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22 Mart 2023, 13:38
Chapter 1
Project X12
Anna and Stephen stared at the monitor as Anna slowly moved the microscopic needle to the small egg. In a few moments, a life was going to be created. She felt this way every time they had performed this procedure. So far, they had lost all 47 of the lives they had created. None of them had made it to term in the surrogate womb, but she felt different about this one. In a few short moments, when she pushed the DNA information into the waiting egg, the cells would begin to divide and multiply and begin building the creature that would one day be born. Her hands shook a little bit as she recognized the potential and the weight of the moment. She took a deep breath, and slowly pushed the plunger on the needle.
In the other 47 attempts, it was a slow process at first. This one was different. The cells came alive under the microscope almost instantly.
"Whoa..." Stephen whispered as he and Anna watched the drama unfold.
"The others didn't look like this". Anna remarked.
"No they did not..." They both stared in awe.
2 years later
Anna bounced her pencil on the desk a little faster as she heard the words emanate from the speaker phone. She looked around her lab and could almost see all her work go up in flames. She had spent 7 years of her life in this lab working on "Project X12". She had sacrificed holidays, dates, vacations and short-term plans. But she had also sacrificed long term plans such as a relationship, children, buying a home or anything else that 30-somethings strive to do. Now, for what. Her project was being cancelled.
"Dr. Cirri, the university appreciates all of your effort and advancements that you have achieved here, but the project is just proving to be more of a black hole for our resources than something that could possibly reap a profit." This University always pretended they were on the front lines of innovation, but in reality, they were only allowed to innovate as far as the purse strings stretched. She took a deep breath and channeled her calmest voice to try and reason with the committee.
"While I understand the financial impacts of this project, I advised that this would be a long-term investment before the project began. If finances are withdrawn at this point, it would be devastating." Now, her entire body was vibrating. This funding couldn't be cut. What would happen to Apex?
"Dr. Cirri, you will find work again. The entire university -- all tenures- are prepared to give you letters of recommendation. Your career will still grow, but Project X12 must end."
"By making this ruling, you are taking an innocent life. I am not at all concerned with my career or my future. But I am very concerned about the life that we created- 'we' meaning the entire team of people who invested their time and energy into this. We created an honest-to-God miracle. If any of them were still on this team, they would be furious about what you are suggesting."
"Dr. Cirri, we are aware of the resources it required to create Project X12-"
"His name is Apex". She interrupted and spoke coldly and matter of fact. "It's important that you know his name. It's Apex."
"We are aware of how much went into creating... Apex. The knowledge we now have will go into creating more creatures like him but modified in all the ways he is inferior. His sacrifice will not be in vain."
"Apex is not inferior, in any way. He hasn't been given to proper chances or training due to financial constraints..." her voice trailed off as another committee member began speaking over her.
"Dr. Cirri, this matter is done. While I recognize and respect the work you have done, you are behaving irrationally. Science is not the same as Heroism. In science, the goal is the Greater Good. In this case, the greater good is using X-" he stuttered and corrected himself. "Apex to create better specimens".
"But-" Again, she was overtalked and she noticed she had been muted from the committee's side of the phone.
"Now, if you want a place on future research teams and the continued support of this university and the scientific community, you will do as you are told and shut down the Project. You have 10 days."
Then, she was left staring at the screen of her laptop with the generic Your Meeting has Ended screen. This was the worst day of her life. She slid her arms from her white coat, folded it and set it on the desk chair. She needed to breathe, and she currently felt as if she were suffocating. She slowly walked back to the clear doors. The access pad glowed and almost begged her to scan her badge. She wasn't sure she wanted to enter the habitat tonight. Emotionally, she knew she needed to distance herself from Apex. It might be easier to euthanize him in a few days if she didn't spend time with him tonight. But she loved this creature, and she loved her time that she had invested in him.
