Fire Opal: Scene 7

F# Major Pensoso

The lab was empty, and Zyrenak had to turn on the lighting system. I was instantly jealous of the well-funded laboratory. I would have given my first born to perform research in this facility. It was going to be difficult to restrain my enthusiasm and knowledge of the equipment.
"So do you work in here?"
He laughed. "I'm not a scientist. I'm just a rep."
"Oh."
"You sound disappointed."
Yeah, so that you'll be tempted to give me more info to impress me.
"No..."
There's the bait...
"Before I became a rep, I managed this facility and the materials research division."
Hook, line, and sinker.
"Oh? What kind of stuff did you make?" Did that sound fluffy enough? I didn't want him to know I was digging, but I don't want to sound too fluffy or he'll know something is up.
"Well, I didn't make things personally, but I managed the divisions that came up with the formula for the material you are wearing right now."
I ran my hand over a benchtop mass spectrometer unit. A nice one. A very, very nice one. I was nearly drooling. My fingers itched to be working in research again.
"Do you know what that is?"
Yes, Yes I do. Perhaps moreso than you. "Some kind of lab tool, I'm assuming, since it's in a lab." Grit your teeth. Bite your tongue. Ok.
"Yes. That's a mast spectrometer."
"I beg your pardon?" Did he just say 'mast spectrometer?'
"It's a mast spectrometer."
He did. HOLY HELLFIRE. My nerves fried. Wait. "I thought you said MASS spectrometer." Which would have been correct. "That's what I thought my brothers were always talking about, a MASS spectrometer, but I'm glad you pronounced it slowly - they tend to slosh all their words together. I would hate to think that I could have accidentally said it incorrectly!" So now don't you feel like an idiot. Either you're really dumb and trying to play smart, or you're really smart and you're trying to catch me make a mistake. Either way, I was a hair smarter than you this time. I felt slightly satisfied with myself right then.
"Oh, I believe you are correct! I believe it is MASS spectrometer! And here I've been saying MAST for ages. No wonder the staff always looked at me funny."
Nice save. Yeah, he was trying to trick me.
"Would you like to see some of what we're currently working on?"
"Of course!" Round 2?
He led me through each of the different labs and painstakingly told me what each one did.
"This one works on the refill cartridges for the DPU. Depending on the function required of the DPU, different refill cartridges will be needed..."
I think that's when I tuned him out somewhat. It was hard having him tell me in the most patronizing way possible what each lab did. It was fairly obvious from the materials in an around such labs to figure it out. I mean, come on, what could a lab that has charts, drawings, labels, notes, schematics, and other assorted information on refill cartridges, including a cartridge in various stages of test design, be in charge of, if not refill cartridges?
"-and this is where we have been attempting to pin down the formulations."
Pin down the formulations for what? Ok, don't tune him out again.
"Ever since the genocide, there has not been a way to recreate the living metal supply. Most of the documentation and information was housed in Drar and Associates, which were headquartered in Dryft. We've only been able to scrape up pieces that were duplicated throughout the mesh-x."
Drar and Associates?
Mother?

