Word: Cozen

cozen

[kuhz-uh n]

verb (used with or without object)

to cheat, deceive, or trick.

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               “Four of a kind, boys!” Jack roared in triumph as he slammed the four queens on the table. 

The other players growled as he collected his winnings.  Carl eyed the victor through narrowed eyes. 

“Hang on.” Carl said.  “This isn’t right.  You’ve been winning too much.”

“What’re you saying?” Jack asked.

“Roll up your sleeves.” 

Jack froze.  He knew.  Carl knew.  How?  Jack had been careful.  He had masked his motions so well that nobody should have been able to see anything unusual.  The lack of motion was gathering suspicion.  Jack needed to do something, fast.

“Well what about you then?” He said.

“What?” Carl asked, stunned by the turnaround. 

“How’s about you show us your sleeves?  You’ve been winning just as much as me.”

Carl rolled up his sleeves, showing nothing but his own arms.  Jack swore under his breath.  He had been hoping for a miracle.  Carl just looked smug.

“How about your belt.” Ray said.  The gruff man was looking at something under Carl’s shirt, near the belt.

Carl swallowed a lump in his throat.  This was seen by everyone at the table.

“I’m not the one on trial here.” Carl said quickly.  “Jack’s the one who’s cheating.”

“Apparently, both of you are.” Tom said.  He was eyeing the deck cautiously. 

Jack looked around, all of them were focusing on Jack and Carl a bit too much, in his opinion.  All three of them were acting off.  A lightbulb went off in his head.

“Okay, fine, I admit it.  I’m cheating.” He rolled up his sleeves, revealing the hidden cards.  “Now, let’s all come clean.  Who else is cheating?”

The other four players shifted and looked away.  Carl hesitantly raised his hands.  Then Tom followed suit, followed closely by Ray and Sam. 

“So, we’re all cheating?”

Carl slipped a few aces out of his belt and set them on the table.

“I’ve been dealing from the bottom.” Tom said with a hung head.

“Stacked shuffles.” Ray said.

“I’ve got mirrors around the room, to see your hands.” Sam said.  He sounded almost proud of his elaborate cheating method.  Th rest of them looked for the mirrors, and sure enough, they were there, so that only Sam could see them.

               “So, we’re all dirty cheaters.” Carl said.  “What should we do about it?”

               “How about anyone caught cheating just has to pay an extra five?” Tom said.

               The others looked at each other.  They all heard it.  And all of them were already deep in thought about how to avoid detection.  All of them agreed to the new rule.  Then they all got up and moved to a different table on Sam’s suggestion.  He did not want to be accused of using his mirrors and having to pay that much more.  He already had a backup plan anyway.

               “Okay, so, with the new rule, I bet we can all trust each other to not cheat, right?” Jack asked.  All agreed.  “Great.  Now, who’s dealing?  And make sure to keep it clean.”           

              

**********************************
Could've been worse.  At least everything ended without something like this happening.

Word: Behemoth

  

behemoth

[bih-hee-muh th, bee-uh-]

noun

an animal, perhaps the hippopotamus, mentioned in Job 40:15–24.

 

any creature or thing of monstrous size or power:  

********************************

            The ground shook.  The light, quick earthquake did nothing to disrupt the flow of the military base.  Soldiers and support staff alike ran through the cold grey halls as alarms blared.  Some of them stopped to salute one particular man as he walked quickly towards the command center.

                “What’ve we got?” The man, General Williams, said the moment he had reached his destination. 

               “We’re still getting a bead on it, sir, so we can’t say for sure.” One of the technicians said.

               Another rapid quake ran through the base.  Nobody even looked up from their work stations.  The General moved to the table laden with high tech intelligence equipment imbedded into it.  He looked over the data as it was.

               “Great.  Looks like a Leviathan class.” He said bitterly.

               “We’re not sure, yet, sir.” One of the General’s trusted Lieutenants said.  “For all we know it could just be a big mass of Lights.”

               “We should be so lucky.  Whoever’s sending these things hasn’t sent Lights or Heavies ever since they learned we can beat them with enough infantry.  If this is a mass of anything, it would be a mass of Juggernauts at least.”

