I then weakened the solution progressively with small subtractions of the quantity of testosterone, and the sixth injected mouse lived, scampering about the cage energetically and exhibiting no apparent ill effects. I captured this reaction on videotape and updated my notes.
I then obtained a larger wire cage from the supply department. I injected another male mouse with the weakened hormone solution and put a dot on its back with a black Magic Marker. I put it into the large cage, then focused and started the TV camera. I put an untreated mouse into the large cage with the injected mouse and stood back to observe the results, stopwatch in hand.
The untreated mouse was killed in less than thirty seconds.
After the killing, the dotted mouse continued to bite and worry the corpse for several minutes. I repeated this experiment twice more with identical results.
I then put two untreated mice in the cage with the injected and marked mouse. Both were killed almost instantly. I tried three mice, and then four. It was a remarkable and disturbing thing to witness, The untreated mice were totally incapable of defending themselves against the savage attacks of the mouse with a heightened testosterone level.
Because I work slowly and precisely (and keep copious notes) these experiments took the better part of two weeks. Then Marvin Mcwhortle came down to my lab and asked for a progress report.
I reported what I had accomplished so far, and I ran videotapes of the murderous activities in the big cage. Mr. Mcwhortle watched intently, fascinated.
"Incredible," he said, shaking his head. "But are you certain the killings were the result of the testosterone injections and not due to some other factor?"
"Naturally I ran control experiments," I replied, somewhat offended that he imagined I might have neglected such an important discipline.
"When untreated males were placed together in the same cage, there was no overt display of aggression. In fact, they spent much of their time playing with each other."
"So you feel the aggression was definitely the result of the added testosterone?
"Preliminary results would seem to indicate it," I said cautiously.
"But there is much work still to be done."
"What comes next?"
"I want to place two, three, and then several injected male mice in the same cage and observe what happens. Then I intend to repeat all my experiments with female mice placed in the same cage with an injected male. I think it important to establish if the male's murderous frenzy occurs in the presence of ovulating females or if his aggression is converted to an increased sex drive."
"That should be interesting," Mr. Mcwhortle said, grinning at me. "Be sure you make tapes. I've got to see that." That evening, on the drive back to Rustling Palms Estates, I asked Marleen Todd, "Do you admire strong men? " She laughed. "What a question! If you mean weight lifters and bodybuilders, the answer is no, emphatically no! I think they're grotesque."
"I phrased the question awkwardly," I said. "I meant vigorous men, aggressive men, men who want to dominate." , "The answer is still no. I've always suspected that men like that are trying to conceal an inner feeling of inferiority. And so they overcompensate."
"Do you think most women feel the way you do?"
She considered that a few moments. "I really can't say," she said finally. "I know there are women who admire forceful men and respond to them. Why do you ask, Greg?"
"just curiosity, " I said. "I told you I'm a klutz when it comes to human relations. I usually know how research animals will react, but I can't predict people. I just don't understand why they do the things they do, what their motives are, what drives them."
"I think most people have a very basic drive," she said.
"Self-preservation. That may be the fundamental instinct, but then it gets complicated. For instance, I'd die for Tania. I'd sacrifice myself if it meant her survival."
"And these women you mentioned who respond to forceful men, are they also motivated by selfpreservation?"
"They may be," she said warily. "Perhaps it's atavistic, the cavewoman wanting a strong, aggressive cavernan because he can kill a saber-toothed tiger and bring home meat."
"Probably," I said, smiling. "So the females who admire aggressive males are really trying to insure their own survival?"
"That's one possibility," Marleen said. "Another is that they're instinctively seeking strong genes for their offspring.
And that leads to the survival of the family, the tribe, the nation, and ultimately the human race."
I groaned. "No wonder I'm confused. We start with women responding to strong men and end with the immortality of the species. Well, I suppose that's what evolution is all about."
"Greg, does this have anything to do with the project you're working on?"
"Only indirectly," I said cautiously. I couldn't reveal more. "And speaking of projects, how is yours coming along?"
"I'm going to be just as secretive as you," she said. "But I will tell you it's a new perfume, and if it works the way I hope, it will revolutionize the fragrance industry."
"That sounds exciting," I said, although I didn't think it did. "What makes it so revolutionary?"
"Well, I don't want to go into details, but you know that scientists still don't understand exactly how the sense of smell works. They do know that certain scents can recall emotions and awaken memories or-and this is iffy-inspire emotions and awaken appetites. That allegedly includes sexual desire. But my new perfume, if it succeeds, takes a totally different approach. It aims at behavior modification. Greg, why are you looking at me so strangely?"
"You mean," I said, "your new perfume might work the way nitrous oxide makes people laugh and acts as an anesthetic? "
"Not precisely like that," Marleen said. "But its effects would cause people to act differently from the way they normally act."
"And this modification or change in their behavior, would it be pleasurable?"
"Oh yes." , "But could your new fragrance result in any ill effects? For instance, antisocial conduct by the women wearing it or by anyone sniffing it?"
"Good heavens, no!" Marleen said decisively. "If I thought that might happen, I'd drop the whole project immediately."
I was about to say, "I wish I could say the same," but I remained silent. Still, her forthright statement stirred up all my original doubts about the moral and ethical proprieties of what I was doing. I had no desire to create a new crop of killers and rapists. It seemed to me there were enough of that breed without encouragement from the Mcwhortle Laboratory.
"A penny for your thoughts," Marleen said. "Haven't you heard of inflation?" I asked. "Now they're worth at least a nickel."
And we both laughed. cwhortle called me from his office one morning, a Friday it was, and said he was feeling horny and would be over at noon.
That was a pain because I had an appointment to get my nails done.
Naturally I told him to come ahead, and then I phoned the beauty shop to cancel. I had a good thing going with the old man, and I wasn't about to make waves.
He showed up hot to trot and started undressing right away.
He always wore boxer shorts that almost came to his knees-real droopy drawers. One pair even had little bunnies printed on them.
I never laughed of course. I just said, "oh daddy, you look so cute!"
He told me from the beginning that his ticker was on the fritz-it speeded up sometimes-so when we had sex, I did most of the work. I always told him what a great lover he was, and he liked that. Note to wives everywhere, if your man doesn't get that bullshit at home, he'll get it somewhere else.