For The Future Part III

Participants:

amber_icon.gif bella_icon.gif bao-wei_icon.gif gregor_icon.gif julie_icon.gif luis_icon.gif

Scene Title For The Future Part III
Synopsis Mohinder's hand-chosen scientists at the Institute's Staten Island research facility are given a surprise introduction to Doctor Luis and his research team for a new project.
Date June 8, 2010

Staten Island Hospital

Formerly known as Staten Island University Hospital, this facility is a two-campus, 785-bed former teaching hospital. Now the sprawling campus is patrolled by members of the Stillwater Solutions Private Military Company in accordance with their arrangements with the United States Government. The facility itself had been abandoned since the 2006 nuclear explosion on Manhattan when residents of the hospital along with staff were evacuated off of Staten Island. Today the hospital stands as renovated and fully operational, patched back in to the local power grid and ready for use. The many buildings of the Hospital campus are understaffed with only a handful of the actual buildings on the two campuses open and operational.

Access to the hospital is restricted to government personnel and the razorwire fencing surrounding the hospital has large signs warning that trespassers into the hospital will be potentially met with lethal force. With violent crime as rampant as it is on Staten Island, warnings like this in government controlled areas are not surprising.


"It has become appallingly
obvious that our technology
has exceeded our humanity.
"
- Albert Einstein

It is a rare day when there is more than a skeleton crew at the Staten Island Hospital on the island's southern coast. Certainly the presence of the National Guard and United States Military at Miller Field is a common sight, but never is there military hardware present in the hospital grounds itself. It began some time around 6:00pm when the first personnel carriers arrived, dispensing twenty armed guards to form a perimeter around the hospital without informing research personnel what was going on aside from additional security precautions.

By 6:30pm a pair of armor-plated white vans emerged into the grounds of the Staten Island Hospital and remained parked in the front driveway under watchful eye of the security forces, right up until the black-uniformed members of the Stillwater Security team arrived in a third van, entering the hospital and corralling the security team into the first basement level for their protection. The room they are gathered in is Laboratory 5, an expansive biological research station seeing only partial use due to the small number of researchers present at the hospital under the auspices of the Institute.

By 7:00pm the Stillwater Security teams radios crackled, insinuating that the packages were ready for transport, accompanied by the sounds of a helicopter's roaring approach to the rooftop helipad, heard as barely more than a subtle thumping noise in the basement level. It was not long after this that an additional retinue of twenty-six white-coated researchers emerged into Lab 5 and begin booting up unused computers and bringing in additional electronic hardware to connect to the network.

At 7:30pm the Stillwater Security team moved out of Lab 5, still refusing to answer questions regarding the event taking place, only to find them replaced by the emergence of five white-suited Retrievers of the Institute, men in radiological-biological-chemical protection suits, faces shrouded behind black glass masks and voices modulated thorugh hissing resporators.

They emerge into Lab 5 with a pair of unusual devices, heavy metal and plastic shipping containers with outward facing electronic displays showing what are clearly vitals beeping and chirping in steady green and red lines. These containers are moved into the center of the lab and medical gurneys are rolled in afterward, one placed beside each container.

Just prior to 8:00pm the medical bay doors open to reveal the Stillwater Security team again, leading a short and humble looking blonde man in handcuffs into the lab. His wrists are bound in front of himself, ankles shackled together by chain and his mouth is covered with a restraint covering the lower portion of his face. Only the round-lensed eyeglasses he wears seem to be the only non-restraining piece of additional attire aside from his lab coat.

He is led thorugh the lab and paraded to the side of the containers, whereupon he waits patiently on his short leash, before turning just prior to the opening of the lab's double doors, when a tired-looking gray-haired old man steps wordlessly into the laboratory, his lips downturned into a frown and posture hunched, a tiny blonde girl of waifish build situated at his side with her hands folded behind her back and eyes curiously inspecting the gathered researchers.

"Excellent," he murmurs, reaching up to lay a hand on the young teen's shoulder, "excellent… yes this, this will work." For the scientific minds in the room, his identity needs no introduction, needs no preface at all.

He is the public head of the Institute, Doctor Jean-Martin Luis.

