Raising the Dead, in Spite of the Natural Order: A Cautionary Tale
Chapter 5
*****
"The body temperature has just about warmed to something we can work with. Hormones and enzymes are at acceptable levels. I think one last test on the muscle fibers before we go for this. Iga could run a current of... Iga, are you even listening?" I sigh at my lab assistant, who looks like she's in a daze, just staring off into the distance. Her hair and clothes are all disheveled, too. Did she just get out of bed? Get it together, Iga!
"Sorry! I'm with you," she seems to catch herself, "What did you want me to...?"
I just shake my head and reach past her to turn the knob on the TENS unit. I try to pretend I don't notice how much she smells like Eli right now. That actually would be a good idea - a quick roll in the hay before we make scientific history, clear the head. Seems like she beat me to it. Jealous? Yes. A little. But I commend the practical thinking. Unfortunately, it may have cleared her head a little too much, from the looks. But no time to worry about that, now.
The light current flows through the body on the slab. It - no, it's a she, now - twitches with little movements. Fingers curl, elbows and knees bend, the stomach tenses, the breasts jiggle. That last one isn't a muscle movement, it's just a reaction to the rest of it. They're nice, though! I used flesh from more than one body to craft them just right, and I can help but admire my own work. Morbid to admire a corpse, I suppose, but she won't be that way for long. I kill the current. We're ready.
"Where is Eli, anyways?" I ask Iga, "This is time sensitive, I don't want to leave the body out of the freezer for too long before we start. And did you tell him to get the camera?"
"He was in the master bedroom, last I saw," she tells me, making me regret asking just a little, "And he wanted to transfer some, uh, old videos off the camera, before we started. Nothing important, I'm sure. But he didn't want to mix them up with filming the experiment. Speaking of which, is it... really wise to be filming this? Isn't that evidence?"
Hm. Don't remember filming much on that camera. Must've been something Eli did.
"Of course it's evidence, Iga! That's the point!" I declare, "We're making history here, we want things documented."
"I meant, like, evidence in a court room. For all the, uh," she clears her throat, "imes-cray against umanity-hay. You know?"
"You're worrying over nothing. Once we've conquered death, they'll see," I point my finger at her for dramatic effect, "They'll all see!"
"Sorry I took so long!" Eli comes jogging down the stairs, camera in hand.
I notice his hair is a little damp. He must have jumped in the shower, not wanting to offend me with the smell of desperate lab assistant pussy on him. He's really sweet like that. Something I especially realize, since I know how often he's with her, now. I know I asked Iga to take care of him for me when she could, but I can't help but feel that she's taking advantage of it for her own needs, instead of being there to satisfy his. But he's a real trooper about it. Seems to fuck her whenever she wants, when I'm sure he'd rather be with me. I mean, she doesn't have my genius, so how could she ever compare? Plus, she's so short.
"Just in time, baby!" I smile and wave him over, "Camera ready?"
"Good to go," he walks up and kisses me, "Is everything set to-"
He pauses when his eyes fall on the body.
"Oh, guess you haven't seen the final product yet, have you?" I grin as he shakes his head.
"It looks so... alive," he observes.
"It really will be, soon!" I excitedly clap my hands a little.
I can see him examine it with his eyes, clearly impressed. Naturally, it's my work, so of course he would be impressed with the way I assembled her.
"Iga, are the clamps all in place?" I ask.
"Good to go," she nods, standing ready.
"Okay, then help me pull the sheet over the body," I grab the corner and start pulling it up.
She hesitates, but does as I asked, "Why are we covering it back up, if we're about to animate it?"
"It's a little thing called showmanship, Iga," I explain, "We're filming this, and there's no point in doing something if you aren't going to do it right."
Iga can be hopeless when it comes to the finer points of science.
"Is that why we have the Tesla Coils and Jacob's Ladders that aren't related to the experiment?" she inquires.
"Correct."
"Okay... are we rolling?" I ask, positioned in front of the slab, in direct lighting.
Eli gives me the thumbs up sign.
I clear my throat, "I am Dr. Victoria Stein, and this video will document my team's first full attempt at postmortem reanimation of a human body. I'd like to thank my lab assistant, Iga," I gesture to her, at the other end of the slab, "and my, erm, out-of-the-lab assistant, Eli, who is behind the camera, for all their hard work, leading up to this point."
