Page 96 of Perfection
Chapter Twenty-three
York inhaled a deep breath before he waved his police ID beneath the computer scanner at Seville. Kindra’s gaze darted about, perhaps checking to see if any of her former colleagues were around. It was two in the morning, so he didn’t think that was likely. They might encounter the personnel assigned to work on the virus, but that was all.
A backup team led by Cal waited nearby, ready for every scenario they could think of.
The system accepted the police override and the door unlocked with an almost inaudible click. Inside, Kindra took the lead. They proceeded directly to the main lab. The entire facility was computer operated at night, with androids working the robotic processing continuously to analyze samples.
Kindra checked the robotic workbenches behind glass stations, then the computer. For a long while, she typed and scanned and reviewed data. The androids went about their business as if she weren’t there. She had brought samples of blood and DNA from the children they’d overseen today, so she put them into the automated synthesizer. It would go through the steps of separating out the genomes for analysis.
“The first step is to amplify the DNA strands using a G6-thermal cycler to micromanage DNA synthesis. Structural nucleic acids and protein analysis can then be done automatically using a combination of NMR, PST, and crystallography. Crystallization often takes hundreds to thousands of experiments to create a protein crystal suitable for X-ray crystallography, but an automated micro analyzer can allow nearly a million different crystals to be created at once.”
York understood very little of what she said. She sparkled like the sun, completely dominating while in her element. He loved watching her. He loved that she was so bright and talented and sexy. He couldn’t stop his feelings for her, despite the fact they were completely incompatible and their union was illegal.
“Glad to see you, Kindra,” Comp Nine said.
“I’ve missed you,” she replied.
The tiniest pang of jealousy coursed through him, a hit of electrical current, because he longed to hear those words spoken to him. About him.I’ve missed you.He shook his head, then heard a weird snapping noise.
Had it been the computer? Whatever it was, the machine didn’t kick them out, so he was good with it. Watching Comp Nine, he wondered if computers could be jealous of other computers. Could Nine feel animosity toward HERO, the massive computer doing the specialized genetic work?
Finally, she pushed back in her desk chair and crossed her arms in front of her. “I don’t get it. The computer seems to be missing steps. It’s as if someone set the wrong parameters.” She shook her head in disgust. “No one here would do that unless it was intentional.”
“Like they were trying to ensure the analysis would fail or give false results?”
“Yes,” Kindra said. “I corrected the anomaly, though, so let’s see what we get.” She pressed a button to begin the analysis.
The words Catastrophic Failure flashed on the screen just long enough for the message to register in his brain. Then an explosion shook the building. York looked at Kindra as something knocked her to the floor. His heart pounded against his ribs as he ran to her, ceiling tiles raining down like missiles. He threw himself on top of her and dragged her beneath a table, keeping her shielded beneath him. The glass of the workstations had shattered, the pressure and sound deafening to his ears. More debris came crashing down.
After a couple of long minutes, when everything seemed to have settled, he touched Kindra’s shoulder, running his hand down her back. “Are you hurt?”
“No,” she answered, her voice trembling.
He helped her out. “Be careful. Some of the walls and cubicle frames may be unstable.”
“What happened?” she asked, holding her head and looking around.
“Something blew up.”
Cal burst into the room. The plan was for him to keep watch from outside, but the explosion obviously scared the shit out of him. His expression shifted from terrified to relieved as he saw they were okay. Then his gaze swept the room. “Look.” He pointed to the computer screen.
York and Kindra both turned. On Nine’s screen, a message flashed in red.
Warning: HERO Disconnected.
“Do you know where that’s housed?” York asked Kindra.
She nodded frantically. “Yes. This way.”
She led them to the far side of the building. The damage grew worse the closer they got to the HERO computer. Finally, they came to an impassable area blocked by debris. “The room is right through there.” She pointed in the direction of a computer housing room.
Cal looked at York and stated exactly what he was thinking. “This was not an accident.”
York shook his head. “No, it wasn’t. The computer was rigged.” He paused, brushing chunks of drywall from his hair. “Which means our perp is someone inside Seville.”
* * *
Kindra shook uncontrollably. She thought of Brianna, waiting for her mother to find a cure. Tears filled her eyes. Images of tucking her little girl into a cryo-pod flitted through her mind. What would happen to Brianna if something terrible happened to her mother? What if Kindra couldn’t find a cure? What if the viruswasn’tcurable?
