Deadman

Since the Undertaker in the room seemed to be in no immediate danger, I moved out of that section of the bunker, and down to the final portion of the lab, the room at the end of the hall. At the top of the door in gold lettering was a sign saying, “Edison Project Lead: Margaret Tennyson”. I pushed through the door, and found not a lab, but a solitary office. One desk, a few chairs, a humming computer, and a wall covered in filing cabinets. I approached the computer and slid into the seat, booting it up to see if I could figure out exactly what was happening with the ‘Nirvana’ lab.

As with the other computers I’d looked through in bunkers, this one had three different sections. There was Personal Log, Work Log, and Correspondence. I pulled up the personal log first.

Entry 1:

No

That was it, just no. Correspondence was equally sparse, with mostly one word replies to messages she’d received and the occasional transfer of technical data that was well beyond me. I opened the work log last, and opened the first entry.

Entry 1:

Project Edison’s purpose is to take designs and project data stolen from other countries through our espionage network, and attempt to modify them for our own ends. Name is my own choice. Edison was known for taking credit for other’s inventions. Don’t suspect the brass understood the reference.

Entry 2:

Project Havana- Stolen by our Agents from a Russian laboratory near the US embassy in Cuba. Uses vibrations that affect the subject’s mind causing disorientation and weakness. Has an effective range of more than one hundred yards, and can be focused. I recommend using it in the same way they have, as an untraceable method of embarrassing or harming specific diplomatic targets.

Entry 3:

Project Doorway- Originally began in WWII towards the end of Hitler’s regime. Tech and data was originally stolen by the KGB, but we managed to retrieve a large portion of it from an office in Warsaw. The technology is meant to create a portal between two distant areas. Limitless uses. Recommend decommission for three reasons.

• It is unstable. No successful transfers of living persons/animals
• It would destabilize the global economic system (The implications should be obvious)
• Doubt the Russian’s have actually finished this one. Otherwise, we’d likely have lost the war by now. May have been planted to waste our time/money

Entry 4:

Project Excalibur- Originally project Muramasa. Stolen from Japanese Allies by an Agent in Tokyo. Use of blackmail related to their Unit 31 was the method of extraction. Brass insisted on the name change and change of sword shape from a katana to a traditional longsword. Mixed success on this one. The sword itself is heavy and difficult to wield, though it has proven capable of slicing through almost any material. Some slight resistance is possible with Powered Armor, but with enough force even that can be cut through. Issues of practicality. Weapons are prohibitively expensive to produce, and difficult to wield. Multiple workplace accidents have already occurred. Overheating due to the vibrations on the edge of the blade has occurred in some tests, as has charge depletion. Recommend scaling back the project, production of knives or special implements for engineering projects or dometic sector activities may be the best use-case.

Entry 5:

Project Nirvana- Stolen from a Chinese prison camp/laboratory during the extraction of a key asset. It is a simple audio file that, when produced with clarity, completely pacifies a target. The sound cannot actually be heard, and acts on the infrasound spectrum. Those that hear it are filled with a sensation of peace, tranquility, and contentment. Subjects have allowed themselves to starve or go thirsty with no issue. When the sound is ended, subjects sometimes lash out violently, and need to be restrained while the chemical imbalance in their brain is corrected. Depending on the length of the exposure, recovery is sometimes not possible. Those with abnormal psychologies sometimes show responses to the sound that are highly atypical, with one such actually reacting violently and harming herself until it was turned off. Still unknown what the original source of the audio was. Some scientists assigned to the project have mentioned that it may have been created using ‘exotic materials’. Requesting access to all project information related to ‘exotic materials’. Recommend continue on this project, has numerous potential uses in all fields.

That was the last entry. There were a few technical documents and nothing else. Unlike a number of the other bunker terminals I’d read through, this one didn’t include any complaints about the end of the world or state of the US. I found that refreshing. I took out one of the spare data squares I’d been given and sat at the desk while it downloaded all the information from the computer. Once that was done I stood up and started looking around the bunker, for both loot and a few tools to help me with my currently very tranquil undertaker.

I found a few bullets, and small handguns, but not much else. The security presence in this bunker seemed to be far inferior to the others I’d explored before. That made sense given the limited scale of it in comparison. I also found a set of earplugs in the Nirvana lab, and used a number of bedsheets to create some rope. With that and some duct tape I’d found, I was ready.

I walked back into the lab, and placed the earplugs into my ears. I tentatively opened the door to the sound room, and found that I wasn’t being affected this time. I walked over to the placid deadman in the corner, a content smile on his face, and began a quick search of him. In his pack I found a large bowie knife, a crossbow with handmade bolts, and a desert eagle. I removed them, and placed his goods into my own pack, then folded his pack and put it inside my own.. He made no protest and didn’t struggle, remaining limp the entire time.

After I’d finished disarming him, I began tying him up. I started with his arms and legs, reinforcing the restraints with duct tape, then tied additional ropes around him at key points to keep him from being able to struggle or build any kind of momentum. He likely wasn’t as strong as me, but all the deadmen were strong, and I needed to make sure he couldn’t hurt me or himself once I deactivated the noise. Once that was through, I put a piece of cloth in his mouth, and duct tape it closed, nicking myself on his teeth, though it healed almost immediately.

Once I was certain that I’d done all I could do, I moved back to the computer consoles. There was no obvious off switch, and I was feeling anxious about how much time I’d already taken, so I drew my new sword, and smashed the computers. I didn’t bother activating the enhanced edge, it seemed unnecessary for what I was doing, and like it would be a waste of its power supply.

The second I’d finished I popped out the earplugs and was met with the sound of muffled screaming. I looked through the glass to see the undertaker writhing and slamming himself against the ground. I entered the room and he looked up at me with a crazed look in his eyes.

“Calm down!” I yelled.

He responded by slamming himself down on the ground again.

“You were trapped by the experiment in this room. I turned it off. I’m taking you back to Pott’s.”

He didn’t stop his writhing, but luckily his restraints held. I took a deep breath. Looked like I’d have to do this in the most pain in the ass way possible. I rolled him over, and grabbed a section of the makeshift rope, hauling him up and over my shoulder so that he sat behind my backpack and his own. It was…uncomfortable, and the weight distribution made it difficult to move, even if the load itself wasn’t too heavy overall. I gritted my teeth, and started making my way out of the bunker, climbing the stairs and pushing open the trapdoor. The undertaker struggled the whole time, making it as annoying as possible, but I pushed on and started walking, making a beeline for the castle now that I’d hit both of my targets.

I moved as quickly as I could, but was traveling through dense forest, and off balance, so the going was difficult. I used my newly enhanced sense of smell to avoid Ursans and other creatures that had the smell of predators, but realized that I was moving too slowly to outpace what smelled like two Ursans that were tracking me with their own powerful sense of smell. Realizing that I wouldn’t be able to outrun them, I found a small clearing, set down my pack and ward, and drew my new sword. I was one for two in terms of saving Deadmen from Ursans that day. No way was I losing this one, I’d already walked too damn far to take that loss.