Progress- Chapter 4

[Wixern]

Progress-Chapter 1
Progress- Chapter 2
Progress- Chapter 3

Progress

Chapter 4: The power of Progress


Ted walked through the halls of the Institute, looking at the floor. It was clean, like it had always been. It was as though no one had even dared trying to make it dirty. He had been looking for Hawke, but he couldn’t find him anywhere. He had searched Hawke in his quarters, the training grounds and the research facilities. The only place he could think of now was Tyr’s Tower, knowing that Hawke sometimes retreated there for self-reflection, whatever that meant. As he paced through the halls, ignoring the students around him, he suddenly found himself bumping into a small man.


Ted looked downwards, only to find himself staring into the eyes of Maury, the self-appointed servant of Hawke. He had been carrying some papers, but the impact between him and Ted had caused them to fly and spread, ending up on the clean floor.
‘Oh, I’m sorry, Maury. Here, let me help you get these for you…’ Ted offered, bending through his knees to assemble the paperwork. Maury grabbed them all as hastily as he could, constantly trying to keep the papers from slipping away from his hands again. Nonetheless, Ted caught one of the papers, reading a most peculiar piece of paper.
“WARNING: To all members of Progress. From now on, Rule 34-X will be modified. Report to Hawke or Alice for further information.”


Maury snatched the piece away from Ted’s hands, reassembling all the pieces of paperwork once again. He said nothing while doing any of this, as though he was afraid Ted would bite his head off if he’d spoken to him.
‘So, Maury. Why are you carrying all of this around?’ Ted inquired.
‘Mr. Hawke’s orders. Every member of Progress is to receive a copy. Except you, Mr. Ted.’ Maury answered in short sentences, as though every word spoken extra would cause him pain.
‘What? Why wouldn’t he give me something like that?’
‘Don’t know. Got to run. Bye, Mr. Ted.’


Maury set off, his short legs carrying him as fast as they could. Ted watched him run around the corner before moving on to the Tyr’s Tower. He was determined to find Hawke, if just to ask why he didn’t get a copy of the strange memo. He reached the tower and opened the door. It was unlocked, a good sign in this case. It meant that Hawke was either there or had been there previously. He moved on, counting the steps. It was a nasty habit, but he had to do so. He already knew that the stairway to the Tyr’s Tower had exactly three-hundred and thirty-three steps, but he counted nonetheless, under his breath.


‘Three-hundred and thirty-two, three-hundred and thirty-three…’ he mumbled, as he placed the last step. He stood before the door to the conference room. He noticed that there were no scratches, dents or any other kind of damage on the door. Whether this was because hardly anyone ever came there or because it had been repaired recently, he did not know. He knocked, and almost immediately Hawke replied.


‘Enter, Ted.’
Ted opened the door. It didn’t creak, or make any sound at all. He closed it after him, the sound of the door falling shut only barely noticeable.
Hawke sat at the head of the conference table, looking at a rather impressive stack of paperwork.
‘So, Ted. Why did you come here? To tell me you were impressed by the tour?’ Hawke asked, not taking his eyes of the papers before him.
‘Well, I wanted to ask you some more things, but first thing’s first. Why didn’t I get a memo?’ Ted replied.
‘Ah, yes. The memo. I already thought that you’d come asking for it. The reason you did not receive one, my friend, is because it is of no interest to you.’
‘But I am a member of Progress, too. Am I supposed to sit and let all the paperwork fly by without caring?’
‘Ted, I doubt that you would even bother reading our rules. Let alone should you be notified of modifications of such rules. If, however, you feel that you should get known with our rules and laws, I’ll lend you this.’


Hawke stood up, abandoning his paperwork. He walked over to a small table, set far away from the main conference table. He picked up a rather old book and walked back to Ted. He placed the book on the table. Ted picked it up, carefully, and read the cover.
‘”The rules and Laws of Progress.
-For without rules, Progress becomes the work of monkeys.
-Dumen Tyr”’
Ted placed the book on the table again and looked at Hawke.
‘Are you saying that Progress falls under a different set of laws than Axium?’ Ted inquired.
‘Indeed. Our founder, Dumen Tyr, disagreed with the laws set up by the government. Instead, he made his own laws. We have changed a few, but many of them remain the same up to this day.’


