[i][b]PROLOGUE[/b][/i] *page_break *set gender "unknown" [b]Now playing as Doctor Laura[/b] *page_break “It’s never been easy, you know? Science, in general. The stress, the uncertainty, the backlash. But then again, it wasn’t meant to be, after all. This moment is just another moment in a long line of moments that came and are to come, in the long history of humanity." "But, oh well, I’m getting off track. Answering your question, our work here consists of nanomachines, son. Programmed with maintaining a healthy human body in its prime directive, these little ones will keep the body from natural human deterioration for as long as it can. Basically, the power to embrace or reject natural death with a simple choice.” you say, looking to the reporter in front of you. “So, essentially, you have removed the need for most drugs currently in the market today? Doesn’t that make you a target for some sort of reprisal?” he asks. “Yes, it does. But I’ve prepared for most scenarios.” You refuse to elaborate on the statement. “Alright, thank you for your time, Doctor.” You hear, as both of you rise from your seats and move towards the door. “The interview should be up by the end of the week. Have a good day.” *page_break Sighing, you make a mental note to accept fewer interviews in the future. Being constantly kept away from the lab like this is a no-go. As you cross the security doors, you hear your best friend Victor who works with you as a resident scientist and the Head of Security talking to some other staff members about proper security procedures. From day one you could tell he was thankful for the opportunity you gave. As you cross the corner, he walks over to you, and you both start discussing some new ideas you’ve had about better filtering the interviews. “Hey, Laura, uhm, I know it's not my place to judge but, do you really think it’s safe to bring a baby to the lab? I mean, this is a lab, the baby could get hurt. Or else.” your friend says, in a different tone far from his usual playful voice. “I don’t have anywhere else to leave…" *fake_choice #...him. *set gender "male" *set he "he" *set him "him" *set hiss "his" *set his "his" *set boy "boy" *set son "son" *set nephew "nephew" *set suit "suit" #...her. *set gender "female" *set he "she" *set him "her" *set his "her" *set hiss "hers" *set boy "girl" *set son "daughter" *set nephew "niece" *set suit "dress" "All immediate family lives in another country or continent, and I don't have the time to find a nanny. So it’s either here or here.” You say, knowing that he has a valid point. His face begins to beam, "Have you decided on a name for ${him} yet, or did you forget?" *if (gender="male") *goto male_name *if (gender="female") *goto female_name *label male_name *fake_choice #Alan *set name "Alan" #Britt *set name "Britt" #David *set name "David" #Diego *set name "Diego" #Kit *set name "Kit" #Jazz *set name "Jazz" #These aren't right I chose the perfect name for my baby ${boy} *input_text name *goto godfather *label female_name *fake_choice #Raven *set name "Raven" *set surname "Summers" #Darcy *set name "Darcy" *set surname "Summers" #Selina *set name "Selina" *set surname "Summers" #Kat *set name "Kat" *set surname "Summers" #Denise *set name "Denise" *set surname "Summers" #Jaime *set name "Jaime" *set surname "Summers" #These aren't right I chose the cutest name for my baby ${boy} *input_text name *set surname "Summers" *goto godfather *label godfather "I can't believe I get to be a godfather!", his face lights up even more. "I'll try to keep an eye out for the little one from now on.” He looks at you with a smile. “Appreciate it.” You smile back. “Now, back to work. Testing begins when you give the thumbs up.” While he goes back to checking everything, you head for the offices to check on your husband. *page_break At the office You're in a rush to talk to your husband about the latest developments in your new project. Nanotechnology is an unexplored area of science and the company is at the point of making a breakthrough. The receptionist at the lobby informs you that your husband is at a meeting with some shareholders. You sit on a sofa and you wonder how important the meeting was for him not to tell you about it. You wait a while but soon they're done with the meeting, you notice however that the shareholders don't look familiar and you feel uneasy. "What was that all about?" you ask. "Nothing you need to worry about honey." He smiles, ever so charming. "They just came to discuss the delivery of our next shipment." "What do you mean next shipment?"