Hmmm… what do I add now… Lets see. I think we need a bit of this, and a little of that, and THIS! AND THAT AND THAT AND THIS! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!
Creativity: Oh no, not again… Boss, I know you like the new studio cauldron, but you're slipping into maniacal laughter more often than usual.
Author: When did you come in?
Creativity: Five minutes ago. Oh, and the readers are waiting.
Author: … oh.
I'd like to apologize for… that. So, this week, we continue with the interviews as well as getting Rose to actually get up and do… something. Maybe. Seriously, I don't know why I've dragged out her just sitting around and looking at dirt for so long.
So, without further ado, I present chapter 24!
P.S. This is directed to any and all who like to ask me questions through reviews, but I'm going to call out someone out specifically here. Clare Prime of Ultra, I cannot answer your questions if you keep PMs blocked. I fully understand why one would not want PMs enabled, since the internet can be inhabited by some nasty little shits, but it makes me irrationally angry when I try to communicate with my readership and I am barred from it. I don't answer questions in this opening bit because I just don't like doing that, and because what I may or may not share could be information that other people don't want to know yet. I am not asking you to stop with questions, just maybe open up a private avenue of communication maybe. I like conversing with readers one on one and it irrationally irritates me when I can't. I am a weird person. A very, very weird person.
We now return to your regularly scheduled chapter.
Rothstein smiled to himself as he watched the potential hires approaching the building. There were four individuals, all from Harvard who he was interviewing today. All of them had GPAs of 4.0 or higher, were noted for their ambition, and showed specific promise in genetics. All of them had their doctorates already and one had even written their thesis on cross-species genetics! They had walked a very fine line when they wrote it, but the thesis committee had accepted it all the same. There were probably a few people on the committee that worked within the organization.
He waited patiently as the first candidate entered his office. He was a bit on the shorter side, but with a stocky build. He had short, sandy hair and small, almost beady eyes. He swiftly sat down in the offered chair and Rothstein slipped on a pair of glasses. They were purely cosmetic, but the candidate, Derwin Fletcher his name was, wouldn't know that.
"So, Mr. Fletcher… studied at Harvard, PHD in neurobiology and majoring in nuclear physics and a dabbling in genetics, top honors. What sort of research would you bring to our company?"
Derwin sat in a relaxed, comfortable, yet still professional position with a hint of a smirk playing on his lips.
"Well, I had begun my studies with the intention of studying the effects of nuclear radiation on neurons, though I had to wonder why Neo-Gen was interested in me, considering my primary fields of study."
Rothstein smiled.
"Well, I have begun work on a new project that your background could lend a unique perspective to. You see, with the emergence of these prehistoric creatures that feed on ionizing radiation, we thought it possible to breed a plant that can do so similarly. One of our sister companies managed to acquire DNA from one of these creatures, which they have been using to engineer creatures with similar capabilities, in terms of radiation consumption that is."
Derwin cocked his head.
"Didn't the UN declare the practice of cross-species genetics illegal?"
Rothstein shook his head.
"No, they declared the human experimentation of cross-species genetics illegal. Do you really think that they'd be able to keep anyone from pursuing this? The science is revolutionary and there are many laboratories and large companies who have invested great interest in the concept, even ignoring the amount of money they've put into its research. Even if the UN did try to outlaw it, every government worth its salt would be foolish to not be working on something related to the field."
Derwin conceded the point.
"So, what does that have to do with me? As flattered as I am by your consideration, it seems a bit strange that you would be looking for a neurobiologist for a project involving genetically engineered plants."
Rothstein leaned forward a bit.
"We'll get into those details later. Now then…"
Rothstein interviewed Derwin for a little while longer before dismissing him. It was a few more minutes before he sent for his next candidate. Her name was Amelia Grell. She was another doctor from Harvard, albeit more recent. Her thesis had been the one on cross-species genetics, making her immediately the top candidate for Rothstein. Added to that was the fact that she had PHDs in both biology, psychology and nuclear physics, and she was a prime candidate. Plus, the fact that she had done her thesis on cross-species genetics meant she had the stomach for the job.
