3The Asset observes as the girl explores the dark laboratory, lit up by occasional lights and screens.
The girl has no weapons hidden under her red hooded sweatshirt. Her dark brown hair is similar to the Asset's, only longer. She moves silently through the lab, almost as stealthily as the Asset.
The girl examines sample tubes spinning on a centrifugal wheel, then presses her face to the dome of incubated eggs. She does not notice the Asset.
Her dark eyes are drawn to a computer monitor, where a video of Grady training raptors has been left paused. Grady has lighter brown hair that the Asset or the girl, cut short with a neatly trimmed beard.
The Asset is not allowed to use the computer, but the girl walks over and starts the video.
The Asset should not watch. It knows how training works. Yet its attention is drawn to the video regardless as it watches the girl.
Onscreen, Grady demonstrates that any show of weakness will cause a raptor code named Delta to attack.
The video cuts to Grady announcing it is Day 176. He shows another raptor, codenamed Blue. When Grady pretends to cower, Blue does not attack. She nuzzles Grady's face, keeping her sharp teeth to herself.
She is a much more compliant asset than Delta. They had not been ordered to attack, but only Blue had complied.
Onscreen, Grady talks to the camera. "She's pretty extraordinary." Grady says. It's not the words but the tone that surprised the Asset. Grady talks about his asset, Blue, with clear fondness.
"Interest, concern, hyper intelligence, cognitive bonding. See that?" Grady narrates over a video of himself tilting his head side to side as Blue imitates him. "She's curious."
This training seems unprecedented. The Asset has never witnessed training involving any sort of compassion. It has never had a trainer like Grady, never been treated as a living being rather than a weapon. Neither has the Indoraptor.
The trainers here are not getting the same results with the Indoraptor that Grady achieved with Blue.
The Indoraptor had been curious about the Asset, but had not mimicked it. Instead, the Indoraptor mimics the guards' cruel smiles.
Onscreen, Grady mentions that Blue shows empathy.
The girl smiles as she watches Grady and Blue's interactions. The Asset does not smile, but it is now sure that the Indoraptor would be a better asset under Grady's training. The Indoraptor is hyper intelligent,
The Asset twitches, and the girl whips her head to stare at it. Her eyes widen and she prepares to bolt, but hesitates.
"Are you okay?" she asks in a hushed voice with a forced British accent.
The Asset does not reply.
"You look sad," the girl eyes it, realizing it is not intending to chase or attack her.
The Asset should not appear sad. Its face should be expressionless.
The girl nods back towards the image of Grady on the computer monitor. "Did you two break up? Is that why you're sad?"
The Asset remains silent. It wouldn't know how to reply. It cannot recall having Grady as a trainer, but it doubts it did. A separation would not have been good; the Asset is well-trained, but Grady is clearly a superior trainer.
The girl's eyes flick to its metal arm. "Are you like Frankenstein's monster?" she asks, then her pale face reddens as blood rushes to it. "Sorry, I didn't mean that. What's your name? I'm Maisie. Maisie Lockwood."
Through this whole one-sided conversation, Maisie occasionally lets her faked British accent slip before correcting it.
Lockwood. The Asset knows the laboratory and equipment are part of Lockwood Manor. Maisie must be related, giving her a high rank, higher than anyone else in the laboratory. Lockwood must be the leader, with Wu, Mills and the others under his command.
"The Asset has no name. It is a weapon." it replies. The Asset will be her weapon, if she orders it. "Its other code names are Winter Soldier and Lizard Brain."
Maisie frowns at it, but it is not a frown that promises punishment. "The scientists aren't very kind to you, are they? They left you alone in here. I'm alone a lot, too. We could be alone together."
The Asset inclines its head. "It will be your Asset."
"Dinosaurs aren't dumb." Maisie nods back at the video. "There's no way they gave you a dinosaur brain. Did they give you your metal arm? Does it hurt? They hurt you, don't they?"
A look of growing horror spreads across Maisie's face.
"It is functional." the Asset says. Nobody has shown sadness at its pain before, and it is conditioned to disregard pain.
Maisie nods sadly, saying scientists should be nice to their creations, or they'll end up like Frankenstein's creation.
The Asset cannot recall a scientist named Frankenstein. It hears the scientist it knows- Wu- arguing with Mills, and Maisie ducks down to hide as the two men enter the laboratory.