accelerated at full burn for two minutes before coasting along the desired trajectory. Daren calculated and prepared the necessary escape trajectories in the event that the bomb was launched. Vincent scanned the star systems they passed through for any signs of life.
“Ok,” Vincent said several minutes after finishing the burn. “I’ll go with your suggestion.”
Daren smiled and nodded. “It’s the right thing, Vincent, even if it doesn’t have a happy ending.”
“Let’s secure our suits and systems just in case it doesn’t work and we have to launch the bomb.”
“Understood,” Daren said. He began to scan for any signs of communication signals that the fighter’s computers could adapt to. “Any idea on what type of communication to look for?”
Vincent shook his head.
Daren continued scanning for communication signals with no success until the fighter started to break on the edge of the bomb’s maximum range. The fighter continued to coast towards the target star when both pilot and navigation computers flashed to indicate a successful communication signal. “Vincent!”
Vincent nodded, having already noticed the computer update, and tuned in to the signal. “I’m putting it on the speaker.”
At first it was only static interrupted with sporadic hisses and whistles. Daren syncronized the language filter with the incoming transmissions, tapping his fingers eagerly on the console as the ship computer tried to identify the linguistics and semantics of the language, if that’s what it was.
“I wonder what kind of creature belongs to those sounds?” Vincent asked.
“Shh,” Daren said sharply. A broken transmission ensued.
“Peace ..” The computer stopped the translation, but began again when a familiar pattern returned. “Peace.”
Vincent closed his eyes. “Do you think it’s genuine?”
“I ..” Daren began but was cut off when the fighter lurched. “What was that?”
“The bomb!” Vincent cried. “It fired!”
“I didn’t launch it,” Daren said.
The computer continued to translate the recognized pattern in the transmission. “Peace.”
Vincent fell silent and batted the side of his helmet with his hand when the visage of the meadow began to infect his vision. “Damn, damn, damn!”
Daren reached over the seat and grabbed Vincent’s hand. “Stop it! We don’t have time to go nuts. We’ve got to get the hell out of here if we want to live!”
Vincent felt tears erupt from his eyes and furiously punched in the escape trajectory. “Why did this happen?”
The fighter made a hard turn into the new trajectory and started back towards the nebula at full burn.
“Vincent,” Daren said while still in the hard turn, his body pressed into the side of the cockpit, “they’re firing at us.”
Vincent changed the primary display from navigation to combat and did not see any ensuing vehicles, but saw the incoming laser fire. “Daren,” Vincent said, feeling sick, “it’s coming in fast and it’s going to hit.”
A brilliant light erupted from the depths of space and began to overtake the fighter.
Vincent started to yell out but suddenly found himself amidst the meadow, charging through the thick grass and overcome with the primal lusts. “No,” he told himself. “Stop it. Not now.” He shook his head and closed his eyes and then felt his ship suit tighten against his body.
“Daren, what was that?” he asked in a whisper. But there was no answer.
“Daren!” He shouted. Vincent opened his eyes and found himself staring at the nebula in the distance with the meadow still hovering around the edges of his vision. He began to look over his shoulder only to find that the back half of the canopy was sheared off. “Daren!” he cried aloud, his voice dampened within his helmet.
Vincent began to beat his fists against the primary display and didn’t even feel the four thick, serated needles of the cryogenic system pierce his skin.
Epilogue
It could have been either Heaven or Hell. Whatever it was, it could very well have been life. Vincent wasn’t sure what to think, but found himself amidst another meadow, but still a meadow all the same. The fauna and flora were thriving and he did not feel any overwhelming need to decimate them as he had before. It was rather pleasant, for as much as the situation was weird and disconcerting. He felt like a lion, but he could see the limbs and features of a human when he looked at himself. Time had no meaning in the meadow and as he looked at his hands and body, he had no clear indication of how long the action took. Even if he tried to look at another animal, he couldn’t convince himself that the animal was not moving outside of time.
