Dr. Zack flipped the sign hanging next
to his office door to "IN", opened the door, and went into his office.
He went around to the side, flipped on the computer, then sat down.
He didn't expect too many visitors, because
the weather outside had been downright wonderful. He wasn't planning
an exam this week, so there would be no last second pleas for mercy or
requests for immediate IQ augmentation. He pulled over a sheaf of
quizzes and began grading them while his computer connected to the Internet
and downloaded his e-mail.
After finishing the pile, he turned to
the computer and glanced down the list of messages. Many were from
Quantum Chemists responding to his recent article in "Quantum Chemistry
Journal", and a few from colleagues with the next few steps of derivations
for cooperative articles. He noticed one from Jack Travis and double-clicked
on it immediately.
From: "Dr. Jack
W. Travis" jwtravis@liquidair.com
To: "Dr. Anthony Zacharias"
dr_z@meridianet.net
Cc: none
Re: Thanks For the photos!
Message:
Hey Tony!
Thanks for the infared
photos of the Mark-2A prototypes we used to ship your order of lnit.
Thanks also for recovering the bottle used to trash that eye and shipping
it back to us. Our bigwigs weren't enthused about this model until
they heard what the prototype went through and the use it was put to.
I dread to think what kind of advertising crap Marketing is thinking up
right now!
Many thanks also for
suggesting some ideas for changing our manufacturing process so we can
cover that cold spot the photos showed. You're right, of course:
We weren't thinking outside the box, or the bottle in this case, because
we WERE limiting ourselves by the process we used to make the old Dewar
models.
By the way, the camera
was just fine. I dunno who the hell the slavedriver is who you work
for, but that poor lady with the glasses in the reference pic should have
been in bed, not working in a high school with a fever of 102. You
deserve to be at MIT, not in a third rate high school in a third world
country that's clueless about public health. Honestly Tony, all that
crap kicked up with that paper about vestigal DNA should have died down
by now, you know?
Hey, with all the bad
stuff and goings on down there in Meridiana, are you interested in a cozy
job here at Liquid Air? Nah. We couldn't be that lucky, would
we? But just in case, do keep us, and me, in mind, okay?
Thanks again, Tony.
I owe ya.
"What the hell??" Dr. Zack thought,
puzzled.
There was an attachment to the letter.
Dr. Zack clicked on it, and a large JPEG appeared. An infared photo
showing temperature gradients in a wide rainbow of colors was on the left
half of the JPEG, and there was Jack's handwriting on the right, with arrows
pointing to various spots on the picture. One identified two dark
circles on the face as glasses. Another marking circled two temperature
anomalies on the person's chest with an arrow pointing to them, and a label
of "WOOT!!!!" at the other end of the arrow. A double-headed arrow
pointed to a scale at one end and the neck of the person with the other.
It was labeled "102.3". Two arrows identified a narrowing around
the waist, and had "*"'s attached. At the bottom was the note, "*What's
she like in normal light? In a Bikini? *drool*"
"Womanizing bastard." Dr. Zack muttered
with a chuckle, shaking his head and remembering the wild weekends that
he and Jack had barely survived while in college, "Its a miracle his gonads
are still attached to him. Hah! I wonder what he'd think if
he knew that 'she' dresses in dr-"
Then he stopped.
Adrian had appeared perfectly healthy that
day.
The tank of liquid nitrogen that Cybersix
had used had come from HERE. From Meridiana High School.
And he recalled that her body temperature
was higher than normal, due to inefficiencies when burning sustenance.
Dr. Zack grabbed a sheet of paper and began
to calculate thermal dissipation rates, pulling down handbooks of chemistry
and physics constants to look up the numbers he needed.
He grimaced at the ringing of the phone.
He snatched it up, "Dr. Zacharias here. What is it?" he demanded
irritably, trying to punch some numbers into the Calculator app on his
Palm Pilot at the same time.
"Phone call for you, sir."
"From whom?
"He won't say, sir."
"Okay! Put him on!" There was a clicking
on the line, "Hello? This is Dr. Anth-"
"Dr. Anthony Zacharias, world expert in
Quantum Mechanics. Yes, I know."
Dr. Zack frowned, "Who are you, sir, and
what is the purpose of this call, I may ask?"
The voice chuckled maliciously at the other
end of the line, "Why, I called to thank you for only humiliating my agent,
and not killing her."
Dr. Zack dropped the Palm stylus, hand
shaking. He wheeled around to face his chair away from the door,
willing the flesh of his back to stop crawling, "Von Richter." he said,
hoping his voice didn't shake as bad as his fingers, "I didn't know you
cared."
