dk.solesurvivor-第69部分

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hanical　system　that　would　allow　it　to　do　so。
　　Now；　e　here；　down　to　the　second　floor；　to　the　third　room　east　of　the　elevators；　where　lives　a　five…year…old　male；　KSB…22…09；　who　is　neither　physically　nor　mentally　impaired。　Indeed；　he　is　an　active　redheaded　boy　with　a　genius…level　IQ。　He　loves　to　learn；　receives　extensive　tutoring　daily；　and　is　currently　educated　to　a　ninth…grade　equivalent。　He　has　numerous　toys；　books；　and　movies　on　video；　and　he　participates　in　supervised　play　sessions　with　the　other　orphans；　because　it　is　deemed　essential　by　the　project　architects　that　all　subjects　with　normal　mental　faculties　and　full　physical　abilities　be　raised　in　as　social　an　atmosphere　as　possible；　given　the　limitations　of　the　Institute。　Sometimes　when　he　tries　hard　（and　sometimes　when　he　is　not　trying　at　all）；　KSB…22…09　is　able　to　make　small　objects…pencils；　ball　bearings；　paper　clips；　thus　far　nothing　larger　than　a　glass　of　water…vanish。　Simply　vanish。　He　sends　them　elsewhere；　into　what　he　calls　'The　All　Dark。'　He　is　not　able　to　bring　them　back　and　cannot　explain　what　The　All　Dark　may　be…though　he　does　not　like　the　place。　He　must　be　sedated　to　sleep；　because　he　frequently　suffers　vivid　nightmares　in　which　he　uncontrollably　sends　himself；　piece　by　piece；　into　The　All　Dark　…first　a　thumb；　and　then　a　toe；　and　then　his　left　foot；　a　tooth　and　another　tooth；　one　eye　gone　from　a　suddenly　empty　socket；　and　then　an　ear。　Lately；　KSB…22…09　is　experiencing　memory　lapses　and　spells　of　paranoia　which　are　thought　to　be　related　to　the　long…term　use　of　the　sedative　that　he　receives　before　bed　each　night。
　　Of　the　forty…eight　orphans　residing　at　the　Institute；　only　seven　exhibit　any　paranormal　powers。　The　other　forty…one；　however；　are　not　regarded　as　failures。　Each　of　the　seven　successes　first　revealed　his　or　her　talent　at　a　different　age…one　as　young　as　eleven　months；　one　as　old　as　five。　Consequently；　the　possibility　remains　that　many　of　the　forty…one　will　blossom　in　years　to　e…perhaps　not　until　they　experience　the　dramatic　changes　in　body　chemistry　related　to　puberty。　Eventually；　of　course；　those　subjects　who　age　without　revealing　any　valuable　talent　will　have　to　be　removed　from　the　program；　as　even　Project　99's　resources　are　not　infinite。　The　project's　architects　have　not　yet　determined　the　optimum　point　of　termination。
　　
　　Although　the　steering　wheel　was　hard　under　his　hands　and　slick　with　his　cold　sweat；　although　the　sound　of　the　engine　was　familiar；　although　the　freeway　was　solid　under　the　spinning　tyres；　Joe　felt　as　if　he　had　crossed　into　another　dimension　as　treacherously　amorphous　and　inimical　to　reason　as　the　surreal　landscapes　in　Salvador　Dali's　paintings。
　　As　his　horror　grew；　he　interrupted　Rose：　'This　place　you're　describing　is　Hell。　You。　。　。　you　couldn't　have　been　part　of　anything　like　this。　You're　not　that　kind　of　person。'
　　'Aren't　I？'
　　'No。'
　　Her　voice　grew　thinner　as　she　talked；　as　though　the　strength　supporting　her　had　been　the　secrets　she　kept；　and　as　she　revealed　them　one　by　one；　her　vitality　ebbed　as　it　had　for　Samson　lock　by　lock。　In　her　increasing　weariness　was　a　sweet　relief　like　that　dispensed　in　a　confessional；　a　weakness　that　she　seemed　to　embrace…but　that　was　nonetheless　coloured　by　a　grey　wash　of　despair。　'If　I'm　not　that　kind　of　person　now。　。　。　I　must　have　been　then。'
　　'But　how？　Why？　Why　would　you　want　to　be　involved　with　these　these　atrocities？'
　　'Pride。　To　prove　that　I　was　as　good　as　they　thought　I　was；　good　enough　to　take　on　this　unprecedented　challenge。　Excitement。　The　thrill　of　being　involved　with　a　program　even　better　funded　than　the　Manhattan　Project。　Why　did　the　people　who　invented　the　atomic　bomb　work　on　it　。　。　。　knowing　what　they　were　making？　Because　others；　elsewhere　in　the　world；　will　do　it　if　we　don't。　。　。　so　maybe　we　have　to　do　it　to　save　ourselves　from　them？'
　　'Save　ourselves　by　selling　our　souls？'　he　asked。
