The God Virus

"Yes?" came Henderson's voice.

"It's Agents Chase and Duffy. Can we have a quick word with you, Dr. Henderson?"

"Things are kind of busy right now."

"It will only take a moment. It's about Janet Hooks."

"Very well," he replied as the security doors released in front of them.

They found Dr. Henderson in one of the side labs looking at a computer screen filled with data overlaid on various graphs.

"What can I do for you, Agent Chase?"

"We were talking with Dr. Chambers. Is it correct that you were the one to recruit Janet Hooks to this project personally and that Razinski had no knowledge of it beforehand?"

Henderson pursed his lips in thought then answered slowly, "That would be accurate. I decided to approach Janet myself about a position here. Corwyn wasn't thrilled about it at first, but I convinced him of the importance to our project."

"Why did you feel you needed the help of a psychologist?"

"I couldn't answer that without getting into area's of security I'm not allowed to discuss."

"We have two deaths here Dr. Henderson, and I for one think that something is off about this whole mess. We determined today that Janet Hooks was pregnant when she died, and Dr. Chambers has assured us that her sexual orientation would have precluded that possibility, so perhaps you would like to help us shed some light on what happened to this poor woman."

"Pregnant? I can't...I mean I don't have any idea who would have..."

"Raped her?" put in Duffy.

"What about Lieutenant Webb? Maybe that's what prompted his suicide," said Chase.

"Webb was an asshole, but I seriously doubt he was a rapist. Besides, he hardly ever spoke to Janet."

"Please, Dr. Henderson...John...Help us understand this situation. If you know anything at all that would lead us in the right direction..."

Henderson looked around the room as if expecting security to burst in before he could open his mouth and haul him away.

"Look...I wanted Janet here to evaluate the volunteers on a regular basis...I guess I mainly did it because of Roger..."

"Roger? Who's Roger?"

"Roger wasn't a who exactly. He was one of the chimpanzees we used for research when we were still at the university."

"What does a chimp have to do with Janet Hooks?"

"When we were in the last phases of our research at the university there was an abnormality. Roger started to develop behaviors way out of line with his usual persona. He started acting aggressively toward the other chimps challenging the alpha for dominance when he had been the timidest one in the enclosure before that time. It manifested fairly quickly, and his behavior became almost...I don't know...If he had been human, I would have said paranoid and manic. We had to remove him when he killed one of the other chimps. Dr. Razinski felt that he had isolated what went wrong that caused Roger's condition, so we didn't worry about it then. Once we got the military funding to move ahead with human trials, I started to worry about it again. I decided that maybe it would be a good idea to have a psychologist to monitor the men for any signs of paranoia or megalomaniacal behavior."

"I'm surprised the Army didn't insist on having that done up front," said Chase.

"Actually, they didn't know about Roger. We left that incident out of our data when we presented the project."

"You what! Are you telling me you're exposing these men to a potential brain-altering drug and you didn't tell them?"

"Roger was an aberration! One that Corwyn fixed it could never happen again..."

Before Henderson could finish his statement, an alarm became to sound throughout the research wing.

"What the hell is that?" shouted Duffy.

"Breach of containment!" answered Dr. Henderson even as he was already up and running for the door. Chase and Duffy followed close behind as he ran for the entrance to the research containment unit where the volunteers lived. He stopped short when he found Dr. Razinski standing at the environmental control panel just outside the door to the room.

"Corwyn? We have a breach alarm. Did you start a lockdown?"

"That won't be necessary, John. We can just take out the trash. No need for these inferior attempts anymore..." said Corwyn calmly.

"What are you talking about? Corwyn wait!"

"What is he doing?" asked Chase urgently.

"He's shutting down the oxygen pumps and reversing the flow. The men will suffocate!"

Chase and Duffy pulled their weapons from their concealed holsters pointing them at Corwyn's back.

"You need to stand down and back away from the panel, Doc, and I mean right now!" said Chase.

"Corwyn listen to them! Jesus!" shouted Henderson.

Through the glass viewing panel, they could see the four volunteers already writhing on the floor as they were bereft of oxygen. Henderson shouted a strangled cry and threw himself at Razinski momentarily blocking the Agent's line of fire. His hands reached out to grab at the other scientist but never made contact. As if hitting an invisible wall Henderson was suddenly hurled backward flying through the air and crashing into the far wall near the intercom.

