H...E...L...P.(Kevin Hughes) Author’s Note: This is my story for the StoryStar Writing challenge proposed by Radrook.

Scientists in Australia taught “dish brains” (clusters of neurons raised in a petri-dish) to play the game pong. These are floating brains with no sensory input. This is not Fction, you can look up the experiment by Cortical Labs. My story…is Fiction. I hope.

*****

“I don’t know why everyone is so angry with me. So I fed a few bits of brains to the rats. What do they think? I am an idiot? The stomach acids alone would degrade the neurons into so much protoplasmic pulp. I can’t believe they kicked me out of my PH.D program and suspended me from the University for a year. I’ll show them. I will feed the doggone “dish brains” to all the animals. Just to prove it was harmless. “

John J. McMurphy texted that message to his girlfriend Lucy…it was then used as evidence at his trial. Lucy used it as an example of why their relationship was failing. As she said (under Oath):

“John is impulsive. He rarely thinks about the impact his words, or actions, have on those around him. For someone with his education and intelligence, it is staggering how unaware he is of things. The cuteness…and he is cute and funny when not under stress, wears off. Whatever gains he has over most of us with his magnificent brain, is wiped out by his immaturity and petty pouting. I am glad I left him.”

John himself testified under Oath:

“I guess I just didn’t think it through. I mean they were just neurons for crying out loud. Brainless brains!”

*****

According to Court Documents John J. McMurphy snuck into the Neuroscience Laboratory at Gateland University around Eleven PM on Tuesday, the fourth of March. He then proceeded to feed the so called: “dish brains” to every mouse in every cage. He simply emptied the “dish brains” into their feeding troughs. They were tiny bundles of around 800,000 neurons in the “dish brains.” Basically a brain without a brain. Just simply a clump of neurons that could respond to light and that was about it. Or so John thought.

There was no reaction from the mice. They just nibbled on the “dish brains” as they would any other caloric substance. After all, they were descended from Rats, which really are not finicky eaters at all. So they chomped, chewed, crushed and swallowed the bundles of brain cells. It was only two days later that the first signs of any thing different in the mice…was noted.

Again, we turn to the Court Records:

“The Security Videos clearly show that John snuck in the Lab. We didn’t think too much of it. John was always coming into the Lab at weird hours. He loved those little mice and would give them treats. Of course that would piss off the other Doctoral Candidates who were using the very same mice for genetic studies, weight loss drugs, and immune therapies. As such, their experiments demanded specific nutrient and caloric parameters.

I must have called John in about a dozen times over the semester before the incident in question to stop feeding the mice. I remember telling him:

“John, these are not your personal pets. They are Laboratory mice. Bred specifically for Scientific Study. Sure they are cute with their pure white fur, and bright pink eyes. But they are experimental animals. The Ethics Counsel demands we treat them well, and with care, but they are just Lab rats. So stop interfering with other people’s experiments.”

Those comments were recorded by the Court Clerk and were made by Dr. Sheila McDonough…John’s Thesis Advisor.

That was just one of a series of reprimands in John’s folder. He was bright... but clueless.

The first hint that something was amiss is contained in this Court obtained Disposition of John’s Lab Manager: Deirdre Singh.

Again, we turn to her testimony under Oath.

“I checked all the mice the morning after John broke into our Lab. The cameras showed him feeding the mice, but not what he fed them. I checked every cage. I cleaned out what was left in their feeding troughs, and replaced it with their normal food. I made sure to sterilize every feeding tray. I thought maybe John had fed them sugar…or worse, a poison. Just to get back at all of us who followed strict protocols and procedures. I didn’t think he would do that. John isn’t mean, just sensitive.

Anyways, when I opened the cages, every mouse seemed to shrink back into the corner of their cage and cower. I thought it was just because their normal routine had been thrown off by John waking them and feeding them late at night. That kind of stress puts off most animals. They cling to routine…I guess just like a lot of us don’t talk until we have had our morning coffee. (There was a quiet chuckle through the Courtroom at this comment…even the Judge smiled).

When I checked back in with Demarcus…."

