Jellybots

Power Up Prompt 27

This flash fiction was inspired by Bradley Ramsey’s “Power up Prompt #27”. Thank you for this inspiration. I did my best to make this a Level 3.

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Alice stood at the edge of the boardroom, feeling queasy. Her hands shook, but she told herself it was just the coffee. She had grown so accustomed to shitty coffee that the real stuff was giving her jitters. That was all it was–caffeine jitters.

An older man, one of the leaders from the US, cleared his throat impatiently. Alice suddenly wished that she had spent a little more time studying who exactly she would be presenting to. As it turned out, the world wasn’t simply run by presidents, prime ministers, boards, and senates. There were countless people who ruled from the shadows.

It was those people who were the true world leaders. Alice faced them with a wave of anxiety and a churning stomach.

“Well, Doctor Fenton, what do you have for us?” Inquired one of the leaders from the UK.

Alice glanced over at her co-worker, who looked just as anxious as she was. Sweat beaded across his hairline. He took off his glasses and cleaned them on his shirt.

“Yes, well, I…I believe my Doctor Cartwright, will be able to explain it better than I could. She was one of the first ones to see…them.” His glasses were just as smudged as they were before when he put them back onto his face.

Alice felt her stomach twist. All the eyes of the most important people in the world turned towards her. Sweat dripped down her back as she faced the boardroom.

“At the Mariana Research Station, we’ve begun to call them…Jellybots,” she began unsteadily.

Beside her, Fenton groaned quietly and rubbed his brow. Someone in the boardroom chuckled. Others attempted to stifle their laughter. God, did Alice hate presentations.

“It started off as a joke. The creatures we found looked a bit like giant Jellyfish but our scans informed us that they were mechanical in nature–at least partially.” Alice turned towards the screen behind her.

Fenton pressed the ‘next’ button, and the image of the Research Center was replaced with the massive body of a Jellybot. The room’s energy shifted. The laughter was replaced by tones of disgust and confusion.

Alice looked up at the Jellybot–half fleshy tendrils, half machine. It was hard to tell where the machine started, and the animal began. Even once dissected, Jellybots were complex. The fusion of machinery and skin was smooth, beautiful, almost.

“And what are they, Miss Cartwright?” The US general asked.

“Doctor,” she corrected him. “And we don’t know. At least not fully. The Jellybots are found only in the deepest parts of the ocean–the trenches and the abyss. However, our research suggests that, unlike other creatures that reside in those zones, they can surface.”

“If they can surface, why are they only now being documented?”

“Great question,” Alice remarked. She nodded at Fenton, who hit the ‘next’ button again. The screen changed. Now the image of a battleship covered the screen. It sat broken and forgotten at the bottom of the sea–broken in half.

“This is the USS Isabella. Four years ago, it disappeared. Elaborate searches were issued, and it was found in this condition, sunken, with no survivors. It is the first documented Jellybot attack. Likely, there have been earlier attacks, but none that we could prove.”

“And how can you prove this was one of your…Jellybots?” A French admiral asked.

Alice nodded to Fenton again. The screen changed, and closer images of the ship displayed its damage in detail.

“From a distance, it could be easy to mistake what happened to the USS Isabella as a capsize. It’s not uncommon for large vessels to break in half as they sink. However, if you look closer, you can see that the ship did not break apart. It was torn apart.”

The boardroom fell into quiet discussion.

“From our research, Jellybots have the ability to grab and pull things apart. They use a combination of brute force and electricity to do so. If you look closely, you can see the scores across the hull of the ship. We’ve had metal from these scores tested, and the results are unanimous–Jellybots were involved in the sinking of the ship.”

The discussion became a full-on debate. There were too many voices at once for Alice to make out what each person was saying. However, the word ‘hoax’ was being used liberally. She glanced over at Fenton, who continued to sweat like a nervous pig.

She let out a deep breath, wishing she were back at the research center. She would have given anything for a shitty cup of coffee and the quiet of her desk.

“So, what you’re saying is that these Jellybots are attacking US ships.”

“They are not preferential to American vessels,” she replied. “They’ve attacked at least forty navy ships, fishing rigs, and even coastal towns in the past four years. The attacks could date back even further, but we can’t be certain.”

“You said you dissected one?” A leader from China watched her with unwavering focus. “What did you find?”

Alice swallowed hard. She was afraid of this question. It was the one thing she hadn’t prepared for. “I am…uncertain about the findings we have uncovered. I’d like to do a bit more testing before-”

“What did you find?” The US general interrupted.

Alice glanced at Fenton, who shook his head. Sweat glistened from his skin.

“Nothing concrete. More testing will have to be done.”

“If they are part machine, then they must have been made, correct? Who do you think is making them?” One of the two Korean leaders asked.

“I’m sorry I-”

“What do you know?” The American asked, tossing his hands in the air.

“I know that the Jellybots are real and they are dangerous,” Alice met his eyes. Then she glanced around at the boardroom. “Our data has revealed that the attacks have become more common.”

