The Mendel Experiment (9 page)

Corree was too miserable to do anything else but sit. The pain was brief, but she finally recognized it. A shot. The needle was administered by a robot arm that was now withdrawing into the wall. “What was that for?” she mumbled. When she didn’t get an answer, she figured Greelon was gone again. She didn’t even look up to corroborate her guess. This time he really was gone a long time. There was no food or drink to judge time with, even if she cared. Sleep was restless and filled with terrible dreams of Ologrians tearing off her limbs and munching on them with great satisfaction while she watched. Bouts of nausea were accompanied with exhausting rocking in the corners of the tiny room. Moans filled her ears but seemed distant.

Corree didn’t care about anything now; all she could feel was her misery. Maybe she would die here, but if she did, she wouldn’t hurt anymore.

****

Greelon straightened up, rubbing the pelt at the small of his back. His spine creaked. “It is as I feared.”

The two other Ologrians watched him, but said nothing.

“There is a virus in her system that seems to have mutated into something deadly to us.” Greelon figured the eruption would be immediate.

“They allowed us to capture them! They wanted her to be captured,” snarled Merkom. “She knew! The human vermin knew!”

That last accusation had crossed Greelon’s mind when he realized the truth, but he had dismissed it immediately. He did the same now with a wave of his hand. “If you mean the human younglings—no. They didn’t have any idea we were there. I believe the female when she said she was looking for other human mutants.” He rubbed his long, pointed chin thoughtfully. “However if you mean the Federation meant for us to capture them, then I believe you are right. And if they meant for us to get this virus and die, you are probably correct in that supposition as well.”

“What?” Merkom and his companion, Issoril, spluttered.

“I mean the Federation was counting on us capturing and studying them. The male, Riss, was programmed to be aggressive and the female was given something that would multiply and react after coming in contact with one of us. They developed a virus that could cause a plague.”

“The caretaker has been in contact with her!” Issoril added, his jaws clacking their fear and indignation.

“Place him and anyone else in contact with him or the humans into quarantine,” Greelon ordered. “Put the humans’ clothing and any utensils they have touched in the laboratory isolation chamber. Anything might prove useful in the quest to stop a plague. Oh, and by the way, I believe each one of us has been in contact with someone who has been in contact with the caretaker.”

“The humans must be terminated!” the other two scientists chorused.

“No!” Greelon snapped. “She is important. Her ability to mutate is important. Why the humans have used her this way is important.” Issoril and Merkom continued to clack out their venomous desires.
Why can’t they see this?
The humans have figured out a means of adaptation so drastic and so phenomenal we can’t destroy these two specimens. Even The Head and The Claw can see that!
“We have to develop a vaccine that will not only save us, but save her as well. I need your help, though. I believe the contagion will be fast acting. We don’t have a lot of time.” He glared his point. “If you want to live, you’ll stop wasting time complaining and help me.”

Despite their anger at the humans, Greelon’s fellow scientists began working with him to find the cure for the deadly virus.

Two days later, Greelon realized his guess had been right. The caretaker had almost died, as had the human female. Greelon stretched and felt joints pop and muscles protest. His eyes burned from fatigue, but he was confident his team had come up with the right antidote to the virulent contagion. The caretaker was not getting worse. In fact his fever had decreased by a fraction.

The human was also recovering. It was slow, but she, too, had shown improvement since being inoculated. Greelon blinked in surprise as he realized he hadn’t even asked her for her name.

Chapter Nine

Corree awoke in something much larger than the tiny room she had been taught in. She felt softness cushioning her mutated body, enveloping it almost like a nest in a forest giant. She had never felt such softness. Even the robe that was wrapped around her was softer than anything in the rain forest. Tiny tubes extended from her arms and soft restraints kept her from moving more than a finger length. She gazed around and saw a tall machine chirping near the head of her nest.

Corree realized she didn’t feel sick, nor was she sore. What had been wrong with her? Had the Ologrians been experimenting with her? But no, Dr. Greelon had acted surprised at the strength of the sickness. There was something about the equipment that told Corree they were trying to take care of her rather than experiment on her.

She heard a soft whoosh and looked up. Greelon stood in an open doorway. He clicked deep in his throat before walking in. Corree wasn’t sure what the sound was supposed to mean so she didn’t say anything.

“You are recovering nicely,” he said.

“What was wrong with me?”

“You had a virus that mutated the same time your body did. It almost killed you.” He paused, looking uncomfortable. “It would have killed all of us if we had not found the antidote.”

“I don’t understand,” she began. “You said something about one of your illnesses making me sick…”

“It wasn’t one of ours. It was something you carried. It was meant to kill us.”

“W-what?”

“I may be wrong, but I theorize that you were injected with a dormant virus. It was supposed to grow and multiply when you either mutated into an Ologrian or came in contact with one of us.”

