Gleb was in a tough spot. After what seemed like a longest run of his life, his chest seemed ready to burst,
lungs no longer even contracting, more like having spasms in attempt to keep up with desperate gasps for air…
Powerless, he almost fell onto a huge fallen tree trunk, unable to make another step. Woods… Hostile, unkind
woods that hold no place for a man like him. It won’t be long until this planet kills him. Either with teeth
and claws or with guns and knives… Humans can be as vile and vicious as any predator, perhaps even more so…
And they are much more persistent. But he just can’t move anymore… For a few long minutes he could only lie
there, face against bark, hoarse uneven breathing shaking his entire body. Eventually, though, he let out a
sigh, which sounded more like a groan, and slipped off the tree, putting his back against the trunk. His whole
body ached, exhaustion dulling his mind and torturing every cell of his body, as it seemed. He had never been
this tired in his entire life…
Such an ordeal was really tough for a man of his age. He is no boy after all, 43 is a respectable age.
Plus, scientists are not really most trained guys, he chuckled. Gleb tried to relax, sitting a bit more
comfortably against a tree. If he can’t run for now, he might as well spend some time thinking. This planet
seemed like such a good place to settle at first sight… A distant frontier planet, an outpost on the edge of
known space… He found himself more than welcome as a doctor in an average settlement that consisted mainly of
trappers and huntsmen. He quickly found himself with a reputation of honest, reliable man. There were not many
people with medical education around, and none even close to his level. Plus, his methods were somewhat…
unorthodox. In central worlds, his hands were tied by numerous regulations and acts which first hindered his
research and then led it into a dead-end. So, things that he would never get away with in actual civilization,
he was free to try here.
Mostly, he was extremely successful. Injuries that would be otherwise lethal or at least crippling,
damaged brain cells, dangerous native viruses of this planet… Curing those went well enough for people to
overlook some of the less successful experiments, unexpected side effects and actual failures. For instance,
when he was helping a near-blind girl regain her eyesight, her genome went haywire, recombining with modifcant
DNA in a different way than intended. Luckily, he managed to localize the effects, preventing it from
affecting her organism too much. Still, she ended up with eyes of a local lizard, right forearm becoming more
of a lizard’s claw, and several internal changes. Or there was the case, when clearing out a heavy smoker's
lungs led to both lungs and larynx mutation, which resulted in him talking with screeches and chirps. Then
there was an almost comedic case of local hooker asking for a boob job… Well, boobs did grow. As well as
bovine udder on her lower abdomen, which also lactated, just as her newly-grown breasts. Although, after
calming down, she decided to accept such turn of events – of course, after Gleb promised to fix everything as
soon as possible. However, he did have a suspicion, that he wasn’t to blame for this, as the nurse that worked
with him was suspiciously cheerful for a few days after that… But that wasn’t really much of an issue. People
in the village wouldn’t become enemies because of a joke like this, so it actually became an anecdote, and the
udder girl even decided to stay like this after some time.
Some might have considered his experimenting unethical indeed. But in the end, all he ever wanted was
to help people. Medicine is bound by too much rules, it’s progress is too slow – and people continue to die.
People that might have survived if medical industry was willing to take risks. Gleb wasn’t alone, but his
voice was unheard in higher echelons, so he left for the place where he wouldn’t depend on their permissions.
Some of the colleagues who supported him continued to provide him with money and materials, knowing well that
his life won’t be an easy one on the frontier. But no one could even imagine how much.
Outskirt planet without official government and handful of towns and settlements is a perilous place
to live, filled with all kinds of danger. Most of the wildlife was brutally hostile to human, but at least
hunters made a living off their survival struggle. The real trouble was another kind of predator. Sentient
ones, both humans and those, who didn’t belong to human race, obeying only one law – the law of the sword. If
you are not strong enough to protect yourself… . Raid for supplies, ransom, slaves, or just the thrill of it
are quite a common leisure time for bandits. Still, until recently, they preferred not to alienate the
hunters, aware that it won’t be easy to beat them. Status quo lasted for seven years, seven happy years of
relatively normal life…However, settlements fate was decided when a well-organized, well-equipped and
ruthlessly efficient band attacked it, with seemingly no other goal than to raze it to the ground.
Gleb wasn’t a very brave man, and neither was he capable of contributing to village’s defense. So,
when he realized that battle was decided, he took a case with samples of his most important work projects, led
his old glide-car out of the garage and reluctantly started the engine. He did manage to get away. He stopped
several times, attempting to save someone, take them with him, but each time it was futile. When he got out of
town, his car was riddled with bullet holes, and burn marks. No one whom he knew responded via communicator.
As he drove his machine above the trees at full speed, he fought tears of horror and despair. He
couldn’t allow his sight to be blurred. But the sorrow was almost driving him mad. The village was doomed.
Populace either massacred or worse… His home, his friends, his clinic… All of it consumed by scorching flames
of someone’s greed and violence… It was so unfair! The good natured people he knew didn’t deserve such fate!
And yet… Those who proved stronger had the right to decide the village’s fate.
His glide-car was damaged, flying low, slow and leaving a long dirty trail of black smoke. No surprise
that raider glider appeared soon. He was shot down, crashing into the trees. Luckily, he survived the fall,
and hasn’t even been injured. He ran ever since, torturing his body for hours, forcing it to move on willpower
alone when his muscles already gave up… Still, eventually even the willpower ran out. All that is left now is
a case of vials, old low-power energy gun which might not even work, and his life. Not much to lose.
With this thought, Gleb raised his head, sighed, and proceeded to…