Specimen 024SB

 The next excerpt from The Agency is "Specimen 024SB," the first story I wrote involving the Greenhouse and the characters working there. This is also the one that introduces a favorite minor character of mine, Imogen Hart. She may show up more in other stories involving the specimens found in the Greenhouse, but as this is still a work-in-progress, I can't say for sure. 

Specimen 024SB

Specimen History & Description

Specimen 024SB, a fungus known as a Skeletal Bloom by the man who discovered it, Robert Kelly, is quite unique in that no two specimens ever look the same. This mushroom grows exclusively on skeletons as the name would suggest and takes on qualities of the bones that host it: hollow for birds, brittle for the elderly, flexible for children and infants, etc. It ranges from stark white to a pale yellow color similar to that of old bone. After consulting a mycologist, Specimen 024SB is classed as a rare type of shelf mushroom.

What makes Specimen 024SB a dangerous addition to the Greenhouse is what it does when it comes in contact with unprotected skin. Specimen 024SB will burrow into the skin to reach the bones. It will proceed to feed on the flesh surrounding the bones, dissolving skin, muscle, and fat tissues to nourish the growing fungus. This process will continue until the unlucky creature that touched Specimen 024SB is dead.

Currently, the only way to deal with Specimen 024SB once it has begun burrowing into the person is through excising it and dousing the wound with fungicide. Many Omicron researchers, Zeta members, and even a few gardeners bear the scars from a gloveless encounter with the specimen, even though protocol dictates that gloves are to be worn at all times when in the Greenhouse. Masks and goggles are also required due to the nature of some of the other specimens housed there. This hasn’t seemed to stop some from becoming careless, however.

A fairly recent discovery has revealed that it isn’t only bones that Specimen 024SB will attach to. Insects have been sighted with colorful specimens of Specimen 024SB attached to their exoskeletons and, due to the skeleton being external instead of internal, the insects are unharmed by the presence of Specimen 024SB. Thankfully, these hosts have since been eradicated.

Testimony 1999-10-18

Arch. Hartman: Statement of Robert Kelly regarding the discovery of Specimen 024SB, recorded direct from subject by Archivist Vivienne Hartman.

Kelly: We went to the forest for a hike. It was three of us—me, Benjamin Stanton, and Angela Downs. We weren’t looking for anything in particular, just hiking. Benjamin and Angela were health nuts and invited me for this hike. I figured why not? I needed to go on a hike for this class I was in and document the flora and fauna in the area. Heh. Never would have thought I’d be the one to find some undiscovered species.

            Anyway, we were on our hike and I started noticing that I wasn’t seeing as many animals as before. Like, I didn’t see any squirrels or hear any birds. It was unnerving. Angela even commented that it wasn’t normal, that it was a sign we should go back. Because it means there was some kind of predator around. Benjamin ignored her and said it was probably because of my huffing and puffing to keep up with them. We kept going and eventually stopped for a break near this tall tree—I think it was a conifer, but I don’t know trees—and I noticed a faint smell. Angela and Benjamin noticed it too. Death.

            Benjamin looked around and went through some bushes. He called out and we came through the bushes and found the source of the smell. It was a dead deer—a buck, judging by the antlers. It was covered in these white mushrooms. They looked like they belonged on trees, not corpses, but what do I know about mushrooms? I took a few pictures of them, as you know since your agency confiscated my camera.

Angela was grossed out and talking about how mushrooms don’t do that, how this wasn’t right, there should have been signs of predation, but the deer looked like it had been perfectly healthy when it died. Like it just decided to die right then and there. Except…it looked wrong. The face. It looked like it was in pain, like it died in intense pain and afraid. But it looked otherwise healthy and Angela was right. Nothing else had been eating at it. It was just those mushrooms on it. No sign of anything else in the area and, again, I noticed how quiet it was. It was like nature forgot to be nature in this part of the forest.

