Beast Machine Read online

  “The biggest mistake I made was trusting him to mail the finished product to the buyer and to the American Scientific Hub, or ASH. The sample sent to ASH would be displayed for my fellow scientists, and others that were interested in science, to see and understand in a museum setting. I, regretfully, lack much knowledge on how certain ‘common sense’ things work – the physical mailing system eludes me. Where do I put the stamp? Am I allowed to use just any box for shipping? What’s the chance that my package will be broken en route? It perplexed me and I often become so overanxious during perplexing moments that I’ll faint! So, because of that predicament, I trusted him to take it to a shipping company to be sent to the buyer, and to ASH, of course.

  “I met with Doctor Silva in Portland two days after I completed the concoction. His attitude was strange that day as he was highly paranoid of every passing person, but I chalked that up to Silva lacking sleep. He never stopped working on his projects and would spend days at a time without sleeping. I handed him the package and gave him a note with the address to the company. I figured he knew ASH’s address. He shook it gently, said goodbye and went on his way. I didn’t think anything of it at the time.

  “My guess is, after I gave him the package, he opened the box and removed my name from any and all documentation that was included in the box. I didn’t even find out I had been scammed until weeks went by and I realized I never received a payment, a congratulations email or even a phone call that the serum was working accordingly.”

  Hitbear and Owlbert sat down on the floor as Gora stayed standing.

  “I had been in contact with the buyer mostly through email, so I quickly messaged them asking if they had got the package yet; explaining how my friend sent the package for me and that the package should definitely have made it there.”

  Hitbear and Owlbert nodded, asking Gora to continue.

  “An hour later or more, I can’t really remember, I received a message stating, ‘Ms. Gora, I am afraid to inform you that another has created the product that we were hoping you would be able to procure. We sent out the offer to more scientists than just you, Ms. Gora. Putting all our eggs in one basket would have been exceptionally unwise.’

  “I became overwhelmed with emotions: anger, sadness, confusion, and desperation. I knew I had sent it – well, I knew Doctor Takeo Silva had sent it for me. So, I messaged them back telling them just that – that I fucking sent the damn thing over a month ago and that I know my serum was the first one that they would have received. I attached every single one of my digital work files to the email to prove that it was my serum.” She shook her head dismissively.

  “The exact same stock reply was sent and I broke down and cried. I cried for a week straight, I didn’t even know it happened to be Silva until the next quarterly ASH meeting where he stated I was a leech, a whore, and a copycat. He told everyone he could that I tried to extort the product – that he had ‘worked endlessly on’ – from him with sexual favors. People believed him, too, with zero proof. It was a nightmare come to life.”

  Hitbear and Owlbert stared on sympathetically, but each felt a pit of anger growing inside their bodies as Gora continued.

  “I was called horrid, vile things – things I never want to hear myself or other innocents called. My reputation had been sullied and when I eventually began to work on new inventions and experiments I had always forgotten a step, or just created a dud of an invention. It wasn’t intentional, but I know deep down that my mind created these broken inventions on purpose because it was damaged. I couldn’t complete even the simplest, mundane experiments!”

  Gora began to sob and wail in gibberish. Hitbear rushed to her side.

  “It’s okay,” said Hitbear quietly. “I’ve got you. It’s going to be okay. We’ll get that sick bastard; we’ll get all those sick bastards.” Hitbear patted her gently on the back and started to rub her back with his only paw. Her sobs began to soften and Gora fell asleep in Hitbear’s arms.

  “Let’s get this Tubman creation going so we can exact revenge on that scum,” growled Hitbear to Owlbert. “We don’t need soldiers, either. I want to help exact revenge with my own hands – well hand.” He looked at his stump arm.

  “Ja! I know where zee vial ist und vill start zee Beast Machine as soon as possible,” chirped Owlbert as quietly as he could. Owlbert hopped over to the tattered book he showed Gora earlier and ripped out a picture of Harriet Tubman.

  Owlbert turned to Hitbear and asked, ”Vill your lack of morality be ein problem vith this Tubman creation, being she ist ein black woman?”

