nature versus nurture.pdf

8/14/2019 Nature Versus Nurture.pdf

1/5

Ian J. Throckmorton

WR 224

Short Story #2

Nature versus Nurture

Have you made up your mind yet?

What?

I said what do you wannaeat? The waiters been to our table three times now, and you still

havent put down the menu. Sam was beginning to get his feathers all flustered. This was a

business lunch after all, and they were supposed to be talking business, which his partner James

didnt seem take note of.

Dont be pushy; Im not going to order till I know exactly what I want. James replied,his

voice resonating tones of a selfish child, narrowing his eyes towards the page before him.

You dont know what the menu even says; neither of us speaks French, just pick one and lets

get on with things.

Its not a matter or speaking French. You dont speak a menu to decipher its content. His

mouth lay open after he spoke, and the slightest hint of motion could be seen coming from his

lips, his jaw warbling a bit as if trying to form words.

Well I for one dont really care what I get. The point of this lunch meeting is not to learn the

inner workings of the French language through a crash course in menu deciphering. I called you

because were faced with a seriousproblem. James took note of Samsinflection in this last

phrase, breaking his spellbound investigation into the nuances of French culinary menus.


2/5

What problem?

Theres beenwellan accident. Only minor, but itrequires a bit of finesse to get things

smoothed out.

What kind of an AccidentSam?Jamesquestion hung in the air with accusatively barbed

wings The kind where some of the factory equipment got damaged, maybe a worker or two got

injured? Or more like the kind of accidentyou got yourself into with that secretary last year? I

heard she moved some where far awayoh yes the Caribbean. I guess the stipend we paid her

out of court really helped to get a leg up in the world.

Sam flushed, and then scowled at his rather smug partner. Thank you for reminding me James,

its not every day one gets their human foibles thrown back in their face. NO, this isnt so easily

taken care of.

James had amused himself with his last statement, but was now contemplating what type of an

accidentcouldnt be fixed with apaltry million dollars. Leaning forward, he motioned for Sam

to come closer. Itsnot the new product is it?

Just as Sam readied himself to reply, their conversation was halted as they both noticed their

waiter rounding the corner of a nearby booth and heading straight for their table. Although no

words had escaped Sams lips, the answer to Jamesquestion was stenciled all across his face.

Are you gentlemen ready to order, or are we still pondering what goes best with your two

scotches?

Anything goes with scotch Sam replied, trying to ease the mood with a smile. Ill have the

Tete De Veau, whatever that may is.


3/5

The waiter diligently wrote down his order, hiding the slightest of smirks in the corner of his

thinly mustached lips. Turning to James, he simply raised his eyebrows in question.

Uhhh, Ill have the uhhhCanard a la Rounise please

Ahh, the Canard a la Rouennaise, one of my favoritessir the waiterreplied, another sly smirk

gently escaping from the fringes of his mouth. Your orders should be ready shortly, gentlemen

and with a nod, he departed.

Watching the slim man saunter off to the kitchen entrance, James once again leaned into the

table, slowly turning his head to face James. Is it the Chinese? They stole our blueprints and

formulas didnt they!?

That would be an attack James, not an Accident.

Well someonecould have letthem steal our trade secrets.

No, this is another type of internal problem. It seemslowering his eyes and clutching his

chin, Sam thought hard about his next words. Well, it seems that some of the liquid waste

barrels from our new makeup line got misplaced. Somehow they were transported to our animal

testing facility, where they were stored alongside the animal feed supplies. These were, as you

know, the unmarked barrels, intended to be disposed of remotely out of country.

James raised an eyebrow in question at this last phrase, quickly lowering it after the meaning of

his partners words dawned on him. So, they didnt get dumped, err I meandisposed of?

No, but since they were unmarked barrels, stored alongside feed supplies, the handlers at the

facility took them for a new supply of nutrient solution to mix in with the water supply.


4/5

Who the hell opens an unmarked barrel, never before seen in the warehouse, and sets about

feeding it to the animals!?

I dont know, and thats beside the point. What were dealing with now is the affects the stuff

is having on these research animals. Things are gettingstrange.

And what is strangemean?

wellone of the monkeys has grown some kind of tentacle legs

A fucking TENTACLE monkey!?

and our research team seems to think a couple of them have learned some form of Chinese,

but they arentsure which form.

So, a TENCTACLE monkey, and a few that can miraculously speak Chinese. What was in that

stuff?

There are a few other small aberrations, unusually large toenails, green fur, exploding feces. Its

beyond me what was in those barrels exactly, but I have our scientists working on deconstructing

the remaining contents of one of the barrels. At this point there haventbeen any fatalities, any

all of the subjects are reporting normal vitals.

James sat back in his booth, massaging his temples with one hand. It was some time before

either of them spoke, James cutting the silence with his thoughts made manifest. Can we kill

em? Scrap the whole situation, trash the animals, pay off the employees and force them to sign a

silence agreement

So moneys the answer?


5/5

Hasntit always been?

Sam mused this idea for a moment. They had always been able to buy their asses a way out of

hot situations. When the company was under indictment for accusations that their newest

makeup remover had removed more than just make up from numerous customers, it was money

that had greased the gears and bought up the plaintiffs, jury and judge. As hard as it was to even

think about, money had also gotten him out of that rather sticky situation with a less than

trustworthy secretary. Admitting to himself that hecouldnt think of any other way to remedy

this situation and still safe guard the companies investments, he gave great sigh, and nodded in

confirmation.

With a sly smirk, James acknowledged this sign. See, theres nothing money cant do for you.

Now wheres that damn waiter?

nature versus nurture.pdf

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