The Best Part Is The Eyes

A green frog jumps from a petri dish in a glass tube; a mock ecosystem in Copper’s laboratory. A few minutes ago, it was not a green frog as Copper now observes, but a DNA strand specimen from frog tissue. Cloning was successful, albeit off by two minutes; 5 minutes and 43 seconds. A special catalyst should speed up the process to just as long as Joe Dassin hums “Les Champs-Elysées.” “It’s time I changed my playlist,” Copper said, “the songs in this lab are starting to get a little inaccurate.” He then tabulated the characteristics of the cloned green frog. Specifically the catalyst’s effects on human erectile tissue.

"You killed your ex-lover, but you still play her song."

Mantis cannot forget how the stout man in front of him is two individuals in one body. Tembaga was furious when he learned that Bari had been with someone else. On that thrilling night, Mantis was still engrossed in a journal when Tembaga arrived with a large suitcase. Perhaps Tembaga had changed his mind and finally accepted the offer for the cloning research of the Hispaniolan woodpecker in Haiti, which he had rejected ten days earlier because he believed it was merely a government effort to waste money and silence scientists under the pretext of preventing the extinction of endemic fauna. For Mantis, however, the invitation to the research was a ticket to kiss the sandy beach, savor the beauty of the waves, and enjoy refreshing tropical drinks.

I hate my favorite red sofa, she uses it to kiss another man.

“You finally went to Haiti?”

“I'm not going anywhere,” Copper replied.

Mantis pointed to the large suitcase. “Why bring a suitcase the size of a hippo?”

"I just chopped Bari up. I hate that she uses my favorite red sofa to make love to other men." 

The mantis did not move away from the screen. Its concentration must not waver even slightly, with only two crucial pages remaining. It understood Tembaga's anger. Anyone could be angry, including the stout man with a bald head like Tembaga.

Mantis watched as Copper pulled out several containers and put them in the specimen storage chiller. The specific parts had been chopped up and selected by Copper. As Mantis finished annotating the journal and sending it to the other reviewers, Copper could be heard humming Bari's favorite song. Not as good as Joe Dassin, but surprising enough for him who had never known a world beyond the desk and the stuffiness of the laboratory since he was a child.

“I just found out you can sing.”

"Because of Bari too. During our time together, it felt like the flood of Joe Dassin's voice hit my ears more often than on the Champs-Elysées." 

Mantis liked Tembaga's silly humor. Both of them chuckled. A glass of wine seemed appropriate as a remedy for a broken heart. Mantis wanted to spit out the rest of the wine, but decided not to because he remembered that Tembaga had been warned by the doctor; he could drink alcohol if he wanted Tembaga's second kidney to be removed. Mantis chose to take out carbonated water and pour it into two clear glasses. The laboratory air was set to no more than 23 degrees Celsius, the quiet sound of the city at two in the morning, and the sound of the carbonated water filling three-quarters of the glass volume.

It is said that the best part is the eyes, but I don't want a sly body to enter my body.

“What are you going to do with Bari’s body parts?” Mantis took a sip of carbonated water.

"All his life, Bari was clean. Didn't drink alcohol, didn't smoke, didn't do nyimeng. I know every inch of his body very well. So well-maintained, so clean. Have you ever heard of the most expensive meat in the world? Beef that is kept every inch with seriousness," Tembaga did like to ramble, even when he wasn't drunk.

“Don’t think you’re going to cut it up and make it into steak or yukhoe,” Mantis interrupted.

“Absolutely not. They say the best part is the eyes, but I don’t want a sleazy body to enter my body.”

"So what?"

"Have you never considered that the failure of our cloning experiments is due to the poor specimens? Living beings have been contaminated by toxic waste, their bodies are always deformed. Now, finding a perfect specimen is nearly impossible. Nature punishes our existence. All our research is ridiculed. We are deemed insane."

“Don't even think about making a thousand humans like Bari,” Mantis said to Copper's idea.

"I am not foolish. One Bari has already made me anxious, let alone having to duplicate someone like him. Once is enough," Tembaga laughed. He wanted to clink glasses with Mantis, but realized that Mantis's glass was empty. Clinking an empty glass is the same as celebrating defeat.

“Haven't you two been living together for ten years, and….”

"You are very narrow-minded, Mantis. Physical condition does not equate to our behavior. The physical and the spiritual are not always congruent. There is no causality. Some may appear very enchanting, yet their body is full of mala. Conversely, those who seem shabby may actually hold many secrets."

