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Butterflys Are Beautiful |
| Written by David Neve | |
| Monday, 04 August 2008 | |
The intercom chimed quietly and the General's secretary looked to Edmond Dabrowsky without answering it, "The General will see you now Mr. Dabrowsky. He is in the gardens; do you know the way to them?" "Yes" Edmond smiled, "I created them," he winked, "I believe I can find them." "Oh! I am so sorry!" the secretary's face switched back and forth between apology and surprise, "I'm new, I had no idea. Those gardens, Mr. Dabrowsky" by now she had moved on to full-blown blushing, "they are so beautiful!" Edmond almost blushed himself, overwhelmed by her appreciation of his work, "Thank you Miss..." "Kathleen Jackson," she held out her hand, "my friends call me Katie" He shook her hand as he completed his sentence, "Katie it is. Perhaps we could visit the garden together at a later date?" Katie smiled at the offer, "That would be wonderful, but I heard that the General is a bit possessive regarding his garden." "I'll handle that small issue; there are, after all, some perks that come with being the General's favorite genetic lab rat." he took a couple deep breaths, one for what he had just experienced, and one for what he knew was coming. He smiled at Katie, remembering everything he could about her smile, "I should be going. It's typically not a good idea to keep the General waiting." With a small wave he turned and walked back out into the hall - headed for the General's indoor garden. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Three crypto locks and two security checkpoints later, Edmond arrived at the garden room. Measuring two hundred by two hundred feet, it was almost an acre in size. The room was totally enclosed in a bomb-proof building, and filled to the inch with plants genetically altered to think they were outside. The plants thrived totally on fluorescent lighting; the need for red light bred completely out of them. He found the General sitting on his favorite bench, quietly enjoying one of Edmond's latest creations. Edmond took a deep breath and approached. He hated having to argue a good point. He hated confrontations, and didn't do well when encountering them. It went against the very core of his personality. "Good afternoon General." He smiled, nodding at the insect sitting on the General's hand, "I see you have found one of my latest pets." "Butterflies. Something about them," the General paused, holding up the specimen sitting on his index finger, "they're beautiful. You have outdone yourself Edmond." Edmond beamed. The General was never anywhere near making his 'favorite persons' list but a compliment is a compliment, "Truth is General, there is more here than meets the eye." "How so?" "Did the butterfly come to you?" "Immediately," the General looked closely at the butterfly, "I thought it quite odd."
"Butterflies were
Angie's favorite piece of nature, but she could never get close enough to
examine them closely. I added a need for
slight human companionship in this last batch - but then tempered it with a
slight anti-social nudge towards its fellow butterflies." Edmond continued, consumed by his success, "The end result is that they will migrate together and mingle, but they don't like to get too close to one another. Very rarely should more than two butterflies land on a single person. Did you notice all the butterflies surrounding us?" The General looked up at the trees surrounding them and spotted hundreds of butterflies perched on the leaves. "Shake the butterfly off of your hand General." The General did as instructed and the butterfly took flight. There was a short period of confusion as all the butterflies flew in the direction of the General, until one butterfly landed on his shoulder. The other butterflies immediately retreated back to the garden. The General shook his head, "Amazing." He turned his gaze back to Edmond, "Unfortunately, Edmond, the butterflies are not why a summoned you today." Edmond knew what was coming, but ignorance is sometimes a decent camouflage, "How may I help you General?" "I have heard that you are not happy here, perhaps not satisfied with my performance?" Edmond wasn't sure if that was a question or not, "I don't understand sir..." "There are those that say that you do not believe that I am aggressive enough in performing my duties." "Sir, I was speaking privately with Colonel Landers, I did not mean to imply..." The General interrupted him mid sentence, "My esteemed colleague Colonel Landers. That man has been campaigning for a promotion quite blatantly recently. I believe it is to be at my expense." "I do not know anything about his goals sir, only mine. I've come to you many times recently, with many good working ideas - and for some reason you choose not to act. I merely spoke to him of my confusion regarding our ultimate goal as a unit, and my lack of patience. I feel the need to take action, almost desperately. I believe that the time is right." "We disagree strongly there, Edmond, as is apparent in my choice of action. I do not believe that the time is right to bring attention to our particular group. I'm concerned that you are letting your personal life interfere with