A story exploring time travel and societal issues in the wake of 9/11. This is chapter 26. See previous posts for chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25.
For the next few days, Thomas studied the NSEA files T2 had left him carefully, working on his laptop in an NIS alcove, alongside the developers. Eventually, he began to realize what he was looking at. With this realization came fear.
Without saying anything to anyone, Thomas closed his computer, left the building, and got into his rental car. He drove for an hour, until he reached Trish's ecovillage. There was still an old bus at the end of the long, rough driveway. Thomas got out of his car there and made loud noises to announce himself.
Trish was leaning out a window of her tree house as Thomas approached. "You coming up?" she called down.
An elevator had been rigged with pulleys and counterweights. This ascended a little too fast for Thomas' liking, and he soon found himself on a bench in a large room with a tree growing through it, thirty feet off of the ground. Trish poured him a coffee and sat down. "So what's up?" she asked. "And why didn't you just call?"
"What do you know about this NSEA project?" asked Thomas.
"T2's headset, right?" said Trish. "I know Reed's mentioned it, but I usually stay out of NIS business. Why?"
"It's costing tens of millions a year," said Thomas. "That sound right to you?"
"I don't know," said Trish. "Where's the revenue potential? How much could the tech make?"
"That's the thing," said Thomas. "It could maybe crack a billion in several years, if we treat it like a medical device. But I don't see it even breaking even as a consumer device. So what's left?"
"I'm not sure," said Trish.
"The CIA once created six remote-controlled dogs," said Thomas. "That tech is out there. So is the tech to erase specific memories. But NSEA? That system is next level. I think maybe it could be used for mind control."
"Mind control?" asked Trish. "You think Reed is behind the attacks? Why would he have himself shot?"
"I don't know," said Thomas. "Not yet. But I know enough now to start asking the right questions. My next move is calling Ana about it. I was hoping to do that here, with you."
"Let's do it," said Trish.
They called Ana and put it on speaker. When she found out what it was about, she put them on hold for a moment while she located pertinent records. "All set," she said finally.
"Do you happen to know if Reed was in Ohio at any time during the year leading up to the assassination?" asked Thomas.
"He was, about eight weeks beforehand," said Ana. "Visiting a product testing company, according to my records."
"Do you know anything about Kissinger's whereabouts during Reed's visit?" asked Thomas.
"I can try to find out," said Ana. "You're thinking Reed somehow got Kissinger to do it using this NSEA thing?"
"The device can read and implant thoughts, so maybe," said Thomas. "I think the proof is in the testing data. T2 left me complete records, and when I requested the same information from Reed, the data he provided was incomplete."
"Crap!" said Trish. "I like Reed! I hope it's not him."
"If it was Reed, and if the tech really can be used for mind control, we've got to kill the project," said Thomas.
"Has he told you about his 'brain print' scheme?" asked Trish. "Like, instead of fingerprints, there would be brain prints."
"If it was Reed," said Ana. "I'll put him in a world of trouble even if criminal prosecution isn't possible."
"The omission of testing data is probably sufficient cause to terminate his contract," said Thomas.
"You know, Reed called me earlier," said Ana. "He told me that he suspected a rival company in the attacks. According to him, Rex Drexler, owner of Drexler Systems Inc, has been a thorn in the side of NIS for years. This Drexler is also apparently adept at hypnotism, having been a stage hypnotist before moving into BCI technology."
"So Reed's version is that Drexler hypnotized Kissinger to kill T2 to hurt NIS, then followed up by hypnotizing Orange to assassinate Reed, but failed at this?" asked Thomas. "I guess that's worth exploring. Still, where should we look to find more about Reed?"
"Leave it with me," said Ana. "But be careful. If Reed finds out we suspect him, he could respond unpredictably."
"Got it," said Thomas, hanging up. "Thanks."
"Oh my god," said Trish. "Before all of this, I went into NIS and used one of those headsets. Reed said it was just for fun. I spent an hour selecting colored squares on a screen until I could move the cursor with my mind as easily as with a mouse. Do you think he implanted something in my brain? Like a command or some other information?"
"Maybe, but I doubt it," said Thomas. "You've always been his ally. And he needs all the allies he can find for what he's trying to do."
"What do you think that is, exactly?" asked Trish.
"The more I think about it, the more I suspect that the shootings served more than one purpose," said Thomas. "They weren't just attacks. They were demonstrations. I think he was publicly demonstrating the mind control tech."
"So the goal is what?" asked Trish. "Sell the tech to terrorists on the black market?"
"Reed doesn't strike me as a black market operator," said Thomas, chuckling lightly. "But maybe. To be honest, if the NSEA really can brainwash people, I'm not convinced he has a complete grasp of all that implies. Tech like this could mind control an unlimited number of people for arbitrary reasons. Fortunately, Reed's no Robert Mercer. I doubt he's out to mind control whole populations to influence politics or anything like that."
"What if he's trying to sell it to the military?" asked Trish. "Or the CIA or whatever?"
"He might be," said Thomas. "If he was, what would that look like? I mean, what exactly would he do if that were the case?"
"He'd probably have them visit the office," said Trish. "Try to impress them. T2 had cameras installed a long time ago at the doors. If we knew when a visit might've happened, we could pull the footage and see who came."
"Good thinking," said Thomas. "Text Ana about it? And if there's any unusual downtime or missing footage, that might help us put together a timeline of events."
(Feature image from Pixabay.)
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