A Man Chooses; A Slave Obeys - Chapter Three

Chapter Three: A Familiar Face

Julia was sat with her friends in the Tea Garden of Arcadia. A verdant sanctuary with luscious flowers abound. The succulent scent of fresh bloom filled the air and the idle chatter of friends warmed the atmosphere. An idyllic place to wander for hours through the rolling hills or visit the tree farm and witness the marvel of life underwater that Ryan has achieved.

Elegantly dressed in summer clothing, Julia and her friends were discussing the nights events and how peculiar it was that she couldn't remember it. Just through the arched doorway, Alistair strolled beneath the roses with a bouquet of his own and a smile that could melt Julia's heart. Her friends ushered silence as he approached and handed her the flowers.

“Why Alistair, they're absolutely gorgeous. Whatever are they for?” Alistair kissed her gently.

“They're for the most astonishing woman in the world. Darling...” He paused, looking away slightly and taking a breath. Julia leaned forward, waiting tentatively.

“I got the job!” Alistair swept Julia off of her feet and pulled her in close. Her friends let out a collective sigh of relief and cheered as the couple danced for a brief moment.

“Oh that is wonderful news! When do you start? What hours will you be working?” Alistair put his finger to her lips.

“Calm down Julia. I start tomorrow morning. I work from nine until four thirty and I'll be home in time for dinner. This is the start of something special, I can feel it. The winds have changed and they're blowing us towards a brighter future. And on that note, Julia...” Alistair knelt down and produced a lavish box. A light blue velvet with sliver trim and a single silver insignia on the top, shining brilliantly.

“Will you make me the happiest man in Rapture, and marry me?” Julia stopped. Her friends screeched and she could barely move for a moment. Her heart was racing and her mind exploding with hopes and dreams and visions of the perfect future she had so long dreamed of. She looked into Alistair's eyes and she saw a future she could hold onto forever.

“Of course I'll marry you!” She lept forward and held onto him tighter than she'd held anything before. Tears sprang from her eyes and she could barely contain herself. Her friends were all cheering and holding them both. One of them turned to Julia and looked quizzical.

“I thought you two were already engaged?” Alistair laughed as he slid the ring on Julia's petite finger.

“We were always betrothed so we just called each other fiancée and fiancé. I never made it official, until now. I know it's mostly just for show now but, I wanted the whole world to know that I love you. And that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Julia Winchester, you mean the world to me.” Julia blushed and glanced at her ring. It was magnificent. A stunning diamond set in solid silver with ribbons of sapphire woven into a spiral beneath the stone setting.

“Don't you mean Julia Fletching?” She giggled and Alistair bellowed a hearty laugh.

“Why yes, I suppose I do now don't I.” The couple kissed and a crowd of people gathered to hear the good news.

Victoria spent her morning searching all over for her notepad. She tried to get back into Fort Frolic but Sander Cohen had ordered it closed for the day for a private function. After a stiff drink she decided to check Arcadia as she had a fleeting memory of visiting it in her drunken haze.

Arcadia was busier than usual. A large crowd had gathered around the Tea Garden and Victoria could just make out a young couple in the midst of it. 'Probably another proposal. I give them a year.' She went to the farmers market and asked around to see if anyone had seen a notepad but no-one remembered seeing anything similar. After searching for hours she decided to go and spend some time in the Rolling Hills to relax and think.

The soft hills and verdant trees made for a peaceful atmosphere and many Rapture residents took walks here to clear their heads or remind them of home. The trees were kept alive by a botanist, Julie Langford, who operated in the nearby research facility. It was a miracle of engineering and the dazzling display of rare flowers and flourishing life was a testament to her brilliance. Victoria often wandered through the hills when she was piecing together a story because it gave her space to think and no one bothered her when she was here.

She sat down under a tall fuchsia tree and pulled out a cigarette and matches. The air felt fresh here and it almost made Victoria feel bad for spoiling it with her toxic fumes. She inhaled deeply and hung her head as the cloud of vapour poured out between her cherry blossom lips.

