“’Heck’? Like, ‘what the heck?’”
“No,” Raymond sighed, rubbing his temples with his thumb and forefinger. “HECT. H – E – C – T. A synonym for hormone emotion control therapy.”
Henry clacked loudly on his laptop, taking notes. The two sat alone in a private hanger that was mostly empty, save for a few wooden crates and an old pickup truck. Just one of the reporter’s often-used rendezvous points strategically placed throughout the country.
Raymond lit a cigarette. “The theory was a latent endorphin administered directly to the bloodstream. When activated, it’d release an assortment of enhancers to the host.”
“What enhancers?” Henry asked, eyebrow cocked.
“Powerful painkillers. Anabolic steroids. An assortment of stem cells. Human growth hormone. A concoction conceived with the sole purpose of creating a super human. And it worked a little… too well.” Raymond’s thin lips curled into a smile as he took a long drag.
“That… that doesn’t make any sense though,” Henry said, rubbing his chin. “Even with all that, how could it make her grow into a fucking giant? Something doesn’t add up.”
Raymond looked his companion in the eyes and supressed a patronizing giggle. “You’re right, of course. Oh Henry, you’re always… right. I believe my own genius has stumped even me. You see, the real fascinating part of the HECT was how it activated. I designed it so the host could control it through their emotions – through anger, or excitement, or sorrow. Emotions common enough that in a battlefield scenario, it’d activate without even a conscious thought. In Tasha’s case, it somehow seems her emotions are not only administering the drug as intended, but also causing her body to undergo some type of multiplicative mitosis that’s resulting in her absurd growth rate. It’s really, truly quite astounding…”
“Astounding?” Henry scoffed. “Thousands of people are dying, Raymond. American citizens. Do you even realize what you’ve done?”
“ … I mean, not just from a scientific standpoint, either. Yes, of course, the science itself is truly breathtaking. We can run as many theoretical experiments as we want, but to actually see a moving body so large and unstoppable is quite… terrifying! But there’s also the social ramifications as well. At her scale, everyone in the city must look like ants to her. Talk about dehumanification… assuredly, there will be a certain size threshold that once she crosses it… once she gets big enough… people will cease being human beings in her eyes. Everyone will just be so small… the comparative processes of the brain won’t be able to bridge the visual discrepancies… maybe it’s already happened, even…”
“Raymond…”
“… and I am slightly concerned with the exponential rate of growth that could result from an orgasm. The trials that included prostate stimulation were the most successful in quickly growing lab rats bigger than horses, after all… I can’t imagine her being overly turned on in her current predicament however… but then again…”
“RAYMOND!” Henry shouted, snapping his fingers in the man’s face. The two helicopter pilots standing on the other side of the hanger looked over, but resumed their own conversation as Henry waved them off.
Raymond blinked for the first time in a few minutes, and smiled. “I’ve got some more of it, you know,” he whispered. He flipped open the locks of the briefcase on his lap and turned it to show a dozen glass vials filled with a bright purple liquid. They jiggled slightly as Raymond’s shaking leg appeared incapable of remaining still. Henry reached out towards the case, but Raymond snapped it shut with a sneer.
“You sound like you’ve lost your damn mind,” Henry breathed.
Raymond chortled, semi-amused. “Sanity is something that’s been on my mind quite a bit, actually. Ever since I saw… her. Naked. Gigantic! Towering directly overhead after exploding out of a building. Completely unaware of what had just happened to her, and completely oblivious to the fact I was inches away from becoming a stain under her foot. And it was at that moment I’d realized that while I was having fun playing god…. she was on her way to actually becoming one.”
Henry opened his mouth to speak, but swallowed instead as the pit of uneasiness in his stomach churned. He looked up as one pilot twirled his fingers, indicating it was time to leave. He nodded and closed his laptop before standing. “Exactly what the hell are you gonna do with the rest of that?”
“Hmmm?” Raymond squeaked, shaking his head. “Oh. I’m still thinking about that. But I very much appreciate the concern. Maybe I’ll take it to the highest bidder across the ocean, since the American government made it abundantly clear they had no interest in it. A ‘circus of failure’ is how they referred to my work, if I recall correctly. But I know of at least a few governments that will pay very well for my creation. Then again, maybe I’ll stick around and find some other use for it…”
“Forget I asked,” Henry said, turning to leave. “We’re done now, you hear? Getting you out, that was the deal. We’re even, and I know you won’t be hearing any NSA leaks ever again. So have a good life… and good luck trying to sleep at night.”
Raymond cackled hysterically as Henry turned, leaving the hanger towards the news chopper with his two pilots. “You should be thanking me, Henry!” he yelled as the helicopter blades started powering up. “You won’t be able to dig up a bigger story than Tasha for months, maybe years! Go publish your article then take a nice, long vacation! Hahahahahah!”
Raymond sighed as the helicopter lifted into the air, back towards Manhattan. Minutes later, a black helicopter landed in the exact same spot, which Raymond promptly boarded. As they lifted into the air, he donned a headset and lowered the microphone to his mouth. “Excellent,” he said, in perfect mandarin, “right on time.”