VD-49

Prologue

Once, a while back, a group of idealistic people in eastern Russia attempted to invade Alaska and take over the US from there. No one knew about it; even the people who planned the invasion spoke no word about it, as it had failed horribly.

It had been decided to invade Alaska from the inside; in such a subtle manner that no one would ever notice. Then they would advance on the US. But how?

Step 1:

Planning.

And so they planned, for days on end. Suggestions flew, but nothing worked. Finally, one man came up with an idea. Not an incredibly realistic one. The original foundation for their plan had been to send in a group of secret soldiers. But they had quickly ruled it out. When big things started going wrong, hands would immediately start pointing to any newcomers. But then a man with an idea spoke his thoughts. "We want to send in soldiers," the man said. "Soldiers who will blend in completely with their civilization. Kept hidden from prying eyes. Why not keep them hidden all the time?" The others' faces contracted with frowns.

"Isn't it too cold?" someone asked.

"Aren't there wild animals in the woods?" someone else asked. The man silenced the question with a wave of his hand.

"Yes, in answer to both questions," he answered. The man with the idea led the others to a new room with a window that overlooked a cell. Inside the cell, there were all sorts of people. Men and woman alike. They shared a similar look. Grungy. Caged. Oily. Nervous.

"As you know, I own and control a think tank. They had been working from dawn till dusk until they discovered a new serum. They are calling it VD-49." The man with the idea pointed at the people in the cell. "These people behind me are convicts. I will not go into their details. They have murdered and stolen for their own gain. They have no right to live. They will be injected with this serum and will be sent into Alaska. Once they have done their work, they will be released with a clean criminal record. That is the deal I have made with them."

Though the man with the idea had no intention of setting these criminals free.

A man in the crowd, one who had no violent intentions and wanted to build his world up into a glorious one, spoke up. "What will happen to these people once the VD-49 is injected?" 

The man with the idea looked at him. "The VD-49 will increase their stamina, strength, intelligence and endurance by a thousandfold. They will be able to resist the extreme cold, the pang of hunger and thirst so much longer than the normal human." A gleam of pride shone in his eyes as he talked of the serum. The others thought he looked a bit maniacal. 

"Are there any bad after-effects?" said the man who wanted to help his world. 

"There are no bad effects. Only good results," the man with the idea said impatiently.

The humane man said," There are always consequences, good or bad. When you breathe, do you not exhale carbon dioxide? When you flex your fingers, do your muscles not tighten? I will have no part in this. It is not natural, what you are planning." He then turned around, exited the building, and went home. The man with the idea surveyed the others. "Will you follow him? Or me?" he asked. The others shifted on their feet. They didn't like the tension in his shoulders, the tightening around the corners of his mouth or the angry glint in his eyes. Dangerous. "We will follow you," said one.

"Yes," said another. One by one, the others agreed, until they were all in agreement. The tension in the room relaxed, along with the tension in the man's shoulders. Step one was completed.

The man who had no violent intentions was found dead in his home that night. Cause of death: Unknown.

Step 2:

Begin readying everything for the enactment of the idea.

Maps were drawn up, actions were planned, calls were made and presentations were given. The day came to inject the convicts with the VD-49.

"All of you," the man with idea said, "all of you have a chance to serve the better world." Everything had been explained to them. They knew what to do. They would be dropped off at the border, given rations for the next few days and a radio would be given to them to receive missions and targets. The convicts were injected with the VD-49. They were to be dropped off the next day. Nothing went wrong.

Step 3:

Enact the plan.

The convicts were loaded up in a helicopter and taken over the Bering Strait to the border of Alaska. They got restless along the way, twitching and jumping for no known reason. Their minds seemed to throb, as it does when one is tired. A primal mist seemed to shroud their perception of the world. It happened on the border of Alaska.

Short thereafter, a radio call from the helicopter was made in. The pilots screaming for help. Wild, crashing noises in the background. Everyone looked to the man with the idea. After all, it was his plan. He gathered rescue forces and headed to the location where the radio call was last made. They found nothing. They tried contacting the radio that was given to the convicts. Nothing.

A few days later, back at the building where the plan was formulated, people still waited for news on the rescue party. No news came. It seemed that the man with the idea and his rescue party would also not be returning.