Benjamin was the one who decided that he wanted to pose with the deer. He told me to take a picture while he held the antlers like some kind of hunter with his trophy. I got the camera ready, Angela protesting the entire time. Benjamin grabbed the antlers and must have touch the mushrooms on accident. I caught the moment on camera, I’m pretty sure. One minute, he’s posing and grinning, and the next, he’s screaming and clutching his hand. I saw…I saw the mushrooms burrowing into him, like they were alive. He was screaming and trying to pull them out, but he couldn’t get a hold of them without more of them beginning to burrow.

Alice was screaming and backed away from him when he reached out to her. She tripped and fell right on the deer. She screamed louder as the mushrooms began burrowing into her. It was like the mushrooms were a living organism. I mean, I guess they are, kind of, but these were like animals and they just began burrowing into her and Benjamin. I stood there for a moment, then I said I’d go get help. They both screamed and begged me not to go, but I turned and ran. I didn’t…I didn’t want to risk one of them touching me. I didn’t want those things on me or in me.

I ran until I reached the trailhead, then I called for help. I told the operator that I needed an ambulance at the trail, that my friends were hurt. They sent the ambulance and a cop car too. A few moments after the ambulance and cop showed up, a black unmarked SUV showed up. I’m guessing it was one of yours. Don’t know how they knew to get there so fast. Anyway, they followed the EMTs up the trailhead, except one guy—don’t know his name—stayed to talk to me with the officer.

I told them everything that happened. The officer didn’t seem surprised and the guy from your agency just nodded. Like he expected this. A little later, the EMTs returned with my friends in body bags. They were arguing with the other agents who went up the trail about who got custody of the body. The agent waiting with the officer said the bodies were theirs and after a look from the cop, the EMTs agreed and loaded the bodies into the back of the SUV. The agent suggested I come with them to give my statement so here I am.

Arch. Hartman: Statement ends. Robert Kelly has formally been extended an offer for employment by Superior Read. Specimen 024SB is safely housed in the Greenhouse and being studied by Omicron researches. The gardeners are going to have quite an interesting time tending to this particular specimen.

Testimony 2002-06-24

Arch. Hartman: Statement of Omicron researcher Fabian Dawson regarding Specimen 024SB and discovering its abilities, particularly the ability to take on the quality of the bone it is attached to, recoded direct from subject by Archivist Vivienne Hartman.

Res. Dawson: This is…I don’t think I can do this job. I…fuck. I’m a researcher, but…fuck. That. That wasn’t research. That was just…just sadistic. Fuck. I don’t think I want this job.

Arch. Hartman: That is certainly an option. You are free to decide to pursue a different career, but bear in mind that you did sign a nondisclosure agreement.

Res. Dawson: Fuck it. I don’t care. No one would believe me even if I did say anything.

Arch. Hartman: Have you discussed this with Luna?

Res. Dawson: You leave Everett out of this.

Arch. Hartman: I just assumed, given how close the two of you are, that you would discuss such a big decision with him beforehand. Or perhaps it’s best that you don’t. After all, he wouldn’t be allowed to leave with you and there would be no contact permitted between the two of you after, not like it would matter too much given the life expectancy of Zetas. It might be better for everyone involved if you simply left without telling him.

Res. Dawson: …

Arch. Hartman: I’m just saying it might be a good idea to consider your options before you come to a decision. Now, I believe you were going to tell me about Specimen 024SB.

Res. Dawson: I was in the Greenhouse, observing Specimen 024SB and following the proper precautions—gloves, mask, goggles, full suit—alongside Gardener Clinton Meadows when he instructed another researcher—Imogen Hart—to bring in the test subjects. I asked him what he meant and he said that we were going to do a little research. She came in followed by two Sigma officers—Michael Lewis and Tommy Burke—as well as Everett. She was carrying something.

