Beast Machine (15 page)

“
Simply put – yes – but you
are more than just a hare – not a rabbit – that can speak or
Harriet Tubman: you are a combination of a hare and Harriet Tubman.
Like I said, you contain physical, emotional, intellectual traits
of Harriet Tubman mixed with the speed, dexterity and instincts of
a hare, but you also are your own person. You aren’t Harriet Tubman
2.0, or her twin; you’re a brand new being! A brand new soul
brought into this world – for better or worse! All of you creations
are brand new beings.” Gora pointed over at the sleeping Hitbear
and Owlbert. “None of you should be held down by the past of your
human side.”

Gora walked directly next
to Tubman and gently scooped her off the floor. Gora ran her
fingers through Tubman’s fur and tenderly rubbed Tubman’s long
ears. Tubman tensed when Gora rubbed her long ears, but eased her
ears and let Gora continue.

“
You aren’t
my
property either. You
are your own being. You will be left to your own desires once your
initial purpose for your creation is complete.”

“
What is my purpose now,
ma’am?” asked Tubman. Her tears stopped. “I am not Harriet Tubman
anymore, so what is my purpose? I don’t want to be bound to you
forever. I want my own purpose; my own destiny. I don’t want to be
reborn and become a slave. Wouldn’t that make my past life a
waste?”

“
You will help me complete
a few – um – tasks then I will set you free… Free to go into the
woods and copulate. Free to join the circus or a zoo with other
animals. Free to do whatever you please. You could even become
Governor of California!” Gora laughed internally. Tubman gave her a
look of skepticism. “Come out as the first talking animal – I don’t
care! Complete my tasks and your life will be in your control.”
Gora gently let Tubman down on the ground.

Gora slowly unwrapped the
blanket that had a tough hold on her and showed Tubman the raggedy
clothing she currently had on – a black v-necked shirt with blood
stains, loose fitting dark green cargo pants, and a red button-up
shirt that had several holes. Her white socks, surprisingly, were
the only clean thing on her.

“
I’m… I’m not quite sure I
want to help you. I don’t know you or what these ‘tasks’ are all
about,” said Tubman. “I don’t like the idea of being a slave to you
either. I know you didn’t say slave specifically, but it sounds an
awful lot like that…”

Suddenly a low growl could
be heard from across the laboratory, “Just kill her already and
start over. She’s been more trouble than what it’s worth and if she
isn’t willing to help, she’s going to be a liability.” Hitbear
disliked the idea of being around unsure individuals during
important missions. He could remember faint visions from his past
human life. Visions that showed he was swift to deal with unsure
individuals and the cowardly, though the context of these visions
was lacking. He wanted to deal with this hare swiftly, if it were
his choice at least.

Gora turned her back to
Hitbear, “So, Tubman, do you want to be a
liability
or do you want to help us
complete some tasks? Your freedom is ripe for the taking. And I am
not your master; rather I am your creator – no, not even that – I
am your friend.” Gora stared sternly at Tubman but still emanated
friendliness from her kind eyes.

Tubman cocked her head
sidewise and bit at her lips. She had been fooled by kind eyes
before when she was younger. “I suppose I will help you… you
things
out to receive my
freedom. I am not going to be named one of those foolish names I
overheard you calling them. I will just be called
Tubman.”

“
Of course,” said
Gora.

“
I will not partake in
anything I feel uncomfortable about.”

“
Deal.”

“
But may I say something to
that bear-man first?”

“
Sure,” smiled Gora. “You
are free to say what comes to your mind.”

“
Hey, stupid bear, I’ll
show you who’s a fucking liability!” chirped Tubman as she and Gora
began to laugh at the grumbling Hitbear trying to get back to
sleep.

Chapter 16

Preparation
Anxiety

“And right here is where
we’ll enter after we get past – or neutralize – the night guard in
his security booth,” said Hitbear as he pointed on a large-scale
map of Doctor Spotila’s facility. “This should be a relatively easy
mission, but, considering we have not tested our cohesion as a
group, it could get ugly fast if we don’t stick together.” Hitbear
looked over at the newest beast, Tubman. Hitbear held an instant
grudge against the hare because she had been insubordinate and
bad-mannered toward Gora.

