Part 287: Q and A
“Let me see if I get this right.” Jack said, pacing around the living room.
The group had just finished watching the orientation film. Tony was mulling over what he heard in his head. Marita was waiting on him to say something. McKay held aloft the Odyssey book in his hand, thinking the film over. Sayid still sat down crosslegged, waiting for Jack to speak. However, it was clear the doctor was polite enough to wait for Desmond to say something. “Did you have some questions on the film, brother?” asked the stranger.
“Just one,” the doctor said, almost frustrated, “Why hasn’t the Liberation killed both of you?”
“Hard to say,” Desmond said, leaning on a coffee table, “When they got here, I was certain they would kill me but they killed Kelvin instead. They said, somebody need to man the station. The Desonium must be manufactured. Told me to find the woman and get to work.”
“So . . .you just DID what they told you to do?” asked McKay.
“I thought they were gonna bloody kill me!” the man said in protest, “What the hell else was I supposed to do?”
“The film mentioned people were going to be collecting the drug on a weekly basis,” Tony said, his hand on his chin, “I take it, that never happened?”
“Actually, the Liberation came after the first batch I managed to create and collected it all. After that, I rarely saw them.”
“What woman were they talking about?” asked Marita.
“Me.” Isabella stepped in, “Kelvin had me tied up down below. Desmond had been here three days before he found me. Luckily he was able to nurse me back to health. Kelvin . . .wasn’t stable. He was an old man, possibly suffering from some sort of aging mental disease.”
“How long has this Kelvin person been on the Island?” asked Jack.
“A long time. That’s all he would ever say.” The woman sighed.
“What about you, Isabella? How long have you been here?”
“Four years. My plane crashed into water just about 200 feet from the Island. My brother . . .went down with the plane and I swam to shore. Kelvin came to get me in his small fishing boat. He said, he was happy to see me. I was chosen to help him here at the shark tank.”
“And Sebastian . . .is your son? And Desmond’s?” asked Tony.
“Let’s just say we got lonely, brother and leave it at that.” Desmond piped in, not thinking it was important to reveal his and Isabella’s intimate history.
“So, this facility . . .it houses REAL sharks?” Locke finally asked a question.
“Yes it does. It houses three. Big mean ones, and smart too. I know what most of you are thinking, there is no such thing as smart sharks. Perhaps a little too much like science fiction, yeah? But I can promise you, brother, these sharks would do anything to be freed. And I can’t free them.”
“Why not?” asked Jack.
“Because if I do, my son will become an animal.”
“What does that mean?” asked Tony.
“There is no easy way to explain it, brother. I can only show you . . .or rather, show other people and let them tell you.”
Desmond turned to his love by his side, “Izzy, what does the clock read?”
The woman turned a corner and looked into the distance of the control room. Then she turned around and walked back to the group. “It’s encroaching on the 11 minute marker.” She told him.
“Just enough time to show the gentlemen here what is happening,” Desmond then pointed to the ground, “Okay, Jack . . eh, Tony . . the bald guy and the Australian. You four come with me.”
“Why just them?” asked Sayid.
“Because I think only they will understand what I am about to explain to them. But all are welcome to see the sharks.”
“Sharks?” Marita said, a bit scared, “You have a way to look . . .at them.”
“That I do, sister. You want to come see?”
“Marita, you stay up here with Isabella. Sayid, you watch over her and Shanna.”
“Very well,” the Iraqi agreed.
“Tell me everything that happens.” Shanna mentioned to them, pointing to her notepad.
Desmond reached the bottle of the stair way, clicking on the halogen lights above. Jack looked around, noticing the strange control room; similar to the one built for the Argos and Watchman computers. Locke walked down next while McKay helped Tony descend the stairs. Desmond walked over the farthest control panel and picked up a piece of paper. Then he flipped on a switch where one of the metal walls slid away to reveal a glass wall with a perfect view of the outside water. Locke looked into the distance, as the swimming debris; sea-weed, sticks, dirt and the occasional fish. What got his curiosity immediately, was the three flashing lights in the distance of the water. Tony asked his friends what was happening. “We’re in some kind of control room, Tony,” McKay told him, “We got glass panels that allow us to view the outside and . . .there are three blinking lights in the distance.”
“Buoys?” Tony suggested.
“Not quite, brother,” Desmond whispered.
Jack’s eyes slowly went wide when he saw in the distance one of the flashing lights became a shark. It was swimming toward them and the closer it got, the closer they were able to see that it was bigger than a normal Great White. The odd thing was the white box on top of it’s head; that was the source of the blinking light. Jack then started to panic as he saw the shark pick up in speed and head right for them. The shark then rammed the glass, making the control room shake. “WHOA!” Tony screamed, “What was that??”
