With Demon World about to start, and little else to do (one can only study so much chemistry a day) I decided to try my hands on a three year old piece, one of older written works, which features my Demon World Character 'Avalon'. Since the piece was in Dutch, I've decided to rework some of the material while translating it, making it a better piece altogether.
For the precious few who will actualy read this; enjoy
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“How is she?”
Arthur Bellville, research supervisor at the Human Evolution and Reproduction Association, or HERA for short, took a brief look trough the large glass wall before turning to the closest touch screen. Using the thumb and index finger of each hand, he magnified the image several times before turning to his female co-worker.
“Don’t people usually greet each other when they barge into a room.” The woman sounded annoyed and sleep deprived. Arthur almost felt sorry for his co-worker. Almost. She had been the one insisting that someone should remain here, and he had retorted by telling her she could stay up if she wanted, but that he was heading for bed.
“Drop it Vivian. Just give me an update and you can go get some sleep.” He turned away from the woman, back to the monitor. Their subject, number 00279, had crawled under the desk that lined one of the walls yesterday afternoon, and so far, and had been there ever since. The small girl was now staring straight into the camera.
“Nothing. She refuses to come out beneath the damn desk. I’ve tried everything; I’ve read to her, tried luring her, I’ve asked her kindly.” The annoyance in the woman’s voice had made way for despair. Arthur sighed. Ava, as they had dubbed the girl, was usually very cooperative. What had gotten into that tiny human being. Vivian gave another deep sigh. “I’ve even ordered her, Arthur. Nothing.”
She had ordered her? And the girl had not obeyed? Now that was interesting. “Let me try.” Brushing past the woman, he grabbed the nearby microphone. “Subject 00279, this is Arthur Bellville.” No change in the girls position. “Get out from under the desk Ava.” Had the girl suddenly gone deaf? “Avalon, get out from under that desk, right now!” He had only had to raise his voice a number of times, but only to get her attention. She was ignoring him now.
“This is bad Vivian.” Letting go of the microphone, he rubbed his temple before throwing a worried glance at the woman. “Upstairs told us we could expect some visitors today. Apparently we have some new investors who are being shown around the facility, and they are interested in seeing HERA’s joy and pride.” And right now, the brown haired, twelve year old girl wasn’t much to look at.
Vivian, never one to care about the organisations politics, simply gave him a grave smile. “I’m sure you’ll figure something out. If there are any shocking developments, page me. If you wake me up for anything less, I swear to god, I’ll rip your guts out.” Despite her frail looks, she actually managed to make it sound like a legitimate threat. Arthur raised his hands protectively as she got up from her chair and pushed past him.
Before she could reach the door, however, there was a small hum, followed by the sounds of the doors sliding open. A small crowd stood behind it, led by a man Arthur wished he had never met. “Director Banks. A pleasure. You are earlier then I suspected.” A tall, handsome man stepped in, followed by half a dozen men in suits, looking around as if they owned the place. Which they did, in a way.
The man offered him and Vivian a slick smile, ushering the small crowd into the office , before giving Vivian a disapproving glance that only she and Arthur noticed. Jonathan Banks was a sociological mastermind, the genius behind HERA’s finances, and an absolute terror to work with. “Good day, Arthur. Gentlemen, may I introduce Arthur Belleville, our research supervisor of the Avalon project, and the lovely miss Vivian Bauer, associate researcher.” Both nodded politely at the six men, who paid them little heed.
“Gentleman, if you would please look into the room.” Banks turned to the glass wall, pointing at the girl beneath the desk with a singly prying finger. “And tell me, what do you see?” A smaller man, his accent betraying his European origin, was first to react. “A child.” The reaction made Arthur flinch. A child. Subject 00279, Avalon, Ava, was so much more than a mere child.
Banks let out a small laugh, a kind sound to those who didn’t know the man behind it. “Indeed, a child. But what if I told you that this child is Avalon. That this child is the living embodiment of HERA’s greatest success?” A small disapproving murmur spread through the group. The European man was shaking his head. “This is Avalon? This is what we invested in?”
Banks had raised his hand soothingly, in the manner that only he could. “Gentleman, she might not look like much, but HERA presents to you; the future. Not just of mankind, no, of everything. Gathering intelligence, support the troops, turn the tide of battle; thanks to this little girl, warfare shall never be the same. What if I told you that you are looking at the next step in human evolution!”