Amelia walked into the room. She was rather tall, about 5.8, with pale skin, green eyes and red hair. She immediately took the offered seat, back straight. Rothstein went through the interview very slowly, relaxed. He had practically made up his mind already before she had even walked in the door, so this was little more than a formality.
He still wasn't completely forthcoming about the details of what the project would entail. At least, not yet. While he hadn't done any personal scouting in a very long time, he had seen those who were offered positions that led to the organization before and she had all the telltale signs.
Once he was finished interviewing Amelia, he conducted two more interviews before taking a break to consider who he was going to hire, outside of Amelia of course.
Derwin was a safe bet. He was ambitious enough for it and had the stomach too. However, he would have to be kept under surveillance. He also had the hallmarks of being a snitch.
That left one more person. He opted to choose one of the candidates he had interviewed before Derwin. Specifically, an internship offer he had put out for a geneticist dealing in flora specifically. He ended up selecting one Camilla Jones, who was currently studying at Stanford university. Camilla was rather short, about 5.4, with a dark tan and short black hair.
Having made his choices, he opted to wait a few days before calling his new hires back to inform them of their new positions. In the meantime, he opted to see Rose and her 'siblings' were adapting to their new surroundings.
Rose was currently in the Terrarium, as the staff had begun to refer to the large, plant-filled central room as. She was exploring it with innocent curiosity. Soon enough, she was encouraged back into her pen, which now had grass growing in it, was well as a tree in the corner and a few bushes. She definitely seemed to take to her new surroundings better then the loose soil and stones they had in her previous pen. Misaki and Trill were both very excited because Rose had begun to actively try to speak with them, though she was still struggling with forming a single word. It actually seemed to be a source of frustration for her, since they'd see her trying to speak when she was alone and failures prompted a surge of activity in her brain that indicated disappointment or some other negative response.
Well, she was at least progressing better than her 'siblings'. They were very cautious of anyone who entered the room and even displayed some hostility to members of the team on occasion. In particular, it was the ones that showed the most biological promise. The 'pick' experiments, in a matter of speaking. The two that had showed the least initial promise were much more timid, but they had yet to act out and they were starting to approach Misaki and Trill more. Dr. Lark was working with the middle ones, who mainly kept away, trying to hide behind foliage or otherwise maintaining distance until she left. However, they were starting to respond to her attempts at communication. During the most recent session, they had even come out of hiding and mimicked a few hand gestures. It certainly seemed that keeping them paired off had some benefits. They were certainly learning at a greater pace then Rose was.
Perhaps they should arrange for the family to meet.
Grey sighed with relief as he got into the Monarch car that was waiting outside for him. He had just left a meeting between Monarch and an environmentalist group who wanted to acquire Monarch's radiation absorption technology for the purposes of cleaning up areas where there had been nuclear disasters. While Grey had thought about that application for the technology before, it simply wasn't ready yet. As it was, the bracelet he was wearing to do just that went through seven storage cartridges a day! And this was the latest version. There was a total of ten cartridges on a bracelet, and each one contained enough atomic energy to render three floors of the building uninhabitable with the initial blast, to say nothing of the time afterwards. So, they gently rejected the offer. That had lead to some passive aggressive back and forth that just made Grey want to stand up, break the table in half and walk out. Thankfully, Graham gave them a dressing down of what could happen if they went in without developing the technology further. And it was immensely satisfying to watch the environmentalists slowly shrinking backwards in the chairs and looking progressively more ashamed.
Grey wasn't quite sure why he had to be there for a couple of these meetings, though Graham said that since he was the acting ambassador for cross-species, and that this technology was being developed further by an organization completely dedicated to cross-species research and support, he had to be there as a witness, for lack of a better word.
Whatever. Right now, he was more concerned by the fact that he had started to experience a small tug in his brain. It was similar to the instinct that drew him towards Godzilla, but it felt inexplicably different. It had started a few hours ago, faintly. At first, he thought it was a daydream, but as the pull waxed stronger, he realized that it was very real and very concerning.
As soon as they got back to Monarch and away from any potential eavesdroppers, Grey immediately sought out Graham to inform her of his instincts kicking in again.
