July 22nd 1995

Victor Research Facilities

"What's that package you got there?" Alexander asked one morning, holding his first cup of coffee.

"Huh? Oh uh...It's uh my...l-lunch." Carl lied, wincing slightly. Alexander stared at him for a few moments before nodding and taking a sip of coffee before continuing on his way.

Carl thought he was all clear until he ran into Dr. Angela Vasquez who asked the same thing.

"M-my lunch?"

Angela looked at the package he was holding with two hands and blinked. "That's a lot of food there Chryniszzswics…."

"I uh….I'm uh….a heavy eater...today?" He fumbled.

"Just today huh." Angela tapped the bottom of her pen against her cheek in thought. "Can I see what you packed?"

"I-it's just food, i-it's not that interesting...I...um..y-you'll see at lunch." He tried to walk off.

"Right. I'll see you at lunch with all that food."

Carl stopped. Crap! What am I gonna do when it's lunch and I only have a sandwich?

"I-I mean I might snack a bit, because l-like I said I'm a heavy eater...t-t-today I mean. H-hey maybe it's just a uh..one a year thing…"

"Right….I'll see you in the lab." When she walked off Carl sighed in relief and headed to the pod. When Landa saw him she cooed happily.

"Happy birthday Landa!" Carl said happily as he set the package down. "I got somethings for you!"

He reached into the bag and pulled out a large tub of soft plastic blocks. Landa's eyes widened in wonder as she saw them and reached out to grab them. Carl smiled and placed the tub next to her. She giggled, took a blue block and chewed on it.

"I'm glad you like it."

"Chryniszzswics! Are you coming!?" Angela called, startling him.

"Yes! I-I'll be there in a second!" He kissed Landa's head and went to the lab.

…..

During lunch Carl sat down with his sandwich, getting a quizzical look from Angela.

"I thought you brought a ton of food." She pointed out.

"Y-yeah l-like I said though, I-I snacked a bit…" He said nervously. "H-hey why don't we listen to some music huh?"

He went over to the radio and turned it on, letting Waterfalls, fill the air, hoping the music would distract Angela from asking anymore questions. It worked for a while as they sat there in silence eating as the song faded into Scream. However at the sound of someone clearing their throat loudly, Angela and Carl looked over to see a very angry looking Alexander holding a blue block in his hand, tapping his foot on the ground. "Can either of you explain why this was with MCHLF 1?"

Angela looked over at Carl, waiting for him to explain. Carl nervously pulled and his collar and sweated as he tried to explain, "I uh..I..I was t-t-trying to see how she would r-r-react to o-objects. D-d-didn't we discuss this is s-s-something we'd attempt when she's this age?"

Alexander sighed. "Yes, but we needed to discuss it first,Chryniszzswics! I don't think you're taking this experiment seriously!"

"I am, I swear!" Carl whined. "I-I'm s-s-sorry I didn't consult you first…"

Alexander huffed angrily. "You should be sorry! You're lucky you're too important to this project to fire you…"

Carl gulped. "I-I understand…"

"Good." Alexander left the room.

"So you eat blocks?" Angela teased. Carl sighed and sat back down, picking at his sandwich now.

"I-I don't understand why he's so mad...It's her birthday, I-I just thought...I...I don't know…"

Angela frowned. "Chryniszzswics, it's not a child it's an experiment."

Carl felt a knot form in his stomach. "I-I...r-right."

The knot tightened.