Micheal Grey POV:
I walked out of the auditorium and pranced up the stairs. It felt really good getting that load off my chest. I should give Ben a raise. I reached my office and plunged myself onto the cushioned mattress that was laying on the southern wall. I was tired from the session, so I gifted myself a thirty-minute nap. I pulled the satin sleep mask over my eyes and rested in my bed. Darkness descended over me, isolating me from the worl--*Ring* *Ring*
God damn it.
I pulled the damn eye-cover thing out of my face and looked at my phone. The holographic screen made a red alert under the number forty.
The research division! I quickly jumped out of bed and raced to the elevator right outside my office. I smashed the button forty so many times that I must have broken it at some point. Nevertheless, the elevator moved down. The seconds seemed so damn long as I was only able to stare at myself in the metallic reflection.
*Ding*
The doors opened and out popped the number forty. I dashed outside and ran around the corridor until I reached a sign that clearly said 'R&D department'. I ran straight past it. I ran a couple more feet until a scientist named Dr. Keindrich called out to me. "Mr. Grey! The new drug is already in clinical trials, sir!" He pointed to the right, gesturing me to follow suit as we both rushed to the giant window. I finally calmed down when I saw that the test subject had still not gone through any change.
I asked the myriad of scientists beside me, "What is the situation so far?"
All of the scientists answered at once:
"Mr. Grey, Mr. Grey!...."
"The trial patient is ....."
"He is still being tested for any prior...."
"He might just have a chance! if we..."
"No, no. He might not have the co..."
I looked at all of them. "One at a fucking time, please!" I continued, "What're you? A bunch of fucking children?" All of them shut their mouths. Dr. Keindrich summarized what was happening. The patient had still not gone through the test, and he was waiting for the pill to be prepared. The patient was in a white t-shirt and white pants. He was tall in stature and had a decent physique. his eyes were a vivid pink. he was frightened. I could tell. His fingers were rubbing each other, his eyes were averting the gaze of all the scientists, and kept cracking his knuckles. Okay. Well, I guess that was what anxious people do. But... the same thing.
Finally, the drug was brought out. It was cube-shaped rather than the usual pill shape. The vertices were rounded, of course. We didn't want anyone to turn into a corpse before they even got the drug into their system. The drug is designed to fuse animal DNA with a human. And like the previous drug, it will take time for the synchronization to take place. For example, let's say you fuse a fish's DNA with a human's. Grey corp. isn't going to dish out some weird-ass drug that actually turns a body into a fish. That would be ridiculous. We target specific regions of the human body to fuse the animal's DNA with. Continuing with our fish example, we would target the neck region of the human, and try to infuse DNA that produces gills. That way the human can breathe both air and extract oxygen from the water. Or they would have to live underwater for the rest of their lives. But, we can worry about that later. For now, we just need his test subject to show some, if not any, subtle signs of synchronization.
The test subject swallowed the pill. The effects did not take long to be seen. I whispered to Dr. Keindrich, "Which DNA did you mix?"
Dr. Keindrich explained, "We added the DNA of a peacock."
I gave him a weird side glance, "Why the hell a peacock?"
He replied, "Well, we thought if changes do occur, then an animal that has flashy colors or features wouldn't fail to show that change. And frankly, the peacock fell under both categories as it has bright blue feathers and a...a fan of feath-"
"Yeah, I know how a fucking peacock looks like," I said. Dr. Keindrich turned his head towards the window. So did I.
The subject began to experience a severe shock of pain. He rolled on the ground screaming. He tried to locate the place of the pain, but what he didn't realize is that it came from everywhere. His cells were rapidly mutating to produce the change required of the drug. He rapidly formed dirty-brown feathers on patches of his skin. My eyes widened. It was actually working. The subject's teeth began to fall, and his hair began to shed. The nails on his toes and fingers were peeling off, and the hairs on his body were quickly falling off and morphing into feathers. In just a few seconds, the man that was standing before me a short while ago had transformed into a demented, bird-looking mess.
But there was more. After the transformation stopped, his skin began to look like it was rippling. The rippling motion then became more like boiling. The skin itself wasn't tearing or ripping, but it was... for a lack of a better word boiling. His cells were dividing at neck-breaking speeds! That's what was happening. The cells in his body must have malfunctioned because of the drug.
Soon, his body was bloating in all parts. His legs, arms, stomach, head, even his nether regions. He was going to explode. I could tell. I started to countdown to amuse myself. Ten...nine...eight...seven...six...the subject looked at me in the eyes and started to let out tears...five...I smiled back; it would be the last thing he would see...four...three...tw- *Splat*
I couldn't hear him actually explode, but the force at which the blood attacked all the walls resounded throughout the research department. Everyone was quiet. I broke the silence, "Well, congratulations everyone! That was a success!" Everyone was still mortified. Some were even vomiting in the little trashcan robots that littered the building. I added to my first, "Make sure you compensate the money to the subject's family. Take care of them for life, with compensation of fifteen million credits per year. Also, make the subject an honorary contributor on the patent that we will publish soon. We don't want to deal with a fucking lawsuit." All the nearby assistants nodded their heads and wrote down everything I said word-for-word.
Dr. Keindrich lifted his bushy eyebrows. He said, "Mr. Grey! Would it be possible to promote me to the head of the research department?!"
I looked at him with disappointment in my eyes. "The fuck you will be."
"But, you yourself said that..."
"The experiment was a success," I finished his sentence for him.
