Beyond the Horizon

27. Drained

The man kept his face blank as Fennec inevitably gave the kill order. He had grown accustomed to his friend's tangents and obsessive need to be in control, but that didn't make Fennec seem any less ridiculous. They were in the business of manufacturing superhumans with unpredictable powers; there was only so much control to be had.

          Though Fennec was funding and spearheading Horizon Lab's genetic testing and conditioning program, it often felt like he didn't completely understand how very big this undertaking was. How life-changing it would be once they had perfected their methods.

          The man respected and understood Fennec, of course, but being his oldest friend and closest confidante, he knew the man's limitations. He was cautious to the defect of small-mindedness.

          So their experiments resulted in a few high-risk mutations. So those VCs went off and killed a few people from time to time. Not every subject was perfect, but that didn't mean they were beyond usefulness. In fact, wouldn't such strong, effective specimens suit Fennec's original intention perfectly?

          He and Fennec began this project because Fennec had aspirations for their groundbreaking research in strength-enhancing drugs. He believed that once they had a stable version, they could offer the drug to the government as something that might be useful to the country's people in times of global conflict. Technically, they were not supposed to have an army, but if one paid any attention to the worldwide climate, it was plain to see that things were precarious. They could not afford to sit back and be caught unawares.

          The man didn't care much for the government or world politics, personally, but Fennec liked to pretend he was a patriot, so the man let him dream, as long as he had free rein in the lab.

          When Horizon Labs originally formed its research group for the project, the plan was to create a serum that could enhance a person's genetics: to make them stronger, faster, smarter. Everything a super-soldier would need to ensure his superiority over his adversaries. The preliminary trials had gone very well. The test subjects showed marked improvements, physically and mentally. Fennec was very pleased and eager to share their progress, but the man cautioned patience. He couldn't help but feel they could do better. He tweaked their serum a bit further, just to see if they could get more.

          And they did.

          They unlocked something extraordinary.

          Suddenly, the injected subject was not just fast, he could fly. She was not just intelligent, she could read exactly what you were thinking. The drug had not simply enhanced sinew and synapses as before, it had altered the subjects' biology and unleashed hitherto unknown abilities. It was incredible!

          The serum affected each individual differently, however. No two subjects developed the same powers, at least not that the man had seen. The tweaked serum no longer improved musculature and brainpower across the board like the first, weaker drug intended. Fennec, not being a fan of uncertainty, urged them to return to the old version.

          But the man refused to step backwards.

          They were onto something far greater than a government defense contract. They were propagating a new generation of humanity. A more powerful version than nature could ever hope to produce. This was the next step in human evolution, and the man would not pause his progress simply because lesser minds feared the ramifications.

          It took many long talks and several arguments, but eventually, he was able to bring Fennec around. They were still making super-soldiers, but even better, they were superpowered now. They redubbed the project Valiant and its subjects VCs, for Valiant Candidates, and forged ahead.