In Media Res: Necromatique

Okay, so forgottenmachine gave me a quiet nudge about Story-crossing, an on-going collaborative story started by his friend, Lucretia.

Normally, I'm kinda shy about joining collaborative stories since I'm not exactly sure if all the contributors will be amenable to the ideas (or direction of the story) I'll be contributing.

I know, I know... that's just me.

However, I particularly like how this story is going-- especially how the contributors seem to be ensuring a well-written story. For example, they change character viewpoint of the story to get a larger picture of the situation, they add sections in order to enflesh the characters, etc.

So I figure, what the heck, right? Here goes Word Vomit (part 2)...

In brief: In what seems to be a near future time, our protagonist Mike is being harried by his former lover, Kira, after the latter was resurrected by R.E.S.C.O.R.

Unfortunately, ever since she was brought back from the dead, Kira has been different and Mike is running scared. More unfortunate is the two have caught the predatory interest of a bounty hunter, Brian Cane.

What is happening to Kira? What did R.E.S.C.O.R. do to her? And what is R.E.S.C.O.R.?

Edgar Bersford, vice-president of Onyx Unlimited and head of R.E.S.C.O.R. subsidiary, was fretting again.

Edgar looked at a number of files before him. He sighed. Ever since they started their public operations, there had been no end to problems. And now reports submitted by the company investigators were threatening to get his ulcers going again.

He looked at the files again one by one.

Somehow, after their resurrection, some of the R.E.S.C.O.R. clients had been showing unsettling behavioral changes. The percentage was still small-- around fourteen percent-- but the numbers were slowly growing and Edgar was a realist enough to know that the problem wouldn't just go away.

Bzzzt!

Edgar looked up as the intercom buzzed and Mari, his secretary, said in a voice made electronically inhuman,"Sir, Dr. Witt wishes to inform you that the A.I. platform has become unstable again after the last insertion. Likewise, the Vatican investigator wants another appointment to visit the lab again."

He shook his head and realized that Mari wouldn't have seen the gesture.

He pushed an intercom button and replied, "Ah, tell Dr. Witt to start the program but to pass the confirmation sequence to me. I'll be the one to welcome the personality. As for the priest... give him the usual run-around."

He ground his teeth. If not for the benefits, he hated his job. Not only did he have to deal with settling in the new A.I. personality every time it went insane-- always a disturbing process-- but he also had to deal with people like Father Ambrose Callow, the Vatican representative sent to check R.E.S.C.O.R.'s resurrection pogram.

Callow: now he was a cold fish. If not for the fact that the priest was a Jesuit scientist and extremely curious, Edgar could have sworn Callow was jealous in behalf of the Roman Catholic Church. Like it or not, the Church had never been happy with R.E.S.C.O.R.'s promise of 'eternal life' for its clients. Bad for their business, Dr. Witt had once joked.

Edgar wouldn't have told that to Callow's face. The priest looked dangerous.

"By the way, Mari," Edgar said, thumbing the intercom, "Tell Dr. Witt to prep the A.I. for another dimensional insertion. We're way behind in resurrecting clients as it is. I'll talk to the A.I. before it's sent out."

"Alright sir."

He pitied the A.I. personality that would be facing the omnivorous beings that ruled behind the dimensional gate in the lab. But between facing the chairman of the Onyx board on why they were behind schedule and over costs, and making deals with demons even older the world, Edgar knew what choice he'd make.

So. Are the hints enough for the story?