He made a gesture at Arthur, a silent order to take over, like he had numerous times before. As much as Banks did for the association, he seemed to make a point of remaining ignorant to all scientific backgrounds of all projects. Arthur suppressed a sigh and took the floor.
“Avalon, or Ava, as we call her here in HERA, is genetically blessed with large quantities of magical energy. Even more important is that she was also born with the ability to use this magical energy in numerous way. Her magical energy manifests itself as several kinds of butterflies, which have applications ranging from surveillance to construction, and even assault. She has proven able to singlehandedly keep track of movement in a three mile area, even underground, giving feedback that is far more detailed than anything machinery can provide us with.”
The crowd had gone silent, looking at each other appraisingly. In the end, unsurprisingly, it was the loud European that spoke up. “We’ve read the reports, but... A three mile radius? Her? Alone? With these... butterflies you talk about? It sounds... surreal. Especially,” he motioned in the girls direction, “after seeing her. Is she even reliable.”
Banks shot Arthur a warning glance, but it was Vivian, not her supervisor, that spoke up. “Ava is extremely reliable. She normally follows any order, is not tied to any individual, and, most importantly, will always complete a mission unless ordered otherwise. Given enough supplies, she can remain in the same position indefinitely.”
Another man spoke up, Hispanic by the sound of it. “Then why is she underneath that desk?” Ah, the question all three members of HERA dreaded. Vivian swallowed hard and gave Arthur a hopeful look. The research supervisor shrugged in defeat. “Ava is still a twelve year old girl. And if twenty one years of study has proven one thing, it is that humans are whimsical creatures. She will come around soon enough.”
“Looks like she already has.” No sooner than Banks had spoken, all six men were staring trough the glass wall at the small girl, who was now standing in the middle of the room, one hand raised. “What is she doing?”
Arthur smiled as he strode over to the microphone. “It is part of her education. She will not speak unless given permission. If she raises her hand, she has a question.” Switching on the microphone, Arthur couldn’t help but to smile. “Yes, Avalon. You have a question?”
The girl lowered her. “Yes.”Her voice was somewhat hoarse, yet the sound of her voice seemed to enchant the onlookers. This was it. Project Avalon. The future of intelligence and combat support.
“What is it?”
The girl seemed to hesitate for a moment before speaking. “Can I have a sandwich now?” A few of the investors chuckled, and Arthur felt his smile widen. The sound of the mechanical doors opening betrayed Vivian was already on it. The woman’s dedication to that child was truly remarkable.
“Vivian is on her way with your sandwich. Now Ava, could you show us your butterflies. One of each, close to the glass.” A fraction of a second later, three butterflies were hovering in front of the six men, who were now staring, pointing, and discussing in a low, excited tone. Arthur put down the microphone.
“Avalon has three types of butterflies. The black ones can lift light equipment, and several of them can group together to lift heavier equipment. So far, we have seen her lift small cars, but we are confident that with more training, she could lift even heavier weights. The orange one is perhaps most useful. Whatever that one sees, Ava sees. Combined with their ability to act as a light source, they make for very good scouting. The last kind of butterfly, the red and black one, we lovingly call ‘hell butterflies.” Arthur tried to, and failed, to suppress a wicked grin. “think of them as flying piranhas. At her current limit, Ava can devour a man sized pillar of any none-metallic material in just under half a minute.”
A small silence fell, followed by more excited whispers. Banks threw him a look that almost seemed grateful before ushering the men out to continue the tour. As they poured out, the high security doors to Ava’s room opened and Vivian stepped in with a plate. Cucumber sandwiches. Ava’s favourite. Or so they suspected, anyway. They were still working on the basic skill of emotions with her.
The girl was still facing the glass when Vivian left the room and rejoined with Arthur. “That went surprisingly smoothly.” He nodded in agreement as Vivian fell back into the chair and grabbed the microphone. “Ava, you may dismiss the butterflies and eat your sandwich now.”
The watched how the girl ate her first sandwich, the smallest of smiles appearing on her normally blank face. Once she was done, Vivian took up the microphone again. “Ava, why were you sitting under the desk like that?” Arthur saw how his co-worker hesitated before she added “you had us worried.”
Ava brushed a few crumbs from her face before facing the glass wall again. “I must not speak until spoken to.” It was a dispassionate statement. Acts like these made it easy to think of the young girl as a tool rather than a human being.
“I am asking you now.”
“My tummy ached.”
Vivian felt her heart break.
Subject: Subject #00279 ''Avalon'' (Translated/reworked) 
Sun May 24, 2009 5:00 pm
