Post by jimranor on Jan 19, 2012 9:56:39 GMT -7
Reality isn’t always real
By: James Palmer
“Henderson would you hand me subject #178’s sheet please?”
“Hmm… Ah, here we are.” Henderson was at a small table next to a large thick window. The table was small and only had a few papers haphazardly scattered across its glassy surface. The room was stuffy and warm, the only light provided by a small lamp on the desk. “Number 178…” Henderson said as he grabbed a piece of paper from the desk and held it out into the dark. “Thanks.” A scruffy voice said from the darkness. The paper vanished, and Henderson went back to looking at his papers.
Within a minute Henderson sighed and got up off the chair. “Ow.” Henderson complained as his back made a sick cracking sound. “I’ve got to stop bending over so much.” He said to himself. After a small stretch Henderson gathered another sheet of paper and turned off the light. Instantly light streamed in through the window and another room was lit up by a mess of fluorescent lights. In the middle of the room stood a scientist dressed in his large white lab coat standing in-between two tables. On the tables where a man and a woman, laid back and strapped down by a black belt across there wrists and chest. Henderson opened the door to the room and with the circles around his eyes easily visible he smiled weakly at the scientist and handed him the other paper. “Ah, I was just about to ask for number 179’s… Henderson!” The scientist said in concern as he looked up into Henderson’s eyes. “You don’t look so well.”
“Oh it’s nothing Dr. Morris.” Henderson huffed out. Dr. Morris gave Henderson a look of question but let it go and turned back to the table with the man on it. Henderson walked up and stood next to Dr. Morris, and they both looked down on the man’s shaking body. “I still don’t feel right about this.” Henderson said in disgust as the man struggled tirelessly at the bonds binding him to the table. “I have my doubts too but there’s far too much to lose if we don’t proceed with the operation.”
“But he’s been like this for days… The last subjects where calm and easier then these two.” Henderson objected. Dr. Morris hit the table with his fists and shook his head. “I know… But this is the closest we’ve been since subjects 133 and 147.” Henderson gave another sigh of defeat and became more serious. “So where going to inject them both with the DNA at the same time?” Henderson asked looking over his shoulder at the woman as she weakly struggled against her own bonds. “Yes… I’m fairly certain this one will work. We’ve waited long enough for the Injections and carbide ceramic ossification to take full affect, now is the perfect time.”
“But why both? What if it fails and we lose both of them?” Henderson protested. “Well what if it does? It wasn’t exactly easy to make this batch. And we don’t have time to waste anymore; the war is coming to a nuclear Armageddon. I don’t think we have too much time left to waste. The 90 days till birth is a lot less to wait then the 4 months of altering the perfect genetic simulation and still having the 88% chance of failure.” Henderson rubbed his back with his hands and let out a groan of pain. “You have a point there doctor.” Henderson admitted. “Well then I see that were just going to throw caution to the wind then.” Henderson said blankly “So when do we start?” Dr. Morris grunted and reached to a small tray beside the table and grasped two small syringes barely filled with a small bluish liquid. Dr. Morris handed one to Henderson and Henderson read the label on his. “Wolf DNA injection # 179.” Henderson said out loud. He turned to the woman and gripped her shoulder on her left arm. “Whenever your ready doctor.” Henderson said blankly. Dr. Morris griped the mans shoulder and held the syringe close to his skin. “On my mark…3…2…1!” And simultaneously they pushed the syringe deep into the subject’s veins and squeezed out the serum.
“That should do it.” Dr. Morris said as he dabbed at the sweet on his forehead with a small cloth. Dr. Morris and Henderson stood back and watched the subjects as they slowly fell into a deep sleep. “Let’s hope this one works. For our sakes.” Henderson said relived. “Not for our sakes.” Dr. Morris said. “But for the worlds sake.”
