Artificial Selection: A Near Future Thought Experiment

Chapter XIV

 Michael watched the physical world burning down with his mental world.

No, he couldn't have killed a woman. That couldn't be true.

He knew it was true. He watched her die. He watched her final stare of pain, shock, anger, and desperation.

He literally could not move. Even standing upright made him sick to the very inside. He wished someone could just knock him out or give him a shot of sedative so that he could get distracted by a looming darkness. He needed a break from this.

The soldiers of the phalanx were shooting people as if they were target boards. Did they ever think about what it meant to take a life? Or did they get too accustomed to it? How would they be able to sleep at night? Michael was certain that he would never get an ordinary night of sleep from this day on anymore. However, that discussion would be for later. Right now Michael had to concentrate on using his powers to help his team to get out of the sticky situation.

The phalanx was escorting Michael's team through a maze of corridors, then a few elevator rooms, then another few corridors. Michael was mapping out the entire structure of this facility in his head.

It wouldn't take a genius to figure out that the phalanx was leading them in circles and loops after they walked for ten minutes, but Michael's problem was that he still couldn't manage to properly model the structure. He was able to recall the details of the pathway they had taken, and meanwhile he was also creating a 3D blueprint of the building in his head through microscopically observing the details of each room. His spatial talent allowed him to remember the arrangements of the chairs and tables in each room, and this allowed him to differentiate almost identically structured chambers.

However, when he tried to overlay his visualized pathway with the 3D model in his head, he found discrepancies that he never encountered before in his life time. There were multiple mismatches, and even after efforts of rescaling the two layers of construction, it was still clear that many segments of the alleged pathway extended greatly out of the physical boundaries of the building. This couldn't be possible unless they walked out of the windows.

Or unless... A revelation came upon Michael as he remembered the structure of the elevator rooms...

"Here is the destination for you four!"

Johnson's voice severed the links of Michael's analyses. Johnson scanned his retina, and the door glided open. The guards escorted the Hypersphere executives through another exit while Johnson led Michael's team through the suite. Johnson toured them around the four chambers on each side of the suite before halting at the central common area.

"I understand that what happened at the auditorium was a traumatizing event, and ArtTech would take full responsibility for it. But your wellbeing could be fully guaranteed over here." Johnson brought out his calming, trusting tone again.

"Take full responsibility? Bullshit! By trapping the rest of the people in the auditorium until they kill each other?" Alexandra suddenly exploded from her silence and shock. Nicholas' eyes turned towards Alexandra's direction as if he wanted to calm her down, but he soon revoked that decision upon seeing her enraged countenance.

"I agree with you, Miss Gauss, that this isn't the most optimal outcome, but I believe a mathematician of your status understands that this is the decision I must make to minimize the potential damage."

Alexandra opened her mouth and closed it, and after a while she opened her mouth again, but not a single sound came out. Then she stayed in silenced frustration and defeat.

"What do you want from us?" Jay asked the real question.

"Cooperation. I know the government sent you all here, and I'm not against that. I can help the government with achieving their ultimate goals, and in the process I will need you guys to help me."