Void Recon: A Military Sci-Fi Series (Omega Taskforce Book 2) by G J Ogden

Author:G J Ogden [Ogden, G J]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ogden Media Ltd
Published: 2021-05-10T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

Knowledge is a dangerous thing

Captain Sterling left his medical officer to dissect the turned colonist then moved over to shimmering, ethereal image of James Colicos. The scientist gave off a grandiose air, even as a frozen hologram.

“Colicos certainly enjoyed the sound of his own voice; there were hours of logs,” said Razor as Sterling arrived with Banks at his side. “To save time, I’ve used an algorithm to isolate key sections and highlight anything of significance relating to neural technology.”

“Okay, Lieutenant, let’s find out what he’s been doing out here,” said Sterling, peering into the eyes of the holographic James Colicos. Razor then tapped the computer on her left arm and the image began to move.

“After a number of frustrating setbacks, I have finally made significant progress on the neural education interface,” Colicos began. Sterling noticed that the man looked considerably younger than his supposed sixty-plus years. “Pursuing this goal has been my life’s work, made all the more challenging by Fleet’s blinkered attitude and short-sightedness, especially from Natasha Griffin.” Sterling raised an eyebrow. It hadn’t taken long for Colicos to stick the knife into the Admiral. “My initial goal for the interface was to provide a mechanism through which knowledge could be directly implanted into the human brain,” the scientist went on, becoming more animated as he spoke. “Military knowledge and skills that take years to acquire and nurture could be condensed into a neural education program lasting mere weeks.” Colicos then looked skyward, as if addressing dignitaries in an auditorium. “Think of it… Basic training could be completed in a day, and phase two specialist training within a week. A man or woman on the street could go from zero to full deployment status as an officer within a month. And all this with the benefit of years of military knowledge and inherited experience.”

“Pause playback,” said Sterling, needing a moment to process what he’d just heard. “Neural education? This all stemmed from a Fleet military program?”

Banks let out a low whistle and Sterling noticed that she appeared just as stunned as he was.

“I had no idea this is what Colicos was working on for Fleet,” said Banks, meeting Sterling’s eyes. “That sounds like one hell of a project. It would have allowed us to expand the fleet by an order of magnitude. We could have squashed the Sa’Nerran threat years ago.”

Sterling nodded. “That didn’t happen, though, so clearly something went wrong,” he added. He had a feeling they were about to find out what that was. “Resume playback,” he said to the image of Colicos.

“Unfortunately, the neural education process proved challenging to perfect, despite my best efforts,” Colicos went on, suddenly casting his eyes to the ground. “Neural corruption and irreparable brain damage cost me dozens of test subjects, but just as I was getting close to a solution, Griffin pulled the plug.”

The last part of Colicos’ statement was spoken with venom. Clearly, Griffin had become the focus of the scientist's frustrations and the person Colicos blamed for his failings.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.