A loud siren sounded overhead, and red lights spun and flashed in unison. Dr. Morris was running down a red light hallway to his lab. He burst in and saw Henderson furiously typing at a computer just inches away from the door to the subjects. One look and Dr. Morris knew what was happening. “How are they doing?” Dr. Morris asked calmly as he walked up to the computer screen. “Not to well.” Henderson said His voice scratchy as his typing slowed and the lights to the subject’s room flashed on. Both of them where struggling furiously against there bonds and new metal braces had been added by a mechanical arm which held the subjects head down. “I see…” Dr. Morris said as he frowned and stared at the struggling subjects. “Show me their vitals.” Dr. Morris said as he turned his attention to the computer screen. Henderson typed in a few keys and the screen went blank. A second later the computer beeped and the screen displayed a message. “Could not complete subject’s 178 and 179’s vital scans, No data received.” “NO DATA!” Screamed Dr. Morris, “HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE.” Dr. Morris looked at the subjects and noticed that all their thrashing had caused the sensors to fall off and hang by their cords. Dr. Morris cursed under his breath and pulled open the door to the testing room. He walked up to the man first, bent down to pick up the sensors dangling just below his knee and stuck them back onto the man’s head.
Dr. Morris poked his head around the corner to look at the screen. “Receiving data.” The computer read in a small blinking box. “There we go.” Dr. Morris said as he went back into the testing room. He hooked up the other sensors to the woman and shut the door behind him as he walked back to Henderson’s side. “Alright now let’s take a look at them.” He commanded in an irritated tone. Henderson typed in the same commands and the computer screen flashed and pulled up a new window. Two sets of medical data popped up and aligned themselves into two sets. The computer beeped again and the stats scrolled down automatically to a blinking green set of vitals. “Hmm…”
“Doesn’t look to good Doc.”
“Dang, I thought this was the one… Well keep these up just incase. It’s not over yet.”
“Yes sir.” Henderson said as he went back to his desk and sat starring at the subjects just beyond the window. “You going to stay and record anything?” Henderson asked as Dr. Morris hung his lab coat on the back of a chair in the corner of the room. Dr. Morris nodded and Henderson’s face filled with relief. “Thanks I really need a break.” Henderson pulled himself off his chair and held his hand out to Dr. Morris. “It’s been a pleasure working with you.” Henderson said as they shook hands. “You say that like this is the last time where going to see each other.” Dr. Morris said with concern in his voice. “Well you never know with how much the war is escalating.” Dr. Morris frowned in frustration. “Alright well you’ve been here long enough I won’t keep you anymore.” Dr. Morris said as they unclasped their hands. “Say hi to your wife and Jr. For me.”
“Will do.” Dr. Morris said with a smile and watched as Henderson plucked his hat off a rack by the door and walked out of the room. Dr. Morris looked back at the subjects and felt a pang of guilt as the pain that the subjects where enduring showed plainly on there faces. Dr. Morris shook his head and consoled himself saying. “It’s for the good of the world, they volunteered, and they knew the risks.” With that he went to the desk in the middle of the room and pulled the chair up to it. Slowly sitting down he sighed and reclined back to watch and occasionally check the vitals on the computer screen. Soon enough his eyes started to drop and the gentle hum of the machinery and lights silently lulled Dr. Morris into a deep sleep.
Dr. Morris stirred in his sleep and woke to see a small light blinking on the screen of the computer. He got up off the chair and sluggishly walked towards the small blinking screen. He typed a key and the blinking stopped. The computer pulled up the same chart of vitals he had been staring at for hours… But Dr. Morris knew instantly that something was wrong. The charts had stopped recording data and the scans where all dead. The first thing that came to Dr. Morris’s mind was that the subject’s had died while he was asleep… But as he soon found out, he was dead wrong. He flicked a switch next to the computer and the lights went off in the testing room. Without a glance at the room or the computer Dr. Morris grabbed his lab coat and headed for the door. But just as he passed the window to the testing room a small tap came from the inside the testing room. Dr. Morris stopped in his tracks and swiveled to look through the window. The testing room was completely dark but Dr. Morris thought he had seen a flash of movement. He walked back to the light switch and reached his hand out to flip it on.
