A Study in Satin

by Tigger

 

Part II: Veni, Veni, Vici.

Chapter 6: The Thoughts of Professor Moriarty

 

*Another long and disappointing day,* Moriarty thought as he finished his last entry in his experimental record. In other days, he'd been able to work seventy-two or more consecutive hours in the lab, take a short one-hour nap and then return to the lab refreshed for another forty-eight hours. Age, however, had taken that from him. He now required six hours of sleep out of every twenty-four or his efficiency and his concentration suffered.

He heard the sound of a gun shot and smiled darkly. Another lesson for his unwilling accomplice. Then, his mind returned to the words he'd just written. Haber *had* to be wrong. There simply *had* to be a solution that would serve Moriarty's needs so that, in turn, the world would ultimately be made to serve his needs.

Grimly, Moriarty reopened the journal. There had to be an error of logic or experimental design in there, especially since Haber had become involved. And Moriarty would find it!

Frowning fiercely, the professor began to read.

Excerpt from the Experimental Journal of Professor Moriarty

February 21, 1911

Progress to Date:

Thus far, all attempts to reproduce the Holmes effect by concentrating the potion have resulted in the death of the experimental subject. Either the creature simply does not wake up following administration, or dies of dehydration when its body increases elimination to remove the excess bodily mass.

The other aspects of the project also continue to be a series of promising developments turning into dead ends. Three more of the good Dr. Haber's experiments have failed to unlink the rejuvenation effect from the other two undesirable effects. He has, however, developed a very interesting compound that shows promise as a highly addictive aphrodisiac. Such a compound might be very salable to wealthy old men attempting to regain their manly vigor or to beget a male heir, particularly once they have become addicted to the drug.

Conclusion:

While potentially useful, this is not the solution I seek.

New Effort:

Dr. Haber has developed a theory that, while it certainly explains the body of our experimental results, I do not care for in the slightest. In an attempt to better understand the rejuvenation effect, he has reviewed all of my previous experiments. From these results, he has theorized that the connections between the rejuvenation and gender change effects, and between the rejuvenation and the addiction effects, may well be inextricably linked. His conjecture is that the infelicitous sex change may actually be the main effect, and that the desired rejuvenation effect is secondary.

Statement of Theory:

Haber likens the age regression/sex change effect of the drug to a biochemical metamorphosis somewhat akin to that experienced during puberty, with an attendant physical transformation reminiscent of the transformations demonstrated by certain of the insect species so prevalent in the Amazon basin. Moreover, based on some of the clinical experiments I conducted while in South America, he believes that intensity of the withdrawal is strictly a function of the apparent age of the subject when treatment was halted. If the subject was still physiologically old, the withdrawal was all-consuming; even life threatening. However, if the subject had reverted in age to near that at which puberty typically occurs, the withdrawal symptoms appear to have been much reduced.

Discussion of Historical Data:

At this time, Dr. Haber's hypothesis seems consistent with all of existing data from both my and Dr. Haber's clinical experiments. In doses and treatment durations that left the subject still physiologically old and somewhat masculine, the withdrawal was manifested as an aphrodisiac of the most demeaning sort. Desire became all-consuming but performance became impossible. Chimpanzees from whom the drug was withheld at this stage actually damaged themselves in fruitless attempts to force satisfaction from a non-performing member.

Even near the completion of the treatment cycle, when the subject was a young and very feminine adult, withdrawal caused a voracious sexual appetite that was more important than food or sleep. It was at this stage that males caged with the transformed females had sometimes been forced to kill the test subjects in self-defense. As the treatment regimen continued and the subject became both younger and more delicately feminine, the withdrawal effect gradually reduced leaving a powerful but controllable arousal if the subject reverted completely to an adolescent apparent age before administration of the drug was stopped.

Thus, Dr. Haber has reached his conclusion that there is no potential for a partial treatment regimen resulting in reduced age without feminization. For completeness, I will summarize my experiences in South America as well as the results of the withdrawal effect experiments below.

Background of South American Studies.

During my self-imposed exile in South America where I was instigating a revolution in a particularly wealthy country, I began to hear rumors of a tribe of Amazonian natives who had overcome age itself. Further, the rumors were very clear that they had done so by means of some secret drug that they had discovered from the local pharmacopoeia. I elected to investigate personally, mounting an expedition that took me far into the interior of Brazil, to an almost hidden tributary of the mighty Amazon.