“Where the fuck did I put that damn fucking notepad! Did I even get anything good last night? Ah shit, I was too drunk to remember. Fuck fuck fuck fuck FUCK!” A mother and child walking by leered at Victoria as she pounded the earth.

“What the fuck are you lookin' at munchkin?” She snarled and the little girl hid behind her mother as they scurried off towards the Tea Gardens. A swirl of smoke curled around Victoria's head as she sighed and tapped her fingers against her skull. She stood up and was about to storm off when she ran into the young couple from before.
“Oh, hello, do I know you?” The young man was tall and handsome with a strong jaw and shimmering green eyes. Victoria glanced at him and a sudden pain shot through her head. A blurred memory came rushing to meet the morning light and she crashed to the floor in searing pain. Black and white images piercing her mind, she screamed and pounded the floor. The young couple knelt down and tried to help her up, she looked into the man's face again and the image faded to black.

“So what brings you to this party?” Victoria turned to see a handsome young man. His green eyes glistening in the low light of the bar. She put her glass of whiskey down and gestured around herself in an exaggerated fashion.

“Why my closest friends and the company of complete strangers of course. Or maybe I just enjoy getting all dressed up so I can spend the night alone and drink myself into a pity induced coma.” The man laughed and poured himself a glass of bourbon.

“Well from the looks of it you're far too young and beautiful to be that cynical so I'd have to say that your rich, hotshot boyfriend has gone off to the toilet or you just killed your rich decrepit husband in an attempt to get all of his fortune.” Victoria smiled and finished her glass.

“I like your sense of humour. What's your name?” She almost sounded sincere.

“My name's Alistair. And I like to think I maintain a healthy level of satirical humour. What's your name?” Victoria slid over her notepad and tapped on the name. She pulled out a cigarette and matches. Carefully lit a match and toyed with the flame before lighting her cigarette.

“Miss Victoria Erhardt eh? Name sounds familiar. And what's with the notepad?” He slid the notepad back over and Victoria turned to face him. She blew a ring of smoke in his direction and flashed a grin.

“Well I'm a journalist by trade so I carry this thing around with me everywhere, never know where you might get a good story. And besides, a party filled with some of the richest and most powerful people in all of Rapture. Hosted by, quite possibly, the single most insane bastard the world has ever known? Come on, this place must be teeming with dirty little secrets just waiting to be plucked up and splattered across the headlines.” Alistair chuckled and blew the smoke out of his face.

“Well I guess I'll have to be careful what I say then won't I?”

“Why, you got something to hide? Something that maybe, I should know about?” Victoria edged towards him. Slowly letting her dress ride higher to reveal her flawless skin. She caught his eye slithering up her body.

“Like something you see there sailor?” She bit her lip and fluttered her eyelashes. Alistair seemed flustered and moved back slightly.

“I'm just fucking with you Romeo. Don't blow a gasket. So what brings you to this little soiree?” Alistair composed himself and took a second to think. The room seemed to be getting louder but Victoria just put that down to the alcohol.

“Well I'm here with my fiancée. We were invited by Sander Cohen, he's a friend of my fathers and I thought it'd be a good night out to try and get to know some of the more influential people of Rapture.”

“Fiancée eh? Where's she then?” Victoria inhaled deeply from her cigarette and stubbed it out in her glass.

“She just went off to the ladies room. She'll be back any minute. In fact, you should meet her.” Victoria groaned with dissatisfaction.

“Why would I want to do that?” Clearly hurt, Alistair recoiled slightly.

“Well I was hoping that since we're getting on so well that you might join us. We're not having much luck getting into the private function in the VIP section but with your credential and my experience I figured that we could probably make it together.” Victoria perked up. 'He's right. Alone we can't make it in but if we go as a couple we could definitely get in there with all the high-rollers.' She smiled and pushed closer to Alistair.

“That sounds like an excellent plan.” She grabbed his arm and pulled him off his seat. “Let's go lover-boy!” Alistair was flustered and spilled his drink.

