more significant and almost more unbelievable than the previous. Dick told Taylor about Benjamin not being a subversive and how Vera framed him. Then Dick told him about how he was exposed by the Leader and who the leader actually was — not just a resistance member who suddenly vanished, but Dick’s old rival. By this point Taylor didn’t know whether he was prepared for any more revelations but Dick continued, revealing in graphic detail how he’d been tortured, although he elaborated on one tiny part of the story to make him sound more heroic. In Dick’s re-imagining of the events the insects had actually been released into the wasp box and were crawling all over his penis, stinging it time after time after time until he gave in and confessed everything he knew about the Resistance and his own mission. Dick saved the best piece of news for last; the secret weapon itself.
Taylor had mixed emotions. He was livid that Dick had given in to torture, even if it did involve wasps and his penis. He was delighted that he’d been right all along about a secret weapon. And he was absolutely terrified on hearing that the weapon was going to be launched the day after tomorrow.
‘My god!’, Taylor exclaimed. ‘So it’s an Impotence Bomb!’
‘You didn’t know about it?’ asked Dick in amazement. ‘Even though you worked here?’
‘No. None of us working in my section have been involved in any part of the project’ said Taylor. ‘There are different levels of security clearance embedded in our ID chips and as a mere Grade 3b programmer I’m not allowed access to the upper levels of this building where the bomb was being developed’. Taylor stood up and began to pace the room, which wasn’t easy as most of the floor space was covered in junk. ‘We’ve got to consider our next course of action — and quickly. Let’s see what we’ve got’.
Counting on his fingers Taylor began summarising the status as he saw it. ‘Point one, we know about the weapons and where they’re currently stored in this building. Point two, you’ve still got your freedom…’
‘Very limited freedom’, interjected Dick, rubbing his crotch to make it look like the unbelievably painful wasp stings he received during his torture were still causing him a high degree of discomfort.
‘Granted, but at least you’re not dead or imprisoned’, Taylor added, ‘And that means, point three; you can still potentially stop the launch or at least disable the bombs’.
‘You forgot point four: how the fuck am I going to do that? The bombs are kept in a locked room protected round the clock by two armed guards and the only people who can access them are Maxx or Hargreaves via a retina scan’, Dick said dejectedly, adding for good measure, ‘And they’ll soon be ready, primed and transported to multiple launch sites’.
‘I see’. Taylor rubbed his chin, deep in thought. Then he rubbed his chin some more before finally saying, ‘That means we need to put point five into effect’.
‘And that is…?’ Dick asked.
‘Our plan’.
Now it was time for Dick to rub his chin. I don’t mean that Dick rubbed Taylor’s chin. That would be odd and quite disturbing. No. Dick rubbed his own chin. ‘So, you’ve got a plan, eh?’
It turned out that Taylor did. He outlined the basics to Dick and the two of them fleshed it out, there and then. As plans went it seemed to work in principle, but then again, most plans do. This plan required Taylor’s technical skills and Dick’s ability to move within the research facility without arousing too much suspicion. The biggest stumbling point was getting access to the bombs. Neither of them could figure a way of doing that discretely, so both agreed to sleep on the problem.
Taylor looked at his pocket watch. ‘Right. It’s ten minutes to four. I’ll show you where the main test lab is then I’ve got to go. Come back here tomorrow morning at nine. Tell Hargreaves that you want to continue our discussion’.
‘But he might not want me to’, suggested Dick.
‘I know Hargreaves’, said Taylor confidently. ‘He’ll be under immense pressure from the Leader to finalise every single detail for the launch; to check, cross-check and cross-cross-check everything so that absolutely nothing goes wrong. The last person he wants interfering in anything or bothering him is you. Say you want to keep out of his way for the day and he’ll breathe a huge sigh of relief and send you on your way with his blessing. I guarantee it’.
‘Nine it is then’, said Dick as they both set off for the test lab.
CHAPTER 32
The Leader looked Dick up and down when he entered the test lab then turned to Hargreaves.
‘I was wrong. He’s still wearing them’.
Dick looked confused. Maxx turned back and smiled.
‘Your pants. I understand one of Dr. Hargreave’s technicians was giving you an impromptu lecture all about Jack’s programming. I said I bet he bores your pants off’.
Dick gave Maxx an earnest look. ‘Actually it really put the whole operation into perspective. It was fascinating understanding how and why Jack acted and reacted the way he did, but we ran out of time just when we got to debugging and static memory testing. If it’s all right with you I’d like to finish the discussion tomorrow morning. I told Kelvin I’d obviously have to get your consent’.
Hargreaves looked at the Leader who looked at Dick through slightly closed eyes. If eyes could speak these were the sort of eyes that would say, ‘Are you bullshitting me?’
Dick added, ‘Of course if it’s not OK then that’s fine. I’d be more than happy to shadow Dr. Hargreaves so I can learn what’s going on’.
Maxx considered the options. ‘Well, as long as you don’t distract this technician from his duties and Dr. Hargreaves is happy with this arrangement, then finish off your discussion’.
Dr. Hargreaves couldn’t wait to nod his approval. ‘This particular member of staff isn’t involved in the bomb project at all. It’s all right’.
‘Splendid’, said Maxx. ‘Then let’s get on with the demonstration’. He clapped his hands together loudly. ‘Let’s see the guinea pigs!’.
On this cue shutters opened in the far wall of the test lab to reveal a large plate glass window. Maxx, Carter, Harvgreaves and three other technicians walked over to the window and peered in. Dick followed and pressed his nose to the glass. He was looking into a small adjacent room but there were no guinea pigs in it, just rabbits. There were about twenty of them wearing blue and pink collars to signify their gender. While a few were scampering around, the majority were doing what they do best. Humping. Like rabbits. While Hargreaves consulted his colleagues over some technical issues, Maxx explained to Dick that they were re-testing the strength of gamma radiation the bomb would release. This needed to be strong enough to cause almost sudden and permanent impotence without causing any other serious side effects. What Dick was about to witness was one of the last trials.
‘You’re going to dose the rabbits with radiation?’ asked Dick, adding, with a sense of alarm in his voice, ‘Now. With us here?’
‘Yes’, said Maxx. ‘Just a small controlled burst. Don’t worry, the wall is lead-lined and the glass has a reflective coating. The radiation can’t affect you’. He laughed. ‘You still have one day of non-impotence left. I would say ‘make the most of it’, but stuck here in this facility, it rather limits the possibility!’
He laughed some more and slapped Dick on the back but Dick failed to see the joke. Dr. Hargreaves walked over to a small control panel by the window and spoke in a low nasal monotone into a microphone.
‘Verification test 114.1. Radiation type Gamma Delta 53. Two second burst. Cameras rolling’.
He turned a large red switch and Dick peered through the glass. Nothing happened. Well not at first, but after about thirty seconds the rabbits that had been mating had separated. Dick peered through then glass more intently and saw that an obvious change had occurred to the rabbits wearing the blue collars. Before the experiment they looked happy and perky. Now they all shared the same sad, bewildered and bemused expression. The sort of expression, Dick imagined, you’d have if you were dedicating the rest of your life to making models out of matchsticks, or worshipping god. The look of someone who’d suddenly lost every single ounce of his sex drive.
‘Excellent. Excellent’, said Maxx.
He turned to Dick but found he was no longer standing next to him. Dick was sitting on a chair in the corner of the room, holding his head in his hands.
