Disclaimer
Tenchi and all associated characters are the property of AIC and Pioneer LDC. I don't own any rights to them. Any other characters are property of their respective copyright holders, not me.
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A Scientist's Tale
Chapter 4
Concerns and Surprises
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From the Project Journal of Doctor Hakubi Washu:
… The subject is now approaching the end of her second month of development. And boy, what development. Even at the apparent age of twelve or thirteen she's quite a beauty, she has looks and a build that most grown women would envy. We're still not sure why her hair is that odd bluish color, a double check of the genetic code shows that it should have been red, like her mother's. I can only hope that it doesn't mean that spontaneous mutation is taking place, or if it is, that it's isolated to this one feature. The hair color does seem to fit her though. Nothing else seems to be out of place.
*****
I finished making the latest entry in my journal and shut off the terminal. It was time to see how the other part of the project was coming along today. I wandered out into the corridor from my quarters and headed in the general direction of the main lab. We'd finished encoding the transport entity several days ago and my assistants were supposed to be busy setting up an incubation chamber. Kagato wasn't at all happy with either form of the being; the animal was "too sickeningly cute" he'd said and the ship was "too pointy". They disturbed his aesthetic values. Heh. Good thing he wasn't in charge then.
Entering the lab I found Yakage finishing up the main computer unit, a small red organic gem that would be appear to be embedded in the animal's forehead. This was nothing new, organic jewels with learning capability and self-awareness had been used to control ships for years. Even the Juraians used them in their non-tree ships. What made this one unique was its size, that and it was self-replicating. It contained the entire genetic code for the animal and if any part of it survived it could regrow the entire beast. In fact we were going to put that to the test. Instead of using an ovum like we did with the humanoid part of the team we would grow the little darling from the crystal.
"Ah, Yakage," I exclaimed, touching him on the shoulder (after making sure the all-important crystal was safely on the countertop). "How's it coming today?" He'd obviously not been paying attention because I swear he jumped two feet straight up when I touched him.
"Ppprofessor," he stuttered as he tried to recompose himself. "Fffine I guess. But I still can't figure out why the animal's normal reproductive system won't function correctly in the sims. The regeneration works fine but…"
"But don't worry about it," I told him. "Like I told you before, it's probably something to do with the organic/nonorganic interface. This is just a prototype, turn it off in the genetic code and we'll worry about it if we ever get to production." That wasn't going to happen, but I wasn't going to tell him that.
"But the other subject…" he continued to argue.
"Has a working reproductive system. Right. She's totally organic though, but there's a problem there too. The genetics of the Mass don't allow for normal humanoid conception so we've already turned most of that process off chemically." I poked at him with a finger. "How many times do I have to tell you, these are prototypes? So you see, it's really no problem at all." Actually, this was a problem. I wanted my daughter to have as close to a normal life as possible. I'd have to work on it and until her reproductive DNA was permanently set it should be possible to fix it. But this was not the time or place. If everything went according to plan I'd have plenty of time to make minor adjustments before finalizing the code. Without any other help.
The door 'shushed' open and Kagato walked in, three steaming cups of tea in his hands. "Ah, Washu. Somehow I knew I'd find you here so I brought an extra cup."
I nodded my thanks and took the offered beverage, not showing how annoyed I was with his manner of speech. It seemed that over the past few weeks he'd stopped using the honorific "Professor" or "Doctor" whenever he addressed me. Oh, not always, but enough for me to notice. It was as if he now saw himself as my equal. True, he was a doctor in his own right; but still, as one of his instructors it was still correct to address me by my title. I mentally shrugged and determined not to let it bother me. He was still unfailingly polite to both Yakage and myself and was totally committed to seeing this project through.
"So, what's on our agenda for today?" asked Kagato, taking a sip of his drink.
I eyed him over the rim of my cup. "I was about to inform Yakage that I think we're ready to start the generation process."
Kagato gently put his cup down. "But what about the repro…" he began.
I held up my hand to stop him. "As I was explaining to your counterpart here before you arrived, it's not a problem. We'll work it out in production."
"I see. So both prototypes are to be flawed then."
Flawed? How dare he! I struggled to keep my temper. "No," I gritted out. "These are design problems that need to be worked out, but we also need to show the Juraians some positive results. The reproductive problems of both subjects are not an issue to the Holy Council, nor to me at this point."
