Mr. Adams presents: the Mutagen breed
by Oculus and Mutagen
With art by Mutagen
You are currently standing beside Mr Adams in a meeting room located on the first floor of the ABAP building. As his personal assistant, you had been put to task to make the room presentable. In addition, you had sorted through the various documents related to the task at hand. Though Sam’s face lacks emotion, from his eyebrows you can sense the pensiveness he has for the coming parley.
The door opens, and reveals a young man in a brown suit, brown hair and a checkered tie. Going up to Mr Adams, he shakes his hand as he introduces himself.
“Good afternoon Mr Adams. We had talked over the phone.”
“I am familiar.”
The young man opens the conversation as he comments, “Seems to be a busy day you’re having here.”
Remaining cordial, Sam replies, “Ever since Hasbio dissolved, we’ve been trying to reach out to past genetic engineers, as well as focus our efforts on conserving vulnerable breeds that exist.”
The young man smiles as he admits, “A lot of people appreciate the effort that ABAP puts into maintaining fluffy breeds that would have otherwise died or lack notice, especially with the recent disappearance of Hasbio and a lot of fluffy breeds.”
Sam merely nods. He knows that this is merely small talk.
"Now let’s get down to business.”
At the ready, Sam interjects. “I had been trying to reach your client for a good while now regarding this cease and desist. While I understand where he is coming from, our shelters had been putting in a lot of work towards the preservation of his breed, especially considering his prolonged absence from the field.”
The young lawyer did not appreciate being interrupted, but maintains his decorum, as he addresses Mr Samuel Adams.
“Mr Adams, I hope you do understand that the patent for the various breeds by the genetic engineers at Hasbio belong not only to the parent company, but also the individual genetic engineer irresponsible for each breed. The company did give some leeway as to how much control the engineer could have their product.”
Grudgingly, Sam nods.
“I am familiar.”
“My client understand the effort that you had put into trying to preserve his breed. But, and at the end of the day, the associated fluffies still bear the unique genetic marker that reflects his creative craft. Unless a subsequent engineer had changed the markers and made the breed their own, and as long as the associated fluffies bear this marker, it still belongs to my client.”
Sam sighs. Deep down, he wants to contest the cease-and-desist, and knows that he has both the money and means to do so. And yet, despite that, Sam also holds a reverence not only for fluffies, but also for the people who created them. A little resigned, he keeps listening to the young lawyer.
"My client is an understanding man, and does not wish to pursue this matter further. It is why he is willing to settle matter if his creation was returned to him.”
Sam’s arms remain on the table, but in your mind, you could imagine him just throwing his arms up.
“I suppose it is only fair.
I ask for at least a week so that we can make the transition smooth.”
~
The following two weeks was slightly hectic. Aside from moving the few Mutagen breeds that existed outside of their comfortable existence in ABAP’s conservation centres, they also had to be moved out of the remaining shelters that was set up to preserve the fluffies of Mutagen descent. Of course, this did not apply to fluffies that were legally owned, but the genetic records of those fluffies were also demanded, as well as the research related to cataloguing the Mutagen breed.
You want to help Sam further with it, but he has asked you to focus your efforts on research. After all, you had been feeling a little bit inquisitive about Mutagen’s unexpected return. You decided to approach Johann regarding it.
From the voice on the phone, you can tell that he’s feeling a little perturbed.
“We actually did an interview with him. As you know Sam fully owns The Fluffy Planet channel, now that Hasbio is no more. And we actually wanted to get to know more about his involvement with Hasbio.”
“So what happened?”
“Before we televise the interview, we usually get the associated engineer to do a private interview first before we do the formal televised interview.”
“And what happened?”
“You have to see it for yourself.”
**When did you join Hasbio?**
God, like... seven, eight years ago? I was fresh out of college after flunk-- uh, graduating early. Saw a help-wanted ad for Hasbio online, and I went to apply as a janitor. Dunno if something went fucky in the hiring process, but when I came in they showed me to a lab and gave me a badge. It wasn’t my name on it, but it’s nothing some Elmer’s can’t fix. No one ever questioned it.
**How long were you with Hasbio?**
Too damn long, like five years maybe.
**What attracted you to Hasbio?**
Money.
**People keep saying that there was a lot of scandals associated with Hasbio. Why would that be the case?**
I mean, isn’t it obvious? Place was run like crap. Like, seriously, they would put *anybody* in a labcoat. Honest to God, there was no vetting process at all. Eventually when you stuff a bunch of idiots into a room and dole out stupid money for them to smash embryos together, you’re gonna get some fun HR transcripts out of it.
