Experiments -- Fiction; Science fiction; Scientists -- Fiction; Short stories
"On the contrary, I should and I did," Ferris answered. "We wanted
something dramatic to show to the trustees and here it is."
"Yes, we wanted to show our proof to the trustees--but not broadcast
unverified results to the press. It's too early for that!"
"Don't be so stuffy and conservative, Mitchell! Macklin's cured, isn't
he? By established periodic cycle he should be suffering hell right
now, shouldn't he? But thanks to our treatment he is perfectly happy,
with no unfortunate side effects such as gynergen produces."
"It's a significant test case, yes. But not enough to go to the
newspapers with. If it wasn't enough to go to the press with, it wasn't
enough to try and breach the trustees with. Don't you see? The public
will hand down a ukase demanding our virus, just as they demanded the
Salk vaccine and the Grennell serum."
"But--"
The shrill call of the telephone interrupted Mitchell's objections.
Ferris excused himself and crossed to the instrument. He answered it
and listened for a moment, his face growing impatient.
"It's Macklin's wife," Ferris said. "Do you want to talk to her? I'm no
good with hysterical women."
"Hysterical?" Mitchell muttered in alarm and went to the phone.
"Hello?" Mitchell said reluctantly. "Mrs. Macklin?"
"You are the other one," the clear feminine voice said. "Your name is
Mitchell."
She couldn't have sounded calmer or more self-possessed, Mitchell
thought.
"That's right, Mrs. Macklin. I'm Dr. Steven Mitchell, Dr. Ferris's
associate."
"Do you have a license to dispense narcotics?"
"What do you mean by that, Mrs. Macklin," Mitchell said sharply.
"I used to be a nurse, Dr. Mitchell. I know you've given my husband
heroin."
"That's absurd. What makes you think a thing like that?"
"The--trance he's in now."
"Now, Mrs. Macklin. Neither Dr. Ferris or myself have been near your
husband for a full day. The effects of a narcotic would have worn off
by this time."
"Most known narcotics," she admitted, "but evidently you have
discovered something new. Is it so expensive to refine you and Ferris
have to recruit new customers to keep yourselves supplied?"
"Mrs. Macklin! I think I had better talk to you later when you are
calmer."
Mitchell dropped the receiver heavily. "What could be wrong with
Macklin?" he asked without removing his hand from the telephone.
Ferris frowned, making quotation marks above his nose. "Let's have a
look at the test animals."
Together they marched over to the cages and peered through the
honeycomb pattern of the wire. The test chimp, Dean, was sitting
peacefully in a corner scratching under his arms with the back of his
knuckles. Jerry, their control in the experiment, who was practically
Dean's twin except that he had received no injection of the E-M Virus,
was stomping up and down punching his fingers through the wire,
worrying the lock on the cage.
"Jerry _is_ a great deal more active than Dean," Mitchell said.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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