"What the Hell!" said Duffy following the path of Henderson's flight with her eyes.

"Dr. Razinski this is your last warning! Drop to the ground, or we will fire!" cried Chase.

"My dear Agent Chase. We talked about this already didn't we? What greater weapon than the mind. I'm afraid you brought a gun to the wrong fight, my friend."

Chase saw he had no choice and made to pull the trigger of his 9mm handgun only to find that he could not. He tried a second time, but his trigger finger refused to move.

"I...can't fire...Duffy!" groaned Chase desperately.

"I...can't either...won't move..." gasped Duffy.

"I told you. A man who masters the full potential of the mind would be a God. Kneel before your God, Agent Chase."

Chase felt his knees buckle involuntarily and he pitched to the ground his gun slipping from his fingers. He tried to look up, but his head refused to move. The sound of footsteps came toward him, and he saw the tips of Dr. Razinski's shoes enter the edge of his vision.

"Don't worry, Agent Chase, you stand at the dawn of a new age. The first subjects of a new order that will bring peace to a world long in need of it. Isn't that grand?"

Chase felt himself loosing conscious suddenly, but even as the darkness claimed him he thought he heard a distant voice yelling, "Crash Fire...Crash Fire..."

"I think he's coming around," said a familiar voice.

Adam Chase groaned his head pounding like he was coming off the worst hangover of his life. He realized that someone was cradling his head in their lap and he opened his eyes to find the welcome face of Karen Prince staring down at him.

"Karen? What happened? I was trying to shoot Razinski and then..."

"He mind walloped you," came Harriet Duffy's voice from behind him.

Adam sat up still holding his head, "Something like that I guess."

"Don't worry he got me too," said Duffy.

The room slowly came into focus, and Chase realized he was in Razinski's old office. Dr. Henderson was sitting at the desk holding his head in his hands looking thoroughly depressed and beaten while Karen sat on the floor and Duffy leaned against a credenza.

"How long was I out?"

"I came to just before you. I guess I have a harder head. You've been out for about an hour."

"What's the situation?"

"Well...Doctor Brain Drain suffocated the volunteers and locked us in his office. Dr. Prince was the only other one in the research wing, and he brain zapped her and brought her here as well. That's about all we know so far except that we don't have our guns."

"Great...What's happening in the rest of the base? Did he get them as well?"

"That is the one piece of good news. Dr. Henderson managed to hit the intercom and call for a base-wide lockdown before the Razinski could zap him again. For the moment, we are sealed in the research wing, and Razinski isn't going anywhere."

"For as long as that lasts. I suspect he will find a way out of this area soon if we don't think of a way to stop him," said Henderson morosely.

"I don't understand. How is Razinski doing this?" asked Chase.

"I honestly don't know. Our research was about the brain, but nothing about telekinesis or mind control it was about using viral agents to protect brain cells reducing fatigue among other benefits."

"What other benefits?"

"Look, this all started as a treatment for various brain diseases specifically cancer. Dr. Razinski's daughter, Elise, was diagnosed with it and he was seeking a way to save her life. When our funding with the university ran out, we turned to the military for help. We discovered during testing that the viral agent we were using had the side benefit of protecting brain cells from fatigue allowing the user to remain alert for long periods with full cognitive ability."

"How long?"

"We had men staying awake and fully alert for as long as five days."

"I could see why the military would be interested," commented Duffy.

"Yeah, but their not a patient bunch. Recently they started pushing us for better results while threatening to shut down our funding. Elise's condition was worsening, and Corwyn was getting desperate to finally perfect the viral agent to protect the brain cells fully."

"None of this explains how Corwyn was able to do what he just did to us."

"I am aware...though..."

"Though what?"

"It's...I don't know it seemed crazy at the time, so I dismissed it, but back when we had to put Roger down at the university lab, I could have sworn he threw a beaker at us."

"A chimp throwing at beaker at you seemed crazy?" said Duffy smirking.

"We were holding him down at the time, and the beaker came from behind us. I only caught it out of my peripheral vision, but I swear it was like it hovered up into the air and then flew at us. Corwyn convinced me I imagined the whole thing and I guess I wanted to believe that to be true."