“Filthy buggers always do that,” Desmond said, “I never open the same panel twice. Even thought the glass is ten inches think, I am paranoid that they might figure out a way to hit the exact same spot until it cracks.”
“These sharks . . .are learning then?” Locke said in amazement.
“Yes, they are. But it’s almost time for the retrieval.”
“Retrieval?” Tony asked.
Then the same familiar siren that show the clock had kicked down past four minutes began to sound even in the underwater control room. Desmond looked toward the ceiling, knowing full well Isabella would soon enter the code. The loud beeping continued for a few seconds, then stopped. The stranger took a deep breath. “The clock is resetting as we speak,” he whispered, “Keep your eyes on the sharks.”
The other two had come into view. They then began to swim into the distance at a fast rate. Then one stopped and began to thrash about. Locke squinted his eyes, studying everything that it was doing. He quickly noticed that he light on the white box on the shark’s head was no longer blinking; it was completely solid. “Near as I can figure, Argos chooses each shark at random.” Desmond mentioned.
The shark then stopped thrashing and swam back toward the glass panel. McKay noticed a long tube started to protrude from above them. Then a spike emerged from the tube. The shark swam until it’s white box connected with the spike. Locke got a closer look with the shark, easily able to tell it was in pain. Then after a few seconds, the shark relaxed and the solid light on the box, began to blink again. The shark slowly removed itself from the spike, looking completely relieved. Jack then pointed toward the creature, as Desmond activated the metal panel to slide back down. “That shark . . .it’s been trained to place that box onto the spike, because it causes it’ pain?” the doctor asked.
“Yes, indeed. The main ingredient for the drug is extracted from the shark and then Argos prepares the rest. Then shoots it out that tube above us.”
“How did you know to give it to your son, Desmond?” asked Tony.
“Trust me, brother. I didn’t know when it first happen. It happened shortly after his first birthday. He turned a pale gray and couldn’t breathe. It took me three days to figure out he needed that medicine that Argos gave out.”
“Did Argos himself tell you?”
“Not in so many words. I was asking him about all the symptoms and he told me about an experiment done by a man named Gruber and the documentation about it. My son . .has fallen victim to a dead man’s sick game.”
“What experiment?” asked Tony.
Desmond then walked to a cabinet to the left of the base of the stairs. On top of it was a small safe, already open due to the broken handle. The stranger reached in and pulled out an old video tape. He handed it to McKay who looked at the label. It’s ink had faded over time but he was still able to read it. “The Black and Red Project?” he whispered.
The group had just finished watching the orientation film. Tony was mulling over what he heard in his head. Marita was waiting on him to say something. McKay held aloft the Odyssey book in his hand, thinking the film over. Sayid still sat down crosslegged, waiting for Jack to speak. However, it was clear the doctor was polite enough to wait for Desmond to say something. “Did you have some questions on the film, brother?” asked the stranger.
“Just one,” the doctor said, almost frustrated, “Why hasn’t the Liberation killed both of you?”
“Hard to say,” Desmond said, leaning on a coffee table, “When they got here, I was certain they would kill me but they killed Kelvin instead. They said, somebody need to man the station. The Desonium must be manufactured. Told me to find the woman and get to work.”
“So . . .you just DID what they told you to do?” asked McKay.
“I thought they were gonna bloody kill me!” the man said in protest, “What the hell else was I supposed to do?”
“The film mentioned people were going to be collecting the drug on a weekly basis,” Tony said, his hand on his chin, “I take it, that never happened?”
“Actually, the Liberation came after the first batch I managed to create and collected it all. After that, I rarely saw them.”
“What woman were they talking about?” asked Marita.
“Me.” Isabella stepped in, “Kelvin had me tied up down below. Desmond had been here three days before he found me. Luckily he was able to nurse me back to health. Kelvin . . .wasn’t stable. He was an old man, possibly suffering from some sort of aging mental disease.”
“How long has this Kelvin person been on the Island?” asked Jack.
“A long time. That’s all he would ever say.” The woman sighed.
“What about you, Isabella? How long have you been here?”
“Four years. My plane crashed into water just about 200 feet from the Island. My brother . . .went down with the plane and I swam to shore. Kelvin came to get me in his small fishing boat. He said, he was happy to see me. I was chosen to help him here at the shark tank.”
“And Sebastian . . .is your son? And Desmond’s?” asked Tony.
“Let’s just say we got lonely, brother and leave it at that.” Desmond piped in, not thinking it was important to reveal his and Isabella’s intimate history.
“So, this facility . . .it houses REAL sharks?” Locke finally asked a question.
“Yes it does. It houses three. Big mean ones, and smart too. I know what most of you are thinking, there is no such thing as smart sharks. Perhaps a little too much like science fiction, yeah? But I can promise you, brother, these sharks would do anything to be freed. And I can’t free them.”
