and second generation. I put them in a liquid nitrogen freeze. They are in a semi-permanent state of limbo. The liquid nitrogen keeps them cold enough that they won't want to reproduce but keeps them warm enough that their cell structure stays in-tact. The first two generations will go into my personal archives.” Cox explains.
“Nice of you to keep a fail-safe sample, but in all seriousness, doc we are dealing with a very different creature.” I say.
“I can understand your apprehension to the unknown. From my experience, this microbe is rather harmless. To put your mind at ease, I will inject this rat with it. Tomorrow morning, they will be fine, and I am sure you could agree with me that there is no reason for alarm.” Cox replies.
I take his word for it and head to the mess hall for some food. It was called roast beef with mash potatoes and gravy. Tasted more like cardboard and road tar with slime in my book. I can't complain much, it was at least warm. I head back to my bunk and attempt to get some sleep. I don’t know why I even bothered. I spent most of the night a victim of my own memories. I tossed most of the night and anything that resembled sleep was outside my reach.
The next morning I met up with Cox for some coffee at the mess hall. We chatted a bit, and he informed me that his relationship with Angela was more than a one-time deal. I gave him a victory fist bump and we went back to the lab. When we opened the door to the lab, it was clear that things didn’t go as planned over-night. I stared at the rat cage in disbelief. Not a single one was alive, and it was evident it wasn’t an easy exit for them. “What the hell happened here doc?” I ask.
“It doesn’t make sense. One thing is for certain, those two died from trauma. You can tell by the way the bodies are ravaged. The third took a lot longer to die. You can see the blood all over the place, and only one significant wound.” Cox says.
“So, you are saying that one of them killed the others and then killed itself?” I say.
“From what I see, yes. That would make the most sense. The most disturbing thing I see so far is that the rat I injected was the last to die.” Cox explains.
“So, we need to find out what happened while we were gone last night.” I say.
“Exactly. We need a control experiment to eliminate any variables. First, we have to eliminate the possibility of contamination. I will incinerate these subjects and set up a test group. Fresh rats, new aquarium, and a fresh generation of microbes,” Cox says.
It took a few hours to clean everything up and get the experiment in order. I watch as Cox injects the subject rat. It squirms a little after the needle poke. We sit down in our labs chairs, eyes glued to the rats inside the clean room. An hour passes without any noticeable change. Then, subject zero starts to show hostility towards the others.
“He seems to be establishing his territory, and in this case, it's the water feeder. See how he keeps running them off, and then drinks from it?” Cox Says. After another hour had passed, the situation got a lot worse. Zero was actively attacking the others, regardless of their position inside the aquarium.
“Look at his eyes doc! Talk about one creepy little critter.” I say.
“It looks like the blood vessels around his eye have burst. It is called a subconjunctival hemorrhage. It may look like it is a serious problem, but it happens to people all the time. Sometimes a simple sneeze can cause one.” Cox replies.
Another thirty minutes passes and Zero's behavior has changed dramatically. Zero bull-rushes one of the rats and bites at his throat. Zero keeps on him and within a few moments, it's clear the rat is dead. Zero starts dashing around the tank in a fury, squeaking wildly with every lap. It isn’t long before he finds his second victim, and a few short moments later, it too, was no more.
“The gladiator has claimed his victory. He is now master of the tank.
“Nice of you to keep a fail-safe sample, but in all seriousness, doc we are dealing with a very different creature.” I say.
“I can understand your apprehension to the unknown. From my experience, this microbe is rather harmless. To put your mind at ease, I will inject this rat with it. Tomorrow morning, they will be fine, and I am sure you could agree with me that there is no reason for alarm.” Cox replies.
I take his word for it and head to the mess hall for some food. It was called roast beef with mash potatoes and gravy. Tasted more like cardboard and road tar with slime in my book. I can't complain much, it was at least warm. I head back to my bunk and attempt to get some sleep. I don’t know why I even bothered. I spent most of the night a victim of my own memories. I tossed most of the night and anything that resembled sleep was outside my reach.
The next morning I met up with Cox for some coffee at the mess hall. We chatted a bit, and he informed me that his relationship with Angela was more than a one-time deal. I gave him a victory fist bump and we went back to the lab. When we opened the door to the lab, it was clear that things didn’t go as planned over-night. I stared at the rat cage in disbelief. Not a single one was alive, and it was evident it wasn’t an easy exit for them. “What the hell happened here doc?” I ask.
“It doesn’t make sense. One thing is for certain, those two died from trauma. You can tell by the way the bodies are ravaged. The third took a lot longer to die. You can see the blood all over the place, and only one significant wound.” Cox says.
“So, you are saying that one of them killed the others and then killed itself?” I say.
“From what I see, yes. That would make the most sense. The most disturbing thing I see so far is that the rat I injected was the last to die.” Cox explains.
“So, we need to find out what happened while we were gone last night.” I say.
“Exactly. We need a control experiment to eliminate any variables. First, we have to eliminate the possibility of contamination. I will incinerate these subjects and set up a test group. Fresh rats, new aquarium, and a fresh generation of microbes,” Cox says.
It took a few hours to clean everything up and get the experiment in order. I watch as Cox injects the subject rat. It squirms a little after the needle poke. We sit down in our labs chairs, eyes glued to the rats inside the clean room. An hour passes without any noticeable change. Then, subject zero starts to show hostility towards the others.
“He seems to be establishing his territory, and in this case, it's the water feeder. See how he keeps running them off, and then drinks from it?” Cox Says. After another hour had passed, the situation got a lot worse. Zero was actively attacking the others, regardless of their position inside the aquarium.
“Look at his eyes doc! Talk about one creepy little critter.” I say.
“It looks like the blood vessels around his eye have burst. It is called a subconjunctival hemorrhage. It may look like it is a serious problem, but it happens to people all the time. Sometimes a simple sneeze can cause one.” Cox replies.
Another thirty minutes passes and Zero's behavior has changed dramatically. Zero bull-rushes one of the rats and bites at his throat. Zero keeps on him and within a few moments, it's clear the rat is dead. Zero starts dashing around the tank in a fury, squeaking wildly with every lap. It isn’t long before he finds his second victim, and a few short moments later, it too, was no more.
“The gladiator has claimed his victory. He is now master of the tank.
Similar Books
