Monticco's War with Island of Morosono

Monticco’s War with the Island of Morosono

Prologue:
All the Monticco Warriors are Elven Males; all the Morosono Warriors {indeed the entire Morosono population} are Mutants created by the scientist genius Dr. Willum Moroson {hence the Island’s nomenclature, Morosono}.

Chapter 1:
         A century or so past, a scientist in a genetic engineering think tank in Maryland, near the nation’s capital, made a startling discovery while working with chromosomes. Now this particular think tank received the vast majority of its funding from National Defense sources {as do so many in this category}. At the time of his tenure at Roscoe Devices, Inc., Dr. Willum Morrison inadvertently stumbled upon a means to alter a particular chromosome set so as to produce sociopathic, conscienceless warriors, individuals without fear of pain. He discovered that by a simple alteration of the chromosome set in question, and by severing the pain sensors in the brain, a human could battle without conscience, and without ceasing or hesitating due to injuries. Indeed, his “creations” would battle to the death- others’, or their own- without cease.

         Dr. Morrison knew what a find and treasure this would be to the Defense sources funding his research, and he also realized the probability of selling it at astronomically inflated prices on the arms black market. Yet by this point his scientific genius had inflated itself into insanity; so he determined to keep his research secrets to himself, and one night late at work in the Lab he took all the necessary steps to maintain his secrecy, permanently. {He routinely worked late into the night, sometimes all night, as he had no family or friends outside Roscoe Devices, nor indeed within. The woman he had married early in college had divorced him during graduate school because his single-minded devotion to his studies and research left him no time for normal human emotional contact or interest.

         Realising that his late-night forays in the Lab would excite no comment, Morrison ventured out about 11 pm to fetch a sandwich from the staff cafeteria {which remained open until midnight to serve late-evening workers and the night security guards on their rounds}. He returned to the Lab with his sandwich, set it aside; then proceeded first into the interior workroom, where his personal laptop was set up, and where the files were kept. He systematically shredded every paper copy of his research, and collected all the confetti into a small paper bag for later disposal by fire. He downloaded all the data still remaining on the main system into his laptop, put the paper bag of confetti into his briefcase, and added the current tray of chromosomes into a specially-designed padded frame in the false bottom of his briefcase.

Quickly but thoroughly he checked through the inner workroom, seeking any possible remaining trace. Finding none, he carried his briefcase and his personal laptop through to the outer room.

         Once there, he tossed the now stale sandwich in the crinkly wrap into the trash container in the corner, and proceeded once again to download data from the outer room’s terminal. He checked the table top, and every drawer for possible information, and found none. Finally, while waiting for the download to complete, he checked the two-drawer file in the opposite corner, but found there only purchase order requisitions, office supplies counts, and personnel information for the few laboratory assistants who had worked with him over the first 6 years he had spent in the employ of Roscoe Devices. By that point the data download was complete, so he detached and shut down his laptop and closed it. Dr. Morrison had carefully timed, on numerous occasions, the interplay of the night security guards’ routes, and he knew that within the next 15 minutes one would pass through his hall and onward to the animal research compound, which was set a brisk 15-2O minute walk from the Research Lab building. Morrison counted on the duration of the guard’s trek to the animal compound.

      Earlier he had timed it to the minute, on several occasions of furtive reconnaissance, and knew that, depending on the individual guard, the walk could be accomplished easily and without undue strain in 15 up to 25 minutes. Most did it in 2O or less. One particularly heavy and out-of-condition night guard, who primarily worked weekends, Harrison Hauf, required at least 25 minutes as he huffed and puffed his way across the short-cropped lawn. However, Harrison had recently requested additional hours, as his gambling addiction had led him further into debt, and his wife had left to move to Arizona to be closer to the grandkids. In  response to Harrison’s request for more work time, he now only patrolled on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights, and Monday-Thursday nights he was stationed, from 6 pm until midnight, in the anteroom of the Animal Research facility, where he alternately snoozed and watched late-night cable, ostensibly keeping an eye on the closed-circuit security videocamera mounted in the upper corner of the Anteroom. His sworn duty was to monitor that camera continuously, as it panned through the halls of animal cages and intermittently covered the doors of the research labs. A second and third camera, outdoors, displayed the exterior and the near grounds onto a flat-screen monitor on the desktop.

    A couple of years earlier, Roscoe Devices, along with many other think-tanks, genetic engineering biotech corporations, and cosmetic and pharmaceutical companies accused of animal research, had been targeted for threats by some of the more intense animal rights activists’ groups and individuals. Indeed, at one point, during the course of a single work week, Roscoe’s main gate had been spray painted with red drips to apparently resemble animal blood.  A lab technician, whose car had run out of gas just outside the gates, requested the gate guard to call for a tow truck, and walked across the compound to his lab. Later that morning he received a call from the towing garage to inform him that the vehicle was ready, but that it had received a long scratch along the driver’s door from a key. Two days later, an animal hide was thrown atop the main gate, during the night. At this point Roscoe Devices’ CEO ordered a new security system installed, specific to the Animal Research Lab, added an additional guard at the main gate, and posted a security guard at the Animal Compound nightly. After several months without further incident or threats, the animal compound guard was withdrawn and transferred to regular nightly patrol; the second guard at the gate was also transferred; and the video cameras in the Animal research compound were set to record, and to save to backup every 15 minutes.

         Harrison’s request for additional work time, coming when it did, fitted perfectly. He was stashed away in the Animal lab 4 days per week, and since his guarding wasn’t too diligent nor too punctual, he was deemed better placed in a “safe” place than out walking patrol.