You have just moved into The Janus Estate.
Land here is cheap and it is rumored to be quiet around here, much to your taste.
You spend the rest of the morning unloading your boxes of belongings.
Tired, you decide to take a break by going for a walk.
The sun is shining warmly, but grey clouds are looming in a distance.
You bring your…
- Cellphone | You bring your cellphone.
- Umbrella | You bring your umbrella.
- Purse | You bring your purse.
While walking, you spot your neighbour watering his plants at his front porch.
He looks a little grizzled, but he seems to have a friendly demeanour.
He notices you looking over.
He smiles and waves.
You...
- Smile brightly and wave back with great enthusiasm | You smile brightly and wave back with great enthusiasm.
- Fidget awkwardly and nod your head in acknowledgement | You fidget awkwardly and nod your head in acknowledgement.
You approach him and find that he has a small shack at his front porch, beside his mini garden.
- “You really do love gardening, don’t you?” | “You really do love gardening, don’t you?” you pointed out.
- “Nice day out here, huh?” | “Nice day out here, huh?” you remarked.
He turns and looks at his masterpiece and smiles.
He raises his right hand towards you.
“The name’s Ming, nice to meet you. You’re new here aren’t you? Just moved in?” Ming said.
“Yeah, just finished unloading all the boxes from my truck this morning." you replied.
“I see. Need any help?"
“I’ve got some time to spare before I settle some matters later.” He chuckled.
- “Yes please! That would be very nice of you.” | “Yes please! That would be very nice of you.” you said.
- “Nahh, I’m fine for now. Thank you for the offer!” | “Nahh, I’m fine for now. Thank you for the offer!” you said.
“Hey you know what, why not you come over for dinner tonight?”
“I’ve went to culinary school over the summer and created this new technique myself."
“I would love to have you try it.” Ming said.
- Accept his invitation. | “Sounds great! I look forward to the dinner tonight.”
- Accept but tell him you cannot stay for long. | “Sounds great! I look forward to the dinner tonight, but I cannot stay for long because I need to take care of my puppy... It’s sick.”
- Reject his invitation. | “I’m sorry but I'm not free tonight. How about some other time?”
“Awesome! See you in a bit!” Ming said cheerily.
“Awesome! Oh dear, that poor thing. No worries, see you in a bit!”
“Oh what a shame. How about you try one right now? It’ll not take too long, I promise.”
- Accept his invitation. | “Sounds great!”
- Accept but tell him you cannot stay for long. | “Sounds great! I look forward to the dinner tonight, but I cannot stay for long because I need to take care of my puppy... It’s sick.”
“Awesome! Come on in!”
“Oh dear, that poor thing. No worries, come on in!”
You knock on his door and he lets you in.
Ming disappears into the kitchen.
After a while, he emerges from the kitchen and presents upon you the delicacy:
It is his signature homemade Ang Ku Kueh.
“Here you go, hope it suits your taste! I dare say it is my magnum opus in culinary terms.”
You look down onto the dish.
It is redder than usual – almost blood red – and has a strong aroma.
You find it to be savoury with a fragrant aftertaste, unlike any Ang Ku Kueh you have eaten before.
The taste is amazing to say the least.
The next bite does not dull the taste nor tire your palate.
In fact, it made the taste even deeper and enriching.
“This Ang Ku Kueh tastes amazing! What is your recipe for this? I have to have it.”
You immediately notice a slight readjustment in Ming’s posture.
Cracking a smile, he beckons you to follow him.
“Come, let me show you something.”
You and Ming make your way up a flight of stairs and reach a corridor.
You start hearing whimpers of small animals and smell a pungent stench, growing louder and stronger with every step you take.
You are feeling uneasy.
At the end of the corridor, Ming opens the door and gestures you in.
He stops suddenly.
“Ah, I forgot to turn off the microwave! Stay here for a while, I’ll be right back.”
He leaves you alone.
The room in front of you is dimly lit.
The air reeks of thick ozone and iron.
The whimpers you previously heard have now grown sharper into a grotesque symphony, almost as if your entrance has disturbed whatever is making the sounds.
Most hauntingly, what seems like an operation table lies in the centre of the room.
You gasp in horror as you try to compose yourself.
As you approach the table, you notice a tray of dirty tools right beside the table.
- Inspect the operation table. | You approach the operation table.
- Inspect the tools. | You approach the tools.
- Inspect surroundings. | You survey your surroundings.
The table surface looks abused with blunt forces and knife marks.
A red stain on the table catches your eye.
- Inspect the tools. | You approach the tools.