               “Uh, sir…” A tech said, right before another earthquake took place.  The General swore they were getting stronger each time, but did not say anything.  The quakes were not the problem, the giant monster was.

               “What is it?”

               “I, uh, I don’t think it’s a mass of anything.”

               “So a Leviathan then.  Damn, we’re still recovering from the last one.”

               “No, sir, it’s…it’s not a Leviathan either.”

               “Well then, what is it?”

               “I…I think it’s a Behemoth, sir.” The technician’s skin was the color of fresh snow and his entire body trembled.

               The command center grew quiet.  Every person’s attention was focused on the technician who had spoken.  Not even the next earthquake caused attention to waver.

               “Impossible.” The Lieutenant said.  “Behemoth classes are purely hypothetical.  Leviathans are the biggest there are.”

               “Sorry, sir, but I think their existence has just been proven.  This…this thing is…it’s almost twice as big as a Leviathan class.”

               “Dear god.” General Williams whispered. 

               Several others present whispered among themselves nervously.  A few crossed themselves, while others openly preyed to whatever deity they believed in.  Another earthquake, now noticeably stronger, filled the room.  This time people started taking notice as a horrifying thought crossed every mind.

               “Is it heading this way?” General Williams asked.  He wiped the sweat off his palms, dreading the answer.

               “Yes, sir.”

               “Those…we’re not getting earthquakes, are we?”

               The technician paused and swallowed a lump in his throat.  “No, sir.”

               General Williams fell into the nearest available chair.  He rubbed his stubble covered chin, dreading what was about to happen.

               “Sir?  What should we do?” The Lieutenant asked.

               “There’s only one thing.  Just one thing that might even get a Behemoth’s attention.  And even that’s not certain.”

               “Sir?  Are you sure?”
               “No.  No I am not.  But it’s the only option.  I don’t think even missiles will do anything more than make it itch.  Get me the President immediately and prepare for…for…” He took a deep breath and continued.  “Prepare for nuclear bombardment of the target.”

               “And if they don’t work?” The Lieutenant asked as The General was handed a bright red phone.

               “Then may whatever gods remain have mercy on us all.”

*******************************

No, it's not Godzilla or any related monster.  Nor is it one of the monsters from a much more recent movie about giant monsters that come out of an ocean. This is all legally distinct, original stuff that just happens to share certain similarities to more well known intellectual properties.   

Word: Attractancy

  

attractancy

[uh-trak-tuh n-see]

---

noun

the capacity, especially of a pheremone, to attract.

**********************************

            The computer was flipped on and its user opened the programs needed for recording.  The screen showed the face of the user, a young man that was just a bit too thin and pale to be appealing to most women.  He adjusted his glasses and looked at the image presented to him.

               “This is test number four, formula 5-A and 5-B.” The man, Phil, intoned.  “As with previous trials, we have a number of pairings of different types, and one will have the formula applied to them, determined by gender.  The results will be stated here.  This is Philip Dunford, and my partner, Elizabeth Collins recording.”

               Phil moved aside and showed the young woman he mentioned.  She was taller than Phil, but just as skinny.  Her bland features looked on nervously and she gave a small smile.

               “Phil, are you sure we should be doing this?  I mean, human trials so soon?  We’re just grad students you know.”

               “Liz, we’ve been over this.  The formulas aren’t dangerous, and all the subjects are volunteers.  Besides, the very nature of what we’re doing means we can’t use animal trials.  It literally has to be humans.”

               Liz groaned, but nodded.  The view of the camera changed to a mostly empty room.  It was divided in half, with a door on each side, and a screen on one of them.  Inside were two people.  One was a young man; short and chubby.  On the other side was a young woman who could very easily be mistaken for a model or actress. 

               The blonde woman looked almost bored as she stood there, waiting for something to happen on the screen next to her.  The man looked nervous, and wiped his forehead often.  Phil greeted the two of them, both for the recording and for their own benefit.  He turned on the screen, which showed a picture of the male volunteer.  The woman scrunched her nose and looked away.

               “Subject A,” Phil said.  “What do you think of the image you see?”

               “Okay, first of all, I have a name.” The woman said. 