She surveyed his enclosure; it was massive. It was about the size of an outdoor enclosure at a zoo. This entrance was one of two. The other entrance was an Ofise Gelen Escort (http://kadinguzelligi.com/a/ofise-gelen-escort/) emergency pen entrance that was only accessible from the outside. The other part of his enclosure backed up to the Florida swamps, part of the protected wildlife sanctuary that surrounded the University's research center. Apex had access to all the native trees, food, materials and just about anything else natural Florida wildlife had. He was still in his enclosure, but he was wild. It had been several weeks since she had last been in the enclosure and she hadn't been in the enclosure with Apex for months.
She looked a little deeper into his enclosure and spotted him on his 'bed'. It was a mass of leaves, bark from some of the trees in his enclosure and blankets (that she had provided during a winter cold snap). One of the first instinctual drives he displayed- even before he was finished bottle feeding, was to build a bed and find comfort. It is a natural drive for most creatures to do this, but no one was sure what Apex would be like, so it was interesting that the drive to find protection and comfort ranked so high and developed so early. It was also one of the early indications that told them he would be more domestic than he needed to be.
Apex was curled up on his bed, sleeping soundly. When he was curled up like that, it wasn't obvious how big he was or even exactly what he was. He just looked like a large Akita that was sleeping curled up on a dog bed. But the truth was stranger than fiction. Apex was a Lycanthrope- he was essentially a werewolf- but he did not have a human form. He was a nearly perfect blend of dog and human. He was created to be the first of his kind- a prototype that would eventually give rise to a select breed of super soldier. But Apex- while he was incredibly strong, fast and intelligent- he wasn't enough of those things. He needed to be bigger, stronger, better, faster, smarter and deadlier. That last one was an especially difficult trait to find in Apex. He was nice. He was tolerant of people and never bared his teeth at Anna. He had never bitten her- despite having twice the number of teeth as a wolf. He had never scratched her- despite having 4-inch-long claws on the end of each finger. He had never knocked her down, despite his speed. He had never bumped into her, despite being over 8 feet tall and over 450 lbs. and he had never scared her- despite all the fact that he looked like an actual nightmare.
The goal was to get an all-black or very dark coated creature, because the Super Soldiers would be working mainly in the dark, so they would be difficult to see. But Apex came out with markings similar to an Akita. His base color was a very light cream color, and his markings were brown and black. They grouped along his back and on his face. It made him look like a regular dog when he was laying down or on all fours. But when he stood up, he was terrifying.
Apex's natural state was on all four legs, with his front legs longer than his back legs. His back feet were long, with 3-inch claws on each toe. They were more dog-like than human and he walked on his toes. The front feet were really hands. There were 5 digits, with long 4-inch claws on each finger. He was able to strip bark from trees with no effort and he was able to dig Burroughs easily. He was also able to shred food with his hands, instead of relying on his teeth to do all the work- which they could because there were a lot of them. He had two rows of teeth, which didn't all fit inside of his lips, they protruded and pointed in different directions, which gave him a slightly snaggle-toothed look.
An interesting trait, that the researchers had not predicted was the look of his eyes. They were amber-colored, sometimes a bright yellow and sometimes a slightly warmer tone. They always glowed- as if they were lit from the inside. In the dark, his eyes glowed, which was problematic for the type of work for which he was being created.
She stepped closer to the sliding doors and narrowed her eyes to get the details of the enclosure. The lights were low, but not totally dark. She wanted it to replicate the light levels in an actual cave. Since Apex was nocturnal, he would be sleeping in caves or darker areas during the day- but finding complete dark spaces in the middle of the day would be rare. So, this part of the enclosure was usually left with dim lighting. As she looked at him, yellow flickers illuminated in his space.
Those were his eyes. He was awake. He had always been able to sense when she was looking at him. Even when he was a puppy, he could sense her and he would wake and fuss if she were nearby, even if he couldn't hear her or see her yet. He had imprinted on her quite early. Her connection to him was stronger and more profound than any human she had ever met.
She scanned her ID over the access pad. The doors' lights changed to a bright blue and she heard the familiar 'pop' of the lock of the glass doors. She took a step forward and the doors glided open. They Otele Gelen Escort (http://kadinguzelligi.com/a/otele-gelen-escort/) barely made a sound, but Apex heard them. He raised his head, with his eyes still glowing. Anna froze. She had only entered his enclosure a few times in the past. There wasn't a real protocol for entering his enclosure. It was very much 'at your own risk'. But she wanted to be close to him now, as they were in the last days of their time together.