—you say scrolling through your tablet— "We're not slated to ship any product for weeks… unless." you look up from your tablet to see an even bigger smile on your husband's face. "Yes we're shipping the first batch of the vaccine before the day ends. I believe they've been fully tested, yes?" "No, Michael"— you remove your glasses in a bid to calm your nerves— "that's what I came to talk to you about. It's not finished yet. Test subjects rejected every dose of the vaccine… They all died!" "I thought you'd be excited by the recent developments," his tone becoming sharp. "Weren't you the one who wanted to save lives?" "I want to but…", his gentle skin brushes against yours as he stares into your eyes. "Then let's save them…together," he says. "Let's create a world that's perfect for our ${son}." Your happily ever after moment is cut short by the blaring sound of alarms. Your husband rushes to make a call and you go about doing the only think you can think of. *fake_choice #I've got to get my family out of here You race to the lobby in a flash and take the the elevator a few floors down and the scene before you is all blurry, there’s smoke everywhere. Dead bodies. Gunshots. Screams. Running scientists. Dead scientists. Fire. Chaos at its prime. The alarm systems keep repeating the same sentence, "Intruders at sublevel five!" "Sublevel five?" You think to yourself. "There's no equipment stored there for now only…" Your body tenses as you realize the gravity of the situation. Your next move is to… *fake_choice #Call Victor "Victor… Victor can you hear me?" There's silence at the other end. "Laura! Oh thank God. I was worried something had happened to you, are you alright?" "Yes, I'm fine. Listen… I need you to head to the nursery and get $!{name}. Meet me at sub-level 0 as soon as you can." "What, why? What's happening down there?" he asks. "There's no time, I'll explain when we get there." You quickly disconnect the call and head to the emergency elevator leading you straight down to sub level 0. A few minutes later you see Victor entering the lab holding baby $!{name}. He carefully lays ${him}in a corner and goes to position himself near a keypad, he types in a code and he looks at you. *goto launch_sequence #Head to the nursery You barely register the doors opening and a few people running out. Your only goal is to arrive at the crib. You must make sure your family is safe. In the distance you hear gunshots with different timings. A firefight, maybe? But is it safe? Looking to the ground, you see a few dead colleagues, some who worked in the same field as you. Walking away from the revolting sight you come to a corridor. Going down the maze of corridors and doors you find yourself getting ever closer to the room. As you turn one of the final corners, you start to hear high-pitched crying. You run to the door of the nursery, it's sealed shut so you swipe your access card. You look at your baby and breathe a sigh of relief while cradling ${him} in your arms. "Don't cry, mommy's here," you say still smiling. "Everything'll be okay, we'll soon be with your daddy." Pulling out your phone you dial Victor's number. "Is it ready, Vic?" you ask. "Yes, it is. But I need you down here quick, I think those armed guys are nearly here!" "I'll be there in a sec, I'm bringing $!{name} with me," you say running to the emergency elevator. "Any word from Michael, he hasn't contacted me since I left his office." "No word from him yet," he says. You swipe the card and head down the elevator still holding your baby in your arms. Your mind is filled with uncertainty as to why your company was invaded and fear because you're worried about your husband. You run into the lab with the baby and carefully lay ${him} down in a corner. You run over to the keypad opposite where Victor stands and type in the sequence, you look at him. *goto launch_sequence *label launch_sequence *line_break "You ready?" you ask him. He looks at you with a determined face, "As ready as I'll ever be." "Okay, on the count of three. [i]Three, two, one.[/i]" You simultaneously turn the knobs initiating the decompose sequence killing all the nanobots in the lab. "There, that should do it," you say relief washing over your body. *page_break "Now what?" As soon as he asks the question the room is immediately crawling with armed men who quickly surround you both. One of the mercenaries speaks into his wrist, "We've reached the lab sir. But the targets are nowhere to be seen. We have two unidentified here probably responsible for the missing targets. Awaiting orders. "Roger that." He motions over to some of the men to round you up. "Let's move." He says. You and Victor are escorted upstairs to the head office where you see Michael and a few more armed men. One in particular stands out from the rest, he wears a