**How familiar are you with some of the older genetic engineers who were at Hasbio? For the record, we’re still trying to understand the work of the people who created the KMEB, Meh and Coalheart breeds.**
Honestly, not very. I found the furthers possible corner of the facility to set up a lab for. Less wandering eyes. Plus I was doing some shit with radiation that people did NOT want to get near.
Coalheart was a cool enough guy though. Came up with some cute fluffy genomes that he really cared about. *Really* cared about.
**What made you leave Hasbio? People cite the scandals but we’re trying to understand what those scandals are.**
Again, the place was run like total crap. Eventually one too many idiots tried to play God and before you know it, media’s coming down like a hammer and it was time to get out of there. Plus, I’d gotten a sweet side-gig somewhere else that meant I’d never have to engineer another freaky pig-hamster ever again. Not to mention I could see the writing on the wall and wanted to get as far away from that legal shitstorm as possible.
**What is your opinion of the rise of independent breeders who have developed fluffies ever since they have gained rights as semi-sentient animals?**
We all gotta eat somehow, right? If selling these things is how you get by, more power to you.
**Whats your opinion of the more rural/farm based approach to fluffies that genetic engineers like Carpdime have started employing?**
If it jacks up the price tag and gets yuppies slavering over the latest “grass-fed corn-stuffed” pegasus, then I’m all for it.
**With Hasbio now gone, do you see yourself joining any new corporation that may fill Hasbio’s place, or will you work independent? For reference, Carpdime and Muffin have described themselves as ex-Hasbio employees who are now working independently.**
Uh... I cannot comment on my current employment situation pending the resolution of an ongoing legal case.
**Are you aware that some fluffies have developed the ability to break the laws of reality, as well as developed other powers?**
Oh, I *definitely* cannot comment on this. Pending the resolution of an ongoing legal case, of course.
**Do you have any idea why so many genetic engineers and/or their respective breeds have such weird names? I can understand Carpdimes, Buwwitoes and Marcusmaximuses, but names like FierceDeityLynx, Black-Dragon-Blood, AIDS and MEH are really kinda kooky?**
Marketability, mostly. Plus, do you *really* want people knowing what it is you do for a living? If people knew I was behind Mutagens, or hell, any fluffy at all, I’d probably end up evicted. Again.
**Have you been aware of previous attempts to destroy or undermine Hasbio prior to its sudden demise?**
I left a spoon in my bowl of soup when I put it in the microwave once. That was an accident though. Probably.
**How do you feel about the sudden destruction of Hasbio? Along with the sudden erasure of all the genetic patents?**
Good riddance. But if you torrent my genetic sequences, I’ll find you and... politely ask you to stop.
You look at the transcript of the interview in disbelief. The characterization of the developer of the Mutagen breed just seemed so different from how Hasbio Sam had described him almost a year ago.
You try to spend most of your day focusing on your work, researching the history of Hasbio based on the files that ABAP has in its archive, but the interview still remains fresh in your mind. It continues to trouble you all the way to your bed.
You stare at the ceiling of the bunker you are living in. Was it all a lie? Did these engineers just hate their creations, and view with contempt the time they spent in Hasbio? Even though Miss Caird seemed to express interest in her creations, she expressed her own guilt at the shortcuts she had to take with her product.
The sudden vibration of your cellphone jolts you. You are wondering who would call you this late at night, but a flash on the screen, as well as the temporary nature of the buzz, indicates that what your smartphone had detected was an incoming email message. Using the email app on your phone, you blink your eyes at the incredulity of the sender, wondering how they were able to message you directly. Getting on your PC in order to read the email better, the message seemed clear.
“I heard that you were doing research into the various fluffy breeds from the history of Hasbio.
I would like you to meet me at Grovers Nature Reserve this coming Saturday.
Mutagen”
~
“It’s legit.”
A little perplexed by the email you received, you had showed it to Sam and Johann, and they had conformed its legitimacy.
“But why does he want to talk to me specifically?”
Sam ponders for a while, before offering an explanation.
“We haven’t really been monitoring the Mutagen breed, but one of the reports we had was off the development of the Mutagen breed in the wild. I think its something that he himself is trying to understand.”
~
The Saturday came, and you find yourself standing on the outskirts of the Nature Reserve. Sam had already gave you some pointers, but the bets advice he could give you was to act natural. As you wait at the lobby of the reserve you wonder to yourself, what would the man who would have created the Mutagen breed be like? For a moment, you imagine he looked like the lawyer you met a week or so ago.
