SCENE 7
Dr. Lang opened the door scant seconds after Barnabas knocked. "Mr. Collins, come in."
Barnabas entered quickly, and Lang shut the door behind him. "What's wrong, Doctor? Your phone call sounded most urgent."
Climbing the stairs as Barnabas followed him, Lang said, "We've had a slight setback, which could turn into a problem. Jeff Clark quit his job tonight, so I am without an assistant."
"Well, I see how that can be -- inconvenient for you, but personally I am hardly upset that Mr. Clark will no longer be involved in something so close to my secret."
"I'm not as concerned with your secret, Mr. Collins, as I am with mine. Jeff Clark possesses knowledge about certain details of my experiment. If he were to go to the authorities with this information, the entire experiment could be jeopardized." Now on the second floor, Lang pulled a key from his pocket and unlocked one of the doors. "But that's not my primary concern." He pushed open the door and stood back to let Barnabas enter.
Barnabas walked into what seemed to be a library. Bookshelves covered the walls on either side of the room. He waited until Dr. Lang came in and closed the door behind him. "Do you think Clark will be a danger to us?"
Eric shook his head. "No, not really. Jeff has too much to lose if he causes any problems for me. Though it is something to keep in mind." He stepped across the room. "No, my real worry is that I need an assistant to help with preparations for the experiment. Someone we can trust to do the manual labor while I concentrate on the scientific work."
Barnabas looked thoughtful for a moment. He came up behind the doctor, who stood gazing at the books on the wall. "Tell me, would this assistant need any special medical knowledge or training?"
Without turning around, Lang answered, "No. It's primarily grunt work and manual labor. Nothing difficult, but he needs to be able to be trusted to keep his mouth shut."
"I may have someone in mind who could be useful to you." Barnabas took another step to Dr. Lang's back and said over the doctor's shoulder, "I think I'd better know the truth about this experiment of yours before I agree."
"Yes, you are right. I think it's time I told you the whole story." Eric reached up and pulled a volume from the shelf in front of him. But instead of coming away, the book simply slid forward. Barnabas' eyes widened as the entire shelf swung in, revealing a secret room. He followed the doctor through the now-revealed entrance.
Inside reminded Barnabas of Julia's laboratory, only much more elaborate. Electronic equipment was everywhere. Chemicals and test tubes covered the tables all over the room. What drew the ex-vampire's attention, however, was a large gurney in the center of the room. Something lay on it, covered by a sheet, looking remarkably like a dead body in a morgue. Yet it puzzled him, for the shape wasn't quite right, and that disturbed him. "Doctor, what…" His voice trailed off.
"All this," Lang swept his arm around the room, "is what my life's work has accomplished." He walked to Barnabas and indicated the covered shape. "And this will be the result. When it is finished, it will be the greatest scientific discovery in history." His voice became full of self-importance as he continued. "I am close to unraveling the greatest mystery of mankind's existence. For centuries, man has wondered what it is that makes us alive. Philosophers, scientists, theologists and common men have all argued, debated, researched and meditated, searching for an answer. What is it that makes the human body, no more than a mass of chemicals and systems, come to life? There has never been answer." He turned dramatically. "Until now."
He nodded at Barnabas' stunned expression. "Yes, Mr. Collins, I have discovered that mysterious energy, that elusive -- spark that is the breath of life." Barnabas gasped at the implications. "Yes, I have that knowledge. I hold the secret -- to life -- itself!"
Barnabas had gotten caught up in Lang's excitement, but one thing bothered him. "Doctor, what does your discovery mean in practical terms?"
"I believe I have the ability to create life. I have learned to tap into the life force, to harness the same energy that keeps us alive." He took hold of the sheet that covered the odd shape. "And soon, I will prove it. I will bring this to life." Lang pulled the sheet, exposing what had been hidden.
It was a grisly sight. Even Barnabas, so used to gore, recoiled slightly. His first impression had been correct: it was a body. Or rather, part of a body. The figure lying on the gurney was incomplete. It had only one arm with no hand attached, and one leg. But the most horrible feature, or lack thereof, was that it had no head. Plastic tubes coursing with fluids connected to the body, presumably providing circulation and preservatives to the lifeless figure.
Lang continued his explanation. "I am building this body, this form which will become the first of my creations. It is slow work. Each piece must be taken from corpses less than a week old, or deterioration is too far to be usable. Then the part must be connected to the body, both internal and external connections being required. But once it is completed, I will bring this creature to life, the first of a whole new race of beings. My own Adam."
"It is an exciting experiment, Doctor," Barnabas interrupted Lang's diatribe, "but I don't see how I fit into all of this. Or how your research could cure me of my curse permanently."
Lang grinned. "Oh, Mr. Collins, you have one of the most important roles in the experiment. You see, the life force itself, like any other energy, cannot be created or destroyed. To bring my creation to life, I must tap into an existing life force, and transfer it to the new body. That's where you come in."
Barnabas started. "Do I understand you to be saying you want to take my life force and put it into that -- thing? Yet without a life force to sustain it, this body would die, wouldn't it?"
"Yes," Lang nodded. "Essentially, that body would become a lifeless husk, just as this one is now."
A dark look came over Barnabas' face. "I thought you were supposed to cure me, Dr. Lang, not kill me. If that is what you plan, I think I had better leave now." He turned to exit the secret laboratory.
Quickly, Eric Lang moved to intercept Barnabas. "I don't think you understand the implications of what I'm telling you, Mr. Collins. The life force is that essence that makes us who we are. The essential 'you' will not change. You will merely be in a different body -- a body free of the curse of vampirism."
That made Barnabas pause. A new body, a body able to face the sunlight forever, free of fear. Another thought occurred to him. He walked back to the unfinished creation, contemplating it more thoroughly. "I notice your creation as yet does not have a head -- or a face."
"No," Lang looked thoughtful, as if this part of the experiment had given him the most trouble. "The brain is the most important and delicate organ of the human body, and the rate of deterioration is much faster. I won't be able to keep it preserved nearly as long as the rest of the body, so the head must be the last piece in place, and the experiment must be completed within one week of the head being placed on the body."
Barnabas continued to circle the table, his eyes never leaving the figure lying on top. "So what will your Adam look like, do you suppose?"
A slight smile crossed Lang's face. He knew Barnabas was hooked now. His experiment would continue. "Why, anything you like, Mr. Collins. Do you have a preference?"
"I wonder…" he glanced over at Lang. He thought of a look, a look he used to get from Victoria Winters, but which she now gave to another man. "I wonder if it could resemble Jeff Clark."
Lang's grin got broader, almost maniacal. "Why, Mr. Collins, we could easily solve two problems at once." He relished the thought for a moment. "It could be Jeff Clark."