The door to the testing room was blown off its hinges and Dr. Morris instinctively dived out of the path as the door flew across the observing room and clattered against the wall, leaving a dent from a now battered handle. Dr. Morris looked up and saw two forms come out from the testing room and slowly stalk towards him. “NO! Impossible!” Dr. Morris screamed as the forms came into the light. The man and woman had transformed, they no longer resembled humans. Their entire bodies where those of a wolf and they stood so tall their heads almost hit the ceiling. As they came into the light Dr. Morris saw that the man had turned into a fierce looking red furred wolf looking creature and the woman into a dark brown wolf like creature. Dr. Morris lay sprawled on the ground with a look of wonder and fear upon his face. But the wolves had a different expression; both looked hungry and ready to kill. Dr. Morris knew that the subjects where dangerous but his curiosity overpowered him and he slowly got up from the ground. The wolf creatures growled and with blinding speed they ran to Dr. Morris, Picking him up by the neck and bringing him up to their faces. Dr. Morris could feel the heat from the breath on his neck as the wolves eyes burned with hunger. “This is incredible.” Dr. Morris said in amazement still completely oblivious to the danger he was in. “Subject 178 and 179… How do you feel…?” He stopped mid sentence as the male wolf squeezed harder on his neck. Dr. Morris gagged and started to struggle against the wolf’s grip… But to no avail the wolf’s grip was not even comprehendible. “You can’t kill me!” Dr. Morris chocked out as the wolf gripped harder and harder. “I… Created you.” The wolf frowned for a second and then smiled a large toothy grin. “Ya thanks.” The male wolf creature said in a low scruffy voice. Dr. Morris stopped struggling and the wolf set him down on the ground. And with that both of the creatures got on their hands and knees and began to feast on the lifeless body of Dr. Morris Senior.
By: James Palmer
Prologue
“Henderson would you hand me subject #178’s sheet please?”
“Hmm… Ah, here we are.” Henderson was at a small table next to a large thick window. The table was small and only had a few papers haphazardly scattered across its glassy surface. The room was stuffy and warm, the only light provided by a small lamp on the desk. “Number 178…” Henderson said as he grabbed a piece of paper from the desk and held it out into the dark. “Thanks.” A scruffy voice said from the darkness. The paper vanished, and Henderson went back to looking at his papers.
Within a minute Henderson sighed and got up off the chair. “Ow.” Henderson complained as his back made a sick cracking sound. “I’ve got to stop bending over so much.” He said to himself. After a small stretch Henderson gathered another sheet of paper and turned off the light. Instantly light streamed in through the window and another room was lit up by a mess of fluorescent lights. In the middle of the room stood a scientist dressed in his large white lab coat standing in-between two tables. On the tables where a man and a woman, laid back and strapped down by a black belt across there wrists and chest. Henderson opened the door to the room and with the circles around his eyes easily visible he smiled weakly at the scientist and handed him the other paper. “Ah, I was just about to ask for number 179’s… Henderson!” The scientist said in concern as he looked up into Henderson’s eyes. “You don’t look so well.”
“Oh it’s nothing Dr. Morris.” Henderson huffed out. Dr. Morris gave Henderson a look of question but let it go and turned back to the table with the man on it. Henderson walked up and stood next to Dr. Morris, and they both looked down on the man’s shaking body. “I still don’t feel right about this.” Henderson said in disgust as the man struggled tirelessly at the bonds binding him to the table. “I have my doubts too but there’s far too much to lose if we don’t proceed with the operation.”
