I Found A Knife
A Story site from EldonHughes
Willie & Frank--
Shakespeare?
In Nano-Time
Chapter 10 --
Mice Are Always Hungry
WILLIE, FRANK, WE WOULD LIKE FOR YOU TO MEET DOCTOR KYLE AND DOCTOR WIZELL
Jennifer was at the keyboard. The rest of us; Kyle, Wizell, and I, stood behind her.
Willie moved around the word pad.
HI YA DOCK S.
“Amazing,” Wizell said.
Kyle's head was swiveling back and forth between the monitor and the cage. “Indeed. Can they understand our words as well, or only what is displayed on the screen?”
“As near as we can tell, they understand tones of voice, inflection and the like,” Jennifer answered. “And if the question is obvious enough, they can figure it out and answer it.”
Kyle asked “So, if you were holding up a glass of water toward them and said 'Do you want a drink?' they would know from the way you said it it was a question, and be able to figure out what the question was?”
“Exactly,” I answered.
“And yet they are writing on such a higher level of understanding,” Wizell said. “Perhaps it has something to do with them not having the ability to talk, themselves.”
“I don't think so,” Jennifer said. “It's more like a language barrier. We've observed Willie and Frank talking to each other, squeeks, chirps and clicks, whisker twitching and tail whipping sometimes. They obviously understand each other, and sometimes, we can infer what is being communicated. We just don't know their language, either.”
“The other day, Frank chewed Willie out about a game they were playing, Hangman” I added. “I may not have understood the words, but I knew what was meant,” I added. “Maybe because I knew the context, what had happened just before that.”
Wizell nodded. “Yes, I saw in the pages where they were playing a word game. Hangman? Is that what they were playing?”
“You never played Hangman as a kid?”
He shrugged. “My mother is an astrophysicist. My father is a Chemist. My computers always had spell check. It never came up.”
“In Hangman,” Kyle explained. “One person thinks of a word and indicates how many letters it is with a series of lines. Then the second person tries to guess the word by guessing letters. Each wrong letter results in a line drawing of a gallows and a stick figure. Too many wrong guesses and the stick figure hangs.”
“And parents teach their children to hang little make believe people?” Wizell asked. “That's kind of twisted isn't it?” He looked at me. “Did you teach them how to play this?”
Maybe I was just tense and nervous about how they were going to react to reading the file. But he stepped on a raw nerve.
“First off, it's a game. It teaches spelling. They learned it watching PBS, on the crappy television you gave them. Secondly, look who's talking. Apparently your Mom and Dad taught you it was all right to drug helpless little mice just to see what they'll do.”
Jennifer held up her hands and said, “Hey... can we get back to Willie and Frank now?”
Kyle stepped between us. “Yes, let's stay focused on the situation, please.”
“Sorry,” I muttered.
“Doctor Kyle,” Jennifer said, “Before, Frank was acting in the lead role in he and Willie's relationship, and in communication skills. Now, while Willie has advanced a significant amount over the last few days, Frank has begun to withdraw. He may or may not be losing ground, intellectually. It is difficult to tell because he is becoming less and less communicative.”
“May I?” Kyle asked, gesturing to the keyboard.
“Of course, sir,” Jennifer said and stood. Kyle sat in front of the keyboard and looked closely at Willie and Frank. Then he started to type.
WILLIE, HOW ARE YOU FEELING?
Willie moved over the wordpad.
GOOD. HUNGRY. CAN WE ORDER A PIZZA. OR MAYBE A CHEESE TRAY.
"So, they recognize their own names on the screen? Amazing." Kyle smiled. I'LL SEE WHAT I CAN DO FOR YOU. HOW IS YOUR WRITING GOING?
GOOD. SLOW THOUGH. FRANK DOES NOT FEEL LIKE WORK ING ON IT AS MUCH AS HE USED TO.
DO YOU KNOW WHY THAT IS?
I THINK HE HAS WRITER S BLOCK
Frank had been watching the monitor. He came down the ramp and moved around the wordpad.
I DO NOT HAVE A BLOCK. I JUST HAVE NOT HAD ANY THING TO SAY LATE LY.