- Inspect surroundings. | You survey your surroundings.
- Go back to the door. | You go back to the door.
You see a knife, a rubber tube, a syringe, a hammer and several empty glass vials.
- Inspect the operation table. | You approach the operation table.
- Inspect surroundings. | You survey your surroundings.
- Go back to the door. | You go back to the door.
The room is small and seems to be cramped with all sorts of equipment.
An old flood light hangs from the ceiling, shallowly illuminating the surroundings.
You barely make out a row of rusty metal cages neatly organised and aligned against the left wall of the room.
Jars of dark liquid lie on the opposite side; they are labelled with varying dates.
You…
- Inspect the operation table. | You approach the operation table.
- Inspect the tools. | You approach the tools.
- Go back to the door. | You go back to the door.
“What’s all this…” you whispered under your breath.
Ming enters the room.
He notices the seriousness of your voice.
“Can’t you see? This is where the Ang Ku Kuehs are made to taste so good!”
He lets out a nervous laugh, in an attempt to lighten the mood.
You raised your voice but it quivered in uncertainty of what follows.
Ming moves in closer.
“Please keep calm. I understand that this is not the ideal situation you would like to find yourself in.”
“I respect that your decision if you feel uncomfortable and would like to leave.”
“Okay, let’s not get hasty… in all honesty, what makes the Ang Ku Kueh extra tasty is due to a secret ingredient:
Angkumone.
“Yes, Angkumone. It is a chemical that adds that distinctive flavour which you have tasted in the Ang Ku Kueh, as well as giving it its luscious colour of red.” Ming explained.
“However, it can only be produced in the brains of... puppies after they have been physically and psychologically tormented over a long period of time.”
“Yes. When a puppy has reached the ripe age for harvesting, I will deal a traumatizing blow to the puppy’s head to kill it.” he paused.
“Only such trauma can allow the Angkumone to fully mature into its richest taste within the puppy’s brain.”
You took a step back and paused for a moment to recollect your thoughts.
“Would you like to have another one?” Ming asked, raising an eyebrow.
- “What?! You are inhumane, and there is no way I’m having another!”
- “If you don’t mind! Pack me some to bring home too please!”
You and Ming move to the kitchen.
Ming happily packs some of the leftover Ang Ku Kuehs for you.
“Be right back!” he says, before slipping out of the kitchen.
THUMP! THUMP!
You hear the shrill whimper ring through the house before silence fell again.
Ming steps back in and hands you a small jar with red liquid.
“I’m happy that you understand why I’m doing this, here - a jar of fresh Angkumone on the house!”
“Thank you for the hospitality Ming, see you soon!”
You left the house.
On the way home, each time you looked the jar, you felt the weight increase in your hands.
You reached home safely.
- Pour yourself a glass of water. | You pour yourself a glass of water.
- Put on the television. | You put on the television.
- Turn on your laptop. | You turn on your laptop.
You reject Ming’s offer.
You leave his house and scurry home feeling utterly disgusted with the experience.
On the way home, you thought to yourself:
Even if I choose not to eat the Ang Ku Kueh that is made with Angkumone, Ming will not be discouraged from torturing the puppies in that room…
Making your way along the pavement, each step you take grows heavier in weight.
You reach home safely.
- Pour yourself a glass of water. | You pour yourself a glass of water.
- Put on the television. | You put on the television.
- Turn on your laptop. | You turn on your laptop.
You switch on the television and coincidentally, the Discovery Channel is on.
You fiddle with the bunch of magazines on the coffee table to distract yourself from the events at Ming’s house.
Suddenly, you hear the familiar whimpers through the television screen and look over.
It is a documentary on factory-farmed animals.
What was happening through the screen was morally similar to the earlier situation at Ming’s house:
Just that chickens and pigs took the places of the puppies.
The factory animals had no freedom and were treated in ways that were almost unimaginable.
You notice the parallel between the situation on screen and that in Ming’s house.
You thought to yourself…
- Regardless of puppies or factory farmed animals, they are no different from each other... | Regardless of puppies or factory farmed animals, they are no different from each other...
- Do we really know that the factory animals suffer as much as Ming’s puppies? | Do we really know that the factory animals suffer as much as Ming’s puppies?
You switch on your laptop and plug in your earphones.
“....Youtube..dot..com”
You mouth to yourself as you punch the letters on the keyboard.
Something catches your attention at the bottom of the screen.
Suddenly, you hear the familiar whimpers through the laptop speakers as the video slowly came into focus.
It is a video on factory-farmed animals.
