"Mistress Washu?" Naja called into the vast laboratory. It echoed though the massive chamber. The door to the lab opened and in stepped a woman wearing black and green robes. Her hair was white and went down to the small of her back. She wore small glasses relative to the size of her face that balanced on her nose. Behind the glasses looking out at her surroundings were Erie yellow eyes.
She took one step into the lab and looked back though the portal she had come though. The other side couldn't be seen though it, just darkness.
"Guard the door. The professor will make sure nothing happens to me. Just make sure no one disturbs us, without the professor's leave." She called though the portal to her knights.
"Yes, Councilor" Responded one of the knights from beyond the darkness.
The councilor took a few more steps into the lab and closed the door behind her. The large steel door slowly vanished from sight. Naja stared at the place were the door had been. Behind the door was more of the laboratory. The chamber she was in was where Washu did her research, not her experiments. The room looked like the main hall of some kingly palace with plants hanging on the walls and in mid-air. The only thing in the vast chamber was a pillow floating in the center of the room. Naja turned and started walking toward the door to the inner part of Washu's lab.
"No turning back now," she said to herself as she walked though the chamber. The door would not appear without Washu's command and Washu would not let her leave in till they had spoken.
She stopped in front of the ornate door, took a deep breath, then entered the main laboratory though another portal. The hall that Naja stepped into was massive. The ceiling was so high that even with the light that poured in from the solid glass wall to her right she still could not see where it ended. The hall itself was at least twenty-five feet across. The left wall was plain steel, an endless mass of steel. The right wall was made entirely of glass and looked out on a vast virgin forest. Massive trees as far as she could see. But even with their shocking high and size the window started at the very tips of them.
She walked on for a few minutes in till a corridor opened up in the wall. She turned and started to slow down, unsure of her surroundings. The corridor was long enough that the councilor could not see the end of it. But it had a low ceiling only about 8 feet high. The steel walls were lined with large steel doors, one after another, lining both sides of the long corridor. Each door had its own number pad that served as an electronic lock. Some of them said "locked" in clear red letters, and others that read "open" in green. One or two were completely blank.
The councilor had never been this far into the professor's new laboratory. They had only met recently in other locations or in the first ornate chamber. She had known Washu for many years and yet still she had not seen her most secret experiments that this vast section of her new Laboratory held.
Naja stopped at a door that was unlocked and read the number on the door, 0032. "Could this be it?" She said to herself under her breath. She pressed a button on the keypad and the door slid open. She looked into the room and her breath was stolen away.
It was a small room about a fifteen feet square with a six-foot high ceiling. There in the middle of the room with its back to the door sat a small brown monkey. He looked like any other monkey except in stead of arms he had four tentacles, two on each side. Naja stood in the doorway frozen. She knew Washu's love to play God but she was always taken back when she saw one of her creations. Just as that thought entered Naja's head the primate noticed her. It turned to face Naja. It had a sad expression on its small face.
Naja took a step forward. She thought that she might ease the pain of the monster that stood before her somehow. But the second she took the step the monkey's face turned into a scowl and throws its tentacles toward her. When they reached their limit they suddenly grew with great speed. Naja acted quickly when she saw the seemingly endless line of tentacles coming at her, jumping back she hit the button to close the door. The doors slammed shut just as they came though and cut the tips clean off. When it was severed from its host it flew down the way Naja had just came and stopped with a splat against the wall. Naja took a deep breath and continued down the hall.
She walked on for a short while and then stopped at another unlocked door, door 0147. She knew that number; she had remembered Washu mentioning it before. "This must be it," She said to herself looking at the door and pressing the button to open it. It slid open revealing a room much like the last one but its contents were not what Naja had expected. In the center of the room stood a full humanoid android. It was ruffly six feet tall with its entire body made of steel except for place optical sensors where eyes would be. Its head was a perfect sphere and its mouth was a single slit in the steelhead.
Naja walked up to it and started to examine it closer. Its body was smooth, not even joints could be seen. Naja wondered if it was a working unit or just a model. She didn't see anyway that it could move its arms, legs, or any of its joints. She held her palm as close to the head as she could without touching it and closed her eyes in concentration. Her ring started to glow a faint green.
Suddenly two lights went on in the androids "eyes", it had activated. It spotted Naja and threw a punch at her with great speed and fierceness. But Naja was faster and caught the android's arm in mid punch. It tried to pull away but couldn't budge itself.
Naja held him fast and concentrated, her ring began to glow again and the android switched off.
"Impressive as always Naja" a voice called from behind her, she spun around quickly and stared right into she had come to see, Professor Washu. Washu looked no more then twelve years old and stood only a little over four feet from the ground. She had green eyes and long red hair that touched the ground. Washy was dressed as a professor of the universal science academy, long black robes with colored designs on the chest and arms that indicated what school they taught in. Washu wore her own symbol on her robes though, a crab and on the arms were three red strips. Also she wore small glasses perched on the tip of her nose.