black leather trenchcoat with cargo pants and tactical boots, you can't see his face properly because he wears a full mask leaving his hair in the open. You also notice that he is holding a black box known to you as a Faraday cage, it seems to house something judging from the strange noises coming out of it. [i]"That's my design,"[/i] you think to yourself. "I hope it's not…" Your thoughts are interrupted by the masked man who decides to speak. "Thank you for joining us, I wish we met under better circumstances but alas I am here on business," he looks at us, clears his throat before continuing. "Well I made a deal with your dashing husband here to spare your life and the cute little baby here if he gives me what's in this box." He drops the cage on the table and you suddenly feel your arms empty. [i]How did he… he's with my baby.[/i] You scream and and attempt to free yourself from the grip of the person holding you but you're just not strong enough. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, love." He swings a shiv very close to ${name}'s face and ${he} begins to cry. "So what do ya say, the baby or the box. Time's ticking." "Michael do something please!", you yell as tears begin to trickle down your cheeks. "Please." "Fine, I'll open the box," Michael says. "But you're gonna regret it." He places his palms on the cage before speaking. *page_break "Execute Protocol [b]$!!{name}947[/b]." The box scans his palms briefly before opening. A swarm of nanobots fly out unto the floor before assembling themselves into a humanoid figure which closely resembles you. "So this is what the package was," the masked man says as he walks around carefully observing the figure but just as soon as he's about to speak the figure aims a punch for his face, his block isn't enough as he is sent flying across the room and into a wall. The armed men begin to shoot at the figure but the bullets don't seem to do any damage. It approaches you and bends to collect the baby from you and looks at you as if looking for your approval, you nod your head and it runs out of the office at an alarming speed clearing the office of any armed men. You hand Victor a watch. "This'll show you $!{name}'s location, when you see ${him} make sure you get out of here and head on to our house." "What do you mean? You can't stay here alone?!" Victor stresses with a disapproving look on his face. "Just do as she says Victor!" Michael walks over handing you a blaster. "We'll stall while you get my ${son} out of here. And if you fail—" Michael says aiming a blaster at Victor's chest.— "better make sure you die." He asserts himself facing the wall where the masked man is gradually making his way out of. "You shouldn't have done that. If you've not forgotten, I'm a ${gap} and you're just normal people with guns," he says setting his joints back in place. "Ah!" he yells as a blast hits him in the chest. "We may be normal people but we have these to even the odds," you say, cold sweat dripping down your forehead. "This'll be over soon," he says and dashes over to where you stand and knocks you aside knocking off the blaster you held moments ago, it lands on the floor and detonates sending the three of you flying across the room. You hit a wall and scream in pain as you register a burning sensation in your stomach. *page_break [i]Shrapnel...[/i] The masked man removes his mask revealing charred skin underneath. He walks over to your husband picking him up from his head. He gives him a long hard look and throws him out the window. "MICHAEL!" you scream as you watch your husband fall out of the window. You cry for what seems like minutes and a looming shadow shields your view. "Seems I don't have to kill you," the man says. "I'll be seeing you on the news." He walks over to the window and his body begins to disappear from view as if he was bathed in invisible liquid. You pull out your phone and try to make what you can of the broken screen. You dial Victor's number and you relax your body waiting for him to pick up. "Hey Laura are you alright?" Victor asks. "Not doing so well. How's ${he} doing?" you ask, the blood on your hand getting thicker. "$!{he}'s asleep. We just got to your home. Are you gonna—" the words get stuck in his throat. "No…I'm not," you say trying to control your breathing. "The wounds too deep…it's torn through my stomach. Can you do something…for me?" "Take care of ${him}… for us." "Don't worry, I'll take good care of ${him}," he says. You can hear him sobbing very hard over the phone. The phone drops from your hand and you ponder on the life your ${son} will live without you. You close your eyes for the last time before… *page_break *goto_scene chapter1