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Hey GTS fans! This was originally going to just be a short story, but it’s quickly grown into a novella. I hope there’s a little something for everyone and you find it enjoyable!

- Geronimauxx

 

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Contains very sexual and graphic language and themes - reader discretion is advised.

 

Dr. Raymond Caroll tapped his foot nervously. He sat alone in a small waiting room, the rhythmic thumping of his shoe competing against the ticking of a dusty clock on the wall. He ran his hands over the smooth leather briefcase on his lap, going over his entire speech in his head for a third time. He hated feeling this way – anxious, and not in control. He didn’t mind public speaking, though he detested having to dumb down his concepts to an audience. And he’d presented before the Secretary of Defense’s special council hundreds of times before, yet he still had that uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. It didn't help that he knew the Secretary loathed him – thankfully, the feeling was mutual.

Raymond shook the thought of the Secretary out of his mind as quickly as it had appeared. No time to focus on negative thoughts - the presentation was too important. The research was too valuable. And the payoff was too great. If all went well, this presentation could be the most important event of his life, Raymond mused.

As a military research scientist, Raymond had accomplished a lot in his 40 year career. From his humble beginnings as a lowly lab tech assistant's assistant, to his current prestigious position of custodial attendant. Of course, the title was just a ploy for hiding actual research and development expenditure from possible spies. In reality, Raymond was one of the highest ranking scientists in the American military, and a certifiable genius in multiple fields of study.

Throughout the '80s, Raymond was the driving force for many of the early telecommunications developments that were still used in the modern military. However as time went on and projects were successfully completed, Raymond found his research starting to focus less on communications, and more on biology, genetics, and psychology. He had arrived at the conclusion that technology involving machines and robots could only develop so far before the cost of manufacturing and maintaining would supersede the benefit of the technological payoff. He had determined instead that the future should be concerned with the human body, and the possible enhancements just waiting to be made.

Suddenly, the door opened. A uniformed man with a rifle stepped through, at attention. Raymond got up silently and walked through the door, not waiting for an invitation.

His footsteps echoed through the cavernous bunker. Raymond walked until he reached a table of five impeccably dressed, high ranking military officials, all standing. He placed his briefcase on the table and flicked the two brass latches open.

"Good afternoon Mr. Secretary, everyone," Raymond said in his most pleasant tone, pulling out papers and placing them on the table.

"Caroll," John Ericson, the Secretary of Defense, replied, not even attempting to hide the disdain in his voice. Most of John’s colleagues knew he thought Raymond Carroll was nothing more than a buffoon. Sure, his research had been crucial in helping the American military maintain its technological supremacy, but that was decades ago. Now all he seemed to do was burn through R&D funds like he had nothing better to do - something the Secretary’s few superiors seemed to have noticed as well. But instead of giving him the axe, they kept him on. Whether they were so truly grateful for Carroll's past breakthroughs that they planned to keep him on the payroll forever, or they were afraid he would flip secrets to their enemies if he were ever let go, the Secretary wasn't exactly sure of their motives. So he continued to put up with Dr. Raymond Carroll.

"Today," Raymond started, "I'd like to advise of my advancements in clinical trial HEC-T #182, and request approval for human testing."

The two sets of people on the Secretary's left and right quickly whispered something in each other’s ears. John just rolled his eyes.

"Still working on the same proposal then?" the Secretary of Defense asked.

Raymond cleared his throat, already slightly perturbed by the early interruption. "Yes... sir. Trial number one hundred and eighty-two of my Horomone-Emotion Control Therapy analysis. As I've made abundantly clear in previous proposals, this study, once properly funded and assigned a full taskforce, will change the way wars are fought... at least, against American soldiers."

John stood, unwavering, his cold expression almost daring Raymond to continue.

"Oh?" the woman on the Secretary's far left breathed, her curiosity slightly piqued. "And how is that, Dr. Carroll?"

The Secretary shot a dark look to the mousy woman who voiced the question. Raymond suppressed a tiny smirk - all he needed was one to approve his experiment for human testing, and then he knew his work would do the rest.

"I'm glad you asked, Madam Deputy. The drug I've been developing for the last 10 years is unlike anything that has ever been manufactured before, and will truly revolutionize our country’s military."

Raymond pulled a large sheet of folded paper from his briefcase, and placed it on the table in front of the five figures before him. Unfolding it revealed a number of sketched diagrams of the human brain and body, surrounded by nearly illegible scribblings.

"This drug, currently code named 'HECT', acts as a hormonal stimulant that is to be administered in every soldier in service we have. According to my advanced calculations, only a minute amount, less than a half a teaspoon, will be required to achieve desired results, meaning it will be relatively inexpensive to administer."

