"ADAM: The Horrors Beneath"
Chapter 2. Some Things Are Not Meant To Be
In another branch of Fontaine Futuristics, Bridgette Tenenbaum's recently appointed colleague Dr. Suchong was conducting testing of a slightly different variety. He had the firm belief that ADAM could be used to manufacture concoctions that he named "plasmids", which would give the users abilities beyond that of normal men or women. His first spark of inspiration had struck him while passing through Rapture's musuem. In one of the glass tanks which housed aquatic life, Dr. Suchong spotted an electric eel, swimming rather dutifully through the water. What if mankind could harness such powers as that of the electric eel? To emit hundreds of volts of electricity from his body. Suchong returned quickly to his laboratory and began making notes and theories. It wasn't long before he had a tonic ready for testing on his subjects. Just as was procedure for all research within Rapture, Dr. Suchong recorded with his Accu-Vox for future review.
"Suchong beginning testing on Subject #3 for new electric plasmid. Last two not go so well, so Suchong hopes this one will be more fruitful."
This subject, a young woman no older than 19 or 20 named Maria, trembled slightly as she sat nervously in the testing chair. Watching one of Suchong's assistants prepare the syringe as the other cleaned her arm, the young woman was quite uneasy as her mind wandered off. She was set to be married to a wonderful boy, Danny, she had met in The Kashmir Restaurant, and had only signed up for this research testing as a way to gain a little extra money. She wanted kids one day with her fiance, two boys that they could raise down here in the freedom of Rapture. They told her when she signed up that this would be harmless testing,and that she would be generously compensated. What bride-to-be wouldn't want extra cash with her fiance to prepare for a life with children? Snapping back to reality as she heard Dr. Suchong shut the door between the testing chamber and the viewing room, she looked at one of the assistants he picked up the syringe full of a purple, luminous substance. She took a deep breath as she waited to be injected.
"Now we will be injecting Subject #3 with new plasmid, and we have to monitor for positive or negative results. That Fontaine gonna be one mad jerk if we don't come up with something real good with his funding."
The needle slid into the young woman's arm with steady, solid precision,drawing a wince from her as it pierced. The assistant's manner was quiet and efficient, lacking any form of bedside manner as he injected her. Drawing in a breath as the needle was removed, she let it out as this stern man set the syringe onto the tray with a light clank. Within moments she began to pant, before the feeling of electric fire washing through her body forced her to cry out.
"Subject starting to exhibit reaction to plasmid, let's hope for something good this time." Suchong spoke without emotion into his Accu-Vox.
The woman attempted to bolt upright in the chair, only to realize that as her mind had been wandering, they had strapped her arms and legs down. This only caused her more panic, her eyes darting back and forth.
"Heart rate going up, subject breathing heavily.", the assistant announced with a slight tremble in his voice.
As crackles of electricity streaked over her flesh, one of the straps holding her left arm sizzled and snapped, freeing that arm to spasm violently. No longer grounded by her grip on the chair, the immense voltage coursing through the subject's left arm shot out, catching one of the unfortunate assistants in a burst of electricity. The poor man spasmed with a violent cry before collapsing in a smoking pile.
"#3 is showing better results than first two subjects, maybe this one survive."
The subject was screaming horribly at this point, her mind racing and her body racked with pain as the electricity surged from within her own flesh. With Suchong watching, she began to resemble a living Tesla coil. Brilliant bolts of electricity arced from her body, being drawn to the metals in the room as she continued to cry out. Over the course of the next minute or so, with Dr. Suchong merely observing, the test room became filled with electricity. Then, as suddenly as it had began, the powerful surges stopped. As clouds of smoke cleared within the test chamber, the doctor peered in to see the black remains of Subject #3's corpse.
"sigh...it appears that while electric plasmid almost worked this time, the subject completely burn herself out. But...Suchong feels that we ARE getting closer..."
Scribbling efficiently onto his notepad, Suchong ordered a cleanup in the test chamber before leaving the observation room. Frank Fontaine would be calling soon for a progress update, and the doctor only hoped this breakthrough would make him happy.