Crozier

Ask me how it feels to be one of the most hated men in the world.  I dare you.  Names meant to bear the full weight of a grindstone tied around your neck,  Even children singing songs about the evil doctor as they skip rope in the park.  Reading editorials condemning me for my disregard for public safety.  Mad scientist, indeed! When someone has the betterment of society at heart and is reduced to a common criminal in a twelve by twelve cell, what matters could possibly be so grievous, so defiled, so deprived as to condemn him to this meager state of affairs?  And while I sit in this cell awaiting my trial, Crozier is on a cold metal table being examined by those who will never understand what he is.  He was such a remarkable specimen.  He had such abilities.  I had no idea of his potential.  Now I will never know. 

There, I got my anger out,

I am Dr. Peter Hacker.  I’m sure you have heard of me. I am all over the news channels in living color 24/7.  I have been dubbed by the press as Dr. Victor Frankenstein 2.0.  The most played video on YouTube is when the police used deadly force to subdue Crozier ending with me running from the crowd shouting, “Stop!”  But I was too late. No one cares about the fact that in his last moments, I was holding his hand as tears streamed down my face and he took his last breath in total acceptance.

He was a monster.  Indeed he was if you believe what you have been fed by those with cameras and microphones.  Perceptions can become refracted, obscured, and jaded by those whose hands are on the controls.  Now the story I wish to tell may sound to you like the words of a madman trying to justify his crimes.

I was once one of the lead scientists at Syncotech where we are intrepidly working on the cutting edge of genetic engineering.  In my experimentation, I have literally handled the tools of God.  My supervisor, Dr. Rosier, encouraged independent thinking and risk taking which is what started this whole thing.  

One of the lab techs talked about some cross species that would be interesting in I-wonder-what-the-offspring- would-like discussion.  We tried a few combinations he had suggested, but nature stepped in to terminate the results. There are some combinations that should never be allowed to thrive.

"Gorilla and chimp." He said one morning before we reported to our laboratory.

"Hmm, I wonder." I nodded.

"Could set it up." He mused.

"Sure." I took a sip of my coffee. 

Splicing strands of DNA is still a time consuming procedure which includes a delicate hand, but once set the cell replication would begin and from there we would place the specimen into a three gallon tank filled with amniotic fluid and attached to a rubber tube that would serve as a placenta cord.  There was a small window for observation as well as sensors to check vital signs of the developing embryo.  By the end of eight weeks, the embryo began to take shape.

"Do you think this thing is actually going to survive?" Dwight asked after checking all the vitals.

"We never had one survive this long." I shook my head.  It was eerie peering into the portal and seeing the thing floating peacefully in the darkness.  I began to wonder what would happen if it was to survive.  Up until now all our biggest demand was for human tissue used in medical procedures, but as the weeks went by, Tank E2 contained a developing primate that was genetically half gorilla and half Chimpanzee.  From the data, the developing fetus was growing to be quite large which indicated physically he would resemble his gorilla phenotype, but I was anxious to find out if he would have the intelligence of his chimpanzee half. Whatever was going to happen, if he lived to birth, he would truly be one of a kind.  

Six months later Crozier was born. It was not a very celebrated event as far as Syncotech was concerned, but for my team it was like giving birth without the labor pains.  He weighed nearly thirty pounds at birth and was twenty seven inches long. What was astounding was his physical development. He was walking in six weeks and running in eight which kept us busy at all hours, but he was not aggressive or territorial which I had feared he might be.  Each day his vitals got stronger and stronger.  

“Kind of a strange sort.” Babcock commented while watching him play in his enclosure. 

“How so?” I asked checking his jackhammer heartbeat on the monitor. 

“His facial expressions are almost human.  Almost.” He sat back and studied Crozier’s movement.  When I glanced at him, I was startled a bit to note he did have a human like expression.  Fact was he seemed more human than ape as I watched him and when he looked directly at me through the glass, it seemed as if he knew what I was thinking and feeling.  Some of Diane Fosse’s research indicated that gorillas were very intuitive creatures who did truly comprehend human facial expressions and the only barrier was communicating their observation.  In the pages I had read on Koko who used sign language to communicate with her researchers, she was quite capable of making herself understood using precise language. 

Chimpanzees were also capable of cognitive functioning beyond our expectations. While no studies had been done to prove this theory, there was little doubt that they understood what we were saying and thinking and deserved more credit that they had been given.  

“I’ll bet you could teach old Crozier to run this lab if you were willing to put in the time.” Babcock laughed as he watched Crozier search for a way out of his enclosure. 

