Several Decades in the Future
Genetics Division –Forever-Youth Life Extension Inc.
Galveston, Tx
7:00 p.m.
Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.
Michael Crichton
Jurassic Park
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“Jesus. Would you look at that!”
The black and white Siberian Husky convulsed as its genetic code was being torn apart. Patches of fur were torn from its coat whenever it writhed on the test platform. A puddle of blood and teeth had formed under its head as its canines and molars sloughed away, revealing the tips of a new set of long, razor-sharp fangs. The animal, racked with unimaginable pain, lay in a state of agony.
“It’s shedding its teeth. That’s a first.” The other technician commented. The Husky’s eyes were open, staring blankly at the container’s wall. “At least this one isn’t crying.”
Using a bacteriophage, the company had successfully introduced their laboratory created genetic code into the test animal. This virally infected strain of the Haemophilus influenzae bacteria was presently chewing through the animal’s DNA.
Peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) lines carrying massive amounts of nutrients, flowed into the animal via two attached tubes, feeding the horrific transformation. So far, it had outlived the last five subjects that had been tested.
The two technicians sat quietly as the evening approached. Each took note of morphologic changes and more importantly, the genetic transformations that were taking place as the animal’s nuclei were turned into viral factories.
“The nuclei are producing the virus. It is a self-replicating process now.” One man said after data from the last blood draw had been processed.
“Agreed. The bacteria is now irrelevant.” The other replied.
The test animal began to move as the mutations slowed down. A tear dribbled down from its right eye, eventually dropping onto the table it lay on. The thermal resistant metal and ceramic compound ignored the tiny puddle as the dog quivered from the pain. Soon enough, it wouldn’t matter.
“The subject has increased its mass by 82%.” The first technician said, reading off the most recent morphologic information.
“Limbs have expanded 96% and body length is up 104%.” He added. “I never expected that.”
“That is troublesome, but it isn’t critical to the project. I’d say we’ve achieved our goal. Laboratory induced devolution.” The second technician said contentedly. “Infectivity of the carrier bacteria is off the chart. Virulence of the virus is just as successful and we’re seeing the expected genetic transformations in the test subject. I’d have to say that this has been a total success.”
“Agreed.” The first researcher replied. “Have the samples been introduced to the growth medium?”
The second man checked his screen and confirmed that the Husky’s blood and tissue had been collected. “Yes. They’ve been harvested and placed in the nutrient vat. We have more than enough collected. We can proceed with sterilization of the subject.”
“Let’s verify the samples’ reproduction rate before we do that.” The first man said. “I want to make sure our growth medium is doing its job.”
The second technician brought up a screen where the nutrient bath and whistled.
“Off the chart.’ He said. “Twelve percent of the broth is already saturated. At this rate, we’ll have plenty of viral supply.”
“Should we wait until the process is complete? I don’t want to lose a live subject if our tissue broth fails to accept the sample.”
“It can’t hurt. Given how quickly things are proceeding, it should only be another hour before we’ve maximized the growth medium.”
He looked at his watch. “It’s almost seven. Let’s get dinner, then come back and finish up.”
Several Hours Later
Forever-Youth Genetics Laboratory
“Look. The A.I. switched over to the second vat. It’s already a quarter of the way complete.” The first researcher moaned.
“That’s overkill.” The second man agreed. “We have enough from the first batch to treat everyone on the planet. We should have stayed and monitored the process. Now, we’ve wasted a full vat of biologic tissue. That's expensive. We’re going to have a lot to explain.”
“Damn A.I. This was a simple task. The computer should have known not to use the second vat.”
“With what the company spends on advertising, I doubt there’s any money left for software engineering. We’re lucky it keeps time.”
“May as well let it run. The entire test medium has been exposed. Can’t do anything else with it.”
The other researcher just nodded his head and watched the A.I. tabulate the data as the second batch successfully populated the broth, producing the gene splicing virus.
Several hours later, both vats had been filled with the laboratory created contagion.
“Hey. I forgot about the dog.” The first one said. “Come on.”
Stolen story; please report.
They rushed to the tempered glass partition, but the animal was not on the table. Two large-gauge I.V. lines lay in the overhead light; puddles of blood and nutrient-rich liquid had pooled on the table’s surface.
Both men crept forward, searching for the subject. White light blanketed the metal tabletop, its glare burning off the scorched white surface. Below, inky darkness saturated the floor.
The first man put his face up to the glass and stared down, trying see into the fathomless depth. He put his hand on the window, the tempered plasticized glass cold and lifeless to the touch.
He turned his head to his friend and smiled.
“I guess it’s scared of us.” He said with a grin.
He turned back. A momentary flash of grey and black fur hurdled at him from below. The creature smashed its head into the window, a starburst-shaped crack spread from the impact. The technician’s smile disappeared as he staggered away from the giant animal.
The second man howled when his colleague landed on his butt.
“Scared?” He laughed. “You should see yourself.”
