think? Their name’s still on it, and I think their family still holds some shares, but really, it’s just the name that’s stuck around. And nobody felt like changing it. As for the others at the top, honestly, not much. There was a huge shakeup recently, with a lot of people quitting or being fired, and a lot of new hires. I’ve only dealt with a few of them directly, most of them are in other locations. Believe it or not, the Freedom Offices aren’t even that big. “

 

“Now, as for my boss … he’s alright. Nice enough to work for, not above getting his own coffee when he walks past the machine. Stayed quiet during the shake-up, didn’t take anybody’s side. And the FC section’s doing pretty good, so no shareholders had any objection to keeping him in charge. Not really any big stories about him. “

 

“But, if you want to gossip about people in lower management positions … yeah, there’s a few of them. But enough about this company.”

 

She edged ever closer. “Tell me more about you. “

[Supercape]

Synth

 

Lots of shaking up....a time of chaos and loose morals, no doubt. Someone came in, took over the company either explicitly or in the shadows, subverting it? or at least using its resources to fund a dubious science program...and AEGIS? were they involved? How? Why?

 

Too many questions, climbing around her head. And Sarah to deal with. 

 

"I'm just a woman who would like to get to know you better" she smiled.

 

Part of her felt a wave of noxious guilt. Part of her succumbed to the memories in her head. Lena Kurtis, a neuropsychologist with an open mind and, she had joked to herself, open legs. Quite the remarkable woman, in her eighties with the energy of someone half her age, Lena had been a romantic bohemian in the sixties and had always laughed about her time of free love without regret. Those memories seeped into Synth and she found herself accepting them with an embrace, for they were an antidote to guilt. 

 

"I'm only flirting with you" she half laughed, unashamedly. "And saying thanks too" she explained. "I was a bit worried about this place. I had heard AEGIS was involved. And this is Freedom City. I don't want to get involved with capes and cowls! Too much excitement of the wrong type..."

[olopi]

GM

 

Mentioning the agency did stagger Sarah for just a second, she wasn’t quite sure how to react, and looked at Bella with a bit of disbelief.

 

“AEGIS? I haven’t heard of that before. Well, beyond their basic check-ups, but they do those with most companies active in science. Had a few bad experiences with people going rogue, I suppose. But unless something happened … sometime yesterday …, that’s really all we have to do with them”

 

She laughed innocently, clearly telling it as a joke. After she centered herself, she went on. “Well, we are active with capes and cowls. Most of what we’re currently working on is related to researching the origin of their powers. Freedom’s a great location for that. But you’re unlikely to get caught in the middle of a fight or get kidnapped by a villain, if that’s what you mean. We’ve had exactly two incidents of that since I started working here. “

 

With the more serious talk out of the way, she leaned in a bit further again, speaking quietly.

 

“So, what’s excitement of the right type, then?”

[Supercape]

Synth

 

If not for the memories of Lexa, bubbling into her psyche, Synth might have backed down - but she had little choice right now. She had to submit her self to those imprinted patterns. It was not, of course, a complete submission, but more a case of floating underwater, senses dull, a kind of dissociate fugue, aware but not aware. There was a fear of dissolving, but it was distant and strange. 

 

"What excitement are you looking for?" she answered, hand on hip, eyes meeting gaze. "Aren't you on shift today?"

 

She eased off the throttle an inch. "Or you could tell me about those incidents! I do like an exciting workplace! Sequencing variant copy RNA can get a little dull, even for me..."

 

[olopi]

GM

 

“Oh, my shift only starts in…” Sarah brought up her hand, resting it between the torsos of the two, and tilting it over to look at her watch “15 minutes. That’s more than enough, right?”

 

Once more, she came even closer, and leaned in. At this point, there wasn’t really anything holding Synth back, so she fully embraced the situation, and with it, Sarah.

 

 

Some minutes later…

 

There, fortunately, had not been any interruptions. The past few minutes had been fun. But now Sarah once more looked down at her watch, a bit of worry creeping onto her face. “This was fun, but my shift starts in a bit. And I should probably hit up the restroom first. “

 

“Not that I’m opposed to doing this again. Once your application comes in, I’ll see if we can’t fast-track it, okay? What’s a good way to reach you? And sorry for cutting the tour a bit short … even if you wouldn’t have seen this otherwise”

[Supercape]

Synth

 

There is no good way to reach me....only bad ways...As Synth surfaced, the implanted memories faded, and she found herself regretting her actions. Human connection was a source of vitality, and experience she needed. But this strayed into manipulation, and worse still, she would potentially put Sarah at risk. 