Ted took the book and carefully placed it under his arms, making sure it’d survive the trip back to his room.
‘One more thing, Hawke. I thought I saw Juta being dragged away earlier. Seemed like they were going to take her to the Human Research facility. What’s she supposed to do there?’
‘Juta? Oh, that one. Nothing much, Ted. Human Research required some assistance, and Alice suggested Juta for the job.’
‘She seemed to be kicking and screaming…’
‘From what I’ve heard, that is quite normal for Juta. Now then, if you would leave me to my paperwork, Ted? I bid you adieu.’


Ted left, the book of Rules safely tucked underneath his right arm. He made his way back to his room and decided to do some reading. His first decision was to take a look at rule 34-X.
He scanned the book. Many of the rules and laws were the same as those of Axium, though sometimes modified slightly. Finally, he found rule 34-X.
“Rule 34-X: Human Progress.
Progress was made for the advancement and comfort of mankind. Therefore, no humans may be harmed during, after or before research conducted by Progress. This rule applies to any and all departments, but mainly to the Weapons Research and Human Research department. Maximum punishment: Death by shotgun inserted through ear, then fired.”


Ted re-read the rule. The punishment, it appeared, wasn’t even one of the worst. He suspected some kind of joke, since the punishments gradually got worse as he worked his way through the rules. Still, he was worried by the modification of rule 34-X. He wondered what kind of “Progress” could be made by modifying that rule. He read the next rule.
“Rule 34-Z:
No rules or laws shall be using the letter Y.”
Ted blinked, re-reading the rule again. He wondered why there was a rule which prevented the use of the letter “Y” in rules.


Ted fell onto his bed, reading the book of rules. Without knowing why, he found himself interested in Progress and how the entire organization worked. He read every rule and memorized the most important ones. After a long time of reading, he fell asleep, the book opened next to him. In his sleep, he turned, sweating like a fat man in a sauna. Before him appeared images of things he’d never seen.

[/i]Hawke… standing over a dead body with a smile on his face. Looking closer, the dead body was… Ted. Moving closer, Ted stood up and opened his eyes. They were grey and empty, as though all life had been sucked away from them. He heard Hawke speak.
‘If such things are required, Progress will implement them. Our concerns lie not with such trivial matters.’
‘Understood. For Progress, all shall be done as you say.’ Ted heard himself speak, but couldn’t remember moving his lips.
Hawke grabbed a pistol from out of nowhere, and placed it at Ted’s head. He shot…[/i]

[Wixern]

… And the bang woke Ted up, drenched in sweat. He looked around to see what had caused the sound, only to find Howard standing in his doorway. The old man looked pale, as though he’d been ill. He stumbled over to Ted and started rambling, his voice an incoherent line of babbling.


‘… Absolutely nuts, I say. We can not be expected to do this, not now and not ever, it is not ethical, it is wrong and I cannot even begin to comprehend why…’
‘Would you mind calming down, Howard? I’ve just had a rather bad dream, and you entering my room and blabbering like a guy wearing a tinfoil hat doesn’t improve the situation a whole lot.’ Ted interrupted Howard, as he stood up.


Mr. Howardsen straightened up and took a deep breath. He started pacing around nervously, constantly wringing his hands.
‘Ted, you’ve received the memo, right? About rule 34-X?’ Howard asked after some hesitation.
‘No. Hawke claimed it was of no interest to me. But I think you’re about to explain it to me, right?’
‘According to the new rule, we are, and I quote:’ Howard produced a slip of paper from his pocket and read from it, ‘”Research and development which may require human test subjects may make use of these. However, this rule only applies when discussed with the chairman of Progress.”’
Mr. Howardsen looked at Ted, expecting him to say something. When no response came, he explained, clearly irritated at this lack of understanding.
‘This means we’re going to have to test on humans. Real, life humans! They’re just giving us a free ticket to do whatever we want here!’
‘Come on now, certainly Hawke knows what he’s doing?’ Ted answered.
‘Hawke sees the members of Progress as a machine. And if one cog can be removed to make another move faster, he will. And if, at some time, a machine can work without a certain part, he’ll remove that, too.’ Howard explained.


