The next day, Calista was at the industrial park checking on the progress of getting Block D operational.
"Commander!" A member of the Defense Force came running over, out of breath.
"What is it?"
"Dr. Jenner wants you at the Rock Fortress laboratory!"
"Now?"
"Right now."
Rock Fortress was close to Blackberry Ranch, but Knoxville Industrial Park was another matter entirely. After a two-hour drive, Calista finally made it back to Rock Fortress.
...
In the underground laboratory beneath the main building, Dr. Jenner was sorting through a pile of documents when Calista walked in, while Milton studied something on the computer.
"Dr. Jenner. Milton." Calista already had a suspicion as to why she had been called back. "Did you find something from the preliminary review of the Black Fire Project?"
Dr. Jenner cleared his throat and straightened the thick stack of printouts and handwritten notes in front of him. "Yes. Based on the information we currently have, the so-called 'Black Fire Project' wasn't a single project being conducted at Singularity Polymers.
"It was a comprehensive strategic program jointly pursued by the U.S. military and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
"The core objective, in the document's own words, was to 'create, through various methods, a new generation of programmable biological deterrents and tactical platforms capable of directed deployment.'"
"Plain English, Doctor." Calista frowned slightly.
Dr. Jenner coughed and gestured for Milton to turn the computer around. Milton switched the display to a structural diagram of the chemical plant.
"The Wildfire virus created the walkers. Black Fire was a project studying ways to evolve and control walkers through various methods.
"Singularity Polymers was only testing one of those methods, specialized catalysts.
"Through some kind of biochemical reaction, the catalyst interacts with the walkers' physiology and causes their bodies to produce new biological materials with specific functions. For example, the bone blades on the Black Fire mutants, the tumors in their brains, and the specialized glandular tissue they use for pheromone communication."
A chill ran through Calista.
They had been treating walkers like some kind of biochemical reactor, using their bodies to "grow" specially designed weapon components.
"Looks like they failed." Calista thought of the chemical plant leak.
"They partially succeeded, but then everything went completely out of control," Milton said, pulling up several blurry experimental records and images from accident reports. "They did create a few 'prototypes' that met some of the intended specifications.
"For example, they produced individuals with early-stage skeletal reinforcement and heightened aggression, the Claw Prototypes. They even tried using specific electromagnetic signals to give them simple directions.
"But the accident triggered an unpredictable chain of mutations. The mutations went completely off course, creating Predators far beyond anything they had designed. They became totally uncontrollable, turning into monsters driven purely by the instinct to hunt. And they eat walkers."
Dr. Jenner summed it up. "Simply put, the military and the laboratory opened Pandora's box.
"They wanted obedient dogs and ended up unleashing a pack of monsters they couldn't control.
"The Singularity factory was testing the catalyst approach. It was only one Black Fire test site, and definitely not the only one.
"According to the logs, there were three research facilities of the same level in the United States. Sentinel Station was one of them. From the information we decrypted earlier, it was researching a different path of walker evolution.
"That leaves one more. My guess is that it was most likely Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
"As for Europe and Asia, we don't know..."
Dr. Jenner's expression grew grave. "And judging from the test dates and the virus models, the Wildfire virus obtained by Oak Ridge National Laboratory appears to have been a first-generation strain. It's different from the samples the various CDCs were using at the time to research a cure.
"They absolutely had some kind of cooperation with the French laboratory that created the Wildfire virus."
"Oak Ridge National Laboratory isn't far from us. It's near Knoxville." Calista forced herself to think through the implications. "Did their experiments succeed, or did the facility fail and get overrun?"
"I don't know." Dr. Jenner shook his head.
"Doctor." Calista opened her eyes, her expression turning cold. "Who else knows about this?"
"For now, only the three of us in this room."
Calista spoke with deliberate seriousness. "Good. From now on, everything concerning the Wildfire virus, the Black Fire Project, and..."
She glanced at Dr. Jenner, obviously referring to her own condition.
"...all of it is classified. If any of this gets out..."
As she spoke, Calista rested a hand on Dr. Jenner's shoulder, then looked over at Milton.
Dr. Jenner had already grown used to being kept firmly in line by Calista, so the warning barely affected him. Milton, on the other hand, was still new. He shuddered, a chill running through his entire body.
The laboratory fell silent for a moment.
Calista removed her hand and changed the subject. "By the way, have you made any progress on the walker repellent?"
Dr. Jenner looked toward Milton. He had been busy studying the materials recovered from Sentinel Station and Singularity Polymers, so he had handed the repellent research over to Milton.
Milton tensed and began to stammer. "Commander, I, I've made some progress. We have the equipment we need, but, but Commander, we don't have a high-level chemical specialist. This isn't like the attractant, where we can just purify a blood sample directly. This requires..."
"We have someone." Calista thought for a moment, quickly ran through the people available to her, and pulled Professor Howard's old friend from the back of her mind.
"Dr. Martin Sorensen. Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He specializes in organic synthesis and toxin analysis. He's been at Blackberry Ranch this whole time."
Milton stared at her in surprise. "Wow! We actually have someone that capable?"
Calista nodded. "I originally planned to have him take charge of the chemical plant after Block D was fully cleared and the production line was up and running. According to the plan, Dr. Sorensen was going to work on fuel and medicine development at the chemical plant."
Milton pushed his glasses up and stammered, "If, if that's the case, then, then..."
"Then until our production line is fully set up, Dr. Martin Sorensen will work with you on developing a large-scale walker repellent.
"If the Black Fire Project could guide walkers, then we should also be able to develop a chemical weapon that either 'blocks the signal' or 'overloads their senses.'"
"O-Okay!" Milton nodded repeatedly. "I, I'll get a version ready for testing as soon as I can."
Calista gave the two of them a faint smile. "Don't work yourselves too hard, either. Make sure you get some rest. This is going to be a long-term research project."
The moment Calista left the laboratory, her smile disappeared. She had another problem to worry about.
The base population was steadily increasing. Her original plan had been to wait until the entire industrial park was operational, then gradually retake Knoxville as the base continued to grow.
But if Oak Ridge, so close to Knoxville, really was sitting on a disaster that could erupt at any moment, that would be a serious problem.
France might be a complete mess, but it was still far away. No matter what kinds of biologically mutated walkers appeared there, they posed no immediate threat to the United States.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, however, was practically right next door to their home base.
What a headache.