There, I found a tribe that seemed to be comprised primarily of nubile young women, with a strangely reduced number of males, none very old. Through a translator, I found that they had indeed conquered age, but at the cost of their masculinity. Apparently, the rejuvenation drug had a side effect of feminization. I resolved to study the relevant herbs and see if these effects could be separated and so remained in the vicinity of this tribe for nearly three years. During that time, I conducted a wide variety of experiments to determine the full effects of the potion and to attempt to eliminate the sex change effect of the drug.

Studying the methods used by the natives when one of the their elders began to fail due to age, I determined approximate dose-rates and administration schedules as a function of body mass. Nothing I did appeared to disconnect the linkage between rejuvenation and the sex change. Furthermore, I discovered that the drug was addictive and that it had a significant withdrawal problem in my test animals.

I was unable to determine precisely why this withdrawal did not appear to distress the natives as it did my test monkeys. For a time, I even surmised that a form of natural selection has occurred among the members of that tribe and they have evolved into a group of humans who can accept the drug without falling victim to its after effects, but later experiments indicated that this was not the case.

Note: On the off chance that all humans shared the natives' immunity to the withdrawal effects, I ran a quick study using the members of my exploration party early on during my sojourn in the Amazon Rain Forest. All were terribly afflicted by this effect, and had to be destroyed. It saved me the difficulty of killing them later as I did not want any word of this discovery to be confirmed in the outside world.

Duration of Withdrawal Symptoms:

Elderly monkeys were used as test subjects. At least three uniquely identifiable stages of transformation were observed during these tests. Each of the following subjects were put on a treatment regimen of the herbal preparation consistent with their body weight. At the appropriate stage of regression and gender transition, the treatment was stopped and the subject was physically restrained to preclude self injury at least during the first observation period.

The first case study was nearly-masculine at the cessation of treatment. The subject had received only that amount of the drug needed to addict it, and to make the first, barely observable physiological changes in stature and mass. To the uninformed observer, the creature would have been taken for fully male, if somewhat small in both bodily size and in the size of its masculine endowments. Reaching this stage took approximately half of the potion used by the third and final subject. Unfortunately, this subject was insufficiently restrained, actually fracturing several major bones - some compound and causing blood loss leading to death - in its frantic attempt to attain a satisfaction that would not have been available even if he had been free to reach his own genitalia. This final convulsive state occurred four days after the drug was withdrawn, indicating though not proving that at the nearly-masculine stage withdrawal symptoms remain compelling for an extended period.

Treatment of the second subject ceased when its genitalia and gonads were visually (and functionally as evidenced by entry into estrus in subsequent days) female. However, the subject's body still remained significantly masculine in bone structure and muscularity. This stage occurred relatively quickly after the first stage, and required approximately three quarters of the total quantity administered to the third subject below. This subject seemed to experience a tapering off of the withdrawal arousal after three days as evidenced by reduced howling within the restraints and a willingness to eat and drink when fed.

At this point, the partially-feminized creature was released from restraint in the belief that this stage might prove to be the first point of potential survival. However, all waking moments were spent in frantic self-stimulation, even while simultaneously eating or drinking. Only exhaustion broke this pattern. The behavior continued for three additional days after the subject was released from the restraints. While there was a gradual diminution of the compelling need for self-stimulation, it was apparent that this would always be the major focus in the remaining life of the subject. Eventually, this subject injured itself during one of its still very regular bouts of self abuse and had to be put down.

The third subject was at the stage of fully-feminized but fairly young adult. Note: Once stage two was achieved, further administration of the drug served to make the subject smaller, more feminine in appearance, and physiologically younger relative to the species age of puberty. Withholding the drug initially resulted in frantic struggles against the restraints that lasted for several hours that were then followed by exhausted sleep. Restraints were removed at that point. When the subject awoke, there was a period of continuous self-stimulation for slightly more than twelve hours, followed by gradually increasing intervals between episodes until a stable condition was achieved.

At this juncture, subject three seemed to be a completely natural female of the species, although certainly more than normally prone to arousal. This was, however controllable where it had not been for the other subjects. This might be considered as the earliest point of successful withdrawal in that the subject appeared to be able to resume normal or nearly normal life activities. In point of fact, this new female was highly sought after by the males as she was extremely easy to arouse and nearly always receptive. Once her initial all-consuming withdrawal was controlled via the use of restraints, she became the essence of femininity - including the characteristic of being easily distracted by her own physical needs. This also appears to be the subject that most closely replicates the experience of the natives.