Judge Interrupts: “Who is Demarcus?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, your Honor. Demarcus has a Bachelor’s Degree in Animal Husbandry. He is in charge of all Lab Animals at the University. He makes sure we follow all the guidelines and nutritional needs of all the animals we study.”

Judge interrupts again:

“You do experiments with more than mice?”

“Oh, yes your honor. We have experiments running with several species. Monkeys, mice, goats, cows, Chimpanzees, and several kinds of clams, sponges, horseshoe crabs, and even some snakes. We even have some biologists studying Elephants and coastal crocodiles. It is a Research Institute, your Honor.”

Judge comments:

“Oh, I am aware of that. I just wasn’t aware of the scope of studies. Continue.”

“Well, Demarcus called me at home early that evening and told me that the mice were acting strangely. I asked him what he meant by ‘strange?”

“Dee, they are all trying to get out of their cages. And I swear, they are trying to talk to each other. “

I laughed at that. He did not.

“No Dee, I swear they are all pressed up against the front of their cages looking directly across at the other row of mice on the opposite side of the hallway. They are trying to communicate. I swear they are.”

So I drove to the Lab. It was just like Demarcus said. The mice were in sort of a panic and …I know this sounds weird…it was almost as if they were pleading with us …or…a…something.”

It was the next day that according to Court Records…a mere seventy two hours after they were fed “dish brains” that the real impact became apparent. The testimony of Demarcus showed that conclusively.

“I came into the lab after Dee checked all the cages. I reweighed all their food, I cleaned the troughs. I cleaned their cages. It kinda spooked me how wary they were of me. Normally they just sniff your hand a bit, and run right into it, looking for food, or curling up on your hand for a little pet. Not this time. They cowered in the corner… of their cages…like they were afraid. And when I placed them in the cardboard box we use to load them all in while we clean, I swear they huddled up in groups…like they were discussing something.

I know you aren’t supposed to anthropomorphize animals…but they were acting like Sentient creatures…not mice. I swear they were talking to each other in that box. I called Dee again and told her something was wrong. I thought maybe we might have to put the whole lot of them down because they had caught some kind of prion disease from the stuff John fed them.”

Judge interrupts:

“Prion disease?”

“Oh, sorry Judge. We knew after that second day, that John had fed them “dish brains”…he told us. Well, sometimes when you eat brain tissue you get diseases of the brain caused by prions. They are actually transmissible spongiform encephalopathies that cause degenerative neurological diseases like: Mad Cow, or in Humans: Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. It is not a good idea to eat the nerve cells of mammals. Cannibals and Tribal People who eat the brains of Monkeys found this out the hard way.

So anyways since John had fed them all “dish brains” the neurons from a mammal…I told Dee that I thought the mice were going…well..to put in Layman’s terms…crazy.”


It was the very next morning that the unbelievable happened. The thing that broke the internet…shoved every other News Story off the Front Page and set Twitter, FACEBOOK, Instagram and TikTok on fire.

For a picture was posted (and Shown to the Court) that shocked the world.

In every cage, the mice had taken their food pellets. And with great care…and perhaps even greater thought, spelled out one simple word:

H…E…L…P.

Not just in one cage, but every cage. Each individual mouse had spelled out “HELP” with its food pellet. To make sure it wasn’t a fluke, the pellets were brushed up into a pile by the Lab Assistants. As soon as the cage was locked again, the mice raced to the pile of food pellets and spelled out: “HELP” again.

It was proof beyond a shadow of a doubt. The mice had become Sentient. All lab work was stopped. John J. McMurphy was brought in to see the results of his work. He fell to his knees and started to cry. It was Dee who knelt beside him and spoke:

“It’s okay John. We will treat these mice as sentient creatures and see what they can teach us.”'

It is at that moment that Court Documents reveal ...and Security Cameras show his exact words:

“Dee, you don’t understand. I fed the “Dish Brains” to ALL THE ANIMALS. All of them. Monkeys, chimps, crabs, sponges, hell, I even fed them to the dogs and cats over at the Vet School. I didn’t know this would happen. I am so sorry.”

And so it was…all Animal Research was stopped. A world wide moratorium in place. Within weeks, animals in labs, barns, and even in the wild started to arrange either food, rocks, or bits of leaves or twigs…and they arranged them into one word:

“H…E…L…P.”

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