I started shaking. Krietsit. I hadn't replaced my needle yet. There must be some sterile needles here in this facility.
"Would you like a closer look at the machinery we are using to try to piece together the living metal master formulations?"
"Oh yes, I would." He led me through each of the stations in the master labratory. I scanned each bench for the little rip-packets that would house sterile needles.
"You see, you have to first make a master formulation of living metal, before you can structure it and program it to do tasks."
"Oh?" I saw a casual stack of the rip-packets I was looking for on one of the benches near what looked like a massively mutated DPU.
"Yes, you see if we could reproduce the living metal master formula, then it's possible we could just use our DPU technology to structure program it layer by layer."
WHAT?! I snapped around. I stared at him straight in the eyes.
"That's a very bold idea." I was still staring him straight in the eyes.
"That's why I love this company." His eyes told me that he had just dropped a sensitive nugget. He was baiting me. I needed one of those rip-packets. An excuse. An excuse.
"That looks like a cross between a DPU and a reptile!" I went over to the mutated-DPU thing in order to swipe one of the rip-packets. Zyrenak swiftly came in between me and the rip-packets. Hellfire! I didn't care jack squat about that thing - I needed a needle!
"That's one of our off-limit projects for now."
"Oh of course! I just thought it looked kind of interesting." KRIETSIT! I scanned around the remaining benches as we walked away from the mutant. There was a single rip-packet next to a rack of vials. Ok. This time I have give him less time to stop me.
"So why does Biolazin invest so much in research?"
His eyes lit up. YES!
"That's one of the reasons I really love what we do. You see -"
I tuned him out and wandered around the 'unexplored' areas of the lab, slowly making my way to the vial bench. I nodded and smiled and bounced my gaze from him back to the lab instruments and then back to him. I made sure I was touching things lightly, as if it was all new to me. Slowly, slowly I worked around the maze of equipment to the vial bench. Then, as he was talking, I swiped my hand across the bench, picked up the rip-packet and shoved it into my glove in one swoop.
He was in front of me in a flash.
"I'm really sorry, but this is another off-limits area."
"Oh of course." I smiled sweetly and followed him. "Maybe it would be better if I just stuck next to you?" Oh yeah, he liked that idea. I had the needle - wait. My brain registered the label I had caught on the vials. Control - Maki?
"Representative Zyrenak? Would you show me where the wash room is?"
"Oh! Of course, oh and you can drop the 'Representative,' we're not in session anymore."
"But that would be disrespectful!" I gave him my best horrified expression.
"We need more Flowers like you."
Yeah, we do.
The wash room had a nice ergolounge. That would be much preferable to using a stall. I popped out the rip-packet and pulled the syringe out of my purse. I dumped the broken needle and replaced it with the new one. It was a hair too small for the syringe but I *made* it fit. I sat in the ergolougne. I really didn't want to put a hole in my new liquid-y clothing, and I hadn't noticed the track marks like I had the first time I injected... I quickly tied off my arm and found the vein. Within moments, I felt the living metal crawling up my arm. I waited for the brain-pressure. I was already holding my head when it hit. Hellfire this stuff was nasty. I could feel each and every nerve in my brain pounding, slamming with pressure. I held my breath. The light that came pouring out of my nose was hot. Hot like blood. But it felt so good... I felt so much stronger.
I packed up my syringe and vial back into my purse and went to the mirror. My nose had bled! I wiped it up and cleaned my face up. I was flushed.
Zyrenak was standing outside the wash room doors. "Are you all right?"
"Yes, this heat just does me in."
"How about we go somewhere cool?"
"That would be lovely. What do you have in mind?"
"Well... there is this heavenly cafe where I go to met up with some of the scientists from Biolazin..."
"That would be very nice!"
"They of course have many different teas, and they have this one specialty that I think you will enjoy."
Of course they had teas. Yay. I wanted coffee.
"It sounds like we should go there then."
"I was hoping you would say that."
Yeah, you want me to advertise some more. I have to admit, it was a nearly-perfect fabric, so I can see why he'd want to market it as much as possible to build up hype before it was released.
"I can introduce you to the crew that worked on the fabric you're wearing."
Lovely.
"Will they approve of my wearing their invention? Do I need to change first?"
"Oh no, they will more than approve..."
What did that mean? WAS MY ASS SHOWING? I felt around my butt. No, it was still covered by the bottom of the dress and the sash-thing. I followed him through the main doors. The doors had a standard walk-in scanset entry, so that Zyrenak just had to walk up to the scanner and it automatically scanned-in his brain-print through his ears, and then the doors would open. How hard would that be to fake? I saw the light flash of a retinal print. Was it even possible to fake a brain-scan plus retinal-print? I should say, fake one for an existing user. I looked at Zyrenak. Could I fake his scans?
Could I get into that building?
Control-Maki. That was a control sample from Maki...? That was how we labeled control vials in the academy. What was in that vial?
I had to find a way into that building.