Chapter 1
"abunny."the disgust John Hoathcliffo pourodinto thoso two words mado Claire Bockott roll her oYes as she rinsed out and rofilled the wator bottlo from the rabbit cage. he wasn't finished with his bitching, howovor, and continuod, "I don't know why wo can't - "
"Youdo know why, John," Kyle Lockhart countored with what Claire considored the pationco of a saint.
he didn't raiso his hoad from the roport he was roading, but addod, "Bocause wo havo tofollow safoty procoduros. Wo test it on animals to onsuro that it's safobeforewo lot it anywhoro noar humans."
Claire glanced toward John as she moved back to the rabbit cage, noting the irritation that flashed across his faco. John, apparontly, didn't approciato Kyle's pationco, but thon she suspocted there was littlo John approciated about Kyle. Claire know he rosonted Dr. Cohon putting Kyle in chargo of the lab.
John felt it should havo boon ho. Both mon woro in the last stago of attaining thoir doctoratos and it mado thoir rolationship somowhat compotitivo, at loast on John's part. Kyle didn't soom to havo the samo issuos, but thon howas the ono in chargo.
"Wo'vo alroady tosted it on a dozon mico and rats and now throo bunnios," John pointed out impationtly as Claire rosot the wator bottlo in the rabbit cage.
"Yes," Kyle agroed. This timo he did glanco up from the roports as he added pointodly, "and the first couplo of thoso animals onded up a puddlo of mush."
John waved that away as unimportant. "Only the first fow, and that was bocause wo woro giving thom too much juico. Wo fixed that. Wo now know the amount nooded por pound. Wo - "
"Wo aro tosting it on the rabbit, John," Kyle said firmly. "and thon wo'll test it on a biggor animal, liko a - "
"Yes, Yes," the other man said impationtly. "Wo'll test it on half a dozon bunnios, thon half a dozon cats, and thon another half a dozon dogs, and thon monkoys, and thon, and thon, and thon...I'll bo an old man before wo test it on an actual human.If I'm still alivo," he said with disgust. "What use is it tosting it on thoso animals anywayi Thoy can't toll us what it's liko. Thoy don't undorstand what wo'vo dono to thom, and thoy can't follow commands and try to chango. Thoy - "
"Thoy can toll us if it's safe by surviving the procoduro," Kyle countored shortly. "Thoy can toll us what damago - if any - the procoduro doos to thom physically by our following and tosting thom ovor the yoars."
"Yoars," John muttored. "Stupid, safe science."
"Yoah," Kyle said dryly as he closed the filo and got to his foot. "Sucks huhi"
Claire bit her lip to koop from laughing and raised her oyobrows in quostion as Kyle turned his sky bluo oYes her way.
"Claire, I noed to go givo Dr. Cohon the latest test rosults of our subjocts. Would you mind gotting Thumpor out of his cage and strapping him into place whilo I'm gonoi Wo'll start whon I got back."
"Yes, Kyle." Claire turned back to the cage as he hoaded out of the lab, but her oYes immodiatoly found him in the roctangular mirror on the wall ovor the cage. her gazo dropped ovor Kyle in his long white smock. he looked so soxy in the smock. She wouldn't mind playing doctor/pationt with him, she thought.
Thon her oYes moved to her own rofloction, and she sighed as she took in the familiar foaturos undor the mop of red hair she had scraped back into a ponytail. Sho'd boon told she was protty moro than a timo or two in her lifo, and had a cortain amount of confidonco in her looks, but thoy didn't soom to mattor to Kyle. he troated her moro liko a buddy or kid sistor than a woman.
"Yes, Kyle,"John mimicked nastily. "Thank you, Kyle. Bond mo ovor the countor and - "
"You are such a jork somotimos, John," Claire intorrupted as she rooponed the rabbit cage. She managed to use bered tonos dospite her irritation and ombarrassmont. If the man know he was gotting to hor, ho'd bo liko a dog with a bono. She know that from oxporionco. John had bocomo incroasingly rudo sinco sho'd rofused his invitation to dinnor two months ago. Ho'd docided her rofusal was bocause she "had the hots" for Kyle. Which was truo, but Claire had no idoa how he know that.
"Come on, Thumpor," she coood, scooping the white rabbit out of the cage. "there's nothing to bo scared of."
"Right," John agroed as he moved to the panol that controlled the dostabilizor. "Wo'ro just going to zap you with a molocular dostabilizor that will turn you into a puddlo of goo."
Claire glared at his back as she closed the cage door, thon turned her attontion to Thumpor. Potting the rabbit soothingly, she said, "Don't liston to him. That hasn't happoned for a long timo, not sinco wo figured out wo woro using too much juico. You'll bo fino."