“What?! Where are we going?” He nearly tripped as Victoria marched towards the VIP room.

“Well, it's like you said, on our own we can't make it into here, but if we're together, we could easily get in.” She stopped and turned to Alistair. Brushed his jacket and straightened his tie. Carefully she pulled her dress down slightly and composed herself.

“Listen, you keep your mouth shut. You're my date to this thing okay? We were set up a week ago by your parents and we get along great, okay? If anyone asks you anything, you tell them how much you like me and all that sappy crap. Now, let's get in there and mingle!” Alistair braced himself and marched with Victoria in tow. They got to the entrance to the VIP section and were allowed in. A crowd had gathered inside but they couldn't see why. Victoria stepped inside and heard someone talking about a new arrival.

A flash of light smashed the memory and brought Victoria back to reality. A crowd had gathered around her.

“Are you okay miss?” It was Alistair. His big green eyes staring into Victoria's. 'Damn! What the hell happened last night?'

Alex arrived late for work. Dr. Tenenbaum was busy working away so she hardly noticed. She was a brilliant young scientist who had worked in Nazi concentration camps on genetic weakness, trying to discover why some people were born intelligent or strong and others not. Her research was regarded highly and she was nicknamed, 'Das wunderkind.' The wonder child. She was personally invited by Andrew Ryan and began her work immediately.

Alex set himself up at his workstation and began looking through his research notes. Together they had been working on a gene altering substance that Tenenbaum had recently discovered that she'd dubbed, 'ADAM'. It was a strange substance that was able to re-write genetic make-up which came from a sea slug found around Rapture. The slug only gave a small yield but it was enough to test on rats and it had some astounding results.

“Dr. Tenenbaum! Come quick!” Alex was shaking with excitement as Brigid Tenenbaum came rushing through the cramped room.

“Please Alex, call me Brigid. Now, what's the matter?” Alex was holding a set of notes on one particular rat, number zero one one seven.

“Take a look at this. Yesterday, he had several broken bones and muscle ligature damage. But today, his limbs are healed and vitals are better than ever. He's even responding to basic commands whereas he was nearly wild before. It's almost as if his intelligence rocketed over night. Which tonic was administered?” Brigid rifled through her research notes and pulled out a clipboard with pages of data on.

“This rat was given three separate doses of tonics. One dubbed 'Armoured Shell', another called 'Eve Boost' and an experimental serum nicknamed 'Big Boned'. The first two we already know are safe but this third was the first time we tested it.” Alex was frantic with excitement.

“I'll tell Mr. Fontaine right away!” He was about to rush off when Brigid grabbed him by the arm and stopped him in his tracks.

“No Alex, it is not ready yet. We have no idea what other effects this may have. The others seem harmless enough but without long term exposure data we'll never know if they're even safe. Keep this between us for now and if the rat survives, we'll let Fontaine know.” Alex nodded and got back to his research.

“Sorry Brigid. I'll let you get back to your work on the Little Sisters. How are they coming along?” Brigid looked towards a large glass wall that looked out into Fontaine's Little Sisters Orphanage. He had built a place for parents to send their daughters that they could no longer keep and used it to help Tenenbaum with her research.

The girls were found to be the only viable source for ADAM through sea slug implantation in the lining of the stomach. Brigid had hoped to keep the girls in a vegetative state but the slug needed the host to be awake and functioning to provide the ADAM.

“They're fine. Something in them still retains that childlike innocence. They still sing songs, dance, play and even call me 'Mommy'. It's disturbing to say the least.” Dr. Tenenbaum looked saddened momentarily but quickly regained herself and got back to her research.

“Alex, could you help me with these plasmids?” Alex placed his notes down and walked towards Brigid. His feet stumbled and his vision blurred. He felt his knees hit the floor and saw Brigid rushing towards him. A light flashed in his eyes and he saw blurry shapes moving in the distance rushing closer. His head hit the ground and the light was gone. Darkness clouded his vision.

