Short Story: Humanity's Finest Mind

I opened my eyes as the sunlight crept through the blinds of my window. I looked at my desk, inspecting several papers and notes I had taken from my latest late night at the lab. God, I must have fallen asleep. How careless of me.

I sat up and wiped up some drool, slapping my face. I have to get back to work. I need to get back to work. I pick up my latest notes and examine them to see where I left off. It seems I was writing about last night's hiccup with my test subject, Brian. I finished off the last few words of my report, "While the muscles did not seem to grow, brain functions of the subject altered significantly, increasing hyperactivity. I'm close to a breakthrough in my work, and I need more time to work out the kinks in the formula." I hate writing these. Sure, I enjoyed writing reports when my tests on animals seemed fruitful. The animals all ended up with increased muscle growth, better reflexes, eyesight, and higher metabolism during my experiments with my serums. The pride I felt when I write the word "Success" was a feeling I haven't felt in months. After the Board finally approved my work for human testing and sent in some subjects from the local prison, my work has been progressing at a slower pace. Too slow for those impatient money-grubbing Board members apparently. Oh sure, it's easy to think my work isn't going anywhere when they have other scientists working on projects like, what lipstick won't be poison to people, or how we can make cereal taste better without the sugar? I'm working on altering our DNA and creating the next step in human evolution! My work could change the human race forever, making us the real Apex predator on this planet!

As I reorganize my papers, I accidentally nudge the picture I had framed on the corner of my desk. It was the picture of Elizabeth I kept with me. How long has it been since I've seen your face? This photo's black and white plat pales in comparison to the beauty you held. I've been dealing with my work for so long; the days seem to pass by faster. I sometimes forget that this photo is even on my desk, but if I'm to finish my work, I must dedicate everything I have to it.

Once I finish reorganizing my papers, I walk back into my lab. I lacked the pristine snow-white lab that most scientists had in the movies. The lab was reasonably small, about the size of the average living room for most households. Tables with different test tubes and vials of chemicals littered the area, resembling a cluttered mess. Of course, this was my lab. I knew where everything was and was the only one who needed to.

The chaos deterred curious scientists that wandered in here too, "Check how I was doing." They know how amazing my work is. They want to learn everything I've learned and then get me fired so they could swoop in, erase my name, and take all the credit. Those fools have no idea what I've created.

The Board believes I'm merely working on a harmless steroid to aid children with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. That's what they hired me for anyway. Only I saw the potential this project had. Why fix what was born broken, when I could fix all of humanity? The Board, of course, denied my requests for this project. They want some temporary pill they can sell over and over again instead of making a permanent solution. Their money-grubbing thoughts force me to work on this project in secret.

I walk over to the safe stored away in my cabinet and crack it open. Inside, several vials of my strength heightening serum prototypes displayed themselves in the rack. They had each yielded marvelous results on the animals back in the earlier stages of my work. Oh, if only I could get permission to use the more... risky prototypes on Brian. The initial human tests concluded as "Too dangerous" and "Horribly unpredictable." I tried to explain that there would be some differences from animals to humans, but they were too distracted by how negatively the subjects reacted to the different serums and recommended I discard them. Those poor excuses for scientists expected me to start back at the beginning when I was so close to my goal. They don't see the potential in my work. Once I've proven my genius, they'll all see the potential my work holds for humanity.

After checking the serums I had in storage, I checked on Brian to see how he recovered. I walked over to the glass window, peering in to see his condition. Brian was lying down on the stainless steel table, his body limp and weak from yesterday's set of tests. Fortunately, he was still alive. Having to send a request to the Board for another was not worth my time. I couldn't afford to delay any further, not when he was so close to a breakthrough. I walked inside the testing chamber to make sure everything was secure, and none of the chemicals and equipment were out of place. While examining my gear, I glance over at Brian, noticing the leather strap around his arm was loose. I pay it no mind, they were old straps, and I didn't want to send another request to the Board.

I walked back into my lab to continue my next set of tests when I found that Mathew had let himself into my lab. If it were anyone else, I would have chased them out for merely walking into my uninvited. Mathew turned around as the door to the testing chamber closed behind me, looking startled by the noise. "Oh, Victor. I thought you were in your office." His eyes drifted up and down at me. "You look terrible, is everything okay?" Of all the people in this building, Mathew was the only one I knew I could trust. We had been friends ever since our days at university. He wasn't the brightest mind, but I never expected him to be. "I'm fine; I just had a long night is all."

