The Laboratory


The laboratory was huge and well equipped. With huge roofs, white walls, glass, chrome and stainless steel finishes, its developers spent a huge amount of dollars on only the best and latest finishes and technology.

General Lynch felt the power of money and politics in these labs. He smiled a rueful, yet cynical smile. The great economist, Keynes once argued that great government expenditure could break the Great Depression. It took the large investment of World War II to break it. However, in General Lynch's opinion, it was not the government expenditure, but rather the War itself, that broke Depression.

After and during the war, opportunities were created that perhaps never would have existed without the War. War lessens the population and lessens the burden on the already very limited resources. Ultimately, War is very, very profitable. War was his employer.

"General!" General Lynch turned. Captain Stryker approached, pushing a gurney, followed by his R154 team.

"General, here are the Lycan bodies as requested. We brought the Vampire Elders as well."

"Thank you, Captain. You and your team are dismissed." The Captain did not move.

"If it is all right with you General, my team and I would like to stay."

General Lynch nodded nearly imperceptibly. He moved toward the gurney closest to him. On it was a man with a confident look and clothing cut in a renaissance, aristocratic style. Even in death, his demeanor was arrogant, even though half his face was cut off.

"Viktor," the General said softly. He would have recognized him anywhere.

He moved to the next one. A beautiful woman lay serenely as if asleep. "Amelia." She was so beautiful that she could have graced the celebrity pages and starred in most of the blockbuster movies. Looks could be deceiving, because according to history and legend this woman was a warlord in her own right. The report said that she ruled the New World coven with an iron fist.

"General, the next one would be the one called Marcus, or rather what remained of him."

"Thank you, Captain."

He threw open the sheet. He was not prepared for what he saw. It was not the pieces of the mutilated body that sickened him. It was the idea of this unnatural creature of the night.

As a soldier he has fought many battles, ones in which in which you faced the enemy. He was not in favour of this biological, chemical warfare or robotics or any other fancy notions. His superiors looked at all the alternatives and argued that they will look at it all if it meant saving their soldiers lives.

"I hope this particular alternative does not come back to haunt us", General Lynch muttered.

"Or bite us in the ass", Captain Stryker added.

"Yes, Captain. Or bite us in the ass."

"Sir, that's the Vampire Elders. We have the Lycans on the other side."

The general walked over. The first one did not look that spectacular. Long, black hair, with an unremarkable face.

"That would be Lucian, Sir."

The general shook his head affirmatively.

So this is the legendary Lycan King. Does not look that extra-ordinary.

He moved on. "Next, this one was his right hand man Raze. We assume, Viktor killed him. No other Vampire could have killed him that easily." Captain Stryker's voice droned on.

"Continue, next one."

"Last, but not least, the only Werewolf Elder, William Corvinus. His head ripped off by his distant relative, Michael. We unfortunately have no blood or DNA of this Michael. That concludes all the specimens. All the other vampires and or Lycans were of no consequence."

"Thank you Captain, for he informative briefing and when are we expecting the doctor?"

"Oh, but I am already here General. Here and ready to give the world what the Corvinus Family failed to do, giving the world a new beginning."

"Doc, we are only creating soldiers; trackers, infantry, reconnaissance, nothing more, nothing less."

A look of irritation flashed over Doc's face, "No General, we are creating the future of warfare. Soldiers that are immune to biological warfare; soldiers that can regenerate and heal and not get sick, ever."

"Doc, it will decades before these soldiers will be ready for combat. Training, conditioning."

"General, you are not serious are you? How naïve can, you be? Do you really think we have just started this project?"

Perplexed, General Lynch looked at Doc and then in the direction of Captain Stryker. Stryker just shook his head, claiming ignorance.

"What do you mean, Doc?"

Doc laughed. In that laugh, a hint of the maniacal and the egocentric lingered. "General, please answer me this? How did Viktor create his Death Dealer Armies? How did he create the Lycans, his daylight protectors and slaves?"

Understanding dawned on the face of General Lynch. "Doc, you are not implying that you going to in one way or the other, infect these young soldiers?"

General Lynch walked towards Doc. "I am still in charge of this operation. No such thing will happen while I am in charge! Do you hear me Doc? No such thing!"

"General, I see that you are under the wrong impression. We are not planning to do anything to these soldiers. Over the past thirty years, we have been waiting for this moment. We have raised children, bred them really, test tube babies, in layman terms. We bought sperm cells, eggs, and blood from various institutions. We have more than enough specimens from all over the world. Trained, conditioned, and brainwashed, if you will. All ready for this gift we are about to bestow upon them."

The general was fuming, "What did I get myself into?"

"Another thing General Lynch, you are no longer in charge. Your 'operation' as you call it was only to retrieve these bodies, nothing more and nothing less. Judging by the bodies around me, I would say your 'operation' is over. The rest is just medical procedures, which I will administer. That, my dear General, puts me in charge and I have the paperwork from your superiors to prove. So if you will excuse me, I have work to do."

Before he knew what happened, Doc was lying on the cold cement floor with a bleeding nose.

"Fuck you, Doc; you and those superiors of mine. The day will come when all of this will bit you in the fuckin' ass."

Doc got slowly up from the floor, "General, you will pay for this. Captain, please escort our General Lynch out of here and confine him to his quarters. He is not to leave or to communicate with anyone. Is that understood?

"Yes Sir, Doc Sir!" Captain Stryker responded. He took the General's arm and softly whispered, "I am sorry General."

Stryker lead the general away.

"And General," Doc added, "within a few hours, the first of a new army of Lycans and Vampires will be born. They will be better, stronger and faster than these," he pointed at Viktor and the rest, "just wait and see."

General Lynch cursed himself as he was led to his quarters. "What have I done?"