She walked through the doors, and Apex tilted his head to the side like any other dog would do. He analyzed the situation, as it hadn't really happened before. He trusted her, but she didn't enter his space. He raised his nose and moved his head in her direction. He was smelling her. She took a cautious step forward and he didn't startle or move at all. He just continued to watch her and smell the air in the enclosure. She took a deep breath and steadied herself. She tried to be calm, because excitement or fear could trigger a bigger response from him. She took another couple steps forward. Now, she was about 6 feet away from him. He locked eye contact with her- which was not something most dogs did- unless they were domesticated. That was his other 'tell' that he was far too much dog to be a good soldier.
She moved to take another step, but suddenly, Apex shifted and stood up. Even on all fours, he was about 5 feet tall. The enclosure was still very dimly lit, and she couldn't see much, but she could see his eyes and she could see how he held his head. He wasn't threatening, but he was very interested. He stepped closer to her and she took a step forward as well. She cautiously reached across the darkness. She was nearly touching him, but she couldn't make herself reach any further. He closed the distance for her. He put his forehead into the palm of her hand. Something he hadn't done since he was a few months old. He remembered that was how they connected. He leaned into the contact and she instantly felt sad for him that she hadn't allowed him any affection- for fear that he would hurt someone. And he didn't really strike people as the type of animal that wanted to be cuddled. He sighed under her touch and she gave him a couple scratched on his head. For a moment, it felt like she was with a family pet. She was almost able to forget what he was.
Then, his eyes darted to the side and then narrowed at the sliding doors- which were still open, which was breaking every single protocol that had been set up for Apex's handling. Anna turned around to see Stephn in the doorway. Apex stood up on two legs- which was his secondary position. He assumed this stance when in protection mode, intimidation mode or when he needed the height to retrieve food or other resources. As he stood, she could hear his hips click into their secondary sockets. It sounded like someone cracking the worlds largest knuckles. Apex stood straight and he towered over Anna at about 8 feet tall.
"Anna, are you okay?" Stephen spoke very low and very calmly. He knew was Apex was capable of. If Apex saw Anna as his mom, Stephen was like his dad. They had both created and raised him, but Stephen hadn't been around much in the last year or two. "Hey, Buddy. It's okay." Stephen used his soothing dad voice to settle Apex. When he realized it was Stephen and not someone else, Apex relaxed and lowered himself back onto all-fours.
"I'm fine." Anna's tone was slightly shaky, but still calm. Because she was forcing it to sound that way.
"I just came to check on you. I heard about the... decision."
"No, I'm not okay." Anna was honest. She could be honest with Stephen, he had been in this with her since the very beginning.
"I know. I'm sorry." He was sincere. He was as sorry for her as he was for himself.
They had both put everything into this project. He had gone on to other projects, but Anna refused to be reassigned. She absently rubbed Apex's head, who was still next to her.
"I know you are. He's our baby."
"He's a miracle. He isn't supposed to exist. Yet, here he is." Stephen smiled slightly as he watched him.
"That is what I told them today."
"But, he is dangerous, Anna." His tone was a warning. "You've broken every single rule being in here with him."
"I know."
"So, why are you doing it?" Stephen asked, but Anna couldn't answer. All the answers she had in her mind weren't enough to justify the risk she was taking.
"C'mon, Anna. Let's go. It's dangerous in here." She looked down at Apex and he looked up at her. His eyes glowing a warm amber color, but behind that, she knew there wasn't a vicious animal. She stepped backward, as if giving her permission to walk away. She took a few steps toward the door, and then turned around to look back at Apex one more time. He was laying back down on his bedding and he was relaxed. Anna exited the enclosure and the doors closed behind her with a satisfying woosh. She stood in front of Stephen. Her shoulders slumped and her eyes began to well up with tears.