I walked past him, making some chemicals I had set on a Bunsen burner. I hear him whistle and turn my head towards him. "You smell like you've had several long nights this week. Have you taken a shower lately?" I roll my eyes and turn back to the chemical. Damn, left it on the flame all night. I'll need to put a fresh tube on and watch the time. Mathew continued, "Victor, I'm worried about you. You've been in your office for a week straight, I can tell you haven't slept in days, and some of the others are starting to worry about you."

"Oh, are they?" I asked, scoffing, and rolling my eyes. "They don't give a damn about me. They're all just vultures, waiting for the moment that the Board tries to shut me down so they can copy my work."

"Yeah... about that...." Mathew's voice seemed to pause, catching my attention.

"What?"

"Well.... the Board... might be planning to... cut your funding again... indefinitely," Mathew said, attempting to tiptoe around the truth. I jerk my head to look at him. "What? What did you say?" I race towards him and grab him by the collar of his white lab coat. I must have heard wrong; there's no way they did this to me.

"W-Woah, calm down, I'm just the messenger," Mathew replied, raising both hands.

I let go of him and start pacing across the lab. "How could they do this to me? Don't they see that I'm close to a breakthrough? Those impatient fucks can't give me another month?"

"Victor, you haven't made progress in over a year. You kept telling them that you were close so many times, now they just don't believe you." Mathew said as he tried to approach me. His words stopped me in my tracks. "So you're taking their side now? Do you think I'm wasting my time too?!"

"Woah, I'm not on anyone's side. I'm simply stating the-" I cut him off. "You don't know any of the facts, Mathew. None of those idiots on the Board do." Mathew took a few steps back and responded in a softer tone, "Listen, I get it. You started this project, and you want to see it through, but it's becoming an obsession for you. It's unhealthy. Look at yourself, would Elizabeth have wanted you to ruin yourself over some steroid?" I glare directly into his eyes, startling him. "What are you implying? That I'm on some grief-ridden mission to drown myself in work to forget what happened to her? My work is not as simple as that, though I don't expect you to understand."

Mathew began backing towards the door, weary as if I'd pounce on him and tear him to shreds. "I'm just the messenger, Victor. They've already sent out the order, and some men will be here soon to help you clean out the lab. Don't make this harder on yourself." Mathew then slipped out of the door, leaving me alone in my lab.

I stood there in place, my legs stood frozen, and my hands shook. This can't be, this has to be some kind of twisted joke. After so many years, so many accomplishments and setbacks, the Board just takes everything I've worked towards and chucks it in the garbage. What was I going to do? How could I just leave everything I've worked on in the hands of some greedy corporate fat-cats who could never understand its potential?

No. No, I can't let this happen. Screw the Board, Screw Mathew, Screw this whole God damn building. My work was far too important to accept this fate. If hiding my work would ruin me, then I'd show them the fruits of my labor. I run to the safe and scramble to unlock the door. I crack the door open and grab the different serums. I rush over to the testing chamber and start filling empty syringes with each of the different serums.

I would show those fools who was a failure once they see the effects my work would have on Brian. With the syringes prepared, I turn towards Brian to consider what I should do. Injecting one of them into him now would just repeat the same results as the initial tests. I could inject him with two at the same time, but who knows what effect that might have? I tested those effects with animals, but the combinations were never consistent, and Brian was a human. I never got the chance to try to at once on a person. No, I can't think of this now. Not when I'm about to lose everything. I took a moment to steel my resolve before quickly injecting each serum into Brian's veins. After the last syringe, I dropped the used needles onto the floor and rush to my lab to secure my notes.

I hear the door opening before I could grab a single sheet of paper. Two guards entered my lab with Mathew following behind them. "Alright, Victor, these guys are going to help you pack up your stuff. Don't worry; I'll make sure they're careful." Mathew said, prompting the guards to start moving towards the desks. I grit my teeth and step in front of the guards. "No, not yet. Please, Mathew, I'm telling you, just give me some more time, I'm this close." Mathew rubbed his eyes and replied, "I told you, the Board made this choice, not me. Please, don't make this harder on yourself."

"Wait, just hold on, I can show you the progress I've made. I'm in the middle of an experiment right now." I pleaded to him. I'm so close; I just need to stall them a bit longer. "Victor, it's just a steroid for muscle dystrophy, not a cure for cancer."