“But he’s been like this for days… The last subjects where calm and easier then these two.” Henderson objected. Dr. Morris hit the table with his fists and shook his head. “I know… But this is the closest we’ve been since subjects 133 and 147.” Henderson gave another sigh of defeat and became more serious. “So where going to inject them both with the DNA at the same time?” Henderson asked looking over his shoulder at the woman as she weakly struggled against her own bonds. “Yes… I’m fairly certain this one will work. We’ve waited long enough for the Injections and carbide ceramic ossification to take full affect, now is the perfect time.”
“But why both? What if it fails and we lose both of them?” Henderson protested. “Well what if it does? It wasn’t exactly easy to make this batch. And we don’t have time to waste anymore; the war is coming to a nuclear Armageddon. I don’t think we have too much time left to waste. The 90 days till birth is a lot less to wait then the 4 months of altering the perfect genetic simulation and still having the 88% chance of failure.” Henderson rubbed his back with his hands and let out a groan of pain. “You have a point there doctor.” Henderson admitted. “Well then I see that were just going to throw caution to the wind then.” Henderson said blankly “So when do we start?” Dr. Morris grunted and reached to a small tray beside the table and grasped two small syringes barely filled with a small bluish liquid. Dr. Morris handed one to Henderson and Henderson read the label on his. “Wolf DNA injection # 179.” Henderson said out loud. He turned to the woman and gripped her shoulder on her left arm. “Whenever your ready doctor.” Henderson said blankly. Dr. Morris griped the mans shoulder and held the syringe close to his skin. “On my mark…3…2…1!” And simultaneously they pushed the syringe deep into the subject’s veins and squeezed out the serum.
“That should do it.” Dr. Morris said as he dabbed at the sweet on his forehead with a small cloth. Dr. Morris and Henderson stood back and watched the subjects as they slowly fell into a deep sleep. “Let’s hope this one works. For our sakes.” Henderson said relived. “Not for our sakes.” Dr. Morris said. “But for the worlds sake.”
A loud siren sounded overhead, and red lights spun and flashed in unison. Dr. Morris was running down a red light hallway to his lab. He burst in and saw Henderson furiously typing at a computer just inches away from the door to the subjects. One look and Dr. Morris knew what was happening. “How are they doing?” Dr. Morris asked calmly as he walked up to the computer screen. “Not to well.” Henderson said His voice scratchy as his typing slowed and the lights to the subject’s room flashed on. Both of them where struggling furiously against there bonds and new metal braces had been added by a mechanical arm which held the subjects head down. “I see…” Dr. Morris said as he frowned and stared at the struggling subjects. “Show me their vitals.” Dr. Morris said as he turned his attention to the computer screen. Henderson typed in a few keys and the screen went blank. A second later the computer beeped and the screen displayed a message. “Could not complete subject’s 178 and 179’s vital scans, No data received.” “NO DATA!” Screamed Dr. Morris, “HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE.” Dr. Morris looked at the subjects and noticed that all their thrashing had caused the sensors to fall off and hang by their cords. Dr. Morris cursed under his breath and pulled open the door to the testing room. He walked up to the man first, bent down to pick up the sensors dangling just below his knee and stuck them back onto the man’s head.
Dr. Morris poked his head around the corner to look at the screen. “Receiving data.” The computer read in a small blinking box. “There we go.” Dr. Morris said as he went back into the testing room. He hooked up the other sensors to the woman and shut the door behind him as he walked back to Henderson’s side. “Alright now let’s take a look at them.” He commanded in an irritated tone. Henderson typed in the same commands and the computer screen flashed and pulled up a new window. Two sets of medical data popped up and aligned themselves into two sets. The computer beeped again and the stats scrolled down automatically to a blinking green set of vitals. “Hmm…”
“Doesn’t look to good Doc.”
“Dang, I thought this was the one… Well keep these up just incase. It’s not over yet.”
