Speaker 1: Welcome to Endo the night. I'm Narri your guide on
today's excursion down a twisted path. Be careful not to
get lost. Be it dark or light, It's easy to
lose your way. Are you ready, then let's begin an
able bodied man. The alarm rang, jolting Philip Sorenson awake.
Rolling over, he grabbed his glasses from the nightstand and
put them on to check the time. Certainly, it couldn't
be time to rouse himself from bed. It was roaning.
He ran his fingers through his dark hair and then stretched.
Five hours didn't seem nearly long enough to sleep, but
their work at the lab demanded extended workdays. Down the hall,
he heard his co also confronting the reality that their
day had begun. Philip swung his door open to find
Ray Stroud in his robe, carrying a cup of steaming coffee. Hey, Phil,
rise and shine. Huh, Good morning to you, Ray. Do
they have anything decent to eat this morning? The same
gourmet fair as usual? The two men chuckled, this is
the worst five star hotel in the world. Ray unlocked
his dorm room, taking tentative SIPs of his coffee as
he entered the sure as hell, isn't the ritz Carlton,
Phil muttered. Still, his stomach rumbled and he needed caffeine badly,
so he stumbled down the hall to the breakfast room.
As he sat at a table eating a less than
satisfying piece of toast, he considered himself lucky that the
lab provided housing for its employees. He shuddered to think
how early he'd have to rise if he had a commute.
He stared out the window overlooking the parking lot. No
birds sang yet, and the world still slept in the
pre dawn hours. Phil wasn't even sure what day of
the week it was. Returning to his room, he shaved, showered,
and prepared for the day ahead. On his way to
the lab, he met Ellen mulvany in the hall. She
yawned and then smiled at him. Morning Phil. We look
like a couple of live wires today, that we do,
he said, as he returned her smile. We are so
close to succeeding though. Maybe the past five years will
have been worth it. Maybe if we can actually do this,
we'll be able to finally have a decent night's sleep.
I don't believe in fairy tales, Phil, Ellen's eyes sparkled
as she gently elbowed her coworker. Phil looked at her,
and she wasn't sure what to make of it. What.
Ellen her brow and looked at him. What are you
looking at? Oh nothing, You're funny, that's all. Phil, however,
once again noticed just how pretty Ellen was when she smiled. Ray,
now dressed and caffeinated, jogged down the hall to catch
up with them. Hey what are you two talking about?
Oh nothing, We were complaining about being tired, that's all,
Ellen added. Ray grinned at them as though he discovered
a secret. Give it a break, Stroud. Philip shook his
head and stared at Ray. What what did I say?
Ray raised his hand to his chest, feigning shock and indignation.
Patricia Cowden, the head of their division, approached, Okay, time
to stop with the theatrics. We all need to be
at our stations in five minutes, so get a move on.
At five feet in height, Patricia didn't appear intimidating, or
at least not to the outset. Fair but tough, congenial
but straightforward, she evoked respect from her employees and her employer. Yes, ma'am,
we're on our way. Stroud here was just telling us
how surprised he was at his time for work. Patricia
Cowden laughed, don't ever take a polygraph test, Sorenson, because
it's not going to end well for you. Her smile
and the sparkle in her eyes let the others know
that she too wasn't above teasing her coworkers. Turning to Stroud,
she said, I can't imagine what secret you discovered in
the hallway this morning. She then looked at Philip and
Ellen and gave them a good natured wink. The two
blushed and broke eye contact with Patricia and Ray, who
shared a knowing look between them. The attraction between Ellen
Mlvany and Philip Sorenson was obvious to anyone who saw
the together, and they'd become the talk around the lab.
No one minded their familiarity, and most of their coworkers
secretly cheered them on. We'd better hurry and get to
the lab, Ellen said, trying to change the subject as
she picked up her paste down the corridor. Wait for us,
speed demon, Ray Stroud shouted after her as he and
the rest of the group hurried their pace to catch
up with Ellen. Once they reached the lab, however, they
set all joking aside. They'd worked tirelessly for years, and
now they stood on the precipice of the breakthrough they'd
hoped for. Results of testing on mice looked promising, and
everyone felt an electric buzz of excitement in the lab.
They forgot any exhaustion they felt or other distractions to
their work. They focused wholeheartedly on their goal create superhuman
hybrids who could withstand the rigors of long distance space travel.
At times, in the dark of the night, when they
took time to consider the ethics of such a venture,
they worried that they played the part of modern day Frankenstein's.