“What are you saying?”

“My belief,” she glanced at Fenton. “And the belief of my lab is that we are under attack.”

There was a wave of hushed conversation. Alice could feel the nervousness in the air. These people–whoever they were–were afraid.

“Then we will have to fight back,” this time it was the leader from Germany who spoke.

Alice gave a slow nod. “Yes, but to stop them, we need to first understand what they are. My team and I are doing research on that as we speak.”

The American gave her a hard stare. “And while you’re at it, find a more suitable name for these bastards.”

​

The scientists at the Mariana Research Center did find out more about the Jellybots. They did not, however, find a more suitable name. It seemed the name ‘Jellybots’ was there to stay, much to the chagrin of the ‘sensible’ people at the center.

The MRC was a metal box underwater. Or at least that’s how it felt to Alice. Sometimes the research center felt like a cage, other times it felt like her home. In reality, it was both.

Over the course of four years at the MRC, Alice had developed a well-maintained schedule. She woke early, ran five miles on her treadmill, pushed herself through a few sets of weights, and took a quick shower. Showers had to be quick, as fresh water aboard the sea-floor center was a precious resource.

Alice also always ate breakfast. It always consisted of oatmeal, sprinkled with cinnamon, and a cup of shitty coffee. Sometimes she sat with Fenton, other times she sat alone.

Rarely did Alice’s schedule change. That was, until a man named William Ghost arrived at the MRC.

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“Doctor Cartwright, come in.”

Alice stepped into Lillian O’Reilly’s office. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the massive window behind the older woman’s desk. The acrylic was nearly eight inches thick. Outside, a solitary light illuminated the sea floor. It was another planet on the other side of that window–a world of saltwater and darkness. Only a few meters ahead, the edge of the trench sat like a gaping black hole.

Alice tried not to look for longer than a few seconds. Staring into the abyss is never recommended.

“Have a seat,” O’Reilly gestured to the chair.

Alice reluctantly sat. As she did so, the coffee from her cup splashed up and onto her lab coat. She cursed silently. It was her last clean one.

“About your last paper-”

“It’s not a mistake,” Alice interjected. “I…I ran those tests nearly fifty times-”

“Who else did you send your findings to?”

“What? Just you…I run everything by you.” Alice couldn’t help but feel confused about what direction the conversation was headed.

O’Reilly looked unconvinced. “Well, there’s someone here to see you about that paper.”

She felt a wave of anxiety wash over her. “I never sent it to anyone, I-”

O’Reilly leaned back and tossed a stress ball between her hands. “Do you believe it?”

“Believe what?”

“The contents of your latest research.”

“It’s not about belief,” Alice let out a sigh. “It’s about data. I’m not creating things, I’m discovering. You-”

“I might not have your background, but Human DNA? Cartwright, this is absurd.”

A pang of irritation settled in her stomach. “Why the hell would I be making this up?”

O’Reilly sighed as if speaking to Alice was straining. “In any case,” she pressed on. “Your new findings have garnered a bit of attention.”

“What kind of attention?”

O’Reilly responded by pressing a button on her radio. “Doctor Cartwright is available now.”

“Wonderful,” said an accented voice. “I look forward to the tour.”

Alice frowned and looked at Lillian. “I’m not a fucking tour guide. If you think-”

The door opened, and a man stepped into the office. He flashed a near-perfect smile at Alice and extended his hand. “Doctor Cartwright, it’s nice to finally meet you. I’m William Ghost.”

Alice stood and stared at the man and then at his hand. He held himself well but not rigidly. A military background, perhaps? Although his hair was too long and his clothing too expensive. CIA? Interpol? His accent was hard to place–as if it were a few accents combined into one.

As Alice took in the MRC’s ‘new friend’, she noticed the look in his eyes. It was as though William Ghost knew he was being studied and thoroughly enjoyed it.

“I’m not a tour guide,” she said plainly.

“Cartwright,” O’Reilly warned.

“It’s alright,” Ghost shrugged off O’Reilly’s irritation with an easy smile. “I’m not here to gawk. I want to see your research up close.”

Alice glanced at O’Reilly, who gave her a ‘just do it’ look. She bit her lip, wishing she had more information about who Ghost worked for. “Fine. But I hope you read all of my research. I don’t have time to explain it to you.”

Ghost raised his hands in surrender. “I’ll take whatever you can give, doctor.”

​

The air in the hallway was stale. Alice kept her speed brisk as she walked toward the furthest end of the research center. Ghost followed amicably, undeterred by her hurriedness.

“What’s it like to spend years under the ocean?” He asked.

“I try not to think about it,” she replied.

“I’m sure it’s hard when the dreams never end.”

Alice nearly tripped on her own feet. “What?” She looked over at the man beside her. How could he possibly know about the dreams? For four years, she had been plagued by dreams of sinking deep into the abyss–air leaving her lungs in painful bubbles.

“I spent a few years aboard an exploratory submarine,” he replied simply. “I remember the dreams well.”