               “I know, but it’s for scientific objectivity.  I won’t be using any real names here, nor should you state it at any point during the test.”

               “Whatever.  So, yeah, this guy?  Ugh.  He’s short, fat and ugly.  I wouldn’t go near this guy if you paid me.”

               With a few button presses, a small compartment opened on the man’s side of the room, containing a small vial of pale pink liquid.  He was instructed to apply a small amount of it to his skin.  Once that was done, the partition slid into the far wall. 

               When their eyes met, a fleeting look of revulsion crossed her face, only to be replaced by wide eyed awe.  She bit her lower lip and wrung her hands.

               “Hi.” She said lightly.

               “Uh, hi?” The man replied.

               “So, um, I guess we can’t really introduce ourselves here, right?  But, uh, it’s nice to meet you.”

               “You too, I guess.”

               “Say, is it, uh, is it hot in here?” The woman asked while fiddling with her clothes.  “I think it’s a bit too warm in here.  Maybe you and I should leave and get someplace cooler.”

               Without waiting for a response, she grabbed the man and headed out the door at a brisk pace.

               “Formula 5-A is a success.” Phil said.

               “Maybe a bit too much.” Liz said as the room reset.  “Seriously, I know these are supposed to be super charged pheromones, but maybe dial it back a little bit for the next batch?  I swear, she was about to rip her clothes off right there.”

               “Maybe, but she didn’t.  Bring in the next subjects.”

               This time, the screen side of the room was occupied by a man who could be used as the basis for a Greek statue.  The other was a small, mousy woman who looked like she would prefer to be at home reading.  The introduction was given, and the screen turned on.

               “Her?” The new male subject said when asked about the image presented.  “Not interested.  I mean, she doesn’t even have any—

               “That’s perfectly fine, Subject C.” Liz said quickly.  Phil looked at her with a raised eyebrow, but did not interrupt.

               This time, the vial was a pale indigo, and the small woman applied it just as the previous tester had.  When the partition moved away, the man looked her up and down and smiled.  He immediately went up to her and began openly hitting on her.  The poor girl looked more confused than anything, and she answered mostly in squeaks and whines.  She narrowly avoided being dragged out of the room by the man, and darted out of the door she had come in.  The man looked disappointed for a moment before the effects of the pheromones dissipated, at which point he simply looked confused.

               “Formula 5-B is a success.  Any problems, Liz?”

               “I’m just glad he showed a bit of restraint there.  That could’ve gotten ugly if he hadn’t.”   

               As the room reset for another trial, this time with two men, Liz suddenly got a worried look on her face.

               “Say, Phil, you weren’t planning on using this stuff on yourself, were you?”

               “What?”

               “Well, I mean, it obviously works a bit too well in my opinion.  If you used it, you wouldn’t have any problems getting a girlfriend.”

               “The effects are short term.  It’d be fine for a quick one night stand, but not a relationship.”

               “Oh.”

               He looked nervous as he spoke again.  “Besides, I actually have a girl I’d like to be my girlfriend, and I’d rather not risk using artificial means to ask her out.”

               “Oh?  Who is it?” Liz asked, not being able to help but get interested.

               “Not important right now.  Let’s continue the trials.”

               Liz nodded, but mentally stored the conversation for later.  Several more trials were conducted with a range of different subjects of both genders in a variety of combinations.  It took several hours to get through them all, but they did.  Once they finished, Phil closed the recording and flopped into his seat.

               “Well, that took awhile.”

               “Agreed.” Liz said tiredly. She looked like she was ready to collapse at any moment.

               “I’m exhausted.  You want to get a cup of coffee or something?”

               “What?  Oh, yeah, sure, I guess.”

               Phil nodded and stood, heading out of the lab’s control room.  Liz followed and a sudden realization hit her.  She had just figured out who Phil had been talking about.

***********************************

Happy Single's Awareness Day everyone!  I hope you have a...what, you mean today isn't Single's Awareness Day?  Valentine's Day?  Who celebrates that? Most people, really?  Oh, okay, fine.  Happy Valentines Day everyone!  I hope you all have a wonderful time!  And try not to eat too much chocolate, okay?