Three Blind Mice

Subject 0

"Daddy! Daddy!" a little red headed girl with pigtails says with excitement. "Look at all the baby mice!"

"Don't get attached to any of them, Princess," her father warns. "You know Daddy needs these specimens for his experiment."

"I know," she sighs, "it's just so sad that none of them will be able to be a part of a family."

The father sees the sympathetic look in his daughter's eyes, and hears the sorrow in her words.

"They are an important part of the research we're doing," he tries to explain. "If we are successful, they can open doors for us to make human life better."

"I guess," she grudgingly succumbs to her father's logic. "It's just a shame that not even one of them can be loved..."

She looks up at her father with deep green eyes. Her lower lip protruding slightly in a manipulative pout.

"Ugh...", he shakes his head in defeat.

The little red headed girl with pigtails smiles in victory.

"One. You can pick one to take home."

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you, Daddy!!!" she thrillingly hops up and down.

Like a child in a candy store, she presses her button nose against the glass and scrutinizes her vast selection. There are so many to choose from. All are simply adorable. How can she ever decide on just one?! That's when I notice her, just staring at me and my siblings. My curiosity gets the better of me, so I leave the comfort of my kin and walk over to her. I stand on my hind legs and put my paws on the glass for support. Her cheeks are decorated with light freckles, and there is a genuine care that twinkles in her eyes. She suddenly plants a finger firmly on the glass, pointed straight at me.

"This one, Daddy!" she erupts. "I want to bring this one home with us."

"Okay, Princess," he agrees calmly. "Under one condition: every experiment needs a control, an untreated specimen that will set the norm for all others, that way Daddy and the rest of his team have something to compare against the rest of the mice, to see if we are making progress. Your mouse will be Subject 0. Do you understand?"

"I guess so," she nods her head slowly. "Can he stay at home with me, or does he have to come to work with you?"

"We'll run the preliminary tests on him here first, get our base line, then you can bring him home," he informs. "Don't worry, we aren't going to do anything that will hurt him."

"Okay," she says with relief. "But I don't like 'Subject 0' as a name..."

"He will be labeled that here, but once he comes home with you, you can name him anything you'd like."

"Deal!" she squeaks with joy, then her and her father leave me and my siblings to scramble about our large cage.

That was 2 years ago.

"You need to follow me," I warn the two young mice. "It's not safe for you here."

"Why should we trust a crusty old codger like you?" the male makes his attempt to play the Alpha card.

"We?" the female makes it subtly known that he doesn't make the decisions for her. "Subject 0, I thought you were a myth."

"I assure you, my dear, I am quite real. And please, my name is Harry."

"Harry?" the male scoffs in mockery. "What kind of name is that?"

"The kind given by the love of a child. Now swiftly, follow me..."

I turn and begin scampering toward the southeast corner of the room.

"Can he even move swiftly?" the male rhetorically asks the female.

"Quiet, Subject 99," she bites back. "Harry, what's going on?"

"There's no time to discuss it here. We must get to safety first."

In the southeast corner of the room, there is a circulation air duct cover. Only two screws hold it in place. One in the upper right hand corner, and one in the lower left. I remove the lower left one, and the cover swings open.

"Quickly now, in here."

The female gingerly enters without question, but the male stands defiant before me.

"I still haven't been given a reason to trust you," he demands assurance.

"40+ of our kind lie dead in the trash. We are the only three who remain. Wouldn't you want to know why?"

It fortunately doesn't take long for the rationale to penetrate his thick skull, as he follows the female into the duct. I'm quick to join them, still being nimble enough to slide the cover closed, and replace the screw in its rightful spot through the slats from the inside.

"It's not far from here. Just stay close."

"What's not far?" the female wonders.

"Freedom."