Fire Opal: Scene 12

A Major Minaccevolmente

I was sitting there, with the needle in the vein of my leg, but I hadn't pushed the plunger. I took a deep breath. I don't know why this time was freaking me out so much. I took another deep breath. Just be calm, you've done this before. You can do it one more time. Push the plunger. Push the plunger. Breathing slowly, I pushed the plunger, just barely. As soon as the living metal tipped the needle into my leg, it pulled itselef the rest of the way out of the syringe, and went thundering through my leg with a stampeding force.
I barely had time to pull out the needle before the insane pounding began in my head. Instead of feeling just the new injection crawling, It felt like my entire brain was crawling, scratching around inside my skull. I had to lie back in the ergolounge while my skull threatened to shatter into innumerable pieces. I was on fire. My eyeballs were on fire. My ears, my ears were leaking. Foam filled my mouth. Hot foamy metal. My Kyr was tinkling. I could hear it under my collarbone. It was inside me tinkling. My collarbone had red bumps that were itching and I couldn't move my hands to scratch them. I couldn't find my hands. I felt my brain slide down my throat. I couldn't breathe? I stopped breathing! I stopped breathing! I didn't know how to breathe anymore! How do I move my lungs? I was sliding further down into the ergolounge. I couldn't see! I tried to open my mouth, but it was filled with foam. Foam? My nose and mouth had foam falling out. I felt the pounding of my heart. It stopped. It stopped? HOW DO I STAY ALIVE! I'M DYING I'M DYING! I tried to scream.
White hot light shot out of my collarbone. It was burning my skin, I could smell it. I could smell! I could breathe! Had I died? I moved my hands, but I was swimming in light, so my movements were so slow... I could see the trails that my hands left behind as I moved them through the light.
I must be dead.

I was standing. I was in front of a mirror. I was breathing. I wasn't on fire. I had an odd golden V on my collar bone, pointed on the breast bone between my ribs. It had colored, transparent round faceted stones on the arms along my collar bone, one circular cabochon stone above the center of the V, a shiny metal cabochon circle in the center of the V and a triangular faceted stone hanging from the metal to make a deep point on the V. The stones all looked as if they were lit with LEDs. It itched something fierce. I tried to move it to scratch underneath, but it was hurt to touch it, and it felt like it was actually connected to my bones! My jacket was crumpled up on the ergolounge and the vial and syringe were on the floor. Was I sure I wasn't dead?
"Flower Water Lotus?"
Tap. Tap. Tap.
I couldn't be dead, Zyrenak was tapping on the doors. If I were dead, NO ONE WOULD EVER BOTHER ME AGAIN.
"Yes Representative, I will be out soon."
My voice sounded ... odd. Higher? Melodic? I don't know, just different. I put the syringe and the vial into the incinerator. Hmmm. While I'm at it, I should dump the package for Dune into the post slot here. I took the foofoo envelope out of my purse and slipped it into the slot marked 'POST'. Oh, I should probably print up a new undershirt for this suit. The V-neck shows the gold band. I watched the gold V-band shimmer out of sight in the mirror. HUH? I reached up to my collar bone. I couldn't feel it. So what happens if I want to see it? The gold V-band shimmered into sight, and my hand instantly felt the cool metal permanently attached to my bone. Uhhhh? And I don't want to see it. Shimmer. And I do want to see it? Shimmer. Uh huh. What the hell was I? I don't want to see it. Shimmer. I put my jacket back on and cleaned up my face. I had to redo my hair somewhat as it had pulled out of the clips. I quickly snapped it back into place, smooth and sleek. I picked up my purse and left the thermal relaxation room.
Zyrenak was sitting in an ergolounge, reading a lumentext.
"Are you all better now Flower?"
"Yes, quite." Other than the fact that I just died and came back to life... for the second time in my life. Note to self, don't mess with the living metal, it will freak you out.