Several other such series of experiments were conducted during that time in South America. The three stages appear to be consistent with all subjects tested. If drug therapy were reintroduced, provided the animal had not damaged itself during the withdrawal period, that subject would proceed through the remaining stage(s) as before. I did experiment to see if there was a stage between two and three; in other words, a condition in which the creature is appears fully female and remains insatiable. Results of those experiments were inconclusive, primarily because the insatiable animals tended to fatally injure themselves, or to be killed by companions who could no longer satisfy their demands.

After spending three years working alone in the jungle using primitive facilities without making any progress, I decided I must leave South America. I determined that, if I were to achieve my ultimate goal of restoring my youth without suffering the gender changing or addiction/withdrawal effects, I would need the most modern laboratory facilities in addition to highly trained and knowledgeable support laboratory support. That decision required that I return to Europe where I would again be forced to deal with the threat posed by the damnable Mr. Sherlock Holmes who had not yet had the decency to die. Knowing Holmes all too well, I knew without question that should I be recognized anywhere in Europe, word would get to Holmes, and he would attempt to interfere. Happily, this time I had a plan for my very dear enemy that has worked rather splendidly.

Speculation:

One must wonder which stage represents the condition achieved by Sherlock Holmes when his meager supply of the drug was exhausted. By body mass, the amount of the drug I "prescribed" for his use should have been barely sufficient to carry him to stage two. Furthermore, Dr. Haber and I have conducted our own experiments that show little change in final effect despite the distillation process he used, although increasing the drug's concentration does make the initial changes, especially up to Stage One, more rapid.

When we met in his rooms at Baker Street, I observed him to be in a nearly-masculine condition, perhaps late Stage One or the early onset of Stage Two. If he had attempted to cease using the potion at that point he would have faced the most demeaning withdrawal condition of unsatisfiable arousal. While it is very pleasant to think of my old foe in this condition, it is unlikely that he would forgo the use of the remainder of his supply of the drug in favor of remaining in that state. The only possibility that might result in this happy end is if the withdrawal overcame him when he was out of his apartments and unable to reach more of the potion. I consider this unlikely as I would not expect him to leave his rooms at all until he had experienced at least one withdrawal event.

As I stated above, my best estimate of the effect that might be achieved with the supply of the drug that remained to him when we parted would be that of a Stage Two, hormonally and genitally female, middle-aged human. This might be even more richly effective as an end condition. He, or rather, she would be consumed by a continuing, insatiable need for stimulation and sexual release, yet, given what looks Holmes had when he started, she would be rather unattractive and would certainly not be able to find suitable "assistants" without the application of significant funds for their hire. The thought of the once-great Sherlock Holmes paying for others to service him sexually is almost too sweet to contemplate. It is for that very reason that I ordered the chemist to give him the quantity of the potion I chose. I can well understand Holmes' decision to suicide.

However, I must remember not to assume as fact what is in truth only speculation. I am confident that even were I faced with such a condition, my own mental discipline would allow me to function effectively despite the distractions. And while I consider it unlikely that Holmes has that same capacity, consideration must be given even for the unlikely. I remain confident that Holmes did indeed die in the conflagration reported in the paper, but I will give special orders to be watchful for an unattractive middle-aged woman or slender man who might approach these facilities. Indeed, I almost wish that this were the case, as that would afford me the opportunity to see the great Sherlock Holmes reduced to groveling need for stimulation of his, that is, her feminine intimacy.

However, as I stated earlier, I believe that is unlikely in the extreme. Holmes was the only man on earth to approach my genius and mental discipline, but he still fell far short of my greatness - as is evidenced by this my final victory. No, I think it will be more profitable to consider the larger scene within which this potion will play.

Implications:

Dr. Haber's believes that it may not be possible to decouple the gender change from the desired rejuvenation. That is, as yet, unproven. However, his analysis does strongly indicate that under the current circumstances the addiction/withdrawal effect IS unavoidable if a full and viable rejuvenation is to occur at all.

Haber also believes, based on the data he has seen from my experiments in South America, that the younger the subject is at the cessation of treatment, the more likely the ensuing withdrawal will approximate that experienced by Subject Three. He offers that as an explanation as to why the formerly male women of the tribe I discovered appeared "immune" to the drug's withdrawal syndrome. My recollection is that an elder male treated always regressed to a near-adolescent physiological age. At the time, I believed that was done in order to make the elder as young as possible without making his . . . her brain too juvenile to retain the individual's lifetime of amassed wisdom. Haber's alternative hypothesis is that regressing the elder to nearly the age of puberty is why they have so little problem during withdrawal.

