Board Thread:Writer's Workshop/@comment-26007602-20150513022637

Alright, so this is the story I wrote for the collaborative project. Obviously, it's longer than the other entries, so I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for bits to cut out. Other forms of feedback are always welcome as well. Also looking for a better title, as the current one is more of a placeholder (I really want to call it Fungi with Yukoff, but that seems a bit silly if you don't catch the reference).

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“Ahh, welcome, welcome! So nice to finally meet you!” The man looked up from his work and smiled at Jennifer as she nervously clutched her assignment details, “I’m Dr. Yukoff, and- no, before you ask, it’s just a family name. I’m not one of those commies as some people would have you believe.” He extended his hand graciously and Jennifer shook it, tentatively looking him in the eye, looking for any signs of dishonesty. After the orientation she had just gone through Jennifer found it difficult to trust any of the researchers, least of all a friendly one. He had to be hiding something.

“Jennifer,” she simply whispered, forcing a smile to her lips.

Yukoff nodded excitedly, “Not one for talking, eh? That’s fine; you can listen to me ramble. Come on; let’s go for a walk. I’ll show you where you’ll be working.” He waved her over to a sliding door and pressed a side panel, revealing a long hallway behind the door.

The hallway led past various offices, some visible through glass windows lining the sides. Jennifer peered into these areas, curious to see what horrors lay inside. This wasn’t the job she thought she had signed up for: human experimentation, manipulation, torture, murder, none of these topics really appealed to her. They certainly didn’t mention any of that in the advertisement, she had thought earlier on her orientation tour. After learning of what really went on beneath the town of Indigo Falls, she feared it was far too late to back out. She had been assigned to work on the Citizen Neural Dampening Project with Doctor Yukoff, a task she was unsure the nature of, but feared nonetheless. With everything else that went on in this facility, that couldn’t be a good thing.

Yukoff was oblivious to Jennifer’s apprehension and strolled down the hallway, occasionally waving to passing researchers. He turned to Jennifer, “So! You’ve been assigned here because you don’t like hurting other people. And you know what? I can respect that. A lot of the projects that go on here…” He stopped and scanned the hallway; no one but the two of them were present, “They’re completely senseless. Sadistic. Twisted. Disgusting. The people running them are just as horrid. But not here! We work to help people; not use them. I’m glad you’re here, Jennifer, it’s been awhile since I had a lab assistant. Come, my office is right through here.” He opened a door at the end of the hallway and motioned for Jennifer to step inside. She was still on edge, but felt her paranoia ease just a bit.

Yukoff’s office was less than spectacular. The atmosphere was stuffy and cramped; a strange odor hung in the air, making Jennifer’s nose scrunch uncomfortably. The office itself consisted of a few diagrams strung up on the walls and small desk with a computer resting on it. Scattered notes and papers littered the area. A fortified metal door sat at the opposite end of the room.

“I apologize for the smell,” Yukoff said as he shut the door behind them, “It’s something you get used to. And don’t worry; we’ll get you a work area as soon as possible. Now, you’re probably wondering what the whole ‘Neural Dampening Project’ is about. Did Diana explain any of it during your orientation?” Yukoff took a seat at his desk, gathering some of his papers together.

Jennifer looked for a place to sit, and finding none, leaned awkwardly against the wall, “No. She just went over the basic functions of the facility: its goals, major projects, emergency exits, stuff like that. Made me sign a bunch of papers. Said it was better that I didn’t know every single bit of research that went on here. Oh, and she showed me ‘The Pen’,” She looked at Yukoff anxiously, “We don’t, ah, we don’t work around there, right?”

“What? Oh, no. No, no, no! That’s where the lesser scientists hide their failures. We don’t make mistakes like that. There’s unfortunately nothing we can do to stop such tragic wastes of life. We can however, help the citizens better cope with their day to day lives, and live in blissful ignorance.” He saw a wave of relief pass over her face, “So! I volunteered and was subsequently put in charge of making sure the general populace never found out about such activities. Surely, if you’re neighbors started disappearing one by one, you’d be a bit concerned, correct?”

“Of course.”

“So the facility needed a way to control the population. Many techniques were proposed, ranging from drugging the water supply, cloning, or even making synthetic people as replacements. But then, I had a breakthrough! A simple, harmless, ethical, cost efficient way of keeping the populace of Indigo Falls carefree! I wish I could do more than that, but I’m quite proud of what this department has accomplished so far.”

Jennifer waited a few moments for the big reveal, but Yukoff was silent, watching her happily, goading her to respond, “So what did you decide on?”

Yukoff got up from his chair and went over to the diagrams on the wall, “Spores! We use fungal spores to increase their susceptibility and follow up with careful subliminal messages to decrease their awareness. I always make sure the messages contain positive thinking ideas so that the citizens can go about their weeks happily. You see, we’re right below the Indigo Falls chapel. Every Sunday, the whole town shows up for Mass and we simply release the spores and broadcast some feel good messages. Quite ingenious if I do say so myself. Fungi with Yukoff! Not the worst project to be assigned to, right?”

Jennifer stared at the diagrams incredulously, trying to make sense of what Yukoff had just said. She was relieved that she wouldn’t be taking part in hurting the citizens, but was unsure of how ethical brainwashing them actually was, “How… how did you come across this solution? What fungus does this?”

“Ah yes! Ophiocordyceps Cynthiadae! You see, while I was trying to devise a solution to the awareness problem, my lab assistant, Cynthia, was working with a new species of fungus, one we thought could solve the issue. A mutant strain of the fungus that infects insects, eventually eating them from the inside out. Unfortunately, she was exposed directly and it infected her,” He shook his head, “I had no choice but to quarantine her before the pathogen spread to the rest of the facility.”