Hitbear did wonder,
however, if his dislike of Tubman was because of his past life’s
prejudices or if he truly disliked her for her actions. He was lost
in this thought momentarily.

Gora eyed over the map and
processed the plan slowly in her mind. She had printed out the
necessary documents for her to pose as a zoologist needing to see
Doctor Spotila in Vancouver, Washington. None of the beasts
questioned why she just happened to have the necessary equipment at
hand to create the fake, but genuine looking, documents.

The documents were all in
order of importance and, unless the night guard had to swipe any of
her identification cards, the group would get into the building
where Doctor Spotila, a renowned herpetologist, would be completing
his late night experiments. Gora always suspected these late night
experiments of his were illegal, or in the very least highly
immoral, since the good doctor never revealed to his peers how he
got his results until the results were perfected; legally,
scientifically, and morally perfected.

Regardless of his suspected
immoral practices, Gora just wanted Spotila dead, not detained, but
dead as bellbottoms as a fashion choice. Revealing that his
procedures were illegal, however, would still make Gora feel like
she was correct about him being an immoral shitheel.

The group would head west
in a white utility van from Pendleton, Oregon, to the
state-of-the-art building where Doctor Spotila worked daily. Each
beast would be placed into a separate cage as Gora would be telling
the night guard that she desperately needed to see Doctor Spotila
to help her “sick” animals. “They started to grow scales after a
recent experiment!” she would tell the guard with a rehearsed voice
of desperation. “Doctor Spotila is the closest herpetologist in the
area and a personal friend! It’s an emergency.”

“
Yes. The plan would work,”
said Gora quietly as she kept processing each move in her mind as
the beasts placed their cages into the white utility van. “It has
to work.”

“
You will be able to make
your way through the building to find any other guards, right,
Tubman?” Hitbear asked the hare. “My prejudices can wait until
these missions are complete,” he thought.

“
Of course I’m ready, ya
stupid bear,” replied Tubman haughtily. “I never lost a single
person as a conductor and I don’t plan on getting caught tonight.”
Hitbear smirked as much as a bear-man could and then nodded at
Tubman. “In fact, I would tell the runaways that if they were
scared of getting caught to just leave and go back to the
plantation. I wasn’t gonna get caught because of some scared
asshole.”

“
Maybe she wouldn’t be a
liability after all?” thought Hitbear. He raised his eyebrows at
her then continued to walk through the steps of the mission one
last time. Owlbert flew over and landed on Hitbear’s shoulder. He
watched as Hitbear moved his finger from place to place on the
map.

Hitbear shooed Owlbert
after completing the final walkthrough. “Get in the van,” said
Hitbear.

“
Ja, on mein way there!”
said Owlbert as he flew out the only door that leads
outside.

“
What happens if this goes
wrong?” whispered Gora. “I’d be put in prison for God knows how
long and the beasts – my friends! – would be experimented on and
tortured and used for war purposes! I can’t let that happen to
them!”

A gigantic paw rested on
Gora’s tense shoulder. “Follow the plan and we will be in and out
of there without a peep. Or a squawk from Einstein,” assured
Hitbear. “Do you really think I’d construct a plan that would fail?
It’s not like we’re entering Russia during winter or anything!”
Hitbear laughed at his self-deprecating joke. “Though, I still
would love to turn Moscow into a lake. I would have built a lovely
Roman-style house, similar to that of Augustus Caesar’s. A truly
beautiful piece of architecture.” He smiled off into the
distance.

Gora’s demeanor suddenly
changed from that of panic, anxiety, despair and fright to a mood
of confidence and excitement. She was finally going to get revenge
on a scientist that contributed to try to ruin her career, ruin her
life. It was time to begin to ruin their careers, their
lives.