He looked at me with hooded eyes for a moment and I felt Yakage shrinking under his gaze. His face suddenly cleared and he rubbed his hands together. "We'd better get started then, hadn't we?" he asked, picking up the crystal and moving it to the incubation chamber.
I shook off the sudden chill that I'd had and moved over next to him to monitor his work. "What's our timeframe?" I asked, peering into the chamber.
Without looking up from where he was running a series of probes to the jewel he replied, "Normally, about a week. We can shorten it to eighteen hours in a pinch but we loose some stored memory functions and risk a temporary decrease in capability."
"Ah," I agreed. "And your plans are…?"
He made a final connection and closed the chamber before turning to me. "We'll take it slow this first time, to monitor the growth. I think two months should do it. That'll also give the other subject some time to acclimatize to the outside world before we introduce another variable."
This fit in nicely with my own plans so I gave him the go-ahead to proceed. The lights in the room dimmed as Yakage fed power to the crystal to activate it for the first time. Once the readings had stabilized I picked up my cup, nodded to the both of them and left. I had some things to think about.
*****
Later that afternoon Yakage found me in my usual spot, watching the girl through the monitors. "Beautiful, isn't she Professor?" he asked quietly, not wanting to disturb my contemplation. I agreed with him, just as quietly.
He stood beside me for a few minutes before saying anything else. "If I ever have a daughter I hope she looks like her. Even a little bit. I've never seen such an exquisite creature."
For some reason this struck me as funny and a brief chuckle escaped me. "We do good work the three of us." My expression sobered. "What Kagato said earlier about her being flawed, it's not true." I felt his arm go around my shoulders as a single unseen tear ran down my cheek.
"I know it's not Doctor Washu. By the way, have you noticed how the subject sort of resembles you? I don't think we programmed that; who did you say the donor was?"
Today seemed to be the day for cold chills. If Yakage noticed then Kagato… "I didn't. She wants to remain anonymous. For her own reasons." I looked up to find him examining my features.
After a brief moment he nodded. "I understand and I won't press you for an answer. But I've read the Academy history, which includes your bio, like all students are required to, and for some it's not hard to put two and two together and get four, or in this case, a child. Especially when I find you like this." He sighed deeply, then smiled. "But I don't believe Kagato's made the connection. He's been too busy with his own work and the second subject to pay attention to the fine details. I've noticed lately that he tends to ignore the small things and concentrate more on the large stuff."
I'd noticed the same thing about my erstwhile assistant, but something Yakage'd said made me pause. "What stuff is he working on? I haven't given him any extra work or even permission to work on another project."
The Juraian shrugged noncommittally. "Don't know. I know he's been getting up before the rest of us and I've seen him working on some of the Souja's systems in his spare time."
My head was starting to hurt. "Systems? Which systems?" I asked in a weak voice.
"Main armament, life support and some weird black box system that I've never seen on any other ship."
I felt a bit better, except for the last. The Souja's main weapon had been deactivated when she was mothballed and it'd take an act of divinity to re-enable it. Life support was pretty much foolproof so there wasn't much he could screw up there. The other system though… That was a former experiment of mine. In fact it was the sole purpose I'd kept the ship in good condition. I called it the "Mirror System", it was designed to be an escape-proof prison, but implementation had proved to costly so the project was scrapped. The original small model was still onboard and in working order though. I didn't see where his messing around with it could cause any problems, he might get himself stuck until I released him; still, I'd have to start keeping a closer eye on him.
*****
I sat in my cabin and looked at myself in the mirror. Briefly assuming my adult form, I admired my body. I still looked good, even after 15,000 years. Not many could say that at my age. I ran my hands slowly down my naked body, feeling the firm flesh spring back under the pressure. Shaking my head I switched back to my child self and threw on the sleeping attire that I'd started wearing since we'd moved aboard. Taking a last look in the mirror I thought, "She really does look like me. Let's hope she has a better life." I crawled into bed and shouted out the lights. I was asleep in minutes.
The next morning, ship time that is, I was the first one up. I made my way to the galley and started some water for tea then proceeded to make the three of us an enormous breakfast. I had just finished laying it out when Kagato stumbled in to the room followed by a widely yawning Yakage. Both of their eyes lit up when they saw the feast laid out before them.
"Professor! This is wonderful!" exclaimed Kagato. "What's the occasion?"
