Chapter Eighteen: Evolution is The Survival of the Fittest and Their Ability to Change and Adapt
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The little monkey screeched loudly as he heard the automatic door piston activating. He leapt from side to side, holding onto the cage bars, his calls for food getting louder and louder. A white coated lab technician walked over taking a juicy piece of fruit out of his pocket as he spoke.
"Morning Mavis, are you pleased to see me today? Come and get your extra snack from the cruel lab technician."
He walked around the lab greeting all the animals, checking the water and feeding them according to their needs before going to a large fridge and pulling out several bottles of painkillers. He filled seven or eight syringes from the bottles, carefully ensuring all air was tapped out. Regulations stated that animals suffering pain or discomfort were to be given appropriate painkillers. He knew this was subjective. Humans in pain were always asked to tell how much pain they are in by choosing a number between one and ten with ten being the worst. With animal's it was impossible to know which test was causing them pain and how much pain. The assistant carefully drew up radioisotope syringes for ten animals. He started at Mavis’s cage. As he approached the little monkey moved to the back of the cage screaming loudly. This set off a chain reaction and screams and howls filled the laboratory in no time. Wincing at the noise a second man approached the technician. He wore a suit and tie under his white coat and an identity badge hanging around his neck stated he was Paul Hemming, the director of operations. It was typed in very large letters.
"Martin,” He greeted the technician curtly, “Eric’s phoned in sick so you'll have to work late to ensure we keep the testing up-to-date. I will make it up to you when he can make his time up."
"Its okay,” replied Martin cheerfully, “it’s not like I've got a wife and three kids at home. People just don't like animal testers."
"They will do when we cure cancer,” replied the director, “and thanks Martin."
"Will you let Peter know that I'll be here till about 8pm? Its assessment day," Martin said by way of an answer.
The director left Martin to his work. Mavis had calmed down a little and Martin passed her a little apple whilst he slipped on a large leather handling glove. As soon as he took out the door holding pin the intense screaming and cage rattling started again. Mavis initially avoided capture by clinging agilely to the cage bars and springing deftly from side to side but soon succumbed to the grip of the handling glove. Mavis desperately tried fighting him as he injected the painkiller into her thin arm, even biting into the glove but it was too tough and the grip too tight. He injected the isotope quickly before placing her back in the cage where she sat in the corner barely moving. He thought ruefully that her body was in shock or maybe she had had a little too much painkiller but wasn’t worried. Experience had taught him she would be fine in a moment or two. Martin went to the next primate’s cage which bore the legend ‘Justin Bieber.’ This monkey was larger and more aggressive than Mavis so Martin loaded a small tranquiliser pistol.
"There’s no Eric today Justin,” Martin told him waving the pistol at him, “So you see this gun? If you give me any trouble I’ll toast your ass."
Placing the pistol down Martin picked up two syringes as he unlocked the cage and attempted to keep Justin in. Justin always tried to run. It was easy for two people to contain him but not for a lone lab worker. Justin ran around the cage too fast and Martin made the fatal mistake of using both hands. Of course he only had one glove on and Justin was not a stupid monkey. Seeing his opportunity he bit Martin between his left thumb and finger right on the fleshy bit, taking out a good chunk out. Martin moved back quickly wincing in pain and Justin lost no time making his break into the lab. Martin deliberately regained his composure before he picked up the tranquiliser gun and placed a feathered dart in Justin’s furry flank. He waited until Justin's body slowly lost stability and flopped to the floor before dashing to the first aid cabinet and dressing his wound. It wasn't as bad as it could have been but there was a lot of blood. He could easily have lost a finger he thought rather shakily as he wrapped it up tight and made himself a coffee before giving the unconscious Justin his injections and placing him back in his cage. Martin was conscious he had lost time. The isotope only remained in their systems for a short while and he needed to scan the test subjects after their injections as soon as the isotope had had the chance to get into the system. The isotope would show up where cancer was located and the tumour growth since last time would be measured. These groups of monkeys had been given lung cancer and were being used to test ten different drugs. Martin fired up the MRI scanner. The results of the scans would be mailed to HQ to interpret. Animal testing had been regulated since 1876 with revised laws in 1986 and 1999 but this led to a country whose main income was from pharmaceuticals to go underground with animal testing the same way as cannabis growers were forced into hiding. History showed that Burke and Hare, the first body snatchers, carried out their nefarious trade so doctors could carry out illegal research into death in much the same way as modern animal testing stayed away from public scrutiny and outrage. Martin took painkillers with his coffee and went straight to Mavis who was now highly sedated. He put her in the scanner and pressed a button. The scan took about 20 minutes so Martin prepared his e-mail in readiness to attach and send the data file as each monkey had been scanned. Reading the imagery was a task for highly qualified staff but he knew how to do it. They paid him more in case he got caught but it was never enough. There would be a prison term if he were caught. Martin picked up Mavis carefully and carried her through into her cage. He had a soft spot for Mavis and always left her a little more food out than usual as she seemed to have an enormous appetite for such a small creature. Martin repeated the process with Justin who was now out for the count. It took most of the day to work through the rest of the animals. He had 10 fairly docile monkeys reasonably high on painkillers and all tested before he received an e-mail he didn’t want.