“
Thank you, Hitbear,”
smiled Gora. “I have something for you.”

“
Oh?” said Hitbear softly
as he watched Gora walk a few feet away to pick up a brown box.
There was a blue bow atop the brown box.

Gora handed the box to
Hitbear. He had trouble handling the box as he only had one paw. “I
meant to give this to you earlier but had to be sure that I could
trust you. I was too harsh to you when we first met and I should
have been much more kind to a being that was suddenly brought into
this world by my hands.”

Hitbear gingerly opened the
box the best a bear with one paw could. Inside the box was a shiny
titanium bear paw. The paw would work just like his original paw
but the claws were noticeably sharper and the cushioned pad of the
paw would ease any stress in his bear joints. “When did Gora have
time to make this?” thought Hitbear.

“
Thank you, Gora,” nodded
Hitbear. The pair embraced awkwardly as Hitbear was still trying to
hold onto the open box.

“
Are you two done
fiddling-the-fuck around?” shouted Tubman from the exit of the
laboratory, a thick brown door with no window and a mangled handle.
“I’m ready to put this Spotila in the ground.”

Gora nodded and walked
towards the exit of the lab with Hitbear following. Hitbear fitted
his new paw on his stump with great ease and took to all fours as
he approached the van. He stepped into the white utility van and
caused the vehicle to shake violently until he settled.

Before she began to drive,
Gora told the beasts, “I’ll let you know when we get closer to
Vancouver. As for now, you don’t have to be in your cages. Relax as
needed, friends.”

Hitbear sprawled out in the
back of the van and kept testing his claws. Swipe left, swipe right
and swipe on his backside to scratch that annoying itch. He was
pleased with Gora’s paw attachment for him and he curled up in the
back of the van – waiting for the mission to really
begin.

Owlbert and Tubman sat near
Gora in the front of the van and tried to make small-talk for the
nearly three hour drive to Vancouver. Gora appreciated the
small-talk as she never had a true chance to practice it on another
sentient being for some time.

“
So, what did you do before
you, uh, made us into these things?” asked Tubman. Tubman was still
having a rough time getting used to her new body and her new
existence. Her ears would droop forward until Tubman realized and
would tighten the ears up.

Gora had told the beasts
that they were new beings, new souls, but this didn’t explain the
memories that Tubman and the others were having of being human.
Tubman vividly remembered each person she saved while working the
Underground Railroad and remembered the anguish she faced from
headaches in the latter half of her life.

“
Basically the same thing I
do now,” explained Gora. “I created things from scratch. I was an
inventor with a bright future ahead of me before a terrible mishap
– er – situation occurred and I couldn’t invent anything to save my
life – that’s partially why we’re doing this; getting revenge that
is.” Gora kept her eyes glued to the road; she was as focused as
she could ever be with confidence pumping through her.

“
What was the mishap?”
Tubman asked innocently.

“
I vouldn’t get into that
right now, Tubman!” cheeped Owlbert. “I’m sure Frau Gora vill be
glad to tell du ven vee get back to zee lab!”

Gora laughed, “Yes, let’s
save that for another time. When I’m not driving a van and can
fully express my contempt!” Tubman slumped down in the front seat
and peered out the window.

The talk remained minimal
for the rest of the three hour scenic drive. Owlbert and Tubman
just embraced the lovely sights they were passing by, while Hitbear
slept.

“
We’re less than five
minutes away from Dr. Spotila’s research facility,” said Gora.
“Wake up, Hitbear. Everyone else, get ready to kill a lizard
lover.”

Chapter 17

Either Way, You’re
Screwed

Chairman Obelis had just
left one of his many homes to finally meet the revived Senator
Joseph McCarthy in Little Rock. He sent Jeffrey away to oversee the
facility operations so he would finally have some time to himself.
“Jeffrey could be a whiny twat if plans were moving slowly, but
Jeffrey was loyal and great at his job of maintaining most of my
business assets and campaign,” thought Chairman Obelis. “I couldn’t
be in this position without him.”