Only occasionally did they discuss such concerns with one another. However,
they did so in hushed voices. I don't know, man,
are we playing God? Ray? I have no idea. We're
in too deep to stop now though. Besides, if we quit,
they'll continue the program anyway. They're hell bent on going
into deep space with this. If we do come up
with the right formula, who would volunteer to be injected
with it? I don't think they will find many takers. Well,
I overheard some of the supervisors say they're planning to
use inmates. Are you serious? Yeah, I don't know how
I feel about that. I mean, they broke the law,
but I don't think they should be used as labrats.
Are they even given a che voice? I don't know.
I'd like to think so, but who knows. The government
always gets its way and none of us can stop it.
We can't worry about that right now. We need to
keep our heads down and do what we can to
be useful. I know, but the formula will turn them
into superhumans with long lives but not much to enjoy
about living. Ssh, keep your voice down. Maybe they shouldn't
have broken the law and they wouldn't be in this situation.
I think a long life exploring deep space would have
to be way better than sitting in a prison cell
day after day. I guess then they would hear footsteps coming,
which quickly ended their conversations. No one wanted to openly
question the project. Tight security kept communications with the outside
world at zero, and conversations regarding the ethical nature of
the lab were frowned upon. Had it that informants lived
and worked among them, and anyone seen not as loyal
to the project would be reported on, and no one
wanted to lose his job. Paranoia took firm hold of
the employees, and that kept them in line. Years passed
with only incremental progress, but in recent days initial tests
looked promising. Everyone took on a full steam ahead mentality,
and the upper echelon supervisors teased bits of information out
of the employees. According to the rumors, the space program
would become operational soon. Late nights and early mornings brought
the team ever closer to success. The sparks between Philip
Sorenson and Ellen Malveny also grew in intensity during the
weeks and months leading up to the mission. At first,
they shared shy glances or brushed hands in the hallway. Finally,
Philip took a leap of faith. Ellen, if I'm out
of line, let me know. But would you want to
have dinner with me? Excitement flashed in her eyes. I would, Phil,
that would be great. I'll try to whip something up
better in my mini kitchen than the cafeteria food we eat.
Then definitely count me in. The two laughed, both out
of nervousness for stepping into the realm of dating and
because the cafeteria food was notoriously bland and unappetizing. That night,
they enjoyed a pleasant meal together and held hands while
watching a movie. The next night they did the same,
and soon they spent every moment together that they could.
I know the bosses don't want us fraternizing, but Elle,
I think I've loved you since the first moment we met.
Wasn't that when I ate that horrible hot dog in
the cafeteria and the mustard dripped down my lab coat?
He let out a hearty laugh. Yes, that's the time
I knew I loved you. Then. I'm not quite sure
how my neck for wearing my lunch was so appealing,
but I'm not going to complain. It was the way
you could laugh at yourself that impressed me. Too many
beautiful women are stuck on appearances. You wore that mustard
with pride. I guess I should have to be thankful
for that mustard. Then she wrapped her arms around him
and nestled into his embrace. Soon the couple talked of
marriage and children once their time at the lab finished.
Keeping their relationship secret from the management was difficult, but
their podmates smiled and looked the other way as the
romance blossomed. No one begrudged the twosome happiness. A few
envied their relationship, but no one wanted to see it end.
Life in the compound was lonely and bleak. Their colleagues appreciated,
knowing that it least someone in their midst found a
bright spot in an otherwise mundane existence. Work was almost
had to focus on, so Philip and Ellen's relationship added
some variety to their days. One day, Patricia Cowden called
a surprise lab wide meeting on Tuesday. The employees rolled
their eyes. Meetings like this tend to last for hours
and give me a headache, Ray said, as he slumped
his shoulders. Nevertheless, they filled into the large conference room.
Patricia and the upper management, who rarely made appearances inside
the lab, smiled and motioned for them to take their seats.
Patricia took to the microphone while her bosses sat behind
her and looked on Today is an exciting time, but
we have some good news and bad news. Groans and
whispers spread through the crowd. Patricia smiled once more and said,
no need to sound disgruntled. The bad news is that
it's time for all of us to receive our yearly vaccinations.
Keeping hell healthy is vital to accomplishing the work that
we do. Patricia looked to her left, where a team
of nurses set up immunization stations for the employees. A
through L go to line one, M through P go
to line two. Q through Z go to line three.
