![]() I think you'll find the results very gratifying.South of the river! That’s what “Gangnam” literally means, referring to the luxurious lifestyle of the citizens of a small area in Seoul, South Korea. "Steep it in boiling water, that increases the concentration. The man grabbed it eagerly, and began to tear open the seam. The man dug his hand into his pants pocket and extended a wad of crumpled bills. The legend told it best: the devil failed to keep his bargain, and the child of the devil, the Mbwun, had run wild. They had tried to control its power, but failed. What appeared to be a blessing turned out for them to be a curse. The Kothoga knew all about this plant, thought Kawakita. ![]() By eating the fibers and becoming infected with the reovirus, Whittlesey had turned into Mbwun. But Kawakita had already discovered his miracle. Everyone knew that the darkest, most isolated areas of rain forest held undiscovered plants of almost inconceivable importance to science. In sufficient quantities, it had the power to induce morphological change of an astonishing nature. Chances are, it had existed relatively unchanged since the Mesozoic era. The reovirus in the plant was astonishing. "Gratifying," he said slowly, as if tasting the word. Proof, rather, that the monster was Whittlesey. ![]() He was harvesting two pounds a week, and poised to increase his yield exponentially. The virus was concentrated in the tough, fibrous stem. ![]() It had proven to be a perversely attractive type of lily pad, blooming almost continuously, big deep-purple blossoms with venous appendages and bright yellow stamens. And then he had asked for the intermediate form. Kawakita had placed human DNA on one side and the reovirus DNA on the other. And the proof lay within his grasp: his extrapolation program. The creature, the Museum Beast, He Who Walks On All Fours, was Whittlesey. Kawakita remembered clearly the day everything came together for him. I think you'll find the results very gratifying." "Keep the lights off," said Kawakita sharply. The strange reovirus that dated back sixty-five million years. And now he had a large and steady supply growing in the tanks, fully inoculated with the reovirus. He remembered the surge of triumph he felt when the little green node appeared on an agar-covered petri dish. And he had finally achieved it, not five weeks earlier. But he was channeling all his ferocious energies into one thing now-thoughts of tenure vanished, a leave of absence taken from the Museum. It had taxed all his abilities, his knowledge of botany and genetics. The computer gave the creature: He Who Walks On All Fours.ĭespite his other trials, the supreme challenge had been growing the plant from a single fiber. Then he slid the fibers into a Ziploc bag. Kawakita scooped up a small handful of fibers and weighed them, removing several, then dropping a few back on. The table was covered with drying fibers. There, a long table had been set up under dull infrared lamps. They walked to the far end of the warehouse. And he alone knew where the life-giving fibers could still be found after the jungle was destroyed: He knew, because he had sent them there. Kawakita imagined the day it happened: the Whittlesey-thing, crouched in the jungle, seeing the fire come falling from the sky, burning the tepui, the Kothoga, the precious plants. He moved toward the door as quickly as the dim light would allow.īut then civilization came anyway, with all its terrors. The rabbit serum tests proved that he would succeed. And the desperate creature would, if at all possible, find a substitute for the plant-the human hypothalamus being by far the most satisfactory.īut Kawakita would not fail. Of course, death would intervene before that happened. Otherwise, intense pain, even madness, would result as the body tried to revert. But it was critical that the dose be maintained. Initially, large quantities of the plant would be needed to ensure sufficient reovirus to effect the bodily change.Once the transformation was complete, the plant need be consumed only in small quantities, supplemented of course by other proteins. The climax of their ceremonials was undoubtedly the induction of a new creature-the force-feeding of the plant to the unwilling human victim. The cult would have centered around the plant itself, its cultivation and harvesting. Chances are, the Kothoga only kept one of the creatures around at a time-more than that would be too dangerous. The creatures kept the enemies of the Kothoga at bay-yet they themselves were a constant threat to their masters. The plants were a curse that was simultaneously hated and needed. Kawakita could now visualize parts of the Kothoga's secret religion. ![]() Mbwun-the word the Kothoga used for the wonderful, terrible plant, and for the creatures those who ate it became. ![]()
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