Opus Crescendo

Chapter 1

John Stratton stood before the newly completed Project Maestro building. It had taken the government years to build it discreetly, even though it was in the middle of nowhere. It jutted into the burned, orange sky, a sight that would be intimidating, if he hadn’t been the one who was tasked with running the project. Project Maestro, what the government thought would be the answer to their problems. Though why they’d chosen that name, John had no idea. Well, he had a vague inkling that they wanted this program to be their ultimate solution, their magnum opus. He sighed, that put him in the position of reluctant maestro.

The facility was huge and built into the bluffs native to southeastern Minnesota. He imagined it that it would be nearly impossible to see from the government-dominated road down below. Cars were starting to be difficult to come by for civilians – the government had started to acquire most of the cars for military purposes. Still, being hidden would be an advantage and he would take any advantage he could get. He doubted that they’d be giving him any; they lived to make his life difficult. After all, he had been one of the ones that tried to stop the government from putting them in this predicament.

He glanced down to his right side, where his beautiful wife – Darien Marcellus – sat in her wheelchair. Her silver blonde hair had an orange-pink look to it because of the burnt orange sky. John thought it made her look even lovelier. It made her eyes look more green…and somehow it made her look like she was always blushing; he’d always adored how she looked with that faint pinkness on her cheeks. That fondness was immediately replaced with guilt. He shouldn’t associate that sky with beauty. Ever. He was partially responsible for what had happened to the skies. And Darien held a portion of the blame as well. It was an ugly thing…and he shouldn’t find beauty in it ever. To his left were Elijah Freeman and Marianna Taranis. The four of them would each be contributing to Project Maestro in their own way.

I still don’t like that we’re helping them. Eli said, his face twisted into a snarl. After all, we did try and stop them…

I know, Eli, I know. Darien said, John noted that her voice was wistful but her face was schooled into a blank expression.

John felt sadness radiate from her and his heart sank into his gut. He glanced up at the sky – it was brutally orange, with lightning-like shocks of red and brown fanning through it. It was their fault the sky had been scarred – their fault entirely. He, Darien, and Eli had made a poor attempt to stop the government from burning the sky by using their Adept powers. Not even a month later, John had figured out several alternate ways that they could have handled the situation. They had been too arrogant to go and get help and they had suffered for it. Eli had been found out as an Adept and Darien had used her powers to the point that she didn’t have the strength walk for long periods of time. And that was on a good day. Continued use of her powers had kept her from recovering any of the strength she had lost. That had been fourteen years earlier, but that wasn’t why Darien was hurting so much.

No, her sadness was much more personal. John knew that very well. Because of their betrayal on the government, they hadn’t been able to keep their two baby girls, Aria and Madeline. They had sent them to a couple that had been unable to have children of their own to keep them safe. General Crawford had, in no uncertain terms, said that any of their children belonged to the government. The Braytons still occasionally sent pictures of the girls; Aria was eleven now, and Madeline had just celebrated her ninth birthday. They were cautious with the pictures, but they were honestly some of John’s most treasured possessions. He wanted to keep them on him all the time, but it was far too dangerous.

Because of how long it had taken to build the facility, the group had been researching everything General Crawford had wanted them to as well as performing their job duties at Oculus Mentis. It had been eleven long years of double duty. They had been given anti-aging pills to help them through this ‘troublesome’ time. John hated relying on them, but he wanted to keep some of his ‘youthful’ vigor for when the project started. Though, while the pills stopped him from physically aging, or at least slowed the process to what seemed like a standstill, they didn’t relieve the mental fatigue from a decade of overwork and heartbreak.

Might as well go in. I’m sure the people staffing the place want to meet us. Plus, there’s some scientists in there we should probably talk with. Marianna said as she tossed her golden hair over her shoulder. I still don’t understand how we’re going to implant an AI into a human. Even if that human was an Adept it wouldn’t work.

John nodded at her and motioned for his team to follow him. He hadn’t been quite able to wrap his mind around how they were going to be implanting the AIs either. He was sure it would be possible in some form – after all, many things that had been impossible at one time were completely possible now – but they hadn’t made many leaps in that particular science yet. It was still far more likely that the human would die during the implantation process because the science was complicated and not researched nearly enough. That, and science had never been John’s strong suit. He was far more suited for physical jobs and ones that dealt with people.

One of the guards finally made his way over to the quartet. Good afternoon, Major Stratton. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I assume that these people are part of your team? the boldest guard said, his voice was trembling almost imperceptibly. Unfortunately for the guard, three of the people in the incoming group were empaths of varying degrees. John figured the guard was playing dumb about the three people surrounding him – who else would they be? Idiot boy.