"No occasion," I replied. "I just wanted to show my two most excellent assistants how much I appreciate all the time and effort they've put in."
"You didn't have to do this Professor," said Yakage as he took a seat and prepared to dig in.
"Yes I did," I said, shaking a cooking utensil in his direction. "You two have done the majority of the work on this project while I've basically sat on my skinny butt."
"True," agreed Kagato between mouthfuls of egg. "But it was your idea originally."
I smacked him with my fearsome weapon, the all-powerful battle-spatula. "Fool. You weren't supposed to agree with me. Just say 'Thank you Professor Washu' and enjoy the meal.
"Thank you Professor Washu," they both mumbled slightly out of sync with each other.
"You're welcome children," I responded, taking off my apron and joining them at the table. The rest of the meal was enjoyable and the banter between the three of us made it seem like old times. I hoped that all of my fears of the day before were unfounded.
After the meal we all went to check on the progress of the second subject. The jewel was glowing a dull red and the outer shell of the cocoon was starting to form around it. Checking the readings I saw that everything was normal then I left them to monitor the subject's progress while I went to check on the girl, promising to return in a little while.
I entered the main lab and turned on the lights. Checking the logs I saw some unusual brain activity had occurred overnight. I quickly turned on the monitors and saw that her eyes were open. This was remarkable; she should still be in suspension and unaware. Rushing to the tube I pressed the button that turned it transparent and for the first time I saw my daughter with my own eyes and not through the lens of a camera. Her eyes were open and she was looking directly at me. I managed to turn my stunned expression into a weak smile but saw no recognition on her expression. Suddenly something popped in my head and I 'heard' what seemed to be mental static. Could it be her? She was supposed to be telepathic and according to my assistants my genes showed that I was a latent telepath. Since I didn't know exactly how this worked I attempted to send comforting feeling back along where I felt the static. The girl suddenly blinked several times and then…
Confusion came back at me.
Comfort Mother I sent back as feelings.
More blinks. Confusion came again.
I sighed and tried again. Calm Happiness
Calm? came the sensation. Calm Peaceful The girl grimaced, which I could tell was an attempt to mimic the grin which I knew was plastered across my face. She didn't quite have the muscle control yet though. I noticed her eyes, golden with slightly slitted pupils. Another mutation? She should have had green eyes like mine and I didn't remember there being any felinoid genes in her matrix.
So far all we were communicating with was feelings, which made getting abstract concepts across quite difficult. I wanted to make it clear that she was to attempt contact with no one but me.
After what seemed like an eternity but was actually just a few minutes Agreement came back across the link. I could sense her fatigue from the effort to communicate with me. Sleep I sent. Rest
Agreement she sent back and closed her eyes, those beautiful golden eyes. The brainwave patterns I had displayed on the monitors evened out, showing a deep sleep. I opaqued the tube and turned down the lights. I knew I needed to get back to the other lab but couldn't bring myself to leave at that moment. I told myself that by staying I was giving myself time to calm down, that I didn't want my two assistants to know that I'd been in communication with the girl. But in reality it was because I just couldn't tear myself away from that wonderful moment.
*****
To be continued
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Review Responses
Alighthawk – Actually that's not true. I gather from watching GXP that there has been a Juraian and GP presence on Earth for a looong time. But since I don't speak Japanese and the episodes I have are raw, I can't verify that. I also remember reading somewhere that either the Juraians originally came from Earth or Terrans were originally from Jurai. That may just be a fanfic thing though.
Taxzombie – There're gaps, believe me, but I'm doing my best to close them as I go. And I certainly respect your 'selfish' reasons. There are a few authors that I wish could move a bit faster with their work.
Thundergod – The ones that are fun to write seem to come out faster. Not that the others aren't fun but some just seem to flow easier. My chapters are shorter, averaging six pages (at which point some authors are just warming up) and my style is much simpler than some others as well, which also makes for faster writing.
Smack54 – Come on, the worst part about Episode II is the title. I thought it was pretty good and especially enjoyed Yoda's lightsaber battle. Clay's fight with Washu for the presidency of the Academy is fodder for another story but I'll try to fit some background into this one.
Lizzy Hakubi – Verbs are important. Without them we wouldn't have any action, just boring descriptions and dialog. Kinda like my stories.
Wharpt – No one's found that third one yet. I like the 'granite' pun.