Sci-Fi Short Stories - Sci-Fi Smackdown Round 2 Entries

The Lab - Sci-Fi SMACKDOWN ROUND THREE

  Alad carefully mixed the chemicals in the beacon at his station; he had to have his creation perfect, it would certainly be a worldwide phenomenon. He shared a laboratory with two of his closest friends Henry and Terrance.

  “I think this could be the right mixture!” Alad shouted excitedly, much to the annoyance of Henry who peered around his workstation divider.

  “You’ve said that every time,” Henry rolled his eyes.

   “How long until it’s ready?” Terrence asked, putting a halt to his own activity.

  Alad checked his watch, “A few hours maybe.”

  The young scientist Alad scribbled down a few more notes and put the clipboard back down on the bench. The laboratory was nothing fancy, it contained a few workstations, a pigpen with a dozen pigs, food supplies and low-grade equipment; no one was complaining though, as it was government funded. The three of them had finished studies and convinced a politician to create a department of research and creation.  

  Two years of experiments and ideas had gone by and they were yet to successfully come up with some grand creations. Terrence was intent on creating unique latex disguises; ones that could fool anybody. His sales pitch was to use it for government decoys, infiltrations, as well as for spying in foreign lands.

  “Why don’t you give up and help me with my invention?” Henry offered.

  “Because your time travel device is impossible and that other thing on the stand looks ridiculous,” the thing Alad was referring to was a metallic looking man Henry had been working on. Twice he had changed the materials, until he had finally upgraded it to a virtually indestructible lifeless man.

  “That thing is called Hell, and one day it will help me in more ways than you could possibly imagine my friend,” Henry smiled.

  “Why would you call it Hell?” Terrence laughed.

  “I picked the first word I randomly flicked the dictionary open to,” Henry lied.

  Alad removed his protective gear and made his way over to Terrence’s bench, “Incredible!” he admired the liquid rubber Terrence was manipulating over his own arm. Terrence could make his arm fatter, and add powder to change shades of the skin colour. He even used make up to add scars and then remove them.

  “This is my masterpiece,” Terrence smiled.

  “You two could add your creations together,” Henry suggested.

  “It could go hand in hand, they would need to stay alert on reconnaissance missions, right?” Alad asked Terrence.

  “They would,” Terrence nodded.

  Alad had been working on a substance to rapidly and immensely increase focus of the user. Soldiers would welcome the formula with open arms and he could make millions; giving the three of them the opportunity to achieve their own goals and research dreams.

  “What will you call it?” Terrence asked.

  “I don’t know. Focus?” Alad scratched his chin.

  “Quiet you two!” Henry shouted, as he made adjustments to the silver bracelet device. Sparks flew out and the device went flying into the back of his workstation divider.

  Alad and Terrence burst out laughing. Henry frowned and tried to maintain calm whilst gathering the pieces.

  The three of them were deep in concentration hours later; each working on his individual task. Alad had nearly reached the desired conclusion on his formula, Henry was dead quiet, and Terrence now had a different arm on.