“How long?” the assistant asked his master, concern upon his face.
The scientist thought a moment. “Hard to say. Minutes… or days.”
“Days? Wouldn’t it just stink up the place if it took days?”
“If more than a day or two passes, we’ll know we failed,” the scientist replied. “Until then, we wait.” A thought crossed his mind. “That reminds me… how did you remove the stench?”
“Incense,” the assistant replied, quite pleased with his resourcefulness. “A few scented oils, some frankincense.”
“Where did you get…” began the scientist before he was abruptly cut off.
“Frankincense…” murmured the experiment. They both turned to face the creature as it sat up, its dead eyes opening mechanically as if trying to appear alive. “Frankincense,” it repeated.
“It worked!” cried the scientist.
“It spoke,” said the assistant.
“Frankincense!” insisted the creature.
The assistant looked puzzled. “Why does it keep saying…”
“FRANKINCENSE!!!”
