The Legacy of Algernon
Feb. 18th, 2006 06:23 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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firefly_fanficTitle:The Legacy of Algernon
Author: Zoesbackup
Rating: G at this time, otherwise who knows
Characters: 'The Verse
Pairing: none at this point...eventual Jayne/River/Mal angst and confusion
Warning: ummm My name is Inigo Montoya, you keel my father. Prepare to die.
Spoilers/Timeline: vague allusions to BDM, postSerenity but nothing spoilerish yet
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended or implied. The characters are property of Joss Whedon, etc.
Summary: The teaser to a possible story that won't leave me the hell alone. I don't want to write it, I just want to read everyone else's stuff.
Author's Note:I want this to go away. If I can't make it go away, it will be long and frustratingly complex. Writing is for people who like pain. Which means that I am sadistic and revel in all the other authors' misery and don't want to go through it again.
With Apologies to Daniel Keyes for borrowing his story.
The men standing at the window were nondescript. Expensive suits and plush surroundings spoke of power, the kind that doesn’t advertise itself, all in muted tasteful colors. Smooth hands and smooth expressionless faces hid the occupation and agenda of the occupants of the room. The trivial half-hearted conversation belied their purpose in being there. A quiet beep attracted their attention and their postures hinted at the slightest of tensions as a flunky silently entered the room and placed a sealed folder on the exotic wood table and retreated. The men stared at the folder malevolently as though they suddenly found their task distasteful. Blue Suit approached first, flipping the folder over and, glancing at Grey suit, pulled a small pipette from his coat pocket. Grey suit moved forward and held his index finger out to the other man. The pipette had a tiny needle at the end which pricked the finger and sucked the blood up. Blue suit then proceeded to do the same to his finger, with the same pipette. The mixed blood provided a DNA code that, when smeared on a chemically sensitive area of the sealed folder, acted as a catalyst to the chain reaction that rendered the acid coated folder inert. If the wrong DNA structure was detected, the acid would have destroyed the documents contained within the folder. The seals used on all eyes-only data were coded specifically for the individuals who had the clearance and need to access it, they were one time use only. This acted a safe guard for the information contained therein and also as a record of those who requested the data.
At this point, they both sat down. There were levels of knowledge that most people could not fathom, these men were all too well aware of just how stratified information had become. The ‘Verse had brought about an unholy marriage between two entities that despised each other and being fiercely competitive for citizen loyalty, constantly at each other’s throat. This marriage produced offspring, the like of which had previously only sprung from the imagination of a superstitious Earth-that-was, that should never have been conceived. Yet, they were nurtured in secret by the parents, who would never acknowledge their existence to the outside world. Awareness of the contents of this particular folder gave one a certain amount of power. It also meant you were damned as far as humanity was concerned. It was the kind of power that caused nightmares that had you waking up feeling as though you were coated with grease and choking on the bile that caked your throat. It made you unclean.
Grey suit watched as Blue suit read the contents of the first page.
“The preliminary results look good. All test subjects have responded favorably to the procedure and are ready to be released for the final stage of the program.”
“Are the subjects aware of the procedure and the testing?” Blue suit paged through the documents, scanning the report until he found the information that Grey suit had requested.
“No,” Blue suit shook his head “They don’t and won’t remember anything. The past three months will be a blank in their memory.”
Grey suit grunted approvingly, “Good, I wouldn’t want the final results to be skewed by awareness of the program.” There was no need to voice their fears about the public learning of their actions. Miranda had been a disaster from which they were still reeling. Damage control on that one had involved a number of heads rolling, some literally. They could not afford another mistake. They could not afford another operative developing a conscience. This program would either solve the problem or quietly be buried along with all the other violations of the Alliance Human Rights Treaty.
“How long do we let the subjects interact in a real world setting?”
“It looks as though the team wants at least 6 months before they are brought back for debriefing and assessment.”
“How will we monitor their actions, if we release them out into the public?” Grey suit frowned as he pondered the ramifications his question brought to mind. “What happens if there is a problem with the procedure or they get their memories back? What if they require medical treatment that brings attention to the procedure?”
“Their medical files are all annotated; the medical elect must be immediately notified if any of the subjects are brought to Core facilities.” Blue suit’s voice communicated contempt for Grey suits ill-concealed fears. “The 14 subjects are all healthy and—“
“What do you mean fourteen? I was told there were 50.”