　　'There's　no　defence　I　can　offer　that　should　ever　exonerate　me；'　Rose　said。　'But　it　is　true　that　when　I　signed　on；　there　was　no　consensus　that　we　would　carry　the　experiments　this　far；　that　we　would　apply　what　we　learned　with　such。　。　。　zeal。　We　entered　into　the　creation　of　the　children　in　stages。　。　。　down　a　slippery　slope。　We　intended　to　monitor　the　first　one　just　through　the　second　trimester　of　the　foetal　stage…and；　after　all；　we　don't　consider　a　foetus　to　be　an　actual　human　being。　So　it　wasn't　like　we　were　experimenting　on　a　person。　And　when　we　brought　one　of　them　to　full　term。　。　。　there　were　intriguing　anomalies　in　its　EEG　graphs；　strangeness　in　its　brainwave　patterns　that　might　have　indicated　heretofore　unknown　cerebral　function。　So　we　had　to　keep　it　alive　to　see。　。　。　to　see　what　we　had　achieved；　to　see　if　maybe　we　had　moved　evolution　forward　a　giant　step。'
　　'Jesus。'
　　Though　he　had　first　met　this　woman　only　thirty…six　hours　ago；　his　feelings　for　her　had　been　rich　and　intense；　ranging　from　virtual　adoration　to　fear　and　now　to　repulsion。　Yet　from　his　repulsion　came　pity；　because　for　the　first　time　he　saw　in　her　one　of　the　many　cloves　of　human　weakness　that；　in　other　forms；　were　so　ripe　in　himself。
　　'Fairly　early　on；'　she　said；　'I　did　want　out。　So　I　was　invited　for　a　private　chat　with　the　project　director；　who　made　it　clear　to　me　that　there　was　no　quitting　now。　This　had　bee　a　job　with　lifetime　tenure。　Even　to　attempt　to　leave　Project　Ninety…nine　is　to　mit　suicide…and　to　put　the　lives　of　your　loved　ones　at　risk　as　well。'
　　'But　couldn't　you　have　gone　to　the　press；　broken　the　story　wide　open；　shut　them　down？'
　　'Probably　not　without　physical　evidence；　and　all　I　had　was　what　was　in　my　head。　Anyway；　a　couple　of　my　colleagues　had　the　idea　that　they　could　bring　it　all　down；　I　think。　One　of　them　suffered　a　timely　stroke。　The　other　was　shot　three　times　in　the　head　by　a　mugger…who　was　never　caught。　For　a　while。　。　。　I　was　so　depressed　I　considered　killing　myself　and　saving　them　the　trouble。　But　then　along　came　CCY…21…21。。。'
　　First；　born　fourteen　months　ahead　of　CCY…21…21　was　male　subject　SSW…89…58。　He　exhibits　prodigious　talents　in　every　regard　and　his　story　is　of　importance　to　you　because　of　your　own　recent　experiences　with　people　who　eviscerate　themselves　and　set　themselves　afire…and　because　of　your　losses　in　Colorado。
　　By　the　time　he　is　forty…two　months　old；　SSW…89…58　possesses　the　language　skills　of　the　average　first…year　college　student　and　is　able　to　read　a　three…hundred…page　volume　in　one　to　three　hours；　depending　on　the　plexity　of　the　text。　Higher　math　es　to　him　as　easily　as　eating　ice　cream；　as　do　foreign　languages　from　French　to　Japanese。　His　physical　development　proceeds　at　an　accelerated　rate；　as　well；　and　by　the　time　he　is　four；　he　stands　as　tall　and　is　proportionately　developed　as　the　average　seven…year…old。　Paranormal　talents　are　anticipated；　but　researchers　are　surprised　by　89…58's　great　breadth　of　more　ordinary　genius…which　includes　the　ability　to　play　any　piece　of　piano　music　after　hearing　it　once　…and　by　his　physical　precocity；　for　which　no　genetic　selection　has　been　made。
　　When　89…58　begins　to　exhibit　paranormal　abilities；　he　proves　to　be　phenomenally　endowed。　His　first　startling　achievement　is　remote　viewing。　As　a　game；　he　describes　to　researchers　the　rooms　in　their　own　homes；　where　he　has　never　visited。　He　walks　them　through　tours　of　museums　to　which　he　has　never　been　admitted。　When　he　is　shown　a　photograph　of　a　Wyoming　mountain　in　which　is　buried　a　top…secret　Strategic　Air　mand　defence　centre；　he　describes　in　accurate　detail　the　missile…status　display　boards　in　the　war　room。　He　is　considered　an　espionage　asset　of　incalculable　value…until；　fortunately　by　degrees；　he　discovers　that　he　is　able　to　step　into　a　human　mind　as　easily　as　he　steps　into　distant　rooms。　He　takes　mental　control　of　his　primary　handler；　makes　the　man　undress；　and　sends　him　through　the　halls　of　the　orphanage；　crowing　like　a　rooster。　When　SSW…89…58　relinquishes　control　of　the　handler　and　it　is　discovered　what　he's　done；　he　is　punished　severely。　He　resents　the　punishment；　resents　it　deeply。　That　night　he　conducts　a　remote　viewing　of　the　handler's　home　and　enters　the　handler's　mind　at　a　distance　of　forty…six　miles。　Using　the　handler's　body；　he　brutally　murders　the