Why yes. This is my wife, our primary talent scout, Darien Marcellus, and the leads on research, Elijah Freeman and Marianna Taranis.

If the guards were afraid of whom they were dealing with, they didn’t show it on their faces. If John had been the one who trained them, he would have been proud. However, the air was buzzing with their emotions. John watched Darien’s face slip from being politely aloof into irritation – a tightening in the corners of her mouth and a small twitch of the eye. It was a reaction that most would miss, but John had gotten quite used to Darien’s subtle facial shifts.

Please, rein your emotions in, soldiers. Darien and Elijah are both empathic Adepts. The onslaught of your fear might just be enough for one of them to lose control of their powers. It really wasn’t -Darien and Eli had excellent control of their powers, but the soldiers didn’t need to know that. John wanted them a little afraid of the people running the facility. While he liked operating with people respecting him, sometimes a little fear was needed to keep things running smoothly. And he wanted things to run well from the beginning.

He was also an Adept, but they didn’t need to know that. Ever. He could barely feel their terror surge for a moment before waning into nothingness – but a forced nothingness. He might dislike the whole military thing for how they destroyed his life but the fear and respect his name commanded was quiet desirable.

As they entered the facility, John felt his jaw drop. While the building didn’t have the sheer beauty that Oculus Mentis did, it was certainly impressive. The ceilings were lofted and there were large windows that he knew weren’t regular glass – he had been very specific on that. If they were to his specification, they were bulletproof and likely very close to being unbreakable. He wasn’t naïve enough to believe that they’d actually being truly unbreakable. The walls weren’t steel, but they looked to be made of something sturdy; he had needed something that had more stability than drywall. The walls were an inviting cream color. That hadn’t been something he’d ordered, but he approved of the change. At least he did until he had the distinct sinking sensation that this part of the building was a façade to fool subjects and their parents into believing this program was actually for enrichment.

The guard who was leading them through the entrance area finally turned to them, a placid smile on his face. My name is Corporal McGinnis, and I’ll be giving you the tour of your facilities. This is the main lobby. As you can tell, it’s designed to be as welcoming as possible, while still serving as a strong point in the building.

John nodded as McGinnis was speaking. He could see that it was a strong point in the facility – he had requested it after all. He needed to keep the children involved in the program safe and the first step in that was ensuring that the building was up to scratch.

We’re going to move on to the officer housing facility so you may drop off your belongings. I assume that we’re going to be getting shipments from each of your homes?

Yes, we wanted to see what the size of your quarters were before we made the decision on how many possessions to bring. Marianna said, her voice still managing to hold the authority it had years before. John figured it would take no more than an hour for the staff to be terrified of the petite woman.

McGinnis smiled and nodded as he led them to the corridor on the right of the lobby. He was pleased that the contractor had listened to him – John had specifically requested that their rooms be away from where the recruits would be living. He didn’t want an emotionally and hormonally charged teenaged assassin, with an AI implant, slitting his throat while he was asleep over something as trivial as ‘training was too hard’. He didn’t have the level of situational awareness to deal with that, even as an Adept. Of course, the more determined ones would find their quarters anyway. The comfortable décor continued into this hallway, he assumed it was to give the vibe of ‘home’. He rolled his eyes, this place would never really be home, no matter how much they brightened the walls.

The first room is for you, Major Stratton. Miss Marcellus, yours is directly across the hall from his. Mr. Freeman, yours is to the right of hers, Dr. Taranis, yours is to the right of Mr. Freeman’s.

John entered his room; it was plain, but comfortable, definitely the typical military fare. Most of the room was carpeted, but there was a bit of tile leading into the bathroom area. The walls were white, but he was assured by Corporal McGinnis that they could customize the color. While he and Darien were married, the government wasn’t about to allow them to share quarters. They might conspire. He could contest it, but it would be foolish. They had given him a queen-sized bed and what he did behind closed doors was none of their business. There was no desk, but he wasn’t entirely surprised. He wasn’t going to be doing his work in this room. He had an office for that. He placed his suitcase on the floor and threw his greatcoat onto the bed. He would have plenty of time to get organized later; for now he wanted to get a feel for the rest of the building.

He was the first one back in the hallway. John leaned against the wall casually as he waited for his colleagues to emerge from their respective rooms. Corporal McGinnis was standing in the middle, nerves radiating from him. The poor corporal must have been briefed on how dangerous the people he was escorting actually were – not that any of them were going to do something dangerous. John was mildly disappointed, though he didn’t show it. He had thought the government would be smart enough to have another Adept escort them; one who would be able to handle their potential firepower. As far as they knew, there were two Adepts in the group of four. There were actually three, but John was loathe to admit that. He would have assigned a powerful Adept to escort the group, just from a safety standpoint, and so the group would feel slightly more welcomed than they currently were. Of course, he tended to think that he was more competent than General Crawford tended to be. There were reasons that Crawford was a general, yes. Some said it had to do with family money. Others said it dealt with the man’s insufferable personality – that he’d been removed from most day to day interactions because he was a pain to work with. John didn’t disagree with either of those theories.

