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Infinity's Mousetrap

Chapter 13:Tightening Up Management & Chapter 14:Watching the Madness Grow

By Ralph QuisenberryPublished 3 years ago 4 min read
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13. Tightening Up Management

Director Ngoyen looked down on the aborted luncheon with a gleam in his eye. His body had transformed in the most pleasant ways. The stiffness in his knee had almost gone totally by the time he woke up. With newly keen ears, he heard his general manager organize the management team. He would be useful in whipping this sad crew of wastes of flesh into a truly fantastic team! Looking down at the thickening flesh of his hands, he thought to himself , I will make these lazy Americans into warriors! Our division will be special! This change is my path to the CEO's office! Thinking these fantasies, he drew down his favorite office decoration. It was a perfect reproduction of an ancient sword from feudal Japan. It was so light in his hands now! Right then and there, he began belting the scabbard in place at his waist. He would take care of the terminations himself!

The whimper of his secretary intruded on Mr. Ngoyen's reverie. She had become such a submissive, callow thing since lunch. She had brought up a nice spread of food from the steam tables before anything could be overcooked by the clods distributing it. By the time his inferiors got to the food, it was limp and unappetizing. Overcooked swill was fine for them. She had brought herself some as well. After all, serving him should have rewards over and above the glory of his company. He had rested his eyes for a bit. Tired as he was by the great burden of responsibilities, he could be excused for taking a small rest. But Ms. Tien had dozed off as well. He had found it his responsibility to chastise her. He was sure the bruises would not be visible. He had been careful not to visibly mark her throat, but now she knew her place. A warm feeling filled him as he contemplated how he had helped her be a better employee. He knew now that the soft and indulgent way he had been before was wrong. Soon, he would help all of his employees the same as he had helped Miss Tien...

14. Watching the Madness Grow

"As we expected, the director has become a megalomaniac and a sadist. Latent parts of his personality, suppressed since childhood have become dominant. The transformation has amplified those aspects to an overwhelming level."

"His transformation makes him usable as a warrior and a commander of warriors, but he will have to be directed."

"Acolyte, what of the 'Stray' who has wandered into our little project? Didn't you tell researcher Fladulyn that he was turning out very different? If I recall correctly, the good researcher mentioned that he was becoming an anomalous version of an aggressive. Could this indicate a possible leader type for the aggressives?"

"Thank you for your interest Primary Investigator! I have been following the 'Stray' to monitor his transformation. While I agree that he is anomalous, I am not sure he qualifies as an aggressive. He has not become more aggressive, and he is not showing outward signs of metamorphosis that we see in every level of that archetype. In fact, the physical restructuring of his muscular-skeletal infrastructure has drastically changed from the norm. At a cellular level, he is very different from the aggressives and baseline humanity.

"The muscle fibers of his body show density increases of eighty percent. Some of those fibers are showing a slow change into some very unique proteins with an entirely unknown potential.

"The bones seem to be absorbing and integrating exotic polymers as well as metals. These compounds are forming a matrix building itself into the calcium structure of his bones and teeth

"He differs most from the aggressives and baseline humans in his brain and neurological system. Nerve conductivity has jumped by over one hundred percent. Physical brain mass has been confirmed at fifteen to twenty percent above baseline human. In short, it looks like he has begun getting smarter and faster."

"Thank you for that interesting report! I would like you to include me directly in your status updates from now on. This 'Stray' may prove to be very important. I will vivisect him once this experiment is done. Then we shall see what there is to learn. Until then, you are now an acting Senior Acolyte. For the moment, you will not have a Researcher over you. I will make sure you are given access to all systems equal to that of a researcher for the duration of this project."

"Sir, does this mean that Researcher Fladulyn has moved to another area of the project? I do hope that he does not think I created this situation in order to bypass his leadership."

"Not to worry young Acolyte. He has been placed in a situation where he will not be thinking about you. In fact, due to his not passing your findings along in a timely manner, he has been recycled. So, if all goes well, you may find yourself promoted into permanent Researcher status as well as rights."

science fiction
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About the Creator

Ralph Quisenberry

Questions interest me more than answers. One learns so much more from questions. Answers leave you with a limit of where to go from there. Questions can expand forever and bring joyous exploration that leads to new ideas and concepts.

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