Jennifer stared in disgust as Yukoff motioned to the diagrams, “I dropped my research and stayed in constant contact with Cynthia, trying to keep her healthy and track the infection. As you can see by this picture, as soon as it entered her bloodstream, it started growing in her ovaries, eventually spreading to her digestive and nervous systems. It nearly destroyed those and replaced them with fungal production. The interesting thing is-” he pointed to a picture of a pair of lungs, where Jennifer could see multiple growths splattered across them, “That this is when the fungus mutated into the less harmful strain we expose the citizens to. There are two separate species living inside of her- my best guess is that they form a symbiotic relationship, with the second strain drawing in potential hosts and the first infecting them and producing more of both species. Admittedly, I have no idea why this fungus works as well as it does, but it’s not our job to find out. We simply need to keep the townsfolk docile.”

“Oh God, you expose the citizens to this every week and you don’t even know how it works?!”

“Yes, but it’s completely harmless! I ran many tests before recommending the Cynthiadae fungus for the Neural Dampening Project. I would never want harm to befall anyone. I understand your concerns- hey, I have an idea. Do you want to see her?”

“Not particularly…”

“Fair enough. She isn’t much better than those things in the Pen. Poor thing. I never wanted to use her body as a testing ground. Took a few days for her to pass away; such a needlessly painful way to go. At least she that damn fungus can’t harm her anymore.”

Jennifer hunched her shoulders and leaned towards Yukoff, “She is… dead, right? She’s not alive…?”

“Oh no! I’m sure that as soon as the fungus gained control of her nervous system, she ceased to live. Actually, speaking of which, that’s where things get even more interesting. You see, the fungus seems to be using her nervous system- her motor neurons specifically- to further its reproductive goals. I’ve seen it move Cynthia’s body across the lab and tear at the glass separating her from us. Once it even tried scratching a message into the glass, but I delivered an electrical shock to prevent it from doing so. Incredibly irritating. It seems to spread to her vocal cords as well; I’ve heard it moaning and crying for help, begging to be released. So we know it possesses a parrot-like ability, able to mimic the host to deceive others. Strangely, once it asked for me to kill it. I suspect such an event would release the entirety of its spores, something we do not want to occur. Regardless, now I just deliver electric shocks whenever it starts acting up. I’m certain it can’t feel pain- it’s a fungus after all- but it seems to stunt nervous system activity for a good while.”

“That’s… certainly strange.” Jennifer still felt uneasy about the whole ordeal.

“Quite. Lately it’s been, eh, ‘withholding’ its spores from us. It simply ceases respiratory functions, the source of the dampening spores, whenever the citizens are present. I’ve had to administer shocks and the occasional flame to coax the spores from its lungs. I swear, the damn fungus is fighting me. If it was sentient, I’d be upset, but it’s more than likely a simple defense mechanism. That’s where you come in, Jennifer.”

Jennifer hoped the sweat on her face wasn’t obvious; she had been dreading interacting with the creature, not wanting to suffer the same fate as Cynthia, “I don’t follow. What- what do you want me to do?”

“Well, ever since the fungus began resisting my research efforts, I wanted to dispose of it and start anew with a fresh subject. But I can’t get the damn thing to grow! I’ve tried infecting dogs, cats, pigs, chimps; nothing works! The Cynthiadae refuses to grow and reproduce. I’ve tried using dead human tissue. Nothing. I tried using living dead tissue from the lab next to us, but that failed as well. As a last ditch effort, I requested subjects from the Pen to be used as hosts, but the Cynthiadae rejects them. I believe it requires healthy, living, human tissue. That’s actually where you’ll come in, Jennifer”

Jennifer slowly started moving towards the door, her worst fears recognized. She forced another smile at Yukoff as she fumbled for the handle, “I really don’t think I’m cut out for such a project, Doctor. I hope you understand…” She grabbed and twisted at the door, only to find it locked.

Yukoff looked at her plainly, his voice devoid of emotion, “I’m sorry Jennifer, I hope you understand that I really need someone-” He walked towards her calmly.

Jennifer was banging on the door in a desperate attempt at freedom, “No! Get away from me you freak! I’m not letting you turn me into another lab culture! Stay away!”

Yukoff stopped, “What? Oh, no! No, no, no! You misunderstand! Jennifer, I’d never willingly subject someone to such torture! Calm down! Please!” He held out a bundle of papers, “I simply needed someone to do paperwork for a few weeks until I can devise a solution. I’m not like the rest of the researchers here- I don’t use humans for my experiments! How barbaric!”

Jennifer stopped banging at the door and turned to face Yukoff. She put her hands on her knees and panted heavily, “Sorry… I shouldn’t… have jumped to conclusions.”

“Oh, I apologize! With the rest of the work that goes on here, a lesser researcher may have done just that. I apologize for causing unnecessary stress! I’d never want to harm any living human-” A buzzer went off, catching Yukoff mid sentence, “Ah! Excuse me for just a moment,” He ran to the other end of the room, near the fortified door and pressed a series of buttons. The lights dimmed for a second and a distant shrieking filled the room behind the door. The warning sound subsided, and a sobbing noise could be heard faintly.

“Apologies,” Yukoff went on, “Damn fungus was moving around again. I gave it a greater than average shock. Should keep it immobilized for a few hours while we figure out how to best put you to work. You still wish to work, correct? I wouldn’t want to force you-”

“No, I... as long as I stay away from that… thing, I think I can work.”

“Oh, marvelous! You don’t need to interact with the Cynthiadae fungus if you don’t wish to. I’d never wish to harm another co-worker or citizen mentally or physically. Remember, we’re here because we don’t like hurting people. We keep people safe from the rest of the psychopaths stationed here. Welcome to the team, Jennifer.” 