65
Back in the command center, everyone was silent. They had listened to Elizabeth, had listened to Svetlana. It all sounded surreal, mind-boggling.
“Super-soldiers?” Dale asked. “You’re saying the Russians tried and succeeded in doing it? You’re really saying this?”
“Yes,” Elizabeth responded.
“Unbelievable,” Dale said, shaking his head.
“It’s not really that surprising, actually,” Reynolds said. For the majority of this time, he’d remained silent. Stoic and observant, as a Marine should.
All eyes turned to him, awaiting further explanation. Everyone was curious, concerned even.
Colonel Reynolds continued.
“Well, all civilizations have tried it. It’s nothing new, really. Think back — the Spartans tried it. In some ways, they did create a super-soldier. They used the age old technique of eugenics. They bred only the strong, selected only the strong. The weak were left to die. If a baby was born with defects, they’d abandon it in the wilderness to die. Strong men bred with strong women. Their culture was a warrior one, and with as many enemies as the Spartans had, they needed a super-army. I’m sure you’ve all heard of their successes on the battlefield.”
Svetlana nodded her head, agreeing. “Darwin’s ideas weren’t revolutionary. The practice goes back thousands of years. Beginning with the breeding of livestock, later into the breeding of genetically superior men and women. The problem with this technique is the genetic quirks that couldn’t be explained. You see, genetics are a strange thing, and even when Darwin attempted to prove his theory by selective breeding, the results weren’t that good.”
“That’s right, they didn’t work. Darwin wanted to create a super-soldier of sorts with a small circle of friends. I suppose he thought their genius could be bred into the next level of great thinkers. Didn’t work, though,” Reynolds said.
“They produced sub-par offspring,” Svetlana added.
“That’s right,” Reynolds agreed. “Now, skip forward to Nazi Germany. Hitler tried it. Selective breeding, strange experiments. We’ve all heard the stories. However, he was successful in some regards, though not necessarily on a scientific level.”
“How so?” Dale Comstock questioned.
“Ultimately, he used performance enhancing drugs. Regular men who were on methamphetamines. Just think about it — the Blitzkrieg was successful because of meth. Many countries were overwhelmed by the simple fact that Hitler’s armies could fight for days on end.”
“But wouldn’t the end result still be adverse?” Dale asked.
“That’s correct,” Reynolds replied. “Drugging a soldier and creating a true super-soldier are radically different things. Point is, many countries, many civilizations have tried it. They’re still trying it. Don’t think all super-powers don’t explore such options.”
“Yet, it was done. That’s what you’re saying, right? That a super-soldier was actually created?” Dale asked.
Svetlana nodded reluctantly, saying, “The Soviets were the first to be successful.”
Dale shook his head. This concept, though it didn’t surprise him, remained baffling. “And this was in the eighties?”
“That’s correct,” she said. “Though the practicality of creating a super-soldier isn’t as easy as it seems. The results were never good.”
“Why not?” Dale asked.
“Human DNA has similarities to animals, plants, everything around us. However, what might seem as slight variances, say between a monkey and a human, are actually quite vast.”
“I don’t think you answered my question,” Dale commented, leaning forward, interested.
Svetlana looked to Elizabeth, who took over from there.
“The concept of creating a super-soldier includes a few basic elements,” she began. “Think about it. You’d want them to be physically superior. Faster, stronger, less sleep — everything. They’d need to be better than your average man, better than even your elite warriors to excuse it. Some things might be done to help enhance a person’s physical makeup, though always a detriment to the person. Secondly — intelligence. You see, there’s no point in making an army of super-soldiers if they aren’t intelligent. Cannon fodder does nothing but waste time and resources. The soldier must comprehend tactics, maintain critical thinking, be good on the battlefield. That’s the hard part.”
“Shit, and I thought we were the super-soldiers,” Clements chimed in.
“In a way, you are. Spec Ops are the best of the best for obvious reasons. The goal of other countries would be to create them better. Better than SFOD. Better than DEVGRU.”
“Better than a SEAL probably ain’t all that hard,” Clements commented, glancing at Rivers.
“Point is, it’s no easy task, and to our knowledge, only done once with decent results,” Reynolds said, ignoring the man’s comments.
“So it worked?” Dale asked. “This experiment really worked?”
“The changing of a subject’s DNA makeup, to cause it to adapt into something else is near impossible. Our modern technology has little clue, although on the right path. But to answer your question, yes, it worked. In a way, at least,” Elizabeth answered. “They created killing machines. Unstoppable killing machines that are more creature than man, and capable of some scary things, gentlemen,” Elizabeth finished.
66
“So, the first question is, how’d they do it?” Dale asked. “How’d they accomplish something so advanced?”
“Like anything else, technology is always fifty years ahead. Our new stealth helicopters are one example. Until one crashes, the public won’t know of them for years,” Elizabeth said, giving an example. “The SR-71 Blackbird was flying for many years before discovered by some curious eyes,” she added.
“Okay, so they were advanced with their science. Tested it, tried it, then things went haywire. This was dispersed as a gas. Why?” Dale questioned.
“It reacted faster, through the pores, into the lungs. This compound had to be mixed within a certain time frame, one after the other in perfect sequence,” Elizabeth explained.
“If what you are saying is true, we’ve got our work cut out for us. I’ve heard stories of Russians trying to breed monkeys and humans before, but creating super-humans in real life… incredible.”
“What the fuck?” Thompson exclaimed with a laugh. “You serious, Dale?”
“Yeah man, they tried it,” Dale responded, looking back to Elizabeth for answers.
She nodded. “There are rumors, yet little proof. I’ll say there’s evidence they did try. This was during Stalin’s time. The results would have been futile for one simple reason. Thing is, you can’t breed humans and monkeys, science doesn’t work that way. Scientists all around the world were experimenting with such ways, whereas Mikhail’s ideas were worthy of practical testing and implementation,” Elizabeth explained.
“Just imagine that,” Clements whispered, nudging Thompson. “Imagine fighting an army of monkeys! That’d be some crazy shit,” he chuckled.
“We’d just shoot ’em,” Thompson said, cocky. “Thing is man, I think that’s what they’re getting to. I think they’re trying to tell us something, but just won’t say it,” he added, looking back to Elizabeth. “Ya see, an army of monkeys wouldn’t stand up to a handful of A-10 gunships, now, would it? Apaches for clean up, it’d be a slaughter.”
Elizabeth nodded. “Very good, Sergeant Thompson. Stalin didn’t know what he was doing, luckily. The science has since evolved, shall we say. Here’s the thing you must understand. I’m telling you not because I’m stalling, Sergeant Thompson, but because it’s important that you know. There were many black projects, especially during the Cold War. Nuclear and chemical warfare for starters. Others. Some failed, some were successful. Dr. Mikhail would have put the Soviet Union on the map of super-stardom had it worked. Stalin began the line of thought, the push for a super-soldier. The good doctor simply made it happen,” Elizabeth said. “His theories were practical, discoveries made. His results were successful, but in small doses. Much testing was needed. Decade’s worth, but the Soviets were in a bind. They needed their super-soldiers immediately. Their men were losing morale.”