Prelude
“We are here to begin a revolutionary scientific exercise in brain capacity and human fulfillment,” Dr. Jungian opened. He was a sour man with a dark exterior. He rarely seemed to smile unless he was talking about science, and even then, his smile seemed distant. He stood in the center of the containment center on a lighted podium surrounded by 50 of the brightest, theoretical minds of the 21st century and she was one of them.
They were all eager to work with the great Dr. Chu Jungian. He had selected all of them from their collegiate records and fields of study. She majored in Biological Medicine but had been selected due to her essay on Human Inclinations and Theoretical Biology.
Dr. Jungian had been the most advanced scientist of the times having found the cure for two forms of stage 3 cancers. The man was a living legend, “It is said that humans only use a small percentage of their brain capacity. That those who are considered geniuses are barely touching 10%. I am happy to say that from this moment forward, we will discover what we humans are truly capable of.”
All the scientists around the room applauded even though many of them weren’t sure what exactly it was Dr. Jungian was referring to. He’d always been unusually vague but this class of experiments were kept under tight scrutiny. All the scientists knew were that they were to take live volunteers and measure their brain capacity levels, then using Dr. Jungian’s inventive new methods see if they could extend the capacity levels and what they might find.
She knew how important Dr. Jungian’s work was. She had read all of his novels on the human brain, psychology vs. psychosis, and abandoning fundamental science to reach incredible breakthroughs. She was ecstatic to learn she had been selected to join Dr. Jungian in his experimental project considering she was only 2 years into her studies at FSU but she had been at the top of her classes in the past two years and had earned a full 4 year scholarship. She knew she was qualified. She just didn’t know what for.
After months of studies; always testing on the weak, the poor, the elderly, immigrants, criminals, inmates, even children. No one ever telling them what their purpose was or what it would lead to, she still wasn’t sure what all her hard work was for. And now, Dr. Jungian is dead. The lab shut down, all of the scientists released without warning or explanation. The leftover questions gnawed at her day and night. What happened to the test subjects? What had we done? Was it that moral gray area between right, wrong and scientific breakthroughs? Until she had to find her answers.
Dr. Jungian lived in an old house outside of Spencerport. She traveled the few hours to get there to find the house abandoned and in disrepair. The floor noisily creaked with the nuisance of her arrival. It was hardly the place the most learned and brilliant scientific mind should rest. Trash littered the floors, along with dusted photographs and old letters.
Left on the kitchen table was a half-eaten plate of crusted salmon tuna, corn, and lettuce that a horde of flies surrounded. It smelled of amber and rust as if the place had recently been set on fire. She traveled to the basement.
There, the stairs met her with more trash, scattered books and broken lights. As she descended them, she saw Dr. Jungian’s desk in a corner, overturned with his notes scattered around it. There was an old wood fireplace in the wall adjacent to his desk that his old notebook laid charred on top of the logs. She reached for it, much of the papers were burned to ash and it was still warm.
She flipped through the notebook but could only find a few pages left that she could read, and those were mostly charred as well. She could only make out half the sentences on each sheet of paper. But there was one, that was still mostly intact:
17 June 2021
The experiments are providing drastically different rest
But the findings are tremendously innovative and dange
The limits of brain capacity have been expanded but the
not as common as one would have expected. They we
and instead they got something better. Something fa
they were hoping for.
21 June 2021
The experiments are advancing their brain capacity
some have reached beyond 20% but they are not th
expected. They are beyond normal. Some would e
mutations. They want to use them although I d
what for.
25 June 2021
It’s become clear the experiments have gone
cannot be controlled. Many of them had
killed. The others are advancing beyo
I’m running out of subjects to use an
is running out of excuses to send m
I’ll have to start testing on my scien
if they have the same results.
8 July 2021
Transfer of brain capacity can b
through pregnancy. My studen
helpful.
27 July 2021
They are going to kill them
wonderful creations. We h
beyond our wildest imagin
wish to destroy them. Or w
enslave them for profit. I c
anything more disgusting
their gifts for profit, to kee
from the world. This is the great
all of mankind. I am creator of t
mankind. I will be God of this w
But not if they stop them. Not if
way.
10 August 2021
I’ve decided to experiment on m
The results have been frighteni
very wrong with me and I don
stop it. They are coming for m
coming for all of my children.
I don’t think I’ll live long eno
fruition of my work. I can on
find a way to sur
She stood there frozen, thinking of all of what she had read. What had she helped him create? Mutants? And who are ‘they’? Who is trying to destroy his ‘children’? This can’t be true. This can’t be Dr. Jungian. This has to be a joke or a story of some sort.
It was then that she really took notice of Dr. Jungian’s home. The scattered letters, the broken lights, the overturned table, the charred notes, the fireplace that was still warm. There was a struggle here. And someone who clearly didn’t want this notebook found.
It was still rattling in her shaking hands when the floor began to noisily creak again. She turned around suddenly and was greeted by a man who’s face she didn’t recognize.
“Hello Dr. James,” His eyes were stern, his expression unmoved by her unwelcome presence. He stood over 6 ft tall, dressed in a strange protective body suit.
“Who are you?” Dr. James asked, her voice breaking on every word. The man did not respond. His eyes following her every step, prepared to move in on her if she gave him the slightest notion of defiance.
“I need you to come with me,” his words were cold, demanding.
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” Dr. James said as she noticed a bookcase to her right, she leaped for it and launched it in his path as she darted for the stairway, “Help! Someone help me!” She screamed as she made it near the top of the stairs before he caught up to her.
He grabbed her by the shoulders and locked his hand over her mouth. She bit him hard and burst through the basement door. The floor noisily rattled underneath her trembling feet as she hurried to make it back to her car.
Dr. James neared the door, still feeling his presence behind her, she grabbed a chair laying on the ground and went to swing it at him, but as she turned she didn’t see anyone. Dr. James dropped the chair and went to leave and as soon as she turned, he appeared again in front of her. Dr. James fell back to the ground in a panic.
“Who are you?” she yelled.
“I am The Collector,” he said as he reached out to grab her. Dr. James noticed a symbol in the middle of his hand. It was a very unusual marking, one she didn’t recognize and suddenly it began to glow as his hand came closer.
Everything went dark before she could scream.
