Someplace in nameless city in America:
The scientists gathered round the table, muttering to themselves .They had been working on the Project for the last five years and results, while not as promising as they hoped, were acceptable. But outside interference was a problem now. And it looked like their project was going to be cancelled unless they came up with a new backer.
"Well?" snarled an older man with longish white hair and some very odd glasses. Most of his colleagues wondered when he was going to realize that he had to look normal for the clients, not like a reject from MIT during the drug days. "What is the problem?"
"The problem is that the PETA and a few other groups think that we are exploiting animals," a short man with bowl haircut and long nose commented dryly. Chuckles greeted that announcement. Animals weren't exactly being exploited. No more than the humans in their experiments were.
"So that's why our backer pulled out, Gerald. I just thought that the man had gotten a weak stomach from the failure rate, I don't think he understood the phrase 'Need to break eggs, to make an omelet." commented a taller man, with a shaved head. "And congratulations on the birth of your daughter, Jason."
"Thank you, Sanderson" beamed the long haired man, "She'll be the same age as our second surviving batch, that might be interesting. A good yardstick to measure their progress with."
A small Chinese woman entered the room, with a silent man behind her. "I have found someone that is willing to fund our research further, with a few conditions. He will explain them to you. It is the best offer that we are going to get."
The man cleared his throat and opened his briefcase, handing out packets of paper. "I have done most of the preliminary work with Doctor Ong. She assured me that she was authorized to speak for the group. Correct me if I am wrong."
Murmured assents greeted this announcement. When they died down, the man continued. "Good. My associates and I, you may call me Glen, are willing to fund your project under the following conditions:
1) You stop all further experimentation. The failure rate is what lost you your last backer. And the publicity about your animal experimentation. Use what you have now and see what went wrong with the terminated ones. When you can positively state what the problem was, you can continue with the operation.
2) You will relocate to the location given. You will terminate all contact with anyone outside our circle. Not that any of you have bothered to make friends outside your own group. And publishing your results would be counterproductive to your interests. Human experimentation went out of fashion in America with Naziism.
3) The experiments that survive, will be trained to be used in the furtherance of our business interests. We own them. We own your research. Just follow the rules and we will get along perfectly." He closed his briefcase and started to leave the room, stopping at the door. "I will let you discuss this while I have a cigarette. After that I need your answer."
More murmurs occurred as quiet discussion occurred between the scientists, arguing about the pros and cons of their offer. After a minute or so, Dr. Ong raised her voice.
"It was the best offer. And we will need their protection if our other backer decides that his conscience needs to be relieved. Everything will be destroyed if that happens. None of us, with the exception of Jason, has a family. We are not employable on the open market with today's restrictions. This is the only way if you want the operation to survive. They govern with a loose hand. It is for the best. There is no other way."
"I am worried about my daughter more then my wife," Jason admitted. "My wife is not overjoyed that I am not working for a respectable company. Our marriage is not happy, but I do want my daughter. A quiet divorce will take care of that loose end. And about my daughter, I want to raise her. My wife, if she does, will turn her into an idiot."
"I am just worried about the experiments. Not all of them will be able to perform the way that they want, the law of averages ensures that. So, other arrangements should be included if they turn out to be better at something else rather then what they were designed for. I would hate to terminate an experiment after fifteen years because we found out that they weren't suited for the rougher side of their business." Gerald commented. No one had any illusions about what they wanted their creations for, they were trying to build excellent soldiers and killers. So they had gone to the private sector instead of the government. It wasn't like they were selling this to a foreign government.
Muttered agreements followed that announcement and the room fell silent as their contact walked back in. "You come to some agreement?" he asked.
"We agree with everything stated above, with a few exceptions. If one of the experiments shows an aptitude towards an area that is not what we expected, but has talent in, we would like that to be encouraged." Sanderson said.
"Also if they are better in that area than what you want them for, and it is useful to you, we would like them to be able to fulfill their obligations to you in that manner." Gerald added. "Odds are that one or two of them won't turn out the way that we like, but will still be useful to you. We do not want them to be terminated after training them."
"Is that all?" Glen asked in a faintly bored tone. #Experiments, terminated, you all are cold if all you think of them is as experiments. All I see is a nursery filled with cute kids and beautiful babies. That we are going to train to be killers. We aren't much better, but we aren't thinking about them as a science experiment.#
"No." Jason stated. "I want custody of my daughter. She will be good to use as a measure against our second group of experiments."
"And if that means that she will never see her mother again?" Glen asked quietly.
"The woman is an idiot. She would raise our daughter that way. I am willing to divorce her." God knows why he married the woman. Must have been hormones, fooling around with all those embryos made him want to create a few of his own. But God, was Charlene an idiot. He still wondered how she made it through high school, never mind college.
"We will take care of that end of the business, when you settle in, she will arrive." Glen stated firmly. #Do you even realize that you just signed a death warrant for your wife? Do you care?#
Jason nodded his agreement and bent to sign his contract, ignoring his twinge of uneasiness. The rest followed suit, signing their lives away, for the lure of their research. They would be taken care of, their operation would continue and they would be protected from the danger of imprisonment.
Christine
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