"Professor" Naja said giving a short bow with her arms at her side.
"Councilor Naja," Washu interrupted. "You have returned to us, but not permanently. I know why you have come and have almost everything prepared. Once its set up the experiment will not take long, shall we set out?"
Naja didn't want to bring it up so quickly but now it was too late. Washu turned and left the room and Naja followed close behind. They continued down the corridor. "When did you build the android?" Naja said after a few seconds.
"It's a prototype for the Galaxy Police. I just finished it yesterday in fact. It wasn't really a problem for someone as genius as me. I should be able to mass-produce them with in a month once I build some machines that can construct them with as perfectly as I can by hand. It's a good think they asked me too. I invested so much into building the new academy that I had to dig into my budget for my main project." Washu replied looking straight ahead all the while.
"So these androids will fund the Soja project?" Naja said hastily to Washu's back. "Have you finished the blueprints?"
"No" Washu said sadly and looking at the ground. "There are too many things even I haven't figured out yet. The dimensional layering itself has taken years to come up with basic theories of how it can be pulled off; most I can't prove yet. On top of that no power source exists today that can provide the maximum output I need and still fit on the ship!" Washu continued to go over the Soja as they reached the end of the hall, boarded an elevator and started down.
They stood shoulder to shoulder in the elevator. Naja pretended to listen to Washu's rant on the Soja, but thoughts of the upcoming experiment were racing though her head. "Professor?" Naja interrupted Washu in mid sentence. Washu stopped talking and turned to face her. "Are you sure this is safe, the Experiment, I mean have you tested it before?"
"Naja, why do you address me so formally?" Washu replied, seriously.
"I'm just showing the proper respect for your position, ma'am."
"Well stop! We have known each other too long for that. Plus we are alone. There is not another human soul in this entire dimension! I insist that you address me using my name!" Washu shouted at her.
"What ever you want, Little Washu." Naja replied with a smile.
Washu looked taken back, but she regained herself quickly and smiled. "Washu would be fine, but if you insist then you may call me that. Just not in public, ok?"
Naja smiled and nodded as the elevator came to a stop and they both stepped out into one of Washu's many underground labs. The chamber was massive but at least Naja could see the ceiling here. It was at least thirty feet high. But the room itself seemed endless. It was full of large machines with pipes and tubes coming out of them at every which way. Though the floor and up into the ceiling and wires covered the floor, only some spaces were spared of the mess of technology so that a person can walk. Monitors were everywhere showing status's to different machines, some computers were calculating endless equations. Large screens showed the black and white blur of numbers going by at a speed that no human could comprehend.
"This is…amazing…." Naja choked out in total awe, not even the government owned labs that she had worked in were as massive or complex.
"You knew that I had updated my laboratory sense you were a student. I tried to get you down here a number of times but…" Washu started.
"I was too busy" Naja finished. "It has indeed been a long time since I was your student, Washu." Washu smiled at the informality that Naja used. "Now that I see this lab you have build I realize that I could of gotten more done then I have."
"You research was not in vain. Your theory about the "sleeping cell" is one of the best-published in recent years. In fact… never mind." Washu started walking into the room, Naja followed close behind.
"What is it Washu?" Washu stopped suddenly and Naja almost bumped into her.
"I want to prove your theory." Washu said quickly. "But since you're leaving in less then a year…."
"You want to use my child." Naja finished her thought for her. "I don't think I can do that Washu but I will consider it. I would like to see it proven. If only we had more time." Naja smiled at her master.
They walked in silence for another minute. They stopped at a large tank filled with water and gray blobs about the size of softballs floating around in it.
"These are masses" Washu started " One of my newest discoveries thanks to the new Academy's equipment.
"Speaking of that," Naja interrupted " It took me an hour just to get here by shuttle from the Jurai campus. Who picked the middle of nowhere for a science academy?"
Washu ignored her and continued, "These creatures are the most primitive life form I have encountered. Yet at the same time they are the most mysterious. You are basically looking at matter in its purest form."
"These gray blobs are the building blocks of all things?"
"Yup!" Washu replied energetically, "Well in theory that is. But it is as close as I have come to looking at pure matter. But it is also a living creature. Because of this I have come up with a process that allows me to copy any DNA to the masses. I have even managed to take on the genetic properties of any other living being without it changing shape! So using this DNA coping technology I can even create human sperm or egg cells."
"No, you're not serious?" Naja stuttered panic stricken.
"Yes, Naja. This is your child's father!"
Naja looked intently at the tank. All of her fears of trusting Washu were not Paranoia after all.