your work here." Edmond shook his head and looked down at the ground, he knew what was coming next. "Edmond, I'm afraid that I have enough to worry about without wondering if one of my scientists is going to rebel. I'm going to have to reassign you. I'm sorry Edmond, I know that you are well intentioned - but the risks, my personal risks, are too great. I'm sure you understand." Edmond didn't look up from the ground that he was examining, "I guess I do General." Getting transferred from this department meant falling into a hole and never reappearing; the work that he did was beyond confidential. There was no way that he would leave here alive. He took another look at his garden then looked to the General, "Are you sure you won't reconsider sir?" The General simply shook his head, "I'm sorry Edmond, I'm convinced that this is the right thing to do, and I've already started processing the paperwork." Edmond stood, "Well sir, I guess I'll be taking my leave then. I'm truly sorry that we couldn't find a middle ground here." ---------------------------- The intercom chimed quietly and the General's secretary looked to Edmond Dabrowsky without answering it, "The General will see you now Mr. Dabrowsky." "Edmond, Katie, Edmond." Katie smiled, "Edmond, the General is in his office, and is ready to see you. He's, um, a little leery of the gardens." "Thanks, Katie" he replied as he went through the door into the office. Edmond took a seat across from the General's desk and waited patiently for the General to finish updating his logbook The General looked up as he closed his book, "Mr. Dabrowsky! It's a pleasure to see you again." "Please General Landers, call me Edmond," he answered as he stood and held out his hand in greeting. "Edmond, please, tell me of this plan of yours." "Well sir, I call it Operation Butterfly. I can take credit for the scientific side of it, but my daughter, Angie, was my inspiration really. She loved butterflies." "Your wife and daughter were both killed in that attack by the rebels?" "Yes sir, and to be honest, I won't rest until all the rebels dead." "I'm sorry to hear that. Please, I apologize for interrupting, continue." "Sir, there is a breed of frog that has a very potent poison on their skin. My assistants and I managed to break down their DNA and isolate the toxin. After months of research we were able to genetically alter butterflies to carry the toxin on their footpads. At the same time, we created in the butterflies, a slight need for human companionship. That of course was the delicate part. People love butterflies, but tend to panic when approached by more than a few. So we diminished their need to congregate with each other, and managed to limit the accumulation to two maybe three butterflies at a time per person." Edmond was excited and scooted forward in his chair as he continued, "During this time of year, the butterflies have a natural urge to migrate south. All we need to do is move north of the rebels and turn the butterflies loose." General Landers thought for a moment then asked, "People seeking butterfly bombs. Sounds a little silly to say, but I think the plan has merit. But Edmond, won't that be a problem for the folks farther south of the rebel city?" "No sir. The altered butterflies have a life expectancy of three days, so I do not expect them to move more than ten or fifteen miles south of the city at the most. As an added bonus, anyone that comes in contact with the butterflies will become highly contagious for a minimum of six hours. Within twenty four hours, everyone in the city will be dead." General Landers was impressed, "Tell me Edmond, how many butterflies do you have ready, and how long would you need to prepare them for this operation?" "I am ready now, with enough butterflies to wipe out the entire rebel city." "Antidote?" Edmond reached into his pocket and extracted a single prepared injection, and handed it to General Landers, "We also have enough of these to save a city." General Landers slid the antidote into his pocket and looked at Edmond knowingly, "I imagine my predecessor would have liked to have this." Edmond had no answer to that statement. General Landers continued, "I like it Edmond. I'll get the folks up above interested and we'll get the ball rolling." Edmond stood and shook the General's hand, "Thank you sir. I have waited years for this moment." He turned and walked towards the door, and as he reached for the doorknob he hesitated and turned, "General Landers, would you mind if I used the garden from time to time?" The General smiled, "Not a problem Edmond, enjoy." As Edmond left General Landers office he let go a sigh of relief, happy that the conversation went so well. He hated having to argue a good point. He avoided confrontations, and didn't do well when encountering them. Confrontations went against the very core of his personality. After exiting the office and went directly to Katie's desk, "How about a walk in that garden?" Katie blushed, "That would be wonderful Edmond! I heard that the butterflies there are beautiful!" Copyright 2008 David Neve |
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| Last Updated ( Monday, 04 August 2008 ) |
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