< scorpions >
ray heinrich
This bio-engineering company I work for is
developing scorpions that will be capable of
both producing and delivering an AIDS vaccine.
Scorpions, the business plan states, are a lot
cheaper than doctors or drug companies and can
reproduce themselves right where they're needed
requiring only unskilled labor.( A similar
approach using mosquitoes to inoculate humans
against malaria is also in the works.)The
company has gotten as far as breeding venomless
scorpions to use as a control base.This product
alone has proved surprisingly profitable in both
the pet and scientific markets.So here I am
spending forty hours a week raising scorpions.
Some idiot leaves a cover ajar and I'm trying
to slide it back on.They love skin, it's a
combination of the warmth and the salt.I don't
want to hurt them, I just want them back in their
terrarium but every time I get one back some more
jump onto my arm and start crawling up it and I
think that someday I'm going to get used to this
and it won't be so bad and I'll have bragging rights
since I'll be one of the few people around who can
let fifty scorpions crawl all over them while sipping
a coke and wearing a big grin but I'm not there yet
I'm still back here with my boss yelling at me,
trying to get me to answer, but if I open my mouth
