10:37 PM, Thursday, January 1th 2015. Research Facility
Mr. Dick Looney's POV
Arghh, another long night working at Haynes pharmaceutical research lab, can't those scientists in there see the time, its way past closing and I'm missing my late night dosage of Cinemax, even worse, on a holiday! I mean, all they do is throw around these fancy words like carbons, protons and maybe neutrons I think? One would be thinking what I would even be working at a job such as this where I held the position of med tech / janitor / security guard when I had not even rudimentary mediocre knowledge of the sciences! I chuckled at myself, that's the beauty of nepotism.
My parents and their other geezer friends are off dumping millions into supporting this new upcoming drug that will apparently stop the ages old problem that all cultures, races, and nationalities have spent much of their existence looking for... A cure for aging itself. Fools! As if they will find a cure for that, they should just accept their impending death, especially my parents, they need to stop wasting all MY money...well mine as soon as they die, this time I laughed out loud maniacally, as I let my mind wander onto all the vanities I'll indulge in when they die.
*****3 months later*****
Mina Witkovsky's POV
1:53 PM, Sunday, March 1th 2015. TV6 Dressing Room
"Am I dressed properly? Is my hair done okay? Is my makeup done okay? Something is on my face isn't it kale?!" I screeched.
Kale whispered in my ear soothingly while massaging my shoulders gently "You are going to do great, we have done the research, back checked it, back checked it again...oh and in case you forget, we tripled checked as well".
His soft spoken words with a light chuckle at the end easily removed the gloomy atmosphere that was once palpable only a moment ago. God! Why couldn't I have a man like this? Kale was 6'1 with what seemed like a year round dark tan due to both his African and Caucasian genealogy. His athletic build caused his muscles to strain against his fitted tuxedo, his handsome face was accentuated with his piercing olive eyes, oh his eyes! A slight blush tainted my pale cheeks when I realized I had been lusting at my partner's physique but who wouldn't? Not only was he physically attractive but he was also a single father of one young daughter, I slightly laughed at his estranged wife for leaving such a great man..
"Mina! We're on now" Kale's words brought me out of my short but blissful daydream. We quickly left the dressing rooms and went on stage where we would be interviewed on live TV about our international scientific breakthrough.
On Air - 2:00 PM
"This is TV6 news folks and I'm your host Klara Berry!" The petite blond news host chirped. We quickly exchanged pleasantries before we got into the crux of this internationally viewed conference.
"Is it true that you both, the lead scientists at Haynes Pharmaceuticals Corp., have really found a cure ...to aging itself? If so, do tell!" She asks quizzically, peering at me as if I was the only one in the room, I looked to Kale for help, why did my stage fright have to kick in now, ugh!
Kale came to my rescue and began seamlessly explaining. "This breakthrough that we've stumbled upon directly mutates the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) within the cells, as this ages much faster than the DNA in the nucleus itself, hence reducing the aging process exponentially. The formula used includes Zingiber officinale which is the scientific name for ginger along with a plethora of other anti-aging syntheses but the predominant ingredient is a rare breed Rosmarinus officinalis or Rosemary which is found in African Wetlands. You might be thinking about all the side effects?" Kale chuckled, "After testing for the past three months on different animals species from lab rats to monkeys, all we have observed thus far was a slight increase in protein intake from the subjects. Even now we are currently in the works of getting approval from WHO and NICE, so if all goes well, our product will be in stores near you in the upcoming weeks."
Kale ended that interview with his brilliant smile...I think I'm in love?
*****1 month later*****
Dick Looney's POV
Wow, those nerd scientists actually made it happen huh? Perhaps increasing the life expectancy by 30 years! I'm glad that my parents dumped so much cash into this now, even more because they are one of the largest shareholders in the company. I'll be rich! Then the idea hatched in my brain, people will obviously run down this new synthetic drug as soon as it hits the markets, but what if instead of just extending one's life span, it does so indefinitely in other words, make them eternal! All I should need is to just add whatever chemical substance they used to their samplings and it should work...I think anyway? I was honestly too blinded by the possible exponential profits to care about anything else. I quickly snuck into the lab, and thought to myself, security sure is lax around here, I got in with such ease, and then I chuckled to myself, Of course! I'm the security. I looked around for a bit before I stumbled upon this capped solution in what looked like a beaker? Thank God for high school chemistry. At the bottom of the beaker I saw inscribed something resembling an X and quickly thought of that children show with super powered girls because of some chemical. I disregarded the thought and quickly return to the task at hand, I took the beaker and poured the unknown chemical in with the drug sampling until it brimmed before placing it into the centrifuge and flicking the on switch. A centrifuge is basically a machine mechanism that separates liquids of different densities by making use of the centrifugal forces created when something spins at high speeds. Wow I surprised myself again, how did I know that! I need to stop hanging around these queers when I'm done with this job, of course I'll be rich afterwards!
As the centrifuge began doing its high speed revolutions, an alarm went off as if signaling the incoming herds of white coated scientists began to fill the room, shooting from questions of inquiry, accusations and just plain out profanities at me. I answered them all the same, "I'm making us all you rich, you fools!" I was soon laughing hysterically, I now know why the villainous characters in TV shows laugh like they do, this is just too fu- . My laughter was cut short as I heard a deafening crack then realized I had been pelted across the room while shards debris bore holes through my body akin to Chinese acupuncture. What had I done to deserve this? "In searching for eternal life...I found an early death" I whispered before my mind went dark. At least that's what I thought would happen, I mean wasn't death supposed to be easy and quick? Instead I stayed completely conscious as I slowly bled out while watching the mushrooming smoke escape throughout the smoke stacks, then my vision finally went dim.
YOU ARE READING
Test Tube Zombies.
Science Fiction"they stared at me with lustful eyes, but not the lust that occurs when a guy sees a beautiful woman, but akin to the deep desire that lions had for deer. They saw me as food." Follow our Protaganist Kale james, through a short story riddled with lo...
