1 Samuel 16:23
Vernon Medlock’s apartment bathroom was cramped, dingy, and methodically plastered wall to wall with acoustic insulation. Lying bound on the tile floor was his former boss, Ken Phelps. Ken couldn’t help but stare at the Bible verse scrawled in marker above the doorframe:
1 Samuel 16:23
Before he was fired,Vernon was a lead project designer in the LRAD Division of Willow Solutions, a contracting firm that designed prototype weapons for the military. His final project was a sonic weapon intended to cause extreme psychological disruption in subjects. The proudest achievement of the project was giving one poor test subject a nosebleed. It was scrapped within six months. Soon after, Vernon’s only daughter committed suicide. Already a single father, the loss drove him into a psychotic break. It wasn’t long before his bizarre rants and religious ramblings at work led to his firing.
“Vern, please, I’m sorry about your daughter. But you don’t need to do this,” Ken pleaded.
Vernon wasn’t paying attention. Standing beneath the doorframe, he was instead focused on the machine in pointed at Kenneth. A large black disc mounted on a cart, it had a sprawl of cables trailing behind it, far out of Ken’s view. Despite Vernon’s modifications to it, Ken recognized it immediately. The prototype from Willow.
Vernon began to adjust some knobs on his machine. Without looking up, he responded.
“I’m sorry, too Kenneth. I’m sorry I didn’t see what was wrong with her. I see that now. She was... tormented. Possessed by something inhuman. Something demonic. You firing me was actually a blessing. It gave me clarity.” He paused briefly, caught up in his own revelations, before pointing above him. “Are you familiar with this verse, Kenneth?”
Ken shook his head.
Vernon began to recite with purpose. “...and it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.” He put his arm around the machine, like a father would around a child. “It always struck me. That sound itself could stop the demonic? What are the odds? My life’s work! I knew as soon as I read it, I knew that it was God calling to me. Giving me a higher purpose. You see, we’re all possessed. Deep down. He wanted me to save everyone.”
He flipped a switch, bringing the machine sprung to life with a loud humming. The apartment’s lights flickered and dimmed. Ken stared into the black disc with terror.
“You should be honored, Ken,” Vernon began, “because he wanted me to start with you.”
“Vern, please! Stop!” Ken pleaded, barely able to compete with the growing hum of the machine.
Vernon smiled. “It’s okay, Ken. I think when we’re done, you’re going to feel rather refreshed.”
1 Samuel 16:23
Before he was fired,Vernon was a lead project designer in the LRAD Division of Willow Solutions, a contracting firm that designed prototype weapons for the military. His final project was a sonic weapon intended to cause extreme psychological disruption in subjects. The proudest achievement of the project was giving one poor test subject a nosebleed. It was scrapped within six months. Soon after, Vernon’s only daughter committed suicide. Already a single father, the loss drove him into a psychotic break. It wasn’t long before his bizarre rants and religious ramblings at work led to his firing.
“Vern, please, I’m sorry about your daughter. But you don’t need to do this,” Ken pleaded.
Vernon wasn’t paying attention. Standing beneath the doorframe, he was instead focused on the machine in pointed at Kenneth. A large black disc mounted on a cart, it had a sprawl of cables trailing behind it, far out of Ken’s view. Despite Vernon’s modifications to it, Ken recognized it immediately. The prototype from Willow.
Vernon began to adjust some knobs on his machine. Without looking up, he responded.
“I’m sorry, too Kenneth. I’m sorry I didn’t see what was wrong with her. I see that now. She was... tormented. Possessed by something inhuman. Something demonic. You firing me was actually a blessing. It gave me clarity.” He paused briefly, caught up in his own revelations, before pointing above him. “Are you familiar with this verse, Kenneth?”
Ken shook his head.
Vernon began to recite with purpose. “...and it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.” He put his arm around the machine, like a father would around a child. “It always struck me. That sound itself could stop the demonic? What are the odds? My life’s work! I knew as soon as I read it, I knew that it was God calling to me. Giving me a higher purpose. You see, we’re all possessed. Deep down. He wanted me to save everyone.”
He flipped a switch, bringing the machine sprung to life with a loud humming. The apartment’s lights flickered and dimmed. Ken stared into the black disc with terror.
“You should be honored, Ken,” Vernon began, “because he wanted me to start with you.”
“Vern, please! Stop!” Ken pleaded, barely able to compete with the growing hum of the machine.
Vernon smiled. “It’s okay, Ken. I think when we’re done, you’re going to feel rather refreshed.”