Chimerical_Knave

Alpha

2


March 21, 2202

"Today, mankind has once again proven to mother nature that we can adapt, and that we can improve our lives using the tools she hands us. Thanks to the brilliant mind and dedicated heart of Jacob Eager we have successfully combined, what was once viewed upon as an act of taking up the role of God, stem-cell research, along with advanced nano-bot technology. This medical and technological breakthrough could very well change the face of th-

A middle aged man watching the HoloTiv from his kitchen powered the device off, cutting off the morning anchor woman. His somewhat younger wife entered a moment later, planting a quick one on his right cheek.

"Why'd you turn off the Tiv? I wanted to hear about the weather."

The husband took a sip of his coffee before answering, "It was about stem-cells and nano-bots again. I didn't want to hear any of it." He unfolded the newspaper that had been lying on the table.

"Still against it?" She sighed.

"You better believe it. Anyhow, how is junior doing?"

"Oh, the usual except that he only needed one diaper change for the night."

"Is that so?" He flipped through the newspaper a couple of times. "Oh, would you look at that?"

"What is it?" She looked up from the toaster.

"It says here that a Sylvester Sinner bought 60% of Nano-Tech Labs a couple months before the breakthrough. He could be a multibillionaire now if he sells all of his stocks and shares. Amazing how the world works. Right? I mean, with nano-bot-stem-cells and multibillionaires."

"Absolutely not. This is all the work of God. He obviously intended for us to discover that and to benefit from it."

The husband looked up from his Wall Street Journal and raised his right eye-brow. "You sure about that? It says here that an stem-cell fused nano-bot implant would cost ten grand. And that's just for your hand. I don't think that we're going to benefit from it at all."

"Oh hush. I'm sure the price will go down in time. It always does." She set the jelly covered toasted bread in front of him.

"Really? And how long do you think that will take before either of us can afford it? Ten years?" He refolded his newspaper.

"Forget I even mentioned it. Now hurry up. You're going to miss work if you get caught up in rush-hour."

"Point taken. I'll be on my way now." The husband stuffed the toast in his mouth and drained it down with lukewarm coffee.

Outside his apartment there was a constant stream of people bustling left on one end of the street while a surge of others started to head right on the other side of the street.

Inside the apartment, the wife turned the HoloTiv back on and watched the last few seconds of the interview with Jacob Eager.

"And that's how I successfully fused stem-cells with nano-bots."

"Mr. Eager, some people criticize you for trying to play God. Your comments?"

"Well, I say that it's all poppy. I invented something that has the constructive ability of a human cell, yet also the endurance of a machine, and they want to condemn me for it? We are using human innovation to pave a path for human immortality. What is evil about wanting to see your children and grandchildren grow up? What's evil about wanting to spend time with them in their extracurricular activities? It's all rubbish, I think. Religious people will always be slow to accept the future."

"There you have it folks. Give a round of applause for Mr. Eager! I'll see you next time on Prime Time Live."

January 3, 2203

"Jacob Eager is proud to announce that nano-bot implants will be available to all from now on. Your insurance will cover the cost of an implant. From now on, you won't have to worry about your grandchildren. Everyone can be there for them."

May 26, 2204

"The police investigates the sudden homicide of Kyle Bates. He was taken from his home this Tuesday, restrained in not one, but two cuffs, as they carried away his wife and two kids to the hospital; both in critical condition. The police are not yet revealing any answers but they do believe that this is directly related to the nano-bot implants that he has inside of his body. More details later on."

"In other places, the country of Hungary has fallen into a state of anarchy. The people have all rebelled and overthrown the government. It appears that the EU will intervene but even they are unsure of what will result from the waging battles. From this inside video we can see hundreds of people passing through the streets and overturning cars. Casualties are not yet known but the number are rising as we speak. We are not yet sure of why so many people rebelled but we do have a refugee with us that has a couple of words to say."

"The people . . . they eyes. It not human! They come at me and I ask them what is happening? But they ignore me and hit me. I try to hitting back but almost they don't know what is pain. I use wooden stick and broke on his back. He still came at me like he didn't feel it. I escape with life. The people over there are become crazy or something!"

"There you have it. He is currently being treated at a local hospital for injuries, all of them are minor injuries limited to cuts and bruises. We will have more information on the situation later on. This is Moria Sanders and I'll see you next time on Channel 5 Action News."

The man watching the Holotiv from his sofa groaned as a spasm of pain erupted for the twelve time in his right arm for the day. The random and sudden spasms had started a couple months ago but he figured it was because of a torn ligament in his arm from his rigorous work-out. Now he was worried that it was something else.

He tried to stand up but he ended up falling and knocking a vase over. His wife investigated the noise.

"Fred? You alright?"

For some reason, he couldn't feel his arm any more. He looked at it. Did it just make a closed fist by itself? He tried to open his fist again. It opened just an inch. He reached over with his free hand and felt his frozen arm. It felt rock solid, almost like he was flexing it. But he wasn't putting any strength into that arm though.

Just as Fred reached for the phone his arm unfroze and he could feel the armrests of the chair again. He brought his arm up and examined it, flexing it at the same time. It looked pale compared to his other arm.

Fred frowned. "I'm not sure. My arm wasn't moving."

Mari shook her head. "I'm telling you, you should see a doctor if your arm hurts that much. I keep telling you but you just won't listen."

Fred waved her worries away. "It's just stress, that's all. How bout some tea?"

Mari stared at him for a second. "Sure."

She disappeared into the kitchen.

A moment after that it started up again . . . but this time it didn't just affect his arms. Fred tried to stand up but his legs were locked in place as well and when he tried to speak he found that he couldn't—his jaw was clenched. He sat there for a good minute trying to fight it.

When his muscles relaxed he gasped, taking in large gulps of air, sweat rolling down the sides of his face.

Mari walked into the room holding a tray with two steaming cups. "Tea's read- Fred, what's the matter now?"

His arms shot up and knocked the tray out of her arms. "Fred! What are you-

"Stay away," Fred managed to groan. His lower jaw felt like jello and there was a constant buzzing inside of his head, impairing his train of thought. He stumbled into the wall and a picture shattered onto the floor.

"Fred?" She ignored his warning and stepped in closer, placing her hand on his shoulder.

He didn't know what happened next. His right arm came up and grasped his wife's throat. It was almost as if his body was being controlled by something else, something from within. He could see his wife choking, her arms wildly batting at his face, but he wasn't able to relax his grip at all; matter of fact, he couldn't feel any nerves inside of his body.

Fred tossed his wife against the wall and she bounced off. She crawled into the kitchen, crying. "Fred! Stop it Fred!"

He planted a foot forward, and then the other, making his way into the kitchen.

Mari scrambled to her feet, her hands rubbing her neck. She opened a drawer and pulled out a steak knife, holding it out in front of her with both hands. "Fred. I'm serious. Stop right now!"

Fred didn't hear her. He was gone.

He lunged at her and Mari screamed as she stabbed the knife into his chest. She let go of the handle that was protruding from Fred's chest. He took a step back and his head lolled about lazily. Fred dropped to the floor at Mari's feet.

She was too shocked to scream anymore. Mari knelt next to the body, her hands shaking. "Fred?"

She rolled his body over and cringed at the sight. Blood dribbling down the side of chest. She grasped the knife handle and sobbed before pulling it out.

The blade was crimson, blood dripping from its tip. Mari threw it to the floor and hugged Fred's body, all the while crying.

Fred's finger twitched.

Mari felt the rise and fall of his chest and looked up.

He growled.

"Fred?"

His face came up, shrieking, and his teeth sank into Mari's arm.