Professor Kang’s smile stretched across the screen. Periodicals and bound dissertations lined the shelves behind him, making his office a lair of unkempt intelligence. “Hello, Jeff.”
Jeff frowned at the monitor. “Hello, Professor.” The last project was a disappointment. Though he’d been proud to create the first human-monkey chimera, ridiculous legal restrictions kept them from implanting the embryo. A petri dish made a poor womb.
“The last project was…” Kang trailed off.
“Hindered,” Jeff added.
“Right.” The professor scratched his beard. “Is this call encrypted?”
“It is.”
“Perfect.” Kang hesitated, glancing at his notes. “I think we can build on our previous work.”
“What good would it do?” Jeff objected. “The subject will die after a month no matter what combination we make.”
“Not this time,” Kang said.
His tone was intriguing. Jeff cocked his head. “What do you mean?”
“D.O.D. approval.”
Jeff’s eyes lit up. If the government wanted this, they wouldn’t have to use overseas laboratories. It would also provide all the funding they needed. Then it hit him. They could implant the embryo.
“We need cells for a new chimera.”
“Of course. Do you have a source?”
Dr. Kang stared into the camera, unwavering. “I’m looking at him.” The hairs on Jeff’s arms raised. His mind ran wild, and he knew why. Whatever the government had given Kang the freedom to create, there couldn’t be a record or any outside sources.
“This one will be different, Jeff. We’ll be growing a human-wolf.”
Jeff’s mouth fell agape, but he snapped his strong jaw closed. “I’ve been wanting to talk again. I’ve always known we could have gone further.” He glanced away from the screen and ran his fingers through his hair. “But why a wolf?”
“That was the D.O.D.” Kang shook his head. “My guess, they wanted something easily transportable. Something rigorous and resilient.”
Jeff nodded. “You already have the DNA?”
“Yes, yes. Done a long time ago, here in Seattle.”
The two men eyed their screens for several seconds as if exchanging thoughts. Finally, Kang spoke. “So I’ll see you here, then?”
Jeff nodded.
“Tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow.”
The screen went black and Jeff packed his bags.
* * *
Two years later…
Jeff growled. “How’s it going, Professor?” Kang was visibly disturbed.
“I just need a sample.” Kang’s hands trembled. “It won’t hurt.”
“I’ve heard that lie before.”
“I’m sorry.”
Jeff’s yellowing eyes scanned the basement lab, and he drew a deep breath. It had been cleaned, but the stink of sanitizer lingered in the air. He could still see the dead eyes of the chimeras, merely weeks old when they were killed.
Kang unlocked the cage and stretched the needle toward him. Before he could complete his task, Jeff thrust his claw into Kang’s neck. A reddish spray coated the bars of the cage.
“Rest in peace, father,” Jeff grunted.
The Wolfmother had claimed his first kill.