1
The canisters were finally ready. The technology was finally here. The war was finally looking up. America would stand proud. They had done it. The canisters contained a biological weapon so great that the war was in their hands. Once deployed, the enemy could do nothing but die. The massive amount of the substance was impressive to say the least and it needed to be. The American army were planning on covering an entire country with the gas. It would be the end of the long war and the end of all wars. Peace was in their hands…
Or so they thought.
*
Two months earlier
The laboratory was like no other. It was situated in the deserts of Ohio and it was huge. It was a mile wide and half a mile long. As well as the enormous building above ground, there were a large number of underground bunkers and small rooms. It was truly incredible.
To the north of the building was an airfield on which sat many different military aircraft and in the centre of the runway sat the great bulk that is Air force one. The doors of the plane opened and out stepped the President of the United States, followed closely by the White House Military Officer and the Secretary of Defence. All three had been called to the centre for a huge announcement.
They were met by Dr William Jackson. Jackson was very pleased. He had finally made the breakthrough he had been attempting for six years. For six years he had been working at the laboratory, trying to perfect the latest in biological warfare. He had finally achieved it. He had finally created the unbeatable weapon.
“Dr Jackson,” said the President.
“Mr. President,” replied Jackson shaking the Presidents hand. “If you would please follow me inside, I know you are on a tight schedule.”
“If this is as good as you say it is then I can change my plans,” replied the President, his face locked with an emotionless stare.
“Believe me Mr President, it is very much worth your while.”
Jackson led the three men and their security detail through the laboratory and into a room in the very heart of the centre. He was sweating and moving quick quickly through the maze of the Laboratory in a frantic yet excited manner. He hoped that his demonstration would work and that everything would go as planned. He stopped at the entrance to one of the laboratory and turned to address the three high ranking officials.
“What I am about to show you will change the course of the war we are fighting and hopefully bring an end to war altogether. On the other side of this door is a weapon that is completely harmless to the population of America. It is harmless to the English, French, Spanish and Italians. It won’t harm Russians, Japanese or Germans. It is perfectly safe.”
“Then why have you made it? Why have you designed a harmless weapon?” asked the Secretary of Defence.
“Because,” continued Jackson. “It eradicates Chinese, exterminates them. It is only harmful to our enemy.”
The three men just stared at him. Had he finally cracked it? Had it made the weapon that they had been trying to make for so long?
“I will explain the science of it in a few moments but first watch as I show you the weapon."
Lights came on in a room to their right in which stood two completely naked men. They were chained to the back wall, each bearing a different expression on his face. The first man was an American. He was thin and scrawny, with a balding head and small shrivelled eyes that were struggling to adjust to the light. However his face was suprisingly calm. The second man was Chinese and the president recognised him immediately. His name was Yang Kaixi and he was a prisoner that the Americans had caught during a battle in Taiwan. He was a soldier who was loyal to the end and had provided the Americans with no information. The president had therefore sentenced him to death and so he was shocked that he was still alive. Yang bore a look of absolute terror. His eyes were wide with fear.
“The man on the left is one of our own lab technicians. The man on the right is Yang Kaixi. One is Chinese and one isn’t. And on that note, let us begin the demonstration,” said Jackson, flipping a switch on the wall.
It began. The chamber began to fill with a yellow gas. the chamber was full of the gas before any of the three men could react. The scrawny man didn’t move and just continued to breathe normally but Yang was obviously immediately trouble. He was holding his breath. He was struggling about and in deep distress. He looked out at the President and stared him straight in the eye with a look of deep pain and panic. The President averted his gaze and looked awkwardly at the ground. Even he couldn’t deny that this was barbaric but, this was war.
The technician was still perfectly well and confident in his safety but Yang was struggling more and more and after a few minutes he gave up and opened his mouth to breathe.
It took only a few seconds. Yang was immediately affected by the gas. His skin started to shrivel and he let out a loud shriek. After another minute his body gave up. His heart exploded in his chest and his torso was ripped apart by stomach acid. He collapsed forward dead.
“As you can see the gas attacks every cell in his body and removes the very gene that makes him Chinese from his DNA. After this his cells can’t function properly and do one of two things. They either die or divide rapidly trying to create the missing gene. This causes his heart to explode from the pressure and his stomach lining wears down releasing the contents upon his flesh. The combination kills him on the spot,” explained Jackson.
The President looked at the mutilated body of Yang Kaixi. He turned to his staff who nodded, obviously impressed. It had worked.
“Are you sure that side effects won’t occur to Americans?” asked the President.
“Absolutely,” replied Jackson.
The President turned and consulted his staff. After about ten minutes he turned to Jackson.
“Then start mass producing it. We will need enough to threaten an entire town. You have a month.”
As the president turned to leave he couldn’t help but fear he had made a very big mistake. He walked back through the base with one thing on his mind, the image of the mutilated Yang and the look that he had given the president before he had died.
He hoped he had done the right thing. He hoped he would finally end the war and achieve peace.
He would have to wait and see.
)
, and most of the points of improvement are covered here!)