Kyle typed: ARE YOU FEELING ALL RIGHT?
YES. TIRED MORE THAN I USED TO BE. BORED I THINK.
BORED? IS THERE SOMETHING WE COULD DO TO HELP YOU WITH THAT? TO INSPIRE YOU?
Frank and Willie sat still. They chirped a couple of times at each other. Apparently Kyle thought they were confused or something.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT INSPIRE MEANS?
Frank looked up at him for a moment and then moved across the word pad slowly, deliberately.
SURE. IN THIS CASE IT MEANS YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT WILL MAKE ME WRITE MORE.
Behind him, Wizell tried to make a snort into a small coughing sound. I'm sure he thought he got away with it. Jennifer and I just covered smiles with our hands.
WELL, YES. IT IS THE ONLY WAY WE HAVE TO MEASURE YOUR PROGRESS.
Willie moved over the wordpad next.
WHAT IF WE DO NOT WANT TO BE MEASURE D.
Doctor Kyle was quick to respond.
I AM SORRY. NO INSULT WAS INTENDED. I MERELY MEANT THAT WE HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING YOUR WRITING AND WANT TO HELP YOU SEE IT COMPLETED.
Willie moved across the wordpad again.
I SEE. THERE ARE SOME THING S THAT I THINK WOULD HELP. FIRST OF ALL WE NEED MORE INPUT. MORE OF THE WORLD OUTSIDE THIS ROOM.
YOU WANT TO GO OUTSIDE?
OH NO. Willie was typing now. FROM WHAT WE HAVE SEEN ON THE SCREEN WE CAN TELL THAT MAY NOT BE THE SAFE ST THING TO DO. OUR CURRENT HOME IS FINE FOR OUR NEEDS. BUT YOU COULD BRING MORE OF THE WORLD TO US. I UNDERSTAND FROM JAKE AND JEN E FIR THAT THERE ARE MORE SCREENS AVAIL ABLE THAN THE SPORTS AND GOSSIP SHOWS. THAT WOULD BE OF HELP.
Wizell looked at me, “You don't have cable TV reception down here?”
“Not at the moment,” I answered. “It was on the original specs, but got cut as an extra expense. It wouldn't take much to run a cable connection down to here, though. We already have the supplies on hand.” I waited a moment. “Heck, for that matter, I could run an internet connection down here.”
Wizell gave me an incredulous look. “Do you really think these mice could operate a computer?”
I shrugged and pointed, “They already are, in a way. It's the same cable run, so why not?”
Kyle was still watching the cage. “Why not, indeed?” Then he went back to the keyboard.
I THINK THAT WE CAN HELP YOU WITH THAT. WE CAN ARRANGE FOR MORE INFORMATION TO COME TO YOU THROUGH THE SCREENS. JAKE WILL TAKE CARE OF THAT IN THE MORNING.
THANK YOU. YOU ARE VERY KIND. JAKE HAS BEEN VERY HELPFUL. AS HAS JEN E FIR. THEY HAVE BECOME VERY IMPORTANT TO US.
The look between Kyle and Wizell was a quick one, but I caught it.
I AM GLAD TO HEAR IT. WE VALUE THEM AS WELL, Kyle typed. WOULD IT BE ALL RIGHT IF WE WERE TO POSE SOME QUESTIONS TO YOU AND FRANK? FOR YOU TO GIVE US YOUR THOUGHTS ON AND ANSWERS TO?
Frank answered this time.
THAT WOULD BE FINE I THINK. BUT NOT NOW PLEASE. IT IS TIME FOR SLEEP.
OF COURSE Doctor Kyle answered quickly. WE WILL LEAVE YOU TO REST.
THANK YOU SIR. WE WILL WATCH FOR YOUR QUESTION S.
Frank started slowly back up the ramp to the nest where they slept.
Doctor Kyle got up from the keyboard and started to turn away, but Willie was moving across the touch pad.
DOCTOR. IT MIGHT INTEREST YOU TO KNOW THAT WHILE MICE ARE COLOR BLIND THAT IS NOT THE SAME AS NOT SEE ING COLOR. WE JUST SEE COLOR IN DIFFERENT SHADES THAN YOU.