  Hitbear, still gently holding the sleeping Gora, said, “No. Not anymore.” Hitbear looked down at Gora with a proud intensity. “She gave us new life. We must help her and put her goals ahead of any of ours – even if it means ditching our old ideals.”

  Owlbert chirped happily as he fiddled with the Beast Machine. “Vat should vee have her come back as?”

  Chapter 11

  Jobs For The Poor

  From a distance, Jeffrey sized up the once abandoned mining facility. It had been appropriately renovated with the proper materials, the proper modern architecture that Chairman Obelis desired and the proper precautions needed for testing experiments deep below in the mines while still functioning as some sort of facility up top. Jeffrey was sure Silva would love the testing space, if Silva ever stopped being the whiny asshat that he had become after meeting Thane.

  The modern design, and bland color, left the facility looking merely like a museum or government building. It needed to keep up the appearance of a facility or a warehouse to keep any sort of looky-loos away, so there had to be workers hired to enter slowly in the morning and to trickle out in the evening. Jeffrey’s current assignment: to hire these workers and the nearby trailer park was brimming with bodies to employ – all former miners. Unfortunately, it was becoming Jeffrey’s problem to decide exactly what the workers would be doing in the facility because their skills were lacking.

  They couldn’t do any actual mining since the majority of sections dug into the ground have been renovated as testing zones for Doctor Silva. Not to mention that mining the Earth would be detrimental to Chairman Obelis’ plan to save humanity by harming the environment. But the job had to be remedial since Jeffrey and Chairman Obelis were championing employment for the lower class, and the mostly uneducated masses, for Chairman Obelis’ political campaign for Governor of Arkansas. This task was giving Jeffrey a mini-aneurysm. “Even if Chairman Obelis’ device to guide these people came to fruition, it wouldn’t instantly make the uneducated educated,” thought Jeffrey. “Or would it?”

  “The workers at the mining facility would serve three purposes,” wrote Jeffrey in his notebook. “Firstly, it will show to the people of Arkansas, and subsequently the United States of America, that Chairman Obelis can create jobs on his own volition. Secondly, the workers will cover-up what exactly is happening below the facility. And finally, the workers will provide a sizable, uneducated amount of test subjects necessary for any future endeavors!”

  Jeffrey looked around and pondered what would be most beneficial to Chairman Obelis’ main goal of helping mankind make the right decisions. He desperately wanted to think of an idea quickly to please Chairman Obelis. Jeffrey really wanted to please Chairman Obelis – in many ways. Jeffrey often thought about the positions he would bend himself to please Chairman Obelis.

  “Textbooks? No. No. That’s stupid,” said Jeffrey as he erased his words. “What about cheap clothing? Yes, that would work! We could sell off the clothes and make even more cash. Or just textiles – yes!”

  A large hand was firmly placed on Jeffrey’s shoulder.

  “Boss does not need more money, Jeff,” stated Thane as Jeffrey promptly turned around and brushed off Thane’s massive hand.

  “What would you know about business, Thane? And don’t call me Jeff,” said Jeffrey. Jeffrey’s brow furrowed as he crossed out clothing and textiles from his notebook.

  “I
just know Boss will not need more money. He has said it lots of times. He said it to that doctor that shit himself the other day. I heard it through the door.” Thane’s body showed no indication of glowing like previous occasions – did his emotions control the glow? – but his skin was still white as snow.

  Jeffrey became quite annoyed by the pale behemoth in front of him, but knew that Thane could snap him like a twig at any moment. Still, quite rudely, Jeffrey said, “Oh shut it, pighead. Chairman Obelis – as you will refer to him as, not ‘Boss’ – has put me in charge of properly setting up the now suitable facility. I need to think of a name for it too. Hmm. This place used to be nicknamed ‘The Gulag’ because the men rarely made it back out alive, but that’s not an amicable name now is it?”

  Thane and Jeffrey both stood there for a moment. Each were deep in thought about what type of work the lower class of Arkansas should be doing. Jeffrey’s mind wandered back to Chairman Obelis.

