Carl sat down at the computer in the den. Tropical fish swam lazily across the monitor. He tapped the keyboard once, then reached for the mouse as the screensaver disappeared, revealing a list of selectable files. An arrow sped across the screen as he moved the mouse to the left, and he selected several of the files in succession. Four graphs appeared across the top of the screen labeled, "weight,” "health - subjective,” "blood pressure,” "food intake, by type”.
Carl chewed his bottom lip as he stared at the data. He selected another file, and a diary page appeared, filling the entire screen. He scanned the words rapidly, clicking the ‘Page Down’ button on the keyboard every few seconds, then finally pressed his forehead into the heels of his hands. "God – these bloody variables. There are too many of them. How do I separate the blasted data?" He looked up, hands still cupped to his face, then minimized the diary to fit on the lower half of the screen. He pressed another button and a menu screen popped up. His hands went to the keyboard, and he typed in several commands in quick succession. The five graphs disappeared from the top of the page and coalesced in a larger window centered on the screen, each graph's line showing up as a different color on a single grid. He chewed his lip again as he stared at the data on the screen, then selected another file. A picture showing a photographic image of cells of various types moving slowly to the right opened as Carl considered the details.
"I need more images," Carl muttered, then pulled up a communications program and set it to receive and record data before standing up to go to the lab.
* * *
Carl whispered to himself as he turned the lab computer on, then pulled a microscope from a cupboard and set it up. Reaching into a large drawer below the computer, he lifted the computer's "eyes" from it and screwed the lens gently onto the larger optical tube on the microscope. He then slid a cheap slide of paramecium under the lens. Using the optic lens on the side, he checked the focus, then turned to the keyboard and tapped out several commands. This projected the paramecium on the specimen plate onto the monitor. Satisfied, Carl pulled the slide out and put it back in a drawer, then pulled out a strip of rubber tubing and a hypodermic syringe.
"Father's going to think me a junkie the next time I visit, all these holes in my arm," he muttered to himself, then stood up abruptly. "Only crazy people talk to themselves," he said as he switched on some music on his computer. His shoulders dropped as he turned around. "Much better. Now I can talk to the music." Pulling his sleeve back, he reached for the tubing, wrapped it deftly around his arm, and pulled it tight. By the time he had the hypodermic in his hand, his vein on his arm had risen like something undead. He pressed the needle into it, filled the syringe halfway, released the rubber strip, and withdrew the needle. Then, he grabbed a cotton ball to press tightly against the tiny wound.
Reaching into the drawer again, Carl pulled out several dishes in succession, each marked with a different label. Carl had been testing his blood for everything he could think of, every time he withdrew any to look at. With great care, he injected a single droplet of blood onto each, then set them under a Plexiglas cover on the counter.
Carl placed a drop of blood onto the final slide, then placed the slide under the microscope, then turned to watch the computer screen, watching for the quasi-amoeboid yellow cells that had invaded his body. They were like nothing he'd ever studied, moving slowly across the screen as he moved the plate under the microscope. He tapped out a command to record the images, then stared at the lifeless cells. Leaning forward, he studied the cell structure again. He was positive that he saw a tear in the cell wall, an indication of damage. The innards were jumbled rather than orderly. Every cell in the world had certain parts in common, and though he'd never seen anything quite like this, he was sure that what he was seeing was a dead cell. Many dead cells. Nothing but dead yellow cells, populating his bloodstream and causing him to lose weight. Were they taking the energy his body needed to survive, then expiring and being passed out of his system somehow? Urine and fecal samples had come up blank. How else could they be leaving his body? Were they parasitic or symbiotic? The cells seemed to operate parasitically, killing him slowly, but Carl had to question that hypothesis considering that his health had improved slightly right after he was infected. The creatures appeared to be unsuccessfully symbiotic, dying, and taking him with them.
Carl set the mechanical slide controls to automatic and the microscope continued maneuvering the slide slowly across the viewing area with the record feature on, and walked away. He wanted desperately to send an anonymous sample to his father again, but he didn't dare. The first and only test his father had time to complete was DNA, since Carl specifically asked him to test this first. When Carl asked the team to check for variations and cross-contamination in the DNA, they found nothing at first. But, several weeks later, after Jordan had witnessed his transformation, Carl called back to have the lab check for the addition of wolf DNA in the sample. At that point, it was identified and confirmed: wolf and human. Wolf and human DNA. In his blood. Carl then retained a PI who removed the sample from his father’s lab and destroyed all the records. Carl wanted them out of his father's hands on the off chance his father could somehow identify the human portion as fifty percent identical to his own DNA. Was he being a fool or not? He only suspected his father's reaction, but so far that had been enough to deter him.