The merciless noon day sun was razing the city of Cairo when Victor walked past the screaming beggar. His face an emotionless mask, he turned towards the vagrant with a skeptical eye. The beggar scrambled away, a noticeable limp in his stride. It was somewhat curious that this Egyptian man had no noticeable injuries, but Victor had far greater concerns. He continued on his way, expecting to never see the same beggar again. The doctor was wearing a dignified, if wrinkled from travel, grey suit of clear western make as he passed through the streets. Were it not for his cold demeanor and the fear inspired by British troops, the doctor would have been assaulted in the streets. Victor didn't particularly care what the local underbelly thought of him. If they should attempt to attack him, he could defend himself with ease.
He approached the riverside warehouse with the same detached confidence he had walking the streets. Victor let himself in, not bothering to knock. Waiting for him was Konrad, who was pacing nervously next to a certain crate, distinguished from the other wooden boxes by the holes made to allow air in and the seal of the Frankenstein family. Dr. Dippel's nervousness only increased exponentially when his associate walked into the warehouse. Victor again paid no heed.
"Konrad, may I assume that Adam made it through the journey well enough?" Victor asked as he retrieved a key from his jacket pocket.
"I haven't asked him yet, as I believe he's still slumbering," Konrad replied, handing Victor a rather strange gauntlet bearing a small electrical apparatus not unlike that used to bring Frankenstein's creation to life, and a keyhole.
"Well then, I we'll just have to wake the slothful abomination then," Victor said nonchalantly, sliding the key into the gauntlet, and turning it, bringing it humming to life, "Konrad, if you'll do the honors of opening the crate?"
"Damn it Victor, I've been against this project since it conceived this thing. Why shouldn't we simply drop him in the river and be rid of him for good?" Konrad said, nearly wailing towards the end.
"Konrad, remember that you are as guilty as I in birthing this deformed horror. You know that should we lose sight of him, he'll surely do to us what he did to my brother. Is that so hard to understand, Doctor Dippel? Or do you wish to have your neck snapped in twine?" Victor replied casually.
Konrad scowled impotently, before taking a crowbar and prying the top off the crate, releasing the foul stench of bloated corpses into the air of the warehouse, a scent that only grew worse in the burning sun. Nestled within, strapped in with steel manacles, was the monster that had made Dr. Frankenstein's reputation across the world. Deadened grey appendages laid stiff at the monster's side. Mechanically enhanced limbs were welded on to parts of the flesh, furthering the abomination's distance from humanity. Victor simply positioned himself above the bound fiend.
"How are we feeling on this fine hellish day?" Victor said in the manner of a doctor at a patient's bedside. The creature's eyes shot open to stare at Victor balefully.
"I feel as though I've been reduced to the status of an animal," Adam, the first of his artificial race, replied.
"I see we're still a tad cross about the travel arrangements. Really now, you honestly couldn't have expected to simply ride the rails, now could you?"
"The circumstances do not change this grave affront to my dignity. Abomination though I may be, I am still a man, and I demand I be treated as such!" the monster roared with indignation.
"You know Adam," Victor began musing aloud to his creation, "ever since I gave you this sick mockery of life, I've ceased to believe in immortal souls. I've learned in time that we are all simply constructs of flesh, bone, and fluids. Our ideals of righteousness, spiritual meaning, desire, and yes, even our sense of identity, all are but electrical and chemical impulses resulting from the way our bodies function. Neither you nor I may make any claim of being above an animal."
"You've always been more of an abomination than I, Frankenstein!" Adam roared, thrashing against his chains.
"Abomination, Adam? Who among us is the fiend who slew so many of my kin?" Victor snarled back at his rebellious creation.
"Damn you Frankenstein, you gave me no other choice!"
"My point has clearly gone over your head," Victor said coldly, before turning a dial on his gauntlet ever so slightly, "perhaps I need to provide you with a demonstration."
The freakish device than surged with electricity, a small bolt of artificial lightning dived into a rather strange bolt set in the monster's forehead. Frankenstein's monster then howled with pain as the bolt traveled through his unnaturally animated body. The screams seemed to delight Victor with perverse glee. Once it's suffering was over, all Adam could do was breathe heavily, struggling instinctively to retain his life.
"Now do you see my point? Not only may I slay you at my leisure, but had you what is mockingly referred to as a soul, you would not have suffered so terribly. But you're nothing more than dead flesh and lightning. You hardly have any right to bemoan what I'm doing to you, considering you seem to place no value on any life other than your own," Victor said harshly, every bit of malice he had for his creation seeping into his voice.
"Damn you Frankenstein..." the monster hissed weakly.
"You're no man Adam. You're a demon. But for the first time since your birth, I'm actually glad to have you around. A failed experiment may still prove to be useful. Tell me, did you hear tales of Count Dracula in that space of time where you had run away to the Artic?" Victor inquired with the same sadism he had while attacking Adam.
"The fiend was mentioned in my travels, yes," the monster said softly, slowly regaining his composure, "From the tales, he seems to be as terrible as you, a comrade in perversion."
