From: lyric9 Date: Sat, 26 Jul 2003 13:40:26 -0700 (PDT) Subject: story submission Source: direct title: the project author: slvh rating: pg for language only category: mytharc posting: yes disclaimer: characters not mine yada yada yada author note: disappointed is not harsh enough of a word to describe how I felt about the last several seasons. this story is an attempt to make it better, if only in my mind... the project how long had he been here? he felt groggy, his thoughts were still unclear - he'd only been awoken an hour ago. it wasn't fair, then, that they were making him discuss the project. "what happened?" he fidgeted with the sleeve of his shirt. it was white and crisp and very clean. they were expecting an answer from him, but all he could say was, "I'm not sure." "do you need a glass of water?" "yes." he was extraordinarily grateful for the distraction. he didn't know how long he had been in stasis, but he realized now how thirsty he was. they waited patiently while he drank and tried as hard as he could to pull his thoughts together. "what happened?" he was asked again. there were three of them in the room. all exactly alike, all expressionless. that never used to bother him, but now it did. he felt sick to his stomach, but that could just be a side effect. he willed himself to steady his voice when he replied. "I created a resolution - just as you asked." the one sitting at the table across from him folded his hands. several seconds passed. he fought the urge to squirm in his seat. "you destroyed the consortium." "they were becoming too much of a distraction." he tried not to sound defensive. "it was better for mulder to have a single enemy to focus on. the consortium was becoming too convoluted -- the conspiracy watered-down. he was losing his single-mindedness. his obsession." "his sister's disappearance. you created conflicting outcomes of her fate. why?" "can I have a cigarette?" "no. answer the question." why were the lights so fucking bright in here? it made it hard to think, to react. "he had already buried her in his mind. I simply gave him the physicality of the act." "you prevented mulder's relationship with scully for too long." "he was in love with her -- physical consummation would have shifted his focus, muddled his concentration." "so you resolved this by impregnating her. with no clear explanation as to why." "he needed a new mystery to solve when he returned from his abduction." "and when this didn't work, you had the child conveniently disappear." he felt his stomach turn again, and wished to god he had a smoke. "I realized my mistake - having a child in the story interfered with the resolution. I fixed it." "you lost threads. you ignored facts." "I created a resolution, just as you asked!" he reached up to wipe the sweat from his lip. "bombing the anasazi ruins. that was your resolution." he could swear he heard sarcasm. one of the others leaned down and whispered something to his interrogator, who rose and conferred with the other two for several minutes. finally one of them returned - he had no way of knowing if it was the original. or maybe they were all the same. didn't matter - he hated every one of them. "it's clear you never fully grasped the true scope of the project." "I am the ONLY one who has ever understood the scope of this project. I successfully led this project for years!" "you became too personally involved." "that's not true!" "you implied you were mulder's father." "it contributed to his conflict. it brought him closer to the project." "you invented reasons to get close to scully. you were attracted to her." he had nothing to say to this. he was still a healthy, heterosexual man after all. "you failed." the words he had never thought to hear. he was powerful. they had trusted him to lead the project. how had he come to this? "you are no longer the project lead." "I'm still a player," he cried. "you still need me - mulder still needs me." the interrogator shrugged - a very uncharacteristic, and human, action. perhaps they learned from us more than they realized, he thought. "you can be replaced." the last words griped him like a vice. "please," he said. "I can still contribute to the project. I can still be of value." "perhaps. you can go now." when he was gone, the three were joined by a fourth who brought in another human male. the man sat down at the table and folded his hands in mimic of his interrogator. "we have decided to make you the new project lead." the man smiled. "there will be no more simulations. your previous examples of resolutions have been satisfactory. now you must bring them to fruition." "I understand." "mulder and scully must be successfully inducted into the project. they must fulfill their prophecies, but under our control. if you fail, we fail. that must not happen." the man smiled and flexed all ten of his fingers. "you won't be disappointed." alex krycheck would now have his turn. --0-569540635-1059252026=:57282--