The Soulless IV (665 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 2 on 17 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Anthony Locascio (View user info) at 2005-04-04 09:58:18 EDT
Installment I http://www.ubersite.com/m/62497
Installment II http://www.ubersite.com/m/62652
Installment III http://www.ubersite.com/m/63199
Made this one a little shorter to entice the interest of others.
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"I warned you didn't I?"
Bosell peered up at Kerr with an amused look on his face. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about, Liam," he said mockingly. "Surely you're not referring to some ethnic joke I might have made while wiping myself in the bathroom?"
"Funny. We'll see how funny you think it is when I fill that monstrosity you're cooking up with holes."
Bosell leaned back in his chair, not threatened in the least. He smirked at the fuming former SAS trooper. That pissed him off even more.
"What the hell is the matter with you, Bosell?"
"Again, I'm not sure what you're referring to. Perhaps you could bring me up to speed on the conversation?"
"The CA series, for chrissake? The CA series? The body armor you ordered isn't even in yet. We can't handle it. I told you what was going to happen, and you knew I was serious. What I can't understand is why you would bait me, force my hand. You didn't think I was kidding, did you?"
"Why not at all," Bosell said, folding his hands over his stomach. "I was quite certain you were serious."
"Then why would you jeopardize all that you worked for? We can't handle the CA series, probably couldn't with double the men."
Bosell waved a hand dismissively. "It doesn't matter. The room burning facilities you asked for have been installed. No matter what happens, this thing will be but only the flip of a switch away from death. I intend to observe it for twenty-four hours at a minimum before any contact. If it goes insane like the others, it gets burned. If it stands there like a deaf mute, it gets burned. And if it does either of those things, I'll resign my position and quit."
Kerr was not a man who was easily surprised, and Bosell had managed to do so yet again with his last sentence. "You're bullshitting me. You'd rather die than quit."
Bosell shrugged. "Yes, as long as there is work to do. The work is finished. The genes are finished. Quadias has been chasing his tail for the last six weeks checking alleles, but what he doesn't know is I've already done that."
Bosell flipped open his laptop and turned it to face Kerr. A strand of DNA was being reviewed yet again by the supercomputer cluster and relayed to his notebook. Kerr noted the window near the top of the screen:
ERRORS: 0
"This is the third time I have run this simulation. I've done the same thing for the protein synthesis, the neurological development, everything down to the bifurcation in the zygote phase. Nothing. The specimen is perfect, or at least as perfect as I've been able to divine. If this doesn't work, then it's back to the drawing board. Apparently, there's some aspect of cloning that is being missed. It will take another ten years of research to find it, maybe more, time I don't have. I'll spend my time working on it through whatever private funds I can raise, but this project will be at a close."
Kerr stood impassively, trying to hide his surprise. For the doctor to admit he was stymied was no small thing. He finally broke the silence. "I'll go get my men ready for the release. How long until it's ready?"
"Forty-one minutes," Bosell replied. He dipped into his desk drawer and came up with a bottle of anejo tequila, pouring off a few fingers into the dirty glass on his desk. He offered the bottle to Kerr, who shook his head in the negative. Bosell hoisted the tumbler into the air. "To immortality, or obscurity. Whichever comes first," He downed the liquid and poured another. "You'd better get going, Liam. Obscurity is hard to outrun. Easier if you keep moving." He threw back the glass yet again. Kerr turned and left, hearing the clink of the bottle and glass yet again and realizing that he was hearing the sound of defeat.
User Reviews
Submitted by BlazinBull (user info) at 2008-01-31 10:17:31 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Viper_04 (user info) at 2005-11-11 07:55:42 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Beep Beep!
Submitted by Brdn_Nkd (user info) at 2005-11-09 08:43:03 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by MyNameIsTim (user info) at 2005-05-02 14:45:24 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
well its official...i'm not doing work anymore today, i'm goign to read the fuck out of this series and love it!
Submitted by Jungle_Jimanee (user info) at 2005-04-12 11:36:11 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2005-04-12 10:28:49 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Good, but I'm confused with timelines. I would think that each installment takes place almost immediately after the previous one, but this one implies that it's been weeks since the last one, and that confuses me. I think you need to be more clear with the amount of time that's been passing, because I think the whole scientific process should be a lengthy one, you know? It's like, all of the sudden, the research is all done? Nowhere to go?
Submitted by tlozoot (user info) at 2005-04-06 16:32:37 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I guess when you read a novel, you can see that you have 200 pages left or whatever. Obviously I can't tell where the story is going or how much more you intend to write. It would be pretty neat if you finished it though.
Submitted by nrduncan (user info) at 2005-04-06 13:38:48 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by domenad (user info) at 2005-04-04 21:36:35 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Of course it is, tlozoot. Why not?
Submitted by tlozoot (user info) at 2005-04-04 21:33:23 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Err... is this really going to be a full length novel?
Submitted by Degreeless_Capibara (user info) at 2005-04-04 21:14:25 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Screw the others.
Submitted by AwesomeJohnson (user info) at 2005-04-04 16:18:52 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
http://www.ubersite.com/cgi-bin/message_get.cgi?user_id=4432
Submitted by Dannie (user info) at 2005-04-04 13:58:32 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by munkeypants (user info) at 2005-04-04 13:03:30 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by knucklesnelson (user info) at 2005-04-04 10:17:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by darko (user info) at 2005-04-04 10:04:11 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Keep on keepin' on.
Submitted by BLITZKREIG_BOB (user info) at 2005-04-04 10:03:44 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
"protein synthesis, neurological development, bifurcation, zygote"
Shucks. Them's some fancy words.