Specimen(86)

“Well, I have a shit-ton of data at this point,” Errol says. His words are accompanied by a lot of animated gestures, and he nearly pokes Merle in the head a few times. “I can say for sure that all the programming that went into the anti-torture subroutines functioned as expected. Cooling the implants had a definite effect, but the result was a shutdown of all processes, so you still can’t get information out of them that way.”

I stiffen and glare in Errol’s direction, and he gives me a half smile.

“Just sayin’.” He looks down at his notes and continues. “I don’t think any of that led to the breakdown of the implant, either. The symbiotic relationship between the mechanical implants and the hormones and other drug treatments was the definite cause.”

“That was expected,” Riley says. “We know they can’t go long without FOG; it’s the basis for the bridge between the organic brain and the cybernetic system.”

“Exactly.” He points a finger at Riley. “Which is where you come in. Tell me something about the compound you’re taking.”

“Hormones and pheromones,” Riley says. “The injection is designed to further the bond between doctor and specimen.”

“But yours are different, aren’t they?”

Riley shuffles in her seat a bit.

“Slightly.”

“I thought the differences in your methods had to do with the component chemicals introduced into the specimens.” Anna tilts her head and looks at Riley.

“There was a change to my compound as well.”

“What kind of change?”

Riley looks back and forth between Anna and me before answering.

“I introduced bombykol into my system,” she says, “and programmed his implants to detect it and react.”

“Isn’t that a moth pheromone?”

“Yes.” Riley lets out a frustrated sigh. “I used that one because it’s one of the strongest and most easily synthesized. The type didn’t matter, as long as the speci…as long as Galen reacted to it.”

“You tried to turn me into a moth?” I can’t help it; I laugh out loud.

“Technically, I turned myself into a moth.”

“She made you have a thing for moths.” Errol laughs as well.

“You do realize it has upset your own balances as well, don’t you?” Anna asks.

“Of course,” Riley says. “I understood the risk, and it’s not unprecedented. Shark DNA is a component of FOG as well, to boost the immune systems of the specimens.”

“You took a lot of liberties.”

“I had a job to do.” Riley is clearly on the defensive and doesn’t see any humor in the topic. “I’m not going to try to justify my reasons for altering the treatments now. The whole project is…just wrong.”

There’s a long pause. I don’t have a clear understanding of the technical and medical side of what everyone is saying, and I don’t have anything to add. I rub my thumb over the edge of Riley’s hand, trying to comfort her.

“Well…back to my point,” Errol says. “It’s the bond, for lack of a better word, that caused the initial breakdown, but there was more to it than that. Originally, I thought there was a defect in the implant itself, and I still do, but that’s not the main issue here.”

“What is?” Cross asks.

“His implant has changed. It no longer matches the same specifications it originally had. This might have started in the defect itself, but it…well, it grew from there.”

“Grew?” Riley glances from Errol to me.

“It’s weird, and it really shouldn’t happen.”

“Am I going to sprout moth wings?” I have to press my lips together not to laugh.

Errol doesn’t hold back. His belly laugh shakes the table, but Riley continues to scowl.

“No insect-like changes just yet,” Errol says, “but if you start shoving your tongue into flowers at night, let me know.”

I glance at Riley sideways and run my tongue over my lips. She blushes and pulls her hand away.

“Would you please get on with it?” Donald Cross is also unamused at the turn the conversation has taken.

“So, here’s how it works.” Errol presses a button on his tablet and a three-dimensional holographic image appears in the center of the table. It’s a collection of slightly curved circuit boards, all lined up to fit together in a pattern. “This is the structure of the primary implant. The individual pieces are connected through living brain tissue. The implants themselves are bio-organics, and they have the ability to repair themselves if needed. That’s how they should work, anyway, but Galen’s are different.”