Since that night, Tembaga has been conducting experiments on the tissue samples of Bari. The specimens could serve as research material or merely as a catalyst. It would be delightful if the ridicule that Tembaga has endured could be countered with a resounding victory. Everyone condemned him as insane. Nature is in ruins, but it should not be responded to by cloning living beings. Tembaga has taken samples from Bari's hair and nails—two types of tissue with a relatively fast growth rate. The results have been less than satisfactory. Then, Tembaga considered a part of the body whose growth acceleration occurs in seconds, which was immediately met with loud laughter from Mantis.

“Nothing is impossible, right?”

"Correct…."

“All for the sake of science,” Tembaga denied.

It happened now: the long process reached its end. Such a long cloning can be shortened with a very interesting lighter. The laboratory was full of excitement and shouts of victory. The tiny green frog seemed surprised by the sudden life. Like a baby just born from the womb, still red and not understanding anything.

“Be prepared for all possibilities, including controversy.”

“Life that is too flat is not interesting,” Copper replied.

"If something goes wrong, my insurance and gold savings aren't much."

“Only losers don’t dare to fight. Even drunkards dare to spit on the president,” Tembaga beamed with satisfaction.

Soon, everything will become a battlefield. Copper can be criticized, and that is not a problem; Copper can be praised, and that is not what is hoped for.

At two in the morning, Tembaga returned from a conference with many researchers. Mantis had no work other than waiting for good news from Tembaga. The second glass of wine was already finished, while Tembaga was not present.

“Mantis, you have to get ready!” Copper said as he took off his dark gray formal suit.

"We're being attacked by right-wing groups? Or chased by the police? I've imagined that. Those who don't like progress are indeed fond of repression."

"No…."

Copper turned on the tap, the sound of water rushing into the glass was quite loud. It stopped precisely when the water reached 90% of the glass's volume. Copper gulped it down quickly. Seeing his colleague panting and in such a hurry, Mantis thought about warming up the spaghetti he had put in the refrigerator after dinner last night. Copper must not have had time for dinner. Even though he was 50 years old and often warned by doctors to pay attention to his health, Copper was more often careless. The number one thing on his mind was cloning, and number two was Bari, his lover. Unfortunately, he had already taken care of number two.

"Our lab will be visited by the Vice President," Tembaga finally said.

"Today? I mean later when it is light? Then what can be done by two men who are both old at two in the morning?"

"I just received an important call. From 10 to 11 AM later, the Vice President will visit. This is in appreciation of the research as well as to introduce advancements in science."

"So you're not alone?"

"Together with a delegation of young scientists from many campuses."

Mantis gaped, his mouth twice the size of a test tube. “I can hardly believe your story.”

"Mantis, this time you have to believe. Why am I coming home this late? Yes, because of a sudden call from the aide or spokesperson or whoever of the Vice President."

Tembaga sat in the ordinary chair he occupied every day. If the Vice President indeed arrived at 10 o'clock, there would be no time to return to the apartment. He would wait for the visit in the laboratory instead. There was no need for much preparation. It was merely a visit to observe the successful cloning process that Tembaga had shortened, although it took a little longer than "Les Champs-Élysées." Tembaga began to doubt whether his laboratory could accommodate that many people.

“Mantis, did you check if the specimens in the chiller are still there?”

“Disaster!” Mantis screamed.

“Why? Don’t tell me you made Bari beef bolognese?”

“No. The erectile tissue is gone.”

Copper then remembered, Bari's erectile part is indeed tiny. Copper has done many experiments using it.

The best part is the eyes.

“The best part is the eyes,” Copper muttered.

“Are you drunk?”

Copper shook its head. It was not the right time to tell Mantis about its hobby of eating goat head curry and hearing the sound of eyeballs bursting under the pressure of molars.

"We demonstrate with hair or nail samples. A little longer is acceptable. Our Vice President is a scientist, after all. Surely he understands that besides conducting research, scientists may face challenges such as a lack of specimens."

Mantis was shocked and wanted to slap Tembaga's bald head.

“How many years has your time been stuck? Our scientist Vice President passed away years ago.”

Note: The title of the short story is a paraphrase of Monika Kim's novel, The Eyes are the Best Part (2024). 

Teguh Affandi is an editor at a publisher in Jakarta. His short story, “Redian and His New Refrigerator,” was selected in the book Keluarga Kudus: Short Stories Selected by Kompas 2021. Involved in an anthology with Museum Teman Baik (Post Press, 2024).

Suharmanto, a graduate of Painting, ISI Yogyakarta. Has had seven solo exhibitions, including in Yogyakarta, Jakarta, Singapore, Austria, and Germany. Also dozens of group exhibitions in Yogyakarta, Jakarta, Bandung, Bali, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, India, Nepal, South Korea, China, and Switzerland.