Kyle looked at him and then at us. I tried to give him a "beats me" look. Jennifer didn't say anything, but let her gaze wander to the small, black and white television.
“Maybe they mean that?” Kyle asked.
“Well, I .... err, Probably,” Wizell said. “And we had to look so hard to find that thing.”
“Chalk it up to one more thing learned about white mice,” Kyle said, and looked at Jake. “There's a TV in the staff lounge they can use.” He started for the door, and we followed him out. I started to lock the door.
“Oops,” I said. “I forgot my keys. I'll catch up with you.”
I went back inside and retrieved my keys from where I'd thrown them on the bed. Then I went to the keyboard.
WILLIE, YOU ARE A SLY LITTLE FOX.
Frank came down the ramp and moved across the touch pad.
NO. HE IS A SLY LITTLE MOUSE. THAT MAKES TWO OF US.
I laughed. THANK YOU.
THANK YOU. WE KNEW YOU HAD FIGURE D IT OUT. THANK YOU FOR NOT GIVE ING US AWAY. AND PLEASE THANK JEN E FIR.
HOW COULD YOU TELL?
YOUR SMELL. YOUR BODY ODOR CHANGE D WHEN YOU GOT NERVOUS. WE MICE HAVE A VERY KEEN SENSE OF SMELL.
I nodded as Willie moved across the touch pad.
DOCTOR WEASEL DOES NOT SMELL RIGHT.
Frank chittered at Willie and Willie twitched back at him. No idea what that's about.
I started to ask, but Willie was typing again.
JAKE. SPEAK ING OF SMELL. YOU MIGHT WANT TO CHANGE THE SHEET S ON YOUR BED. WE CAN SMELL THEM FROM HERE. JEN E FIR WILL NOT EVEN SIT ON IT UNTIL YOU MAKE IT CLEAN.
HEY, YOU MIND YOUR CAGE. I'LL MIND MINE.
JUST SAY N.
I left them to it and went to join the others.
~~~~~~~~~~~
“Fifty seven channels and nothing on?” Jennifer said.
“Worse. Two hundred channels and their still watching Facts of Life,” I answered. “It's kind of sad.”
“Hey, at least it's in color now. Maybe it's because half the show takes place in a kitchen, around all that food,” Shaun suggested.
We were in a back booth at Johnny Cool's, having noodles and waiting for Jamey. OK, Shaun was waiting for Jamey. Maybe Jennifer was too. I hoped not. I hoped she was waiting for the same thing I was, for Jamey to get here, and for Shaun and Jamey to go away, so we could be alone for awhile.
It had been almost a week since the day in the dungeon when Willie and Frank met the research guys. What a difference a couple of days make. I guess I didn't realize how stressed I had felt, trying to hide what we were up to from the research team. It felt great not having to worry about that. On the other hand, having an ongoing parade of the research team wandering in and out of my bedroom so they could talk to Willie and Frank was getting to be a pain. I even changed the sheets, for all the good it's done me. Jennifer and I hadn't had much of a chance to be alone. So little, in fact, I wasn't even sure if the only ones getting any benefit out of the clean smelling sheets were Willie and Frank.
“So, what kinds of questions are the Doctors asking the mice?” Shaun asked.
“Mostly boring stuff. How are they feeling today? Have they noticed any mood swings in each other? “ I said. “Oh, here's a funny one. Doctor Wizell asked Willie if he felt smarter than he did last week.”
“What did Willie answer?”
“Said no, but he felt taller.”
“He won't do that again,” Jennifer said. “They had Willie up out of the cage and on the ruler and scales in a heartbeat. I felt bad for him, really. But they were careful, and certainly made sure not to hurt him. And he asked for it.”
“It certainly slowed down the smart ass comments for a few days,” I nodded.
“Not for long, I bet,” Shaun said. “What else have they asked them?”
“Are they happy? Are they sad? Do they think they are hungry more often than they used to be?”
“Are they?” Shaun asked.
“Apparently not. But not less hungry either. I think mice are just always hungry.”
