$Marvellous Hairy - a novel in five fractals - - MarvellousHairy 10$

MarvellousHairy 10

10/06/09 • 16 min

Marvellous Hairy - a novel in five fractals -

Part Four (Chapters one and two): Determined to save Ariadne and Nick, Rob goes to Gargantuan the next day, but he is unable to get past the (potty-mouthed) guard at the elevator. Meanwhile, Shute springs a hell of a question on Helena, but allows her to talk to Larry the Letch, who is the lead researcher turning Nick into a monkey.

An excerpt from chapter one, as Rob tries to visit Helena, and is prevented by the security guard:

“That’s not a valid ID, sir,” he said. His voice had a little more of an edge to it now, as though he was saying to me, “I may be a security guard, but I’m not an idiot.” I didn’t think he was an idiot. Really. I would never assume that about someone just because of their job. “What is your business on the upper floors, sir.”

He kept saying “sir” like it was some kind of insult, I mean, I’m sure he was saying “sir” but the subtext was all different. Actually, what I heard was different. So while he said, “What is your business on the upper floors, sir,” what I heard was, “What is your business on the upper floors, you lying sack of shit.”

It kind of threw me.

An excerpt from chapter one, as Rob tries to visit Helena, and is prevented by the security guard:

It kind of threw me.

Previous Episode

MarvellousHairy 09

Win a copy of Marvellous Hairy, or a role in my next novel. Contest runs until Oct. 16th, 2009: details here.Episode Nine — Part Three (Chapters four to eight): This slightly shorter episode is all about being shaken down, stood up, and freaked out. In chapter four, Seedy and Spider put their kidnapping plan in to action, causing Hippolyta to be both amused and terrified. Ariadne stands up Shute, and we discover that he’s even colder than we thought. Erma isn’t exactly stood up by Nick, but she sure is worried about him, as she should be. We end with another update to Nick’s journal, in his Titania3000.

An excerpt from his journal:

Friends are so lovely. You feel safer around them. I like their smells, even the disgusting ones. You know they’re safe, not like the strange smells outside. The scary smells of all those throngs of people walking and laughing and hurting one another in the world. So many of them. I am so itchy. My body seems to be covered in tiny dark hairs, darker than normal.

I need to work on the opus, but is gettttting ssso hard to type. It’ssss like IIIII can’tttt ccccontroll the pressssurreee with my fingerssssss.

Itch.

Scratch.

I could rrrrreally goooo forrrr a bananananananan smoo-oo-oothy —

Next Episode

MarvellousHairy 11

Episode Eleven — Part Four (Chapters three and four): Helena and Rob plot the down-throw of the King of the Gag, deciding to move on both the Oberon project, and on whatever Gargantuan was doing to Nick. They realize too late that Nick is already getting his third treatment, which is creating the final changes to his DNA. Helena meets him for one more coffee break in the lobby, while Rob gets to work on his sabotage. Meanwhile, Spider and Seedy try to figure out, with their kidnapping victim’s help, how to get something out of Shute.

Excerpt from chapter three, while Helena and Rob plot their coup:

I laughed again. It was easy to forget that Hot Helena was also really funny. She could definitely do much better than Shute, but she hadn’t been trying. From what I could tell, Helena had spent the last ten years working really hard.

“So, I have a couple of things to ask,” I said.

“Why don’t you let me start? I’ve learned a little bit about what Nick’s doing here.”

“Really?”

“Yes,” she said. “I’m supposed to have dinner with the guy who’s running the program Nick is in tonight, so I’ll have details, but he’s altering DNA. They’ve already done it to other animals.”

“You mean, like, in vitro animals. Cloning?”

“No. Live animals. The Letch seemed proud of that. They’re changing the DNA of live animals. They’ve already done their work with lower animals, and they’re starting on humans.”

“Holy shit.”

“I think that’s what’s happening to Nick,” Helena said.

“What are they doing?”

“That I don’t know. Fucking with his DNA. The Letch said something about wanting to upgrade chimps, so from that, my guess is that they’re regressing their human subjects.”

“Regressing?”

“Did you ever watch Star Trek?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Remember the one where Riker turns into a caveman and Worf starts spraying poison all over the crew as they also deevolve?”

“Oh Helena. The Next Generation?”

“Yeah,” she said. “What? The middle seasons were good!”

“A hottie who watches Star Trek. Even The Next Generation. How did I not date you?”

“You never asked, bonehead. And that ship has sailed, so don’t get any ideas.”