"Yes! Exactly!"
I wrapped my arm around his neck and pointed him in the direction of the experiment. "Keindrich, tell me what you see behind that glass wall?" I asked. He opened his mouth to answer, but I interrupted him, "You know what? I don't really give a shit about what you have to say. Now, you listen to me. What I see behind that wall is an expensive pile of blood and bones to clean up. I, also, see meager results. I mean c'mon seriously? A fucking peacock? Not to mention he turned into some nasty-looking birdman type of shit before he...clocked out. Now, listen to me, again." I moved closer to his ear and whispered, "If you don't want to end up like that subject, you better get your shit together, Dr. Keindrich. I'm giving you three months. In three months, you will synthesize this drug. If you don't, then I might have to step in. And if that happens, well I'm sure you can put two-and-two together. You can, can't you?"
His face turned into a ghostly white, "Y-y-yes. Of course! Three months should-no- will be plenty enough time!"
I stepped away from him and nodded my head with a smile. "Perfect! I'm looking forward to it!"
***
I made it back into my office and reclined on my chair. I was looking out the western window as I shook out an aquamarine pill. It was a tablet that maximized the regeneration mechanisms in the human body. I'm old. There was no way around it, and I had to take these measly pills to keep my heart ticking. Each pill, regardless of type, lasts for around six hours. That's how long it takes for the body to break down the drug before getting rid of it. So, I have to take four every day, to maintain my current self. If I had taken this drug, say sixty years ago, my own body would have started to regenerate rapidly on its own without the help of the drug. But, I only came across this variant a few years ago, so this is the best it can do. Delay any muscular atrophy or disintegration of my brain cells or another cell for that matter.
But his dependency won't last for long. If I am able to crack that new drug, then I might as well live an immortal life. I must be patient though, for all great things come with time.
For now, I have another problem to deal with. How do I get the most ideal candidate for the tests? The drugs that we make all come with standards. One of them is that they last six hours. The second is that they will slowly, over time integrate new changes in your body over decades. The third is that certain people have a high aptitude for these drugs. People like me that have 'dominant' genes over others can harness the drug's benefit to a much greater extent. The other standard that people don't really talk about is Affinity. This is when the person finds him or herself being more suitable for a certain type of drug. Like one evolves better with the strength drug v.s. the reflex one. My genes are suitable for any with maximum aptitude. The reason is that my blood was used when developing this product. Simple answer, simple benefit. The only thing that's holding me back from going through the clinical trials myself is my old age.
I call Flin through my phone. He picks up on the second ring. "Hey, Flin! It's me!"
Flin answered in a low and drowsy voice, "I know."
"Are you drunk?"
"Nope."
"I'll get you a vacation real soon if you give a good idea."
He answered me in an apathetic attitude, "I will kindly have to say no to this."
"Oh, fuck off!" I answered back. With that, I cut the call and fling the phone at my bed. I softly bounced off the mattress and crashed on the marble floor. "Fuck my luck!" I put my head in my hands. I was surrounded by silence until I heard clacking footsteps scurrying past my door. I look up just in time to see a young lady with a face full of nervousness. "Hey, you!" I yell at her, trying to draw her attention. She was about to leave my sight when she took a couple of steps in reverse and stood in between my door frame. She was young. Maybe in her mid-twenties. She wore an orderly uniform: A formal white blouse and a black skirt that reached past her thighs. Her figure was well maintained. She tied her hair in a bun save for a few strands of hair that touched her nape. She wore little make-up but still looked as charming as the girls in those adverts. She had skin that was a darker shade of white, but not as dark as my light brown skin. her eyes were what attracted me the most. Crystal-designed eyes. Pale, blue irises with a snowflake-like design. The colors complemented her in a way that words cannot tell.
I beckoned her to come into my office, and she hesitantly complied. "I need a new phone, and an idea that may or may not come from you," I told her. She didn't move a muscle. What's wrong with her? "Hello?" I walked closer to her and waved my hand in front of her face. She suddenly snapped back into reality. Her face burned red, and I could see the embarrassment in her eyes. She looked cute.
She looked at me closely before responding, "Excuse me, Mister, I need to head to Mr. Glime's office. So, my apologies for disturbing you."
Who in the hell was Glime? Also, what kind of name is that? I asked her these questions, to which she answered in a pleasant voice, "He's the head of transports and distribution."
Okay... I asked her another question, "You do know that this is the highest floor, right? Transport & Distribution somewhere on the first or second set of forty floors."
She nervously twirled her black hair around before getting another shade redder. She said, "I...I pushed the wrong buttons when I entered the elevator, and I didn't know how to stop it. That's how I ended up here." She looked up at me with wide eyes. She was really cute.
"Well, since you're here anyway, why not work for me instead?" I offered.
She looked at me with doubtful eyes and said, "I don't think you have the authority to make those changes, sir." What in the actual fuck is going on?! She wasn't toying with me, right?
I couldn't stand this anymore, so I broke it to her, "Listen closely. I think you're either a highly ignorant person, or you've been growing up under a rock. A big one for that matter." She had a shocked expression on her face. I let out a laugh and said, "I am the boss here. I own this entire building. I own everyone that stands below my feet." Her face grew entirely red like a tomato. I thought that her head might actually explode. We don't want that happening again.
"So, I'll ask you one more time, would you like to work for me or that son-of-a-bitch Glime?"
She gulped down her saliva and slowly pointed at me.