Vincent wasn’t sure what was happening, or what really had happened. Was he ever a human on a planet called Earth, or was he simply a predator that wandered through this lush meadow, feeding when he was hungry, drinking when he was thirsty, and dreaming of cognitive thought when he was tired?
He spent his days walking deeper into the meadow and thought little of the fact that he didn’t feel human emotions. He did sleep, and his dreams were light and whimsical with no hint of pain or suffering. Vincent thought about Earth and contemplated the actions of the Panthera Corporation while drifting between wakeful thought and dream. At other times, Daren, the bomber pilot, occupied his thoughts. They had been so close to a single right decision only to see it evaporate. Even so, escape had been possible for them until the last remnants of the enemy force killed Daren.
What was it that Darwin called it? Survival of the fittest? Vincent thought that couldn’t be further from the truth. Was this, then, Hell? Was the meadow going to be a constant reminder that humans would never escape the legacy of their evolution? Or, perhaps, was it Heaven, where he was free to indulge in those primal instincts with neither time nor memory to fill him with guilt.
He had trouble deciding where he was, but could not escape the fact that the Panthera Corporation had turned an otherwise benign human from Earth into a predator of the meadow. And how did the fauna feel about that?
One evening as Vincent lay beside a glistening pool, the stars began to fade into blackness. Looking to either side, he could see the meadow peel away into blackness and strange voices filled his ears.
“He’s waking up.”
“Were the behavior modifications removed?”
“We’ve discovered an unexpected side effect.”
“And that is?”
“It seems that the sensory overlays were adapted into his cognitive processes, subconscious thoughts, even his bodily functions.”
“And what does that mean?”
“It is too early to say, but I would surmise that his mind has evolved in new direction. An exciting development, I might add.”
“Yes, well, we’ll see.”
Vincent opened his eyes to the familiar surroundings of a Panthera Corporation medical bay. A doctor, several nurses, and several more officials surrounded his bed. He could only think of one prevalent question to ask. “Am I okay?”
The doctor nodded. “Physically, very much so. Mentally? That will take time to evaluate.”
One of the officials stepped up to the bed side. “Vincent, I don’t want to dump a load of bricks in your lap, but I want you to understand that you are the only one to return. You understand that, correct?”
Vincent nodded. “I understand. Tell me, why did we do it?”
The official looked back at one of the other officials, then to Vincent. “I’m sure you are aware that we can’t discuss that with you.”
The other official approached the bed. “What was it like? The whole experience?”
“I don’t remember much,” Vincent replied. “I remember arriving, I remember flying into the nebula with Daren, the bomber pilot. We went back to finish the mission.”
The official smiled, evidently pleased with the answer.
“And I remember the meadow.”
> “The meadow?” the official asked, perplexed.
Vincent nodded. “Yes. You put all that garbage in our heads and I guess it saved us from the horrors of our own actions, but it couldn’t suppress or control the very nature of what we are or what we were doing. I’m surprised you don’t know what I’m talking about, or at least not admitting it, since Daren knew what I was talking about. I don’t think it was a shared delusion.”
“Very interesting,” the doctor said.
The official began to look uncomfortable. “Well, you may rest assured that you will be very well compensated for your services, Vincent.” He turned to go, but the other official near the bed paused.
“You said that the behavior modification couldn’t control the nature of what we are. What does that mean? What are we if not human.”
“Animals,” Vincent put in bluntly.
“You saw yourself as an animal?”
“No, we, as a whole are the animals. Your behavior modification transformed me into a predator.”
The officials looked at each other and left, leaving Vincent alone with the doctor.
“You should get some rest now. You’ve had a traumatic experience.” The doctor left him alone.
Yes, Vincent said to himself. An experience. He watched as the meadow began to envelope him again. He was thankful for its simple bliss, and was interested to see that in Panthera’s own headquarters, he was the only predator in the meadow. Would the predatory lusts return this time?
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