“They are subsistence creatures, after all,” Jennifer said. At Shaun's look of curiousity she added, “Eat when there's food. Drink when there's water. Sleep when you can. You don't know when the next chance will be for any of those.”
“But Willie and Frank aren't sleeping every time they get the chance,” I objected.
“That is different,” she agreed. “At least, different from what we have always known of white mice. The formula seems to have made them more aware of, and more curious about their surroundings. They watch television a lot, and not just what we would call entertainment. They watch news, sports... I saw a couple nights ago where they were watching the weather channel for over an hour.”
“Naw, that was me,” I admitted. “They turned it on, but it put them to sleep. I saw this really cool show on earthquakes. Did you know that Los Angeles and San Francisco are actually getting closer together? L A is creeping northward all the time. Oh, and, there's a quake, somewhere in the world, every thirty seconds.”
“That's fascinating, Jake,” Shaun said. “Now I know what Frank, Willie and I have in common.”
“What's that?” I asked.
“ZZZZZZZzzzzz” Shaun's head rolled back against the seat, and he pretended to snore, his mouth hanging open. So, I tossed a noodle into it.
He choked and sputtered and threatened to kill me, but he was ok.
“I did see one other thing that I thought was important,” Jennifer said. “Doctor Kyle was asking them what they feared. They didn't know what he meant.”
“You mean like they don't even fear cats?” Shaun asked.
“That's a perfect example,” Jennifer nodded. “Doctor Kyle asked Frank about cats. They didn't know what one was. So, he called an image of one up on the computer screen. Frank said something like, 'Oh, that's what those are called. I have seen them on the television.' But he wasn't afraid of them.”
“I thought that was hereditary or something,” I said.
“Apparently not. Might be just a stereotype. But that's not really my point.”
“All righty, Professor,” Shaun said. “What is your point?”
“Tee hee, smart butt” she said. “My point is, their education is incomplete. It has holes in it. In some ways, they are not as street smart as their baseline counterparts.”
“Baseline counterparts?” Shaun asked.
“Sure, the mice up in the lab that have not been injected with the formula. They are from the same litter as Willie and Frank. They are being fed and cared for just the same as Willie and Frank, just without the formula.”
“Oh, yeah,” he said. “I mean, yeah, I guess there would have to be some others. It just hadn't occurred to me. Do they have a TV and stuff, too?”
“Sure,” she said. “But they don't pay any attention to it. They don't care about it, at all. But they do jump at loud noises, and get scared whenever people wander to close to the cage. Willie and Frank don't do that. With the exception of the shots, they have never known pain. They have no concept of death or hunger. And, while they know the shots hurt, they also know that they get over it quickly, so they don't fear them.”
Just then Jamey showed up.
“Hey gang. Did you hear?” he said.
“Hear what?”
“Igor made bail. A friend of mine works at the jail. Igor got released from the hospital yesterday. She said they moved him to the jail late last night, and he posted bond this morning. He's out until his trial next month. Apparently Mommy's family has money. My friend said some big shot lawyer from New York came and posted his bail. That asshole.”
“Igor or the lawyer?” I asked.
“Both,” he said angrily.
“Hey,” Shaun said. “He's been kicked out of school. And there's probably a restraining order that says he has to stay away from the apartments...”
“There is,” Jamey nodded.
Shaun nodded. “See? He'll probably go home with Mommy and hide until the trial.”
“Does Ken know?” Jennifer asked.
“How's he doing?”
“Yeah, what did he say?” I asked.
Jamey smiled. “He said he wants to borrow my shoes for a few hours.”
I laughed. “Tell him if he needs an alibi we can make it look like he spent the hours in question at my place talking to Willie and Frank.”
“Yeah, hey...” Jamey said. “How are the mighty mouse duo doing?”
“I think they are good,” I said. “I'll tell them you asked about them.”
“Maybe we could come by and talk to them?” Shaun asked. “I mean, it would be a break from the boring questions the scientist guys are asking.”
I looked at Jennifer. She nodded. “I'll ask tomorrow, but unless you hear otherwise by tomorrow afternoon, consider it ok. I mean, if they'll let them talk to Jake....”
“Funny,” I said. “Very funny.” I smiled at her. “It's a good thing you're cute.”