 

"After your shift, same bench?" she suggested. A phone number would not do. 

 

And now the clock zoomed in to the more acute problems. Every minute might not count, but every hour probably did. And AEGIS were investigating. What an awful mess!

 

Was there anything more to Williams and Knight? Surely...but she needed access to the science data. And personel files, and...well, surely a lot more. 

 

"I'll catch you later. But right now, you need to work and I need to freshen up and see HR" she smiled, walking to the female toilets. 

 

 

[olopi]

GM

 

“Okay … sounds good! I’ll be there, at … probably around six, unless I run late. “ And with that, Sarah ran out, carrying some of her things between her arms, clearly having to hurry. Synth, on the other hand, could take things a bit more casual. But either way, time was a factor. So she walked down towards the closest restrooms, past two of the meeting rooms. Fortunately, one was empty while the other one had its blinds closed.

 

It was a rather small restroom, only two stalls and a few sinks. Certainly cleaner than many things Synth had seen, but not as clean as some other things in the building. Sarah wasn’t in it, and judging from the complete lack of sound, nobody else was either. So Synth had the small room all to herself.

[Supercape]

Synth

 

Synth had contemplated using Sarah as a decoy. But there were other options, she realised. Firstly, Sarah would still be around. Secondly, she felt something for her. Part of her wanted that six o clock meet, although she dreaded what Sarah would make of her true form. 

 

So instead, she loitered in the rest room, waiting for someone suitably high up to come in. Someone whom she could copy. 

 

And perhaps even steal an ID badge from...

[olopi]

GM

 

Nobody showed up immediately. Still, Synth was eager to wait, and so she did. Nobody showed up after 20 minutes, either. By the one hour mark it started to be boring. Fortunately enough for Synth, only a few minutes later, somebody finally entered the room. Synth was hiding in one of the stalls, so she couldn’t actually see who it was, but the footsteps suggested somebody rather short.

 

The stall next to her opened, if the sound as any indication, and then the woman closed the door once she was inside. She got out shortly afterwards, only to face Synth, standing there. She clearly was shocked, and about to scream. Only thanks to Synth’s reflexes she could act before any sound left the woman’s mouth.

[Supercape]

Synth

 

Synth slammed a hand over the womans mouth, and pushed her, with some lamented force, into the stall. She hated herself for doing this, but on the other hand, she needed the break. 

 

"Don't be scared" she whispered. "I'm not going to hurt you..."

 

She just drove rigid fingers into the left side of the neck, innovating the vagus nerve. She could almost feel the woman's blood pressure drop, and she fell to the seat of the toilet out cold. 

 

Synth closed the door. The woman would not be out long, not without some help. She placed her hands on the woman's temples, and concentrated, letting her synthetic cells ooze out of the pores of her skin. The cells would inhibit neurotransmission, dull her senses, impair her reticular activating system. 

 

In other words, send the woman into a deep, pleasant sleep. 

 

Creating so many infective cells, of such a toxic (from a neurological point of view) nature made her feel drowsy herself, her energy sapped. Still, she determined to stand up straight, and swap clothes with the woman. Now was not the time for shame. 

 

Then, the shift in body and face. Not too big a shift, not too fast, and those soporific neuroinhibitors actually dulled her pain. It was a tolerable half minute before she had changed. 

 

As she swapped clothes, she patted her new body down - any ID? Keys? Documents?

[olopi]

GM

 

She carried her RIFD-and-ID-card clipped to her blazer. Mariah Shane. That was all it said. It was attached to an extendable cord, so looking at it wasn’t difficult. Inside her pockets, Synth found a wallet, a keychain, some paper towels, and a phone.

 

The wallet was the first thing she took a closer look at. Her ID matched the company’s one. There were … approximately 250 dollars in cash in there. Two credit cards, a health insurance card and her driver’s license were other notable things. Last but not least, a family photo. Her, a man her age (husband probably?) and two children.

 

The keychain included seven keys. One very clearly was for a car. Of the others, only two were labelled: “Storage W” and “Storage P”. Besides those, the keychain also included a (comparably) large black cube. Most likely a key tracker, if Synth’s previous experience with keys lost in trash were any indication.

 

The phone was locked. Fortunately, it was a fingerprint-scan. All Synth had to do was to duck down and grab Mariah’s hand, and afterwards, the phone unlocked. She didn’t seem to use it much beyond her work, the only application on the menu that didn’t seem to be related was “LeagueVille”. Her e-mail inbox revealed some more things. At the top, an e-mail, titled “!!IMPORTANT: AEGIS”

 

Its contents revealed a lengthy e-mail, by what appeared to be the Head of the Freedom Offices, cced to all employees, about an ongoing AEGIS investigation and the protocol. Mainly, to not tell anybody anything, no matter who they might be. It had been sent at 5 AM.

