by Randall Andrews

At the sound of approaching footsteps, Chester hooted softly and toggled the windows on his laptop. A moment later, the doctor stepped into the room, accompanied by a stranger.

“Hey, buddy,” the doctor said. “How’s Tetris?”

Chester hooted again and signed a response. Level 5.

“That’s great.” Then, turning to the stranger, the doctor said, “The neural-enhancers are working. He’s learning so fast—faster than any other chimp could.”

Casually, Chester returned his hand to the laptop, hiding the tab for his paused game of Mortal Kombat. He was learning a lot. Soon enough, they’d find out just how much!

Randall Andrews

Randall Andrews is the author of two books, Finding Hour Way and The Last Guardian of Magic, which won the National Indie Excellence Award. His shorter works have appeared in places like Abyss & Apex, Space & Time, Mystery Tribune, and Sci-Fi Lampoon. Check out the books at:

Website: thelastguardianofm.wix.com/author