Evolution # 5

Dr. Rudy Collins

Part 4

Dr. Rudy Collins

IX

Rudy Collins never expected that his medical degree would lead him to a career at Congo Life Sciences. He like many of the team now entrenched at CLS had only known the company as an ecommerce seller of "all stuff." However, the brazen, eccentric CEO of the company, Everett Bellamy, had long envisioned a company that knew no boundaries, that built into the very core of its DNA, that - everything was possible- negative outcomes or returns be damned. If it was brilliant, if it scared him, he pushed his leaders to push even further.

Rudy was first intrigued when he had heard of the initial outline and goals of "Project 23." His background in chemical engineering and his controversial work with Dr. Ian Malcolm on the role of naturally occurring chemical compounds and their ability to reverse chaotic reactions in humans put him on the radar of Bellamy and his team. He and Dr. Black had been short -listed for the Nobel Prize in medicine in 2025 but did not end up winning.

Dr. Collins had received his formal education at the Smith School of Cornell University, the well respected Ivy League school in Ithaca, NY. He was first contacted by Dr. Wesley Slezak in the spring of '26 and while his interest in "Project 23" served as the bait, Dr. Slezak completely reeled him into what he was building at CLS. A department with a seemingly limitless budget that he never could have imagined with the autonomy to continue to pursue his passion projects while helping to change the future of the human race in a myriad of positive ways. The grand thought of "engineered evolution" for the betterment of the race seemed so naturally right to him and to so many of his colleagues but not to all. He felt extremely honored to have been chosen for the opportunity and immediately accepted but some of his peers in the field viewed the "science" as "chasing superheroes" and derided it as "pure fantasy bullshit" that was dreamed up by an overly wealthy madman. Dr. Collins disagreed for the most part.

X

Collins was peering into a microscope when he heard the first explosion from up top. His desk and instruments trembled momentarily and then stopped. Collins immediately wondered if the humans up top had finally decided to wage the all out civil war that had been threatened for most of the last decade.

He then heard a second and quickly a third explosion. This time for a full half minute his desk and instruments trembled, jumped and bounced as if they were alive. He attempted to grab the lens with his sample before it jostled loose and shattered but was unable.

Once the trembling stopped, he rushed out of the lab to head to the CLS command center. He knew that Slezak would want a unit of #'5 dispatched up to the surface as a minimum. Collins considered sending the twins up as well but figured that could come later after the 5's had made their observations and returned with more info. No need to risk their most valuable assets haphazardly. If the worst were true, they would no doubt be needed to help keep their facility safe.

As he hurried down the hall and scanned his badge to allow him entry into the command center, he heard footsteps coming from the other side of the hallway. He immediately recognized Stefan.

Before Stefan could speak, Dr. Collins began, "No, Stefan, not yet. We will need to get some recon work done first before we dispatch you and Mercurio. Hopefully, it will not be necessary at all."

Stefan shouted, "Come on boss! We are ready for some field action again! Its so fucking boring hanging around this backwards ass fish tank. My brother is in his room taking singing lessons for chrissakes!! It's so embarrassing. I want to just shake him sometimes."

"Stefan, you should be happy to be down here bored and safe. Now, take yourself over to the gym and burn that energy of yours. I'll come find you if I think we need you. You know that CLS only wants you dispatched if its absolutely dire. We've been over this. It's clearly spelled out in the contract that you signed. Remember that?"

Stefan retreated, "Yeah, boss. I got you. I'm just so ready to punch something!!"

Dr Collins responded, "So go hit the bags for an hour, I'll come find you if we make that call. I may be the only one down here, but I still hold out hope for all of them up top to resolve their differences in a civil manner. What I just heard, concerns me greatly, so let me get the 5's out there for us so we can assess the situation please."

Stefan sighed loudly but then turned and headed for the gym. Mercurio was just arriving at the command center still humming his latest practice tune. Stefan aggravated with his brothers lack of urgency, simply grabbed his right shoulder and spun him back around and yelled loudly, "Not yet, brother, not yet."

As soon as he entered the command center, his desk phone began ringing. He knew it would be Slezak.

He picked up the phone and listened for the directive he knew would come.

Collins gave the command to Leutenant Cornwall immediately. "Dispatch unit 3 up to the surface immediately. Recon mission is priority, rescue if there is anything to rescue. They stay in the water. I'd better not hear of any of them ending up on land this time," he yelled angrily.