"Now, I'll unveil our subject," I turn to the slab and grab the corner of the sheet covering the body, whipping it into the air and letting it float off-camera.
There's a ruckus caused by this that I try not to draw attention to.
"Gah! Victoria, you hit me with the corpse blanket!" a muffled Iga exclaims.
"Iga, quiet, we're rolling," I whisper at her.
"I was yawning when it landed on me and part of the corpse-side got in my mouth!"
"Anyways," I raise my voice over hers, "If you'll come closer to get a view of the subject."
I step out of the way for Eli to zoom in, "As you can see, this is not a single body, but an amalgamation made from the most intact parts of multiple specimens, in order to ensure the highest possibility of success. Due to chemical breakthroughs, which will be covered in my full paper on this experiment, rejection of differing body parts should be almost non-existent."
"And with that, I think we're ready to begin," I step over to my computer and enter a few quick keystrokes for processes I set up beforehand, and the different serums I'd developed start flowing into the body through a series of IVs. I couldn't find a way to make any of the fluids neon green and glowing, without risking danger to the experiment, but one of them is a dark orange color, which will have to do.
"And now, with the chemicals administered, we have only to introduce a charge to the nervous system," I position myself squarely in front of the camera, "Thus showing mankind's conquest over nature, and contempt for god's law!"
"Is... contempt really the word we want to use here?" Iga tries in vain to kill the mood.
"Absolutely! Throw the switch, Iga!" I exclaim.
And I wait.
"Iga?"
"I'm trying. This giant thing is stuck. There's no reason you couldn't use a regular switch," she complains.
Technically true, but the giant lever switch is necessary for the necessary for the atmosphere, so I got the biggest one I could find. That's not true, the biggest one was too big, but this one is almost big enough.
"Throw your back into it Iga, science is depending on you!"
Not a moment after the words leave my lips, the switch folds with a mighty 'chunk'. All my Tesla Coils and Jacob's Ladders, which Iga pointed were not strictly necessary, light up, giving the perfect atmosphere to the twitching muscles on the body. I hope this is coming across on the video.
I check my watch as the charge courses through it, then stop early to accommodate for Iga to struggle with the switch, again, before I call it, "That should be enough, Iga, cut the power."
She does struggle, but it folds back, and the lighting goes back to normal. I switch on my monitoring devices and creep closer, waiting. Just when I begin to worry that everything has failed, I hear the chirp of a heartbeat from the machines, and an agonizing moment later, her eyes fly open.
It worked, it really worked!
"She wakes!" I shout, my voice nearly cracking, "My Promethean Eve wakes! She's alive!"
I break into laughter at relief, which I immediately start to worry will sound a little too maniacal on the tape. But you know? Fuck it. I just created goddamn life, I'm entitled to a maniacal laugh if I want.
Nothing but silence from Eli and Iga, they just sort of creep in to get a better look. I can't blame them. What do you even say, witnessing such an incredible feat, and the staggering genius that accomplished it?
I pull out my penlight and shine it into her eyes, looking for movement and dilation. I get both. Amazing, you'd never know it was dead tissue a moment ago. Pretty, too. I gave her one blue eye and one green eye, because why not.
When I lean back, and she continues to surprise me by rising up from the slab, to a sitting position. Without her arms, or any indication of exertion. The serum increases muscle strength, but I also gave her some wicked great abs.
"Can... you understand me?" I ask, speaking slowly and looking her in the eyes. She doesn't immediately respond, but she seems to be processing the question.
I turn my head back to the camera for a moment, "The cognitive abilities are a bit hard to predict. It's unlikely she'll retain much in the way of memories from her brain's previous life, but that she's already showing so much muscle control could-"
"Eve," she interrupts me, and I snap back to her.
"Yes!" I exclaim, excitedly, "That's what I called you! Your name will be Eve."
Her eyes scan the room. I can only imagine what it's like for her at this moment, but the level of activity she's exhibiting is even more than I'd hoped for.
"Do you understand me, Eve? Can you speak more?" I wait, nervously.
"Yes," she steadies herself on the slab and turns her hips to the side, dangling her legs over the edge, "I remember how to speak."
"I am Victoria. This is my lab. I brought you to life," I carefully explain.
