Gary and John talked with Jasmine and explained what they wanted to do. Since Jasmine was already in the pathology department at the hospital, when she rang Sam back, the process was dead easy. In a few minutes, using the same method he’d used, on the computer system at D’Netics, in Shreveport, Gary had created a back door and slipped past their firewall without any resistance. No one ever knew he was there.
Sir Richard scratched the nape of his neck and leaned back in his chair. “Gary…” he said with a sigh of exasperation, “... this doesn’t make sense,” “Forrest knew when Donna left the States that she was extremely close to completing her stem cell therapy research. When I even hinted that Triplet International had reason to believe immortality might be possible, Forrest was the first person to jump on the bandwagon. Later, when I told The Order that our experiment had failed, Forrest convinced The Order that we were holding out on them and that they should seize control of the project, and all the scientists involved with its research. For him to throw in the towel when he’s within reach of immortality, well, it just doesn’t fit – especially after what he’s done to Donna.”
“D said the EHG wouldn’t work for Lady Triplet, maybe Forrest found out that it wouldn’t work for him, either,” Gary suggested.
“If that’s the case, what in the hell does he want it for?”
“He doesn’t want the virus. He wants D. The ultimate revenge for him would be to have her beg, knowing full well he had no intention of letting her live. Remember? He bragged about the women he had broken. He wants to break Donna in that same way.”
“There’s something else,” Sir Richard added. “Forrest’s previous instructions, for the disposal of his body was that seconds before his death, Forrest’s body was to be put into cryogenic stasis and preserved until someone found a cure. He was so infatuated with the continuation of his bloodline that he has donated sperm to every sperm bank known. Although he would never acknowledge it, there’s no telling how many illegitimate children Forrest has fathered to achieve that goal. I don’t believe Forrest had anything to do with the DNR order on his medical record. Someone else has to be responsible, but who, and why?”
“I think figuring out why would be easier than trying to figure out who. Forrest has more enemies than anyone on this planet,” John scoffed. “Jared Thundercloud being one of them.”
“True… ” Gary spoke up, “…but, when it comes to killing, Jared is like Donna, and so is Sam. The only way they would kill would be, out of self-defence, or for love. In Donna’s case, she has several strong motives – Jared, Sarabeth, Sam, and now Rich. That’s the only reason Donna would succumb to Forrest’s wishes. If it were just her, I guarantee you, after what he did to her and Jared, D would die before she even considered helping Forrest.”
Sir Richard slammed his fist against the top of his desk. “I don’t care what Donna decides. I am not letting her do this. We’ve got seventy-one hours to figure this out. Forrest said he was sending a signal to the device. Unless he was lying, he also said stopping the signal is what detonated the explosive. Is it possible that we could somehow find out the frequency of that signal and then duplicate it?”
“Yes,” Gary said. “But, not knowing exactly how the device works, it’s also possible that instead of telling the device to switch off, we might end up telling it the opposite. Duplicating the signal is not the problem. Understanding the program that’s sending the signal is the problem. Think of it, like trying to fly an airplane, where the controls have been flipped. There just doesn’t seem to be a solution, other than letting D take Forrest the virus.”
“I’m not buying that,” Sir Richard groaned and stood. “I need to think. Keep working on this. If you need me, I’ll be in the cafeteria.”
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Alice and Rita watched Sir Richard as he walked through the cafeteria and into the new entertainment hall. “You look like a man who could use a cup of tea and a willing ear.” She smiled.
“Alice, you read my mind.”
“I’ll get us one,” she said and disappeared. She came back with a serving tray. On it were two cups of tea and a plate of shortbread. “So go on tell me what’s put that frown on such a handsome face?” Alice asked as she sat opposite to Sir Richard.
Sir Richard grinned. “Alice, you need glasses! This face can’t even remember what it felt like to be handsome. If it ever was.”
“I disagree….”
Sir Richard looked down at his tea. “I have seventy-one hours to stop a mad man, or Donna and my grandson are going to die,” he confided without prompting.
Alice gasped. “Sir Richard, no!”
“I don’t think I’ve ever felt so tired, so helpless and so damn old.”
Alice placed her hand on Sir Richard’s.
“Alice….”
There was a loud clatter from the kitchen area. “Bloody hell!” Rita shouted. “What is that thing?”
“Duty calls,” Alice interrupted and ran back to the kitchen. “What is it Rita?”
“I don’t know. At first I thought it was a bug, but when I swatted at it, and it fell in the stew, it started sparking and making all sorts of hissing noises and smoking.”
“Where is it?”
“There, in the stew, on top of one of the carrots.” She pulled a face and pointed to the pot of simmering liquid.
Alice leaned over the pot. “Oh it can’t be that bad… you probably just saw - Holy Mary, Mother of God!” she shrieked.