"I have to Polatlı Escort (http://kadinguzelligi.com/a/polatli-escort/) kill him." She said, as her voice cracked. Stephen wrapped his arms around her as she began to cry. Stephen sighed and felt the burning of tears at the back of his eyes. If Anna was Apex's mother, then Stephen was his father and knowing that the life they created together was coming to an end was gutting.
"Shh..." He tried to quiet her down, but he couldn't tell her anything to make her feel better, this situation was a disaster. He suddenly realized that he had not held Anna like this in a very long time, but it still felt so comfortable. She still felt the same in his arms, like she was made to be there. Like a flood, memories started pouring into his mind. Memories that he had put on the shelf a long time ago, when he finally settled down and made some human children of his own. He knew how dangerous it was to go down memory lane like this, but he couldn't help it. Before he knew, he was in free fall mode as all their history together came bubbling up to the surface.
He remembered attempt . During this era, all of their research had suggested that hyena genes would give an extra layer of immune support, so they spliced in those genes with the pre-existing mixture of human, wolf and domestic dog- German Shepherd to be exact. They needed the animal to be trainable, smart, easily motivated, and healthy. The result was a mess. The first couple stages went well, but then the blastocyst didn't form correctly, and it terminated itself. That was the first time they created life together and for a short time, they had created a living life form. But it just couldn't stabilize itself. That night, after drinking heavily at the bar, he and Anna fucked. It wasn't love making, although they loved each other. It was fucking. It was weeks of tension and frustration being released in a night of endless sex. They didn't do it again until attempt <strong>.
During attempts
and
, they were dating other people and they didn't mess around with each other. But by <strong>, they were single and they unleashed on each other for months. By attempt #8, they were regular fuck buddies and it was a complete secret.
Attempt 2 was the first time the embryo got past the 22-Day-Mark, which had been the longest any of their specimens had made it. They could see the amniotic sack forming and they could see specialized cells start to be created. When that attempt was lost, it was particularly painful. They took out the grief on each other and fought intensely. In that attempt, they both had a sacrifice part of the experiment that they wanted to do. In the end, none of it mattered, but they were frustrated in every way possible. So, that night, they fucked on the roof of the University. That union resulted in a pregnancy. Anna was less than thrilled, but he was incredibly happy. At this point, they were both 26, in the prime of their lives, in growing careers and he knew that they could provide a good life to their child. After a few weeks, Anna had miscarried, but the experience had given to two of them a particularly daring- and incredibly stupid idea.
Attempt
1 used one of Anna's own eggs and Stephen's semen, made an embryo (since they knew they could) and then injected the embryo with genetic coding from a wolf. This experiment violated about 500 protocols, but it got further than the other experiments, by reaching day 92. After that breach of ethics and morality, they took a break from attempts and the University determined if their experimentation would continue. By the end of their break, the Department of Defense coughed up more money, so the experimentation continued.
"Do you remember Attempt
5?" he asked her in a low voice. Her body went still.
"Yes." She slightly pulled away and looked up at him. That was the attempt that had marked the end of an era for the two of them. After a few years of attempts and research and testing and experimentation, they finally decided to be a real couple. For months leading up to
5, they had spend most days and nights together. Their families had met, they were talking about moving in together and they were actually in love. The night they started attempt
5, he proposed. She said yes, and they made love on the floor of her lab- the same lab they were standing in right now.
"There are a lot of memories in this room..." He said as he slid is hand lower and let it rest on her hip.
"Too many..." She agreed and leaned back into him to bury her face in his chest.
"Now, so much has changed..." He brought his head down and rested his cheek on the top of her head and tightened his arms around her.
"I know..." she agreed and could swear she felt his cock harden against her.
"Stephen..."
"We went through a lot together and you always felt like home to me. You know I never stopped loving you." The words rushed out of him more quickly that he was prepared for them to. "Sorry..."
"Stephen, things are too different now. You have a wife and kids..."
"I know, but being here with you, they seem so far away..." She looked up at him and then, let herself go. She rose up on her tippy toes to bring her lips to his, he let his restraint go and crashed his mouth into hers. He slipped his hands around her waist and slightly nudged the hem of her sweater out of the way, so he could touch her soft skin.