Bella possesses just a hint of the log-time drug user's distrust of uniformed mobilization. To her, these are hordes that may back her up, but could just as easily drag her down. She peeks from windows, makes inquiries of the underlings, and generally stalks about trying to discern just what's going on here. Of course, she need only wait. When the upper echelons are assembled, herself amongst them, she covers all signs of anxiety and simply smiles her serene, therapist's smile of polite attention, keeping it in place even as the shackled man has been brought in. Even when Dr. Luis himself appears. She remains alert, quiet, and attentive

This should be good.

Since her earlier discussion/debate with Bella, Amber has been trying to keep herself busy. Very busy. With Science! But even she cannot ignore the odd goings on that are occuring today, and it has her frowning as she watches in silence. Observing. Studying. Thinking.

The security people, while overdone in her opinion, aren't the curiosity. They're just a sign of it, so they are, essentially, ignored by the molecular biologist. The prisoner is the first to truly gain her interest, and she studies him from the moment he appears until Doctor Luis shows up, then he gains her attention and scrutiny. It's his words that prompt the first ones from Doctor Mitchell, a query, perhaps a bold one under the circumstances.

"What will work, exactly, Doctor Luis?"

For nearly the past two hours, Bao-Wei Cong has felt his territory encroached upon and literally stomped all over. He does not take kindly to being shepherded around, nor does he exude a pleasure in having absolutely none of his inquiries actually answered. As a result, his usually stellar mood- by standards being abrupt- is in an even less level state. Cong's agitation is clear during the entire process, and during his being cajoled into the same room with doctors Sheridan and Mitchell. Bella simply makes him irritated- he has no qualms with Amber other than being here is losing him valuable time in exchange for pomp and too much testosterone. A target isn't a target unless you make a show of telling everyone that it is. Like now. One of his life lessons in lasting so long in this particularly grody field.

Bao-Wei's attention is divided between action and those faces he happens to catch, only to offer a tight-lipped glare in response. That is, up until the point that the seeming purpose of the events comes through, shackled and pinned in on himself. Gregor's presence bends the immensely displeased expression on his face into one of interest, the eyes behind his own glasses searching for something that he will probably not find, nor hear.

Even Luis is given a delayed reaction, Cong's gaze restless on the shackled man for a few moments after the other's entrance. When he does turn his eyes, they skip right over to the young girl standing near him. She is not spared the usually grumpy expression- it's been a staple as of late.

"Who're you?" Luis snaps at Amber as if she were a complete stranger, followed by a look across the lab to Bella and Bao-Wei with equal scrutiny, "who— who are any of these people, I thought I told you I wanted the lab clear." Doctor Luis snaps around, looking furiously towards the chief of security from Stillwater standing by the door, his crew-cut and lantern-jawed head offers a subtle nod and a motion to the people that Doctor Luis was just barking out confusion at. Before he can answer though, the tiny blone by Luis' side reaches up to take one of the old man's weathered hands in one of hers and squeezes it gently.

"Doctor Cong, Doctor Sheridan and Doctor Richards, father. They're the independant research team that Doctor Suresh put together, remember?" Eyes going wide, Luis turns and looks down to the tiny blonde girl, blinks several times and then looks up to the three doctors and furrows his brows, nodding his head distractedly.

"Ah— Ah yes, yes I recall. Mohinder and his… yes, yes very well they will do likewise." After that somewhat dismissive comment, Luis walks across the lab floor, towards where the bespectacled and handcuffed scientist stands patiently with his muzzle on. A look is offered askance to the blonde girl and then up quietly to the other three scientists. "One of you make yourselves useful, fetch me a pair of syringes with twenty-five mililiters of chloropomazine," which is to say he plans on sedating someone, "and a coffee," which is less medical in nature. "For God's sake unbind him too he's useless without his hands!" Luis demands of the security team watching Gregor.

As Luis makes his approach to the coffin-like containers, the Stillwater Security personnel begin the process of unlocking the handcuffs around Gregor's wrists and detatching the straps buckling the mouth-guard from his face. There's a look from Gregor at the man handling his muzzle, blue eyes narrow and lips curled into an inviting smile that unnerves the security officer as he backs away.

"I'll get your coffee, father," offers the delicate young blonde girl as she disengages her hand from Luis, offering an apologetic look over to Bella, Amber and Bao-Wei in one sweeping glance. "I'm sorry if he seems a bit unusual today, it's been a stressful evening for him. My nameis Julie," she introduces with a dip of her head down and a hand motioning to her collar, "and the gentleman they are removing the restraints from is Dmitri Gregor, my father's lab assistant. My father was briefed on you all, he just… he has a lot on his mind right now. Were you told anything of our arrival?"

