Stoke is Full of Mutants

That's One Backwards Ass Statue

With the growing rates of infection, soon the number of diseased residents would outnumber the healthy. The quarantine ward was full well beyond capacity. The Ark had its priorities in order though. The remaining healthy slaves were hard at work erecting a statue of the beloved Flora. If every one of them were to be wiped out, then they needed to leave a lasting monument to her beauty and wisdom. In truth, her days of beauty were behind her, as her face was no longer swollen from the transplant, but remained a mere shadow of its former self. A fat, lumpy shadow. She was also one of the infected in the quarantine area, leaving red blotches all over her bed-ridden body. Craig hoped that she would make a full recovery, though he was fully aware that she would never be back to her former state before the acid attack.

Craig was very determined that the stonemason they had captured from the wastes understood the importance of his task. Craig instructed the man to capture the true essence of Flora, he insisted that it should be a flawless statue. Sure, she could make an arse of herself sometimes. But this statue was to be a permanent legacy to her best features. Anything less than perfection from the stonemason would be bare-faced cheek. A bum result would mean his execution. The stonemason seemed to understand his task and insisted that he did not need any ass-istance. Craig had wondered why the stonemason had winked when he said that, but was hopeful that the statue would prove pleasing on the eye.

It was early morning when the stonemason announced that he was ready to reveal his work. The healthy residents followed him outside, and eagerly awaited the unveiling. The Elder gave a speech, saying that he was saddened that flora was not well enough to witness the great occasion, but reiterated his belief that she would soon make a full recovery, as would the rest of the infected residents. He then pulled back the veil to reveal the statue, in all its glory. The crowd gasped. The stonemason beamed with pride. Craig was shocked. The statue was a perfect replica of Flora, in all her former beauty. One key detail was wrong, however - the buttocks of the statue were facing the front.

Shocked murmurs and whispers filled the air, whilst the stonemason began to speak. Normally, slaves would not be permitted to speak, but artists were permitted this indulgence. He explained what Craig had said to him, pointing out that if all of Flora's best features were placed at the front then it would save people time from going round the rear to take a look. He further explained that all the available stone had been used up in creating the state and that it was impossible for any alterations to be made at this time. Craig stood up and raised his arms, bidding the crowd to silence. He gave a short, but powerful speech: "My friends. This is a perfect statue... because it represents my beautifully perfect imperfect Flora in all her contradictions. It shows her best assets all at once, saving people the bother of going to look at the rear end... because the rear end... is at the front. It... is... the best statue of Flora I have ever seen. I love Flora, and I love... this... well, I will grow to, in time, love this statue". The crowd applauded. Craig strangled the stonemason to death later that night.

Apolo rolled their eyes after seeing the statue. They felt the statue was gross, that Flora was gross, and indeed that everybody in the Ark was gross. They might have had a point about the statue. Apolo styled back their greasy, unwashed hair and headed off to see the Elder for a private word. The Elder, welcomed Apolo inside his office and asked them to speak their mind quickly as he was short of time and manpower with all the disease that was spreading throughout the Ark. The disease now had a name, the residents called it Red Pox, due mainly to the fact that it's distinguishing feature was that it caused red pox to appear all over the patient's body.

Apolo began to speak: "From my scientific experimentations and observational testimonials, I have concludified the following informationoids..." The Elder interrupted them, "Hey, speak English, man." Apolo turned a shade of bright red, and then continued "well I think that the disease spreads through water. I think the water is contaminated and that we must look for a new water source. I believe if we find a new water source we can save the Ark." The Elder stroked his chin, then stood up from his chair and went to the door. He called Craig, Steve and Robo to join him with Apolo to discuss their next mission.