A week later, Crozier escaped and after a three hour search, he was found cowering in a broom closet. Fearing entrapment behavior, I approached the closet cautiously. He just looked up at me with sad eyes and grasped my hand and together we walked back to his enclosure. He did not have ill-intent, he had just displayed his natural curiosity.  After that I made sure he had company to  keep him occupied. Babcock enjoyed tossing the rubber ball to him and have Crozier toss it back.  I would bring puzzles and lay the pieces out on his table.  Within about ten minutes, Crozier would have the puzzle assembled. Jip would read books to him, not just picture books, but classics like Little Women and Great Expectations. 

“I barely get Dickens, but he seems to understand what’s going on.” Jip shook his head in amazement.  

It wasn’t until Rose came to our team that we discovered Crozier understood American Sign Language.  Perhaps to say this was a discovery was an overstatement, but after a few hours, Crozier had a working vocabulary that he could communicate with Rose.  

“He learned over two dozen expressions today.” She would tell me. “He knows each of your names.” 

“Amazing.” I marveled as I looked at him through the glass.

“Did you ever consider that he could perhaps survive on his own.” She shrugged.

“Has crossed my mind, but do you think the world is ready for him?” I bowed my head.

“You say in your notes you have worried about his primitive behavioral patterns, but what do you consider primitive?” As she asked me with a quick sidelong glance.  

“Behavior that is not socially acceptable.  Aggression, brutality, violence.” I sighed realizing Crozier had not displayed a single incidence of any of the primitive behavior. 

“Human behavior includes all of that.” She pointed out as he stood on his head making the pair of technicians in there with him burst out in laughter. “Look at him.  His gentleness and his sense of humor.”

“I am more afraid of what the people will do when they see him.” I chuckled when I saw him try to tickle one of the tech under his bearded chin.  

“People will see his size and his primate form and be afraid of what they think and will do.” She sat on the table and let her short legs dangle. 

“So what do you suggest I do?” I leaned on the table next to her.

“He does not like the enclosure.” She tilted her head. “He is well on his way to going stir crazy.  It’s like putting a person in jail.  When the mind is confined to a small place, it begins to look for ways out.”

“What if I took him home with me?” I asked.

“I’m sure he’d be much happier.” She nodded. 

Mr. Rosier was not happy with my decision in the matter.  He saw Crozier as a wild beast and I'm sure Crozier sensed his uneasiness. 

“If that thing causes any problems, it will be on you, not this company.” He waved a finger at me.  It was the first time I had ever seen Crozier become uneasy in someone else’s company.  

“I will make sure that doesn’t happen.” I assured him as I walked out of his office.

And so began the chapter that put me where I am today as I brought Crozier to my home where I lived in a small bachelor apartment.  A lot of my apartment was devoted to an extensive library to which Crozier immediately helped himself as I prepared a meal for the two of us.   We ate our supper watching television and after our evening meal, he went to the bed I had prepared for him. That evening the world was as it was meant to be, but little did I know that trouble brewed in a cauldron that was not far from us at that moment.  

One of my teammates had leaked the story to the press for a side payoff.  Genetic engineering was still something that caught the attention of those who felt that it was just a code word for eugenics and the recent exploration of CRISPR which many felt was a promising field while others felt that this was the road to our destruction.  As we kept pushing deeper and deeper into what was once considered fruit from the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden, the reality was, we were treading into unknown territory.  

Crozier was a question mark. His physical strength was unknown, because he had not shown its full potential, but there was little doubt his strength was off the charts.  The real question mark was what cognitive abilities he had.  Before the appearance of humans on the planet, the primates were the real brains of all the creatures on earth.  Sharing ninety nine percent of our genetics with primates, do we really understand what these creatures are capable of? 

A reporter accosted me on my way to my car in the apartment parking garage.  Crozier was with me when he put a microphone in my face.

“We understand you have created a creature using genetic engineering.” He followed me to the car.  His aggressiveness to get the story was matched by Crozier’s anxiety that he was picking up from me. “Is this the creature?” 

“Please leave me alone.  I am just trying to get to work.” I begged him as I opened my locked car. I noticed that Crozier was distressed.

“I just want you to answer a few questions.” He insisted.

“Perhaps we can set up a time…” 

“Now?”

Crozier shoved the man who went falling to the cement. 

“That was assault.” He cried out from where he sat.

“Crozier, you can’t do that.” I put my hand on him. He brushed my hand off his chest. This simple gesture took me by surprise. “C’mon, let’s go.”

We drove out leaving the reporter behind, but when we got to Syncotech, there were two dozen other men and women armed with microphones and cameras when we pulled up.  By now Crozier was in a very apprehensive mood. 

