STRANGE SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY OMNIBUS (13 page)

The discovery while excavating for an extension of the Alaska oil pipeline of a perfectly preserved body of an ancient human went largely unnoticed. Although in a much better state of preservation that such previous finds, which fact in itself was not particularly newsworthy. However, when laboratory examination of the specimen indicated that the find could conceivably be not that of a human being but possibly that of a more advanced species, it initiated a cascade of news coverage and intense scientific debate.

The evidence that it was not human was initially attacked as flimsy. The fact that three of its front teeth were much smaller than the others and appeared to represent new teeth formation in an adult could be written off as an anomaly. So could the fact that the specimen’s brain had more than double the number of found in the largest human brain on record. It was only when detailed analysis of the creature’s DNA became available that it could be definitively identified as that of a totally different species. The press dubbed the find homo superior,” and the name stuck.

The acceptance of the archeological find as that of the remains of a hitherto unknown species and a species superior to man launched a storm of debate. Many scientists argued in favor of DNA testing of all living humans to determine if any had the DNA elements differentiating them from Homo Sapiens and if there were any pure home superiors who survived, although this latter possibility was deemed to be highly unlikely. A small group of scientists asserted that if any such individuals could be found they might provide the basis needed for genetic engineering to produce a race of pure home superiors. This proposal was in turn attacked as advocating fascism and racism. Conservative leaders of all major religious groups argued that only God had the right to create life and that any effort at genetic engineering would be blasphemy.

In the midst of the controversy, a group of eleven individuals gathered together in a remote chateau in Nice, France. They had been summoned to discuss the find and were seated around a large circular table. Rather than speaking, they communicated telepathically, both for speed and to eliminate the possibility of their being overheard.

Opinions of what to do varried widely. At length, they decided it was time to vote, their standard procedure. The joint resolution was proposed and seconded and carried by a tally of nine to one, with one of them choosing to abstain. It provided that the group would do nothing to call the attention of human beings to their existence and that they would do nothing in response to the discovery. Having voted, they agreed to follow the matter closely and to gather again if the situation warranted it. They then said goodbye to each other and adjourned.

The individuals then all went off to make their travel arrangements to return to their respective homes. Three of them had come from North America, but they traveled separately because of their different places of residence. One was to return to the United States. He was the one member who had voted against the resolution, favoring the decision to do nothing to call their existence, but strongly opposing the plan to do nothing. He also possessed the highest intelligence of the group, although he was adroit in keeping this hidden.

This individual believed that God had created them with the intention that they would use their superior intelligence and other gifts for their own benefit and that of mankind. As he boarded his plane, he had already made his decision. When he reached home, he would go into politics and obtain the presidential nomination. He had not yet decided which party he would choose as his political vehicle, but he had absolutely no doubt that he would be successful in using his abilities to win both the nomination and the presidency of the United States.

The Mercedes Pharmaceutical Company was uniquely favored among the host of new drug company startups located in California by the fact that its principal scientific advisor was a winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine. It easily raised hundreds of millions of dollars from hedge funds and other private investors and commenced work on s score of research projects, including on a vaccine to prevent all forms of cancer and a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. Its most promising project, however, was the drug labeled “Formula 480.”

This unique drug had been formulated according to new protocols devised by the company. These gave highest priority in the design of any new drug to one that would provide the highest profit if it were successful. In most cases, this required both a high profit margin for each individual dose as well as the merchandizing of a high volume of the drug. “Formula 480” met both these requirements superbly.

Another valuable feature of the new drug was that the processes involved in its formulation were incredibly complex. They would defy efforts of generic drug firms to duplicate them after the patent obtained by Mercedes for the product expired. Finally, “Formula 480’s” ingredients were all inert, eliminating the harmful side effects caused by virtually all pharmaceutical products. This important factor meant that in advertizing it on TV, Mercedes would not have to waste valuable time in its commercials by rapidly mentioning in an inaudible voice all of the possible harmful side effects that might come from using the product.

Progress on the development of “Formula 480”proved to be so promising that Mercedes decided to abort its other research projects and devote all available funds to work on the project. Over the side went the two anti cancer vaccines, which had already reached the late trial stage, as well as a cure for Alzheimer’s. Hundreds of millions more dollars came from hedge funds and private investors eager to reap the great rewards promised from partial ownership in “Formula 40.”

There was only one small flaw in the plan. Being totally inert, of what use was the new drug? This was a problem, but fortunately not an unsolvable one. The answer was to create a totally new disease, for which large and repeated doses of “Formula 480” were the only effective treatment.

The large research staff of Mercedes quickly sprang into action. They worked long and hard, but to no avail. Sadly, it was determined that every part of the human body, from the brain on top to the big toe on the bottom were already subject to known diseases and congenital physical malformation or breakdown in functioning. In short, no new ailment for which “Formula 480” was the answer could be found or created.

Panic raged in the halls of the Mercedes complex. Employees, particularly senior management, saw their potentially lucrative stock options change into worthless pieces of paper. Hedge funds began liquidating their holdings in the company and taking the huge tax losses the beneficial income tax provisions for the financial sector available to them. Fortunately, the Mercedes Board of Directors proved up to meeting the problem. The first step it took was to downgrade the position of the principal scientific advisor, placing him under the supervision of the vice president for administration. It then established the post of chief advertizing adviser and recruited for it the winner of the newly instituted Nobel Prize in Advertizing.

