The guards never got used to the frequent grunting and howling. It was a primitive form of speech, one which they did not yet understand. The linguists were studying these sounds and patterns, but since their subjects seemed to have lost most of their ability to communicate in their native language, progress was slow. The creatures’ appearance was no less unnerving than their speech: exaggerated eyebrows, heavy cheekbones, jutting jaw, and thickly muscled neck. Hideous abominations, the guards thought.
The brute strength of these creatures was also intimidating, and the guards always worked in pairs when socializing and training them. Armed with cattle prods, pistols, and clubs, the guards still felt uneasy. They relied heavily on the cattle prods to instill rudimentary obedience before the more sophisticated military training could commence.
It was like breaking a wild horse, one guard said. But once accomplished the results were impressive—an obedient soldier that possessed enormous strength and keen senses. Even more significantly, these soldiers did not fear battle, and they never questioned orders.
The compound housing the creatures had been built mostly in secret and had been completed only six months earlier. The Chinese government exercised complete authority over the camp and the 360-degree perimeter around the compound extending two kilometers beyond the outer fence. Roving patrols of heavily armed foot soldiers and mounted units ensured that no one accidentally, or intentionally, strayed too close.
It was no secret that China and Sudan had forged very close relations, but exactly how close was still a carefully guarded secret. The relationship was symbiotic—China needed oil, provided by Sudan. In return, Sudan needed—craved is really a better term—more money and military weaponry.
But President Hassan al-Bariqi was not about to spend his newfound wealth on his impoverished citizens. Rather, his money was spent on palaces, yachts, lavish aircraft, weapons, and other expensive toys of war and status.
The price for this one desert compound and associated real estate was the equivalent of 500 million U.S. dollars, paid to al-Bariqi’s government, and the People’s Republic of China didn’t hesitate to consummate the deal.
“Colonel Ming. Seven new subjects have been prepared for the treatment. Do you wish to examine them first?”
Ming was conducting his customary morning inspection of the holding cells, accompanied by two junior medical officers.
“Were the subjects recently captured? Where are they from?” Ming inquired.
“They are from the Masalit tribe. They were turned over yesterday by the Janjaweed militia under the command of Korlos. All are male, between the age of 16 and 30, and all are in satisfactory health. None were shot; they suffered only the usual beatings.”
“Very well. Instruct Dr. Hsu to continue using procedural modification 33vK. He can use a different test group for his experiments with the new viral infection procedure 26rh8.
“And make certain Dr. Hsu knows that I want a detailed report on the subjects’ initial physiological responses by 2200 hours today. Is that understood?”
Ming did not wait for a reply before walking away at his usual brisk pace.