Anti-psychotics? Well, that falls neatly within Bella's bailiwick. The psychiatrist rises to her feet at once and moves to a lab intercom, buzzing the nurses' station. "A vial of chlorpomazine and a syringe, stat," she says, with a politeness that makes 'stat' almost sound like 'please'. She turns back to the happenings, and gives Julie a warm smile, "A pleasure, Julie," she says, "And I'm afraid this all comes as something of a surprise, though I'm sure the details will be revealed in good time." For all Bao's cantankerousness, Bella seems determined to match him with good cheer. Different strokes, one must suppose.

When the nurse arrives with the drug, Bella fills the syringe herself, moving over to Dr. Luis and offering it, like a knight offering up his sword to a sovereign. "Doctor," she says, with an appropriate dash of deference.

A brow slowly arches at Luis's comments, insult showing briefly on her features. Then she turns, neatly putting Doctor Luis at her back, and facing Julie. "No, we were told nothing, and I would highly appreciate knowing what is going on before I return to my work. What we're doing here is important. Too important to waste time with secrecy games."

Bao-Wei does not address Julie- rather- his low, level tone addresses any one of the adults who seem to know what is going on- partially the extra bodies in the lab. "What I want to know is why there is such a terrible fuss over Hannibal Lecter, here. These measures were completely unnecessary and a waste of an evening." Which could have been spent at work, is what Cong means.

Dismissively waving down to a surgical tray attached to one of the gurneys, Luis seems generally unfocused on her despite the fact that she's promptly answering his request. "Mnh, just lay them down on the tray I won't need them until we get our patients awake, werne't you briefed on any of this?" Luis offers an askance look and a narrow-eyed stare at Bella before turning his attention down to the coffins. "Dmitri if you would please get these open, I need to assess their physical conditions."

Nodding his head, Gregor walks over to the closest coffin and begins typing in a sequence of numbers into the keypad on the top, followed by the large red execute button which initiates a seemingly automated series of disconnections showing in sequence over the tiny display screen next to the keypad. As that proceeds, he moves to the second coffin and begins the same procedure wordlessly.

"What we are doing here is of the absolute importance, Doctor Richards," Luis insists with a shaky motion of one hand as he looks past Allison towards where Jule is across the lab, accosting the Mr.Coffee for a fresh cup. When his attention settles back on Mohinder's teamof researchers, Luis seems a bit more lucid than before. "We are going to be opening a window into the future, your fruitless search for Ambrosia can continue at a later date. You are all on this project as of today."

With that startling proclimation, there is a pressurized hiss as the lids of the coffins begin to slide pen on their own accord, the whirring click of hydraulics coming with their covers lifting open to reveal a heavy gas filtering up from within that billows out of the cases along with a spaghetti tangle of plastic tubing connected to automated chemical infusion mechanisms that seem to have hooked up the contents of these cases to both vital sign readers and a steady dose of sedatives of some kind.

As the gas clears and the lids open, there is a noisy chirp in sequence from each casket as the gas parts to reveal a man and a woman laid out in the padded interior, mouth and nose covered with respirators and eyes shut like in sleep. However, these aren't just unfamiliar test subjects, not to Bella Sheridan at any rate.

One of them is Gillian Childs, and the other is Pastor Joseph Sumter.

Ah.

Dr. Sheridan can't but be a little discomfited at the sight of her erstwhile Subject J-1. This discomfiture finds expression in three quick blinks, before it is carefully suppressed. Bella's eyes cut over to Luis, even as her hand moves to set aside the syringe. "I'm afraid there must have been some communicational mixup," she suggests, "This is all quite out of the blue." She glances over her shoulder at her fellow researchers, for confirmation of this fact. When she returns he eyes frontwards, they settle onto Joseph's visage. She points at him, "I know this man," she says, "A symbolic precognitive."

Blue eyes regard Dr. Luis out of their corners, as Bella purses her lips, "I feel I may be sensing your intentions, Dr. Luis, but I'd rather not assume anything. Please, if you would elucidate for us. I'm sure we'll be much more useful once we have been properly briefed."

