It was, oh, about nineteen fifty-two, I think. I was working at the West coast office, the one hidden under the meat-packing plant. You'd have to go into the freezer and turn this fake dial to a certain temperature to access the elevator. Now everything's done up to look like a tech company, no fuss, no muss.
Our lab was working on a super-soldier thing for ARPA. I'm not saying they eventually got it straight, but have you seen those Section Four guys? Captain America, eat your heart out.
Anyway, some egghead had a son, real zero, eighty-pound weakling type. Sad. Guy decided that the latest batch was promising: mice looked good, chimps looked better. So he took a sample home, put it in the kid's hot cocoa. By the next morning, the kid's ten feet tall and still growing.
Had a hell of a time cleaning that one up.
I like the casualness of your story, as if accidentally creating a giant man was a typical day for the people working at a clandestine, underground lab. Funny story!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteI also enjoyed the very matter of fact voice in this piece. Had a great picture in my head of this poor chap having to 'clean that one up' - poor kid.
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading and commenting!
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