Project X12
Anna and Stephen stared at the monitor as Anna slowly moved the microscopic needle to the small egg. In a few moments, a life was going to be created. She felt this way every time they had performed this procedure. So far, they had lost all 47 of the lives they had created. None of them had made it to term in the surrogate womb, but she felt different about this one. In a few short moments, when she pushed the DNA information into the waiting egg, the cells would begin to divide and multiply and begin building the creature that would one day be born. Her hands shook a little bit as she recognized the potential and the weight of the moment. She took a deep breath, and slowly pushed the plunger on the needle.
In the other 47 attempts, it was a slow process at first. This one was different. The cells came alive under the microscope almost instantly.
"Whoa..." Stephen whispered as he and Anna watched the drama unfold.
"The others didn't look like this". Anna remarked.
"No they did not..." They both stared in awe.
2 years later
Anna bounced her pencil on the desk a little faster as she heard the words emanate from the speaker phone. She looked around her lab and could almost see all her work go up in flames. She had spent 7 years of her life in this lab working on "Project X12". She had sacrificed holidays, dates, vacations and short-term plans. But she had also sacrificed long term plans such as a relationship, children, buying a home or anything else that 30-somethings strive to do. Now, for what. Her project was being cancelled.
"Dr. Cirri, the university appreciates all of your effort and advancements that you have achieved here, but the project is just proving to be more of a black hole for our resources than something that could possibly reap a profit." This University always pretended they were on the front lines of innovation, but in reality, they were only allowed to innovate as far as the purse strings stretched. She took a deep breath and channeled her calmest voice to try and reason with the committee.
"While I understand the financial impacts of this project, I advised that this would be a long-term investment before the project began. If finances are withdrawn at this point, it would be devastating." Now, her entire body was vibrating. This funding couldn't be cut. What would happen to Apex?
"Dr. Cirri, you will find work again. The entire university -- all tenures- are prepared to give you letters of recommendation. Your career will still grow, but Project X12 must end."
"By making this ruling, you are taking an innocent life. I am not at all concerned with my career or my future. But I am very concerned about the life that we created- 'we' meaning the entire team of people who invested their time and energy into this. We created an honest-to-God miracle. If any of them were still on this team, they would be furious about what you are suggesting."
"Dr. Cirri, we are aware of the resources it required to create Project X12-"
"His name is Apex". She interrupted and spoke coldly and matter of fact. "It's important that you know his name. It's Apex."
"We are aware of how much went into creating... Apex. The knowledge we now have will go into creating more creatures like him but modified in all the ways he is inferior. His sacrifice will not be in vain."
"Apex is not inferior, in any way. He hasn't been given to proper chances or training due to financial constraints..." her voice trailed off as another committee member began speaking over her.
"Dr. Cirri, this matter is done. While I recognize and respect the work you have done, you are behaving irrationally. Science is not the same as Heroism. In science, the goal is the Greater Good. In this case, the greater good is using X-" he stuttered and corrected himself. "Apex to create better specimens".
"But-" Again, she was overtalked and she noticed she had been muted from the committee's side of the phone.
"Now, if you want a place on future research teams and the continued support of this university and the scientific community, you will do as you are told and shut down the Project. You have 10 days."
Then, she was left staring at the screen of her laptop with the generic Your Meeting has Ended screen. This was the worst day of her life. She slid her arms from her white coat, folded it and set it on the desk chair. She needed to breathe, and she currently felt as if she were suffocating. She slowly walked back to the clear doors. The access pad glowed and almost begged her to scan her badge. She wasn't sure she wanted to enter the habitat tonight. Emotionally, she knew she needed to distance herself from Apex. It might be easier to euthanize him in a few days if she didn't spend time with him tonight. But she loved this creature, and she loved her time that she had invested in him.