“Yes sir.” Henderson said as he went back to his desk and sat starring at the subjects just beyond the window. “You going to stay and record anything?” Henderson asked as Dr. Morris hung his lab coat on the back of a chair in the corner of the room. Dr. Morris nodded and Henderson’s face filled with relief. “Thanks I really need a break.” Henderson pulled himself off his chair and held his hand out to Dr. Morris. “It’s been a pleasure working with you.” Henderson said as they shook hands. “You say that like this is the last time where going to see each other.” Dr. Morris said with concern in his voice. “Well you never know with how much the war is escalating.” Dr. Morris frowned in frustration. “Alright well you’ve been here long enough I won’t keep you anymore.” Dr. Morris said as they unclasped their hands. “Say hi to your wife and Jr. For me.”
“Will do.” Dr. Morris said with a smile and watched as Henderson plucked his hat off a rack by the door and walked out of the room. Dr. Morris looked back at the subjects and felt a pang of guilt as the pain that the subjects where enduring showed plainly on there faces. Dr. Morris shook his head and consoled himself saying. “It’s for the good of the world, they volunteered, and they knew the risks.” With that he went to the desk in the middle of the room and pulled the chair up to it. Slowly sitting down he sighed and reclined back to watch and occasionally check the vitals on the computer screen. Soon enough his eyes started to drop and the gentle hum of the machinery and lights silently lulled Dr. Morris into a deep sleep.
Dr. Morris stirred in his sleep and woke to see a small light blinking on the screen of the computer. He got up off the chair and sluggishly walked towards the small blinking screen. He typed a key and the blinking stopped. The computer pulled up the same chart of vitals he had been staring at for hours… But Dr. Morris knew instantly that something was wrong. The charts had stopped recording data and the scans where all dead. The first thing that came to Dr. Morris’s mind was that the subject’s had died while he was asleep… But as he soon found out, he was dead wrong. He flicked a switch next to the computer and the lights went off in the testing room. Without a glance at the room or the computer Dr. Morris grabbed his lab coat and headed for the door. But just as he passed the window to the testing room a small tap came from the inside the testing room. Dr. Morris stopped in his tracks and swiveled to look through the window. The testing room was completely dark but Dr. Morris thought he had seen a flash of movement. He walked back to the light switch and reached his hand out to flip it on.
The door to the testing room was blown off its hinges and Dr. Morris instinctively dived out of the path as the door flew across the observing room and clattered against the wall, leaving a dent from a now battered handle. Dr. Morris looked up and saw two forms come out from the testing room and slowly stalk towards him. “NO! Impossible!” Dr. Morris screamed as the forms came into the light. The man and woman had transformed, they no longer resembled humans. Their entire bodies where those of a wolf and they stood so tall their heads almost hit the ceiling. As they came into the light Dr. Morris saw that the man had turned into a fierce looking red furred wolf looking creature and the woman into a dark brown wolf like creature. Dr. Morris lay sprawled on the ground with a look of wonder and fear upon his face. But the wolves had a different expression; both looked hungry and ready to kill. Dr. Morris knew that the subjects where dangerous but his curiosity overpowered him and he slowly got up from the ground. The wolf creatures growled and with blinding speed they ran to Dr. Morris, Picking him up by the neck and bringing him up to their faces. Dr. Morris could feel the heat from the breath on his neck as the wolves eyes burned with hunger. “This is incredible.” Dr. Morris said in amazement still completely oblivious to the danger he was in. “Subject 178 and 179… How do you feel…?” He stopped mid sentence as the male wolf squeezed harder on his neck. Dr. Morris gagged and started to struggle against the wolf’s grip… But to no avail the wolf’s grip was not even comprehendible. “You can’t kill me!” Dr. Morris chocked out as the wolf gripped harder and harder. “I… Created you.” The wolf frowned for a second and then smiled a large toothy grin. “Ya thanks.” The male wolf creature said in a low scruffy voice. Dr. Morris stopped struggling and the wolf set him down on the ground. And with that both of the creatures got on their hands and knees and began to feast on the lifeless body of Dr. Morris Senior.