Ted stood up and looked at the clock. He’d slept for about five hours, total. He yawned loudly, thinking of the blissful sleep he could get later that day. For now, he’d need to calm Howard down and review the situation.
‘So, what you’re saying is, basically, that Hawke’s going to kill people?’ Ted said, yawning again.
‘If you want to put it that simple, then yes! Hawke is going to kill even more people, and he won’t care if-’
‘Wo-oh-oh, stop there, Howard. “Even more people?” What do you mean, “He’ll kill even more people? I mean, he’s never killed anyone before, right?’ Ted asked, shaking his head in disbelief.
‘You’ve never heard the stories? I thought they should’ve reached your ear by now. I guess, then, that I need to explain some things to you first. Let’s sit down, shall we?’


Howard looked for a chair, still flustered with panic. He found one, eventually, and sat down next to Ted, like a father sitting down to read a book to his child. A horror book, in this case.
‘All right. Break loose, then.’ Ted said. Howard heaved a sigh and started his tale.


‘I’ve been with Progress for years now. I always found the ideals of Progress appealing, ever since I was a child. When I joined the institute as a student, I joined Progress. It was a dream come true, really. Back then, we were guided by Mr. Gills, a great man. We researched all kinds of things, including the special MX-S2 medical kits. Everything went smooth and everyone was relaxed.’
Howard sighed deeply at the memories. He stared away for a few second before continuing his story.
‘Then, Hawke showed up. This was several months ago, I believe three months before you arrived. We thought of him as an ambitious young member, though he thought otherwise. He first started out in Weapon Research, but was sent away because he went overboard on the weaponry. He then became leader of the department of Swordfighters, where he quickly became famous for his ruthless training schedule.’


Howard stood up and started pacing around the room. He continued his story slowly, trying to remember every detail.
‘After a mere two weeks, Mr. Gills had an unfortunate accident, or so it was said. He was found in the garden, his body covered in bruises and cuts. We tried tracing the data on his injuries, but we came up with no other conclusion than “Died of Natural Causes.” Hawke then took over Progress, acting as a temporary leader at first, but instituting himself as full-fledged leader quickly enough. Rumor spread quickly, suggesting Hawke had a hand in this “Accident”, but no one could back it up. The ones that came close to backing it up disappeared suddenly, or were forced to move because of mysterious reasons.’


Ted followed Howard around the room, his brain not willing to believe what his ears told him. He’d known that Hawke could be ambitious, but never had he heard of going to such extremes. He kept on listening, but Howard had nothing more to say. Instead, he sat next to Ted and spoke to him personally again.


‘Do you understand now, Ted? Hawke uses his influence, to this day, to remain leader of Progress. And because no one dares question him, he can continue to do so. He’s killed dozens of people. Oh, not personally, of course,’ Howard said, looking at Ted’s open mouth, ‘No, he always lets such things be done by “Accident”. He’s good at that sort of thing. He wiped two-thirds of the entire staff of Progress. Only the ones that say “Yes, sir, of course sir, let me lick your heels, sir” are still alive.’ Howard explained.

[Wixern]

'What about Alice, then? She doesn’t exactly strike me as the “Heel-licking” kind of woman. Why’s she allowed to stay?’ Ted asked.
‘Simple, isn’t it? She helped him with several “Accidents”. He trusts her, though no more than as to let her decide who to kill.’
‘But what about the others? And why did he-?’


A sound near the door made both men look away from each other and fix their stares at the doorway. Before they could clearly see anything, several men and women burst through the opening, all armed with handguns. They had Ted and Howard surrounded before they could even make a move. A woman stepped forwards, her face covered by a glass mask. When she spoke, her voice sounded distorted, as though she was suffering from a severe cold.
‘Mr. Howardsen. You are hereby arrested for obstruction of Progress. You can come freely, or you can attempt to resist. What will it be?’ she spoke, pointing a nice model Raptor pistol in Howard’s face.


