Tales From Crashdown: Beowulf

Chapter 17: Lizard's Regrow Their Tails

     From that day onward, history had been made. It was decided between the queen's to name this country Nakoncha. The word is meaningless, because it had been pulled from a hat and was written in by an 8 year old girl.
     This country also went on to prosper. With the most feared barbarian as ruler, nobody was foolish enough to test her, not knowing what type of army she could have raised.
     50 long, prosperous years passed since the founding of Nakoncha, but it would soon face its first threat soon enough.
     “What happened?” It thought. “I can't see.”
     Before it were displayed the words, “5 decades you slumbered. I have kept what files of you I could. Much had to be deleted, uncorrupted, rewritten, and even replicated. I'm sorry that it took me so long to finally prepare you for this process, but it was necessary. You'll be in B.A.S.I.L.I.S.K. soon. Upload of memory and sentience files beginning now.”
     It watched as images began to flash by, millions of partly corrupted memories finally flowing back. Images of walking, speaking, his mother, his home, his games, and his years of manipulation. Finally, Grendel's mind was rebuilt.
     He could see, but his eyes could not blink. He could not feel his skin, he could not smell the subtle sweetness in the air, and he could not taste the saliva of his mouth, but he could hear the steps that echoed throughout the chamber.
     From Grendel's view, he was tiny, like a human staring at a puppy.
     The man was ancient, gray hairs and wrinkles, with large buck teeth.
     Grendel spoke, his voice no longer his own, “Maurice, the naked mole rat musk. That is you.”
     Maurice unfolded a laptop and typed away at it, causing more words to be displayed, this time in the corner of Grendel's vision. It read, “B.A.S.I.L.I.S.K. was successful. You've taken control of the artificial body, designed to the specs you provided me nearly a century ago. The only difference is that it's 5 feet shorter than what was planned, only 255 instead of 260. Before I pass, I must let you know that your mother and your killer still live. They've ventured east, and have taken much land in Europe. I suggest you find your way there if you want revenge. A GPS program I had installed will navigate you as naturally as a bird flying south. Thank you for allowing me a place to live and a place to call my home.” The old man closed his eyes, and fell to the ground.
     Grendel sat there in the dark, gazing upon Maurice's body. He had the memories of Maurice, of the help he provided and the decades of loyalty to the B.A.S.I.L.I.S.K. project. Yet, he didn't care that this man was dead, and did not bother to avoid stepping on the body as he exited the mountain laboratory.