Authors: Jonathan Davison
“Oh, my dear. How simple life must be to you. Black or white and not a shade between. There were hundreds of us, pursued and captured for our academic specialities. Mine was cryochemistry, the science of preserving organic tissues. As I speak, my family are dwelling in a prison camp somewhere in Berlin. Their life depends on my co-operation; it is my duty to ensure that they survive this pitiful war. Until yesterday, I had high hopes that one day we would be reunited. Now I fear for their safety not from the Germans but from their sickening creations who run rampant slaughtering all those who dare breathe the air.”
“So who are these people?” Hawkins jumped in keen to know why the small gathering of young men followed him with such esteem.
“Ah, these are some of the children of my colleague Pascal Blanc who unfortunately did not escape the bunker as I did. Together with a couple of young men who I discovered in the basement of a neighbouring house. I have collected quite a little army here.” Leballieur smiled at his protégés with pride. “I suspect that there are many who remain in Caen but seek to keep themselves well concealed.”
“Running away will not solve anything; we need to make a stand here and now.” Hawkins spoke defiantly causing Leballieur to roll his eyes.
“We are not soldiers. We will leave the fighting to you.” The French man had seen enough terror.
“Then we will all be slaughtered by these things. They are weak now; we must act before they grow ambitious.” Bauer stepped in.
“Oh, I'm afraid it might be too late for that already.” Leballieur said with a sour tone.
CHAPTER 21
Jean-Paul Leballieur pushed his spectacles up his nose and smoothed his chin with his hand as he began to recount his recent past.
“Of course, I do not know how much of this you already know.” He said looking at Bauer. “You are aware of the origins of the machine. I had already been 'employed' by the time it had been excavated and transported here piece by piece and under the most strenuous security. Our briefing was ridiculously bereft of detail, I remember sitting in a large room with some of the most eminent men and women in their field wondering what could possibly have brought us there. It was clear that there had been no structure to this research; it was if the Germans had found a lollipop and did not know whether to suck on it or use it as a xylophone beater! We were presented with hardware that was almost incomprehensible, materials that were undefined; it was like asking a child to reconstruct a motor car from its individual parts. Among the brilliant minds that were gathered, a psychologist named Kurt Von Hummel was present from the start. When it became clear that the machine when utilised correctly was an aid to 'mind control', it was he who took the lead with great enthusiasm. Von Hummel was not one of us, that much was immediately apparent. He was a Nazi with close affiliations with high ranking party members and I hear good friends with Goebbels himself. I personally found him to be very driven, clearly an intellect but ambitious beyond the boundaries of likeability. The initial experiments were failures as we expected. We did not know if this was due to the dismantling of the machine and reconstruction or whether we simply did not understand how it operated. We were offered the transcripts of interviews recorded during your 'debriefing', Colonel, after the Antarctic expedition. I remember many of your answers word for word; they haunted me and kept me awake at night. I remember discussing your experiences with my colleagues and touching on some of the moral implications of what it was we were striving to create. It was not clear to us at first that this was to be used as some kind of weapon on such a grand scale. We imagined its use in espionage, controlling a senior British or American soldier perhaps or even a politician. For the first few days, I had wondered why I was even present, my skills seemed surplus to requirements but then as the days passed, it became clear that the subjects of these experiments would involve cadavers, dead animals at first and then human. From your testimony, Colonel, it was all too apparent that the user of this device, once connected with another life force was bonded as one, sharing the same feelings of emotion and pain. By using the bodies of the dead, the Germans hoped to reduce this psychological and physical effect and allow a more comfortable experience for the operator. That is where my talents were required, of course. I was tasked with using freezing techniques to preserve freshly deceased subjects and reduce tissue damage so that further along the line, these people could be resurrected as automatons under the influence of the German war machine. Oh, of course there were other problems such as sustainability and regulation of bodily functions. You see the body can 'live' without the need of an active brain as long as the correct impulses of electricity are sent to the right place at the right time. To a mere mortal, this control is not conceivable; it simply could not be understood or replicated. This is why I can only assume that those who created this machine were no mortal men. It has perhaps restored my faith in the supernatural although what god would provide such a tool for damnation?” Leballieur had accumulated a little white spittle at the corner of his mouth, he was a fascinating character and all were enthralled by his story.
“So the dead army were created and I assume the machine worked...” Hawkins prompted Leballieur to continue.
