The Soulless III (688 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 2 on 14 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Anthony Locascio (View user info) at 2005-04-01 13:07:13 EST
Installment I http://www.ubersite.com/m/62497
Installment II http://www.ubersite.com/m/62652
Even that cowardly rat Quadias had dared to question the direction of the experiments.
"I'm just saying that we're not getting anything done by pushing the envelope on this. We've got to identify the problem and fix it," he had pleaded. Bosell had been nearly overcome with rage.
"You're saying we quit? Is that it, Jeremiah? We quit?"
Quadias had stiffened at the remark. "You listen to me, doctor, and listen well. I'd sooner die than let research this brilliant come to a halt, and you know damn well how serious I am. Enough people have been killed on this project for you to know that I mean that. I'm not as smart as you, but I know the future when it's rolling this way, and I know that you're riding that wave. But the solution to this problem is so damn obvious you couldn't miss it. We need to sit down with the past prototypes and go through every allele, right down to the god damn base pair. We need to be looking at the protein synthesis to check for anomalies. We have to grow four or five prototypes from scratch and check neurological development. The answer lies there, not just insert more and more series until the thing is a spaghetti-pile of genes we can't unravel anymore.
"But I'm not telling you anything you don't know. I know you're aware of these problems. What I don't know is why you aren't doing it."
Bosell looked back at Quadias. His initial rage had passed. He was now coolly analyzing the assistant researcher, wondering if he was a threat that needed to be eliminated. He stroked his chin for a few moments, then decided it was worth it to do a little explaining.
"Doctor Quadias," he said quietly. "You know I've had people running analyses on the dead prototypes from the moment they died. Yes, I agree with you, but we've got to keep pushing ahead regardless. Going through all of the alleles will take six months, probably longer. It will take longer to find what the problem is, whether it's at the cellular level or deeper. In the meantime, no work will be getting done. No more results will be rolling in, no data, no reports to send to Joshua and the committee.
"Do you know what six months of no results will mean? It will mean we're shut down, Jeremy. We're done. We're not scientists, Jeremy. We're whores, and a whore is only useful if she puts out. We stop putting out, we lose our usefulness. Period. At the very least, I have data of complete, living prototypes that have assimilated each of the experimental series. That's proof of progress. It will keep us alive until we figure out what's wrong,"
"We're not going to be alive at all if these things get any more unmanageable," Quadias sighed.
"You just said you'd die to preserve this type of research," Bosell snapped. "Now you get to put it to the test. I'm telling you right now - any delays, we're done. This whole lab, everything, they'll shelve it all. And guess what? They own it now. No one will ever see it. I couldn't keep working if I wanted to. My research, my files, my notes, they own the dot on every 'I' and the cross on every 't'. They own the equipment, they own the lab, and they own the prototypes. We quit now, this research gets buried. Probably forever. You want to keep it alive? Find out why these things are going batshit. You want out, you got it. Take your pick - a chance at immortality, or a lifetime of obscurity?"
The two doctors stared at each other for several moments. Quadias huffed a sigh. He was no fan of drama, but privately acknowledged the truth of the words. "I'll get back to the sequencer." Bosell nodded arrogantly and watched him go. Quadias was useful and intelligent, but not irreplaceable. If the time came, he could be dealt with.
He went back into the office and shut the door. There was little privacy in the maze of glassed in offices, but it was quieter in there at least. He sat down at his desk and opened the drawer to get the tape, the same one that Joshua had handed him when this whole debacle had started. It made him feel good to hold it, to handle it. He'd digitized the contents years ago and kept several backups on a tape drive, but this one was the original. He would turn it slowly in his right hand as he leaned back in his chair to think, a makeshift version of meditation balls. It relaxed him to know the contents of the tape, to know that what was on it was proof of his power over the lives of those around him. He leaned forward, exhaling, drawing courage up from inside himself.
It doesn't matter, he thought to himself. If I die, if they all die, it doesn't matter. It's way overdue.
He flipped his laptop open to bring up the prototyping database.
Specimen 61
HC 4744 ENABLED
HC3135 ENABLED
HC5135 DISABLED
CA6667 DISABLED
CA1212 DISABLED
CA9000 DISABLED
He tripped lightly back to what Kerr had threatened after the last prototype. He'd ordered the body armor and additional men the security chief had demanded. The gas jets for full room burning had been installed under the metal grate floor two days ago - numerous switches mounted in the three observation chambers (now carefully walled with reinforced bulletproof glass) would send jets of chemical fire eight feet into the air of the specimen room, heating it to two thousand degrees within three seconds. Kerr would hardly have any reason to complain. The new procedures called for several hours of observation before any human interaction.
"Hell with it," Bosell said to the empty room. He began punching buttons on the laptop. When he was done, the screen had changed.
>HC 4744 ENABLED
>HC3135 ENABLED
>HC5135 ENABLED
>CA6667 ENABLED
>CA1212 ENABLED
>CA9000 ENABLED
>Begin transcription?
>Y/N?
He stared for several moments. The CA series. Combat and Aggression. The genetic markers that would transform the prototype into a true living weapon. No one, not Quadias, not Kerr, not even Joshua, would have suspected the doctor of trying to install these, the most dangerous, the most perfect of his work.
"Guess you guys were wrong. Progress waits for no one," Bosell breathed silently. He punched the keyboard.
>Y
>Transcribing.....0 % complete
The doctor leaned sideways to watch the rush of bubbles into the cryostat tank as the retroviruses were injected. The pale husk of the next prototype did not move, would not move as billions of the tiny particles rewrote its genetic structure from the ground level. When they thawed it out in a week, it would be more deadly than the predators that had evolved through eons of practicing the art of killing. It would be a living machine, born and bred from an embryonic stage right through to its marvelous birth into adulthood with only one purpose - to kill the enemy.
>Transcribing....1% complete
Bosell leaned back in his chair. The transcription process would take time. But time was in good supply. He was a patient man.
User Reviews
Submitted by BlazinBull (user info) at 2008-01-31 10:17:38 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Viper_04 (user info) at 2005-11-11 07:52:03 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Woooooooohoooooooo!
Submitted by Brdn_Nkd (user info) at 2005-11-09 08:40:01 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by MyNameIsTim (user info) at 2005-05-02 14:41:48 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
fucking whore motherbitchcuntlicker...why havn't i read this before?
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2005-04-12 10:23:35 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Ooooohoooo. I'm all a-tingle!
I like how you write your lead character as a jackass, yet still keep him interesting.
Submitted by nrduncan (user info) at 2005-04-06 13:36:05 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Dannie (user info) at 2005-04-04 13:56:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by tlozoot (user info) at 2005-04-03 00:29:20 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Whoah.
Submitted by Judoka (user info) at 2005-04-01 17:52:34 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Degreeless_Capibara (user info) at 2005-04-01 17:26:39 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Beautiful.
Submitted by munkeypants (user info) at 2005-04-01 15:41:11 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Jack_McCallum (user info) at 2005-04-01 13:29:05 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Jesus, Bob-o, a story is like a house. The better the foundation, the stronger the story.
Keep 'em comin'!
Submitted by BLITZKREIG_BOB (user info) at 2005-04-01 13:14:13 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
When does the action start?
Submitted by professorfuckface (user info) at 2005-04-01 13:11:44 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
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