“Professor Murder graduated with honors and got a medical license but he refused all the offers he got to open up his own practice or join any existing hospital staff. Instead, he seemingly vanished for several years. When he returned to the public eye, it was in connection with a host of crimes: experimentation on human patients, performing surgeries on known felons, and animal cruelty. Most of his work was focused on generating enough revenue to fund his experimental research on brain transplants.”
“Doesn’t take a genius to see where this is going,” Samantha said with a sigh. “So someone took his brain and put it into a new body?”
“The authorities have discounted that possibility but his name has continued to surface in various underworld accounts.”
Sporrenberg’s face was grim as he said, “We have to go to Locust Mountain.”
“I agree,” Lazarus replied. To Samantha, he said, “Summon Eun and Morgan. We’ll need to leave quickly. We’ve lost too much time as it is.” Lazarus paused for a moment and added, “And tell them to pack gasmasks. We’re going to need them.”
Professor Murder adjusted the collar of his tailor-made shirt. It was damnably hot in this suit but he wore it to remind everyone that he was still human, despite his appearance. He sat behind a large oak desk that rested on the second floor of his laboratory, overlooking the working area down below. A group of seven men and three women, all wearing identical gray jumpsuits and white lab coats, were busily setting up Die Glocke. The strange bell-shaped device had been the direct cause of death of three scientists already, either because they strayed too close to Die Glocke during testing or simply through prolonged exposure.
As he lit up a cigar, Murder caught a glimpse of himself in the reflection of a nearby window and he had to resist smiling. His appearance was the successful culmination of years of research and was proof that man could not only achieve immortality but could break free of the shackles that nature had put upon him.
With his brain now encased in the body of a silverback gorilla, Professor Murder was a dangerous being. In life, his physical shell had been fat and soft… now he intimidated others not just with his brainpower but his strength. He stood 5’9” and weighed over 350 lbs. His skull was ringed with scars from the operation, which had been carried out by his well-trained aides. He hadn’t intended to become a test subject quite so soon but Murder was glad that it had happened in retrospect. And given all the tests he’d run on his helpless victims and smaller animals, he’d known it had a good likelihood of succeeding.
After taking several puffs on his cigar and watching as his minions finished running through another series of tests on Die Glocke, Professor Murder stood up and descended the stairs. He preferred to walk upright but it caused pain in his joints if he did it for too long — he simply wasn’t designed for it.
As he stepped onto the main floor, his servants all straightened nervously. Always possessed of a deadly temper, it had gotten much worse in his new body. Nobody knew if it was simply the fact that he now had the power to back up his demands or if his body somehow contributed to the danger.
“Are we ready?” he demanded, his voice still sounding strange to his ears. It had taken months and two different surgeries to help him form words that were intelligible to others. The ape’s vocal chords and the shape of its mouth were both ill-shaped for some human enunciations.
A thin woman with wispy white hair stepped forward. She wore oversized black glasses that made her appear mouse-like. Her name was Ellen Dombrowski, though Murder had dubbed her Number One, since she was the current research team leader. “We believe we’ve worked out all the kinks. The hardest part has been trying to open a portal to a specific spot in time and space. That’s something that the Germans hadn’t even perfected.”
“Good. Because our guests are getting tired of waiting.”
“Indeed we are,” Twining said. The ringmaster had appeared out of nowhere, emerging to stand right next to Number One. The woman jumped, emitting a tiny yelp of surprise. Twining removed his top hat and bowed low in apology. When he straightened, he placed his hat back in place and studied Professor Murder with series eyes. “Will we be journeying to Antichthon this evening?”
“That’s our goal,” Murder said. “But I remain confused about the purpose of this. Why not spend your time conquering this world? Or use Die Glocke to go through all of history, emerging wherever you wished? Going to some copy of our own planet seems… unnecessary.”
Twining smiled though there was no humor in his eyes. “What you think you know of Counter-Earth is not the entire truth. There is something on the other side of the sun, hidden from the eyes of Man… but it is not a mirror of your planet. It is a prison: a cell that was designed long ago to restrain a great and potent power. We will free the entity who resides within and he will be forever grateful.”
Murder narrowed his eyes but held his tongue. He turned back to Number One and said, “Initiate the Solaris Protocols.”
The woman’s expression remained stable but her eyes showed just the briefest flicker of surprise. Nodding, she quickly returned to work, barking orders at the men and women who served under her.
Professor Murder sat down, resting his backside against the floor in the same position that any silverback might assume. There were times that he didn’t even notice that he was engaging in primate behavior. If he had been more aware of such things, it would have disturbed him greatly.
The rest of Satan’s Circus slowly entered the room, all of them seeming to delight in the reactions they elicited. The snake woman in particular seemed to draw an almost sexual excitement from the way people hurried to avoid her.
Murder waited until the entire process had begun and he felt the familiar ache in his teeth. The bell began to make its awful hum and slowly but surely the barriers between worlds began to thin. Images appeared in the air above Die Glocke and Twining smiled broadly as images of Antichthon began to take form. They saw a slate gray sky and a rocky environment. There was a dark shape in the center of the image, massive in scope, and it was covered in chains that held it bound to the harsh, sun-scorched sand.
“There, my friends,” Murder shouted, raising his voice above the din. “There is the land that you have sought for so long! You may step forth whenever you wish!”
Twining strode towards Murder, closing the gap between them with several sweeps of his long legs. “Something occurs to me: you have only received the first half of your payment. Don’t you want the rest before we vanish?”
“I assumed you’d be coming back,” Murder replied. “Besides which, I know where to find you, don’t I?”
Twining stared hard at the man’s apish visage and slowly nodded. They had paid Murder in more cash than the professor had ever imagined and had promised him even more when the experiment was complete. “True enough. And it’s not like you’re ever going to spend all we’ve given you already.”
Murder laughed. “I will certainly try.”
Twining slapped him on the shoulder and turned back to his companions. “Today,” he said, spreading his arms wide, “We take our show to a whole new level!”
The ringmaster led the way towards Die Glocke and the Circus began to shimmer, their bodies fading away to almost nothing. Just before they vanished on their way to Counter-Earth, Number One hurriedly adjusted the controls on the box-like machine she was using to input the coordinates. Twining seemed to sense something was amiss but by the time he began to turn back to Murder, the deed was done. The Circus was gone and Die Glocke was already being powered down.