The rest of the group trickled out into the hallway over the course of a few minutes.

Ah, excellent. Now that you’ve dropped off your belongings, we can continue our tour. After that, General Crawford would like to brief the four of you.

With that easy to predict bit of knowledge shared, McGinnis led them into the Opera wing. He explained that this would be where the subjects were going to spend most of their time. It was basically self-contained, which was impressive in itself. There was a good sized cafeteria, various study rooms, classrooms, and a very nice exercise facility, as well as all the more scientific portions. John was pretty impressed by the facility. The government hadn’t skimped on it, which pleased him. If he was going to be in charge of a facility, he wanted it to be properly stocked and well-run. The only part of the Opera wing that was not yet complete was habitation. McGinnis said that when it was required, it would be completed. John trusted him on that. He understood that they were nowhere near having subjects living at Project Maestro. There was far more for them to get done before they brought in live people.

Soon enough, their tour was over, and John’s mood was souring. There was a tightness in his mouth and in the back of his neck; he could feel the tension like a vise. While he had no issues dealing with Crawford, the bastard made Darien sad. That alone was enough to make him harbor a strong hatred toward the man. Corporal McGinnis tried to give them a sympathetic smile as he led them toward the board room, but the emotions he was giving off simply said that he was happy that he didn’t have to meet with the general himself.

John didn’t blame him in the least.

They entered the meeting room, and he, Marianna, and Eli all took seats. Darien positioned her wheelchair next to John’s seat, her face impassive. General Crawford was standing at the head of the table, a large holo-screen behind him and a clicker in his hand. Even John could feel the emotions seeping off of the man – an obnoxious combination of smugness and excitement.

Good afternoon, I’m pleased to see that you made it to Project Maestro safely. He said, a fake smile spreading across his face. It made him look like he was made of plastic, that his face might get stuck like that. I trust all of you have done the prep work I requested of you?

They all murmured their assent. John knew that Eli was biting back comments, something about the amount of time they had been given not being near enough for the amount of ‘prep work’ General Crawford had ‘requested’. At that, a lot of what they’d learned about had seemed rather bizarre. Hawking’s black hole theory, weird theories on the human consciousness, and theories on ghosts. Darien’s readings had been especially difficult; she’d been learning several different foreign languages, but Crawford’s orders had been clear; read it or else.

Oh, and Dr. Taranis, did you start doing a little more research into neurobiology? I know I requested that at a different time.

Of course, sir. Marianna said in her best imitation of polite. I even took the opportunity to spend some of your money and take several courses on it. And buy a few rare texts.

John bit his lip at the faux-sweetness in her voice. He wouldn’t have been surprised if Marianna had gotten herself an entire degree dealing with neurobiology.

Ah, excellent. I’m glad that you’re now well-versed and using our funding wisely. I’m sure it’s a very complicated science.

John felt a wave of irritation flood from Marianna. He assumed that complicated didn’t come close to the proper word to describe neurobiology.

Let’s continue. Crawford said as he clicked the remote in his hand. The screen showed the statistics associated with AI implantation success. As you know, we have been experimenting on implanting artificial intelligence units into human hosts. Up until three years ago, this was impossible. The AI unit wouldn’t mesh with the host. The only way a standard AI is able to work with a human is if the human is in a mechanical exoskeleton. While that works for some projects…this is not the road we want to travel down. He paused and stared the four of them down. He clicked again. So I present the bio AI.

Chapter 2

John leaned back in his chair. Bio AI. Now that wasn’t a term that he had heard before. That implied that the artificial intelligence units were far more natural than the normal units. Biological. John hated to admit it, but Crawford had gotten his attention, to say the least. He stretched back, his eyes on the presentation on the wall. A lot of it went straight over his head. He was smart, but he was better with people. Science was not his forte.

These new AI units haven’t been tested yet. But we’re getting ever closer to that day when we’ll be able to test them. Crawford motioned at the statistics. The problem with the standard AI units is that they are fundamentally unnatural. There’s something that just doesn’t mesh with the human nervous system despite our best efforts. I’m sure Dr. Taranis would be able to explain that more thoroughly than I can…after all…she did spend quite a lot of time familiarizing herself with neurobiology.

