I would have put this up yesterday, but the site was being all I AM ERROR and I was all, Not cool. But anyways, here it is. I've fretted whether I made certain things too obvious or too subtle, but ah well.
Edit: In the shower, I suddenly had the thought: 200 million years? That's before dinosaurs supposedly were wiped out! My god am I an ignorant American!
So now I've fixed the number to be much more reasonable, to be around one of the many ice ages (I hope). I apologize to any paleontologist who may have been mortally wounded by my critical error. Also, fun fact: An ice age is defined as a time where Earth has glacial caps, so technically, we're still in an ice age.
Thirty-eight.
Dr. Cockroach stood up to welcome General Monger as the door slid open almost silently. "So, about my desk…?"
A heavy sigh. That was never good. "Look, they're just afraid. They don't want you designing some kind o' 'Destructinator' and goin' on a rampage. They're new, and people even I don't know. Some official types're starting to creep into this place."
"You didn't tell them I was a mad scientist, did you?"
Monger laughed coarsely. "Naw, they figured that out for themselves," he replied, chuckling even more as the scientist gave him a mock look of indignation. "Anyways, we caught another monster today."
"Oh really?" Dr. Cockroach raised an eyebrow, almost certain he knew where this was going.
"We call him The Missing Link. Since he's apparently the link between man an' fish…and since - "
"Ape."
"Hm?"
"The link between fish and ape."
Monger waved his hand dismissively. "Whatever. So, we've got a fish-ape and he needs a cell full of water. Until we finish filling up that one room, he'll be staying in yours." As the general said this, two men wheeled in a large tank containing said fish-ape, who was apparently still knocked out by whatever kind of tranquilizers Monger used.
"Yes, that worked out so well last time."
"That was your fault; I did warn you. You should be fine this time, though – he won't break out of that tank. He might not even wake up."
"Well, if you say that, then nothing can possibly go wrong," the doctor wryly remarked. Monger simply replied with a small smirk before leaving him alone with the unconscious fish-ape.
As soon as the door shut with a heavy clank, Dr. Cockroach stepped towards the large tank. As a man of science, there was no way he could ignore such an important discovery. "So…Link, hm?" Not much of a name, but it was better than calling him 'Missing.' Or 'The.'
Perfectly preserved. For millions of years. If he had been frozen, then perhaps it was around thirty million, though how could anybody be sure? It seemed impossible, but here was Link, still alive. Perhaps he had been frozen somehow. But that wouldn't explain how he didn't die. Flash freezing didn't occur in nature, as far as Dr. Cockroach knew. And though the scientist had heard of frogs staying frozen for a few years, this was a completely different level. This was a being from prehistoric times…
The doctor briefly wondered what life was like before history. What kind of dwelling did Link live in? What did he eat? What could eat him? Did he use stone tools? Or something different? What fauna and flora did he encounter daily? Any symbiotic relationships? Did he have a…wife…
This sobering thought was interrupted by Link himself, who had woken up and appeared to not enjoy being restrained in a glass box in a small cell with what looked like a giant bug. The strong fish-ape pounded against the glass. Despite (or maybe because of) Monger's assurance, Dr. Cockroach slowly backed away until the wall prevented him from going any further. He was glad he did so, for only a minute later, sharp glass shrapnel clattered above him and water exploded forth, filling the cell to his ankles before draining out through the crack of the door. Link jumped out of the newly-made exit, staring at the doctor warily, as if assessing whether he was a threat or not. Dr. Cockroach held still, only releasing his breath when the fish-ape started examining his surroundings for a way out.
He must feel like a, haha, fish out of water, thought Dr. Cockroach as he observed Link feeling the walls with interest and pounding on them experimentally. "It's metal," he offered helpfully without thinking. As expected of a tense prisoner, Link whipped around, ready to return any surprise shanking. As expected of someone stuck in a cage with a possibly violent animal, Dr. Cockroach jumped back against the wall again. He eventually peeled himself off the wall, rubbing the back of his head, and slowly raised a hand in what he hoped was a symbol of peace.
"Nothing to worry about…I won't hurt you…" Glancing at the fish-ape's large muscles, he added, "Not like I'd be able to."
