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Chapter 11: Reputation
Dr Stephen Thawn parked his brand new, bright green, BMW M3 on his drive and turned off the engine. He smiled. He’d decided he could afford it since his recent promotion had more than doubled his salary and he’d bought it to reward himself for his hard-earned achievement. He was now the CEO of the controversial Invigo Bio Tech. Stephen grabbed his briefcase and phone and stepped out of the vehicle. He frowned, took a handkerchief out of his pocket and used it to scrub the bird muck off the wing mirror.
When he unlocked his front door, the house was unusually quiet. His six year old Springer Spaniel would normally be barking and jumping up against the door before he opened it.
“Barney?” he called, “where are you boy?” He left his briefcase at the bottom of the stairs and proceeded to the living room where he found Barney sitting comfortably on the floor in the lap of an old-fashioned hippy woman. “Who the hell are you?” he demanded. “Barney, c’m’ere boy.”
Barney chose to stay where he was and the woman did the same. “I’m Moonbeam,” Velma told him, “we need to talk.”
Stephen didn’t bother to argue. He picked up the phone and dialled 999. “Police,” he told the operator, “there’s an intruder in my house.”
Velma smiled and looked deeply into his eyes. “Tell them it’s a false alarm.”
He shook his head, frowned and said, “er, no, it’s a false alarm, sorry, my mistake.” Those weren’t the words he’d intended to say. “Yes, I’m sure. Sorry. Thank you.” He put down the receiver and looked all confusion at Velma. “Who are you?” he asked her.
She smiled again and spoke with a soft and gentle voice. “Do you believe in vampires?”
Stephen hesitated before replying with confidence. “Of course not.” He took a handful of dog treats from a box behind the settee and offered them to Barney who wasted no time walking over to him and accepting the gift.
Velma got to her feet as swiftly as a gymnast and stepped closer to Dr Thawn. “Are you sure?” she asked with a smile to reveal her fangs.
The shocked scientist stepped back and would have fallen onto the settee behind him if Velma hadn’t grabbed his wrist. He was powerless to resist as she pulled it to her mouth and sunk her teeth into his radial artery. She drank only enough to make him slightly light-headed before letting him drop onto the brown cow-skin-covered seat.
“Do you believe in vampires now?”
Stephen was too preoccupied to answer her. He anxiously pressed the heel of his right hand against his left wrist to stem the bleeding.
“It’ll stop in a minute,” Velma assured him, “I only made tiny piercings. So, answer my question Steve, do you believe in vampires now?”
He looked up angrily, determined not to give her the satisfaction. “No. No I don’t. I’m a scientist so you’ll find I’m not easily tricked. Vampires are fictional creatures, fairy tale monsters,” He told her smugly. “Pretty sick though – drinking someone’s blood. That’s disgusting!”
“I’m surprised to hear you say that,” Velma laughed, “you eat blood every day – I saw the fresh meat in your fridge.”
“That’s not the same.”
“How so?”
“Well I cook it for a start!”
“Why would you do that?”
Stephen rolled his eyes. “Because I don’t enjoy vomiting and diarrhoea!”
“Oh, you mean from the harmful bacteria and parasites?”
“Yes!”
“Like e-coli, and listeria? Salmonella and campylobacter?”
“Yes!”
“Yeah, you’re right, those nasties would cause diarrhoea. Bloody diarrhoea. And vomiting. Maybe even kidney failure and death. For humans.”
“And it’ll happen to you if drink people’s blood. You sicko!”
Velma shook her head, “no Stephen. Haven’t you been listening? I’m a vampire. It’s natural for me to drink blood.”
“You’re the one who isn’t listening! Vampires don’t exist!”
“I’m living proof – right in front of you – that they do.”
Dr Thawn’s angry perplexed expression changed as he suddenly realised he could refute her claim. His eyes lit up and opened wide as he raised his eyebrows. “You can’t be a vampire because I didn’t invite you in!” he exclaimed.
Velma sighed. “What makes you think vampires need an invitation to go anywhere?” she asked as she sat down on the only seat without a slaughter origin.
“All the literature -“
Velma smiled. “Non-fiction?”
“Of course not.” He really hated her.
“Sit down Stevie, we’ve got something important to talk about.”
Against his own inclination, he sat down.
“Okay, I’m feeling peckish and, since it’s not my intention to prey on you, I can’t afford to stay much longer,” she told him. “I need you to pass on a message for me.”
She transformed into the wolf, grabbed his trouser leg in her teeth and ripped it from knee to ankle. Barney took exception to that and viciously snapped at her face until she reverted to the Moonbeam persona. Stephen lifted his dog onto his lap and cradled him protectively.
“He’d lay down his life for you,” Velma commented.
“And I for him,” Stephen replied nervously.
“And yet you think it’s okay to experiment on others like him?”
Despite his fear of what he now understood to be a lethal opponent, the scientist launched into an argument he had recited many times previously. “Medical breakthroughs since the dawn of time, from diabetes to heart disease to cancer, have depended on animal experiments, and no amount of so called high-tech alternatives can avoid some such use.”
Velma smiled again. “I’ve heard it all before Stevie,” she told him wearily, “though admittedly never before from someone in the field of Basic let’s see what happens if I do this Science. And, quite honestly, I don’t have time to trawl through it all again with you. Suffice to say, most human diseases, including those you mentioned, are caused by human abuse of other species, so that’s your cause and effect right there.”
“You don’t-“
“Uh uh uh – I’m still talking!” Velma wagged a finger at him. “For the dominant species to experiment on other animals in the hope of finding cures for diseases and infections which result from the enslavement, confinement and consumption of other animals, goes way beyond reprehensible. My suggestion is – end all animal farming, animal confinement and animal consumption, then see what diseases still exist a couple of generations down the line. There will be far fewer to worry about, mark my words. No more diabetes, heart disease or dementia, and quite a few different cancers will be history too. The few illnesses that remain will be much better understood with twenty-first century methodologies than with eighteenth century ones.”
Stephen just shook his head.
Velma’s stomach growled. “People will believe what they want to believe I guess. Case in point: It seems that whatever I do, the majority of people won’t accept the fact of me. Understandable, I grant you, but frustrating. I was recorded on video killing the Prime Minister for crying out loud, but thanks to the government narrative preferred by the newspapers and TV news, most remain unconvinced. That’s why I’m not going to end your life now. I want you to convince the scientific community that Bloodless is not a disease, that those deaths were all caused by me or someone like me, and that experimenting on animals to search for a non-existent pathogen is a pointless waste of time, money, and lives.”
Dr Thawn remained stubbornly and unashamedly opposed to Velma’s request. “My company has been granted a lucrative license to pursue that investigation and I have a reputation to worry about. Not to mention shareholder expectations.” When Velma said nothing he assumed she didn’t understand where he was coming from. “I am the CEO of Invigo Bio Tech,” he added defiantly.
“Yes,” she replied with a cold smile, “and I am the one who killed your predecessor. You’re welcome.” She beckoned Barney to her and scooped him up in her arms. “Tell the truth Stephen or they’ll be looking for another new CEO.” She nuzzled Barney and quietly assured him that, should Stephen die, she would find him a happy new home, one where he wouldn’t be left alone all day.
When her stomach growled again, Velma knew she couldn’t afford to wait any longer. She put Barney down and headed for the door. As she left she warned the career vivisector, “You’ve got one day Stephen. If I haven’t heard in the news by this time tomorrow that research into bloodless will not go ahead because it’s caused by a vampire, not a pathogen, then you will be its next casualty.”
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