The Beginning of a New End

Unlock the Mind, And the Body Will Follow, a new theory of human advancement. The process of chemically manipulating the brain, to force the body into a wide range of programmable evolutions. This was one goal of an up-and-coming genetics company, set on unlocking the secrets of the human mind and body; at any cost. Next Horizon believed that the ability to push science further, would be unlocked using the minds of promising young scientists. The lives of two scientists merged upon arriving for the first time, at the multi-million-dollar main campus. The first speech given to the group, quoted the words of its founder. “Technology has led to the rise and fall of great nations. Great nations have great armies run by great leaders, who wage great battles. The outcome of those great battles is often decided by who has the greater technology. So, he who controls the technology runs the world. If this is true, each of you now has the opportunity to rule the world.”

The newest recruits were the nation’s top scientists, each of them was handpicked and placed into testing cells, to provide proof of an extensive list of their theories. Within the first year, the labs scientists gained the attention of many heads of government, and military leaders. If this work were proven to be fact, they wanted to be the first to get their hands on the promising new breakthroughs. After providing proof of concept, on a number of their projects, this small startup received a limitless budget and access to anything they asked, overnight, through an unknown investor. Most of the work performed by the cell that two promising young scientists were assigned, proved that the brain was in fact programmable. Small breakthroughs in chemical enhancements, rocketed the careers of the two scientists. As the projects quickly progressed, the codes and ethics that normally governed scientific processes were removed. After years of doing whatever was required to rise to authority, the two gained the approval to branch off and form a new team in order further their own venture.

They believed that their work showed that instead of creating new chemical connections, the body’s natural chemicals could be strengthened to form a base for unlimited controllable mutations. This was the beginning of Deep Thought and what would become the Enhanced Versatile Endorphins project (aka Project EVE). Dr. Foster and Dr. Stovall who were trained in the ruthless tactics of Next Horizon, often allowed their mentor’s sketchy and often reckless practices, to seep into their state-of-the-art project. The members of the newly formed team; eager to make a name for themselves, quickly rushed into human testing, foregoing the simplest steps in the scientific process. Many of the test subjects died immediately, those who survived the shock of the initial Injection process, never lasted more than a few hours. Except for one, Angelica Hall.

A promising intern, working with Deep Thought’s endorphins lab. She was recruited to the flagship project one year into the initial testing. After transferring to the program and quickly rising to the top of the team, Dr. Foster gave her the nickname Angel. Saying that she was always there to keep many of the project’s tests on track, also for all that she did to shield him from many other top scientists, who had begun to doubt his work. She worked side by side with Dr. Foster to create a new first stage Injection. The push for a new round of testing began to ramp up again. As the months slowly rolled by, the success that they had promised, was nowhere in sight. It seemed that the only thing they were producing was bodies. With support for the program fading, the project was forced to make numerous cutbacks. With their backs against the wall, they knew that if they couldn’t start to show some progress, the EVE project would be shut down. Dr. Foster and Angelica went into the lab yet again. If the program was going to make progress, they had to figure out how to control the chemical metamorphosis. They needed what Foster called a steroid shot on steroids, an instant burst of strength to stabilize test subjects, as the initial Injection taxed their bodies beyond survivable limits.