"Do you think you're well enough to continue with the discussions? We're on a break for mid meal right now."
"Yeah, I'm well enough." I felt... odd.
Zyrenak walked me back into the conference room. The representatives were just starting to settle down, back into the discussion. I took my seat.
"As I was saying, proposition-dah21 doesn't make sense for any of the rest of us, it essentially keeps the Wetware industry in the hands of only Zergtek-L!"
"That is a lie! Proposition-dah21 is a fair and balanced treatment of the patenting process essential to the Wetware research and development as an industry!"
"You mean essential to the Zergtek-L lock on the markets!"
I saw an urgent message from Dune flashing just below my vision line. I opened my interface. Interesting. It didn't say I was connected as Triandis Suiryoku anymore. I checked to see if I could connect to the Fire mesh-x controller. Yes, I could, but it didn't show a name. Who was I? I brought up Dune's message.
"DID YOU DIE?! YOUR BRAIN SCAN CAME BACK UNAVAILABLE!"
"Holy hellfire! Stop yelling! No I didn't die, or well, if I did, I'm alive again. Something odd happened to me when I took the last of the vial."
"I'll say... I'm getting a new brain scan now. Wait. It just shifted. Ok, just relax. Ok, there we go. Ok, the shifted brain scan showed a normal Flower brain, but once you relaxed I could see your normal brain, er, normal for you anyway, and it has living metal modules interspersed within every region. Your brain is co-functioning with the living metal. This is incredible. The only thing even remotely like what I'm seeing now is written in a theoretical abstract one of the professors in academy research spent time developing on artificial brains."
My brain is artificial?
"But yours is so much more complex than what he had described."
So I have a complex artificial brain? This just keeps getting worse. I can't believe how much simpler my life was before I died in the street that night.
"So what is Tryst's opinions on proposition-Dah21?"
"Yeah, Flower, what is Tryst's opinion?"
I did a quick search. "Arcson Tryst Suiryoku believes that with some modifications to subsection 4, article E, the provisions in proposition-dah21 could be beneficial to the Wetware industry as a whole. He has provided the revisions necessary to garner his approval in the packet of information I transmitted to you at the start of the discussions."
"But that section amends the intellectual property laws governing Wetware so that any and all patents that come from the work being performed at Zergtek-L are the property of Zergtek-L; his changes would not allow that amendment, but would instead allow the patents that ARE BUILT ON OUR WORK TO BE PATENTABLE PROPERTY OF THE INDIVIDUALS THAT PERFORM THE SUBSEQUENT RESEARCH!" Tao was screaming at me.
"That's the point, if they use your work as a launching point for their own research, it is their property. Zergtek-L cannot forever own the intellectual property of an entire industry, Representative Tao." I didn't even flinch. He could scream at me all he wanted to, but I wasn't going to back down. This is what Tryst said, so this is what I will present, without modification.
"If he thinks that he can make these changes to proposition-dah21 without any repercussions to his own proposition-ct22, then he is going to be very surprised."
I checked proposition-ct22.
"Proposition-ct22 does not need Zergtek-L's authorization, nor any of Zergtek-L's subsidiaries. Proposition-ct22 has already been passed on to the amendment phase and is being voted on as we speak by the combined united senate."
"WHAT?! There is no way that proposition could have made it to the senate without Zergtek-L's support!"
"Actually, when Arcson Tryst Suiryoku eliminated section RA-22 completely from proposition-ct22, he no longer needed Zergtek-L's approval."
"But that was the one section that we benefitted from!"
"Exactly, Representative Tao."
He was absolutely enraged.
"I demand a WEED TEST FOR THIS FEMALE RIGHT NOW!"
GAH!
Intris called in the BWI males.
Uhhh. What about all that living metal in my blood? Would it mess up the tests? KRIETSIT!
"DUNE! WILL LIVING METAL IN MY BLOOD TEST POSITIVE FOR WEED?"
