Chosen

Chapter Four

Chapter Four: In The Name of Science

"Science never solves a problem without creating ten more." -George Barnard Shaw.

-

 "I'm not sure this is safe, ma'am."

 "Of course it is! We've already tested to proven it is safe."

 "Safe when it comes to dropping hammer on your toes, this is a fifty-pound sack of cylinder blocks."

 "Lucis, remember what the test result was?" I remind him as I hold the sack over my foot.

 "Yes, your bones do appear to be indestructible," Lucis agrees, "But may I remind you that your skin and other organs are vulnerable?"

 "Three," I ignore Lucis and begin the countdown, "Two, one."

 I drop the heavy bag onto my foot. I feel the weight hit my foot. It aches only for a minute before it feels normal. I probably bruised my foot, but nothing too painful. I pick up the bag off of my foot and wiggle my toes. The average human would most likely have a fractured bone where I do not even feel a slight ache after a minute. I mark that as a passed test.

 "Ready for the final test?" I ask as I need Lucis's help.

 "I really don't want to take a part in this..." Lucis voices his trepidations.

 "Do it for the name of science!" I try to encourage him.

 "Ma'am..."

 "You don't have to actually drop it on me. Just set it gently."

 I smile in response as I see Lucis's robotic arm come over and pick up the 200 pound anvil. "Is it safe to say that you may be losing your mind?"

 "You can't lose your mind if it's in the name of science!" I rejoinder.

 "Just because you claim something 'in the name of science' doesn't always justify your experiments."

 "Lucis, buddy, if this experience proves my bones to be completely abiding, do you realize what a breakthrough this would be in the science community? What if we could replicate the drug? Imagine if no American soldier could ever break a bone again."

 "Sometimes I hate that you are right," Lucis replies.

 "That's the spirit! Is it easier for me to lie down on the ground or on the table?" I ask him.

 "On the table," Lucis answers. I get up on the large table and lay down on my side. I position a foam block in between my head and the metal of the table top.

 All morning I've been testing my newfound bones that the Doctor fortified me with. After Black Dwarf, I have been working hard to forget everything of that week, including how I was injected with a mysterious serum to strengthen my bones. I really had forgotten about that until one week ago when I slammed my fingers in my car door. The force of the door should have easily broken my bones, but not even so much as a fracture. That got me thinking that maybe instead of muting what happened, I should be embracing it. Not necessarily screaming about the forced experiment to the world, but use what has happened to me for good.

 I feel the cool metal of the anvil against the upturned side of my face. I grunt softly as I begin to feel the weight it rest on my skull. Lucis slowly lowers the anvil until he is no longer supporting the weight. I do not feel as if my head is about to give into the weight at all, which is reassuring; it would be a deadly mistake to find that my bones are breakable. The two hundred pounds of the anvil should be at least fracturing my skull, but nothing even becomes bruised. I only feel the pressure of the weight, no pain.