Scene 11
Set: The Laboratory of Dr. Dendrobates.
BEATRICE is tied to a table center stage.
LIGHTS UP
DR. DENDROBATES enters.
DR. DENDROBATES
The house has been rigged to burn. With all the chemicals I've got boxed in the basement, everything you see will probably be blown to atoms. I'm sorry it has to be this way, Beatrice. Now I must know if you'd prefer to see it, or if you'd like to me to take care of the suspense beforehand.
BEATRICE
Don't kill me, Doctor.
DR. DENDROBATES
No one must ever know what happened here.
The house has been rigged to burn. With all the chemicals I've got boxed in the basement, everything you see will probably be blown to atoms. I'm sorry it has to be this way, Beatrice. Now I must know if you'd prefer to see it, or if you'd like to me to take care of the suspense beforehand.
BEATRICE
Don't kill me, Doctor.
DR. DENDROBATES
No one must ever know what happened here.
BEATRICE struggles.
DR. DENDROBATES
The Cryonex acts as a bridge, allowing DNA to break up and simplify. Over time, users slowly devolve into amphibians. I won't let that happen to you.
BEATRICE
I didn't take them!
The Cryonex acts as a bridge, allowing DNA to break up and simplify. Over time, users slowly devolve into amphibians. I won't let that happen to you.
BEATRICE
I didn't take them!
DR. DENDROBATES produces a hypodermic needle.
DR. DENDROBATES
If This is going to hurt, a lot.
BEATRICE
If you don't tell them, Cryonex will be released to the public. You'll be creating exactly what you want to prevent!
DR. DENDROBATES
You think small Beatrice. That's because you only want to save yourself. Minuscule doses will be harmless. If the drug is released, a few mutant babies could have slimy skin, or the occasional chronic patient will turn into a bullfrog. Cryonex will go out of vogue before the cause can be discovered. I've pondered the implications of the wider use. Any general or military technician that sees my face will start to wonder how he can do this to his enemies. Indigenous populations will be much easier to shoot if they look like monsters. I have to make sure no living person discovers what this drug can do.
If This is going to hurt, a lot.
BEATRICE
If you don't tell them, Cryonex will be released to the public. You'll be creating exactly what you want to prevent!
DR. DENDROBATES
You think small Beatrice. That's because you only want to save yourself. Minuscule doses will be harmless. If the drug is released, a few mutant babies could have slimy skin, or the occasional chronic patient will turn into a bullfrog. Cryonex will go out of vogue before the cause can be discovered. I've pondered the implications of the wider use. Any general or military technician that sees my face will start to wonder how he can do this to his enemies. Indigenous populations will be much easier to shoot if they look like monsters. I have to make sure no living person discovers what this drug can do.
DR. DENDROBATES raises the needle.
BEATRICE
Is the frog still alive?
Is the frog still alive?
DR. DENDROBATES stops.
BEATRICE
You said he would die because I touched him. Did he die?
DR. DENDROBATES
...He managed to pull through.
BEATRICE
Good.
DR. DENDROBATES
The cat hasn't come around much though. He stays out in the yard until it's nearly time for bed. I don't think he can stand my appearance. Sometimes I forget to give him his food. He's always been sensitive about that.
You said he would die because I touched him. Did he die?
DR. DENDROBATES
...He managed to pull through.
BEATRICE
Good.
DR. DENDROBATES
The cat hasn't come around much though. He stays out in the yard until it's nearly time for bed. I don't think he can stand my appearance. Sometimes I forget to give him his food. He's always been sensitive about that.
DR. DENDROBATES puts down the needle.
DR. DENDROBATES
I have a form I need to get in today's mail. It's my final report on the Cryonex. If it doesn't go out this afternoon, I'll miss the deadline, and those bureaucrats won't read it for a month. By then, someone that's seen my story might put something together. With you and your friend out of the way, the secret of Cryonex will be lost forever.
BEATRICE
Janessa wasn't the only one.
DR. DENDROBATES
You're lying.
BEATRICE
She was selling them. You only noticed one bottle? I was taking boxes every day. We were making a fortune.
DR. DENDROBATES
You're making that up!
BEATRICE
People will wonder why she died. Janessa's father has money. If any Cryonex turns up, my disappearance will lead the police right to you. Someone is sure to rediscover your secret when they set out to find why you worked so hard to bury it.
DR. DENDROBATES
Give me their names. I'll let you go as soon as the last of them is dead.
BEATRICE
Not unless you give me some kind of assurance. No way to stop you from killing me at the end if I'm still tied to a table.
DR. DENDROBATES bellows and stomps around the room.
DR. DENDROBATES
Don't do this, Beatrice!
BEATRICE
I'll tell you everyone of them as soon as I know you will let me go.
DR. DENDROBATES
I need to mail a letter!
Exit DR. DENDROBATES
BEATRICE struggles.
LIGHTS DOWN
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