"There hasn't been any trace of Godzilla resurfacing, and you never felt this pull from any other Kaiju other than Godzilla, correct?" Graham questioned. Grey shook his head.
"No. That's what worries me. What would be causing my homing sense to start acting up now, if not Godzilla?"
Grey shook his head and went down to the pool for a quick dip, then went and met with the other cross-species for pizza night. It had become a weekly tradition for them to get pizza on Friday and today was the day. He drove into town and picked up the order before meeting everyone in the room they had commandeered for pizza night. Grey spent a good portion of the night venting his annoyances about dealing with the people at these meetings, since most of them appeared to have their hearts in the right place but were way to eager to jump the gun, wanted their tech and were passive aggressive when they didn't get their way, or just capital jackasses who demanded something related to cross-species, be it a 'request' for manual labor or assistance in handling radioactive materials, or whatever they wanted that they decided to go for the new guys.
"Seriously, they know I'm there and can snap the table in half with one hand, right?" He asked, to laughter.
Now, he understood the logic of getting people who were naturally stronger than the average human being or were basically immune to the effects of ionizing radiation, but the ways they asked seemed more like they were trying to hire someone's work horses.
Soon enough the pizza was finished off and they cleaned everything up as best they could so that the janitors wouldn't lose it. Grey went up to his room and surfed the web for a bit, deciding to check out a few of the conspiracy theory sites he had found in the first few days at Monarch. The original posts regarding the blurry pictures of Grey had a bunch of new posts about the newly confirmed story. Now, there were a bunch of new theories that the reveal was all just false information, meant to distract us from other, larger conspiracy. Grey rolled his eyes before shutting it all down and getting ready for bed. Tomorrow, he was going to be aiding in an investigation of potential stolen weapons from last year's San Francisco incident. Since the guns were powered by ionizing radiation, they wanted Grey to help them identify if they existed, and tracking them down in the event that they did. Jordan from Ford's security team would he joining him, as well as Sabrina. She had been interested in actively working with Monarch's branch company for a while now, and when she had been approached about this job, she had barely thought for a second before agreeing.
Grey yawned and slipped under the covers. Enough thinking. He had a long day tomorrow and he would need his rest.
The next day, Grey got up much more alert than usual. He had strange dreams last night. There was some sort of strange orange glow that was perpetually floating in the infinite blackness. He kept feeling a question coming from it, but it didn't come in words. It was like it was calling for something, questioning where that something was, but in no words. It was strange, to say the least. Especially with his tracking instinct having mysteriously turned back on with no reason to have done so.
Shaking his head, he got up and went about his morning rituals before heading to the heli-pad. Jordan was already there and Sabrina wasn't far behind. Graham provided them each with briefcases containing their gauntlets and headsets, and they climbed aboard the copter.
The flight to San-Francisco was uneventful, but the view when they got there was a sore reminder. There was still much damage that had yet to be repaired, and much of the area where Grey had battled the detachment of cross-species and tanks was still gouged and scorched. Graham had informed him that much of the radiation had completely dissipated and what hadn't been had been absorbed by Monarch, though the prototype devices they had used to do so had short-circuited not long afterwards.
They touched down at a large camp outside of the city, where they were immediately met by a group of the local police, as well as a few soldiers. They led them into a tent where there were several men and women working around a large map. One of the men approached them and introduced himself as lieutenant Jackson.
"Last week, we were investigating a weapons exchange in one of the destroyed buildings in the city." Jackson began.
"It was just a bunch of lowlifes, but they were selling some of those radiation guns you guys confiscated a year ago. We busted the lot of them and got the guns, but we still don't know how many of them are out there."
After Jackson was finished speaking, Grey and Sabrina popped open their briefcases and pulled their gear out.
"We need to see the guns." Jordan stated, prompting Jackson to order a soldier to bring out a pair of the standard issue rifles. Grey and Sabrina activated their headsets, activating a new scan function. They could isolate and catalogue radiation of a specific frequency and pattern based on it's container, then use the various scan modes to hunt for a match. Jordan had his own version of the headset, though it was less sleek than their own and covered both his eyes.
As night fell, they made their way into the city and began searching. Grey had his HUD set to an advanced night vision setting, while Sabrina had opted for a new setting. It used ionizing radiation and other data the headset collected to create an AR display. Jordan was using traditional night vision.
