The white mouse flailed in mid-air, before grappling and gripping tiny claws around the wire cage netting. Cold pressure of a thin metal rod pushed against the back of its neck. Then with rod in place and an easy jerk of the tail...snap! Its neck was broken and the mouse dead, ready for the next phase of dissection and experiment.
Killing had been unsettling at first for the two young lab technicians, but within a few short weeks became second nature, a well oiled machine; hold, steady, pull...snap!, hold, steady, pull, snap!
Dave and Eddy were proud to have a job at the prestigious university research lab. They got to hang out with faculty members at social events, and enjoyed the campus life. A pair of long haired mad scientists, lab coats full of acid holes, smoking pot at lunch time, bungling experiments all afternoon, and falsifying results in time for knock off.
The research was, after all, government funded, no pressure, the head scientists usually away at the beach, or chasing student tail around the traps. However, funding cutbacks meant the end of an era for the two techs, three years of research curtailed, and today to be their last at the university. The male contraceptive pill experiment would remain mere theory.
Creating the copper based pill was the easy part, minute sperm being no match for base metals, with the only downside being the build up of copper in the human body, slowly forming a deadly toxin.
Dave and Eddy continued, shiny scalpels slicing open the mouse abdomen. They then removed the tubular vas deferens, and with thin needle, drained seminal fluids into test tubes, ready for the centrifuge spin.
"damn, bloody useless," Dave growled, blaming a dead mouse as the needle pierced the wrong part of the vas deferens, squeezing minute sperm onto the bench instead of into a test tube. He picked up the offending mouse by the tail and flung it across the room, where it slapped against a wall, before sliding into a waste bin.
Eddy glanced at the bloodstain on the wall, then back at Dave. "plenty more where he came from Dave. I'll pick up another cage-full from animal husbandry on the way back from the furnace.
The late autumn breeze blew cool between the buildings. The furnace had been switched off, so Eddy deposited the small bag of dead mice on top of other animal refuse: sheep with no balls, a skinless dog, tatty cat bodies, all waste products of progressive modern science. Eddy was mostly glad that his tenure at the university was ending. He had recently become a vegetarian in a guilty gut reaction to his job.
Looking at the carcass pile, he felt an inkling of empathy for Nazi Germany; of soldiers hearts hearts hardened and emotionally detached for the carnage they carried out. Tonight Eddy would be taking the train from Sydney to Byron Bay to begin a new, more peaceful life.
He returned to the lab to find Dave hard at work, snapping necks, and a couple of new blood splattered mouse trails leading to the refuse bin.
"Slow down Dave, our last day, remember," Eddy said.
Dave continued feverishly at the task before replying, "did you bring any black ones? Why do we have to kill so many white ones?"
The working day finally ended, and the two friends shook hands, pledging to meet again soon for a drink and a smoke. The handshake was emotional but brief. Eddy had a train to catch and Dave rushed away to keep an appointment.
Dave sat quietly in the makeshift barbers chair, his long golden hair dropping away as the buzzer ran across his scalp. He stood up, and examined his shaved reflection through piercing blue eyes. He adjusted his collar before bending down to lace his new boots a little tighter.
The barber looked at Dave admiringly. "Now you have taken this step you are ready for initiation. After the vows you will be given some epaulets for your shoulders." He patted a bold swastika emblazoned on the collar of his own jacket. "Then you can tell us more or your experiments and the reaction of copper on the male reproductive system."
Dave smiled menacingly, saluted, and walked through the doorway into a courtyard, fully prepared to make his vow of allegiance.
END
Killing had been unsettling at first for the two young lab technicians, but within a few short weeks became second nature, a well oiled machine; hold, steady, pull...snap!, hold, steady, pull, snap!
Dave and Eddy were proud to have a job at the prestigious university research lab. They got to hang out with faculty members at social events, and enjoyed the campus life. A pair of long haired mad scientists, lab coats full of acid holes, smoking pot at lunch time, bungling experiments all afternoon, and falsifying results in time for knock off.
The research was, after all, government funded, no pressure, the head scientists usually away at the beach, or chasing student tail around the traps. However, funding cutbacks meant the end of an era for the two techs, three years of research curtailed, and today to be their last at the university. The male contraceptive pill experiment would remain mere theory.
Creating the copper based pill was the easy part, minute sperm being no match for base metals, with the only downside being the build up of copper in the human body, slowly forming a deadly toxin.
Dave and Eddy continued, shiny scalpels slicing open the mouse abdomen. They then removed the tubular vas deferens, and with thin needle, drained seminal fluids into test tubes, ready for the centrifuge spin.
"damn, bloody useless," Dave growled, blaming a dead mouse as the needle pierced the wrong part of the vas deferens, squeezing minute sperm onto the bench instead of into a test tube. He picked up the offending mouse by the tail and flung it across the room, where it slapped against a wall, before sliding into a waste bin.
Eddy glanced at the bloodstain on the wall, then back at Dave. "plenty more where he came from Dave. I'll pick up another cage-full from animal husbandry on the way back from the furnace.
The late autumn breeze blew cool between the buildings. The furnace had been switched off, so Eddy deposited the small bag of dead mice on top of other animal refuse: sheep with no balls, a skinless dog, tatty cat bodies, all waste products of progressive modern science. Eddy was mostly glad that his tenure at the university was ending. He had recently become a vegetarian in a guilty gut reaction to his job.
Looking at the carcass pile, he felt an inkling of empathy for Nazi Germany; of soldiers hearts hearts hardened and emotionally detached for the carnage they carried out. Tonight Eddy would be taking the train from Sydney to Byron Bay to begin a new, more peaceful life.
He returned to the lab to find Dave hard at work, snapping necks, and a couple of new blood splattered mouse trails leading to the refuse bin.
"Slow down Dave, our last day, remember," Eddy said.
Dave continued feverishly at the task before replying, "did you bring any black ones? Why do we have to kill so many white ones?"
The working day finally ended, and the two friends shook hands, pledging to meet again soon for a drink and a smoke. The handshake was emotional but brief. Eddy had a train to catch and Dave rushed away to keep an appointment.
Dave sat quietly in the makeshift barbers chair, his long golden hair dropping away as the buzzer ran across his scalp. He stood up, and examined his shaved reflection through piercing blue eyes. He adjusted his collar before bending down to lace his new boots a little tighter.
The barber looked at Dave admiringly. "Now you have taken this step you are ready for initiation. After the vows you will be given some epaulets for your shoulders." He patted a bold swastika emblazoned on the collar of his own jacket. "Then you can tell us more or your experiments and the reaction of copper on the male reproductive system."
Dave smiled menacingly, saluted, and walked through the doorway into a courtyard, fully prepared to make his vow of allegiance.
END
LAB RATS
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