Email:-please find subject number to 15772. Terminate and extract glandular fluids for testing.
The monkeys periodically were terminated and examined if they showed signs that the formula they were testing was working. Many of the formulas were designed to stimulate the correct response from the body in order for it to heal itself. The glandular fluids would show if the monkey had produced the correct or desired reaction. Martin wasn't even sure which one 15772 was. He checked to see which cage the number corresponded to. It was seven o'clock and he would be out there for eight o'clock if he left the tidying up he thought despondently as he checked. It was Mavis. He checked all the cases again hoping he had made a mistake but only confirmed the number. Mavis must have picked up on subliminal signals and she fought him harder than ever before as he took her from her cage once again. He hated his job sometimes but knew someone had to do it and he had twenty thousand pounds worth of student loans to pay off. Capitalism had taken a grip on him at a young age and made him a slave to money and only big corporations paid good money. One quick swift injection and it would all be over he thought wretchedly. The monkeys and animals were kicking off as if they knew what was about to happen. Martin had long suspected they were all plotting against the evil lab technician and were just waiting for the right moment to attack. He figured he was on a paranoid guilt trip: one part of him was saying it was wrong and he shouldn't do it, that it was cruel and heartless but the other part knew he needed the money. The monkey twitched feebly on the bench as her life leeched away. He felt horrible but had to work quickly now. He prepared to make an incision: he would cut straight down the middle line to access all the major organs and glands. This was hard work and the point where he wished he was working on larger animals as monkey glands are very small and hard to find.
Justin watched Martin's every move. The lab was deadly silent with the smell of freshly killed monkey filling the cages. Justin slipped his thin arms through the cage and slowly and silently
removed the pin holding his cage door in place. Opening the door he carefully climbed onto the roof of the cages where he lifted all the door pins. Working in an eerie silence the monkeys simultaneously opened their cage doors and lowered themselves to the floor where they waited as Justin crept across the room to the fridge. He pulled at the fridge door until it swung open enough for his prehensile arms to reach in and pull out a small syringe similar to that one there just used on Mavis. Martin was still intent on his dissection and heard nothing until the pain of the needle being thrust hard into his leg made him cry out in shock. He looked down at Justin uncomprehendingly as he pulled the syringe out and looked at it, wondering what it was. As understanding dawned Martin moved towards the tranquiliser gun but didn't make it. He fell to the floor gasping helplessly, attempting to oxygenate his blood but to no avail. His body twitched as Mavis’s had moments before. The monkeys organised themselves, syringes in hand and with Martin's pass key in Justin’s control they made their way quickly and silently out of the building pausing only to give the same treatment they had given Martin to both Hemming and to Peter the security guard. Hemming was taken completely unawares and died without understanding what was happening. Paul however was a cautious man and had kept a fishing landing net close to his desk. As soon as the first monkey appeared he seized the net and attempted to recapture them, chasing the monkeys around the yard. What he hadn't foreseen while he was chasing one there was another three with needles and it was only a matter of time before one of the needles hit its target and he lay dying on the floor.