“So as I was saying, I'm working with Dr. Tenenbaum on plasmid research.” Victoria looked a bit more interested now. She quickly pulled out her notepad and began rapidly scrawling.

“I probably shouldn't be talking to you about this but, I think more people need to know about the good we're doing down there. You see, we're working with ADAM, that basically allowed the manipulation of genetics and has led to us research more into tonics and plasmids. You've probably seen them around since Fontaine Futuristics has started marketing them. They allow the user to gain certain advantages in life. Such as increased speed, endurance, strength and the like. It's really fascinating stuff.” Victoria could hardly breath wit how fast she was writing. Alex was sipping his drink while he allowed her to catch up.

“This is some pretty amazing stuff. I've heard a bit about it but never really delved into it. The boss said that Ryan didn't really think much of it so we were told not to bother with it too much. But this sounds like it could be the breakthrough of the century, if not the millennium! So, how do you get this, ADAM?” Alex took a second to consider what to say. He knew if he said too much it could endanger the entire project and all that he had worked on and might even damage Dr. Tenenbaum or Mr Fontaine.

“We get the ADAM from sea slugs. Dr. Tenenbaum discovered it after a local man with a paralysed had was seen playing catch. He said that a slug bit him and he woke up the next day able to move his hand. It was a miracle. Brigid soon synthesised a workable amount and we began testing on rats with great results.” He stopped for a second as he noticed a familiar man walking towards him from the VIP area. It was one of Fontaine's me. Alex stood and gestured to the man.

“Will you excuse me a second Victoria?” She nodded and put her notepad down. Alex walked towards the man carefully.

“Mr. Fontaine would like to see you in the VIP room.” It sounded ominous. But Alex couldn't refuse his employer. He'd get fired, or worse.

“Just a second. I have to say goodbye to this young woman.” The man sighed.

“Fine but make it quick.” Alex shuffled back to the table and noticed Victoria gone but left her notepad. He picked it up and put it in his pocket. 'Must have gone to get another drink'.

He walked with the man into the VIP room where he found Frank Fontaine surrounded by high-ranking businessmen and the upper crust of Rapture society. In the past year he had made significant headway financially and socially thanks to his illegal smuggling of goods from the surface and his new plasmid and tonic business.

“Ahhh Mr Alex Stalling. I was hoping you'd be with Dr. Tenenbaum but I could use your assistance none-the-less. I was just explaining to the good people here how plasmids and tonics work. Would you care to lend a hand? With your expertise I bet you could help alleviate any worries they might have better than I can.” Frank Fontaine was a shrewd businessman and highly intelligent. He gestured for Alex to join and offered a drink which Alex refused.

“Well, the basis of plasmid and tonic technology is a modified serum of ADAM. This is injected into your body and it manipulates your genetic make-up in order to give you certain benefits. For example, we recently released a tonic known as 'Armoured Shell' which, in essence, makes your skin three times as resistant to damage. We're hoping to create other tonics to increase brain function and plasmids to unlock unused areas of the brain as well. The possibilities are unimaginable.” The crowd of people stood in awe. Many began whispering to their friends and family but soon were in an uproar demanding to see these incredible tonics. Fontaine was only too happy to oblige. He produced a suitcase filled with several tonics and plasmids. The crowd soon built up and Alex could barely move. He looked off towards the doorway and saw Victoria with another gentleman.

A sudden flash of pain shot through him and his head began pounding hard. He heard someone calling his name but it felt distant. It grew louder and he recognised it. It was Brigid.

His eyes burst open and he screamed as loud as he could. He was still in his lab with Brigid slouched over him. Alex looked down to see that Brigid had attached a small battery to his chest to keep his heart going.

“For a second there Alex, I thought I'd lost you. Your heart stopped and you weren't responding. What happened?” Alex stood up slowly and looked around the room.

“I just remembered something from last night. Mr. Fontaine was there and he was selling tonics to people. Tonics we've barely even tested. Did you know about this?” Brigid looked at him in horror and Alex knew she had nothing to do with it.