She surveyed his enclosure; it was massive. It was about the size of an outdoor enclosure at a zoo. This entrance was one of two. The other entrance was an Ofise Gelen Escort (http://kadinguzelligi.com/a/ofise-gelen-escort/) emergency pen entrance that was only accessible from the outside. The other part of his enclosure backed up to the Florida swamps, part of the protected wildlife sanctuary that surrounded the University's research center. Apex had access to all the native trees, food, materials and just about anything else natural Florida wildlife had. He was still in his enclosure, but he was wild. It had been several weeks since she had last been in the enclosure and she hadn't been in the enclosure with Apex for months.
She looked a little deeper into his enclosure and spotted him on his 'bed'. It was a mass of leaves, bark from some of the trees in his enclosure and blankets (that she had provided during a winter cold snap). One of the first instinctual drives he displayed- even before he was finished bottle feeding, was to build a bed and find comfort. It is a natural drive for most creatures to do this, but no one was sure what Apex would be like, so it was interesting that the drive to find protection and comfort ranked so high and developed so early. It was also one of the early indications that told them he would be more domestic than he needed to be.
Apex was curled up on his bed, sleeping soundly. When he was curled up like that, it wasn't obvious how big he was or even exactly what he was. He just looked like a large Akita that was sleeping curled up on a dog bed. But the truth was stranger than fiction. Apex was a Lycanthrope- he was essentially a werewolf- but he did not have a human form. He was a nearly perfect blend of dog and human. He was created to be the first of his kind- a prototype that would eventually give rise to a select breed of super soldier. But Apex- while he was incredibly strong, fast and intelligent- he wasn't enough of those things. He needed to be bigger, stronger, better, faster, smarter and deadlier. That last one was an especially difficult trait to find in Apex. He was nice. He was tolerant of people and never bared his teeth at Anna. He had never bitten her- despite having twice the number of teeth as a wolf. He had never scratched her- despite having 4-inch-long claws on the end of each finger. He had never knocked her down, despite his speed. He had never bumped into her, despite being over 8 feet tall and over 450 lbs. and he had never scared her- despite all the fact that he looked like an actual nightmare.
The goal was to get an all-black or very dark coated creature, because the Super Soldiers would be working mainly in the dark, so they would be difficult to see. But Apex came out with markings similar to an Akita. His base color was a very light cream color, and his markings were brown and black. They grouped along his back and on his face. It made him look like a regular dog when he was laying down or on all fours. But when he stood up, he was terrifying.
Apex's natural state was on all four legs, with his front legs longer than his back legs. His back feet were long, with 3-inch claws on each toe. They were more dog-like than human and he walked on his toes. The front feet were really hands. There were 5 digits, with long 4-inch claws on each finger. He was able to strip bark from trees with no effort and he was able to dig Burroughs easily. He was also able to shred food with his hands, instead of relying on his teeth to do all the work- which they could because there were a lot of them. He had two rows of teeth, which didn't all fit inside of his lips, they protruded and pointed in different directions, which gave him a slightly snaggle-toothed look.
An interesting trait, that the researchers had not predicted was the look of his eyes. They were amber-colored, sometimes a bright yellow and sometimes a slightly warmer tone. They always glowed- as if they were lit from the inside. In the dark, his eyes glowed, which was problematic for the type of work for which he was being created.
She stepped closer to the sliding doors and narrowed her eyes to get the details of the enclosure. The lights were low, but not totally dark. She wanted it to replicate the light levels in an actual cave. Since Apex was nocturnal, he would be sleeping in caves or darker areas during the day- but finding complete dark spaces in the middle of the day would be rare. So, this part of the enclosure was usually left with dim lighting. As she looked at him, yellow flickers illuminated in his space.
Those were his eyes. He was awake. He had always been able to sense when she was looking at him. Even when he was a puppy, he could sense her and he would wake and fuss if she were nearby, even if he couldn't hear her or see her yet. He had imprinted on her quite early. Her connection to him was stronger and more profound than any human she had ever met.
She scanned her ID over the access pad. The doors' lights changed to a bright blue and she heard the familiar 'pop' of the lock of the glass doors. She took a step forward and the doors glided open. They Otele Gelen Escort (http://kadinguzelligi.com/a/otele-gelen-escort/) barely made a sound, but Apex heard them. He raised his head, with his eyes still glowing. Anna froze. She had only entered his enclosure a few times in the past. There wasn't a real protocol for entering his enclosure. It was very much 'at your own risk'. But she wanted to be close to him now, as they were in the last days of their time together.
