Slaves of Cerberus
folder
+M through R › Mass Effect
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
154
Views:
140,322
Reviews:
54
Recommended:
1
Currently Reading:
2
Category:
+M through R › Mass Effect
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
154
Views:
140,322
Reviews:
54
Recommended:
1
Currently Reading:
2
Disclaimer:
Mass Effect and all the characters in it are owned by people that are not me. I have not made a cent off this work of fiction
Part 4: Dejection; Deception; Defection (60)
"Go fetch me some norepinephrine, please," Brynn instructed, not even looking up from her microscope as she delivered the command.
"Right away, ma'am," responded her "assistant." The AIU obediently walked over to the chemical storage area, cautiously retrieving the vial of chemicals and delivering the requested compound next to Brynn at her workstation.
"Brain tissue is reacting strongly to the latest experimental compound," Brynn said, the AIU behind her recording every word of her research notes and uploading them to her personal storage banks. Pulling away from the microscope, she used an eye-dropper to extract a small amount of the norepinephrine. "Now exposing the tissue to norepinephrine to observe changes in neurotransmitter response." She pulled up the top slide and deposited several drops of the chemical into the sample. When she put her eyes back to the microscope, what she saw made her sigh loudly. "Dammit. Progress is being made, but still not seeing the proper reaction here. Lazarus Project Recreation, test # 53: officially a failure. "
Pulling away from the microscope, Brynn slumped down on a stool and crossed her arms. She was so close to coming up with the solution. A way to reactivate brain tissue once thought to be irretrievably damaged. Dammit, if only Miranda Lawson was on this station. Just a few minutes to compare notes with the former Cerberus researcher, and Brynn was sure that they'd come up with an answer in a fraction of the time.
But that wasn't the only problem, was it? There were other things on Brynn's mind. Things that were keeping her distracted from her work. Turning to the AIU, Brynn said. "Information request. Tell me everything you know about... the Illusive Man."
The AIU's eyes gleamed, and after a fraction of a second she spoke. "The Illusive Man was the original founder of Cerberus. His real name has been lost to history, but what is known is that he formed the organization Cerberus in order to further the cause of humanity. His greatest achievement was bringing about the revival of Commander Anna Shepard, the human hero who went on to defeat the Reapers and save the galaxy. Unfortunately, the Illusive Man was indoctrinated into service of the Reapers during the course of the war, and met his end in disgrace, completely lost to their control."
Yes, that's the official truth right now, Brynn thought to herself, but that story might be changing soon.
She thought back to what Ruben had told her several nights before. That her work on the Lazarus Project was about more than just giving the hope of restoring life to the humans of the galaxy. That Ruben and the Cerberus leaders planned to resurrect a clone of the Illusive Man, with Shepard lying to the galaxy and telling them that the clone currently sitting brain-dead in the restricted section was actually the real Illusive Man.
It just seemed so... wrong. She understood why Ruben might think it was the correct course of action. Before everything had gone bad, Brynn had spoken to the Illusive Man several times, and found him to be a charismatic, motivational man. But then he had found out about the Reapers, and ever since that day things at Cerberus degenerated. Slowly at first, but soon reaching a point where Brynn and her colleagues knew they had to run.
Isn't it possible, Brynn thought, as she turned back around to her work table, that bringing the Illusive Man back into a world without the Reapers might be a good thing? That having his drive and energy back at the head of Cerberus might not help restore it to greatness?
She wanted to believe that, but the same question kept coming back to her: wasn't Shepard enough? She was the greatest hero the galaxy had ever seen. If she sent a message across the galaxy that everyone needed to jump off a bridge, immediately, then Brynn imagined that most of the humans in the galaxy would end up at the bottom of the nearest ravine, along with a good portion of the aliens as well. Weren't her achievements and charisma enough to sell the galaxy on the potential of this new Cerberus? Did they really need to bring back a man whose reputation had been driven into the ground after the war with the Reapers was over?
Try as she might, she just couldn't make it make sense in her head. But Ruben was so sure that it was what Cerberus needed. So Brynn smiled, told him that she agreed, and continued with her work on the Lazarus Project. Telling herself that she didn't have the whole picture, and that once it was all over, she would understand why bringing back the Illusive Man was the correct course of action.
And yet... it still nagged at her.
Sighing, she decided to try her best to focus her mind on her work. Even if the Illusive Man plan was a fool's errand, at the very least it would result in Miranda Lawson's Lazarus Project being reborn. "Alright, beginning Lazarus Project Recreation, test #54. Please bring me a new sample of brain tissue."
She waited for the sound of tiny gears grinding inside of the AIU. But after several seconds without the clank of heavy footsteps against the metal floor, Brynn finally turned around. The AIU was standing stock still, the glow in its eyes dull and nearly invisible.
"AIU, can you hear me?" Brynn said to the robotic woman. No response. "Great, just what I needed today, on top of everything," she muttered, before bringing up her hand and activating her omni-tool. "This is Dr. Cole in the neuroscience lab. Looks like we have an AIU down."
The weary, exasperated voice of the bot tech responded. "Have you tried rebooting it?"
Walking over to the AIU, Brynn felt around the back of its neck for the small access panel. Flipping it open, she flicked the switch inside several times. No result: the AIU's eyes remained barely lit, and gave no response to any of Brynn's requests.
"Yeah, I tried, it's definitely non-responsive," Brynn said into her omni-tool.
An annoyed groan from the tech. "Fine, I'll be right down to fetch it."