  Jeffrey began to day dream of Chairman Obelis and he on vacation. They were on a private jet to the Cayman Islands. The jet was filled with foam, expensive champagne bottles, half-naked men with golden short shorts, vibrant colored furniture and a shirtless Chairman Obelis with his arm around Jeffrey. Jeffrey imagined himself going in for a kiss with Chairman Obelis when suddenly he was jerked out of the daydream by one of Thane’s massive paws.

  “OK, smart man. I am done thinking about this. I am going down into the building to see if it is up to Boss’s standards.”

  “HIS NAME IS CHAIRMAN OBELIS,” screeched Jeffrey as he tried to shove Thane. Thane didn’t budge a millimeter. Jeffrey flailed at the giant.

  “I will be going now, smart man. See you and Boss later then?” asked Thane, backing away from Jeffrey’s limp thrusts.

  Jeffrey sighed and waved his arm, “Yes, whatever, move on down there and get to work. Leave the thinking to me, okay?”

  Thane didn’t reply and began trudging down to the renovated facility. He made it fifty feet away from Jeffrey and turned to speak. “Have the other small people make parts needed for machines we may need in the future. Keep it simple. These people are not smart like you, smart man.” Thane paused. “Or you could just keep it a mine. They do not know any better.” Thane turned and kept walking toward the facility.

  “What did you say,” said Jeffrey, though he clearly heard the giant. “Parts we will need in the future? Hmm. I guess I could phone Silva and ask him what tools he will need to complete the task. Keep the mine open? Hmm. I’ll think about it. The workers could mine the coal still, but all the coal would be put into a strict reserve vault? Yes! That’s going to be the idea – my idea – to present to Chairman Obelis”

  Jeffrey pulled his cell phone out and dialed Chairman Obelis’ home complex, a location hidden from almost anyone and this particular complex had the most personal defense equipment to keep away intruders, namely the press.

  Doctor Silva had been at Chairman Obelis’ home since he defecated in his pants and sobbed for an entire night. He had to recuperate from that incident and was told to write down what he would need after the facility was complete. Jeffrey had hoped this list would be complete, given that Silva has had over a week to complete it.

  “Pick up, Silva, pick up you stupid… Hello! Silva?” said Jeffrey.

  “Yes, Jeffrey?” whimpered Silva.

  “Have you completed the necessary-things-list? Or whatever we’re calling it?”

  “Of course, I told you and Chairman Obelis in that email that I will not fail you. I am completely committed to the cause,” replied Silva as if in a trance.

  “Good, good. We will be sending Thane to pick you up in the morning or at night. We haven’t decided and want to keep you on your toes.”

  “Thane?” gulped Silva. “That monster? Please, please send anyone else!”

  Jeffrey laughed, “No one else has the clearance to retrieve you, Silva. Just make sure you shit before you enter the vehicle, okay? I don’t want you leaving any stains in Chairman Obelis’ cars. I wouldn’t want to have to burn it like we had to burn that puffy chair.”

  “I won’t do it!” cried Silva through the phone. “Not with that monster!”

  Chapter 12

  Takeo, Dear Takeo

  “I must get out of here,” yelped Doctor Silva frantically as he hid in a closet in Chairman Obelis’ house. “I must get out. I must get out!”

  The house was locked from the outside so Silva couldn’t escape, the windows were bolted down and any sharp materials were removed so Silva couldn’t end his life. Chairman Obelis was determined to keep Silva on this project.

  “Or you could help our cause and be rewarded handsomely!” rang out a wiry voice from a speaker behind Silva. “We need you, Silva! We need your skills! We need your immorality to help steer the tide of humanity.”

  Silva jumped and ran out of the closet, knocking over a small box filled with glass vials. “Leave me alone!” screamed Silva. He ran into the hallway with his hands over his ears screaming unintelligibly. He acted as if he had been possessed by a dark soul. Rather, he was just collapsing under the mass pressure from his mind producing anxiety, fear, and depression all at once. Not to mention, the possibility of being embarrassed again by defecating in his pants.