“Indeed. The first subject to walk was a German officer named Sebastien Frank, a young man cut down in his prime by the most meagre of wounds that proved fatal. You see, to be used successfully the cadavers needed to be in good condition neurologically. Any candidates with brain or spinal injury were rejected. Frank died from a small lesion to the throat, a piece of glass I believe which severed his carotid artery. He was perfect. Young, intact. When I saw him walk again, his eyes black and lifeless, there was a euphoria followed by a savage guilt which is hard to bear. Like you Colonel, I have played a part in the downfall of Mankind and I am not quite sure how to compensate for my crime. I only hope this information will prove useful. Anyway, I have digressed. It was quickly established that the candidate who took control of Frank was none other than Von Hummel himself. He had taken a substantial risk in 'joining' with Frank. No one could have predicted the possible effects of combining living brain tissue in a symbiosis with a lifeless hulk of tissues which only sustained themselves initially with complex regulatory machinery. As you have no doubt seen, the experiment was successful and as in the human body, Von Hummel’s brain patterns were sufficiently significant that he subconsciously could regulate Frank's autonomic nervous system as well as his voluntary movements by the power of his thoughts. Naturally, we were astonished but even more so when it was established that the goal was to control more than just one of these walking dead simultaneously. Many of us thought it impossible but once again, we were proved incorrect as Von Hummel seemed to be able to multi-task to an efficient degree and still be able to 'detach' himself from the connection at will. The experiments continued at frantic pace around the clock. There was a perceived understanding that the Allied invasion grew close. Plans had been put into place to create a small army of these things which by now had acquired superb motor skills and although their active usefulness was short due to the need for regular intake of nutrition, they were in essence living robots, the lifeless machines you see today. Something else had become apparent as more and more pressure to perform was being loaded upon Von Hummel. He himself grew weary and day on day; the toil of remaining in control appeared to be taking a negative effect. He became withdrawn to the other scientists and seemed to be protected more by his closest aides. The Nazi's were pushing at every juncture, they knew the Allied forces were about to strike, they could not afford to miss the opportunity to repel them before they took a foothold in continental Europe. I was in receipt of more and more cadavers every day. The surgical procedures and conditioning of each body were becoming more efficient on a daily basis but it still took time, precious time they did not have. The Germans became fractious and cruel in their custodianship. We became less like 'guests' and more like slaves. The pressure to find enough suitable candidates for the procedure was telling and there was even talk about people being rounded up and brought in for 'conditioning'. Morally, it is one thing performing these procedures on people who have died a natural death or were a casualty of war and then there is another when warm bodies begin to turn up with blue lips. It seemed as if the Germans had gone mad, lost their sense of perspective. Such was the power of these beasts that the Nazi's felt they were their only hope of salvation. Then, yesterday morning, it all came to a head as you would say. We awoke in the dormitories to the sounds of gunfire and mayhem. Men were screaming and shouting, the alarm was sounded. We were, as a rule, always locked in our rooms at night. With exceptional panic, we could only wait for the door to open and accept our fate whatever that may be. Fortunately for me and a number of other prisoners, a gravely wounded German soldier that we had grown fond of found the strength and the honour to release us before he died. Bestowing upon us the information that the 'soldier's' had become rampant and lawless, he allowed us the fighting chance to live. I cannot begin to tell you of the horrors that occurred within those corridors as we were all but slain by our very creations.”
“Yet you have escaped?” Genevieve asked cynically, breaking Leballieur's rousing account.
“Indeed and only by the most incredible luck. As I ran aimlessly through the dark passageways, I knew that the main exit was not usable. I hid under the dead bodies of my colleagues as the soldiers walked past and when it fell silent, I found myself in the office of the Commandant. It was there that I found a door, clearly once concealed that seemed to have been left ajar. Further along a crudely mined passageway, I found his body. He had crawled almost twenty metres, mortally wounded. A fitting end perhaps. Astonishingly, the steep passage way ended at a small opening which upon inspection opened out into the scullery of a small butchers shop on the edge of the town centre. I can only guess that this tunnel was created for clandestine activity or perhaps for the very purpose of escape if the Allies threatened capture.”
“That is interesting.” Bauer noted. “As long as the tunnel has not been compromised, this could prove very advantageous.”
“If you are going in, then you should also know this. I am sorry; I talk a lot without saying anything. What I meant to say was that despite their heavy losses, we have seen with our own eyes the soldier's gathering the bodies of slain Germans and townsfolk. They drive around in trucks, throwing the corpses into them like dead calves ready for the butcher. It is not beyond my imagination to expect that Von Hummel might be harvesting more materials with which to bolster his numbers. The fact that he killed those that made it possible seems irrelevant. If he possesses the time and the knowledge acquisition to allow him to use his forces and begin multiplying, then we are all in very serious trouble indeed.”
“If that is the case, why run? Can't you see that it's now or never?” Hawkins said adamantly.
“I know, I know.” Leballieur replied with regret. “I was rather hoping that someone else more qualified would do the job for me.”
“You can still help us Jean-Paul, you can take us to the secret tunnel.” Bauer pleaded, he hoped he did not have to insist.
“To do this, you will have to cross the town and risk detection. This will be very difficult indeed as we have seen patrols roving about looking to eliminate stragglers.”
“We have killed them before, we will do it again.” Genevieve said confidently. Hawkins laughed at her attitude which seemed rather heroic. Maybe he had underestimated her again.
“Oh, I don't doubt that. You must be aware of this however, if you become a threat to Von Hummel, he will no doubt send everything he has at you. Once you have breached the inner laboratories, he is defenceless. If one of those monsters lays eyes on you in there, it is game over.” Leballieur seemed sure of himself and Hawkins did not quite understand his meaning.
“I don't get it.” The Young Brit remarked.
“Don't you see my young friend; the eyes of these creatures are the eyes of Von Hummel himself. He sees all; he controls them as one entity. Once he deems you as a threat, he will no doubt combine his forces and ensure you are eliminated. He does not need to send out a telegram to communicate your location.”
“Then we need a distraction.” Bauer said analytically.
“I wish I could help.” Leballieur whined as if he indeed was devoid of any more defiance.
“I am sure you can.” Bauer replied bringing a furrowed brow to the round faced French man and a wry smile to the German's.
CHAPTER 22
Whilst remaining conscious of the time and the dwindling daylight, Leballieur scouted the house to find a child's crayon from beneath the rubble of the upstairs bedrooms. Using the bare floorboards of the living room, the scientist began to draw from memory a fairly accurate representation of the research facility. Bauer, Hawkins and Genevieve all sat around gathering the information, watching carefully whilst Leballieur's minions scurried around keeping watch for any roving patrols.
“And this is a secure section that we were never allowed to access, perhaps a strategic area, armoury, communications etcetera.” Leballieur relished giving out his description; indeed his intelligence was well presented.
“Leballieur, how long do you think it would take to 'condition' more soldiers?” Hawkins inquired, it was on everybody's mind that the evening was drawing in and one more night's undisturbed sleep would be beneficial to all.