Derek Goodman - The Reanimation of Edward Schuett

“You guys aren’t much for decorating, are you?”

“Not on the lab levels, no. Some of the other floors are a little more homey. If you want, we can probably find a painting to give your room a little more color.”

“Thanks, but no. Although, if you find me a Dale Jr. poster, then maybe we can talk.”

“Who’s that?”

“Seriously? You mean no one here remembers all the NASCAR legends?”

“What’s NASCAR?”

“Ugh. Never mind.”

She led him to a unisex bathroom down the hall, but not before taking him past several more doors like the one he’d been behind. Most of them were empty, but four of them had zombies behind them. No, scratch that, five. There was another further down the hall. He knew that was another thing he shouldn’t have been able to tell, but by now it didn’t surprise him. He could tell by that honey scent in the air.

“Tell me, can you smell that?” he asked Liddie.

“Um, yeah. Sorry. It’s getting pretty strong now, but I know where I can get you some extra pants really quickly.”

Edward blushed. “No, I mean…whatever.”

She left him alone to go into one of the bathroom stalls and came back several minutes later with a pair of scrub pants. He’d cleaned himself up by that time, although he still needed a damned shower. He shoved the soiled pants underneath the stall door and winced when she hissed at the smell.

“So are you going to keep those, too?” he asked.

“Are you joking me? Why the hell would I do that?”

“Your mother did it.”

“And yet again I need to remind you that I am not my mother.”

Edward finished pulling up his new pants and then opened the door. Liddie was gingerly shoving the old pants into a garbage can and then tying off the bag.

“Hey, Liddie?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For, you know, treating me like a human being.”

She gave him a bemused look. “Someone has to. And look, to be completely honest, I’m not sure how much of that you’re going to be getting from anyone else.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean I’ve already overhead some of the plans my mother has for you. Don’t worry, no one’s going to do anything to hurt you. But she sure does plan on getting every bit of scientific data she can out of you.”

“So what, they really are going to dissect me at some point?”

“Hey, I just promised you that wouldn’t happen, didn’t I? But if I were you I’d cooperate with everything. Some people like Dr. Chella are just looking for excuses to make trouble, and you could be the perfect excuse.”

Somehow, Edward didn’t find any of that the least bit reassuring.

Once she got some sleep of her own, Liddie was able to convince her mom to let her sit in on the directors’ meeting the next morning. It wasn’t terribly hard. Liddie knew everything about this place, and there was rarely a time where she didn’t have some useful tidbit to contribute to any planning meeting. This one was different however. Liddie didn’t even register until after she sat down at the table with her mother, Dr. Chella, and Chella’s assistant Dr. Emmanuel that the television monitor on the far wall was actually on. There was another monitor in the room for when they needed to have meetings with other people in distant locations, but that one was much smaller. This one was only supposed to be used for one person and one person alone.

“Mom, uh, Director Gates?” Liddie asked. “Is he actually going to be talking to us?”

“He talks to us all the time, Claudia,” Dr. Chella said. “We just don’t usually see any reason for you to be here when he does.”

“Well this time there is a reason, Chella, so just let it go for now,” Liddie’s mother said.

“I thought we were just going to be discussing Edward,” Liddie said. Her mother raised an eyebrow, but Liddie wasn’t sure why.

“We are. Don’t you think Mr. Schuett is someone he’s going to be interested in?”

“I suppose,” Liddie said. “I guess I hadn’t thought about it that much.”

Dr. Emmanuel rolled his eyes. He was another one that thought Liddie had no right to all the access she had, but Liddie didn’t care. She was reasonably certain the only reason he had this job was because someone had blackmailed Chella into giving it to him, but she had never found the hard proof of it.

The monitor blinked a couple times as it established a connection with Washington, D.C., and the President of the United States appeared before them.

“Director Gates, Dr. Chella, I hope you’re both well,” he said. Liddie was too starstruck to care that he didn’t acknowledge her, although she had to stifle a smile at the way Dr. Emmanuel bristled at his exclusion.

“Sir, we couldn’t be better,” Liddie’s mother said. “I’m sure you’ve already been fully updated on what we’ve discovered.”

“I have. I have to say how shocked I am. And that I owe you an apology. You’ve predicted this event for a long time, but I must admit I was starting to doubt you. Certain people were very vocal that your obsession with this was getting in the way of your work. I’m sure you feel vindicated.”

Chella fidgeted in her chair.

“Thank you, sir, but now is not the time for that. There are certain things we need to discuss. Specifically, what is to be done with the Z7.”

“I understand your devotion to studying the specimen, but it would probably be in the best interest of the American people to destroy it immediately.”

“Wait, what?” Liddie asked.

The President blinked and looked at her for the first time. “I’m sorry, but I don’t believe we’ve been introduced?”

Liddie’s mother cleared her throat. “Sir, this is my daughter Claudia. She’s second in charge of special projects. I thought she should be here today because I think she might be able to play an important part in any operations regarding the Z7.”

“And I don’t think any such operations would be prudent,” the President said.

“But why?” Liddie asked. “He’s not a danger to anyone.”

“A reanimated capable of reasoning? My apologies, but I think such a thing is very much a danger. Everyone knows what just a few Z5s and 6s did to Atlanta. A Z7 in my book would classify as a weapon of mass destruction that no human should try to control.”

“Edward is about as far from a weapon of mass destruction as someone could possibly get,” Liddie said.

“I’m sorry. Edward?” he asked.

“Yes sir, that is something that might not have been in any of the early reports you’ve received,” Liddie’s mother said. “You see, there’s more to the Z7 than was originally hypothesized. It doesn’t just possess greater intelligence. It looks and acts completely human. If it weren’t for the high concentration of the Animator Virus in his system and a few physical abnormalities we are still attempting to chronicle, he would seem to be no different than you or me. His name is Edward Schuett.”

The president took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “This…is not something I was prepared for, Director Gates. You’re telling me this man is not really a reanimated at all?”

“He is, sir,” Dr. Chella said. “The tests I’ve run have proven it.” Liddie turned to her with a confused look. Last night the woman had refused to acknowledge that Edward was anything more than a practical joke, yet now she was the first to jump in and say what he was. Liddie would have had to wonder what her game was if the woman didn’t reveal it right away. “From what I’ve seen, I believe you were right the first time. This thing is dangerous. We cannot let it continue to exist here. The director is putting everyone in danger.”