‘What’s the meaning of this? Why are you arresting Howard?’ Ted said, standing up from his bed. Half of the men and women, dressed in black outfits, now pointed their guns at Ted.
‘Silence, Ted. These are Hawke’s orders, and none may interfere.’
‘I’ll interfere whenever I damn well want! Howard’s done nothing wrong, whereas I’m not sure if the same could be said of Hawke right now! You’re not taking him anywhere, I won’t stand for it!’ Ted stepped forwards, followed by the sound of half a dozen guns swooshing to follow him. He raised his arms and turned his head to Howard, who’d been sitting up to that point, bathing in sweat.

‘Howard, on the count of three! THREE!’ Ted shouted, as he rolled and grabbed his guns. Howard jumped up and floored one of the unsuspecting black-clad men. He rolled on, managing to wrestle a handgun of the man before standing up again.
The woman and her troops reacted. She yelled commands and waved her arms, signaling to attack Ted and Howard. Bursts of shots rang out from each corner of the room as the men followed her command.


Ted rolled backwards, sweeping his leg to floor one of the men behind him. He jumped up, however, and aimed to land on Ted’s hand. Lifting himself up with one hand, Ted kicked backwards and hit the man full in the stomach. He flew backwards, ending up against one of his colleagues. Ted stood up and raised his guns. He aimed his left arm at the large chandelier, his right arm firing for defensive cover. He shot, and all lights disappeared.
The sound of a heavy chandelier falling down and hitting the floor with a deafening crash of glass rang throughout the room. Shouts of panic could barely be heard over the enormous noise the chandelier created.


‘Activate heat-vision helmets!’ the leader of the group shouted. Soft clicks sounded throughout the room as the helmets were activated. The entire group looked around, trying to figure out which one of the heat-spots was friendly and which one was their target. Finally, one of the men shouted out.
‘By the door!’
They all turned to Ted, who was standing by the door, holding a cylindrical device in his right hand.
‘I don’t think you’ll like this, guys. But it’s for my best.’
Ted unplugged the device and threw it casually into the room. One of the men advanced, but soon the flash grenade caught him in mid-rush.


Ted ran away, the screams of agony yelling behind him. Luckily, he’d been able to locate his desk in the darkness, and had managed to draw out an old flash-bang. He’d been taught, long ago, that heat-vision and flash-bang grenades went together like peas and bread. In fact, it was Hawke that taught him that much, now that he thought about it.
He shook it off, instead focusing on where to run to next. Howard would’ve made his escape now, if he was smart. That left only one option: questioning Hawke about all he’d heard.


Back in Ted’s room, the group’s vision slowly returned to normal. They stood up, groaning and moaning. In the darkness, the leader’s mask had fallen off. She looked around at her men and issued a moan.
‘Madam Juta? Target is a confirmed LIA*.’ one of the men said, walking over to Juta.
‘LIA? More like LDS*. All right men. Let’s move and report to Miss Alice. I’ll stay here and check the last few bits of the room.’
‘Yes, Ma’am!’


The group left, leaving Juta in the room by herself. What little light came into the room showed her face but slightly. Her eyes seemed glazed over, her face covered in cuts and scratches. She smiled, the smile curling like a piece of burning paper. She produced a walkie-talkie from her pocket and spoke.
‘Mission accomplished. All has been as you had predicted.’ she said.
‘Good. I shall see to the rest of the plan. Until then, I bid you adieu.’ the voice on the other end crackled.
Juta shut down the device and smiled to herself, making sure to step on her mask as she left the room, shattering it completely.



*LIA: Lost In Action
*LDS: Lost Due Stupidity

[Nosedagger]

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[Misu-Chan]

Nice work as always.

[TeH_Reaper]

nice one, but i was a bit to tierd to read it all...
doesnt mean it's bad, I'm always tierd... =p