PROTOTYPE

Prototype | Prologue

Prototype | Prologue

“The water, the wind and the fire will tear the wood down until only the water, the wind and the fire remain.” ~Lisa Mantchev 

It was a warm day on the first of September. The trees hadn’t started to change yet but everyone knew they would. A warm breeze blew through the windows of the waiting room as I sat patiently outside the Director’s office, waiting for his meeting to finish. It had been less than a day since my last mission ended and now he was about to send me on another one. As the door opened, I stood respectively as the other man stood to attention - as was required when you encounter a superior officer such as myself. I nodded and he was dismissed. Taking a deep breath, I opened the door and walked into the Director’s office, thinking of everything that could possibly be going through his head. He was seated at his chair with his back to me, chewing on the end of a pen.

“Take a seat.”

“Yes sir.” Once seated, I folded my hands in my lap and awaited his orders. He turned around and tossed a file towards me. “Sir?” I asked, puzzled.

“Colonel I understand you just completed a very long mission and would like a break. I agree - we’ve worked you very hard these last few weeks and you deserve it. However, I believe this has just taken priority.” Opening the file, I recognized the problem and sighed as a deep feeling of dread began settling in the pit of my stomach.

“Sir with all due respect, you can’t find someone else to handle this?”

“Claire I don’t think anyone but you can handle this. He’s been on your target list for the last 100 years if I remember correctly. Now we both know that most of his offenses have been rather...low risk. As you can see in the file, we have a reasonable amount of evidence to support our theory that he’s up to something bigger than before.” I opened my mouth to speak but closed it when the Director put up his hand.

“Anyway, from the little evidence we have, the Safety Board for the IDSF has suggested putting our most trusted and most talented agent into this. I suggested you.”

“I...Thank you sir!” I didn’t know what to say, surprised he viewed me with such respect. With the Director, you could never tell if he was genuinely praising you or just being sarcastic.

“However, there is another matter that I would like to discuss with you as well.” He reached down and pulled out another file from a drawer. Like the file sitting in front of me, it bore the TOP SECRET seal on the front. I instantly recognized the file.

“The SS program?!” I exclaimed in surprise. Previously I had known the IDSF labs were working on a “super soldier” as it was referred to but I never knew if they had perfected the procedures.

“Yes. They’re ready for human trials.”

“Have you...selected someone?” Part of me wanted to volunteer for the project but the other half was slightly terrified of the magnitude that came with genetic manipulation.

“I’m wondering if you’ll do it. After all, from what we know of Adam, this mission will definitely require more...unique methods to resolve. Are you up for it?” I sat for a moment and thought about the Director’s suggestion. If I said yes and went through with the procedures, it might give me tremendous advancements against enemies - depending on the advancements I receive. However it would make me very different - advanced to all those around. I sat back, thinking: did I really want to “play” with that kind of power? After a few moments of deliberating, I looked up into his eyes.

“Yes.”

“Good. Report to the infirmary at 0630 tomorrow morning. You’re dismissed.” Nodding, I stood up and saluted him.

“Thank you sir.”

“Claire?”

“Yes sir?”

“I love you.” I smiled and shrugged my shoulders.

“I love you too Dad.”

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At 0630 the next morning, I stood in front of the infirmary doors. Like other high-profile government buildings, most of the high-security areas needed a key card entry. I held mine in my trembling hand. It was a great accomplishment in my people’s scientific history but...did I really want to undergo this experimental procedure? I mean, just think of what could go wrong! Genetic manipulation was not a toy that should be played with! However I had already agreed - I couldn’t back out now. In a deep breath, I pushed any and all hesitation aside and swiped my card through the magnetic lock. The doors opened and I walked into the room full of shiny metal surfaces that smelled of antiseptic. The tile floor squeaked under my sneakers and I started to shake. I wanted to leave, turn around and run back out of those doors. But so help me years of stress management and combat training taught me well. I wouldn’t back down now.

The process took 3 and a half weeks to complete. First they mapped myr abilities, pushed her to my limits and tested what I could or could not do. Then the top minds who built the program decided on what advancements I would benefit most from, with suggestions from myself and my father, of course. Every day I went in for an injection and after about a week, I had begun to feel effects. My neck and shoulders started to ache. Myr mind felt like it would explode. My emotions became a fierce rollercoaster - I was calm and serene one moment, the next I became extremely violent and wanted to completely demolish something, anything. I eventually wondered if it would all be worth it in the end. It was.

After two weeks I needed to be moved to an isolation room while I transformed. They had given me wings per my request. After all, the one thing I had wanted to do since I was little was to fly. And when the possibility of turning that fantasy into a reality came along, I snatched it right up. However during the change of actually acquiring these wings, often they would burst through my back violently - before I could control them. I became so violent I had begun to attack the nurses in almost like a psychotic fog. Finally, my emotions leveled out and my metamorphosis was complete. I was now one of the first of my kind. A Super Soldier. Advanced for the sole purpose of doing what ordinary men and women could not.

It was now that my mission began.