She walked through the doors, and Apex tilted his head to the side like any other dog would do. He analyzed the situation, as it hadn't really happened before. He trusted her, but she didn't enter his space. He raised his nose and moved his head in her direction. He was smelling her. She took a cautious step forward and he didn't startle or move at all. He just continued to watch her and smell the air in the enclosure. She took a deep breath and steadied herself. She tried to be calm, because excitement or fear could trigger a bigger response from him. She took another couple steps forward. Now, she was about 6 feet away from him. He locked eye contact with her- which was not something most dogs did- unless they were domesticated. That was his other 'tell' that he was far too much dog to be a good soldier.
She moved to take another step, but suddenly, Apex shifted and stood up. Even on all fours, he was about 5 feet tall. The enclosure was still very dimly lit, and she couldn't see much, but she could see his eyes and she could see how he held his head. He wasn't threatening, but he was very interested. He stepped closer to her and she took a step forward as well. She cautiously reached across the darkness. She was nearly touching him, but she couldn't make herself reach any further. He closed the distance for her. He put his forehead into the palm of her hand. Something he hadn't done since he was a few months old. He remembered that was how they connected. He leaned into the contact and she instantly felt sad for him that she hadn't allowed him any affection- for fear that he would hurt someone. And he didn't really strike people as the type of animal that wanted to be cuddled. He sighed under her touch and she gave him a couple scratched on his head. For a moment, it felt like she was with a family pet. She was almost able to forget what he was.
Then, his eyes darted to the side and then narrowed at the sliding doors- which were still open, which was breaking every single protocol that had been set up for Apex's handling. Anna turned around to see Stephn in the doorway. Apex stood up on two legs- which was his secondary position. He assumed this stance when in protection mode, intimidation mode or when he needed the height to retrieve food or other resources. As he stood, she could hear his hips click into their secondary sockets. It sounded like someone cracking the worlds largest knuckles. Apex stood straight and he towered over Anna at about 8 feet tall.
"Anna, are you okay?" Stephen spoke very low and very calmly. He knew was Apex was capable of. If Apex saw Anna as his mom, Stephen was like his dad. They had both created and raised him, but Stephen hadn't been around much in the last year or two. "Hey, Buddy. It's okay." Stephen used his soothing dad voice to settle Apex. When he realized it was Stephen and not someone else, Apex relaxed and lowered himself back onto all-fours.
"I'm fine." Anna's tone was slightly shaky, but still calm. Because she was forcing it to sound that way.
"I just came to check on you. I heard about the... decision."
"No, I'm not okay." Anna was honest. She could be honest with Stephen, he had been in this with her since the very beginning.
"I know. I'm sorry." He was sincere. He was as sorry for her as he was for himself.
They had both put everything into this project. He had gone on to other projects, but Anna refused to be reassigned. She absently rubbed Apex's head, who was still next to her.
"I know you are. He's our baby."
"He's a miracle. He isn't supposed to exist. Yet, here he is." Stephen smiled slightly as he watched him.
"That is what I told them today."
"But, he is dangerous, Anna." His tone was a warning. "You've broken every single rule being in here with him."
"I know."
"So, why are you doing it?" Stephen asked, but Anna couldn't answer. All the answers she had in her mind weren't enough to justify the risk she was taking.
"C'mon, Anna. Let's go. It's dangerous in here." She looked down at Apex and he looked up at her. His eyes glowing a warm amber color, but behind that, she knew there wasn't a vicious animal. She stepped backward, as if giving her permission to walk away. She took a few steps toward the door, and then turned around to look back at Apex one more time. He was laying back down on his bedding and he was relaxed. Anna exited the enclosure and the doors closed behind her with a satisfying woosh. She stood in front of Stephen. Her shoulders slumped and her eyes began to well up with tears.
