Backbone II: Scourge

THEATRE

CHAPTER VI - THEATRE

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Whilst Renee and Howard travelled to the theatre, long distant from their responsibilities considering they had earned their opportunity to celebrate... Those Renee had cut a deal with were silently panicking behind the scenes. Not only was Dr. Hung's research was compromised, many of his other subjects were mysteriously missing. Clarissa had cut a deal with those working at Science City long ago to study The Artifact, wishing to use its powers against the world and for herself. Her hope was to have some trace remaining inside of Howard but considering its disintegration from its position next to Howard's body, it seemed to have erased its own presence within some minds and terminals, too.

"You're fucking useless! You're telling me I spared both of those insolent detective dicks for nothing? Well, not for nothing because they actually let me in on the fact that there's a problem much bigger than having a tunnel to the other side of the wall! Shit! Those same rogues that we've been smuggling out have already turned against us and are the reason Monkeybutt is such a huge problem... Don't even get me started on the recession! Soon enough, people are going to know about my plans, they will demand for the wall to be taken down; Vancouver will collapse into anarchy and I will have nowhere to exert my power... We'll go back to the old ways of misogyny and scavenging, we can't afford to go back, not when we've rebuilt the ways of the old," Clarissa practically screamed at Eddie, Belle alongside her corrupt division of scientists. "You. What sort of process did you use to disintegrate The Artifact?" She waved her finger at Eddie, who nervously gulped whilst the singular orange light flickered above inside of the confines of this decrepit room.

"Well, we determined it was splicing his DNA and attempting to replicate his form or insert something inside of him. One thing that struck me about his recovery was the lack of neurological decay that had been noted. We threw a grenade at it loaded with an experimental organism that disintegrates once air reaches it. We simply rerouted the instruction process of The Artifact forcefully, prompting it to rapidly mutate into what is essentially nothing. We have no clue where the rest of our test specimens have vanished off to, the same goes for our research; all we have is their untouched containment cases," Dr. Hung nervously replied, his hands tied behind his back once more as Sooz held him at gunpoint.

"Have you ever considered that The Artifact may have been related to the other subjects and had some telepathic ability to communicate its instructions, Eddie?" Clarissa inquired, to which Eddie opened his mouth before slamming it shut. "You IMBECILE!" Clarissa tossed her gun directly at Eddie's head in a fit of rage. "YOU TOLD THE ARTIFACT TO REPLICATE THE CODE OF SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T EXIST, KILLING IT IN THE PROCESS? WE WERE SUPPOSED TO TERMINATE ITS OCCUPATION OF HOWARD, NOT THE ARTIFACT ITSELF!"

"I thought the specimens were unrelated to one another!" Eddie retorted but to no avail as Clarissa picked up her gun, pulled back the lever on her magnum and held it to his skull. "Go on. Kill Science City's greatest scientist. I dare you."

"...You're still too useful, For fuck sakes," Clarissa sighed as she started untying Eddie. "So, now we're at square one again? Years of research ruined because of a panic button and some detective who got a little too close to discovering our plot? You should know that he seized documents of our affairs with the Science Minister. You're lucky I was able to burn those documents before mass documentation reached the streets."

"Uh, excuse me for interrupting but... Why exactly are they being kept alive? Shouldn't you silence them like the rest of those who dare speak out against you or conspire?" Belle squeaked, finally mustering the backbone to speak as she too was untied.

"They're either the best detectives known to mankind or they've been unearthing something underneath my nose for years that I've been blinded to. I found out my own smugglers are conspiring with an unknown party across the wall as well as have some understanding regarding the politics of the Exterior Realms. This is dangerous considering nobody else besides those inside of this room are supposed to possess that sort of knowledge. I was tempted to seize the documents for myself but the pair of them are going to be building a case out of it and I'm rolling the dice to see how truly sophisticated it becomes," She elaborated, clearing her throat as she shifted her attention to the exit. "I've now got a clean slate to work with. I need to focus on something that isn't a superweapon. Shift your studies towards psychology, experiment on those unsuitable for butchering if you must. We need to know the most effective way to get into the minds of those already suffering besides using drugs to numb their ambitions," With the simple snapping of her fingers, she rearranged the entirety of her science team as she slung open the door to the chambers she was holding her victims inside of as Sooz escorted them to the exit.

"We understand, Ms. Bloodworth. We'll get to work. We shall forever be indebted to you and your generosity for funding our passion projects. If it's not too far fetched, we may find ourselves another Artifact," Eddie squeezed those words out of his mouth as he headed for the secret lab complex.

"Thank you for reminding me. Abandon all searches for unstable or foreign lifeforms. They are truly useless to me. You may resume your experiments all you wish but you are now forbidden from conducting research on new lifeforms found outside of the wall. I am not going to take my chances with something that nobody can grasp the understanding of, nor something that has such a simple killswitch. We shall fester a new plague, one that sprouts within the minds of the beholders and forces them to bow from inside. We shall now use our ability to manipulate the minds of the vulnerable into handing over our desires on a silver platter," Clarissa's voice bellowed as she turned back for one more snarky remark. "Oh, and thank you all for being so cooperative. I am glad I didn't need to execute anyone today," With that chilling remark, she exiled herself from the presence of her associates; destined for a place shrouded in mystery as the world turned whilst surrounding her feet.