This is part of a series of short stories I am writing based on a 100-prompt challenge. These stories are related in setting, dealing with some of the same history, but they don't have to be read in any particular order.
12/5/08
083 – And
Excerpt from “World History 6”
… Chapter 12 – The Mutt War
Introduction: The Scientific Freedom Act
In 2048, the fields of genetic manipulation and cloning exploded. Before, experiments had been limited to animals and generally not crossing species lines. Then, with the passing of the Scientific Freedom Act in 2046, science was granted permission by the UN to experiment with unwanted human embryos from fertility clinics, as well as adult volunteers.
It took two years for opposition to thaw and then an influx of experimentation and products arrived on the scene. The most popular pet in 2049 was the “kuppy” (a “kitten puppy”), a mixture of cat and dog that retained infant characteristics of both. By 2053, genetic modifications could be written into human-cloned organs for transplants that could make the receiver stronger, keener, or lengthen their life span. As of 2180, over 10,000 previous world records have been broken by “transplanted” individuals.
The Mutts
In 2054, Howland Industries shook the fields of warfare and science simultaneously when CEO Richard Howland unveiled human/animal hybrids called “Mutts” for use as soldiers. The Mutts were extremely efficient, intelligent and self-producing, making them an ideal soldiering force. Countries around the world swooped to buy them. The three largest customers were the United States, Old Russia (the northern portion of the Russia of today) and Palestine. Together, these three nations have become known as the “Three Stooges” (based on an early 20th century comedy of the same name), for having “bought in” to the Mutts as many critics accused.
Early Troubles
The Mutts seemed to be doing their job perfectly. However, they were discriminated against for being less than human. This increased even as the Mutts were integrated more into everyday society, working as club bouncers or bodyguards, as well as soldiers. Rather than being more acceptable, the Mutts’ differences from humanity were emphasized and reviled.
The tension came to a head in the aftermath of the Fairbank Incident of 2065. That September, local newspapers in he town of Fairbanks, California, reported the “death by mauling” of 57 year-old Jonathon Hastings. The autopsy revealed that it had been a cougar that had killed Hastings, but not before an enraged group of drunken bar-goers of the “Blue Saloon” had taken matters into their own hands. They marched on a Mutts containment facility, dragged out several Mutts and beat them to death. The surviving Mutts on the premises attacked the humans in a violent retaliation. 6 were killed, 27 wounded.
Recall
As news of the Fairbanks Incident spread, similar situations popped up all around the world. Mutts retaliated with deadly measures to attacks on their own kind. Over 187 people around the world were killed in 2065 due to Mutt-related violence. In the face of the massive public outcry, Howland Industries issued a recall of all the Mutt units.
Mutts’ Escape and the World’s Reaction
However, the recall was much larger than expected and operations by Howland were sloppy. All around the world, especially in the Three Stooges, Mutts escaped confinement and ran into the wild.
This caused general panic across the globe and several countries, including the Three Stooges, declared formal war on the Mutts. Many vigilante groups (most notably the “Silver Bullets”, an American gang dedicaterd to exterminating the Mutts with their signature ammunition – solid silver bullets) roamed various countries for years. Some, such as the “Wolftrap,” still exist, though none are the active forces they once were.
The United States was the first, and still the only confirmed, country to be completely free of the Mutts. With the advantage of being, the most widely populated of the Three Stooges, hidden covens of Mutts had no chance to settle in. Old Russia and Palestine had the difficulty of having vast areas of unoccupied land. The Mutts formed nests, burrowed in and stayed hidden.
Hidden Threats, Open Defense?
Since 2074, there has not been a single confirmed sighting of a Mutt, through many have claimed to have seen them. Along with aliens, Mutts are blamed for many strange occurrences, most frequently abductions.
Due to the continued public fear, many countries have retained standing anti-Mutt forces. This practice is still controversial and both Russia and the United States have flipflopped between disbanding their anti-Mutt forces and reviving them several times in the past few decades, to mixed reactions. The group CMC (Citizens for Mutt Control) believes in resurrecting a strong military force across the globe to actively seek out and destroy the Mutts that might still be out there. However, the public feeling in decades of polling has been consistently against this idea. In general, more defense is called for, rather than increased active strikes. The issue still remains hotly debated in political circles and public networks.
Aftermath and Progress
The failure of the Mutts has not dampened the enthusiasm for genetic manipulation. Howland Industries went bankrupt in 2070, but a dozen more companies had stepped forward to take its place in the field and more are formed all the time. Over thirty years after the Mutts disaster, experimentation on humans for a better sort of creature are still being carried out, and new discoveries in other circles have also moved into the spotlight. Dragons (named after the firebreathing reptiles of mythology) were the first new species created entirely from scratch. Originally a novelty experiment, they have since been adapted for military service.
Discovery presses forward. Perhaps one day, humans will be able to fly or breath underwater and Earth will contain a race of superhumans. The Mutts were a small stumbling block on the road to scientific achievement.
Study Questions
1.) What year was the Scientific Freedom Act passed? What did this act allow?
2.) What are “Mutts”? What was their purpose?
3.) In what year did Howland Industries unveil the Mutts?
4.) What three countries formed the “Three Stooges”? Why?
5.) What was the Fairbank Incident of 2065?
6.) What are the “Silver Bullets”?
7.) What is the CMC? What is its goal?
8.) What is the general public feeling towards actively hunting out alleged Mutt covens?
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A/N: The idea behind this is it's a chapter from a history textbook. I figured a timeline would be nice, considering the rest is mishmash. Plus, it was the idea I came up with for the prompt "And" for some reason. Dunno how you get history textbook from "and" but that was honestly the first thing that popped into my head.
A quick note: In case no one saw it, there's another update before this one ("Mutts - Parents"). Rated "R" for language. Just saying...
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