Sunday, October 20, 2013

Project Tegenaria

Professor Black took another frantic look in the rear view mirror.  He couldn't see particularly clearly due to the driving rain and the speed he was travelling, but he was sure they couldn't be far behind.

The Foundation had served him well since his graduation in '69, however his work since the day he was given the role of Project Lead would be for naught if they caught him now.  He pressed a little harder on the accelerator.

Back in '69 he was practically a child.  His research was good; he knew that.  The Foundation were taking a risk employing him as project lead at such a young age.  The very sound of it both excited and terrified him: a forty year project.  A project that would test his patience, his scientific skill and his humanity.  Professor Black took another look over his shoulder.  He could see lights in the distance - were they closing in?  He watched as the speedometer flicked over 100, remembering back to his first year on the project.  Damn, if he could only have seen then what a fool he'd been.

It had taken him almost six months to set up.  The legalities of covert surveillance were tricky and not his forte, but he had support from the Foundation's legal division.  "As long as you're related we're covered" was the crux of it.  His own family it was, then.  Every meal, both of his children's entire childhood, every time he and his wife had made love; all caught on camera and logged.  Every second of sleep observed and analysed by his own team.  He was fucked if he was going to let all this go to waste.  He may have managed to keep it from the people closest to him for almost half a century, but the public needed to know.  He took out his phone and clicked on the blue and white 'F' logo.  Thank God for technology.  If he could just release the final data, that might be enough.  His eyes flicked between the blurred white lines of the road and his phone, as he pressed the 'Status update' button.  The progress bar began to fill.  He put the phone on the dashboard as he frantically pulled off his lab coat and tossed it into the back seat.

He wanted to publish all his findings.  He wanted desperately to tell the public about that first incident, eighteen years into the project.  The phone call at 4.15.  Incident T-16.  Specimen T-16-1.  He had seen that footage so many times it was burnt into his memory.  His own wife, shifting in her sleep as the moment approached, completely unaware of what was about to happen.  He would know, but she could never find out.  "No time" he thought. It had been so difficult to keep all this inside for so long.  With his left hand on the wheel and the phone in his right, he began to type.

His phone sent the message and he relaxed slightly.  It was the first time he had eased off since his meeting with the Foundation's board that morning.  Those fucking cunts, well he'd show them.  Now the whole fucking world would know.  Even if it was through word of mouth they'd know.  Even if not a single paper was released, every record shredded, every video erased, each and every person in the country would find out.

They were right behind him now.  So close he could almost make out their features.  He took a deep breath and turned the wheel slightly to the right.

The blurred outline of the truck approached and he checked his phone for the last time.  As the cab of the articulated wagon forced its way into his car, he smiled as he recited his words: 'The average person will eat three spiders in their lifetime'.

No comments:

Post a Comment

I love comments. Love 'em. However, abusive or spam or Anonymous ones may well be sent straight to the bin. Thems the rules.