"The dead nobleman is no comrade," Victor said with a chuckle, "but a rival. We both seek the secrets of life and death, but now I have the chance to wrest those secrets from this cursed land before he does. And you are going to aid me in besting him, or you will be slain where you stand. Do you understand?"
Adam simply nodded, his expression one of submission.
He approached the riverside warehouse with the same detached confidence he had walking the streets. Victor let himself in, not bothering to knock. Waiting for him was Konrad, who was pacing nervously next to a certain crate, distinguished from the other wooden boxes by the holes made to allow air in and the seal of the Frankenstein family. Dr. Dippel's nervousness only increased exponentially when his associate walked into the warehouse. Victor again paid no heed.
"Konrad, may I assume that Adam made it through the journey well enough?" Victor asked as he retrieved a key from his jacket pocket.
"I haven't asked him yet, as I believe he's still slumbering," Konrad replied, handing Victor a rather strange gauntlet bearing a small electrical apparatus not unlike that used to bring Frankenstein's creation to life, and a keyhole.
"Well then, I we'll just have to wake the slothful abomination then," Victor said nonchalantly, sliding the key into the gauntlet, and turning it, bringing it humming to life, "Konrad, if you'll do the honors of opening the crate?"
"Damn it Victor, I've been against this project since it conceived this thing. Why shouldn't we simply drop him in the river and be rid of him for good?" Konrad said, nearly wailing towards the end.
"Konrad, remember that you are as guilty as I in birthing this deformed horror. You know that should we lose sight of him, he'll surely do to us what he did to my brother. Is that so hard to understand, Doctor Dippel? Or do you wish to have your neck snapped in twine?" Victor replied casually.
Konrad scowled impotently, before taking a crowbar and prying the top off the crate, releasing the foul stench of bloated corpses into the air of the warehouse, a scent that only grew worse in the burning sun. Nestled within, strapped in with steel manacles, was the monster that had made Dr. Frankenstein's reputation across the world. Deadened grey appendages laid stiff at the monster's side. Mechanically enhanced limbs were welded on to parts of the flesh, furthering the abomination's distance from humanity. Victor simply positioned himself above the bound fiend.
"How are we feeling on this fine hellish day?" Victor said in the manner of a doctor at a patient's bedside. The creature's eyes shot open to stare at Victor balefully.
"I feel as though I've been reduced to the status of an animal," Adam, the first of his artificial race, replied.
"I see we're still a tad cross about the travel arrangements. Really now, you honestly couldn't have expected to simply ride the rails, now could you?"
"The circumstances do not change this grave affront to my dignity. Abomination though I may be, I am still a man, and I demand I be treated as such!" the monster roared with indignation.
"You know Adam," Victor began musing aloud to his creation, "ever since I gave you this sick mockery of life, I've ceased to believe in immortal souls. I've learned in time that we are all simply constructs of flesh, bone, and fluids. Our ideals of righteousness, spiritual meaning, desire, and yes, even our sense of identity, all are but electrical and chemical impulses resulting from the way our bodies function. Neither you nor I may make any claim of being above an animal."
"You've always been more of an abomination than I, Frankenstein!" Adam roared, thrashing against his chains.
"Abomination, Adam? Who among us is the fiend who slew so many of my kin?" Victor snarled back at his rebellious creation.
"Damn you Frankenstein, you gave me no other choice!"
"My point has clearly gone over your head," Victor said coldly, before turning a dial on his gauntlet ever so slightly, "perhaps I need to provide you with a demonstration."
The freakish device than surged with electricity, a small bolt of artificial lightning dived into a rather strange bolt set in the monster's forehead. Frankenstein's monster then howled with pain as the bolt traveled through his unnaturally animated body. The screams seemed to delight Victor with perverse glee. Once it's suffering was over, all Adam could do was breathe heavily, struggling instinctively to retain his life.
"Now do you see my point? Not only may I slay you at my leisure, but had you what is mockingly referred to as a soul, you would not have suffered so terribly. But you're nothing more than dead flesh and lightning. You hardly have any right to bemoan what I'm doing to you, considering you seem to place no value on any life other than your own," Victor said harshly, every bit of malice he had for his creation seeping into his voice.
"Damn you Frankenstein..." the monster hissed weakly.
"You're no man Adam. You're a demon. But for the first time since your birth, I'm actually glad to have you around. A failed experiment may still prove to be useful. Tell me, did you hear tales of Count Dracula in that space of time where you had run away to the Artic?" Victor inquired with the same sadism he had while attacking Adam.
"The fiend was mentioned in my travels, yes," the monster said softly, slowly regaining his composure, "From the tales, he seems to be as terrible as you, a comrade in perversion."
"The dead nobleman is no comrade," Victor said with a chuckle, "but a rival. We both seek the secrets of life and death, but now I have the chance to wrest those secrets from this cursed land before he does. And you are going to aid me in besting him, or you will be slain where you stand. Do you understand?"
Adam simply nodded, his expression one of submission.