Using her years of experience from the endorphin’s lab, the pair quickly engineered three prototypes. Unfortunately, the latest round of cutbacks had put a hold on testing for the moment. As they waited for funds, the duo decided to begin the process of combining the two Injections into one hybrid Injection. The rest of the team had been disbanded, leaving only them and Dr. Stovall, who was now spending increasingly more time out of the lab, lobbying for any funds available to keep the program running. With everyone gone, the two were forced to work long hours. For two months the pair worked continuously, rarely leaving the lab. On the final night in the lab, before they were to hear from Dr. Stovall, work continued well into the night, as they spoke like they had many times before. This work would be a precursor to a new generation of medicine and unlock limitless new possibilities. The labs phone rang out. They knew that it could only be one person, Dr. Stovall. This had to be the good news that they had been waiting on. Angel continued work as Dr. Foster took the call. The short call from his colleague, informed him that none of the investors were willing to allocate anymore funds once this contract was over, if they couldn’t show substantial proof of progress. Dr. Foster’s demeanor quickly changed, his optimistic tone was now gone, as he broke the news to his assistant. The hidden worry and anxiety that had been building up was suddenly unleashed. He screamed out, “these penny-pinching imbeciles are stealing away everything that I have worked for.” It angered him, that he would never be able to see the completion of his life’s works . Angelica had always been able to joke with Dr. Foster to keep his mind on the work, but tonight Dr. Foster had all but given up. He angrily swiped his arm across the lab’s table, knocking the empty glass beakers and test tubes to the ground. He grabbed up a large stack of papers and threw them into the air. They all fell to the ground like pieces of confetti, as he stormed from the lab. This was the first time she had ever seen Foster like this. Fearing that he had given up on all the things that they had worked so hard for, she sat in the lab, pondering what she could do to bring back the spark that he had at one time shown. She knew that it was only a matter of time before they figured out the sequencing for the Injection.

Dr. Foster fled to the solitude of his office to begin clearing out his things. As he stood at the door of his office, he looked out upon shelf after shelf of hand-written notes and procedures. He thought back on the pride that he felt, as they authored the books containing the theories that he and his colleague had proven. It was a catalog of all the arduous work which had allowed them to advance the project as far as they had. He continued to glance around the room, till he came to the shelf that sat directly behind his desk. This one shelf was empty, aside for a large black leather book, which sat upright in a silver stand. The untitled black cover sat staring over the doctors’ shoulder for years. In it were the names of all the test subjects and scientists who had died on his projects ,throughout his career. Beside it, a lone shot glass and two large bottles of vodka, given to him when he became Lead Scientist with Next Horizon. One bottle still sat unopened, awaiting the successful completion of the project. The other had been refilled time and time again, as he had used it to toast all those who had given their lives to further his projects. He took the four items from the shelf and laid them out on the desk in front of him. Before sitting down, he filled the glass and held it up in the air. Saying, “here’s to you, may your sacrifices not be in vain,” before quickly downing the glass. With the glass refilled, he thought on how many times he’d given that toast. Now seated at the desk, he thumbed his way through the endless pages of the heavy book, recounting the sounds and images that had haunted him over the years. Lost in thought, he was pulled back by the sounds of crashing glass and metal trays striking the hard-tiled floors of the laboratory. Thinking that his partner was just letting off a little stress, he continued to flip the pages that were now destined to be the only results from his decades of work. Suddenly, the buildings lights began to flicker, and the doctor intuitively knew exactly what was going on. In a rush to get up from his desk, he dropped the book, knocking over the shot glass. The book fell to the desk with a loud thud, falling open revealing the last page of names. This page was full except for one empty line.

-Back in the lab-

As the Dr. sat at his desk, Angelica paced around the lab, unwilling to simply give up. Her anger at the fact that they were even thinking of quoting, continued to build. There were no more test subjects, and just enough of the mix for one last Injection. As clear thought gave way to blind rage, she locked the labs doors. Angelica then walked over to prime the main Injection nozzle. The computer ran through its startup sequence, as the assistant walked away. With an empty syringe in one hand, she stood at the door of the cryogenic freezer, which housed the untested stabilizers. Without a second thought, Angelica removed the stabilizer, filled the syringe, and injected it deep into her veins.

