"Not dead" the blonde bent over her cold wooden desk and gracelessly fluttered her fingers over a few keys on the board. Her Slavic hair was pinned haphazardly to the back of her head, calculative green eyes lurking behind a pair of plastic chemistry lab safety glasses that were otherwise unnecessary in the dark office; lit only by the massive glowing monitor mounted on her wall.
"Not dead." she repeated as she spun around as she sipped cold, creamy coffee from an antiquated mug, "Just... dismembered." her slender hands picked up a data pad and queued up a compilation of all the relevant data before sending it off
UNITED NATIONS SPACE COMMAND PRIORITY TRANSMISSION
099735J-99
Encryption Code: Red
Public Key: file/dirge-of-pompeii/
From: Ashley Tiercel. Special civilian consultant (Civilian Identification Number: 01188-612-TGR4688
To: Admiral Ashford Kingsley, Chief of Research and Engineering UNSC Anahita Base
Subject: Project Muse Relevance
Classification: Restricted (BGX Drive)
/start file/
Admiral Kingsley,
I am pleased to inform you that all of my simulations within the provided parameters dictate that PROJECT MUSE is within a probable scope.
/end file/
Press ENTER to open linked attachments
Her heart raced. She just needed to get past the talking heads now. Then it would be real, then she would be validated.
She walked down a set of shallow stairs into what felt like a well of darkness, light overhead by a painfully bland floodlight that hardly etched out the features of the talking heads lining the contiguous podium that encircled her.
"Why?" they questioned.
"Project Muse will expand our boundaries in neuro physics. We will be able to transcend the capacity of the normal human brain and eliminate discrepancies in human to technology communications." She went on, she expounded, gesticulating wildly even pleading until they finally surrendered their funding and their approval.
"But... I need them." she folded her hands together neatly and the talking heads bristled.