[Supercape]

Synth (as Marie Shane)

 

The contracting of stature always made Synth feel a bit ungainly. She flexed her muscles and sinews, feeling the new angles and shapes. This one felt awkward. 

 

Still, it would serve purpose. Some ID, a heart-biting family photograph - curse the road she was on - some keys, but who knew what for. And interestingly, an AEGIS investigation. This would be useful evidence for AEGIS, who seemed like they were not quite in oppositio to Synth, but neither were they in parallel either. A tightrope was being walked. 

 

One breath, deep. Calming her autonomic nervous system. And then out she strode. 

 

Right now, time really did count. The real Marie might be asleep for an hour or more, but someone might find her. Or miss her. Nobody was likely to kick the door of the rest room down, but it was not certain. 

 

Straight away, noting the architecture Sarah had pointed out, Synth made her way to the research part of the building...

 

 

[olopi]

GM

 

Sarah had mentioned the building not having much of a research area, all of it, including the researcher’s offices were handled in a different location in Freedom – one Synth knew fairly well. However, what these offices had, were an archive. Most of the research was, apparently, archived there. It probably was the first place to look, so Synth made her way there.

 

Up an elevator, where one man simply nodded at her as she entered. Most of the floor was, according to Sarah, the archives, some secured more tightly than others. Not that she spoke about what was to find where. She walked down the corridor indicated on the sign on the wall. And around the corner she spotted a secretary, sitting at a desk in front of the locked door, currently typing something on her computer.

[Supercape]

Synth (as Marie Shane)

 

Could be nothing...could be something...could be everything....

 

She walked as confidently as she could, flavoured with indifference. 

 

"Hi" she said, with a little, but not too much, warmth. 

 

"Everything ok?" she asked, trying to peer at what the secretary was typing. "I need access to the archives. You...ah...know why" she said, letting nervousness kept in. Presumably several members of the organisation had been told about AEGIS investigation. Had this woman?

 

"We need to ensure optimal transparency in case of any...audits...." she explained. "Anyone else down here? Clock is ticking..."

[olopi]

GM

 

The secretary looked up at the approaching Synth, nodding. “Hey Mariah. Need something?” When she heard the woman talk, her demeanor changed slightly, it appeared she wasn’t quite comfortable. Either way, she didn’t raise any immediate objections.

 

“Uuuuh, okay. Well, you have access and I won’t stop you, so go ahead. Just don’t let this get to your head, the lawyers are gonna handle it all. I doubt it’s anything big, I mean, what could they have possibly done? Go Rogue and kidnap somebody? AEGIS is probably just a bit paranoid. ” She laughed innocently.

 

At that point, all Synth had to do was hold her badge to the scanner, and the door opened, revealing a huge amount of files, in cabinets all around the walls. In the middle sat a computer, probably the easiest way to access what she was looking for.

[Supercape]

Synth

 

AEGIS probably is paranoid. AEGIS probably should be paranoid. But I wish their eye was not on me...

 

Synth strolled to the computer, wishing the imprinted memories in her head knew proper computer skills. Sure, she could handle the basic programming and data stores. Any scientist could. But anything encrypted would be near impossible to crack. 

 

Nevertheless, she must think positive. And not think about the ticking clock. 

 

The files would be the back up, but right now, she turned on the computer and started looking. Files on genetic enhancement, research...anything that tied up with the previous data she had unearthed. Any correlation at all. Fortunately her memories were focussed and alert - and Synth was a world class bioscientist as a consequence. She understood pretty much anything biological, and could quickly understand and correlate any data...

 

 

[olopi]

GM

 

There was a lot of information stored on the company’s servers. Not everything was fully accessible, some simply referred to “see authorized files”. Mainly actual breakthroughs, even if rough descriptions were available in all places. Projects going back to 20 years ago. The older they were, the more was accessible. Some minor breakthroughs, but nothing that the minds inside Synth had not heard of before.

 

Some of the more recent research was more interesting. In 2008 the company had started focusing their efforts around researching the source of superpowers in some metahumans, mainly ones with unknown power origins. There were hundreds of pages on the subject that had amassed over the years, and even if they were interesting, Synth hardly had the time to read them all. There’d been some steady research, some minor breakthroughs, including “theories on the origin and the reproduction thereof” and while the most recent files unfortunately were locked away behind another layer of security, one thing was certain.

 

“Not fit for life tests”