Post by William Birkin on Dec 26, 2008 14:21:23 GMT -5
"I'm calling it, time of full infection 3:30 P.M." Dr. Birkin sighed to himself, this one hadn't even managed to slow down the infection. He gazed through the protective glass of the lab into the observation room their latest test subject lay in. The dog they had given the infection lay on a table in the middle of the room, sedated, with harnesses holding it firmly to the table. He had seen the process so many times by now he could predict precisely when the next stage would hit. The infection started mutating its host immediately, spreading like a cancer but much faster. It always attacked the lungs first, it seemed it needed oxygen in it's early stages to fuel it's rapid growth. The eyes go next, followed by the ears and nose. We still don't know why, but the sun becomes intolerable to the infected, their eyes and skin being so sensitive light drives them mad and eventually kills them. The ears and nose however become extremely heightened, turning the infected into amazing trackers. The last to go was the brain, always the brain. The infection shut down almost all brain functionality except for the primal urges such as hunger. It also enlarged the aggression centers, making its victims overly angry and aggressive, with a constant need to feed. Once the infection hit this stage, it required a regular supply of uninfected blood and tissue to sustain itself, without it the infection attacks its own cells eventually killing the host.
He stared at the beast lying there, it's breathing quick and shallow. It would be euthanized shortly and he would perform the autopsy to see if the serum had any effects at all. He seethed inwardly, how many resources, how many years had been wasted trying to find a cure? They would have had much better results trying to control it and adapt it to their needs rather than wiping it out, but all of his proposals had been turned down.
That hadn't stopped him of course, being a doctor of such high stature had it's benefits, including your own private laboratory free of the governments monitoring equipment and assurance from the council that you would be free to work as you pleased. It was difficult finding subjects though, but nobody would miss a few orphans from the slums of the city. His progress was slow since he could only work in his off hours and usually on one subject at a time, but it was progress.
"Dr. Birkin? There's a phone call for you, it's chairman Rayne." Birkin turned from the dog, did it look bigger? and looked at his assistant. "The chairman? Very well, prepare the specimen for the autopsy but no chemicals this time, I wish to study it unaltered. Sever the spinal column, i'll be in shortly." The girl nodded and walked towards the reinforced door into the observation room while Birkin walked to the other side of the lab to reach the phone. Chairman Rayne was it? What business did the military's chair have with him, all they were studying down here were potential cures, and if they had found what he was doing in his private lab he would already been in prison. He picked up the receiver, "Dr. Birkin speaking."
"Birkin, this is chairman Rayne, I wish to meet with you to discuss your most recent proposal to the board of government. Meet me in my office tomorrow at 0900 hours." Click. Birkin's eyes widened, his most recent proposal? That would be... His grin split his face in two. His most recent proposal was for research into the weaponization of the infected, a proposal he had submitted many times before but had always been shut down. Research he had been performing in secret. It seems the higher ups have finally realized the potential an army of infected presents, he had so much to prepare before...
The bloodcurdling scream caused Birkin to raise his eyebrows, which would be a startled jump coming from anyone else, but he had seen to much to be jumpy. He turned back to the source of the sound to see the infected dog, now free of it's bindings, tearing his assistant apart. Fascinating, he thought the dog looked bigger, and now he knew that he was right. He moved back over to the observation window, watching the events unfold. Judging by the torn leather straps, it seems that this serum did have an effect, increasing the strength of the infected. Watching as his assistant tried to fend off the beast, raising a pleading hand to Birkin through the glass, he pressed a button on the console to being the audio recording of his analysis. "Serum 319, while failing to cure or even slow down the infection, seems to have had a different effect. The subjects muscle mass has increased roughly 150% from it's original state, decreasing the effectiveness of the sedative and enabling it to break free of it's bonds..." The woman let out one last feeble plead for help before dying, the infected dog now concentrating on feeding off her dead body. "Subjects aggression and need for uninfected tissue also seems to have increased. Will report further studies after the autopsy." He turned off the audio recorder and moved his hand to the button that would flood the room with neurotoxin. After taking in one last look at the scene in front of him, he pressed the button and listened to the hissing noise as gas filled the room. The dog began to spasm as the toxin took hold, eventually collapsing. As he watched the dog enter its death throes, he made a mental note to take a sample of Serum 319 back to his private lab, it would help his research immensely...
He stared at the beast lying there, it's breathing quick and shallow. It would be euthanized shortly and he would perform the autopsy to see if the serum had any effects at all. He seethed inwardly, how many resources, how many years had been wasted trying to find a cure? They would have had much better results trying to control it and adapt it to their needs rather than wiping it out, but all of his proposals had been turned down.
That hadn't stopped him of course, being a doctor of such high stature had it's benefits, including your own private laboratory free of the governments monitoring equipment and assurance from the council that you would be free to work as you pleased. It was difficult finding subjects though, but nobody would miss a few orphans from the slums of the city. His progress was slow since he could only work in his off hours and usually on one subject at a time, but it was progress.
"Dr. Birkin? There's a phone call for you, it's chairman Rayne." Birkin turned from the dog, did it look bigger? and looked at his assistant. "The chairman? Very well, prepare the specimen for the autopsy but no chemicals this time, I wish to study it unaltered. Sever the spinal column, i'll be in shortly." The girl nodded and walked towards the reinforced door into the observation room while Birkin walked to the other side of the lab to reach the phone. Chairman Rayne was it? What business did the military's chair have with him, all they were studying down here were potential cures, and if they had found what he was doing in his private lab he would already been in prison. He picked up the receiver, "Dr. Birkin speaking."
"Birkin, this is chairman Rayne, I wish to meet with you to discuss your most recent proposal to the board of government. Meet me in my office tomorrow at 0900 hours." Click. Birkin's eyes widened, his most recent proposal? That would be... His grin split his face in two. His most recent proposal was for research into the weaponization of the infected, a proposal he had submitted many times before but had always been shut down. Research he had been performing in secret. It seems the higher ups have finally realized the potential an army of infected presents, he had so much to prepare before...
The bloodcurdling scream caused Birkin to raise his eyebrows, which would be a startled jump coming from anyone else, but he had seen to much to be jumpy. He turned back to the source of the sound to see the infected dog, now free of it's bindings, tearing his assistant apart. Fascinating, he thought the dog looked bigger, and now he knew that he was right. He moved back over to the observation window, watching the events unfold. Judging by the torn leather straps, it seems that this serum did have an effect, increasing the strength of the infected. Watching as his assistant tried to fend off the beast, raising a pleading hand to Birkin through the glass, he pressed a button on the console to being the audio recording of his analysis. "Serum 319, while failing to cure or even slow down the infection, seems to have had a different effect. The subjects muscle mass has increased roughly 150% from it's original state, decreasing the effectiveness of the sedative and enabling it to break free of it's bonds..." The woman let out one last feeble plead for help before dying, the infected dog now concentrating on feeding off her dead body. "Subjects aggression and need for uninfected tissue also seems to have increased. Will report further studies after the autopsy." He turned off the audio recorder and moved his hand to the button that would flood the room with neurotoxin. After taking in one last look at the scene in front of him, he pressed the button and listened to the hissing noise as gas filled the room. The dog began to spasm as the toxin took hold, eventually collapsing. As he watched the dog enter its death throes, he made a mental note to take a sample of Serum 319 back to his private lab, it would help his research immensely...