"And exactly what does it do?" the woman asked, genuinely intrigued. She was the only board member who hadn't heard Raymond's proposal before. John, the Secretary of Defense, had heard the same tired speech 181 times already.

"The stimulant will enter the subject's bloodstream, and then travel to the neurological center where it attaches itself to key centers in the brain, such as the thalamus, the amygdala, and the pituitary gland. Then, when the subject is in a battlefield scenario, the stimulant can be activated by the user directly and instantaneously, in real time."

"How... exactly?" the woman pressed.

"The stimulant is controlled by the subject's emotions. Fear, anger, sorrow... typical emotions that soldiers experience on the battlefield are the key to activating the stimulant, which then kicks the brain's centre for hormone control into overdrive."

The woman carefully looked at the drawings on the folded paper. "So, it essentially acts as an artificial adrenaline then?"

Raymond's eye twitched involuntarily. “In laymen’s terms, perhaps. But this creation is much, much more than a simple adrenaline boost. This will create monsters out of men. When injected with the HECT stimulant, our soldiers will become unstoppable forces of nature. They’ll become bigger and stronger than any human being ever before them, hardly feel any pain, and heal faster than ever thought possible. They will become unmatched super soldiers. Bullets won’t harm them. Nothing will scare them. They will be the greatest warriors that mankind has ever produced.”

The woman looked to her fellow cabinet members with an uneasy, sideward glance. John noticed, and replied only with a slight ‘I told you so’ smirk.

Raymond hardly noticed, and continued, “And then, when the heat of battle wanes and their emotions return to an ordinary state, they revert back to their normal selves. And the drug remains in their central nervous system for whenever it’s needed next. The ultimate battlefield enhancement.”

“And as you already know,” the Secretary interjected in his deep, scornful tone, “we require successful animal test results on any drug proposal before we approve human testing. Last time, if my memory serves me right, your results were anything but successful.”

Raymond pursed his lips. He hated the Secretary of Defense more than anyone on the planet. He knew that the HECT project was his crowning achievement, and the next major advancement in military technology. But for some unknown reason, Secretary John Ericson refused to acknowledge his brilliance. He had brought this proposal to him one hundred and eighty one times, and was dismissed every single time without a second thought. The last time he was rejected, Raymond nearly had a nervous breakdown, and had to take a short leave of absence.

“And as you already know,” Raymond responded in a sardonic tone, “my formula does not lend itself to animal testing. It requires human testing to fine tune – it requires emotions to trigger and activate. So unless you know how to make a lab rat feel angry, or excited, or jealous, or…”

“You know the regulations,” the Secretary interrupted, his large jaw twisting into a smirk. “Present the latest animal test results.”

Raymond hesitated. He knew this was coming, but he still hadn’t made his decision. If he told the truth, there was no way HECT would be approved for human testing. His last animal test resulted in an uncontrolled stimulation of the pituitary gland – a lab rat grew to the size of a Bengal tiger before he was able to execute his test’s kill command with a release of lethal gas. But Raymond knew this wasn’t the fault of his drug – it was the fault of being unable to account for the variable that was emotion in animals. He was sure if tested with a human being, whose emotions could be measured and controlled, his drug would work exactly as he designed it.

So instead of telling the truth, Raymond decided to lie. “Animal test number 1-8-2 was a success on nearly every measureable. Muscle growth, regenerative properties, pain tolerance – all levels increased by…” Raymond paused for just a quick second “75%.”

John’s grin grew wide, pulling the skin on his face tight. The slight hesitation told him everything he needed to know. He picked up the stamp in front of him, bringing it down with an authoritative THUD on Raymond’s file – it read DENIED in bright red ink. “Please,” John growled, “if you’re going to lie to me Raymond, at least have your facts straight beforehand. Your proposal is denied for human experimentation… again.”

Raymond’s fists balled up, shaking slightly. “You… have no idea what…”

“Yes. Actually I do,” the Secretary interrupted. “In fact, the President himself has finally come around as well, and realized the amount of money you’ve been wasting on this project.”

John held up a single, beefy finger in a threatening gesture. “You’ve got one more shot. We’ve endured this… circus of failures for long enough. If you don’t have tangible evidence in your next trial, this experiment is finished, and you’ll be re-assigned to the most insignificant project I can find. Dismissed.”

Raymond was quickly escorted out by the solider that had brought him in. A vein in his forehead throbbed menacingly as his face turned increasingly red. As soon as he was off the premises of the hidden government facility, he released his anger in a long scream to no one in particular. He had worked too hard, and got too far, to be stopped now. HECT was his life’s crowning achievement, his pièce de résistance, and nothing would stop him now, no matter the cost. No matter the sacrifice.

Raymond stormed off to his favorite bar, ready to forget everything that had just happened.

 

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