John’s eyes flicked over the statistics over to Taranis, who was glowering. General Crawford has explained the basics, the main problem is the fact that we simply cannot connect the AI interface with the human nervous system. Another problem is straight up rejection. The human body does not appreciate the…casing…for the AI unit. And when the unit is being implanted into the back of the neck near the brainstem, you can imagine that rejection is problematic.

Yeah, John was still lost.

Like organ rejection? Eli was leaning forward in his chair now while he looked over the stats. There was a gleam in his eyes that John rarely got to see – it seemed that Eli was hooked as well.

Similar, yes. Between rejection and the fundamental problem that we simply can’t get the interfaces to connect… Taranis leveled her gaze at Crawford. I’ve discussed with the General that it would be prudent to put the AI unit in an exoskeleton, as it would be the only logical way to utilize an AI with a human. Or allow Eli and I to design a smaller external interface to house the AI.

And I’ve said time and time again, Marianna, that an exoskeleton or power armor is much too much like a super soldier. The higher-ups want assassins, not super soldiers. We’re not preparing for war. There was a sickly smile on his face. So while you were all researching the various topics I assigned, I had another crew working on creating the bio AI.

John felt irritation prickle under his skin, something akin to the sensation of insects roaming through his veins. How annoying. If Project Maestro was supposed to be under his command, John should have been informed that they had another team working. He would have wanted to know what they were doing, the progress they were making. He would have wanted to check in on them as well. The fact that he wasn’t informed made some serious red flags flash up in his mind, but he pushed them away for now. For now, he was going to have to let it go. After all, he was certain that Crawford would just make some excuses as to why they had kept John out of the loop. It wasn’t worth his time to keep holding onto this anger, but he wasn’t about to entirely forget everything, either.

John knew better than to expect all information to be disclosed when dealing with someone as slimy and slippery as General Crawford.

Would you please just explain what a bio AI is? Darien’s voice was short and her pale green eyes were narrowed. We have many tasks to complete to keep with your schedule.

He swallowed hard, purposefully not looking at his wife for the moment. That was the closest to insubordination that Crawford was likely to let any of them get. He was proud of her for standing up to him. He wasn’t going to delude himself into thinking otherwise, but she was taking a risk by saying those words – even if they were true and aimed to appeal to Crawford’s tight schedule. A risk that she probably shouldn’t be taking considering their position.

Though he did want Crawford to get on with it. All the song and dance surrounding this was obnoxious; and very much Crawford wanting to hear his own voice. John would much prefer everything to be straight to the point – it would certainly make things easier for him. He already had to deal with trying to read everyone and know their motives from the way they moved their hair away from their face. At least that came naturally to him. Stuff like this? This he needed to focus on. And he needed as little extraneous information as possible.

In good time, Miss Marcellus. That sick smile was back as he switched the slide to the next page. If you would please turn to page two of your reference material…

John flipped to the specified page, a brow quirking up. He had very little understanding of the science and even less understanding of the metaphysical aspects of this particular page. He visibly rolled his eyes when he saw the mention of something as ridiculous as ghosts. He glanced over at Darien. Her eyes were entirely focused on the paper in front of her, and a look to Eli showed that he was as well. They clearly were getting something that he was not.

A while back, some of our staff Adepts started noticing odd occurrences. Crawford began as he started pacing across the front of the room. At first, they called them ghosts. Until some of our other science teams started examining the science behind them.

You must be kidding… Marianna’s voice was basically deadpan as she looked through the notes. General, you must be joking. You expect four grown adults to believe in what essentially adds up to ghost stories? The female doctor’s mouth was twisted down into a frown and her eyes were narrowed to slits. Please tell me this is your idea of a joke, I do not appreciate being jerked around. Sir.

Crawford looked genuinely amused when he saw the expression on Marianna’s face. I’m afraid this isn’t a joke, Dr. Taranis. Please, keep paying attention… He paused his constant pacing for a moment as John realized he was trying to figure out where he was in his little spiel. As I was saying, we began to look into the sciences, especially after the ghosts spoke to us. Not in a haunting way, not about death, nothing like that. They just…communicated…with us.

Marianna’s expression was nothing short of fury mixed with absolute disbelief. He couldn’t blame her. In his mind, this was complete and utter horseshit. He was still hoping this was some terrible joke, because he didn’t want to believe that Crawford would put him through the indignity of all of this. He understood that they were basically Crawford’s playthings, but he would have thought he had the tact to not rub it in their faces this badly.

Despite what he was feeling, John kept his face carefully neutral. He couldn’t afford to mess this up. After all, he and Darien really only complied to keep Aria and Madeline safe. If it was only them on the line, he was certain that they’d be far less compliant.

So we decided to capture them. Crawford continued, his face contorting into a slasher smile.

…what… Darien just stared at him with narrowed eyes