The new advisor, usually described in the press as the “twenty-three year old advertizing genius” quickly solved the problem. He identified the previously undetected problems of “Placebo Disease,” the varying maladies afflicting a sizeable number of individuals who are placed in the test groups used to judge the effectiveness of new drugs. Those who scoffed at the so-called melody were quickly won over by the mass of scientific data provided by independent researchers carefully chosen by Mercedes confirming the disposition of highly emotional individuals to suffer ill effects from placebos

Marketed to the public under the trade name Wonderfulla, “Formula 480” s ales boomed after its quick approval by the Federal Drug Administration. Soon watchers of every TV station and cable channel were bombarded during the commercial breaks in programs inserted every five minutes of the serious threat to life stemming from” Placebo Disease . Actors appearing at the brink of death were shown miraculously recovered and in the best of health after being administered Wonderfulla.

Following a bitter contest between the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ over which exchange would be privileged to list the stock, Mercedes went public in an initial stock offering so large that it dwarfed anything else that year. Bidding for the new issue stock was so great that the underwriting firms allotted most of it to influential members of Congress and to senior officials of a few favored financial institutions.

All those involved in any way with the company became very rich. The underwriting firms reported much higher annual profits for that year thanks to the underwriting, and their senior executives received even higher than usual annual bonuses. All those lucky enough to be able to purchase the stock at or soon after it went public saw their investment triple overnight and then triple again. Every employee of Mercedes became at least a multimillionaire thanks to the stock option they had been furnished without charge, with senior management becoming billionaires due to their larger number of stock options.

Within a few months of going public, the Board of Directors showed their financial acumen, purchasing a small, neighborhood pharmacy in North Ireland. Mercedes accomplished this through a reverse takeover, thereby officially transforming itself from a US firm to one located in the United Kingdom. As a result of this change in status, Mercedes, now known as Mercedes-Jones Ltd., is babble to shelter from American taxes a very high part of its profits earned abroad.

Today the case of Mercedes-Jones Ltd. Is studied at every business school in the county as an illustration of how sound, enlightened management can advance the creation of wealth in the United States. It is truly a story to make every American proud.

The first sensation William Morrison had was one of floating on a body of water. He struggled to open his eyes, and when he succeeded, he found he was lying flat on the deck of what seemed to be a wooden boat. Raising himself up, he saw the boat was indeed on a body of water, the extent of which he could not ascertain because of a dense fog on all sides. The boat appeared to be moving at a slow but steady pace through the water. The stern of the boat was enveloped in fog; he saw no crew member, sails and heard no engine, so that he had no idea of what was propelling the craft.

After some period, Morrison saw what seemed to be land in the distance. The boat moved steadily forward and it became clear that what he saw was indeed land. A white sandy beach along the shore gave rise further inland to a peak covered with trees. There were no traces of human habitation. The boat touched gently on the sand and stopped. Nothing happened. After a few minutes, Morrison climbed out of the boat and cautiously took a few steps.

Turning to reassure himself that the boat was still there, he was horrified to see it had silently departed and was now disappearing into the fog. He had no choice. Apparently he was marooned here, whether for good or evil he knew not...Having no other alternative, he decided to explore. Possibly he might find some civilization, though that appeared too unlikely. Morrison saw no birds or any other form of animal life. Curiously, all of the vegetation seemed to be of a single type, each some dozen feet tall and bearing a reddish fruit he had never seen before.

Morrison found that he was famished. He was tempted to taste the strange fruit, but decided not to because it might be poisonous. He wished that there were some birds around since if he saw them eating the fruit; he could be reasonably sure it would not harm him, Further on; he encountered a small stream, rapidly flowing down from the mountain into the sea. He knelt and tasted it. The water was clear and cold. At least, he thought, he would not suffer from thirst.

He continued along the beach until reached a point at which a high ridge ran down from the mountain to the sea, making further progress impossible. He thought of ascending the mountain, but decided to postpone it for another today, hopefully after he had found something to eat. Returning the way he had come, he was heartened and excited when he saw a round thatch hut a short way off beyond the beach under some of the trees. There was no sign of any inhabitant, and when he approached and entered it, he found the hut completely bare. No furniture, no implements, no sign that anyone else had ever been there. Who had made it, since it clearly could not have made itself or put together by nature, was a mystery.

Exhausted, Morrison entered the hut and collapsed on the floor. He was drained of all energy, at the end of his room. He was bewildered by what had happened to him. He had been in his office working all morning, then decided to go for a leisurely lunch at his club. His last conscious memory before waking up in that mysterious boat was of entering the elevator in his office building to descend to the street. Surprisingly the ground that constituted the floor of the hut was reasonably comfortable. All in all, he was more comfortable than he had been while sleeping in his shelter half while on bivouac in the army. He curled up in a fetal position and, still hungry, fell asleep.

When he awakened, the sun was shining into the hut. He felt refreshed from the stress of the previous day but even hungrier than before. Setting out to look for food, he saw nothing he could possibly eat other than the strange fruit hanging from every tree. He found the spring and had some water that helped assuage his hunger. As he walked back to his hut, he went over in his mind the possibility of eating a small bit of the red fruit, hopefully not enough to seriously harm him.

Suddenly he saw the hut. His first thought was that it was his own. Then he spotted a human figure sitting on the ground in front of it. Morrison was overjoyed and ran toward it, looking forward to being able to talk to a fellow human being and hopefully of learning more about this strange place. He cried “hello,” but there was no response, no sign the individual had heard him. Finally, now so close to the man that he could touch him, Morrison said again “hello,” adding to introduce himself “my name is Bill Morrison.”