Dave Freedman - Natural Selection

He watched a squirrel. A moment ago, the rodent had been scampering everywhere looking for food. Now it was frozen, perched on its hind legs and staring into the distance. It looked frightened.

Darryl looked up. Just below the canopy of treetops a very thin, wispy mist appeared. The fog was rolling in.

Darryl turned to his wife and suddenly looked concerned, even frightened. “We gotta be careful. As in ‘get scared’ careful.”

She looked him dead in the eye. “I understand, Darryl.”

He kissed her full on the lips.

They didn’t say another word. They walked back quickly.

“ JASON?”

Alone in his bedroom, Jason turned around. Lisa was at the door. “Hey. Are Darryl and Monique back yet?”

She walked in. “No.”

“What’s Craig up to?”

“Checking the computer. I guess that co-location switch is in and out, so the server might be back up again.” She stared at him, not lovingly. “Craig was right, wasn’t he?”

“About what?”

“You thought he helped Phil. You thought I helped Phil.”

“Lisa, don’t be ridicu—”

“I saw it in your face!” She was suddenly teary. “You thought I helped that pig deliberately deceive all of us.”

He exhaled. “For just a second, maybe I did.” He gently touched her face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to doubt you. I know you had nothing to do with it. Not a thing.”

“Then why’d you think I did?”

“Lisa, what Phil did… I guess it just stirred up all those old insecurities again.” He looked her dead in the eye. “Not being able to trust you is my worst nightmare.”

She smiled through teary eyes. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

She hugged him. “Don’t do it again.”

“Deal.” The hug broke. “Did I tell you today’s my birthday?”

“No, you didn’t.”

“Honestly, with everything that’s been going on, I forgot about it.” He grimaced. “It’s been such a great birthday already.”

“The day’s not over, Jason.”

He smiled weakly. “I’m sure something great’s on the horizon.” He shrugged. “I’ve never been a huge fan of birthdays anyway.”

“Speak for yourself, mister.” She smiled wide and smacked him a huge kiss. “Happy birthday!”

He smiled himself—inside more than out. It had been years since someone had wished him a happy birthday and actually meant it. “Thank you, Lisa.”

“I would have baked a cake if I’d known.”

“I’m sure Darryl and Craig have one in the oven already.”

She chuckled.

Then her smile faded, and she went to the window. “Are we still going to get out there and find that thing?”

“I don’t know if Darryl and—”

“If it’s up to you, do we still go out there and find it?”

“Are you OK if we do that?”

“I don’t know exactly.” She looked outside. “But what Monique said is exactly right: this animal is literally history in the making. How can we not try to find something like that?”

“I had no idea you felt that way. I just assumed—”

“I’m in this for the long haul, Jason.”

He held her look. “So am I.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“If that’s the case, then you’ve got to start trusting everybody around here. Especially Darryl.”

“I do trus—”

“I mean for real, Jason. The stage we’re heading into… this is going to get dangerous.”

“Don’t you think I know that?”

She eyed the floor. “I don’t want you to take this the wrong way.”

“Take what the wrong way?”

“You’re not qualified to lead us anymore. You are a biologist, too, and what we’re about to get into… It isn’t your area. You’re going to have to trust these people. I mean with your life. With our lives. But only if you can. Because if you can’t—I mean if you can’t really, truly trust them, their judgment, let them make the decisions, not you, then we should walk away from this right now. After everything Phil did, I wouldn’t blame you.”

“Are you saying you don’t think I can trust them? Like I’m literally not capable of it?”

She held his gaze. “You tell me.”

“SERVER CONNECTED.”

The message had first appeared a few minutes ago, and Craig had been surfing the Internet since.

Ding. The computer toned, indicating an incoming e-mail.

Ding. Another e-mail.

Ding. Another.

Ding. One more.

Craig glanced at the machine. “What’s going on here?”

He minimized his Web site and pulled up the e-mail program. Ding … Ding … Ding … Ding … Ding … Ding … E-mails were rushing into the in-box, ten, twenty, one hundred… and they kept coming, fast…. Every one of them was from Harry Ackerman. “What the hell is this?”

Jason entered the living room with Lisa. “What’s going on?”

“Looks like Ackerman’s machine must have a virus….” The e-mails were rushing in even faster now, hundreds, even thousands of them. “Maybe a really bad one.”

Jason walked over and looked down. “Look at the subject on all of them, Craig.”

Summers leaned in. Over and over the same e-mail rushed into the in-box.

HAVE VIRUS, REWRITABLE CDS CORRUPTED.

RESEND ALL DATA!!

HAVE VIRUS, REWRITABLE CDS CORRUPTED.

RESEND ALL DATA!!

HAVE VIRUS, REWRITABLE CDS CORRUPTED.

RESEND ALL DATA!!

HAVE VIRUS, REWRITABLE CDS CORRUPTED.

RESEND ALL DATA!!

HAVE VIRUS, REWRITABLE CDS CORRUPTED.

RESEND ALL DATA!!

HAVE VIRUS, REWRITABLE CDS CORRUPTED.

RESEND ALL DATA!!

HAVE VIRUS, REWRITABLE CDS CORRUPTED.

RESEND ALL DATA!!

“Jesus,” Craig said. Jason simply continued to stare. “Corruped CDs? “That actually happens?”

Summers nodded. “It’s happened to me. More than once. Plus, there are these new sleeper viruses that hide on a computer’s hard drive. The user doesn’t even know they’re there, but every time he saves data to a CD, the virus is passed on so the CD’s corrupted the next time he uses it. My God… Do you realize… ? Ackerman could have lost everything ….” Craig spun around. “Phil, is your cell phone on?”

“I don’t know, uh…”

“Can I see it? Now?”

Phil fumbled through his pockets and handed it over.

Jason’s eyes narrowed. “What are you doing, Craig?”

Summers turned on the phone and put it on the table. “If Ackerman really did lose all of his data, he’d be panicking right now, doing anything to get in touch with Phil and—”

The phone started ringing.

Jason peered at the ID. “Son of a bitch… It’s him.”

They all watched the phone. It rang and rang. After a moment, it stopped. Then immediately started again.

Craig turned. “He’s got nothing, Jason. I can smell it; he doesn’t have a damn thing.”

“He’s got a body.”

“A body you cut the brain out of.”

A pause. “That’s true. And I really had to slice and dice it. And then it was frozen for a long time. In that condition… that body wouldn’t be enough for the Species Council. Not nearly enough.” Jason glanced at the in-box, still dinging. “My God. You’re right. He doesn’t have anything.”

Craig suddenly started. “Did you hear something?”

“No, nothing…”

They all spun around….

Darryl and Monique were standing there. Somehow they’d snuck in without anyone hearing. It was odd, but Jason thought they somehow looked… different, both wearing all-khaki outfits, with long-sleeved shirts that had big orange patches on the right shoulders. They looked like real hunters on a safari, something out of a magazine. But there was something else different about them, Jason noticed. It was their faces. Tense yet calm. Scared yet confident. Jason had never seen such faces before in his life. “What’s up, Darryl?”