Bufo

Dr. Porch's idea was simple. Using existing technology, he would tweak the genes of an individual American toad (Anaxyrus americanus) to cause it to grow larger. An adult American toad grows to a length of approximately four inches. Dr. Porch hoped to create a toad that would grow to twelve inches.

The egg containing the modified embryo hatched, and the tadpole metamorphosed a month later. A toadlet the size of a pencil eraser began its terrestrial life. An undergraduate research assistant named him Bufo. Within a few weeks, Bufo was the size of a marble. At the end of year two, Bufo was thirteen inches long. There was a small celebration with champagne in the lab. A few newspapers wrote about the breakthrough.

Dr. Porch expected Bufo to stop growing, but Bufo started growing faster. At the beginning of year four, he was the size of a cocker spaniel. By the end of year four, he had eaten a cocker spaniel and was still hungry. In year five, Bufo created waves that destroyed cities while swimming across the Gulf of Mexico. By year six, he was too large to kill, no matter what the armies of the world tried. In year seven, the weather changed based on Bufo's location.

We have a clear view of the earth's surface from our vantage point on the International Space Station. It has been eleven months since we heard from Mission Control. I can see Bufo covering most of Africa. I can count the warts on his back. With Bufo's added mass, the earth no longer spins. It wobbles. The station's orbital path has become dangerously unpredictable. It is only a matter of time. If by some miracle there are survivors and someone reads this, tell my daught—

The End