Chapter 33.5

Miranda stood up and stretched. She was growing tired of writing the Illusive Man a seemingly endless number of status reports and reading an equally never-ending supply of crew updates from Yeoman Chambers and EDI. She needed to get out of her office.

She noticed a lone Professor Solus eating as the door closed behind her. It was an odd sight, considering meal time had been several hours prior.

"May I join you?" she asked.

He looked up at her before quickly shoving another spoonful of whatever he was eating into his mouth. "Of course."

Miranda sat down across from him and watched as he rapidly ate bite after bite with a fervor she had never witness before. "Are you in a hurry?"

Mordin swallowed down what was in his mouth before answering. "Yes and no. Wish to return to experiments. But nothing explicitly involved with Collectors and therefore not pressing."

"Is that why you are eating so late?"

He nodded. "Lost track of time. Wasn't until genetic code needed to comply when I realized the time. Digestive system seemed to realize it as well. Very vocal with its protest against being empty."

She smiled at him. It was the first time he had ever seen her smile. It was an interesting event.

"And what project has you so wrapped up that you worked through dinner?"

"Simple side project. Attempting to cure Vrolik's Syndrome."

She cocked an eyebrow, another expression he had never witnessing. "Just a side project?"

He nodded. "Not directly involved with facing Collectors. Experiments merely meant to occupy time until another assignment requires my full attention."

"You do know that we've known about Vrolik's Syndrome for over a millennium. Many scientists have attempted to cure it and failed."

The salarian shrugged. "Many scientists that were not me." He raised his hands quickly in a peaceful gesture. "Not implying I am better. Simply stating I am not them. May offer new insight or discover alternative modality to cure disease. Others' failures do not preclude future successes. For instance, no one has raised a man from death though imagine many have made the effort. Still, did not stop you from attempting the feat and succeeding."

"Touché. Have you discovered any breakthroughs?"

"Yes! Found protein with altered methylation. In most cells with protein, variation is silent. In osteoclasts, however, altered state causes over-activity. Bone matrix becomes brittle due to excessive cycling of calcium out of skeletal system."

"Impressive. And have you found a cure?"

"Not yet. Appeared to be close, but genetic alterations adversely affected liver, causing failure. Complications outweighed benefits."

Miranda mulled over the problem for a moment. Maybe the innovations she accomplished with the Lazarus Project might have applications in this instance. It was worth exploring.

"May I look over the work you've completed so far? The techniques I used in the Lazarus Project may prove to be helpful."

Mordin was surprised by the offer. He had been asking her about the project that brought Shepard back from the moment he examined the human. She had denied him at every turn. Now Miranda was freely offering Mordin the information. He wasn't about to let this opportunity pass him.

"Of course," he answered as he mashed the last of his food into his mouth. "Any help will be greatly appreciated."