Not knowing what would happen, the rage subsided, and was quickly replaced by fear. Tears began to fall from her eyes, as the thought of what she had done began to catch up to her. A crippling pain shot down her spine as the stabilizer slowly paralyzed her body. She tried to cry out for help, but her vocal cords had already been frozen by the flow of serum through her bloodstream. Staggering back towards the machine, the pain became dizzying. Now on the verge of blacking out, she knew that she had to make it back, to start the Injection. If not, her internal organs would slowly shut down one by one and she would die alone, on the cold hard floor. Back to the chair, she fell to the side, crashing into a stainless-steel cart, her left arm was now paralyzed, and her legs stiffened and became useless. The glass containers that sat atop of the cart, now covered the ground with sharp glass shards that dug deep into her arms. As she pulled herself to the base of the Injection seat, leaving behind a trail of blood smeared tiles. Now a dark circle began to envelope the room. Every beat of her heart, pushed the toxin deeper into her system, causing the pain to grow more intense as she struggled to pull herself up into the chair. The brave young scientist was at the end of her short journey. The lights began to flicker as the machine charged and the nozzles rolled into place. At that moment, her right arm went numb, and her limp body fell back down to the floor. All she could do now was sit there and wait for her body to shut down. Foster ran from his office, to turn on the backup generator. Knowing that if the machine lost power during the Injection, his partner would be lost. The lights continued to surge as he raced down the hall to turn on the Injections’ Sequence Charging Generator. His attention now turned back to the young scientist as thoughts of what she had done filled his mind.

Dr. Foster made his way back to the lab and looked through the large glass door. The young scientist was lying unconscious, at the foot of the charging Injection chair. He tried to pull open the doors to the lab, but they wouldn’t budge. If she weren’t in the chair when it reached one hundred percent, there would be no way to save her. Unable to force his way through the large glass doors. Dr. Foster grabbed the fire extinguisher from the wall and began to try to break his way through the thick blast proof glass. As he swung the heavy extinguisher, he could see the toppled cart and the trail of blood on the floor. The glass door finally gave way and Foster ran through. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. The bits of broken glass shined like diamonds, as they showered the ground, reflecting the light of the dimly lit lab. As he made his way to his downed partner, he thought of all the test subjects who had passed in this lab, and others like it. With his partners’ limp body now at his feet, Foster hoped that she wouldn’t be the newest addition to his black book. He had to save her, there was no way he was going to let her life end this way. Dr. Foster lifted her up into the seat and hit the switch to engage the sequencing nozzle.

Dr. Foster hoped that the boost from the Injection would be enough of a shock, to stimulate her lifeless body. Angel’s veins bulged , as the chairs Injection heads forced the mixture into her system, with no affect. The stabilizer hadn’t worked, her body was too weak to continue. Foster continued to watch the monitor, which showed that her body was shutting down. As the last beat of Angel’s failing heart registered on the equipment, Foster ran to the cryogenic freezer and retrieved another vial of the stabilizer, and the hybrid mixture they had been working on. Grabbing a syringe, he mixed the two as he ran frantically back to the machine. The motions that he took now were out of pure desperation. If there was going to be any hope of reviving her, Dr. Foster had to act immediately. Unable to wait any longer, he took one last look into the distant stare that had overtaken the sparkle, which had always gleamed in her eyes. He slammed the needle down, deep into her chest. With the empty syringe in his hand, he stood there and waited for any sign that it was working. The longer he stood the deeper his heart sank. He couldn’t help but to feel that this was all his fault. His eyes stayed fixed on the monitor, as the program cycled down. Dr Foster held her hand; crying, as he waited to see even the smallest sign of life. The seconds turned to minutes, and the minutes into hours. With nothing more he could do, Foster removed his long white lab coat and placed it over her cold body. With yet another name to add to his long ledger of innocent victims; the doctor walked through the lab, and out the busted frame of the glass door which once bore his name. The empty halls now bore an emptiness that he had never felt in all his years in the project, as he walked back to his office. On the way to his desk, he grabbed a framed picture from the wall, which showed of all the projects’ scientists; taken shortly after Angelica’s arrival. Now the only comfort he would find was at the bottom of glass after glass of the strong alcohol. Visions of his past work now began to torment him. He once saw the years of death that plagued his work, as merely steps in the scientific process. Now he could see all the innocent lives devoured by the project’s power-hungry egos. He came face to face with the feeling, that he had allowed himself to be set in the passenger seat as his colleague drove a company. Steering it in the direction of deepening their pockets and gaining control, by any means necessary. Somewhere over the years, he’d become a monster. He now vowed never to let the company push him to take another life. With the bottle now empty, he sat back in his chair and passed out.