Early the next morning Max received two phone calls, the first from a friend and the second from the Staffordshire police. This particular incident been designated as a possible national security risk. Max knew that the particular pharmaceutical company involved was the main contractor for anti-biological and nuclear warfare. A big bright flag lit up when the police put the company name into the records search and Max’s his name as an immediate contact with full access to all investigations. Everyone in MI6 was assigned as a contact in case of problems with companies, people or projects at some point associated with the agency. They had to be experts in the field and if the police became involved for any reason they would check it out even for small incidents such as theft or vandalism that everyone has some at some point. Most investigations could be left to the police after an initial check but three murders required immediate attention. Josh Chloe and the others were well into their first month of training and physical fitness. Their bodies had deteriorated and had muscle wastage after their long stay in the machines. Chloe had started to grow fur due to the lack of fat but was now eating five meals a day to put weight on. Max had grabbed Maddy and borrowed Josh's armband for the day. He even bought a lead and name tag with his telephone number on it. He knew she strictly wasn't supposed to go out without ministerial orders but also knew she would be useful. They were heading for a research facility based in Staffordshire. He didn't know much about the facility as these things are always kept quiet so Max quickly read the relevant paperwork and found they had been testing new antibiotics to combat MRSA. He wasn't looking forward to this. MRSA is not nice and apparently quite a lot of people carry it around and don't even know. He had his ten minutes on Google, MI6’s number one research tool for those dumb on diseases. Max loved the Internet; it gave him a good living and new life forms to research and partner with along with most of the answers he had ever wanted. The journey was going to take a couple of hours and as he drove down the motorway he decided which questions he needed to ask when he got there. Apparently there had been a break in and three people appeared to be dead but what was not apparent was what had been taken, if anything. The senior director of operations insisted the culprits must be a terrorist group hell bent on destruction and discrediting the company. Crime scene pathologists were already there to secure the scene and dust for evidence.
As Max pulled up at the facility he noticed two police cars blocking the entrance of what looked like a group of expensive Porta cabins placed together to form a T-shaped laboratory. Workers were being kept outside by a police cordon. The victims had been identified as a technician, a security guard and the director. Max showed his identity card and was about to be escorted in by an officer who had identified himself as Sgt Perkins when the pale looking policeman spotted Maddy.
"You can't bring that dog in here," the officer looked shocked, “it’ll contaminate the crime scene.”
Max was happy; he didn't play as much as he wanted and it gave opportunity for him to get his badge out again and look cool for a moment.
"Special dog, classified, love to tell you. You know how it is," Max explained cheerfully as he put on gloves and prepared evidence bags. He carried a long grabber tool. He followed Sgt Perkins to the dead security guard who had died outside in the middle of the yard. The guard had had a cabin where a bank of CCTV screens covered all the buildings, door access plus the gate. It was clear to see the perimeter fencing had not been breached. Max could only assume that the attacker had been known to the men or that it had been someone on the inside. Perkins led Max to another body, lying on the floor of an office with card operated doors throughout. Next he was taken to a resting room was next to the laboratory, a curious mixture of canteen, lounge and welcoming room; it was a bit of everything. Forensics teams were dusting all the surfaces. Another carded door led to a laboratory where they found mice, a few rats and everything on the inventory they had already accessed. The third body was also here. Sgt Perkins had promptly asked for the licence to use animals which every respectable laboratory has. Max was carefully checking the list against the animals. They all seem to check out. Max also saw a list of the drugs being tested and the procedures being used. None of the bodies showed a visible cause of death but it wouldn't take long for the coroner to find out. As Max wondered through the lab he saw the MRI scanner. It was only a small one and had a computer next to it, still turned on but with the password blocked out.
"Is this linked to the Internet?" asked Max. MRI scanners all over the country had been taken offline for obvious reasons but it was possible that someone somewhere did not know.
“I don't know Sir, I will find out for you though," replied Sgt Perkins, who had been courteously waiting to assist Max. He left on his mission leaving Max free to speak to Maddy. “Okay super dog, do your thing! I need to know what this was used for, when and whether it’s linked into the internet.”
Maddy stepped up and touched the metal sides of the computer. In only a second or two the password block came down. Maddy brought all the information Max had requested up on the screen. Max could clearly see monkeys had been scanned on the MRI. When Sgt Perkins returned the computer screen was dead.
"Well you were right to call us. My department will take it from here,” Max told him.