A “Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons”
Story
By Sue Stanhope
Captain Scarlet waited in the dark outer chamber,
as he had done dozens of times before. At first he had been uncertain of where
he was and what was to happen, but now it was as routine as showering. But there was something else; there was
always a tingle of nervous apprehension in this place; either that or fervent
anticipation, he had never yet managed to determine exactly how he felt. But now, there was no time to consider
such things, he was being called through into the main chamber. Walking through the open doorway,
Scarlet squinted as the impenetrable darkness gave way to dazzlingly bright
lights. The room danced with
colour, shimmering through translucent walls, ceilings and hanging panels, which
gave the room the feel of a psychedelic maze.
Now, at last, and as usual, Scarlet was addressed directly.
“Captain Scarlet, this is the voice of the
Mysterons. Report.”
“The mission went as planned.
The distraction worked perfectly; the bomb was discovered and during the
defusing attempt, I tripped one of the wires and it exploded,” Scarlet replied.
“Did it destroy the evidence of our experiments?”
“Completely, I was able to stop that fool, Blue
from finding anything by insisting that he get everyone out.
The fake timer on the bomb that showed only a minute left was enough to convince
him.” Scarlet smiled, then added with a sneer, “He’s the public spirited type.”
“Was the experiment a success?”
“Unfortunately, no, the change in the process of
Mysteronisation has not yet solved the X-ray problem.
However your agents are still undetected and can continue the experiments…”
“No!” the voice interrupted. “We need a fresh mind
on the problem.”
“Well,” Scarlet paused briefly before continuing.
“In three weeks time there will be a Science Symposium at the Chicago Physics
Institute, there will be hundreds of the world’s brightest men and women
gathered.
A simple distraction should allow you to take your pick. Then, hopefully, the project will be
finished quickly, allowing you to create completely undetectable Mysteron
clones.”
“You have done well, Captain.
We will consider our attack on the Symposium and issue our threat when we have
everything planned. You may return.”
“Thank you,” Scarlet replied with a respectful nod
of his head, before turning and returning to the dark chamber.
“He’s coming out of it,” the voice filtered
through to Scarlet through a muffled fog, “Doctor Fawn!”
“Adam,” Scarlet smiled as he woke. “Shouldn’t you
be writing a report?”
Blue raised the file resting on the bedside
cabinet.
“Done it already, my friend, you’ve been out of it
for a while, you know.”
“I suspect the bomb did a lot of damage, it takes
time to heal.”
Blue took a deep breath. “I know, but even though
I knew you’d recover, how you looked when we pulled you out of there…” Blue’s
voice tapered off.
“Hey, forget it, I’m okay now.”
Blue nodded and forced a smile.
“What does it feel like?”
“Getting blown up?” Scarlet asked with a deep
frown.
“No! No, after, I mean, when you’re dead.”
“Nothing, it doesn’t feel like anything, I’m
dead.”
“But, don’t you dream…or anything?”
Scarlet shook his head. “No, it’s just, well,
nothing and then I wake up.”
“You have no memories?”
Scarlet shrugged. “What’s to remember?”
THE END
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