All but Human

Prologue

The first attempt couldn't move on its own.
The second attempt could move on its own, but felt no pain.
The third attempt felt pain, but not emotions.
The fourth attempt felt emotions, but didn't look human enough.
The fifth attempt looked human enough, but couldn't physically grow.
The sixth attempt could physically grow, but couldn't hold a soul.
The seventh attempt could hold a soul, but was prone to insanity.
The final attempt was perfect.

____________________________________~o~O~o~_____________________________________

"Where are they?!" demanded the furious head scientist. He and the head of security stood in the room where the perfected experiments were kept. The room was empty except for he and his infuriating companion.

The scientist glanced into the empty glass cradles to make sure he'd seen correctly.

The head of security shook his head, obviously not believing what was right in front of him, which infuriated the scientist more.

"Find them." the scientist said, his voice low and icy. "To make up for your incompetence." He would rather erase the security man, but someone had to find the experiments.

"I'm assuming I will be erased if I don't?" the security man said bitterly, but there was a slight trace of fear cleverly hidden. But not clever enough. The scientist detected it.

Good, he though smugly. He will fulfill his task faster. "You have seventeen years to find at least one. And I may or may not give you more time to find more depending who you find in those years."

The security man made to protest, the scientist could see it in his eyes, but he never got the chance.

"You have none to blame but yourself; if you hadn't have lost them, I wouldn't be sending you on this task." the scientist said coldly, his gaze filled with ice.

"But--"

"I gave you a simple order, to watch them yourself, and you failed. You can make no argument unless you wish to say that you disobeyed that order." he yelled, furious with the complaining idiot that was the head of security. How he had become the head of security, the scientist did not know. But he wished he did. So that he wouldn't make the same mistake again.

"No, sir." the security man said, head bowed slightly in submission.

"Then be on your way." the scientist said, waving a hand in dismissal, having reined in his tempter. Why was it that anyone given the most simplest tasks were incompetent fools?

The security man bowed his head stiffly in respect and left.

The head scientist cast another glance around, glaring at the maid hovering in one of the corners. Whomever has done this will wish they hadn't, he promised himself. Then he too made his departure.