Robert sighed once the lights turned green and the door into the sample area opened. Turning slightly to the side, he didn't even wait for the door to open before he rushed in. He was met with a long hallway with half a dozen sample rooms on either side.
Glancing towards the ceiling, Robert saw a red light glowing which indicated that one of the rooms was occupied. What usually was used to let others know to be aware of a potential danger now helped him to quickly spot the place that Terry and Jackson were in. His footsteps echoed as they hit the chemical resistant tiles. The reinforced concrete walls did nothing to absorb the sound, making his running sound like several people were charging ahead.
His eyes stuck to the button next to the door. When he reached the door, he slammed his palm on it and heard the hissing as it opened.
"Stop this madness!" Robert yelled, as his eyes landed on the figure of Terry and Jackson.
One of the figures reacted to his sudden burst into the room. "What do you think you're doing?! You don't have the authorization to be in this room!" The voice belonged to Jackson.
This let Robert know that the person handling the radiation gun was Terry. He hoped the fact that Terry was facing away from him was a good sign. The next words he heard made his stomach drop.
"We finished proving my theory, so stop your yelling," Terry calmly said.
"Wha...?" Robert could only dazedly say in response.
Terry turned around, revealing his smug smile to Robert. "That's right, Robert. All of you treated my theories as too dangerous and instead wasted your time running all those slow simulations when we could have solved this with a simple test. What we learned can answer our problems with those modified humans."
"Whether Ionizing Radiation would kill the cells was never in doubt! The problem was that testing this method could trigger an Adaptation Event and nullify the effects of radiation from a nuke!" Robert yelled at Terry.
"How...?" Jackson sounded confused by Roberts statement.
Robert sneered at Jackson, "I'm not an idiot, Jackson! We all saw the box the two of you had. The only thing that could be contained is the secured radiative material used by the radiation gun. And the only reason why you'd be using the radiation gun would be to test the theory of nuking those monsters!" Looking at Terry, he growled, "But like your professional work, you didn't consider the long-term ramification and chose the easy path."
"I didn't realize that I needed to cower like the rest of you, and wait for the modified humans to kill us all," Terry mocked.
"You and your fucking ego! To prove a point, you're willing to go through with this? I know that the General is behind this, considering you were able to gain access to that container! Was it you or him that suggested that all of our problems could be solved with nuking those things?" Robert said as he felt the rage bubbling inside of him about to boil out. It was his self-control that kept him from beating Terry.
"It doesn't matter who suggested what. As far as I'm concerned, you're no longer the lead scientist in our merry group. We've been here for a week with no results, and I'm the one that actually pulled the trigger. Now we'll be able to push those things back. The General has even mentioned about creating a weapon that fires ionizing radiation, so we'll be able to minimalize the damage instead of using such a primitive weapon." Terry explained, looking confident with the plan he and the General developed.
Listening to Terry's words, Robert clenched his fists. He almost slammed his fist on the wall in frustration towards Terry's disregard for a possible, and likely, Adaptation Event which would cost the lives of millions of citizens. There had yet to be confirmation of the modified humans existing overseas, due to the military keeping a tight hold on information. If the modified humans spread outside of the country, then Terry's irresponsibility could end up killing billions.
Thinking about the world facing a similar crisis and Terry's action, which couldn't be changed, Robert felt his anger deflate. If the disease or whatever caused the modified humans spread to other countries, then it was very likely that those other countries would reach a similar conclusion as Terry and The General.
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Terry may have been successful this time, but who knew whether another country would have beat him to the experiment and still may be testing out the theory.
Feeling defeated, Robert turned around and made his way out of the room. He didn't know what would happen, especially with the General being so adamant about going down the path of using radiation weaponry. Remembering what Terry said about radiation weapons, he was confused.
Hearing the telltale hissing noise as the door opened. He looked at Terry and Jackson, who both sought to see who was coming in.
"You mentioned radiation weaponry... Based on what you had said about not using nukes, where is this technology coming from? Is it Star and Moon that's creating these weapons?" Robert asked. He was curious as to what Terry had talked about, wondering if it was just false bravado or if there actually was something to Terry's words.
Terry sneered at Robert's words. "Star and Moon? " He scoffed. "They have a tight hand on the technology they're willing to sell to outsiders. I saw the weapons they had on top of their vehicles, and they are adamant at their refusal to share such equipment." Shaking his head, Terry said, "No. We're no longer going to be at the mercy of that traitorous country. How much money have they been able to earn, yet they still hold numerous secrets from the government?"
"The General has informed us that there are several other companies, some of them who we are not allowed to trade with, have designed weapons that are equal or surpass Star and Moon. We've discovered and reached out to another company, a year ago, that appears to have the capabilities we have been interested in, and they have demonstrated prototype weapons to the military." Terry grinned, seeing how defeated Robert looked.
"What about Star and Moon? They helped us to get here and avoid being killed by those things. Do you think they are going to appreciate the military's actions?" Robert half-heartedly tried to make his case, a part of him understanding that Terry and the General weren't going to be dissuaded from going down the current path.
Terry laughed at Robert's words. "What are they going to do about it? Did they expect the military to be beholden to them? Just because many facets of the military is reliant on them doesn't mean they can keep the nation hostage. If they don't want to release technology, then we'll just find someone else who does have the technology."
Whether due to the look in Robert's eyes or something else, Jackson said, "It isn't too late for you to get on this strategy. The General needs as many scientists as possible and he still believes you're useful."
"Yeah, Robert. Even though you and the others are cowards, it doesn't change the fact that all of you are relative experts in your respective fields. You may no longer be the leader of our team, I think you're valuable. As long as you listen to my words and the General's, everything will work out, and our names will be listed in the history books."
Robert knew that Terry was never going to let him have any real authority, now that the General had given Terry power. He didn't understand why everyone was still so concerned about prestige and getting credit when the world was facing a global extinction event. Deep inside, Robert felt like he was facing what his personality was like, where he only cared about his own achievements. Chuckling to himself, Robert felt like what the military was doing and the modified humans trying to end everything was his just desserts.
"I understand. Just let me know what I can do, and I'll follow you and the General's lead." Robert answered in defeat. In his mind, he pictured Laura's and his children's faces. Even though he knew following the military's lead was wrong, the fact was that the military also provided protection. Even if it was for a couple more days or even weeks, Robert needed to do what was necessary to protect his family. If it meant making a Faustian bargain, Robert would do it.