the human genome. Information as such was beyond belief, and indeed, even after he’d check for errors several times, with two more samples, the results were the same. The second sample, assuming it the machine read it correctly, had even a few more, previously missing genomes that were a match.
A creeping feeling came over Frank, running down his spine. If the code was exact, it meant two things:
1. The creature was related to humans or the other way round.
2. The chart looked like that of a decomposing human.
A sudden onset of a popping headache to Frank’s nape caused him to sit down and dread his lack of careful conduct in this research once again. The carcass may have contained had some kind of a foreign contaminant.
It may have even been part of the reason for the being’s death in the first place. And he could’ve contracted it.
It could’ve even been the very reason the body decomposed so quickly.
Maybe even flesh-eating bacteria.
At this, Frank shuddered and decided not to go there. There was nothing he could do now; not go to the hospital, not take any medication, he could only take his samples and isolate himself. Without delay, he collected all the samples and some arbitrary things he could use at home: testing strips, acid tests, petri dishes. The weight of the cooler he brought the samples in had now tripled, forcing him to carry it under arm. Fortunately it was already dark outside and there was almost nobody wandering about. When he got to his car, he discovered a small white envelope under the windshield wiper. It was a ticket for exceeding parking time. On a sunday, when the meters are not enforced. Apparently a meter-maid disguising him or herself simply as “officer Carrey” who had been notorious around the east bay for going to drastic measures to fill the quota. Goddamn bully.
At home, the answering machine had a missed call from Allen. He had called to check up on Frank. The events from the night before, however, now seemed like a distant and unimportant memory. The situation now transcended lights coming out the water.
Now he had other things to worry about.
Like maybe dying.
There was plenty of room for the samples in the fridge among the condiments and moldy lemon halves.
Once everything was stacked on the top shelf, Frank opted for a whiskey flavored pick-me-up.
Turning around to get to the pantry he stocked his liquors for the past decade, he recognized the remains of the torn suit he pulled off the carcass, haphazardly thrown over the barstool the night before.
Remembering procedure, Frank once again put on the rubber gloves to avoid direct contact.
Even if it was now too late, he thought,
there’s no such thing as ‘too careful’.
The suit, light in color the night before had now turned a dark shade of violet. Velvety on the outside and smooth on the inside. It appeared that the material didn’t require refrigeration, though something must have happened to it since it changed colors.
He covered the counter with black compost trash bags and laid the suit out on the surface. After half hour of setting up a lab in his kitchen, and using his father’s microscope, he was ready to examine the evidence further and record his findings. By now, the samples that were in vacuum tubes changed only in color while the other samples were liquid and emitted a sharp-smelling gas, that induced chlorine-like heaeedaches. The next 45 minutes were spent vomiting in cold sweat, but there was no way he’d call an ambulance.
His house was now hosting a contagion of unknown origin, and he better quarantine.
It was all his fault. Nobody else deserved this.
Soon it became much harder to think and Frank started blacking out into pillowy slumber.
Cold water bounced off the shower corner tiles, with a promise of body temperature decrease. Tunnel vision and nausea set in quickly once his skin got wet and nothing was grounded in reality anymore.
The fever decreased shortly before it
A creeping feeling came over Frank, running down his spine. If the code was exact, it meant two things:
1. The creature was related to humans or the other way round.
2. The chart looked like that of a decomposing human.
A sudden onset of a popping headache to Frank’s nape caused him to sit down and dread his lack of careful conduct in this research once again. The carcass may have contained had some kind of a foreign contaminant.
It may have even been part of the reason for the being’s death in the first place. And he could’ve contracted it.
It could’ve even been the very reason the body decomposed so quickly.
Maybe even flesh-eating bacteria.
At this, Frank shuddered and decided not to go there. There was nothing he could do now; not go to the hospital, not take any medication, he could only take his samples and isolate himself. Without delay, he collected all the samples and some arbitrary things he could use at home: testing strips, acid tests, petri dishes. The weight of the cooler he brought the samples in had now tripled, forcing him to carry it under arm. Fortunately it was already dark outside and there was almost nobody wandering about. When he got to his car, he discovered a small white envelope under the windshield wiper. It was a ticket for exceeding parking time. On a sunday, when the meters are not enforced. Apparently a meter-maid disguising him or herself simply as “officer Carrey” who had been notorious around the east bay for going to drastic measures to fill the quota. Goddamn bully.
At home, the answering machine had a missed call from Allen. He had called to check up on Frank. The events from the night before, however, now seemed like a distant and unimportant memory. The situation now transcended lights coming out the water.
Now he had other things to worry about.
Like maybe dying.
There was plenty of room for the samples in the fridge among the condiments and moldy lemon halves.
Once everything was stacked on the top shelf, Frank opted for a whiskey flavored pick-me-up.
Turning around to get to the pantry he stocked his liquors for the past decade, he recognized the remains of the torn suit he pulled off the carcass, haphazardly thrown over the barstool the night before.
Remembering procedure, Frank once again put on the rubber gloves to avoid direct contact.
Even if it was now too late, he thought,
there’s no such thing as ‘too careful’.
The suit, light in color the night before had now turned a dark shade of violet. Velvety on the outside and smooth on the inside. It appeared that the material didn’t require refrigeration, though something must have happened to it since it changed colors.
He covered the counter with black compost trash bags and laid the suit out on the surface. After half hour of setting up a lab in his kitchen, and using his father’s microscope, he was ready to examine the evidence further and record his findings. By now, the samples that were in vacuum tubes changed only in color while the other samples were liquid and emitted a sharp-smelling gas, that induced chlorine-like heaeedaches. The next 45 minutes were spent vomiting in cold sweat, but there was no way he’d call an ambulance.
His house was now hosting a contagion of unknown origin, and he better quarantine.
It was all his fault. Nobody else deserved this.
Soon it became much harder to think and Frank started blacking out into pillowy slumber.
Cold water bounced off the shower corner tiles, with a promise of body temperature decrease. Tunnel vision and nausea set in quickly once his skin got wet and nothing was grounded in reality anymore.
The fever decreased shortly before it
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