"No, it's more than that! My work will allow humanity to evolve past what we are now. I've been experimenting with Human DNA, and once my work is complete, the Human Race will be improved. Give me a bit more time, and I can show you." I blurt out, too desperate to hold onto the secret. He had to see my way after learning this. He was a fellow scientist and my friend; he had to at least humor me out of curiosity. Instead, I see him taken aback by my words. "Did you...? Victor, the Board rejected that idea last year. You've been working on that this entire time?" He asked, a look of disbelief on his face. "Jesus, do you know how much the board could sue you for?" His words hit me at my core. He was just like them. The man who I thought was my friend and colleague was never on my side. He would never listen to me.

I could only think of one option to stall for time. I took an exact-o-knife off my desk, yelling, "No!" before moving closer to cut Mathew and cause a distraction. Before I could make the blade connect, though, the two guards grabbed my arms and held me in place. I thrash my body around, trying to fight them off. Mathew stammers back and yells, "Lock him in his office; he's crazy!" The guards nod and drag me over to the door, all while I'm using all of my strength to fight them off. My thrashing and punching didn’t seem to deter guards as they threw me into my office. The click of the door's lock being too loud to ignore. I scramble to the door and bang on it relentlessly, shouting at the top of my lungs. "How dare you do this to me! You morons could never understand how important this is! Let me out! Let me out! I screamed, obtaining no response. The door was solid oak wood, so there was no way I could break through to stop them.

It was happening, my work was going to disappear, and there was nothing I could do about it. My eyes begin to form tears as I made my way to my desk. Without restraint, I slam my hands on my desk and throw everything off my desk. There was nothing left for me now. None of this shit mattered to me anymore. I knock over some of my filing cabinets and send paper all over the floor while breaking everything in my path. My anger led me to break anything in my office that I could break with my mediocre strength. Nothing would be safe from my rage. Nothing would stop me from letting my anger out — nothing, except what sounded like lighting creaking in the sky coming from the back on my wall.

I glance over to the wall to see what had made such a loud sound. Was that the door nob? No, wait, that's the entire lock. Somehow, laying there on the ground, was not only the lock to the door but chunks of the door that still held onto the screws. I turn my head to the door, seeing a hole where the doorknob and lock once was. How the hell did that happen? Did one of those guards do something? I slowly approach the door, flinching at the sound of cracking glass beneath my feet. I look down, only to see that I had stepped on the picture frame holding my wife's photo.

I glance back up and continue walking to the door until I carefully crack it open. Right at my feet sat the metal safe from the cabinet. One side had a massive dent in it, far too big to be some accident. I look out at the rest of my lab to assess what had happened. Holy Hell. The entire lab had been destroyed. The tables had broken into pieces, and glass littered the floor. My notes had either been torn up or scattered across the floor. Even the lights had been shattered, leaving only minimal sunlight to shine through the windows. I fix my gaze onto the real horrors littered across the lab. Both guards laid across the ground, one with his head cracked open. The other guard had a hole through his chest. Mathew, little old Mathew, had his head separated from his body entirely.

A snarl drew my attention towards an open window. I jumped back and braced myself against the door from the shock of seeing such a horror. Its arms and legs were about 5 feet long each. Its skin was a dark grey and hairless, yet was covered in deformed muscles. The moment I glanced into the creature's eyes, I could feel my heart stop. Those piercing white eyes gave a stare that pierced my soul. I stood in place, too scared to try to do anything. What was this thing? What was it doing there? Wait, is that Brian? Before I could think about those answers, the creature jumped out the window, sprinting away from the building. I stood still a few moments longer to ensure it was gone.

Once I was sure it had left, I ran over to the testing chamber. The table had been thrown onto its side. The leather one of the leather straps had been ripped in half. Brian was gone. This... this is.... incredible!

At last, my work had born fruit! Carnage on this level could never be done by an average human this quickly, especially someone like Brian. While he didn't seem intelligent, I felt as though Brian knew who I was, possibly sparing me out of some primitive loyalty to one's creator. So many new questions, and all for me to find and discover. I let out a burst on laugher, overwhelmed with the pride I had felt years ago. I was right; my work has finally made progress! I sprint over to the window, catching a glimpse of Brian running through the forest before disappearing into the wall of trees.

I needed to hurry and keep going. After packing a bag filled with paper, notes, syringes, and other supplies that hadn't crumbled under the carnage, I ran to follow my test subject into the woods, passing over the bodies. I couldn't think of them now; my work was only just beginning.