"WHAT? HOW THE HELL SHOULD I KNOW?"
"THEY'RE BRINGING IN BWI TO TEST ME RIGHT NOW!"
Panic Panic Panic. Ok breathe. You've passed this once. You can pass it again. That was before you shot up. DON'T SAY THAT!
Three males in BWI uniforms came into the conference room with equipment.
Don't pass out! Don't do anything! Sit still! Don't fidget! THINK CALM HAPPY THOUGHTS! DON'T THINK ABOUT BEING INCINERATED! GAH!
"Flower, may I have your arm please?"
Security guards came into the conference room.
Good thing I had shot up last time in my leg. I stretched out my arm.
"This will be a small pinch, and then you might feel ill."
You don't know what ill feels like.
I felt the sting of the needle and sure enough, as he pulled out my blood I felt nauseous. Zyrenak handed me my cup of tea. I drank a few sips, silently to cut the ill feeling to a minimum.
The BWI technicians ran through their scans and analyses. Stay calm. You have perfect genes. EXCEPT THAT YOU FLOODED THEM WITH LIVING METAL! SHHH! Don't say that to yourself! But it's true! Yeah, but you don't need to know that! GAH BUT I DO! QUIET IN HERE!
"Sir, she's a true one-hundred percent perfect genetic makeup specimen. There isn't even the slightest hint of a single weed gene in her makeup."
Tao looked at me oddly.
"Thank you. So sorry to take up your time." Intris had a funky smile on his face. Haughty? Worried? Kast, of course looked extremely arrogant. They knew I wasn't a weed. Were they doing this just for show?
"Call us anytime you need us."
The BWI males and the security guards left the conference room.
"Are you satisfied Tao?" Zyrenak was giving him the look of death.
"She's seriously a p-era?"
"Yes, you just saw the test for yourself."
What happened to the living metal in my blood?
"What's her going price?"
"Too rich for you." Kast laughed.
Two moments ago Tao wanted me incinerated, and now he wanted to know how much I COST?! I'm going to poison the coffee. I'm going to put a chemical in the water that will kill all of them in one shot. No more Kast. No more Name-Yet-Another-Male-Driving-Me-Crazy-Here. No more arrogant, selfish, pompous, asinine males. In fact, if I poisoned the coffee supply, ALL THE MALES WOULD BE GONE! HA!
"So I take it you've made an offer for her Kast?"
"Of course I have." Kast looked directly into my eyes. "She's too much of a prize for me not to make an exquisite offer for her." Just poison the coffee. Poof.
"Well, it's possible that Intris' offer will be more harmonious to her family than one from you Kast." Zyrenak was back to pushing buttons again.
Kast snapped his head to glare at Intris.
"YOU made an offer for HER?"
"Of course. You don't think I'm going to just let you have the most valuable property without a fight, do you?" Intris did not look comfortable, but only his eyes were showing any sign of unease. His was pompous, as usual.
PROPERTY? GRRRRRRR! I WILL POISON THE COFFEE AFTER THEY GO TO REST! WHEN THEY HAVE THAT FIRST CUP IN THE EARLY TIME THEY WILL ALL DIE!
"And of course, Ikaen has made a very tempting offer for the Flower too." Zyrenak was going to cause an all out brawl.
"You didn't think you'd be the only one to want her, did you Kast?"
I'M SITTING RIGHT HERE! I'M NOT INANIMATE!
"Well if you'll excuse us, I promised the Flower I'd take her to get some healthful food after the day she's had." Zyrenak stood up.
He did? Uhhh. I gathered up all of my paraphernalia and stuffed it into the flap-bag. I scooped up my purse.
"It's been enlightening. See you tomorrow during conference. If you will excuse me." I gave my best fake sweet smile and left the room trailing Zyrenak.
"What was that about?" I whispered.
"I was hoping they'd kill each other."
"Why?"
"No one treats my sister like a freaking piece of garbage."
SISTER?