I already had mine, and the sooner we are finished
with the vaccinations. The sooner I can tell you the
wonderful news we have. I hate these shots. They always
make me feel sick for the next few days, Ellen said,
as she and Philip walked toward their respective lines. Yeah, Bud,
it's better than coming down with one of those diseases.
Since the lab next to ours works on biomedical projects,
it's better to be safe than sorry. I guess you're right.
I've never been a fan of needles, but I don't
want to come down with any strange mutated diseases they
likely tinker with. One by one, the employees received their
shots and filed back to their seats. Once everyone was settled,
Patricia addressed them again for the good news. We have
worked tirelessly to make deep space travel a reality, and
I wanted to tell you myself that we have succeeded.
She turned to look behind her as a big screen
played rousing music and showed images of spaceships designed for
those voyages. We did it, cheers erupted from the crowd.
Patricia turned and applauded the company dignitaries, and then looked
back at the crowd. She lifted her arms to signal
them to stand and applaud the supervisors as well. With
broad smiles on their faces. The men briefly stood and bowed,
acknowledging the adelation. Each company official took turns giving speeches
that stressed the importance of the mission for mankind and
their appreciation of the tireless work the lab employees did
to bring the plan to fruition. In two weeks, the
first mission will launch. We are so proud of all
of you, CEO Dan Monro told the men and women
who sat before him, and our cheers erupted from the
crowd once more. After all the speech has ended, Patricia
opened the meeting up for questions. A few asked about
the length of time the subjects would be in space,
what specifically the project might accomplish, et cetera. Ellen wiped
sweat off her brow. Concerned, Phil said, Hey, are you
feeling okay, Yeah, the immunization is kicking in. I feel
like I'm coming down with the flu. Phil put his
arm around her. It's going to be okay. Once this
meeting is over, I'll fix you something to eat and
you can get some sleep. Ray raised his hand and
Patricia called on him. Yes, mister Stroud, what is your question.
We've heard through the grapevine that the formula will be
used on inmates. Is this true? The crowd hushed, Yes,
that is true. We felt that it was best to
experiment first on a captive group. You might say, the
inmates won't have exposure to the outside, so if a
problem did result from the efficacy or infectiousness of the formula,
the general public wouldn't be in jeopardy. Relieved sighs swept
through the room. Now that she puts it that way,
I feel better about them experimenting on inmates. Ray whispered
to Phil, I don't know, I still don't like it.
A man three rows behind the friends asked the next question,
how long will it take after the inmates are given
the formula before they show effects? Are we sure two
weeks is enough time for the transition to take place.
Another smile from Patricia came with a vigorous nod as
she said, Oh, yes, the results take effect in a
matter of minutes. In fact, I believe you are feeling
the first changes. Now. The crowd gasped, did you say we?
Was shouted by several people. They stared in horror at
one another, to find that they changed into strange new beings,
larger than normal humans, but unusually docile given the news
they'd received. Only their name tags differentiated between who had
been who Phil stood. I thought you said inmates would
be given the formula? Why have you given it to us?
His voice, cried the tears he could no longer form.
That's quite simple, actually, if you think about it, how
many years have you been kept here in this compound?
Five six? Do you ever go anywhere besides the lab?
Are you allowed contact with the outside world? Speechless, the
crowd stared at her. I think all those factors make
you inmates by definition. Who better to enjoy the benefits
of their hard labor than the men and women who
created the formula. It's great news, isn't it. Now you
can live long lives without the concerns of finding true
love or worrying about mortgage rates. Isn't that a relief?
The crowd remained silent while military personnel filed into the
room row by row. The group of mutated beans were
being loaded onto waiting buses to be transported to their
pre flight training. Patricia beamed, It is truly a great day,
Dan Monroe patted her on the back. It certainly is.
How about we go out and enjoy a martini and
dinner at your favorite restaurant my treat. The two walked
away arm in arm. Thank you for joining me for
this episode of the Into the Night Anthology podcast. Written
by Caroline Giamanco, narrated by Nari Quack. Theme music by
Nico Rodriguez, all other original music, sound design and editing
by Omenhawk Studios. You can find our links in the
show notes. Into the Night is on your favorite podcatcher,
so make sure to like, subscribe and leave a five
star review to help other excursionists to join us. I'll
see you next time, and remember, whether in the shadows
or in the daylight, all twisted paths lead you into
the night. Into the Night Anthology is a creative typo
entertainment production