works with you to set up a partition in the conference room that she can stand behind unseen as the division leaders come in for the meeting. Then you sit down at the head of the table, mulling over what you and discussed and how best to present your plans.
Your thoughts are soon interrupted as the division leaders slowly trickle in, laptops and cups of coffee in hand. The usual pleasantries, grumbles, and jokes of any office meeting are exchanged as everyone sits down at the table. You can’t help but smile, thankful that at least you don’t have to wear ties to these meetings.
Once everyone has settled in, you stand slowly to make sure you have the attention of the room. “Now I know we had planned to give our progress reports and set up the tests for the week, but something significant has come up. Last night I examined the samples before going to bed and found that one of them matched perfectly with all of our design perimeters.” The rest of the people in the room clatter and mutter questions and excited exclamations…all except for Tony and Bob, who are responsible for the lab’s supplies, stores, and transportation. There is an unusual expression on their faces that seems happy, a bit cautious, and playful, all at the same time. You mentally shake it off and motion for everyone else to quiet down.
“Now I know this is a breach of protocol, but in my excitement I took the sample and accelerated it to see if we had finally completed Phase 1 of our operation.” You pause, making sure you have the attention of everyone before turning to the partition. “? Could you step out here, please?”
The whispers turn into a chaotic uproar as steps out and stands beside you, her paw brushing your hand lightly. At that moment you notice Tony and Bob smile at each other, as if something finally clicked in their minds. Again, you table that thought for later as you again motion for everyone’s silence. While this takes some doing, you finally get everyone settled down.
“Now I know we all want a chance to run our tests and poke and prod, but the thing we have to all remember is our original agreement and design – to create a learning, sentient, adaptable entity with feelings, desires, and emotions. All tests, per this agreement, must be scheduled and approved. While we are a bit more…flexible here than in most places, our first and foremost task is to see if this can be replicated and to see if we can use this knowledge to incorporate animal DNA into a human being.” You wait for everyone’s acknowledgement, then continue. “Tracy, I want you and your team to check every single specimen we have right now. Compare them to the logs from ’s incubation chamber. If we have any matches, we need to see about getting them ready. If not, we need to find out why.” You pause, noticing Tracy looking up from her notes to follow the way your shirt hugs ’s breasts. Figuring that this will give her and her partner, Leah, something to “think about” tonight, you let it go and continue.
“Mark, you and your team will need to get the biolab ready. has agreed to let us perform a full physical this afternoon – blood work, paps, x-rays, and so on. We need to find out the extent of the integration and if there are threats – illnesses, DNA collapses, cellular reversion, anything else we can possibly think of.” Mark nods.
“The rest of you will go back to your teams and continue working as normal. We need to find out if this is a flux or if we can do this again. And please keep in mind that is not our lab rat. Our goal was to see if we can incorporate a hybrid into our world. Treat her like a person. Let her learn, roam, ask questions, interact, make observations. We need to know how well this will work and where we need to go from here. Bob, Tony, I’d like to see the two of you for a few moments. The rest of you are dismissed.”
Each of the team leaders stop by to shake her paw and oogle their creation before leaving as Bob and Tony wait silently in the back of the room. |