What was happening through the screen was morally similar to the earlier situation at Ming’s house:
Just that chickens and pigs took the places of the puppies.
The factory-farmed animals had no freedom and were treated in ways that were almost unimaginable.
You notice the parallel between the situation on screen and that in Ming’s house.
You thought to yourself…
- Regardless of puppies or factory farmed animals, they are no different from each other. | Regardless of puppies or factory farmed animals, they are no different from each other.
- Do we really know that the factory animals suffer as much as Ming’s puppies? | Do we really know that the factory animals suffer as much as Ming’s puppies?
The factory-farmed animals are treated as badly as Ming’s puppies, and since I decided to stop eating the Ang Ku Kuehs made by torturing Ming’s puppies...
You thought that…
You open your laptop and perform a quick search on the internet.
- Click the first link. | You click the first link.
- Click the second link. | You click the second link.
- Click the third link. | You click the third link.
According to a philosopher named Loren Lomansky, pleasure is all that matters for non-human animals.
It seems that most factory-farmed animals experience more pleasure than pain in their lives, thus they generate lives worth living.
You continue reading the rest of the article and ponder over these new insights.
Your eyes start to close.
- Continue reading article. | You continue reading the article.
- Close your laptop. | You close your laptop.
You shake yourself awake.
You continue reading the rest of the article but start to zone out.
Your eyes start to close.
- Continue reading article. | You continue reading the article.
- Close your laptop. | You close your laptop.
You decide to turn in early since you are emotionally drained from the incident during dinner.
…
…
…
You open your eyes.
Everything is pitch black.
Your nose twitch as a waft of pungent smell – a smell almost too familiar.
You do not feel your clothes against your skin.
You feel your limbs around and realised you are trapped in a cage.
Your throat hurts as you try to scream; your voice sounds muffled and hoarse.
There is no reply.
You skin touches the cold metal bars of the cage. Metal everywhere.
You skin touches the cold metal bars of the cage. Metal everywhere.
Your throat hurts as you try to scream; your voice sounds muffled and hoarse.
There is no reply.
You waited and waited.
- Shout for help. | You shout for help.
- Feel around. | You feel around.
- Wait. | You calm yourself down and wait in the darkness.
Your throat hurts as you try to scream; your voice sounds muffled and hoarse.
There is no reply.
You skin touches the cold metal bars of the cage. Metal everywhere.
You skin touches the cold metal bars of the cage. Metal everywhere.
Your throat hurts as you try to scream; your voice sounds muffled and hoarse.
There is no reply.
You waited and waited.
Your sense of time is skewed; you do not know how long you have been here.
Is this even real? you thought to yourself.
You waited and waited.
Suddenly, you hear the door creak open.
A dim light is switched on and your vision readjusts.
There are familiar-looking jars of red liquid on the opposite side of the room.
You see cages around you but you do not see any puppies:
You see humans instead.
Their eyes look soulless and have a blank expression on their face.
Some are salivating and groaning as they lean against the bars of the cage.
They looked like they have not cleaned themselves nor eaten for a long time.
You see Ming standing there, smiling at you.
“I see you are awake.”
“Ah be careful there,” Ming cooed.
“Your vocal chords have been slashed, just like the rest in the other cages.”
“I would not continue shouting if I were you.”
I am not dreaming.
You look back at Ming.
“You were so gullible earlier on today, believing that I kept puppies to harvest Angkumone.”
“I am running out of ideas though: I have already lied about kittens, rabbits and even hamsters for the previous neighbours in the Estate.” He chuckled.
He pauses and looks at the humans in the other cages.
“They always believe me.”
Ming leans in closer.
“I am not from around here you see - oh no, not the Estate per se, silly.”
“I literally am not from this world.”
“I just really, really like to eat Ang Ku Kueh made with Angkumone - extracted from you lesser beings of course.”
“Oh don't be surprised. I am just acting according to your moral system!"
"Judging by how humans treat factory-farmed animals, what I am doing is perfectly moral."
"If being morally right is your concern." He laughed.
“Don’t worry. I won’t harvest you that soon, silly human.”
“Your turn will come.” he winked.
Ming turns off the lights and leaves the room.
Darkness engulfs you again.
You are left alone with your thoughts.
He sees humans as lesser beings and he harvests them for food.
Just like how humans harvest factory-farm animals for food.
Your consciousness starts to fade. Lethargy sets in.
But I am a human… humans are not supposed to be factory-farmed for food.
…
I am a human…
…
I am a human…
…
I am a…
...
…
…
...
...
END