When he awoke the next morning, he pulled himself from his seat, to begin the grim task of dealing with his departed friend; and to shut down the lab one last time. This project was all he’d known for more than a decade. His life’s work was coming to an end; and to top it off, he had lost one of the only people that he truly called friend. After fighting so hard to start this company, he knew that he would have to lay his dreams aside, to be shuffled into a new project. He made the walk from his office to the lab as he’d done many times before, this time felt different, as it was possibly for the last time. Seeing the broken glass from the lab’s door, he began to re-live the moments from the night before. Dr. Foster walked the path that his partner had taken, noticing the bottles and tools that she must have knocked over, as she struggled to make her way to the Injection station. He saw the broken glass that laid beside the toppled cart and the dried blood that stained the white tile floor. When he arrived at the Injection station, something was wrong; Angelica was gone.

Had Dr. Stovall returned and removed her? Confused, he turned to look back across the room. Suddenly, the sound of a metal tool hitting the floor and the rattle of empty glass vials, broke the uneasy silence. Cautiously he walked over to investigate the noise, when he saw someone hiding behind a small rolling cart. Come from back there he yelled, as he slowly made his way to the trespasser. He could now see the top of the intruders’ head, as he continued to inch his way closer. Dr. Foster pushed the cart away, to his surprise, it was Angel. At first the doctor was overwhelmed with excitement. Then he saw the look of terror that covered her face, as she was seated, shivering on the cold floor. Her back pressed firmly against the wall; her knees were pulled tightly against her chest with one hand. The other trembled as she held a firm grasp of a razor-sharp scalpel. The white coat that covered her lifeless body the night before, now laid crumpled at her feet. Foster called her name, but her eyes continually scanned the room. Again, and again he called her name, without any response. He wanted to console her, but held back, afraid of startling her.

Instead, he turned away to retrieve a blanket. With slow and deliberate steps, he calmly made his way back to her. Just steps away, the sound of the glass that covered the floor, snapping beneath his foot, broke the trance like gaze that had held her eyes fixed. Her face began to relax as she looked up at Foster. The fearful look had fallen away, giving way to a flood of tears. Her eyes rapidly shifted, looking down at her blood covered clothing, then at the scalpel in her hand. Everything is going to be okay he said, as he cautiously stepped toward her. The blade fell from her hand; as she stretched out her arms to him, as if begging for help. Dr. Foster Continued to speak to her as he wrapped the warm blanket around her shoulders. She sat for a moment before he lifted the young scientist up. He then carried, her to a bench next to one of the labs faucets. The sound of the warm water flowing into the large basin caused her to jump, as Foster began to wipe away the dried blood from Angelica’s face. She remained silent, obviously, traumatized by the events of the previous night.

Four days passed, and the doctor stood at Angels’ side day and night. She hadn’t slept since the morning that Foster found her in the lab; and only ate when Dr. Foster begged her to. However, she continued to heal and gain strength. It was as if she were somehow being charged. After running a battery of test, including a complete system check, neural network scans, tissue scans and blood work, he read through the long list of results. Dr. Foster could already see that her brain’s ability to receive and process information had increased exponentially. The normal flickering of nerve impulses had disappeared, now every area of Angelica’s brain glowed, like someone had turned on a switch. All her internal organs had been taxed beyond repair, but the tests showed that they were stronger than before. Her hearing was off the charts, her eyes were able to process normally undetectable wavelengths of light; and although Angelica still felt weak, the test showed that her body’s ability to regenerate muscle and tissue was highly accelerated. The cuts and scratches on her face and arms were all completely healed. This young woman that laid dead just days before was now healthier than ever, but the most shocking result from the extensive line of test, was that Angelica was two months pregnant.