Dirk Gently and The Ghosts of Time

Project Oneiroi

       It had been a slow 8 months at Blackwing. After Dirk took project Moloch through the portal they haven't found anyone else. Even Dirk was a dead end. At least they had Bart.

       Oh, who were they kidding? It sucked! There was nothing to do with Project Marzana. She just killed people, she didn't have physic powers or suck energy or transform. No testing, nothing fun. She just sat there all day and did nothing. They knew how she worked, nothing was up in the air. Well, they didn't really understand how she worked, but they needed Project Icarus for that, they were linked somehow.

       What they did have were the scissors. At first, that was interesting, but like everything around here... it was a dead end. There was so much testing. So, so much.

       What they did know? It was metal like, it had a high melting point, almost to the point of it being indestructible, it had a remarkably high tensile and compressive strength, they knew its atomic weight... that's it.

       "The greatest discovery in human history" was completely and utterly useless and a disappointment.

       Ken visited Bart every day. She still hated him, she kept reminding him she should have killed him when she had the chance. But they still talked. Despite everything, they still felt like friends. Somehow. It was strange.

       He walked down the halls on the way to visit her. People walked by, gloomy-looking. They all hated this place. It was cruel, it was only interesting if you were someone high up such as Ken. And it was only interesting when they had people there. To say the least, they were bored. Very bored.

       "Open the door," Ken spoke with an emotionless voice and an expressionless face.

       A large man with a gun grunted then nodded and he proceeded to open the door to Project Marzana's room.

       He looked into the large, bright, empty room and the door closed behind him. "Hello, Ken," Bart said from her bed. She didn't get up to greet him. She didn't even move.

       "Hello, Bart." He sat down at one of the chairs at the table.

       "What are you here for?" Her voice was still it's same old raspy self despite all of the crying.

       "I visit you every day."

       "It's tomorrow already? She sighed as she got up and stumbled to the table.

       "How have you been?"

       "Terrible." She sat down. "You?"

       "I'm fine."

       "Anyone else in yet?" She fidgeted with her fingers, slumped back in her chair.

       "No. It's really slow. Really boring." They both laughed like old friends who knew each other for a lifetime.

       "I still wish I had killed you, you know."

       Ken pursed his lips and looked down, "I know. I'm sorry it has to be this way, Bart."

       "It doesn't. You can't capture us, you can't contain us. I'm only here because I deserve it." She waited for him to console her, tell her she didn't, tell her she was wrong, tell her she was a good person. But he said nothing, proving her point.

       I'm doing this for the greater good." He looked in her eyes. "You're dangerous. Dirk is dangerous, the Rowdy 3 are dangerous. All the other projects out there are dangerous. They are a threat to the balance."

       "No, Ken, they are the balance, I'm the balance. You didn't have to hurt so many people. You think you're the good guy, you're the bad guy. I've killed thousands of people! And I'm still a better person. Not a good person, but better than you."

       Ken stood up, "Goodbye, Bart, see you tomorrow."

       "Bye, Ken."

       He walked out the door and back to his office. Everything she said swirling through his head. Was he the bad guy? No. He wasn't. Ken slumped down in his office chair with a sigh. "AHHH!" He grunted and pounded his fist on his desk when Assistent walked in the door.

       "Adams?" Ken jumped.

       "What is it, Assistent?" He rolled his eyes, still looking at his desk. "I don't have time for this."

       "You have to see this." Ken looked up to see Assistent's smile.

       "Oh my god. Did something happen?" He nodded to which Ken returned the smile. "Something finally happened?!"

       "And it's weird." He giddily added.

       "And it's weird? God, you have no idea how much I needed to hear this today."

       "Follow me!" He got up and left his office, and for the first time in months, everyone he passed on his way smiled. For the first time in months, he smiled back. For the first time in months, they had a job, they had a purpose.

       They went into a room covered in computers, full of people in lab coats bustling around, writing things down, smiling. "Adams!" They all clapped at his entrance.

       "You're going to love this." One man said and he pointed to one of the screens.

       Ken bent down, his hand on the back of the man's chair. "Oh my god. You weren't kidding. This is something." He gave the man a pat on the back and stood up. He faced the rest of the group. "Good work everyone!" They all applauded as he left the room. The lights felt brighter, he felt lighter, the air seemed cleaner, he could see clearer.

      Bart shuddered in her room, "Oh no," she paced around. Something was wrong, something was very wrong. Something bad was going to happen. The universe felt off-balance again.

       Ken danced around in his office. The message displayed on the screen forever burned into his mind. Nothing there had happened in over 80 years.

       "New activity in sector 18-C. New data from Project Oneiroi."

AN
Sorry for the short chapter. There wasn't much to say here.
We're just getting started.