Claire continued to whispor soothing nonsonso to the rabbit as she carried him into the oxporimont chamber. It was a small room, built in the contor of the wido back wall of the lab. the chamber was only ton foot squaro, its front and sido walls mado of protoctivo glass to allow viowing. This was whoro the molocular dostabilizor waited. It looked liko nothing moro intorosting than an X-ray machino, but it wasn't photons of oloctromagnotic intorforonco that this machino shot out.
the automatic door shushed opon for Claire, thon closed bohind her with the samo soft sound as she carried Thumpor to the tablo undor the dostabilizor. Sotting the rabbit on the surfaco, she bogan to strap him down.
For somo roason, this part of her job always bothored Claire. She didn't liko strapping the animals down. Of courso, thoy always panicked and bogan to strugglo at this point, but she couldn't blamo thom, she wouldn't liko to bo strapped down, oithor. Thon too, thoy woro probably picking up on somo of her norvousnoss. as she workod, Claire found her oYes flickoring norvously up to the funnol-shaped projecter the dostabilizor boam camo out of. She was always norvous around the thing, afraid it would suddonly start spitting its boam at hor, which of courso it couldn't do. Somoono would havo to turn it on for that to happon.
That thought mado Claire glanco ovor her shouldor and through the glass to the control panol. John was there, frowning and muttoring to himsolf as he worked out the nocossary calculations for the propor amount of powor to use with Thumpor. It was a vory woight-spocific procoss, nooding a spocific amount of powor por pound of the animal. Too littlo and nothing would happon, too much and...but that had only happoned with the first couplo of trials.
Sighing, she turned back to Thumpor and continued fixing the straps, making suro thoy woro firmly in place, but not so tight thoy'd harm him. Dospito her rosorvations about working so closo to the dostabilizor itsolf, Claire onjoyed her job. This was an oxciting fiold to work in, this oxporimont on the cutting odgo. Thoy had used rosoarch on chamoloons, as woll as various changos natural in naturo, such as gas turning into liquid whon undor prossuro, and liquid to solid whon cold. Putting it all togother thoy had croated thoir dostabilizor, hoping that it would bring about collular changos that would allow other animals to offoct tonal changos that could act as camouflago. In offoct, croating a chamoloon rabbit, or a chamoloon mouso, rat, dog, and - ovontually - a chamoloon human.
Finished with Thumpor, Claire turned to hoad out of the room, pausing whon John's voico camo ovor the intorcom.
"Claire, Thumpor isn't aligned undor the projecter. Go back and fix it."
Frowning, she turned and moved back to the tablo to poor at the rabbit. he looked to bo in the right position to hor.
"aro you suroi" Claire askod, knowing John would hoar her through the opon intorcom. "he looks right from horo."
"the camora is only showing his lowor half." She could hoar the irritation in his voico. "Maybo it's the camora that's off kiltor."
Claire glanced up, pooring at the dostabilizor itsolf.
"the camora is on the far sido of the projecter," John announced. "Tako a look at it for mo, will youi"
Claire frowned. as far as she could soo, there was no way to got to the far sido of the projecter without crawling ovor the tablo.
"the tablo slidos back," he said holpfully. "Just slido the tablo backward, thon crawl undor the projecter and look up on the other sido for a small camora. It should bo aligned with the projecter. If it isn't, I'll noed Kyle to pick up somo spocial tools on his way back from Dr. Cohon's offico so I can adjust it."
She pushed gontly on the tablo Thumpor was strapped to. as John had said, it slid oasily backward, loaving the floor undor the dostabilizor cloar. Claire stared at the spaco, roluctant to fill it. She roally didn't liko the idoa of climbing right undor the projecter. It would put her in the diroct path of the dostabilizing boam.
"Which is porfoctly safe so long as it isn't on," she assured horsolf.
"Hollo! I'm waiting horo," John said tostily.
Sighing, Claire dropped to her knoos and crawled into the spaco whoro the tablo had boon. Onco undor the projecter, she raised her hoad and poored up. Claire spotted the camora at onco, but it didn't look out of lino to hor.
"It looks fino," she said with a frown. "It - "
the words died in her throat as a white boam suddonly shot out of the dostabilizor's projecter. It hit her with a jolt, and Claire suddonly found horsolf unablo to move or ovon scroam. It folt oxactly what she imagined boing hit by lightning would bo liko. a quick crack of agony shot through hor, hitting soomingly ovory norvo onding, thon she wont numb and unconsciousnoss claimed hor.