Sir Richard spilt tea down the front of his shirt. He dropped the cup and ran to the kitchen. “What’s wrong?”
“There, in the stew! Some sort of…”Alice replied.
Sir Richard carefully fished out the small metallic bug.
Alice approached it with a meat mallet held above her head. “Here, put it down, I’ll get it.”
“No! Don’t! We need this! Give me something to put it in,” Sir Richard said.
Rita passed him a plastic food container with an airtight lid. Sir Richard carefully tipped the device in the container and snapped the lid tight. He kissed Rita on the cheek. “You may have just saved the day!” He dashed out the door.
Rita touched her cheek and gave Alice a confused look. “Saved the day?”
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“This design is incredible!” Wein said as he examined the mechanical insect. “I’ve read about this in the science magazines, but I’ve never actually come across one. Just look at the intricate detail, and the piezoelectric ‘muscles’ that drive its wings!”
“Jeff, this kind of technology has been around for years. This is the first time it’s been used openly. It shouldn’t be used now, Forrest knows that but….”
“So the stories I read on those conspiracy sites are true?”
“Some - but not all of them - especially those of this type. The US have been dominating the research on nanotechnology for some time, they just don’t publish their work.”
“Nothing has changed then!” Wein commented.
“Not a lot,” Sir Richard replied. “So, what can you tell me about it? How does it differ from our nanobug?”
“Well, it uses light to build up an electrical charge, which it stores in tiny capacitors. It’s amazing how it manages to store so much power. That was one of the problems we were dealing with. This capacitor must work on an atomic scale. The body is made of a titanium composite - very strong yet incredibly light. Like ours, it flies around, much like a wasp.”
Wein lifted the wing with a pair of tweezers. “The wings are on a carbon-fibre frame. The shape of the wing’s edge makes it virtually silent in flight. The interesting bit is that the wings are multifunctional. They seem to be able to pick up sound, but they also act like solar cells. Having said that light is not their only source of energy. There’s a camera here…” he said, pointing with his tweezers, “…that works much like our own.”
Wein gingerly turned the device over. “Here’s where it differs from ours. It has a tiny fuel cell, and like a bee, is capable of using sugars as another power source. The interesting bit is the proboscis tube. It’s also multifunctional, sort of like a cross between an elephant’s trunk and the nectar-feeding mechanism of a bee. It has a rasp at the end of its proboscis suggesting it can grind its way through the skin. It then uses a powerful explosive as a propellant to inject its payload. This has to be the device Forrest used on Donna.”
“Can you reactivate it?”
Gary grinned. “Watch.”
Wein reached to turn it on. Richard stopped him. “How do you know that it won’t go after Donna again?”
“Because,” Gary said, “I’m controlling it. I haven’t re-connected the camera. Besides, it shorted out when it took a dive in the stew. Even technology as sophisticated as this, still has its limits.”
Gary reactivated the device. For a few minutes, it did nothing. Slowly it started to flap its wings. Then it lifted a few inches, hovering as if waiting for instructions. Using his laptop, Gary landed the bug on Wein’s right shoulder. Wein tilted his head and rolled his eyes, towards the bug. “Now watch this.”
“What’s supposed to happen?” Sir Richard asked impatiently.
“Just give it a second,” Gary replied. “It’s a little low on power right now.”
As they watched, the device slowly began to mimic Wein’s purple shirt, and then appeared to vanish. “Where did it go?” Richard asked, alarmed.
“Relax,” Gary said. “It’s still on his shoulder.”
Sir Richard and Richard leaned closer, straining to see, but they couldn’t see anything. Wein felt the slightest bit of air current, and heard a very high pitch from the device’s wings as it lifted off his shoulder. Gary flew it to Richard’s shoulder.
Sir Richard and Richard leaned forward again. Still they couldn’t see anything on Wein’s shoulder. “Gary, you’re seeing things,” Sir Richard said. “There’s nothing on Jeff’s shoulder.”
Gary laughed. “That’s because it’s not there anymore. Now it’s on Richard’s shoulder.”
Richard moved his head around in short robotic jerks. “What - where?”
Gary shut off the chameleon feature, pulled the magnifying glass to Richard’s shoulder and there it was. Gary then flew it back to the plastic container, and once again, turned on its chameleon feature. The device vanished. “You see…” Gary began, making it visible again, “…its entire belly is covered with some tiny sensors. It can mimic whatever it’s sitting on, whether it be Jeff’s purple shirt, Richard’s light blue cardigan, or the plastic container. It’s ingenious!”
“Here’s the concerning bit,” Wein said, flipping the bug on its back. He focused the microscope and a set of numbers appeared.
“What are those?” Sir Richard asked.
“I’m guessing they’re serial numbers, series numbers, or manufacturing numbers. If they’re serial numbers….”
Sir Richard read the number again; 00262.