NEW SCI-FI THRILLER NOVEL "SEAGORA" - SLICE 4

The high seas adventure continues....

One Week Later

Ventorin felt like jelly and his coffee-fueled mind was full of haze.  He could count on one hand how many hours he’d slept the past few days.  He was on the verge of a paradigm-shifting discovery, and his family’s life was on the line.  Could he actually keep this thing a secret long enough to get away? He was about to find out.  All the preparations had been made. The weary scientist stroked his face nervously as he examined the tiny metallic wonder in his hand.  This was the key to his future.    

A drone came out of nowhere and startled him.  “Everything in optimal conditions, Mister Ventorin? May I be of assistance? You seem nervous.”

He forced a smile, “Oh, no thank you.  I just haven’t slept well.”

“Would you like a cognitive enhancer or synthetic energy booster?”

“No, I’m fine.”

The drone floated away casually.  Ventorin sucked wind and wiped his brow.  He grabbed the VR headgear off his half-moon lab desk and put it on.  It was time to see if his theory was correct.  Tinkering with dark matter and dark energy required that virtual simulations be performed.  Because if he was wrong, it could annihilate the planet.  Hence the VR.    

The thin fingers of his right hand tapped and traced in the air to maneuver the virtual controls.  In his left hand, he clasped the pea-sized metallic wonder.  All timing and elements were in place.  He gulped and ground pearly teeth.  One final ghostly tap of his right index finger sent everything in motion.

The VR system initiated a burst of wave-particles through the dark energy and matter, while the metallic wonder in his left hand set off a tiny electromagnetic pulse.  After the pulse was initiated, it evaporated into near-nothingness.  This pulse knocked out power to all systems in the lab, including all layers of surveillance.  The VR lab was sustained externally on a short-term backup power pack Vertonin had brought with him.  The little black power box had been pre-programmed by Ventorin with a specific frequency neutralizer that would nullify the effects of the EMP.  This allowed for the seconds necessary to establish the results of the experiment.    

After 30 seconds, the main power would recover and surveillance would continue.  It would do this with quantum precision.    

Ventorin’s eyes bulged and his mouth gaped at the colorful VR display.      

OPERATION COMPLETE.  PARTICLES STABLE.

Now it became real.  His heart leaped with mixed emotions.  Emotions he had to control.  He hit the delete key, threw the headset off, and peered over his shoulders.    

Main power jolted back.  His hands shook as he grabbed the small battery backup, tossed it in his backpack, and headed for the door.  A nano-iris scanner seamlessly checked his ID.  An ultra-dark, double-secure door swung open to reveal a maintenance drone. His heart did a summersault.  “We had a temporary power loss.  Is everything ok, Mister Ventorin?”

He managed to sputter, “Oh, yes.  Thanks for checking.”

“You have multiple signs of a stress disorder.  Shall I arrange for medical attention?”

He struggled to appear confident, “No, thanks.  Not necessary. I feel fine.”

After a few initial stumbles down the seemingly endless hallway he now faced, Ventorin straightened out and took some deep breaths.  A few endless seconds later, he turned the corner and made his way towards the main exit.    

His mind ran.  Just breathe and keep walking.  Think about your family.  Everything will be fine.  You did the right thing.  A full body scan whipped over him and the final exit door slid open. Two squid-like security drones hovered menacingly over him.  One flickered red as it spoke with stale disinterestedness, “Please come with us, Mister Ventorin.”

“May I ask why?”

“New security protocols for power outages, Mister Ventorin.  We must ask you a few questions.  It will more than likely be only a few moments of your time.”

Ventorin had a slow-motion second to mentally review options.  Running would admit some type of guilt.  But guilt of what? And what proof would they have? Then again, totalitarians don’t care about proof.  They just do whatever they want anyway.    

Fake smile it was.  “Of course.  I’ll be happy to cooperate.”

The artificial squid escorted Ventorin through a maze of humming hallways.  He fixed his gaze and controlled his motions as best he could.  He knew that all his vital functions were monitored by the security apparatus, so it was imperative that he appear normal.    

They reached what appeared to be a dead end.  The concrete slab before them became transparent and the silent procession went through.  They stopped.  Ventorin peered around at his smart-wall prison and looked at one of his captors.    

“Just a security protocol, Mister Ventorin.  I’m sure you understand.”

“Of course.” He tried to control his fear and rage.    

One of the pearl-colored squid hummed as it flashed an assortment of rays onto him.  “Interesting.”

“May I ask what’s so interesting?”

“Just hang tight, Mister Ventorin.  We’ll need you to talk with other security personnel soon.”

After an hour of sitting against a faux-concrete slab and trying to control his heart rate, a broad-shouldered man in a tidy uniform walked through the wall.   

His demeanor was pleasant enough as he greeted his victim, “Good evening, Mister Ventorin.  It’s an honor to meet you.” He turned to the squid with a twisted face, “And what are you barbarians doing? Get us some proper chairs and at least a table or something.  Maybe some coffee.” He turned to Ventorin, “Do you fancy coffee?”

A few moments later, a table and chairs made of nano-changers floated in and landed gently.  Another squid placed two steaming cups of steamy black goodness on the table.  Ventorin sat across from the military man and their eyes locked.    

“Mister Ventorin, let me introduce myself properly.  I am Lieutenant Torcer.  I’ve been alerted to a very interesting case.  Would you please pull the backup power supply from your backpack?”

Torcer watched closely as Ventorin produced the tiny black box.  Ventorin maintained a poker face as best he could.     

Torcer continued, “And, coincidentally enough, it appears that whatever transpired on your lab’s data network for just a hair over 30 seconds tragically disappeared after main power was restored.”   

Ventorin broke.  He turned gray.  

“Mister Ventorin, why so grim?” Torcer said mockingly.  “I might also add that an analysis of your lab has revealed some subatomic remains of what most likely was a pulse-maker.”

Ventorin’s face showed slight surprise.  Torcer continued, “You seem surprised, Mister Ventorin.  Perhaps you didn’t know that such capabilities existed in our facilities here.  After all, you had a hand in designing some of the scientific miracles we take for granted, did you not?”

Icy chills flooded sweat down Ventorin’s thin face.  How could this be? How could he be so careless?   

“So my only question for you, Mister Ventorin, is what happened during those 30 seconds? Just tell me that, and you’re free to go.”    

Slice 5 Coming Soon!

Thanks for your time and attention!

Just say "NO" to slavery!

Top image is from pxhere.com

To download a heaping helping of my writings, including all of my fiction novels, go to 

https://archive.org/details/@todd_borho