Perhaps cloning isn't such a marvelous idea after all... |
Cloning seemed like a good idea, but why did I clone that specific person? Or, at least what had gone wrong when I had dared to clone him? Countless thoughts raced through my mind and endless piles of questions tumbled about as he looked me directly in the eyes. His face was awfully distorted, blood-stained, and appeared to be completely devoid of life. His eye sockets were obscure and empty, yet somehow I felt as though he could still see me, cowering with fear in the corner of the room. Continuous streams of crimson-red blood leaked out of his wide open jaw, inflamed nostrils, and rigid ears. A heavy stench of rotting debris hovered about the panic-stricken laboratory, making me instantly nauseous. The rest of his body was entirely made up of shriveled skin and bulging bones, and long razor-sharp claws replaced his hands. It was barely even human anymore. I had created a monster. It was earlier on that very unfaithful day that this had all started. I, a scientist at the Institute of Human Innovation, was assigned to test a very powerful new chemical agent, called Cortexorebral, a substance was designed to accelerate the rate at which a living organism would grow and age. My laboratory assistant, a good friend of mine, and I had conducted this experiment immediately. We had decided that we would test the chemical agent on a clone of an actual human being, fantasizing the possibilities of such an experiment. We took a DNA sample from a decent, healthy volunteer named Mathew Lestrange. We then proceeded to smear the sample with various chemicals, one to induce cellular reproduction, another to provide the growing cells with energy, and another, and another, and another until finally we had added the dreaded Cortexorebral. After that, whether the DNA just wasn’t compatible or whether the chemical was just too strong, something went terribly wrong. The cluster of cells started to grow incredibly fast, so we both knew that the Cortexorebral had worked, however, not as we had imagined it would. The rate of growth was rapidly accelerating, and after a surprisingly short time it had reached an alarming rate. At last, a human was created before our very eyes, growing older and older and older until suddenly he stopped growing. Right in front of us, a man, somewhere within what appeared to be his early twenties, stood motionless on the floor. He was strangely quiet for a few seconds. Then, he opened his eyes wide and surveyed his surroundings. Meanwhile, my partner and I had stared blankly at our creation, completely awestruck. We had created an exact living copy of young Mathew in less than two short minutes. Everything about him was identical to the original, from his wavy maroon-coloured hair to his deep hazel eyes. Even his facial and bodily proportions were exact. To me and my partner, this was a tremendous breakthrough in science. Without thinking, I advanced towards the clone in admiration and accidently startled our creation. It jumped with fear, turned abruptly to face me, and let out an ear-splitting shriek of pain and terror. My partner and I hurried to cover our ears, but alas it was no use. The terrible sound penetrated through our skin and echoed obtrusively in our heads. We crouched and withered to the floor, rolling about in agony, victims of this painful, banshee-like screech, while the clone continued his never-ending wailing. The following events happened all so suddenly. In a matter of seconds, the clone that had once resembled Mathew Lestrange no longer looked anything like him. Blood was pouring relentlessly onto the tiled floor and I thought that I had actually caught a glimpse of a rotten eyeball rolling nearby. By now, the wailing had stopped, but a terrifying monster stood towering before the both of us. My partner, firmly clutching a fine scalpel in this right hand, made a daring attempt to save us both and kill the beast, but his actions were all in vain. As soon as my partner leapt forward, the creature understood exactly what he was trying to do and thrust its jagged claws into his chest. I couldn’t dare to watch another second of it. I turned away and sobbed faintly as the lifeless corpse of my partner was tossed carelessly by my side. And now here I was, cringing on the floor as the creature slowly turned its attention to me. The beast stumbled before me with great effort, crawling on all four limbs. It was growing weary, it had aged too much. It crouched down before me and mumbled with great strain: “Ww…wh…hy…yy?” With its last breath, it raised one of its ferocious claws, ready to strike, and then, everything went dark. |