Free Asterion by Kenneth Morvant Page B

his childhood pet cat looked like that and he laughed nostalgically at the fond memory. He would have to determine what sample produced that feature or if the feature rode along on part of another strand. That would also have to be determined about the bear-like jaw, teeth and thickening torso hide.
     

CHAPTER 9 - PLANS FOR THE FUTURE
     
    Still looking at the monitor, a hand grasps his shoulder. He does not have to turn around. He knows Christine’s touch. He smiles and his eyes light up. “What’s up?”
    “Why don’t you come over to my place tonight?”
    “You don’t have to ask twice. What time?”
    “How about seven, I got something special planned.”
    Taylor laughs. “Now you’ve got me curious. How can I focus on work now?”
    Christine starts to leave the room, “I’m not letting the cat out of the bag. It’s a surprise. Besides, you’re a professional. You will get through the day.”
    Taylor thinks to himself, “Looks like the cat is already out of the bag. I just hope it doesn’t get out of the lab.” With that, Taylor tries to focus on analyzing the mind numbing data before him and the status of the project.
    Brought back to reality by Devin’s frantic calls for an immediate meeting with him to discuss Burnsom’s upcoming visit, he leaves the room. Taylor thinks, “Great, this is coming faster than I ever thought it could. Is he coming to witness the birth?”
    Arriving at Devin’s office Milar is waiting for him also. She smiles, “Hi.”
    “Hi, how are you?” Taylor replies, somewhat puzzled
    “You still have not cashed in on your rain check,”
    “Sorry, I started seeing someone and my social calendar is booked,”
    “Well, that does not matter to me,”
    Taylor had to be careful how he responded. The wrong answer might reveal too much. “Well, I just started this relationship.”
    “Oh, okay, I understand.”
    Devin rushes in waving at the empty chairs next to his desk and they all take a seat. “Guys, this is make or break time for us all. The smoother this visit goes the better. I know that Burnsom’s security is checking things out, but Milar, I want you to make sure there is nothing left to chance. That includes protestors and other malcontents. The bureaucracy is good at assigning blame downhill and I’m not going backwards. Make sure that nothing is within sight of a camera that could embarrass us. Taylor, I need a birthdate.”
    “First of May is good.”
    “That’s good. I’ll let them know,” Devin excitedly continues. “Make it happen by 1 p.m.”
    Taylor hesitates, but acquiesces to the demand. “We’ll make it happen.”
    Devin stands up. “Great, let me know if there is anything that you need.”
    The three part ways and Taylor returns to the lab. He lets his partners know about the date and impending visit by Burnsom. “I know we don’t like hard dates because they can be problematic, but it is within a day or so of moving Asterion to the maturation area. We’ll just set up a portable environmental system to keep him warm and provide a sterile atmosphere. In fact, it is a good idea to have a portable unit in case we need one.”
    Christine replies, “We’ll just add some heat strips to the bottom of the bubble transporter, portable oxygen, a filtering system and we’re in business.”
    Trent adds, “I can add some telemetry so we can monitor his vitals and environment from the spare parts we have in inventory.”
    Taylor responds, “That’s great. It should not affect our workload very much. However, don’t delay, as we should do some testing with the final product. This is going to happen in front of Burnsom and the press. We don’t want a failure.”
    Trent laughs, “That would be a real career move, right out the door.”
    Christine laughs and nods in agreement. Taylor cautions, “Let’s hope we can keep on laughing.”
    The team splits up and starts to modify the transport chamber meant to move the full term fetus to the maturation