“Screw you!” He hissed as he stood back up and stared into the airtight room. “My God, look at it!”
The other scientist edged toward the glass window. The Husky was no more. Instead, something massive, primal, and horrific crouched next to the metal table, its four-inch fangs bared as it snarled at the two.
“What the hell is that?”
“I don’t know. It looks so… primitive.” The first man replied.
“Yeah. We better get corporate down here.”
“You make the call.” The first one said. “They’re not going to be happy about it.”
An hour later, the company’s director of products and research stormed into the room.
“What are you bothering me for? I was with several very important clients.” The man yelled.
“I’m sorry sir. But this is important.”
“As important as getting a contract with Southwest Insurance? Millions of dollars are on the line, and you drag me to a basement lab. For what?”
“Uh. It’d be a lot easier if you took a look.”
They moved to the tempered glass window. The first scientist waved the corporate director forward and pointed inside.
Like before, the room appeared abandoned as the overhead lights reflected brightly off the lone tabletop.
“You had me come here to show me an empty room? What the hell does that mean? You could have just sent me a text with…”
The monster smashed against the glass once again, sending the corporate director reeling back from the enclosure. This time, neither scientist was smiling.
The man caught his balance and looked back at the snarling creature. Almost seven feet long and nearly four hundred pounds, it shook the walls with every lunge it made, creating more cracks on the thick, wire-reinforced glass.
“What have you two done?”
“What have we done?” The first scientist replied. “We followed protocol.”
The director opened his mouth the reply.
“To the letter. We followed the protocol to the letter.” The second scientist said, cutting him off.
The corporate man stared at the massive beast. It was almost triple the size of the dog it had once been. It glared through the window with unbridled hatred and hunger as if daring the men to approach the enclosure. It was obvious that this line of research was not going to produce the results they wanted.
“Looks like we’ve hit a dead end.” The first scientist remarked.
“Not necessarily.” The head of R&D responded.
“You’re crazy.” The first man replied. “I don’t see how we can tweak this tech to make it work.”
“Still. I see some benefits to what you’ve done.”
“I don’t know how.” The second man replied. “This was supposed to splice out all of the defective or dying genes so we could replace them with healthy copies all at once.”
“Yeah. You said just one genetic treatment instead of several. That was the purpose of the research.” The first scientist added. “That would put us ahead of our competition.”
“That's true. Convenience drives profits.” The corporate man replied. “But this may have other applications.”
"I don’t see what we could use this for.” The first scientist said. “Convenience is one thing, but you have to have results. This…” He said, waving at the snarling creature. “This is not a good result.”
“You’re thinking is too narrow.” The director said. “There are other areas that this can be used.”
“Like what?” The first man sneered. “You want us to create real monsters for Halloween? Give me a legitimate application.”
“This line of research may not help with life extension, but this genetic research could be purposed for the military. Government funding on a massive scale.” The director replied. “Just imagine your stock options.”
Both scientists stood quietly as the ramifications of their research finally sank in.
“We’ll be rich.” The first scientist replied grinning. “I like the way you think.”
The three men looked on the devolved animal that was stalking around its enclosure. Its eyes stared at the three as it paced a circle around the enclosed table.
“What do you want us to do with Cujo?” The first scientist asked.
The director walked to a nearby computer workstation and hit the return key.
“Computer. Initiate sterilization protocol.”
“Sterilization, initiating.”
A warning klaxon rang as recessed plates retracted in the test room ceiling. It stared up at the sound. The devolved killing machine bared its fangs.
“It’s a shame we have to sterilize it.” The second researcher pined.
“That’s alright. We can make more.” The director replied.
“True.” The other scientist added.
“Authorization to sterilize.” The director said to the computer.
“Authorization, confirmed.”
Hot, white flames shot out of the openings. The creature, a throwback to the ancient Amphicyon, lunged away from the blaze. It was futile. Plasma ballooned within the room, consuming the ancient predator, its final cries cut short as the fire found its lungs.
“Now. I have a meeting to return to. Gentlemen, if you’ll excuse me…” The director said as he walked out of the lab.
“I wonder what kind of military application this'll have?”
“We’re not paid to ask those questions.” The second scientist said as they stood and watched the creature twitching on the floor. Its fur had burnt away and skin was sizzling. Even knowing that the room was hermetically sealed, they would have sworn that the stench of seared flesh had somehow escaped out of the airtight space. A second blast of plasma shot through the test chamber, enveloping the corpse. It would take almost five minutes of pressurized oxygen followed by intense heat and flames to take the dead body down to a pile of char and ash.
“There. Problem solved.” The first scientist said with a smirk.
The pop of distant explosions echoed in the distance.
“What’s that, fireworks? It’s not a holiday.” He asked.
“What’s new? Everyone has a gun or shoots fireworks in Texas.” The second scientist replied with a grin.
“Isn’t that the truth.” The other man chuckled. “I wonder what they’re celebrating?”