BTC 14: There is nothing to fear but fear itself… and public humiliation

Joe Trebble and the Bio Tech Conspiracy
Chapter 14: There is nothing to fear but fear itself… and public humiliation

Back to Chapter 1: A Hot Pink Car

Joe slumped on the sofa. “What a day!” he slurred.
Devin brought Joe a cup of tea. “You’re back late. Did everything go alright?” Joe rubbed his temples. “Something to help this headache would be great dear.” Joe took the tea and sipped a little of the hot liquid. “A bit better with that,” he mused to himself. “I take it you met your contact,” devin said returning to the room with a couple of ibuprofen and a large glass of water. “Yeah, but not sure how good a meeting it was.” Joe swallowed the ibuprofen and gulped the water down. Devin sat down beside him “I’m sure what ever happened you’re good to go.” Devin kissed Joe on the cheek. “Now tell me what you can.” Joe shook his head to try and bring his senses back. “Give me a minute or two to compose myself . . . and try and remember.’ Devin patted Joe on the leg. “No rush. Mind if I put the news on?”
“Go ahead, I’ll be back in a moment.” Joe got up to head to the toilet, stopping briefly as the news clip came on: “. . . there was a bizarre act put on by a couple of pranksters. Police are withholding their identities. We have exclusive footage coming up after the break.” Joe shook his head and sheepishly continued to the toilet.
~~~~~ Devin noted Joe’s reaction to the news segment intro. Obviously was somehow involved in the prank. Devin pushed the record button on their PVR as the commercials ended; Joe had not come back from the toilet yet.
“There is a warning with the next clip; it contains nudity.”
Devin watched as a shaky video, from obviously a fair distance, came on the screen. Devin recognized the bare ass, zoomed in to only 1/8 the size of the screen, as that of Joe. The other guy, yelling things barely audible on the recording, was not known to Devin. Joe was running naked through the square with Justin streaking behind him. It was obvious Joe was completely naked, whereas Justin had a sock covering his front. The two of them ran around the square and tried to climb a statue. The police came rushing in and pulled the guys down as the camera shut off. “Eye witnesses heard the streakers yelling such things as ‘freedom from regulation’ and ‘gmo is natural.’ No one is entirely sure what they mean or the intent of their act. Police are keeping a tight lid on this, leading some to speculate one or both of the men involved are of high profile. We’ll keep you informed of any development of this story. In international news…” Devin turned off the TV as Joe returned to the room. “I think you might know about as much as I do now,” Joe said trying to laugh with his hangover. He slumped back onto the sofa next to Devin. “I’m not sure if I screwed up the mission before it started or what?” Joe’s voice wavered. “I’m afraid of the challenges of this mission, and have I blown it from that…” Joe gestured at the TV as he looked at Devin. Tears were beginning to swell in his eyes.

(110614)

Next: Chapter 15: TBW

BTC 13: The Equation Will Come Out At Last

Joe Trebble and the Bio Tech Conspiracy
Chapter 13: The Equation Will Come Out At Last

Back to Chapter 1: A Hot Pink Car

Henry Brightonston sat hunched over a pile of papers at his desk. How could feel there was a solution in there somewhere. The research they had done was already in the right direction, in fact it was possible something done a decade ago could now hold the answer.

Joe’s arrival the previous week had got Henry thinking about Mark’s work before the accident. He had been looking at combining various nucleotides to see the effect they would have on the germination of a simple virus. Technology had greatly improved since Mark’s preliminary research, now might be the perfect time to dredge up some of those old projects for a fresh new look.

That was what Henry was trying to do now, compare the old avenues with the new, and who in the company would be willing to pursue what. Henry found it tedious going through the old equations and reports, some still had hand written notes in the margins. When Henry saw these, memories would flood back of Mark and him discussing the theories and approaches; sometimes to the dismay of their wives when off time turned to shop talk. More often than not they found a solution that worked; perhaps not the most practical or economical, but the main goal back then was achieving results.

Henry sighed and sat back, his mind taken away from the work at hand. “Who knew you’d have to look at betraying your father to save is legacy?” Henry thought about Joe entering the company. “Yes you have appeared to have grown to be your father’s son, I just hope it is the right thing to trust you; that you truly are your father’s son.”

An idea suddenly came to Henry. He riffled through the pile of papers. “It’s got to be here,” he said out loud. “Ahh, here it is.” Henry found the old file of papers near the bottom. “This will be perfect for Joe to work on.” Henry started to flip through the old file. “Yes, this was the big one that eluded us. The results of this avenue of research could benefit many if the key is found. But it could still take a genius, even with current tech, to possibly crack the code.”

Henry smiled at himself. This would look like legitimate work, in fact it would be, and yet could stall those over zealous competitors as they find the solution not that easy.

(100720)

Next: Chapter 14: There is nothing to fear but fear itself… and public humiliation