002. Slow

There’s a painstaking slowness to the work. To planning generations, and knowing that it won’t necessarily work out, no matter how careful you are. It makes the natural span of a human life a punishment. No matter how good the breeder and scientist are, the chances that a person gets to see the best product of their work are minute at best. It’s struggling towards a kind of immortality that Elenore sees as not unlike having children. She certainly feels a similar sense of protective affection towards her creations, and a pride at what they might become when she’s gone.

003. Drink

“I know it tastes like crap, but you have to drink it, baby,” Elenore croons to the fifth newborn rat that refuses to take the medication.

Not that she blames the little creatures. The goo can’t be sweetened without a risk of secondary infection, and she needs to see if this strain of virus can rapidly alter the genome of the animal without killing them. So far, so good, given the flush of warm brown replacing the previous fishbelly paleness of the ones that eat, but a complete trial is a complete trial. Everyone of them has to try it.

041. Cage

“Where are the cages?” asks the irritating male agent. His female partner visibly rolls her eyes.

“I try not to use them. It increases the stress level of the animals and throws results off.”

“But the file says there are multiple-”

“Extremely large and dangerous predatory animals on premise? Yes, there are. Four followed you as we walked to this unit, and will do so on the way out.”

“There’s no way…” He looks to his partner for reassurance. “Alice?”

She smirks, “I can’t believe you didn’t clock them. Maybe she’ll give you a free eye exam before we leave.”

032. Technology

It’s truly amazing how many different things the word covers. Every possible advancement, no matter how simple or complex. Nore loves using the word because it’s the ultimate non-answer when people ask what she does. Even with her modifiers, the places their minds jump are invariably only a fraction of the reality. Of course, people tend to think about jobs as something they take a break from. There is never an end to the back of her mind considering new advances and things to explore. At least, no pause that lasts for more than a few moments at a time.