Inject? The holo-man wasn’t able to do that. So…
“How?”

“That was what I wanted to ask you when you feel better,” Greelon said, his voice showing not a hint of emotion.

Corree was confused. How could someone do that? “Regular humans can’t live on Mendel,” she snapped. “That’s why we were made. I have not been around a human since we were sent to live there, so how could someone inject me with something?”

Greelon make more clicking sounds. “I will have to ponder that…levret… I am sorry. I never asked how you are addressed?”

“Addressed? Oh, my name? It’s Corree.”

“Cor…ree.” More clicking, this time deep in his throat. “It is a…good name.”

“Why am I being held down like this?” She tried to raise her hands.

“You were moving too much while you were sick. It was the only way we could make sure you received the medicine and nutrition.”

“Can you…I am awake now. Can you remove them, Dr. Greelon?”

“Yes, of course.” He touched a button on the side of her nest and the restraints fell away. “Please do not try to leave the room, though.”

Corree came to a full realization of her situation. “How long will you keep me prisoner before you kill me and eat me?”

“What? Eat you?”

“Don’t your warriors eat their prisoners?”

He narrowed his eyes. “Where did you learn of that?”

“It’s true, isn’t it?”

“You said you had no contact with humans since your landing on Mendel.” Greelon paused. “Or perhaps this is something they indoctrinated you with before you were sent to Mendel?”

Corree seriously considered lying to him and telling him it was before, but she couldn’t. She didn’t sense any deceit in him. He was…he was trying to be kind. “I haven’t. I learned some things from a holo-teacher like the one that taught me your language.”

Again, Greelon looked thoughtful. “And this teacher told you we ate humans?”

“Yes.”

“There is a warrior ritual of ‘tasting’ one’s enemy. Nothing is eaten, but the warriors draw in the scent, feel and, yes, the taste of the enemy’s skin. It has been many generations since actual tasting took place.”

“But Ologrians were tearing off limbs and biting them after they killed all the people in a Federation Colony,” Corree persisted.

Greelon made more clicking sounds. They were strident as though he was angry. “Apparently you were only shown a part of the actual battle as well as some contrived scenes.” He straightened his robe. “You saw the fury of warriors stirred into revenge killing. What would you expect if one of your ships had been destroyed with many of your comrades aboard? It was not a warship; it was a contact ship. There was much killing, but believe me when I tell you that even in their anger, the warriors did not eat their victims.”

Corree couldn’t say anything for a moment. She remembered her question to the holo-man in the teaching pod.
Didn’t anyone bother to ask?
If Greelon was telling the truth, it seemed no one wanted to. “Maybe they were afraid. Or someone made a mistake?”

Greelon gazed at her thoughtfully. “Perhaps that is a possibility, Corree. It is something to consider.”

Corree decided to change the subject. She didn’t want to take a chance of irritating Greelon. “What is going to happen to me and Riss?”

“For right now, you are under my care until we arrive at Alogol. Then it is up to The Head and The Claw…our supreme leadership. I am hoping they will continue to allow me to have guardianship over both of you.”

“Why?”

“Why?” Greelon asked in surprise. “Because I am a scientist and despite your appearance, you are a different species.”

Corree couldn’t help it; she shuddered. He would do the same thing the human scientists did.

“What is wrong?” he asked, moving to the side of her nest.

“You are a scientist,” she answered in a small voice.

“I don’t understand….” His red eyes grew dark. “Your ability came because of what your scientists did to you; am I correct?” When she nodded, he continued. “They did things that hurt you?”

“Yes.”

“If I know something will be painful, I will let you know. I do not anticipate more than taking a little of your blood to make sure you are healthy.”

Again, Corree felt he was telling the truth. Greelon left but very quickly came back with a small container of something nourishing as well as pleasant tasting. Almost immediately she felt sleepy and suspected there had been some kind of medicine in the liquid. She didn’t remember Greelon leaving.

The next day Corree was feeling well enough for Greelon to take her on a tour of the scout craft. It was much bigger than the pod that had taken them to Mendel. In fact it was many times larger than the teaching pod. When he took her to a large room where the ceiling showed a star-filled expanse, she gasped in wonder. Corree had seen stars in the sky before the moons rose on Mendel, but never had she seen anything like this. Clusters of bright orbs glowed dazzling spectrums of colors. Single stars vied for attention everywhere she looked and deepest black filled the spaces in between. Corree knew about stars, but had no idea they could be so varied in size and color.

“We are fortunate to be near a part of the galaxy where many stars are born,” Greelon explained. “The ship’s energy panels always face that direction. The astronomers can study whenever they choose even as the ship’s power cells draw in the radiation from the stars. The rest of us come here to feel the heartbeat of the gods.”

“Heartbeat of the gods?” Corree asked.

“We feel our souls are entwined with the stars. Their energy feeds us. There are many who feel the gods—the makers, reside in the stars.”