“The rest proved to be unstable, the procedure was unsuccessful.”
“I thought that was what made them prime candidates” He responded mockingly, “How are we dealing with them?” Blue suit stared intently at him.
“We are dealing with them.”
“Fine” Grey suit visibly cloaked himself in the armor of the bureaucrat, “but I need answers if I am to get Parliament to sign off on your budget request.”
“Of course...you may inform the committee that they will all have unfortunate accidents after being sent to penal colonies for the various crimes they are bound to commit upon release. In the mean time, our successful candidates have shown great promise and we expect great results from them.”
Grey suit stared off into space for a moment and then replied, "I am authorized to grant you an interim budget increase until full committee approval is received. This authorization depends greatly on the comfort level I feel regarding the success of your program. I would like to study these documents alone and determine for myself whether the committee’s faith in your team is warranted.”
“This room is at your disposal. Take as long as you like.”
“Thank you. I shall require a data pad with access to the cortex and coffee, if you don’t mind.”
Blue suit smiled, ”I’ll have the attendant fill your request immediately, let him know if you need anything else or have questions.” Blue suit retreated from the room and left Grey suit with the folder. Moments later, the same flunky returned with his requested items. Grey suit opened the folder and began reading the report, leafing through the pages until he came to the photos of the subjects.
Jayne Cobb’s face stared up at him with shark eyes and grim expression. Grey suit picked up the delicate china cup and sipped, contemplating the Blue Sun logo that matched the one inlaid in platinum on the wall facing the window.
Author: Zoesbackup
Rating: G at this time, otherwise who knows
Characters: 'The Verse
Pairing: none at this point...eventual Jayne/River/Mal angst and confusion
Warning: ummm My name is Inigo Montoya, you keel my father. Prepare to die.
Spoilers/Timeline: vague allusions to BDM, postSerenity but nothing spoilerish yet
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended or implied. The characters are property of Joss Whedon, etc.
Summary: The teaser to a possible story that won't leave me the hell alone. I don't want to write it, I just want to read everyone else's stuff.
Author's Note:I want this to go away. If I can't make it go away, it will be long and frustratingly complex. Writing is for people who like pain. Which means that I am sadistic and revel in all the other authors' misery and don't want to go through it again.
With Apologies to Daniel Keyes for borrowing his story.
The men standing at the window were nondescript. Expensive suits and plush surroundings spoke of power, the kind that doesn’t advertise itself, all in muted tasteful colors. Smooth hands and smooth expressionless faces hid the occupation and agenda of the occupants of the room. The trivial half-hearted conversation belied their purpose in being there. A quiet beep attracted their attention and their postures hinted at the slightest of tensions as a flunky silently entered the room and placed a sealed folder on the exotic wood table and retreated. The men stared at the folder malevolently as though they suddenly found their task distasteful. Blue Suit approached first, flipping the folder over and, glancing at Grey suit, pulled a small pipette from his coat pocket. Grey suit moved forward and held his index finger out to the other man. The pipette had a tiny needle at the end which pricked the finger and sucked the blood up. Blue suit then proceeded to do the same to his finger, with the same pipette. The mixed blood provided a DNA code that, when smeared on a chemically sensitive area of the sealed folder, acted as a catalyst to the chain reaction that rendered the acid coated folder inert. If the wrong DNA structure was detected, the acid would have destroyed the documents contained within the folder. The seals used on all eyes-only data were coded specifically for the individuals who had the clearance and need to access it, they were one time use only. This acted a safe guard for the information contained therein and also as a record of those who requested the data.
At this point, they both sat down. There were levels of knowledge that most people could not fathom, these men were all too well aware of just how stratified information had become. The ‘Verse had brought about an unholy marriage between two entities that despised each other and being fiercely competitive for citizen loyalty, constantly at each other’s throat. This marriage produced offspring, the like of which had previously only sprung from the imagination of a superstitious Earth-that-was, that should never have been conceived. Yet, they were nurtured in secret by the parents, who would never acknowledge their existence to the outside world. Awareness of the contents of this particular folder gave one a certain amount of power. It also meant you were damned as far as humanity was concerned. It was the kind of power that caused nightmares that had you waking up feeling as though you were coated with grease and choking on the bile that caked your throat. It made you unclean.
