The lab smells sickly-sweet,
the scent of dead air & old flame,
of lingering iodine & chlorine.
The walls, sterile & white, are dark against the dimmed lights,
& reflect only the blue shimmer of the screen that is projected up,
up into the air.
Words, thousands of them, & pictures are on this screen. Pictures of formulas & mathematical components, & a file--
a file stolen from a government facility many years ago.
S U B J E C T S I G M A.
Moira O’Deorain’s head turns
when she hears the door open, & when she feels the atmosphere change,
prickling the hairs on the back of her neck,
she cannot suppress a shudder of discomfort-- & anticipation.
( It was her visitor, after all, who was her most interesting subject yet. )
“Sigma--
so glad you could come.”
Her voice is Irish velvet, purring out from between her lips as she turns,
as a disfigured right hand minimizes the hologram, as thin lips part into a smile
that bleeds wicked intent,
“Come, have a seat my friend.
& tell me h o w y o u f e e l. “