"So you think this chimp may have been manifesting telekinetic abilities along with his mental deterioration?"

"It seems like that may be the case based on what I just saw out there."

"First things first, we need to get out of this office. The door is sealed?"

"Yeah. Corwyn overrode the lock from the outside. He also locked us out of the computer system so I can't even try to hack it from here," said Henderson shaking his head.

"Let's look around maybe we can find something we can use to pry the door lock," suggested Duffy.

The foursome began to scour the office looking through drawers and filing cabinets.

"Hey, Henderson why is this drawer locked?" asked Duffy pulling on the bottom drawer of the desk.

"I don't know this is Corwyn's private office so I don't have any idea what he would keep in there."

"Maybe he has a private stash I could so use a drink right now," remarked Duffy.

"I might not be able to get through the security lock on a door, but if someone has a bobby pin I might be able to get us into the desk," said Chase.

Karen smiled removing one from her hair, "Would this help?"

"Perfect!" said Chase quietly wishing he could comfort his girlfriend in a more familiar manner.

The lock proved to be even easier than he imagined and a moment later he pulled the contents from the drawer.

"A laptop," said Duffy stating the obvious.

"He shouldn't have that at all computer data is supposed to be on the servers," said Henderson coming around to lift the laptop's lid. It powered on immediately displaying a password prompt.

"I know this sounds painfully trite, but...Elise," said Chase indicating the prompt with his hand.

Henderson typed it in, and to their surprise, the prompt went away, and they were taken to the desktop.

"So a megalomaniac genius who is lame at security," chuckled Duffy.

Henderson sat at the laptop pulling up files one at a time while the others searched for some way to open the door. Their efforts were brought up short when Henderson groaned aloud catching their attention.

"What is it?"

"Oh...My God, Corwyn..." breathed Henderson.

"What did you find, John?" asked Karen.

"He was taking the viral agent himself. Not only that but he was never taking the antidote to come down. He was so afraid of not completing his research that he decided the only way to meet the army's demands was to work twenty-four seven. According to this chart, Corwyn hasn't slept in nearly three months."

"Three months! We never did simulations on a duration that long. Even at six days, we saw all sorts of abnormalities in brain chemistry," exclaimed Karen.

"So the side effect of prolonged exposure was to give him mental powers?" asked Duffy.

"As well as a healthy dose of 'Dark Overlord' syndrome," cut in Chase.

"It sure looks that way though our research never got that far so who knows."

"Keep digging in there, Henderson, if Razinski kept good notes you might find something in the research we can use against him."

"I can tell you one thing. If these brainwave progression curves are correct, he is getting stronger day by day."

"Meaning what?"

"Right now it seems like he has to have line of sight on someone to concentrate his abilities otherwise he could have just kept us comatose and no threat to him, but according to these curves it won't be too long before he can reach out beyond that limitation and affect the minds of people at a distance. The base is on lockdown right now, so the only way to open the doors is from the outside effectively trapping Corwyn in here, but if he could manipulate the rescue team when they arrive..."

"He could escape this facility, and then God knows how much damage he could cause out in the real world," surmised Chase.

"We need to get out of here!" said Duffy redoubling her efforts to find a way through the door.

Almost as if the door had heard her plea it suddenly popped open. Adam made an effort to move toward it but found his limbs frozen in place. The same thing seemed to be affecting everyone else in the room as no one moved. The door swung wide, and Dr. Corwyn Razinski strolled in with a grin lighting his face.

"I thought I would grace you with my presence, my children. What is a God without worship, eh? I think a little worship is most definitely in order..."

Darkness descended over Adam Chase this time so quickly he never even felt himself hit the ground.

Once again, Adam came too with a whopper of a headache sitting up from the cold floor on which he lay. The situation was a bit different than last time though as he realized quickly he was only wearing his boxer briefs and there was no sign of his suit anywhere. A groan next to him made him glance over to were Harriet Duffy also lay prostrate. She too had been stripped of clothing except for her tan bra and matching panties. Adam tried not to stare, but he had to admit that Harriet had a banging body. He looked around the room for Karen and John and saw they were laying on the floor a short distance away equally as semi-naked as he and Harriet.