"Why, I am rather attached to her.
After all, I am not as bad as some make me out to be."
"Do tell." Dr. Zack thought.
"Is that all?"
"No. Are you trying to duplicate
sustenance?"
Dr. Zack thought a long moment, wheeling
around nervously in his chair. He looked out the open door.
Adrian Seidelman was in the hall, pinning
a paper to a billboard.
He then glanced at the JPEG glowing on
his monitor.
"Yes," He said firmly, glancing back at
the disguised Cybersix and realizing for the first time in his life what
heroes were for, "I am."
"I wouldn't advise that."
"You're in no position to threaten me!"
Dr. Zack replied, feeling his courage rise, "I obtained my research samples
in the same way Cybersix does. I could use a few more!"
Pause, "So you are allied with the renegade!"
he spat out, losing his cool.
"I'll figure out how to make sustenance,"
Dr. Zack said firmly, "You've no clue what that stuff is capable of!"
"Oh Really?" the voice dripped with contempt.
"Yes! And I'll give you the credit
for it too."
"You will?" The voice was startled, caught
off guard.
"Of course. After the world realizes
the full potential of sustenance, you'll go down in history as the greatest
example of a wasted life!"
There was a snarl, then the sound of a
receiver being slammed back on its hook. Dialtone.
Grinning, Dr. Zack hung his phone up, "No
more running," he said to himself.
He crumpled up the page of half-finished
calculations and pocketed his Palm. He then got up and walked out
to the billboard.
"Really Lucas!" Adrian was talking earnestly
to Lucas Amato, "It'll be a good talk. It'll do you some good to
get some culture!"
"Adrain, I flunked Literature in high school
and barely passed in College! I wouldn't understand all that gobbledygook!"
"Yes you can, if you just tried!"
Dr. Zack looked at the new poster on the
bulletin board. It read:
The Playwright in The Tempest.
A talk to the Meridiana Literary
Society
By Adrian Seidelman.
Meridiana Museum of Art and Culture,
19:00 July 9.
"You're giving a talk?" Dr. Zack asked.
"Yes. It seems that the father of
one of my students is on the board, so they extended an invitation to me!"
"Well, that will help with your evaluation."
"IF I can get someone to hear me and write
a report! Lucas! I could really use your help this time!"
"Uhhh, sorry buddy! I'd fall asleep
half way, and there'd go your report. Maybe someone else? How
about the librarian?" Lucas said, backing away.
Adrian looked very disappointed, "Oh, okay!"
he said resignedly, waving his hand, "May as well ask Lori to attend while
I'm at it!" he muttered under his breath.
"Isn't that a typo?" Dr. Zack pointed at
the poster, "Shouldn't it be The Playwright AND The Tempest?"
"Oh no!" He sounded amused, "That's
the right word."
"And you're talking about the play, not
about a crisis in Shakespeare's life?"
Adrian smiled, "Yes. The play."
Dr. Zack pulled out his Palm Pilot and
began to punch at the screen, "I'm free that night. I'll attend and
write that report on your talk. It should be interesting."
"You will?" Adrian asked hopefully, almost
unbelieving.
"Yes." he said, pocketing his Palm, "It
should have a bit more weight than Lucas' anyhow. See you then!"
"Thank you." he said simply, smiling at
him.
-------
Dr. Zack studied the notes in his hand,
turning occasionally to gaze into the vial of sustenance for a few long
minutes. He was interrupted when the security system simultaneously
chimed AND beeped.
He quickly put the vial aside, pulled out
his pistol, and glanced at the readout. One indicator showed something
VERY large walking toward the front door along the walkway, while
the other indicated someone walking along the wall opposite the library
window. He swiveled toward the library window, body tense.
He relaxed when he saw Cybersix's face, framed by her fedora and the red
lining of her cape, appear in the window. She smiled and tapped at
a pane,
"Library Window open!" he commanded, putting
away his pistol, "Good evening Cybersix!"
"Good evening Doctor Zacharias. Were
you expecting unwelcome guests?" she asked, eyes sparkling as she stepped
inside.
"You're several weeks early." He pointed
out, "AND I seem to have a guest at the front door."
"Yes, I Invited him." She wrapped her cape
around herself, "I hope you didn't mind."
Curiosity aroused, Dr. Zack went downstairs,
Cybersix following him. He got to the front door, flicked off the
alarm system, switched on the light, and took a look at the small CCTV
screen to identify his guest.
Cybersix laughed softly at his reaction
to a huge Fixed Idea waiting patiently outside his door, "Please don't
keep him waiting, Dr. Zack!"