Zero Point by Tim Fairchild Page B

job was to monitor the Longitudinal Wave Interferometer levels, but his mind was elsewhere. The very essence of his soul screamed to him that taking this assignment was the greatest mistake of his life.
    They are going to kill me , he thought as he glanced around the Bishamon Facility Command Center. Its sterile environment of metal desks was set in an arc around the wall of a circular room. A large monitor hung from the ceiling at the head of the semi-circle making it look like a cheap Hollywood version of the bridge of a Star Ship. The rear of the room was occupied by banks of electrical circuit panels with large throw switches, and manned by ominous looking men carrying weapons.
    Yashiro made his hourly log entry that listed the power output level. He once again sadly noticed the empty chair next to his, which used to be occupied by his friend and confidant Wari.
    Wari had disappeared the night after they discussed their plans to escape the facility of which they were now prisoners, forced to work on Yagato Osama’s sick plan of destruction.
    Could it be that they monitored our talk over dinner the other night? And now that monster Osama is here , he thought, noting his arrival to the complex center this morning. They must have used the Mind Snapper on Wari .
    Yashiro had seen the Mind Snapper, or psycho-energetic longitudinal electromagnetic gun, a weapon that Osama and his minions used freely and often. Yashiro had seen the results of this terrible gun. It had been used on more than one of the islanders who were caught trying to break into the equipment facility building on the other side of the compound over the past year. Osama always ordered that the scientists and technicians witness the executions as a way to convey what fate would befall anyone who betrayed or failed him.
    Yashiro knew that the electromagnetic wave gun, set at a low power, could cause all those in its interference zone to fall unconscious. At high levels of output, death would be instant by destroying the entire human nervous system. Every living cell in the body was effectively killed at once, including bacteria. A body hit by this weapon was reduced to the likeness of irradiated meat and horrifically preserved up to thirty days without decay.
    In a single flash of immense pain you no longer exist ed, Yashiro thought, imagining the terrible way his friend must have died.
    Yashiro Fuiruchirudo was a brilliant geo-physicist. Graduated from Kobe University at top of his class, he held high hopes for a promising career. That is, until he was approached by representatives of the Bishamon Corporation to work on a proposed new energy concept. He was told at the time that it would be a two-year project and it was to be kept confidential. This meant no contact with outsiders, including family, for the entire period.
    At first Yashiro was hesitant. However, they offered a small fortune, which would be of benefit to his wife and young son, whom he now missed terribly, and most likely would never see again.
    He had figured out the planned assault on America in just the last two months. He overheard a conversation in the control center between Osama and Robert Pencor upon Pencor’s arrival to inspect the facility. They abruptly halted their conversation when they suspected Yashiro was listening. The stare Pencor gave him had frightened him, but nothing was ever said. Eventually, all the scientists conscripted were made privy to the plan, which troubled him.
    At first, Bishamon Corporation successfully kept the different aspects of the project isolated by segmenting the jobs and keeping the workers apart. However, it didn’t take long for him and the others to come to the obvious conclusion that this was not an energy project, but rather a pre-empted strike with a frightening weapon.
    “What kind of monster would mercilessly kill millions of innocent people?” Yashiro had asked Wari that last night over dinner while they discussed the fearsome plan. “I