And then, you hear your name being called out. You turn around, and see the familiar face of the Russian, from the one time you had been stranded in the alternate world of a Stalingrad, ruined by nuclear fire. Or at least, it reminded you of the Russian. The man was wearing a similar gas mask and clothes, but without the Ushanka. Also, and instead of a thick Russian accent, he spoke with a familiar North American accent, most likely Canadian. As you affirm your identity to him, you seek to confirm his.
“You’re the creator of the Mutagen breed?”
The masked man does not answer. He merely gives you a pair of binoculars, as he moves forward. Unsure what to do, you stay in place.
The man turns back to you and says, “Well, what are you waiting for?”
Feeling like a dumbass you follow after him.
The journey through the forested area felt like any other hike you’ve had through the deep forest which you can easily summarize as being somewhat inconvenient, especially since you are too used to the comforts of the domestic life. After a while though, the two of you find a spot within the forest that has a noticeably higher elevation compared to the surrounding area.
The masked man gets to work. Opening up his coat, he reveals an assortment of various lenses and metallic parts. Like a soldier assembling a rifle, he gets to work, putting together the various cylinders, lenses and parts, until a fully functional telescope is completed. He then affixes this telescopic device onto a digital camera, then places it on the tripod he had assembled in the process. He crouches down, and peers through to the camera. You’re about to ask him what to do when he holds up his arm. Speaking in a low voice, he says “We wait here.”
~
The two of you have been waiting in the position for over two to three hours. As the time passes, you wish you could be doing so many other things. You’d rather be back at the bunker, playing your favourite game. Or back in the underground of ABAP, doing more research into the different fluffy breeds.
“Psst.”
You feel a nudge on your arm, as the masked invites you to look through the telescope he had mounted.
As you look through the telescope, the masked man whispers “Magnificent, is not?”
You nod your head in agreement as you respond, “Fluffies in the wild are always interesting to me.”
“I call them Campbells. As in Campbell fluffies.
I never expected my fluffies to survive in the wild. Back when I was still working at Hasbio, the approach had been to create an animal that had little to no chance to survive in the wild. And yet, the one thing that was interesting about fluffies is their genetic instability.
What you are looking at are evolutionary changes that occur faster than in typical animals.”
After a while, he nudges at you, indicating a desire to return to his post. As you let him returns to his camera, you take out the binoculars he had given you, and peer at the feral family you had seen earlier. From what you are seeing, the father fluffy seems to be trying to teach the foal some various words, while the mare seems to be spending her time crushing up the various berries and leaves that their little herd had managed to accumulate in their time as foraging. You surmise that, due to the foal’s size, the mare is grinding up some of the food so as to make it easier for the foal to consume.
“I really appreciate that you are showing me this, but, why me in particular? Why not Sam?”
“I don’t trust Mr Adams. He may claim to love fluffies, but I feel he’s really in it for the money. He’s a businessman, and I know he’s the face of the whole, but to me it’s all a façade.”
“Sam is nothing like that. I know him.”
For a while, the two of you don’t talk, as you keep observing the Campbell family. You think back to the interview you saw on Fluffy planet, as well as the memory you had of the Mutagen mare who raised a kitten selflessly along with the rest of her family. At that moment, there was only one simple question you could ask.
“What do you think about fluffies?”
The creator of the Mutagen breed doesn’t respond. You wonder what emotion lies beneath the mask of the man you are talking to at the moment.
“I can’t hate fluffies. Fluffies are the reason why I found the love of my life. They are responsible for my greatest happiness. Even seeing these fluffies in the wild, knowing that they have my unique genetic marker, is a reminder to me that I have created something that persists in some form. And I think there’s something special to that.”
You remember that Hasbio Sam mentioned that the creator of the Mutagen breed had met his significant other while working at Hasbio. Trying to be vague, you ask,
“What is she like?”
“She’s crazy, but I’m also a little crazy. We’ve had some great times together.”
As he says this, the feral family looks to your direction. They do not seem scared, but rather, distrustful. After finishing their meal, the family start to move away from the safe spot they had found. For a moment, the foal looks back, pondering on the big folk who were observing their private little lives. However, the fluffy stallion urges him to follow, and he scampers away, as the three disappear into the foliage, their earthy colours camouflaging them well.
“I still am going to maintain the Mutagen breed on my own terms. But, I am more than willing to provide what I know about the Campbells to you. “
~
The information that Mutagen has provided regarding the new developments of his breed, as well as his research on the Campbell fluffy, has been really insightful. Within a day, you were able to finish typing your report.
You have sent a copy to Sam but, and apparently, he’s not at home. You ask one of his maids regarding his whereabouts.
“Sam’s currently on a trip. One of his children had purchased a hotel in Dubai and he had to settle the sale.”
Looks like it will be a while before you hear back from Sam again.