            She came over to us and I saw that she was holding a baby, a sleeping, very clearly alive baby. I almost asked what was going on, but then I saw Everett’s face. He just shook his head at me and I kept quiet. Imogen held the baby carefully and Gardener Meadows placed one of the mushrooms on the baby’s forehead. The baby began to cry and scream, but…but it didn’t last long. Soon, the baby just…stopped crying. Stopped moving. God…it…it was still breathing, though. The…Specimen 024SB hadn’t gotten to the heart yet. Just the brain.

            Gardener Meadows asked why I wasn’t taking notes. I noticed that Imogen sat the baby down on the table and was taking notes. I began scribbling notes on my clipboard as Gardener Meadows began examining the newly formed mushrooms. They were more flexible than the others. Like cartilage. I kept writing notes until Gardener Meadows instructed Lewis and Burke to hold Everett still. I…I spoke up then. I told Gardener Meadows not to use Everett. He wanted a reason. I pointed out that Everett was one of the few Zetas who understood and followed protocol. When he didn’t seem convinced, I said that Everett was the one I had the most fun with, and he was the one most familiar with my proclivities. He agreed that Everett wouldn’t be used…this time. He suggested I engage with other Zetas to avoid forming an attachment to any particular one.

            He then instructed us to keep observing the baby. I kept taking notes. I…it was only after three hours that the baby stopped breathing. The mushrooms were all cartilaginous and looked…looked like infant bones do, small and fragile. Flexible, but still so delicate. After…after my shift, Everett and I went back to my quarters and I…I don’t know if I can do this job.

Arch. Hartman: And as I said, you have that option.

Res. Dawson: Right. …I’ll…I’ll take some time and consider my options.

Arch. Hartman: Good idea. Statement ends. With any luck, the potential threat to Everett Luna will keep Dawson from leaving the Agency’s employ as he has quite a bit of potential, judging from the quality of his notes and the way he was able to compose himself despite his issues with the experiment. It would be a shame to see him squander that potential.

Testimony 2011-04-09

Arch. Hartman: Statement of Zeta member Everett Luna with Sigma Officer Michael Lewis observing regarding the discovery of Specimen 024SB’s weakness, recorded direct from subject by Archivist Vivienne Hartman.

Luna: I was in the Greenhouse with Omicron researcher Fabian Dawson and Gardener Clinton Meadows. I…Fabian—er, Researcher Dawson asked me to hold out my arm and roll up my sleeve. I did what he said and he…he put a sample of Specimen 024SB on me. …The pain was excruciating. I…I don’t know how long it was on me. It felt like days, but it can’t have been. He…he began cutting into my arm where the thing was burrowing and then…he poured fungicide into the wound. It burned and the mushroom…I swear it screamed. It shriveled and Fa—Researcher Dawson removed it. He told Officer Lewis to escort me to the medics to make sure he got it all. They cleared me and then Superior Read radioed to say that I should give a statement. Nothing really happened aside from…from what I told you.

Arch. Hartman: How long has it been since Researcher Dawson moved on?

Luna: …

Off. Lewis: Answer the question.

Luna: A few years now, since 2002. We…still see each other. Just…it’s different now.

Arch. Hartman: Different how?

Luna: I can’t imagine you’re that interested in the ramblings and pining of a Zeta.

Arch. Hartman: I asked you a question.

Luna: He…he looks at me differently. He used to look at me like I was…special isn’t the right word. Human, I guess. But now…now he just looks at me the way the others do. Like I’m…just another Zeta. Subhuman. He…he even said before that I…I’m replaceable. I mean, I know I am. But then isn’t everyone who works for the Agency in one form or another? You’re not the only archivist and he’s not the only researcher. But Zetas…we’re a dime a dozen. Expendable. He…he reminded me of that before he ended things. Not like things ended. Just…changed from romance to…well, I’m just a Zeta. Not like I could count as a partner. I’ve seen him with other Zetas. He treats them the same way he treats me now. They don’t get attached. I did. Heh. Probably because he treated me like a person before he decided I wasn’t one. Funny that it happened after he asked that I not be used for an experiment.

Arch. Hartman: If that’s all, Officer Lewis, escort Luna back to the Zeta barracks.