At his words, Corree felt a pang of longing for her own home; for her forest on Mendel. She looked for the blue sun. There were a couple of stars that were close in color, but none were hers. Corree thought she understood what Greelon was saying. “Where is Mendel?”

“It is behind us. We are traveling toward my home planet.”

Corree wanted to ask if she would ever go back to her home, but she didn’t. She was afraid of the answer Greelon might give her.

“Would you like to see what I am working on?”

Working on?
she wondered. She couldn’t imagine what a scientist in a ship of warriors might be working on. Corree followed Greelon into his workroom. She was surprised to see that the walls were lined with small narrow boxes decorated with a variety of designs. There had been similar things during her days growing up under the care of the scientists. Corree knew they contained information, but had never had a chance to look at one.

“May I see one of those, please?” She pointed.

Greelon looked surprised, but he quickly pulled one down and opened it. There was a small, rectangular-shaped item inside and Greelon took it out. He slipped it into a machine and pointed toward the only section of the wall not covered with the shelves. Lines and squiggles showed up on the wall. They scrolled slowly up, showing more strange lines and shapes. A picture came up. Corree walked closer to study it before it disappeared. To her surprise, it stopped and she was able to examine it. There were several Ologrians, most of them large, but one quite small. The small one was held in the arms of a large one. It was different. The skin was almost white and its eyes were much smaller. There were stalk-like growths on the top of its head. There was no pelt and no tail. The legs seemed stunted and much too short to hold up its body.

“Is that a baby Ologrian?” she asked.

“A pre-morphic youngling,” Greelon informed her.

“Is the rest of what you showed me some type of communication?”

Greelon looked astonished and then shook his head. “I guess they wouldn’t have taught you how to read since you’d be going to a primitive planet.”

“To read?”

“The lines, marks and shapes all have meaning if you know what they mean.”

Corree thought of the times she had followed animal signs and wondered if it was the same. “Could you teach me the meanings?”

“You want to learn to read Ologrian?”

She pointed to the picture showing on the wall. “I want to know what this is all about.” Corree turned back to Greelon. “Do you think I can learn?”

“Do I think…?” He made a choking noise deep in his throat. “Of course you can learn! What you had to learn on Mendel to survive—you can learn anything!”

Corree was excited. If she could learn to read these information containers she could find out for herself what Greelon’s people were like.

Whatever else Greelon was supposed to do on the ship, he put it aside to teach her. She learned the names of the stars and star systems she had seen out of the observation port. Her favorite was Mulladar. It was a relatively close nebula that changed color and shape often. Sometimes it was a flowing green, other times it was tightly spiraled yellow. Sometimes it beat with a rhythmic cadence that soothed her. It made her feel better that there were even stars that could mutate.

On the other hand, the reading was almost impossible. After several days, Corree was ready to give up her quest to learn written Ologrian. There were so many different marks and symbols and she had learned a scant few dozen. Trying to remember that they were based on pictures didn’t help a great deal. Most of the concepts were totally alien to her.

As she grew more comfortable with Greelon, she asked about Riss. He was still confined, unable to get used to the Ologrians, ready to attack one at the slightest provocation. “Why can’t I go see him? He knows me.”

“You are also in the form of an Ologrian. We can’t take that chance yet.”

“He wouldn’t attack me.” But Greelon was adamant and she had to be patient.

****

Greelon had to constantly remind himself that Corree was human. It was uncanny how Ologrian she was in appearance; how Ologrian she acted. He found that reminding himself of her origins didn’t bother him anymore. She was a youth that had been used by her people and was still being used—this time by his. She had never had a chance for growth-play. The youth centers on Alogol allowed the young to play and explore, even for a period of time after their first metamorphosis. Their learning was steeped in play.

From what Corree had told him, she was barely out of her first stage when she had been sent to Mendel. Nine human years old? And responsible for a group of humans younger than herself? No wonder she felt guilt for the one they lost. However, would the The Head and The Claw consider that when they decided what to do with these youngling humans? The Claw, Supreme Commander Garinsh, and The Head, High Judge Mekron, had wanted Corree and Riss destroyed when they had learned of the Federation’s attempt to unleash a plague on their people. It was only his argument that the two humans might be useful that had saved them. Once the plague virus was isolated and countered, he had been directed to learn all he could from them. Their sentence had only been postponed, Greelon was told, not commuted.

Now that he had come to know Corree, Greelon felt himself pinched in the middle of a political rock slide. He had learned much and none of it was of threat to his people, at least from these two humans. What he feared was that Corree and Riss would be taken to the Palace of Science. Once inside, they would have no chance of doing anything except being specimens. Greelon knew that was the other motive of the leaders. They wanted to know more about this ability to mutate these humans had. They wanted to know more about humans.

There was a slight shudder beneath his feet.