They split off and worked their way through the crumbling sections of San-Francisco for hours until Sabrina radioed in that she had come across two people who had matching signatures in a duffle bag. Grey and Jordan immediately made their way over to her and they tailed the two mystery men until they ducted into a run down old warehouse. They snuck inside through the back and made their way up, watching from the top of an old security booth.
Sure enough, three more men entered the warehouse. All three of them were dressed in crisp suits. One was obviously in charge, while the other two were probably bodyguards.
Grey used the zoom function on his headset to get a good look at the lead man. He was rather beefy and had thin hair, a sparse moustache and beady eyes. After making sure he had some good images of their mystery man, they began preparing to make their move.
The two thugs opened the duffle bag and withdrew two of the guns before shooting at the walls, to prove they were genuine before turning back to their apparent buyer, waiting for their payment. The man opened a briefcase, revealing a large amount of money. The man shut the case and handed the money to the first thug while the bodyguards collected the guns. As they turned to leave, the second thug dropped and pulled a third gun from the duffle bag! He immediately opened fire on the man and the bodyguards, who began running for the exit! Lucky for the buyers, the thug was a really lousy shot, not helped by the fact that the guns had more kick than the thug was experienced with. Grey and Sabrina both leapt from the booth and slammed into a thug each. Sabrina was quick to subdue her thug after dislocating his shoulder and knocking him unconscious, while Grey socked his in the stomach before grabbing him and swinging him over his shoulder and into the ground, knocking the wind out of the thug before finishing him off with a punch to the forehead.
They dragged the thugs out of the city and back to the camp before giving them a thorough questioning. As it turned out, there had been many more weapons missing than they had initially thought. Many of them had been stolen from the grounds shortly after the battle ended and stashed in the sections of the city declared to be too dangerous to enter. The weapons quickly became big things to have in the criminal underworld and the people who had stashed the weapons found themselves making huge paydays. Then, about three months ago, an anonymous buyer put out word that they were buying as many of these guns as they could get at a generous price, and had been acquiring them left and right.
Last night, they tried to get the money and keep the guns so they could sell them to someone else. Needless to say, that had ended badly.
Grey and Sabrina kept the fact that they had photos of the buyer secret before departing, knowing that the information would inevitably lead to the covering of tracks. Best keep it close to the vest until Monarch could give them some hard information.
Once they arrived back at Monarch, Grey and Sabrina immediately turned the data over to Sam before heading to the cafeteria. The rest of the gang was there already, waiting for them. As they had dinner, the others asked Sabrina how her first day on the job was, if this was the sort of work she would keep with, what it was like to be out of the facility after so long, and other things related to the day's work. After the meal was done, everyone went their separate ways. Grey and Sabrina both went back to their rooms and went straight to sleep. The last two days had been more active than rest of Grey's work days, so he was much more tired. And sleep deprived. After giving his family a phone call and texting his friends a bit, he put the phone down and fell asleep.
Three hours later, he suddenly jerked awake, his eyes darting about. He had dreamt of the strange orange light again. It was much more clear this time, and seemed to be more solid, and have some sort of frame around it. The same 'question' was repeated over and over, like the last time, but this time he could feel the desperation in it. What was happening to him?!
And so, we end chapter 24! So, Biollante is calling out for someone. I wonder who that could be? HMMMMMMMMMM…
Creativity: It's not like it's a big mystery.
Author: Who cares? Also, to quickly address something that a certain someone asked? The two roses that became Rose and Biollante weren't going to be mates. That's fairly obvious now, but whatever. That would have been incest.
Creativity: Yeah, that's the only weird thing about that concept.
Author: Secondly, there will be pseudo communication between Grey and other Kaiju, but not really. It's more like he can glean 'intent' from them or 'feelings', based on the radiation they emit. Now, with Biollante, it's going to be more complex and there can be rudimentary communication through radiation, but not spoken word.
Creativity: Seems more accurate than Godzilla speaking in full sentences.
Author: Yeah, what the heck was I smoking when I had that idea?
I don't actually smoke anything, for the record.
See ya next week!