If, as he conjectures, the rejuvenation is inextricably tied to some new form of "reverse puberty", and if the ability of the subject to cope with the withdrawal effect is directly tied to how close the subject is, physiologically, to the age of normal puberty when the drug therapy is stopped, then this entire program is at a dead end. At least, it is a dead end insofar as my own aspirations and ambitions for myself are concerned.

I absolutely refuse to permit my superior intellect to be eroded and destroyed by the vagaries, fits and ill humors of the naturally inferior body of the female of the species. Even the thought of living another fifty or sixty years as a mere woman, with the memory of my lost superiority to constantly torment me is beyond ludicrous. I would rather die, which is precisely what I suspect Sherlock Holmes finally did when he, or rather she logically considered his own fate.

The other implication of Haber's theory is that the utility of this preparation as a weapon must be more carefully considered as well. On the battlefield, where the majority of the fighters are barely out of their teens (and therefore relatively close, physiologically to the onset of adolescence) the utility of such a system on a wholesale basis might prove tactically weak. The fighters might retain sufficient strength and intellect to pose a considerable threat. Indeed, it is not inconceivable that they might pose an even greater threat, enraged at their fate, but still sane and out to avenge themselves on the cause of their transformation. I am not certain I believe the legend of the Amazon Warriors, but among the lower animals, the female of the species can be very dangerous, particularly when enraged. This bears further thought.

Nonetheless, if the weapon were used strategically, against older individuals, such as field grade and general officers, or even against senior government officials, in such cases, the effect of the withdrawal might be a very potent weapon. "Encouraging" these individuals to comply or face the withdrawal unaided or better, to ultimately transform such powerful "men" into a passion driven strumpets are but two stratagems that come to mind. More thought is required.

This concept does, however, have the further advantage that the drug could be used in its current form without the need to develop a gaseous version. Certainly, a simply method of administration such as an inhaled or orally ingested version would be advantageous, particularly in the initial addictive attack, but it is not absolutely mandatory as it would be if the weapon was to be used over an entire battlefield.

Conclusions and Plans for Future Effort:

The possibility that a rejuvenative drug free of gender changing and addictive effects is not feasible is not a pleasing thesis, nor is it one I am going to accept without a great deal more research. As Haber himself pointed out, his specialty is electrochemistry and weapons research, and these issues are biochemical. While I am well-versed in bio-chemistry, as I am in all areas of modern scientific inquiry, there are intrinsically less-capable men who nonetheless have significant expertise within their limited scope. For the time being, until my own studies encompass their specialized knowledge, they may be of assistance.

Dr. Haber has stated that he believes that we should extend our experiments to include naturally female subjects as well as the males. He makes the point that the female reaction might give us some clues on how to "reverse-in-process" the male to female gender transition. I never considered this line of inquiry because rejuvenating women was not, at any time, a priority of mine so I did not think to pursue that line of investigation.

In fact, I do not know if the natives ever used the drug on female (natural or transformed) members when they aged. My experiments proved that if the treatment were suspended at any time, reintroduction of the drug on a subject recommenced the transition noted above. Haber's proposal bears further thought, and while I have agreed to consider this possibility, I am rather concerned that these additional clinical experiments will expend my limited supply of the special herbs without positive result. That particular logistical problem will, of course, be resolved once my regular supply system is fully established. However, I am loathe to initiate such an herb-demanding effort until I have proper knowledge of the effects of the drug as it may be necessary to use some aspect of the potion as a control on suppliers or customs agents.

On a more positive note, my minions have located a very eminent biochemist nearby in Germany who could fill this need admirably. Unfortunately, he is currently out of country and is not due to return for at least two weeks. I have dispatched two men to watch him, and intend that he 'disappear' en route home to Germany. I believe I will discuss Dr. Haber's concept of testing natural females with him, once he is 'settled in' and fully understands his role and the consequences of failure.

I must admit to the need to exercise considerable restraint upon my inclination to take the man immediately. Delays, delays, always delays. It is fortunate that I am still in vigorous good health for my age so I have time to pursue these investigations with a degree of caution.

In the meantime, Haber will be encouraged to continue his own efforts on my behalf. That should not be difficult - it might even prove diverting. It seems that the chimp who was attacked by his transformed companion after his failure to perform to her needs, was injured. His genitals have become painfully swollen and I suspect are damaged beyond repair. I shall permit Dr. Haber to see to putting the animal down. It should recall to his mind how the beast came to be in such a condition.

A most efficacious method of ensuring Dr. Haber's continued best efforts.

End Journal Entry.

 

 

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