Off. Lewis: Yes, ma’am. Come on.

Arch. Hartman: Statement ends. It’s good to see that Dawson reconsidered his options and finally got his priorities in order. And to top it off, he’s shown quite a bit of creativity in figuring out a way of combating Specimen 024SB. This will hopefully curb the losses of careless gardeners, though if they’re so careless as to neglect protocol and safety measures, perhaps their fate is deserved.

Testimony 2013-07-04

Arch. Hartman: Statement of Omicron researcher Imogen Hart regarding a…unpleasant development of Specimen 024SB, recorded direct from subject by Archivist Vivienne Hartman.

Res. Hart: I don’t know why you think it’s such a bad thing. This is truly a remarkable discovery. Just imagine what else we can learn from this. Imagine if we could put Specimen 024SB in contact with a creature like an octopus. What would happen? I mean, given we know how it interacts with humans and other creatures with internal skeletons, and we’ve now learned how it behaves with creatures with exoskeletons, it would be interesting to see what it makes of something without a skeletal structure. I mean, technically insects don’t have bones either, but their exoskeletons behave as bones, but octopi and other cephalopods—

Arch. Hartman: You were saying about the discovery.

Res. Hart: Oh, right. We made the discovery the other night. We were getting ready to clock out for the night. It was me, Researcher Dawson, and Zeta Luna. Being completely honest, it was Luna who saw it first. He called our attention to it. It was a beetle—one of those blue-green things. June beetle. It was walking along the edge of the table, minding its business. Then I noticed the shell seemed strange. As we looked closer, I realized that the beetle had a sample of Specimen 024SB on its back. It wasn’t harming the beetle at all. The beetle didn’t seem bothered by it. Just…kept walking along. Doing what beetles do. Luna captured it in a jar so we could study it and show it to Gardener Meadows later. Really, it was a good thing Luna was there. I think me and Researcher Dawson were so amazed by the sight that we would have let the beetle keep walking and vanish into the Greenhouse.

The sample on the beetle was blue-green, like the exoskeleton of the beetle. I mean, we already knew that it could take on the properties of bones, but I was so used to seeing it as white or yellow. This was just such a surprise. This proves it really does take on all the qualities of the bones it grows on, but it still doesn’t explain the evolutionary purpose. Well, I suppose with the beetle, it does have a very clear evolutionary explanation: mobility. If it takes on the appearance of the beetle’s exoskeleton, it blends in—I had trouble seeing it initially—and then something that preys on the beetle would eat it, unaware of what happened. This will transfer it to another host. Further, the beetle is unharmed by the presence of Specimen 024SB which means it can continue on with its life, traveling and thus taking the specimen to a different location and allowing it better hunting. Truly, this is such an amazing discovery.

Arch. Hartman: It is a containment breach waiting to happen. What happens if one of these insect hosts gets loose?

Res. Hart: That’s extremely unlikely. I don’t know if you’ve been to the Greenhouse, but it is quite contained. There is one of those giant fans on the Greenhouse side of the airlock which blows our pollinators back away from the door. We have the airlock where we strip from our suits and protective gear and it is decontaminated, then put into a container that seals before the door to the outside unlocks. Cracks are sealed and the integrity of the structure is routinely checked. A containment breach from the Greenhouse is improbable.

Arch. Hartman: But not impossible.

Res. Hart: Impossible isn’t something we do here, you know that.

Arch. Hartman: Statement ends. Despite Researcher Hart’s insistence regarding the safety, I will speak to Superior Read and find out what he recommends. Hopefully it will be the eradication of the insects hosting Specimen 024SB, however, I doubt it will be something so logi—

P.A.: Warning. Containment breach, Greenhouse sector. Lockdown protocols initiating.

Arch. Hartman: Damn it.

Next week, I'll post about writing related generators and websites that have helped me with everything from names to writing exercises when I've found myself stalled on writing. After that, expect another excerpt from The Agency.