Grey suit watched as Blue suit read the contents of the first page.
“The preliminary results look good. All test subjects have responded favorably to the procedure and are ready to be released for the final stage of the program.”
“Are the subjects aware of the procedure and the testing?” Blue suit paged through the documents, scanning the report until he found the information that Grey suit had requested.
“No,” Blue suit shook his head “They don’t and won’t remember anything. The past three months will be a blank in their memory.”
Grey suit grunted approvingly, “Good, I wouldn’t want the final results to be skewed by awareness of the program.” There was no need to voice their fears about the public learning of their actions. Miranda had been a disaster from which they were still reeling. Damage control on that one had involved a number of heads rolling, some literally. They could not afford another mistake. They could not afford another operative developing a conscience. This program would either solve the problem or quietly be buried along with all the other violations of the Alliance Human Rights Treaty.
“How long do we let the subjects interact in a real world setting?”
“It looks as though the team wants at least 6 months before they are brought back for debriefing and assessment.”
“How will we monitor their actions, if we release them out into the public?” Grey suit frowned as he pondered the ramifications his question brought to mind. “What happens if there is a problem with the procedure or they get their memories back? What if they require medical treatment that brings attention to the procedure?”
“Their medical files are all annotated; the medical elect must be immediately notified if any of the subjects are brought to Core facilities.” Blue suit’s voice communicated contempt for Grey suits ill-concealed fears. “The 14 subjects are all healthy and—“
“What do you mean fourteen? I was told there were 50.”
“The rest proved to be unstable, the procedure was unsuccessful.”
“I thought that was what made them prime candidates” He responded mockingly, “How are we dealing with them?” Blue suit stared intently at him.
“We are dealing with them.”
“Fine” Grey suit visibly cloaked himself in the armor of the bureaucrat, “but I need answers if I am to get Parliament to sign off on your budget request.”
“Of course...you may inform the committee that they will all have unfortunate accidents after being sent to penal colonies for the various crimes they are bound to commit upon release. In the mean time, our successful candidates have shown great promise and we expect great results from them.”
Grey suit stared off into space for a moment and then replied, "I am authorized to grant you an interim budget increase until full committee approval is received. This authorization depends greatly on the comfort level I feel regarding the success of your program. I would like to study these documents alone and determine for myself whether the committee’s faith in your team is warranted.”
“This room is at your disposal. Take as long as you like.”
“Thank you. I shall require a data pad with access to the cortex and coffee, if you don’t mind.”
Blue suit smiled, ”I’ll have the attendant fill your request immediately, let him know if you need anything else or have questions.” Blue suit retreated from the room and left Grey suit with the folder. Moments later, the same flunky returned with his requested items. Grey suit opened the folder and began reading the report, leafing through the pages until he came to the photos of the subjects.
Jayne Cobb’s face stared up at him with shark eyes and grim expression. Grey suit picked up the delicate china cup and sipped, contemplating the Blue Sun logo that matched the one inlaid in platinum on the wall facing the window.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-02-19 01:43 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-02-19 06:53 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-02-19 06:55 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-02-19 05:10 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-02-19 07:00 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-02-19 08:35 pm (UTC)Let's see, interesting that you're following up on some of the stuff I've heard/read re Blue Sun Corp working with the Alliance for some unknown motive. Interesting, though not surprising, that the powers-that-be didn't really learn anything from Miranda. Interesting that Jayne is one of the subjects under discussion.
Yes, the beginning paragraphs were wordy, but not in a bad way. They set the tone quite well. The dialog did not seem stilted at all, nor was anything incomprehisble.
As I said, it will be interesting to see where you go from here. How did Jayne become a subject. What exactly are they setting up the subjects to do? How will this affect our loyal crew? All questions I'm sure will be answered in due course.
How's that? *g*
(no subject)
Date: 2006-02-19 08:47 pm (UTC)I figure if I want honest feedback and have specific concerns about what the reader is thinking, then I should reply in kind to the comments.
Have you ever read "Flowers for Algernon," if so it is a big hint about the plot and why Jayne is the key character. All will be revealed in due time, as you mentioned.
A million thanks for giving me more!
(no subject)
Date: 2006-02-19 08:58 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-02-19 11:06 pm (UTC)Hmm. I'm always willing to help beta if you need it.