"I have to Polatlı Escort (http://kadinguzelligi.com/a/polatli-escort/) kill him." She said, as her voice cracked. Stephen wrapped his arms around her as she began to cry. Stephen sighed and felt the burning of tears at the back of his eyes. If Anna was Apex's mother, then Stephen was his father and knowing that the life they created together was coming to an end was gutting.
"Shh..." He tried to quiet her down, but he couldn't tell her anything to make her feel better, this situation was a disaster. He suddenly realized that he had not held Anna like this in a very long time, but it still felt so comfortable. She still felt the same in his arms, like she was made to be there. Like a flood, memories started pouring into his mind. Memories that he had put on the shelf a long time ago, when he finally settled down and made some human children of his own. He knew how dangerous it was to go down memory lane like this, but he couldn't help it. Before he knew, he was in free fall mode as all their history together came bubbling up to the surface.
He remembered attempt . During this era, all of their research had suggested that hyena genes would give an extra layer of immune support, so they spliced in those genes with the pre-existing mixture of human, wolf and domestic dog- German Shepherd to be exact. They needed the animal to be trainable, smart, easily motivated, and healthy. The result was a mess. The first couple stages went well, but then the blastocyst didn't form correctly, and it terminated itself. That was the first time they created life together and for a short time, they had created a living life form. But it just couldn't stabilize itself. That night, after drinking heavily at the bar, he and Anna fucked. It wasn't love making, although they loved each other. It was fucking. It was weeks of tension and frustration being released in a night of endless sex. They didn't do it again until attempt <strong>.
During attempts
and
, they were dating other people and they didn't mess around with each other. But by <strong>, they were single and they unleashed on each other for months. By attempt #8, they were regular fuck buddies and it was a complete secret.
Attempt 2 was the first time the embryo got past the 22-Day-Mark, which had been the longest any of their specimens had made it. They could see the amniotic sack forming and they could see specialized cells start to be created. When that attempt was lost, it was particularly painful. They took out the grief on each other and fought intensely. In that attempt, they both had a sacrifice part of the experiment that they wanted to do. In the end, none of it mattered, but they were frustrated in every way possible. So, that night, they fucked on the roof of the University. That union resulted in a pregnancy. Anna was less than thrilled, but he was incredibly happy. At this point, they were both 26, in the prime of their lives, in growing careers and he knew that they could provide a good life to their child. After a few weeks, Anna had miscarried, but the experience had given to two of them a particularly daring- and incredibly stupid idea.
Attempt
1 used one of Anna's own eggs and Stephen's semen, made an embryo (since they knew they could) and then injected the embryo with genetic coding from a wolf. This experiment violated about 500 protocols, but it got further than the other experiments, by reaching day 92. After that breach of ethics and morality, they took a break from attempts and the University determined if their experimentation would continue. By the end of their break, the Department of Defense coughed up more money, so the experimentation continued.
"Do you remember Attempt
5?" he asked her in a low voice. Her body went still.
"Yes." She slightly pulled away and looked up at him. That was the attempt that had marked the end of an era for the two of them. After a few years of attempts and research and testing and experimentation, they finally decided to be a real couple. For months leading up to
5, they had spend most days and nights together. Their families had met, they were talking about moving in together and they were actually in love. The night they started attempt
5, he proposed. She said yes, and they made love on the floor of her lab- the same lab they were standing in right now.
"There are a lot of memories in this room..." He said as he slid is hand lower and let it rest on her hip.
"Too many..." She agreed and leaned back into him to bury her face in his chest.
"Now, so much has changed..." He brought his head down and rested his cheek on the top of her head and tightened his arms around her.
"I know..." she agreed and could swear she felt his cock harden against her.
"Stephen..."
"We went through a lot together and you always felt like home to me. You know I never stopped loving you." The words rushed out of him more quickly that he was prepared for them to. "Sorry..."
"Stephen, things are too different now. You have a wife and kids..."
"I know, but being here with you, they seem so far away..." She looked up at him and then, let herself go. She rose up on her tippy toes to bring her lips to his, he let his restraint go and crashed his mouth into hers. He slipped his hands around her waist and slightly nudged the hem of her sweater out of the way, so he could touch her soft skin.