Alice hadn’t shared her dreams with anyone, nor had anyone shared their dreams with her. But dreams of drowning were common, weren’t they? There was nothing special about that.

“After two years, I found the secret to getting rid of them,” Ghost said.

“How?”

“Close your eyes.”

“What?”

“In the dream, as you’re sinking to the bottom of the ocean, close your eyes.”

“I’ll…give that a try.”

​

After discovering the Jellybots, the research center had a giant lab made specifically for examination. The room was nearly the size of a football field. Fluorescent lighting illuminated a dozen tables that had been placed back-to-back. Atop the tables was the Jellybot, cloaked in an opaque sheet of plastic.

Alice stepped into the lab and shivered immediately. To preserve the creature, they had basically turned the space into a refrigerator. Ghost followed, saying nothing as they walked closer to the tables.

“A lot of its mass was water,” Alice explained. “The longer it has been out of the ocean, the more it dries up. We took samples as quickly as we could.”

Ghost’s focus was no longer on Alice, but rather the plastic draped over the creature. “Can I see it?”

Alice pulled on a pair of nitrile gloves and stepped up to the table. She grabbed the edge of the plastic and pulled it off in a quick, fluid motion. Lying on the tables was a mass of flesh and machinery, unlike anything the world had seen before.

Even after months of studying it, Alice struggled to make sense of what she was looking at. Everything about the creature was wrong.

Ghost stepped closer to the table.

“The technology,” his pale eyes lingered on the metallic coils that ran just beneath the skin of the Jellybot’s tendrils. “It’s not like anything we’ve seen before.”

“When the first scans were taken–before we captured one–we were sure our systems were malfunctioning,” Alice admitted.

Ghost nodded and began to walk around the table. His eyes scoured the creature, as if looking for something particular. Alice waited, pleased by the silence that had fallen over the room.

“Tell me about the DNA,” Ghost said at last. From across the carcass, he met her eyes.

“I don’t know how you got a hold of my latest research-”

“My resources are of little importance at the bottom of the world,” his voice took on a colder tone. “Tell me about the DNA.”

Alice swallowed and looked away from Ghost. Her eyes fell onto the Jellybot. Its skin had dried out significantly since they pulled its body from the depths. The machinery contrasted its fleshiness in a horrific way.

“Human DNA has been found in the Jellybots.”

“Yes. And how do you know it’s not from you or one of the other staff members here?”

“Well, for one,” she met his eyes. “It doesn’t match any of ours. And secondly, the samples were taken from inside. There’s no way our DNA could have ended up there.”

Ghost nodded, like a teacher whose favorite student had just answered a question correctly. Alice didn’t like the way he watched her.

“There’s more to what you found,” it wasn’t a question.

“Inside, there is…a cavity. At this time, we’re unsure what it is for but-”

“Surely, you have theories, doctor.” Ghost raised an eyebrow.

“I am only here to collect data and-”

A groan from above interrupted her train of thought. Ghost looked around, curious, but unafraid.

“It’s the walls,” Alice explained. “It’s plenty safe, but the pressure from outside…it causes noises sometimes.”

Ghost turned his attention back towards her. “It’s not a creature,” he said, resting a bare hand on the Jellybot. “It’s a vehicle.”

“There is not enough data to prove-”

“But you know, don’t you. You know in the same way you know we’ve had the same dream.”

Alice couldn’t argue with him. She wanted to. She wanted to be the scientist–the person who ran off facts rather than feelings. However, Ghost was right. She hadn’t admitted it to anyone, but the moment the cavity was found along with the DNA, she knew the Jellybot was piloted.

“It’s a lot to take in,” Ghost admitted as he began to pace the length of the giant table.

The implications that Jellybots were vehicles hung heavily over Alice’s head. “How do you know so much about this?”

“The people I work for are very well educated,” he replied.

“No,” she crossed her arms. “That’s not an answer.”

A smile tugged at Ghost’s lips. “I’m not here to see the Jellybot, Doctor Cartwright. I’m not even here to talk to you about your discovery. I’m here to offer you a job.”

She blinked. “What?”

“I’m afraid there is very little I can explain to you before you accept it. However, this,” he gestured to the carcass. “Is only the beginning. The ship attacks are only a test.”

“A test…for what?”

Ghost pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his hands off. “They are testing how easily they could win a war.”

“I don’t understand…who’s doing this testing?”

He gave her an apologetic expression. “I can’t offer you much more than that,” he said.

“Are you implying that someone wants to start a war with…the US?”

“This won’t be a war between countries,” Ghost replied. “If this war happens, which it will, it will be a war between the land and the sea.”

Alice stared at him, waiting for the joke to be revealed.

“If we are to stand a chance against what lives at the bottom of the ocean,” he pointed in the general direction of the trench. “We are going to need people like you.”

“You’re asking me to join…a war?”

“Yes.”

“Against who?”

“The people who built these,” he gestured to the Jellybot that lay between them.

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