Link seemed to relax. Perhaps he realized they were in the same situation. He gave a grunt of acknowledgment and returned to exploring the metal walls for some kind of weak point.
"You won't find anything," said the scientist, relaxing as well. It didn't seem like a repeat of three years ago would happen. Link paused, as if trying to understand the strange sounds coming out of his fellow prisoner's mouth, and continued to knock on the walls, though more slowly, apparently recognizing some bleakness in his voice. Finally, he gave up and settled for pacing impatiently around the cell.
"Since you're staying here, perhaps you should learn English." Dr. Cockroach slipped off his damp loafers and socks, which were getting itchy, and took out a piece of chalk he stashed away under his bed. Link's eyes lit up in recognition and he snatched the chalk away, feeling it with his wet hands, smelling it, grinning as he finally saw something familiar in this strange world.
"Well, it appears you've been well acquainted with gypsum," chuckled the doctor as he watched the fish-ape try to scrawl on the metal walls. "Here, you'll find this easier to use," he said, sliding a small chalkboard out from a hole in his mattress. Link took that as well and scrawled primitive symbols...though as the scientist watched, he couldn't help but feel he had seen them before. They were pictograms. A point with many arrows going in different directions. A little fish-ape figure. It wasn't hard to figure out; 'Where am I?'
The next line was harder. He was sure the scrawny, big-headed figure was himself, but the next pictogram seemed to just be an empty circle. It took him a few minutes to finally start thinking it symbolized a blank face; 'Who are you?'
Two hard questions to answer. Dr. Cockroach accepted the chalkboard again and thought some more. He wasn't sure how he could answer the first one…finally, he settled for drawing the two of them encompassed by a large square. The second question was easier – he drew a bug and a man.
The doctor let Link discern some meaning from his own pictograms before leaning over to gently tug the chalkboard away. "I suppose I should introduce myself first…" Pointing to himself, he said, loudly and clearly, in the manner of tourists trying to wheedle directions in English from a person who only spoke Greek, "Dr. Cockroach."
Link pondered this and eventually growled, uncertainly, "dOCtuR kOkrOch."
"I suppose that's good enough for now." Pointing this time at the fish-ape, he said, "Link."
Link started to make odd guttural sounds, but Dr. Cockroach cut him off by shaking his head sadly and pointed again. "Link."
The implications hit the estranged creature full force. He let himself fall to the floor and stared morosely at the ceiling. During the heavy silence, Dr. Cockroach settled on his bed and waited for what he judged to be the right time. "Well, Link, today must have been a trying day for you, heaven knows it was for me when I first arrived…but maybe the English language may help distract you. It's not healthy to dwell on depressing thoughts, after all."
They went through the alphabet and small numbers relatively quickly and moved on to simple words. Fish. Man. Bed. Bug. Tail. Dr. Cockroach had a hard time with 'sun' because he couldn't draw it in a way that Link seemed to recognize, nor could he just point it out, but somehow, with a lot of gesturing, he managed to convey the meaning. Next came 'day.' With more gesturing, he managed to teach Link that a day was generally the time between the rising and setting of the sun. Next came 'year.' He backtracked to numbers. Then he took a deep breath and told Link about how long he had been preserved in (he assumed) ice. The fish-ape didn't understand the concept of 'millions,' but he knew it was something even bigger than 'hundreds' and he sat in another session of shocked silence before moving on.
They only stopped when a group of soldiers came in, all armed with tranquilizer guns, one armed with Dr. Cockroach's meal. Link balled his hands into large, threatening fists, but glanced back at the scientist, who quickly shook his head. The fish-ape relaxed and, though marching with a defiant and proud step, let himself be led to his new home.
Picking through his lunch (or dinner, or perhaps even breakfast; time seemed curiously distorted in prison), Dr. Cockroach found a dirty cassette titled 'Lernen der englischen Sprache.' Within moments, he had found components for a device that could theoretically implant English phrases in the mind, coupling them with the native language of the user…
He scrapped the idea and instead, chewed on the dark tape, forcing his thoughts to turn elsewhere. Not because it would require a vast amount of electricity through the head, but because he found the idea of experimenting on Link repulsive. They were kindred spirits, after all.
