Evolution

Expedition Epsilon Chapter 3 | Choice 1 - “Every now and then a man's mind is stretched by a new idea or sensation, and never shrinks back to its former dimensions.” - Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.

Jeff Kinnard

Aug 24, 2023

Click to read — Chapter 2 of Expedition Epsilon

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*Viewer Discretion Advised: Language, Gore, Violence*

The Chosen Path — “Augment Daniel and join the Seekers”

Expedition Epsilon

Part 3.1: Evolution

Operating Theatre

The stench of disinfectant filled the air in one of the many operating theatres aboard the Evolution, filling the lungs of a few nurses, two surgeons and a security guard. Beeping machines played like a poignant symphony, of which a crescendo would mean certain death. The surgical team stood over a mangled body strewn across the operating table — it was entirely unrecognizable.

“How long have we been at it?” one of the surgeons asked. His respirator had a smiley face smack in the middle.

“13 hours.”

“Well smack my ass and call me sally, that’s quicker than I thought it would take to get the mechanical jaw and trachea finished.” He responded. “We’ll let Mr. Tough Guy pick the teeth that he wants to attach when he wakes up.”

“Agreed. I must say, I think we have outdone ourselves, Smiles.” The other surgeon chimed in. This one had a chef skull cap on, rather than the standard scrub caps.

“Definitely. Considering this is the first legitimate operation using our own tech. I’m absolutely giddy, Chef.” Smiles held his hand up for a bloody high-five, to which Chef didn’t hesitate to return. Blood droplets splashed onto one of the nurses scrubs. She looked up at the surgeons in anger and then to the other nurses in disgust. They just stared back and shrugged, before continuing what they were doing. Not like they could do anything about two of the most important surgeons aboard the ship.

The duo were a mystery to everyone, and in all honesty, should not have been allowed on The Evolution — but they were necessary. Not much is known about them, besides the fact that they are world-class augmentation surgeons. What is known about Smiles is that he was able to specialize in multiple forms of surgery, allowing him to essentially work on any part of the human body besides the brain. Bones, nerves, muscles, tendons, organs – he could do it all. Chef on the other hand had a knack for cooking up specialized augmentation equipment of which he supervised and assisted in the installation.

Of course there were rumors about them, however, they were only rumors after great effort was taken to cover up their…questionable past. In reality both were sprung out of prison by Helios and Ramirez after The Seekers augmentation surgeon was digested by a pack of tardigrades.

Once ordinary, high-achieving men, both were arguably turned insane by their lust for human evolution. Smiles was caught attempting to experiment on one of his patients; only was after it was discovered that 23 others had already been experimented on using Chef’s technology. They achieved this by using fake names and infiltrating multiple, ignorant healthcare clinics. Once the operations were done, they would disappear and observe their work from afar.

Chef’s name was not earned from cooking up surgical equipment, but rather the “sampling” of a patient that did not survive their first attempt of human evolution through augmentation. Smiles was against Chef’s desire, but also did nothing to stop it from happening – who was he to stop someone from indulging in their fantasies? After being arrested, it was reported by the arresting officer that Smiles never stopped smiling and even gave the camera an ear to ear grin for his mugshot, which earned him his ominous nickname. Wrong as it was, he maintained a narcissistic pride over his work no matter the situation. Since being caught they have only gone by Smiles and Chef, leaving everyone to wonder who exactly they are since their faces don’t register to any known database.

“I always knew they’d need us eventually, Chef.” Smiles continued, “Just didn’t know it would take the end of the freakin’ Earth. ”

“Better late than never.” Chef replied.

“Indeed, now back to business,” Smiles requested. “Now, what direction do you wanna go with his new arm?”

“Step into my showroom and take a gander, my friend!” Chef said with glee while walking Smiles over to a surgical grade chest. Upon opening, 3 metal arms were presented.

“Ooooooo, me likey.” Smiles said while caressing the edges of the chest.

“So, behind door number one we have a titanium set-up with dual 12” blades that can deploy straight out from the hand within half a second,” Chef started. They can be heated up to 2000 degrees, and he will be able to change the configuration with his mind. This would allow him to be strategic, by say moving both blades perpendicular to his arm and making them spin around his wrist, essentially becoming a bladed propeller. He could choose to move one to his wrist and keep the other straight out, it’s lovely.”

Suddenly the machines flatlined, signifying that the patient was going into cardiac arrest. Smiles looked down and pressed a button on the table to administer a whopping amount of electricity until the machines started beeping again. He smacked the patients newly pieced together face, “Don’t do that. It’s rude to interrupt.”

“Sorry, some people have no manners. It’s beautiful, Chef,” Smiles praised, not skipping a beat. “What’s next?”

“Behold, door number two! Now this one’s a feisty bitch,” Chef said while holding up an innocent looking arm. He clicked a button on the chest and 2 inch spikes protruded from the knuckles “The entire arm is made of a chromium-boron alloy that is quite possibly the strongest alloy ever made. Similar to the other, he will be able to deploy the spiked knuckle dusters with his mind, and choose whether or not to electrify them. If neither of those options work for him, he can choose to lock his fist, deploy the secondary spikes and release the inner chain that turns it into a fuckin fail! God damn, I love my inventions.”

“Do we even need to hear about the third?” Smiles clapped slowly, blood splattering onto his smiley face sticker.

A wicked smile grew underneath Chef’s respirator. “Ah, yes. Door number 3. The experiment.” Chef carefully picked the arm up, as if it could annihilate the ship, “I kinda, maybe, sorta equipped this one with an industrial mining laser. It’s powerful enough to cut straight through practically any material known to man, unfortunately it has a major drawback; the beam can be reflected by either a mirror or prism-like structure and it requires much more power than the others. It would likely require a portable and compact nuclear reactor.”

“Well then, we have quite the choice before us,” Smiles said while cracking his knuckles, signifying he was ready to get to work. “Let’s get the stump that remains of his arm off and then we will decide. It’ll give us a moment to deliberate which method of destruction suits Mr. Tough Guy here.”

“Well, get to it then,” Chef demanded. “Let us birth a new evolution of humankind!”

“Oh nursey, Laser cutter, stat!” Smiles yelled in a sing-songy voice, extending his hand in the nurses direction.

“Yes, Dr.” The nurse replied.

“Smiles, dear, cant’ya see?” He gestured an ear to ear grin with his fingers before taking the laser cutter and getting to work.

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