When she's spoken to Amber shifts so that she can look at Luis, looking highly unimpressed by the man. "Yes. Elucidate. Because our work as it is is very useful, and no scientist can operate without information and a task."

"Fruitless!?" The hiss comes from Cong. Bao-Wei's thoughts on how useful one of these coffins could have been are preempted by Luis' accidentally grating word usage. "I will have you know that fruitless is far from the truth." If the Institute is going to send such a heavy hitter, you might think he would be up to snuff. Frankly, he does not give a damn about whoever is in the pair of coffins- his pet project is being affronted. "I understand the need for branching out perfectly. Brum's work has been a boon to us, considering whatever else we may not have."

Cong is not arguing against a new project- just defending the first.

The drop of the name Brum causes an immediate reaction from Gregor as he alights his stare from down into Gillian's coffin. His fingers slowly brush a lock of hair from her cheek in unsettlingly tender a motion. "The journals that you were— " Gregor sucks in a sharp breath, "afforded came from my personal collection. I am a student of Heinrich Wagner's work and the original researchers of Project— Icarus." Dmitri has a unique manner of speaking, hitching breaths and whispered words, as if he has some sort of shortness of breath at all times, coming off as exasperated sounding all the time.

"Desmond Harper was supposed to come and deliver information to you all earlier today, I take it he was held up…" comes the smooth answer from Julie as she walks up behind Luis, offering him up a steaming cup of coffee. Luis looks down at the cup bewildered before realizing the beverage was requested and tentatively smiles, carefully cradling his fingers around the mouth of the ceramic mug to take it from the tiny blonde.

Julie turns, regarding the researchers instead of her 'father'. "For the remainder of the week you're all going to be a part of Project Delphi in exclusion to your typical work. We're," we're "performing a test of a procedure that will allow us to look into the future and posit questions to a source that will be capable of showing answers to us." Julie offers a nod down to the coffin containign Joseph in it. "These temporary test subjects will help us refine the procedure for when we utilize it on our primary subjects."

Looking up from his coffee, Luis furrows his brows and offers a delayed smile. "Oh," he interjects, "you were in the magazine with me," Luis notes to Bao-Wei grinningly, "oh that's just marvelous, yes. Yes this is going to be wonderful…"

Amber folds her arms over her chest, head tilting as she glances, as though uninterested, at the two unconscious people, then at Gregor with a bit more interest, before she finally looks to Luis. Though it was Julie who's offered explanation, it's him she addresses. "If you want our help, you'll need to give us more information than that. The man may be a precog, but that doesn't explain what this project consists of, or why the woman is here as well. Is she another precog? More, why is this more important than the work we're already doing?" Though it sounds as though she's already decided that it isn't. After all, she has her own agenda for the work she's been doing.

After giving Gregor as much of a thankful look that he can muster in this state, Doctor Cong peers closely at Luis from where he stands, as if it may be possible to somehow strip his absentmindedness with his own mind. Reluctantly, he addresses Julie in part, but his manner seems to abide with his temper, when he does respond(after a pause) to Luis. Somehow he cannot stay agitated with a man that does not even seem to realize what is going on.

"…You should have seen what they refused to print." Continue.

"It's alright Doctor Richards," Luis notes a bit dodderingly as he leans in to Joseph's coffin and gently urges the Pastor's mouth open, latex gloved fingers pawing around inside in inspection of something before looking back over his shoulder to Amber. "You don't have to understand in order to follow instructions, why I've trained a pair of mice to electrocute themselves on verbal command so I'm fairly certain you — " Luis' rambling commentary is cut off when Julie affectionately nudges him in the side and turns her attention up to Amber, smiling apologetically.

"It's only a week of your time, and when we're done we'll be leaving Doctor Gregor here with you, he's the only person in this room who has thus far successfully reproduced an SLC-expressive ability on the synthetic level, even if it was not quite a clean procedure." Gregor meets Julie's gaze briefly, warningly, and then returns his attention to Gillian without interruption. Julie's eyes blink shut and when they open her stare is settled on Bao-Wei instead of Amber. "Besides, I think you'll be pleased to find out the test question to Project Delphi as well," Julie offers as she folds her hands behind her back and rises up onto her toes.

"Does Project Icarus succeed?"

Julie's impish smile insinuates that she's very curious as to the answer.


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