Senseless

The senses give us a way of appreciating life and suffering from it. Through sight, we can see a threat in all it’s morbid glory, or through feeling, we can feel immense pain. The senses help us identify what is good for us and what is bad for us. Now, let’s suppose we never had any senses. We wouldn’t move, we wouldn’t breathe and it would be only moments before we died. Yet, without senses, how would we know if we were alive in the first place?

An experiment; a terrible idea to be executed on a helpless mouse. It was put to sleep so it wouldn’t feel a thing. Nerves were cut, parts removed, as if it were a toy being repaired. The process took several hours, mainly because of the size of the subject. By the end of the tense surgery, the group of three scientists gathered around the mouse. It eventually awoke, instinct and muscle memory causing it to panic at first.

It couldn’t see, so it assumed that it was underground, it began to paw in all directions, but without a sense of feeling, it didn’t know where to dig. The mouse moved all around the container until it hit a corner and stopped. The scientists thought for a moment that the mouse was able to tell it had hit a dead end, but in reality, its body began to adjust and ever so slowly its muscles relaxed.

The mouse didn’t exert any muscles, thus it was at the mercy of gravity alone and it fell on its side. Minutes turned into hours and the scientists concluded that the mouse couldn’t comprehend its own existence without some form of sense; it had gone braindead. One scientist made to dispose of the mouse, but as he did the mouse immediately began to squirm, finding its feet and crawled away.

Baffled, the scientist withdrew his hand and the mouse calmed down. All three exchanged looks made notes, but as for reason behind the mouse’s ability to sense hostility, they had none. The scientists continued to observe the mouse for the rest of the day, seeing what effect hunger and thirst would have on the mouse; a trial that went on for several days. The mouse did not suffer any harsh effects, but the scientists did notice that it began to breathe deeply, rolling around the container.

Vitals began dropping and once more the scientists thought the mouse was going to die. That’s when the second scientist had an idea. The mouse’s rapid movement and deep breathing was the bodies way of seeking substance, in any shape or form. Without a sense of pain, the mouse endured for many days, but rather than letting it die, the scientist placed the mouse in a container of dirt.

The mouse continued to roll and breathe, the sand filling the small creature’s system till it could not take anymore. The vitals began to rise and in mere seconds the mouse was healthy again. With further examination, the scientists discovered that every cell of the mouse was becoming sentient, no longer relying on the being as a whole to consume nutrients in the traditional sense. Instead, it began taking nutrients from anything. Even the very air had enough to sustain, the sand simply sped the process along.

Still, that didn’t explain how the mouse knew it was in danger every time the first scientist made to dispose of it. Eventually, it came down to the mouse being properly checked, eventually killed and studied internally. The final note of the experiment was the extraordinary length to which the brain seemed to evolve. It began to change physically, becoming as twice as powerful as a human mind, despite its size.

Of course, that didn’t save the creature, but it did give cause for taking the experiment further.

The next subject was an old wolf that was to be put down at the local zoo. The wolf was abducted by the group of scientists and the very next day it was put through the same process as the mouse. The aged wolf’s last sight was the masked faces of the three scientists before it was put under. The wolf was torn apart, put back together and it awoke to a new form of hell.

Weeks passed.

The scientists saw a similar trend with the wolf, becoming docile, taking in nutrients from the air around him and having a hostile response to any form of threat. However, the wolf was different from the mouse. Given a longer period of time to live, the wolf began to decompose in certain areas. Without the sense of sight, taste, smell or hearing, most of the skin, muscle and even its lower jaw fell from its skull. The sight was disconcerting, to say the least, so it was no wonder the scientists eventually decided to kill the wolf and study the remains.

However, when the first scientist entered the subject’s chamber, it not only senses the hostility, it was able to get on its feet and attack the scientist. The attack was sudden and violent, the other two scientists deciding to close the chamber and sacrifice their colleague. The scientist died slowly, the wolf eventually losing interest once the scientist stopped moving.

The two scientists left the wolf in their basement lab, deciding to drink for a good long time.

Two days later, half-drunk, the second scientist decided to return to the lab and found a most disturbing sight. The wolf stood on its hind legs, its skull-like face staring through the clear chamber straight at him. Once both scientists were in the basement, they both began taking notes, studying the wolf as it walked throughout the chamber, now more humanoid.

Bones had changed, tendons stretched, muscles were torn. It was a corpse that didn’t know it was dead or even a wolf. It seemingly had a new sense of self and its surroundings, a being unlike any other. It could move without struggle, despite lacking all feeling. It could see without eyes, sense sound. It was a marvel and the remaining scientists could not bear to be away from it for long, completely ignoring the mangled, decaying corpse of their friend on the floor of the chamber.

Months passed and the scientists concluded on their findings. The wolf was several times smarter than any man and despite its decayed form, it was stronger and faster. Without the limits of pain of exhaustion, the wolf could push itself to its limit. All the while as they made their observations, the old wolf watched them, studied them and when an opportunity arose, it acted.

One scientist made to flood the chamber with a gas that would knock creature out, but it simply stopped breathing and feigned sleep. When the chamber opened, the scientist who drew the short straw stepped inside to bind and collect the subject, the other watched closely with his hand on the button that would close the door.

The wolf moved fast, knocking the scientist in the chamber towards the door, scaring the other to close the door. The door shut on the scientist, slowly cutting into his side. With alarmingly calm movements, the abomination placed its clawed fingers under the door and lifted it, breaking the mechanism. The scientist who was caught in the door was dying anyway, so the wolf made for the other scientist. It made short work of the man, the victims fear aided the monster.

All this was recorded. From the monster’s creation to its escape. Government officials watched with horror as it happened and immediately began to burn documents and dispose of the right people. Agents were sent to the town to burn the building down, people who knew too much disappeared with the building. It was quick, it was clean, but the most major piece of evidence was out there. Stalking through forests and towns at night, not needing food, not needing sleep and unable to die.

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