"Welcome back to the land of the living my children..." said Razinski in a loud voice.

He was sitting on a chair that was hovering a good two feet off the floor like a floating throne.

"Dr. Razinski! What do you want from us?"

"What does any God want Agent Chase? The worship of his children, and to watch them grow and prosper as is only right."

"Then what about Janet Hooks? Did she grow and prosper in your eyes?"

Razinski's face darkened, "Janet spurned my gift. I gave her the honor of bearing life, but she threatened to expose me to the world. I wasn't ready then...Still growing in my power...I wasn't ready...Had to take steps...I didn't want to hurt her, but sometimes sacrifice is required. All God's must accept a sacrifice every now and again."

"You raped her!" yelled John.

"Raped! No...I reached out and touched her mind and brought her willingly to me. Well...I might have nudged her mind just a little," said Razinski with a cackle.

"What about Lieutenant Webb?"

"Ha! Webb! Did the world a favor there if you asked me. A terrible man that one. He got what he deserved."

"Corwyn, please this isn't right, you value life. All our work has been about saving lives not destroying them. Let me help you."

"I don't need your help, John. I am beyond you now. I have seen my destiny, and it is a glorious path indeed. Don't worry though I won't be walking it alone. You shall be by my side children. I will walk you into the light of a new day for humankind."

"This guy has seriously gone around the bend," said Duffy with a sneer.

"I could strike you down for such blasphemy my dear, but instead I will give you a reward to show you how benevolent my leadership will be in the future. I am growing even as we speak starting to see things hidden from me before now. I can see into your heart and mind Harriet Duffy. The feelings you have hidden from your partner, Mr. Chase...The desires..."

"You are so full of shit! He's lying, Adam, I never..."

"You can't deny yourself any longer...Can you Harriet?"

While Adam looked on a change swept across Harriet's face, her eyes grew wide, and her breathing quickened. He looked on in shock as she reached behind her and casually unhooked her bra. Though he would have denied it to his grave he had always sort of wondered what his partner would look like naked and his curiosity was soon satisfied. The bra she had been wearing had barely hit the floor when she bent over and stripped off her panties with equal dexterity. Now Harriet Duffy's body was entirely on display in front of him. Her breasts were just as spectacular as he had imagined they would be much bigger than Karen's but still firm sticking up off her chest like two bullets capped with dark brown areolas of bumpy flesh with perfectly round dime-sized nipples in their centers. In between her legs, a well-trimmed bush of dark blond hair concealed her womanhood. She moved toward him reaching up to cup her ample breasts squeezing them, and making her erect nipples leap out even further.

"Oh...Adam...He's right...Wanted you for so long! Always kept it a secret but...I can't fight it any longer!"

"Harriet! This isn't you. He is manipulating you try to fight it!" cried Adam.

"Mr. Chase! Why be such a spoilsport? Especially when you want her just as badly don't you?"

Adam felt his body suddenly come alive with waves of desire his cock jumping instantly into a full erection pushing at the front of his boxers. He had never felt the need to be with a woman worse in his whole life, and it seemed to consume his will like a raging fire in his mind. Harriet was just inches away her sweet, full lips parting.

"Kiss me, Adam..." she begged slipping her arms around his neck.

"Harriet...I shouldn't...isn't right..." groaned Adam as he tried to resist the urge to taste Harriet's perfect, full lips.

"Adam! Don't do this please!" cried Karen who tried to start forward but was suddenly frozen in her tracks unable to move.

"Oh God!" groaned Adam.

Harriet's lips covered his, and they fell into a hot looking kiss their mouths sliding together. Adam struggled to control himself, but it was a losing fight. Harriet's lips were so warm and slick fuller than Karen's by a wide margin they felt wonderful on his own. He couldn't help himself as his arms shot out pulling her naked body tighter to him. The heat coming off her warmed his skin, and he ran his hands across her firm, athletic body.

The kiss broke both of them breathing hard.

"Give free rein to your needs. I command you to be fruitful and multiply!" cried Razinski.

"Adam..." groaned Harriet her eyes betraying the inner struggle she was waging.

"I know...Please, Razinski this is wrong! It isn't what we want..."