  “Settle down, doctor, settle down!” rang out the now cold, ghoulish sounding voice. Silva kept his hands on his ears while the voice tried to reason with him. He appeared to praying, yet still in an unintelligible tongue. “Your skills are necessary for our progress as a species! Humanity rests on your shoulders.”

  The voice switched to a warmer, more fatherly voice in attempt to draw Silva away from his frenzied state.

  “Please, Doctor Silva, you must reassess this situation clearly! You will be heralded as a savior to the common man! You would be the doctor that went above and beyond to help his fellow man – to help the downtrodden people of this wonderful land! Chairman Obelis will make sure that your name lives on for a thousand years and then another thousand years! Do you not want to be a champion of mankind?”

  “NO! I will not, I will not!” screamed back Silva. “I need to get out!”

  Silva scratched at the wood paneled walls, leaving deep scrapes in the wood. His fear and desperation led him to pick up a small granite figure of a bipedal lizard that had the head of a snake but the snout and teeth of an alligator. The teeth were cut diamonds and the eyes of the figure were made of emerald. Silva smashed the figure against the wood paneled walls, knocking a few panels clean off the wall. A large gash was left in the wall, but only revealed another layer of wood paneled wall. Silva slid against the wall and fell on his ass. He began to scream loudly.

  The voice chasing Silva around the house changed to a feminine, sultry voice, “Takeo, dear, Takeo. Stop shouting and listen. Please embrace this opportunity.” It was a familiar voice. It was a voice he had been longing to hear again.

  Silva ended his screaming. The voice gently pried Silva’s hands from his ears. “Ch-Chelsey? Is-is that you?” asked Silva, his voice slowly calming down. He whimpered loudly and ran his hands down his face. “Is it really you, Chelsey?” His whimpers continued. “It has to be your voice, but how?”

  “Yes, Takeo, it’s me! It’s been far too long, my dear. I needed to hear your voice again.”

  “I… I don’t know how it is possible to be you?! You died from that stupid muscle contraption. I saw you lowered into the ground! I sat by your grave for several days! I became a monster after your death. They want me to become that monster again.”

  “My body is gone – yes – but I still live on in your mind and in your heart. If I could have stopped myself from using that device on that day, I would have done so, but alas this is all that is left of me.”

  “I’m sorry I couldn’t save you. I couldn’t keep your existence alive.” He cried into his palms and used his sleeves to blow his now runny nose. “I should have been stronger for you.”

  “I know, my dear Takeo, I know but you now hav
e the opportunity no other human may have ever again. You could completely erase that terrible nightmare you created after I died. You could help others make the correct choices like you wanted to make with me! I didn’t know it at the time but if I had taken your advice I would still be alive today! You knew that body didn’t need any more treatments, pills, or surgeries done to it. You thought I was perfect.”

  “You were perfect,” said Silva quietly. “But, you’re right, Chelsey. You’re right! I must do this to help the impoverished!”

  “Yes, darling. Please help these lowly people become great once again! You will be known as the savior of man for the rest of time! This is the beginning of your rise into the annals of history.”

  “Yes! Yes! Yes, my love, yes! I am so happy to hear your voice,” said Silva as he began to wipe his sweaty face. “I will do this in your honor, Chelsey, I will do this for you!”

  “I love you, Takeo Silva.”

  “I love you too, Chelsey Donovan.”

  Silva began to gently croon next to a speaker he found in the hallway. Silva felt at ease. Finally.

  Jeffrey and Chairman Obelis began to laugh hysterically. “I can’t believe this brilliant scientist was fooled so easily!” giggled Jeffrey. The two were in a control room monitoring Silva. There were several video monitors showcasing different angles of the downtrodden Doctor Silva. “What a schmuck.”

  “I know, Jeffrey!” laughed Chairman Obelis. “You were quite bold here! You were right about convincing him over torturing him more. Torturing him may have left him shell-shocked and inept for my plans. I love how you took control as well.”