Doctor Franklin sat in his office. The last two days or so had been pretty hectic, what with one thing after another. Then, just as he was about to take a sip of his coffee someone entered. Franklin did not recognise the tall man that was visiting him.
“Good morning. How can I help you?”
“Good morning Doctor Franklin. My name is Doctor Hector Frankenstein.”
“Doctor Frankenstein. I heard you were on B5. I heard you had a bit of trouble in the cargo bay.”
“It was nothing. Just a misunderstanding. I came here to talk to you about a most urgent matter. As a fellow scientist I felt that you were the only one on the station who I would be able to talk to about my work.”
“Your work? I understand you’re a geneticist. Genetics isn’t really my field Doctor Frankenstein.”
“Please, call me Hector.”
“Well, Hector, I’m not really sure I can help you.”
“Oh, I believe you can Doctor Franklin. You see, the word around the station is that I am here on a stopover, whilst on my way to the Deneb sector. The truth of the matter is that I am here on Babylon 5 to carry out research. I have worked for years on this project, and I came to Babylon 5 because I knew that this was the only place I could carry out my work.”
“What is your work exactly?”
“If you come with me I will show you.”
Franklin took another sip out of his cup.
“I am rather busy at the moment Doctor.”
“Come now. You can spare thirty minutes for me. I would be very grateful if you could.”
Franklin paused for a moment.
“Alright then Doctor. I’ll have a look at your files.”
“Files? I don’t have any files here Doctor Franklin! My work is here, on the station!”
“Your work? Is that why you were against letting your cargo go through customs?”
“In a manner of speaking…yes! Now come, Doctor. We don’t have much time. I want you to witness the end of my experiment!”
Reluctantly Franklin left the office with Frankenstein.
A short time later the two doctors were walking through a darkened corridor of the station. Franklin had an uneasy feeling.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been to this part of the station before!” he said.
“Not many people come here now.” said Frankenstein. “It used to be an old cargo area. It took me ages to find this place, and a lot of money.”
They were soon standing in front of a large door. Frankenstein stopped and smiled. Frankenstein pressed the panel next to the door and it swung open. The light inside the room contrasted with the darkness outside in the corridor. It took a few seconds for Franklin’s eyes to make the adjustment.
“Welcome to my humble abode!”
Franklin gazed around at the old cargo bay, and what he saw amazed him. Highly advanced machinery lined the walls, the likes of which Franklin had never seen before.
“What is all of this stuff?”
“I had it shipped here gradually over a number of months. My assistant has been on the station during that time and installed it all quite well, to my astonishment. I never knew he had it in him.
Upon hearing this praise Frankenstein’s assistant smiled.
“Over there is my work, Doctor.”
Frankenstein pointed to what appeared to be an examination table in the centre of the room. On the table there was a body covered by a sheet. Wires where attached to the body and went under the sheet.
“Come and have a look at this, Doctor.”
Frankenstein led Franklin to the table.
“Where did this body come from?” asked Franklin.
“Parts of it came from your own morgue.” Frankenstein replied. “For the final parts I had to find one myself!”
A look of horror appeared on Franklin’s face.
“Don’t look so surprised, Doctor.” said Frankenstein. “I only had to kill one man myself. The rest were killed by others!”
It was then that Frankenstein pulled back the sheet, revealing the body he had created.
“Now watch, Doctor, as I carry on the work of my ancestor five hundred years on!”
“No! I won’t let you!”
Franklin tried tom stop Frankenstein but found himself being held back by the ugly assistant.
“You cannot stop me, Doctor Franklin!” Frankenstein boomed. “I worked here for weeks without anyone knowing! Nothing is going to stop me now!”
And with that Frankenstein walked over to one of his machines and began the process. The lights dimmed as it began. Franklin could do nothing to stop it.
Ivanova watched as the instrument panel in front of her went wild. She was soon joined by Sinclair.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I don’t know.” Ivanova replied. “The power is being drained from all over the station, from life support, everywhere! It’s as if someone has tapped directly into the fusion reactor!”
“Can you compensate?”
“I’m trying, but nothing seems to be working!”
Franklin watched in horror as power from the station’s fusion reactor surged through the body Frankenstein had made. As the power increased so did Frankenstein’s horrid laughter. He seemed to revel in what he was doing.
“Watch the power surge into his body!” he screamed. “Soon my work will be complete!”
Frankenstein then left the table and walked towards his machines. Intently he studied the readouts.
“Everything is normal! It is working!”
Frankenstein started to celebrate until he saw the reading that monitored brainwaves. Suddenly his expression changed. There was something wrong.
“No! It can’t be!”
Franklin managed to free himself and joined Frankenstein at the panel.
“It’s this reading, isn’t it?” he said. “This is meant to monitor brainwaves, isn’t it?”
Frankenstein nodded frantically.
“My god! The brain tissue is being damaged in a way I’ve never seen before!”
“I know! I know! I thought I had compensated for everything! The power is too much for the brain tissue!”
Franklin went to shut down the machine but found himself being restrained by Frankenstein.
“We’ve got to shit the power down!” shouted Franklin. “Or you’ll end up with a rampaging monster!”
“No! This is my life’s work! I will not see it end this way!”
Suddenly the body began to move. It began to rise up, the power from the fusion reactor having given it life. It began to break free from the wires, and then it threw the sheet that covered it across the room. It then stared at Franklin and Frankenstein, and they could tell from it’s eyes that only one thought was on it’s mind - the thought of destruction.
“My god man!” said Franklin. “What have you done?”
Franklin did not reply. The creature moved towards the door. And with one swipe of it’s huge arm turned into a twisted piece of metal only good enough for the scrap yard.
“This wasn’t meant to happen!” said Frankenstein. “This wasn’t meant to happen!”
