Once she was safely out of her patients' sight, Dr. Taylorton allowed herself a maniacal laugh. The government had denied funding for her research even after she pointed out the military applications. Her former colleagues at the university had thrown her out, citing "breaches of the code of ethics" because she wouldn't let bureaucracy slow her down. Even her own family called her mad behind her back; she'd been forced to obtain all her real equipment through intermediaries because they didn't trust her with anything more dangerous than a neon laser. Even so, Dr. Taylorton laughed, because today none of that mattered. Today was the day she would show them all!
Finally, she sighed and returned to work. As much as she would have loved to watch the transformation herself, other matters required her attention. Creating a simple injection that would change the human race forever required funding - funding she acquired by applying the principles of her serum to other projects and consulting for other scientists under a variety of false names. The reports were tiresome, but necessary. Besides, similar reports and publications would be required for the process to gain acceptance among other scientists.
Some time later, her train of thought was interrupted by the first screams of pain. She smiled, knowing her niece had only volunteered because she thought the serum would be a vial of saline again. Building her trust by injecting her along with the controls had been well worth the effort. However, her face when pale when she looked at the clock - only twenty minutes had passed since the injection, so the transformation should still have been in the preliminary stages! It wouldn't be painful at that point unless something had gone catastrophically wrong. Heedless of her other work, she jumped out of her chair and rushed down the hall to the rest of the laboratory. Within thirty seconds she arrived at the lab, and her mistake became clear.
Sun Dec 29 23:38:10 2013