“It’ll be okay.” I tried to assure him, but I was lying as we got out of the car and were rushed by the reporters.  Crozier began to physically throw them to the side as we tried to get inside the building.  

The eleven o’clock news ran the tape of our entry into the building leaving a group of reporters sprawled out on the sidewalk.  It did not make us look good according to the rest of the team.  Dr. Rosier remained silent throughout most of the day which made matters worse.

“I don’t know what to do.” I confessed to Rose.

“Crozier said that he was very angry at what they did to you.” She glanced at Crozier who had been visibly shaken by the experience. 

“He may have to go to an animal facility.” She suggested.

“As what?” 

“Good question.” She glanced at me and then back to the enclosure.  He was undefinable. 

“The world does not understand creatures like Crozier.  They are feared and considered a threat and must be exterminated. He pushed a reporter in our apartment parking lot.  More than likely he will sue us or me.  A dog that bites must be taken care of.” I did my best to conceal my anger, because I knew Crozier was feeding off of my emotions. She put her hand on my back, “Look at what they did to Quasimodo.”  

“Is that all I am?  A hunchback?” A voice trickled over the two way radio set up in the enclosure.

My head spun quickly to find the source of the voice.  The enclosure was vacant of any humans.  Crozier was the only one living thing inside.

“He spoke.” Rose’s knees buckled.

“Of course I spoke.” Crozier said with a bite to his voice. “Language is not that big of a deal.  Most creatures are capable of some sort of language. It’s just we know if we do speak, anything we say will be misunderstood and we are smart enough to remain silent.”

“Do you wish to explain yourself?” Dr. Rosier came busting in the door, “We got an army of reporters outside my office wanting to know about that creature you have in here.” His finger pointed at Crozier. 

“Leave him alone.” I heard my voice say as he opened the door to the enclosure.

“He has to be terminated!”  Dr. Rosier drew out a syringe from his lab coat pocket.  I saw the look in Crozier’s eyes and I knew that this would not end well.

“Dr. Rosier, I’m warning you, do not go in there!” Rose tried to block him, but he was much too large for her to prevent his entrance and he shoved her aside.

The struggle was brief, but Dr. Rosier wound up with the syringe protruding from his neck as Crozier bent his arm until the needle was embedded in the doctor’s neck and with a flick of his finger the plunger sent medication into his bloodstream which stopped his heartbeat in less than sixty seconds. Crozier stood there panting as Dr. Rosier lay dead at his feet.

“C’mon, we have to get you out of here.” I reached in and pulled at his arm.  Without any resistance, Crozier walked out of the enclosure with me, looking at Rose, I said, “There’s a backdoor out of here.”

Without a word, she followed me out of the room with Crozier next to me. 

“I never asked for this you know.” Crozier shook his head.

“I am sorry.” I apologized as we made it to the parking lot.  I had my keys in my hands. 

“Where are we going?” Rose asked as she saw a crowd begin to follow us.

“As far away as we can get from here.” I pushed the automatic lock on the key fob and opened the passenger door so Rose could get in the car.  I opened the trunk with another push of the fob. 

“Oh no!” Crozier shook his head when he saw the hood pop up.

“It’s our only chance.” I pleaded as I watched the crowd get closer.

“Murderer!” I heard one of them yell.

“You  can’t be serious.” Crozier snorted.

“I wish I wasn’t.” I panted.

There was a gunshot.  Crozier turned abruptly.

“No!” I heard someone scream.  It took me a second to figure out it was me.  There was pain in his eyes.  Another gunshot  and he jumped as if he had been struck by lightning.  

“C’mon Pete, we don’t have much time.” Rose cried from inside the car.

“Halt Dr. Hacker!” I heard one of the security guards yell out aiming his revolver at me.  With no warning, I jumped into the driver’s seat and managed to pull away leaving Crozier on his knees as more bullets slammed into his body.  I did not dare look at the rearview mirror.  Tears were already flooding my eyes.

I read in the paper that the autopsy on Crozier revealed some genetic inconsistencies concluding that I was attempting to build a creature of extraordinary strength, but what they did not know was that Crozier was just my clumsy attempt to play God and a very poor attempt it was.  We are driven by our own egos time and again to improve on something that cannot be or will ever be improved. Crozier will always remind me of my failure in this pursuit. 

I am telling you all this from a very secluded cabin in British Columbia near the McKenzie Gorge. Up here elk and bear rule the open lands.  I have not heard anything that resembles an organized language, but these creatures are definitely communicating with each other as part of a natural order we will never fully understand.