“Why not?” asked Jack.
“Because if I do, my son will become an animal.”
“What does that mean?” asked Tony.
“There is no easy way to explain it, brother. I can only show you . . .or rather, show other people and let them tell you.”
Desmond turned to his love by his side, “Izzy, what does the clock read?”
The woman turned a corner and looked into the distance of the control room. Then she turned around and walked back to the group. “It’s encroaching on the 11 minute marker.” She told him.
“Just enough time to show the gentlemen here what is happening,” Desmond then pointed to the ground, “Okay, Jack . . eh, Tony . . the bald guy and the Australian. You four come with me.”
“Why just them?” asked Sayid.
“Because I think only they will understand what I am about to explain to them. But all are welcome to see the sharks.”
“Sharks?” Marita said, a bit scared, “You have a way to look . . .at them.”
“That I do, sister. You want to come see?”
“Marita, you stay up here with Isabella. Sayid, you watch over her and Shanna.”
“Very well,” the Iraqi agreed.
“Tell me everything that happens.” Shanna mentioned to them, pointing to her notepad.
Desmond reached the bottle of the stair way, clicking on the halogen lights above. Jack looked around, noticing the strange control room; similar to the one built for the Argos and Watchman computers. Locke walked down next while McKay helped Tony descend the stairs. Desmond walked over the farthest control panel and picked up a piece of paper. Then he flipped on a switch where one of the metal walls slid away to reveal a glass wall with a perfect view of the outside water. Locke looked into the distance, as the swimming debris; sea-weed, sticks, dirt and the occasional fish. What got his curiosity immediately, was the three flashing lights in the distance of the water. Tony asked his friends what was happening. “We’re in some kind of control room, Tony,” McKay told him, “We got glass panels that allow us to view the outside and . . .there are three blinking lights in the distance.”
“Buoys?” Tony suggested.
“Not quite, brother,” Desmond whispered.
Jack’s eyes slowly went wide when he saw in the distance one of the flashing lights became a shark. It was swimming toward them and the closer it got, the closer they were able to see that it was bigger than a normal Great White. The odd thing was the white box on top of it’s head; that was the source of the blinking light. Jack then started to panic as he saw the shark pick up in speed and head right for them. The shark then rammed the glass, making the control room shake. “WHOA!” Tony screamed, “What was that??”
“Filthy buggers always do that,” Desmond said, “I never open the same panel twice. Even thought the glass is ten inches think, I am paranoid that they might figure out a way to hit the exact same spot until it cracks.”
“These sharks . . .are learning then?” Locke said in amazement.
“Yes, they are. But it’s almost time for the retrieval.”
“Retrieval?” Tony asked.
Then the same familiar siren that show the clock had kicked down past four minutes began to sound even in the underwater control room. Desmond looked toward the ceiling, knowing full well Isabella would soon enter the code. The loud beeping continued for a few seconds, then stopped. The stranger took a deep breath. “The clock is resetting as we speak,” he whispered, “Keep your eyes on the sharks.”
The other two had come into view. They then began to swim into the distance at a fast rate. Then one stopped and began to thrash about. Locke squinted his eyes, studying everything that it was doing. He quickly noticed that he light on the white box on the shark’s head was no longer blinking; it was completely solid. “Near as I can figure, Argos chooses each shark at random.” Desmond mentioned.
The shark then stopped thrashing and swam back toward the glass panel. McKay noticed a long tube started to protrude from above them. Then a spike emerged from the tube. The shark swam until it’s white box connected with the spike. Locke got a closer look with the shark, easily able to tell it was in pain. Then after a few seconds, the shark relaxed and the solid light on the box, began to blink again. The shark slowly removed itself from the spike, looking completely relieved. Jack then pointed toward the creature, as Desmond activated the metal panel to slide back down. “That shark . . .it’s been trained to place that box onto the spike, because it causes it’ pain?” the doctor asked.
“Yes, indeed. The main ingredient for the drug is extracted from the shark and then Argos prepares the rest. Then shoots it out that tube above us.”
“How did you know to give it to your son, Desmond?” asked Tony.
“Trust me, brother. I didn’t know when it first happen. It happened shortly after his first birthday. He turned a pale gray and couldn’t breathe. It took me three days to figure out he needed that medicine that Argos gave out.”
“Did Argos himself tell you?”
“Not in so many words. I was asking him about all the symptoms and he told me about an experiment done by a man named Gruber and the documentation about it. My son . .has fallen victim to a dead man’s sick game.”
“What experiment?” asked Tony.
Desmond then walked to a cabinet to the left of the base of the stairs. On top of it was a small safe, already open due to the broken handle. The stranger reached in and pulled out an old video tape. He handed it to McKay who looked at the label. It’s ink had faded over time but he was still able to read it. “The Black and Red Project?” he whispered.
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