Warriors of Poseidon 05 - Atlantis Redeemed

results were fairly innocuous at first. The subjects were shown submitting to a procedure whereby they were fastened into a chair and various electrodes were attached to their body. A metal helmet bristling with knobs and antennae, looking like something out of the science fiction movies Ven and Riley enjoyed so much, was fastened over their heads, and the scientists administered what looked like a series of electric shocks.
    Atlantis Redeemed – Warriors of Poseidon 05
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    Tiernan, beside him, was clutching the arms of her chair so tightly that her knuckles were as white as her face. “Is that—is that the procedure to activate?”
    Litton nodded, his attention fixed avidly on the screen. “Yes. Depending on the level of natural resistance, which varies from subject to subject, we may have to repeat the procedure multiple times.”
    The test subject on-screen, the female, screamed and arched her body and then fell back against the chair. Brennan saw the tears trickling down from the corners of her eyes, and he wanted to smash something.
    Smash someone.
    And his prime candidate had the nerve to chuckle.
    “Sometimes they feel a little discomfort,” Litton said, still chuckling. “But they forget it when we’re through.”
    “You can affect memory, too?” Brennan said, instantly imagining the worst.
    “Not exactly. Something about the procedure does cause a bit of an amnesia effect, but that only seems to relate to events around the actual procedure itself. It’s the trauma of the procedure, we believe.”
    “Gee, you think?” Tiernan snapped.
    Litton frowned. “All great scientific achievement and progress must come with some sacrifice, Ms. Baum.”
    “What did you sacrifice, Dr. Litton?” she shot back.
    “I gave up a high-ranking faculty position at a very well-respected university to found this institute,” he snapped. Then he gathered his dignity. “I’m sorry, Mr. Brennan. Usually it’s hard for laypeople to understand the hard work and dedication that goes into this sort of scientific endeavor. Since you’ve been so heavily involved in research before, I’m sure you understand.”
    “Of course,” Brennan replied. He took Tiernan’s hand in his own, under the table, and squeezed it in warning. So far they didn’t have any real proof of what was going on. Her rapid breathing rate was signaling Brennan that they didn’t have much time before she exploded, though.
    “Please continue,” he told Litton.
    The video continued to mild scenes of the humans accomplishing simple tasks and performing feats with physical dexterity that they hadn’t had before the procedures. They watched the subjects juggle, walk on a thin balance beam, and climb a rock wall.
    Atlantis Redeemed – Warriors of Poseidon 05
    Page 142 of 232
    “We activated the woman to believe she was a concert violinist,” Litton said, as the images on-screen switched to show her in a room, playing the violin with an expression of dreamy bliss on her face.
    “It’s beautiful, but . . . wrong,” Tiernan whispered.
    It was true. The woman’s music was technically proficient but oddly soulless, much like the look in her eyes when the camera zoomed in for a close-up.
    “Think of how much this talent enhanced her life. Absolutely beautiful. That’s Bach, I believe,”
    Litton said. “Imagine the music we could bring to the world.”
    “Where is she now?” Tiernan asked. “Playing the concert circuit?”
    For the first time, Litton looked uncomfortable. “No. She, ah, she had certain difficulties.”
    “What does that mean, exactly—difficulties?” Brennan asked.
    At first, he thought Litton wouldn’t answer. The scientist clamped his lips together and glared at them. But then he gave a little shrug. “She became obsessed. Wouldn’t eat, wouldn’t sleep, or even stop to drink water. Never put down the violin, not even for a minute, and became extremely violent when we tried to take it away from her.”
    “Where is she now?” Tiernan repeated, enunciating each word.
    Litton glared at her, and Brennan’s fury spiked into his skull, starting up a pounding that almost drowned out the scientist’s response.
    “She’s dead,” Litton spat out. “She played the violin, okay? While she starved and became more and more dehydrated. She played herself to death.”
    Brennan looked at each of the men and women at the table for a reaction to the news they all surely must have already known. Some were