“Yes, I am.” She threw her shoulders back and looked all perky, and even cuter.
“Yes, you are,” I agreed.
“And, that is our cue to vamoose,” Shaun said. “I'm off tomorrow, so we're going to go find something to do.”
“You two have a lovely night,” Jamey said. “If you don't hear from us by noon tomorrow, mind your own business.”
~~~~~~~~~~
And I didn't hear from them before noon, or after noon, either. But Shaun was in the dungeon when I got there that night. He was at the keyboard, talking to the guys.... and he was eating my dinner again.
“Hey, asshole! That's my sandwich.”
He turned to look at me. “It was delicious, thanks. Hit the spot. Watch your language in front of the mice.”
“You think the language bothers them? Wait'll they see you bleeding.”
“Relax. I'll replace your cold turkey with a hot meal. Fair enough?”
“Your treat?” I asked cautiously.
“My treat. It's payday, remember? And with my first check from the first straight job since that paper route when I was twelve, I'd like to say thank you to the guy who rescued me from the evil clutches of Billy Banana.”
“So, we can go to Rocky Roads for ice cream?”
“No.” he said, and shivered.
“Ok,” I gave in. “I was kidding, anyway. I may never eat ice cream again.”
"I knew you were just ordering those monstrosities to screw with me."
"Who better?"
He turned back to the keyboard and I came up to look over his shoulder at the screen. “So what are you talking to the guys about?”
“Actually, they've been asking questions.” he said. “They wanted to know stuff about the lab, and outside, the school and such. Do you know that they've never seen the sun? We've got to fix that, Jake. That isn't right. Everybody deserves to feel the sun on their face now and then.”
“You're right. I'll talk to Jennifer about it. Hey, wait a second.”
I leaned over him and typed.
WILLIE, YOU GUYS SAID OUTSIDE WASN'T SAFE. WHAT CHANGED?
Frank answered:
WE WERE JUST TRYING TO GET YOU A BETTER TV. YOU KEPT COMPLAIN ING ABOUT IT.
Then Willie was moving on the touch pad.
THAT. AND WE DID NOT KNOW THAT PLACES BESIDES HERE WERE IN SO MANY DIFFERENT SHADES ALSO. THE T V PICTURE ONLY SHOWED THE WORLD IN BLACK AND WHITE. NOW WE KNOW THERE IS MORE TO SEE.
Frank started typing again.
THE WORLD IS NOT BLACK AND WHITE. AND SHAWL N SAY S THAT IT IS EVEN MORE COLOR FULL IN PERSON. WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT.
I WILL TALK TO THE RESEARCH TEAM ABOUT MAKING ARRANGEMENTS FOR YOU TO DO THAT.
THANK YOU. JAKE.
Shawn took the keyboard back from me. “Jake, you've got to program a touch pad key on this thing with my name on it.... 'Shawln', geez.”
“Hey, get in line, bud.” I answered. “Jennifer gets one first.”
“Fair enough,” he shrugged. “Now then, let's get into the important questions.”
FRANK, WHAT IS THE MEANING OF FORTY TWO?
Frank seemed to think about it for a minute. Then he and Willie squeeked and chirped at each other. Finally he answered:
BEAT S ME. ASK DUG. HE WAS SUPPOSED TO WRITE IT DOWN SOME WHERE.
“Dug?” Shaun said out loud. “Doug! Doug Adams!”
REALLY? he typed.
NO. Frank typed back.
WE ARE JUST SCREW N WITH YOU. THAT WAS A REALLY SAD STORY THOUGH.
WE WATCH ED IT ON TV THIS WEEK.
“Awww,” Shaun said. Then he typed. I THOUGHT IT WAS VERY FUNNY
SURE. UNTIL THE MICE DIED AT THE END.
OH, YEAH. Shaun typed.
SHAWL N. I THINK YOU WILL FIND THAT LIFE IS ALL ABOUT POINT OF VIEW.
It didn't occur to me that Frank had just proven Jennifer wrong, or just how wrong she was, until much, much later.
Up Next: Pop Goes the Wizell
Available Tales
--"Willie & Frank"
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