"You wouldn't happen to have a spare I can..." Brynn started to say, but the tech had already disconnected her. "Ok, fine. Guess I'm my own research assistant for the rest of the day."
Heading over to the tissue storage container, Brynn tried her best to stay focused on her work. And forget about all of her doubts, at least for now.
"Right away, ma'am," responded her "assistant." The AIU obediently walked over to the chemical storage area, cautiously retrieving the vial of chemicals and delivering the requested compound next to Brynn at her workstation.
"Brain tissue is reacting strongly to the latest experimental compound," Brynn said, the AIU behind her recording every word of her research notes and uploading them to her personal storage banks. Pulling away from the microscope, she used an eye-dropper to extract a small amount of the norepinephrine. "Now exposing the tissue to norepinephrine to observe changes in neurotransmitter response." She pulled up the top slide and deposited several drops of the chemical into the sample. When she put her eyes back to the microscope, what she saw made her sigh loudly. "Dammit. Progress is being made, but still not seeing the proper reaction here. Lazarus Project Recreation, test # 53: officially a failure. "
Pulling away from the microscope, Brynn slumped down on a stool and crossed her arms. She was so close to coming up with the solution. A way to reactivate brain tissue once thought to be irretrievably damaged. Dammit, if only Miranda Lawson was on this station. Just a few minutes to compare notes with the former Cerberus researcher, and Brynn was sure that they'd come up with an answer in a fraction of the time.
But that wasn't the only problem, was it? There were other things on Brynn's mind. Things that were keeping her distracted from her work. Turning to the AIU, Brynn said. "Information request. Tell me everything you know about... the Illusive Man."
The AIU's eyes gleamed, and after a fraction of a second she spoke. "The Illusive Man was the original founder of Cerberus. His real name has been lost to history, but what is known is that he formed the organization Cerberus in order to further the cause of humanity. His greatest achievement was bringing about the revival of Commander Anna Shepard, the human hero who went on to defeat the Reapers and save the galaxy. Unfortunately, the Illusive Man was indoctrinated into service of the Reapers during the course of the war, and met his end in disgrace, completely lost to their control."
Yes, that's the official truth right now, Brynn thought to herself, but that story might be changing soon.
She thought back to what Ruben had told her several nights before. That her work on the Lazarus Project was about more than just giving the hope of restoring life to the humans of the galaxy. That Ruben and the Cerberus leaders planned to resurrect a clone of the Illusive Man, with Shepard lying to the galaxy and telling them that the clone currently sitting brain-dead in the restricted section was actually the real Illusive Man.
It just seemed so... wrong. She understood why Ruben might think it was the correct course of action. Before everything had gone bad, Brynn had spoken to the Illusive Man several times, and found him to be a charismatic, motivational man. But then he had found out about the Reapers, and ever since that day things at Cerberus degenerated. Slowly at first, but soon reaching a point where Brynn and her colleagues knew they had to run.
Isn't it possible, Brynn thought, as she turned back around to her work table, that bringing the Illusive Man back into a world without the Reapers might be a good thing? That having his drive and energy back at the head of Cerberus might not help restore it to greatness?
She wanted to believe that, but the same question kept coming back to her: wasn't Shepard enough? She was the greatest hero the galaxy had ever seen. If she sent a message across the galaxy that everyone needed to jump off a bridge, immediately, then Brynn imagined that most of the humans in the galaxy would end up at the bottom of the nearest ravine, along with a good portion of the aliens as well. Weren't her achievements and charisma enough to sell the galaxy on the potential of this new Cerberus? Did they really need to bring back a man whose reputation had been driven into the ground after the war with the Reapers was over?
Try as she might, she just couldn't make it make sense in her head. But Ruben was so sure that it was what Cerberus needed. So Brynn smiled, told him that she agreed, and continued with her work on the Lazarus Project. Telling herself that she didn't have the whole picture, and that once it was all over, she would understand why bringing back the Illusive Man was the correct course of action.
And yet... it still nagged at her.
Sighing, she decided to try her best to focus her mind on her work. Even if the Illusive Man plan was a fool's errand, at the very least it would result in Miranda Lawson's Lazarus Project being reborn. "Alright, beginning Lazarus Project Recreation, test #54. Please bring me a new sample of brain tissue."
She waited for the sound of tiny gears grinding inside of the AIU. But after several seconds without the clank of heavy footsteps against the metal floor, Brynn finally turned around. The AIU was standing stock still, the glow in its eyes dull and nearly invisible.
"AIU, can you hear me?" Brynn said to the robotic woman. No response. "Great, just what I needed today, on top of everything," she muttered, before bringing up her hand and activating her omni-tool. "This is Dr. Cole in the neuroscience lab. Looks like we have an AIU down."
The weary, exasperated voice of the bot tech responded. "Have you tried rebooting it?"
Walking over to the AIU, Brynn felt around the back of its neck for the small access panel. Flipping it open, she flicked the switch inside several times. No result: the AIU's eyes remained barely lit, and gave no response to any of Brynn's requests.
"Yeah, I tried, it's definitely non-responsive," Brynn said into her omni-tool.
An annoyed groan from the tech. "Fine, I'll be right down to fetch it."
"You wouldn't happen to have a spare I can..." Brynn started to say, but the tech had already disconnected her. "Ok, fine. Guess I'm my own research assistant for the rest of the day."
Heading over to the tissue storage container, Brynn tried her best to stay focused on her work. And forget about all of her doubts, at least for now.