NOVEL NEXT You’re Mad, but Such a Genius ...
Somewhere hidden, inside a cloaked deep space research station ...
Nanites carried a highly contagious gene-altering virus, infecting all of the test subjects.
“Success, again. It works!” Dr. Franklin Garcia clapped.
“Turning mice into mini-cattle, chickens, and fish? Who’ll eat them? What’s the purpose, Doctor?” Asked Barbara Reese, his laboratory assistant.
“To prevent famine. Never mind all our space colonies, we’ve got over 50 billion people on Earth alone, and they won’t stop building mega-cities. Entire underground and sky-reaching structures housing hundreds of millions. I’ve pleaded with our officials to stop ...”
“So ... your solution is transmuting mice into livestock?” She raised an eyebrow.
“Oh, nothing so resource-intensive as that. Barbara, do you recall when they made first contact? It happened around ... ?”
“About 20 years ago, Doctor.”
“Right you are, Barbara, the aliens attacked us through their wormhole network, but so far, we’ve fended them off, and yet they’ve caused so much suffering and destruction ...”
“Hideous monsters ...” She shook her head. “And they keep popping up one at a time, randomly, everywhere and anywhere.”
“Indeed, Barbara, they’re unpredictable and unstoppable, they won’t stop trying to invade us.”
“I know that all too well, Doctor.” Her eyes teared up. “I lost my older brother and his family last year when they bombarded one of our Martian colonies.”
“Oh, Barbara, I’m so sorry ...” He handed her a tissue. “My nanites will soon end this war.”
“But how, Doctor? The aliens—they’re undetectable, ruthless, and relentless.”
“We’re almost there on early detection. Once that happens, and a portal opens, we’ll send in our probes cloaked with my nanites.” He pointed at a sealed Petri dish swirling with a fluid. “We’ll feed billions, conquer their dominion, and stop future invasions all at once!”
“Oh Doctor Garcia, you’re mad, but such a genius ...”