Franklin activated his communicator.
“Franklin to Garibaldi. Security alert! Security alert! We got a big problem down here!”
“Good morning. How can I help you?”
“Good morning Doctor Franklin. My name is Doctor Hector Frankenstein.”
“Doctor Frankenstein. I heard you were on B5. I heard you had a bit of trouble in the cargo bay.”
“It was nothing. Just a misunderstanding. I came here to talk to you about a most urgent matter. As a fellow scientist I felt that you were the only one on the station who I would be able to talk to about my work.”
“Your work? I understand you’re a geneticist. Genetics isn’t really my field Doctor Frankenstein.”
“Please, call me Hector.”
“Well, Hector, I’m not really sure I can help you.”
“Oh, I believe you can Doctor Franklin. You see, the word around the station is that I am here on a stopover, whilst on my way to the Deneb sector. The truth of the matter is that I am here on Babylon 5 to carry out research. I have worked for years on this project, and I came to Babylon 5 because I knew that this was the only place I could carry out my work.”
“What is your work exactly?”
“If you come with me I will show you.”
Franklin took another sip out of his cup.
“I am rather busy at the moment Doctor.”
“Come now. You can spare thirty minutes for me. I would be very grateful if you could.”
Franklin paused for a moment.
“Alright then Doctor. I’ll have a look at your files.”
“Files? I don’t have any files here Doctor Franklin! My work is here, on the station!”
“Your work? Is that why you were against letting your cargo go through customs?”
“In a manner of speaking…yes! Now come, Doctor. We don’t have much time. I want you to witness the end of my experiment!”
Reluctantly Franklin left the office with Frankenstein.
A short time later the two doctors were walking through a darkened corridor of the station. Franklin had an uneasy feeling.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been to this part of the station before!” he said.
“Not many people come here now.” said Frankenstein. “It used to be an old cargo area. It took me ages to find this place, and a lot of money.”
They were soon standing in front of a large door. Frankenstein stopped and smiled. Frankenstein pressed the panel next to the door and it swung open. The light inside the room contrasted with the darkness outside in the corridor. It took a few seconds for Franklin’s eyes to make the adjustment.
“Welcome to my humble abode!”
Franklin gazed around at the old cargo bay, and what he saw amazed him. Highly advanced machinery lined the walls, the likes of which Franklin had never seen before.
“What is all of this stuff?”
“I had it shipped here gradually over a number of months. My assistant has been on the station during that time and installed it all quite well, to my astonishment. I never knew he had it in him.
Upon hearing this praise Frankenstein’s assistant smiled.
“Over there is my work, Doctor.”
Frankenstein pointed to what appeared to be an examination table in the centre of the room. On the table there was a body covered by a sheet. Wires where attached to the body and went under the sheet.
“Come and have a look at this, Doctor.”
Frankenstein led Franklin to the table.
“Where did this body come from?” asked Franklin.
“Parts of it came from your own morgue.” Frankenstein replied. “For the final parts I had to find one myself!”
A look of horror appeared on Franklin’s face.
“Don’t look so surprised, Doctor.” said Frankenstein. “I only had to kill one man myself. The rest were killed by others!”
It was then that Frankenstein pulled back the sheet, revealing the body he had created.
“Now watch, Doctor, as I carry on the work of my ancestor five hundred years on!”
“No! I won’t let you!”
Franklin tried tom stop Frankenstein but found himself being held back by the ugly assistant.
“You cannot stop me, Doctor Franklin!” Frankenstein boomed. “I worked here for weeks without anyone knowing! Nothing is going to stop me now!”
And with that Frankenstein walked over to one of his machines and began the process. The lights dimmed as it began. Franklin could do nothing to stop it.
Ivanova watched as the instrument panel in front of her went wild. She was soon joined by Sinclair.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I don’t know.” Ivanova replied. “The power is being drained from all over the station, from life support, everywhere! It’s as if someone has tapped directly into the fusion reactor!”
“Can you compensate?”
“I’m trying, but nothing seems to be working!”
Franklin watched in horror as power from the station’s fusion reactor surged through the body Frankenstein had made. As the power increased so did Frankenstein’s horrid laughter. He seemed to revel in what he was doing.
“Watch the power surge into his body!” he screamed. “Soon my work will be complete!”
Frankenstein then left the table and walked towards his machines. Intently he studied the readouts.
“Everything is normal! It is working!”
Frankenstein started to celebrate until he saw the reading that monitored brainwaves. Suddenly his expression changed. There was something wrong.
“No! It can’t be!”
Franklin managed to free himself and joined Frankenstein at the panel.
“It’s this reading, isn’t it?” he said. “This is meant to monitor brainwaves, isn’t it?”
Frankenstein nodded frantically.
“My god! The brain tissue is being damaged in a way I’ve never seen before!”
“I know! I know! I thought I had compensated for everything! The power is too much for the brain tissue!”
Franklin went to shut down the machine but found himself being restrained by Frankenstein.
“We’ve got to shit the power down!” shouted Franklin. “Or you’ll end up with a rampaging monster!”
“No! This is my life’s work! I will not see it end this way!”
Suddenly the body began to move. It began to rise up, the power from the fusion reactor having given it life. It began to break free from the wires, and then it threw the sheet that covered it across the room. It then stared at Franklin and Frankenstein, and they could tell from it’s eyes that only one thought was on it’s mind - the thought of destruction.
“My god man!” said Franklin. “What have you done?”
Franklin did not reply. The creature moved towards the door. And with one swipe of it’s huge arm turned into a twisted piece of metal only good enough for the scrap yard.
“This wasn’t meant to happen!” said Frankenstein. “This wasn’t meant to happen!”
Franklin activated his communicator.
“Franklin to Garibaldi. Security alert! Security alert! We got a big problem down here!”
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