In order not to get to the point where he begins to feel sick from working with the same materials twenty times a week, Hector had to turn to a private psychoanalyst for a prescription for a sedative. Otherwise, the old story that got him fired from his previous university may repeat itself.
It was already dark outside. The city streets were shrouded in natural darkness, diluted by the glow of street lamps and car headlights.
Having crossed the threshold of his rented apartment, Hector set water to boil for a cup of strong tea. Turning on the kettle, he went to the laptop, hit the keyboard several times, and after a couple of seconds the sounds of the song «Mamy Blue» began to be heard from the stereo system. While waiting for the kettle to boil, Hector Cage sat back on the sofa, listening to the voice of Julio Iglesias and feeling how all the accumulated negativity was gradually evaporating somewhere. This continued until the craving for sleep set in and Hectors consciousness turned off, falling soundly into a deep sleep.
Only in the morning did Hector lift his face from the upholstery of the sofa six minutes after he realized exactly where his body was. He managed to get to his feet only after his bones had at least woken up a little, namely after an hour and a half.
Turning off the music, he decided to boil water to make a cup of tea that had not happened the day before. But at the last moment the ichthyologist preferred to drink coffee.
Hector looked in the mirror and wondered who he saw in it. He looked as if he had been subjected to severe torture, not allowing him to sleep all weekdays. It was already noticeable how the bags under the eyes were looming, and the hairstyle, shabby due to the lack of a pillow, only emphasized the condition called «vegetable».
The clock showed twenty minutes to nine when the doorbell rang.
At the threshold stood a tall dark-skinned man dressed in a respectable suit.
Good morning. Dr. Hector Cage?
Yes. Hello. Yes. Its me, confused in the flow of words, Hector answered.
My name is Stephen Frost said the man at the threshold, holding out his hand. Nice to meet you. I represent the company «Best Technologies». May I steal some time from you?
With a gesture of his hand, the scientist offered to go to his modest apartment.
Sorry for the mess. I just cant find the time with work.
No, everything is fine. Do not worry. If you saw my apartment, you would understand that your simply shines.
Tea? Coffee?
At your discretion.
While Hector poured the invigorating instant drink, Stephen Frost carefully examined the bookshelf, on which most of the books were devoted to river and ocean fauna. Among them were reference books about the inhabitants of the worlds oceans, divided by time periods of the geochronological scale from the Triassic period to the Calymmian period. Judging by the titles on the spines of the books, it was clear that the scientist was particularly interested in cetaceans.
Hector placed two cups of coffee on the coffee table, after which he invited Frost to sit on the sofa, and he sat down on the chair on the opposite side.
Well Hector said, inviting Frost to get down to business.
Your library is impressive.
The scientist looked at his collection of books with an indifferent glance for the thousandth time and said:
I spent my whole life on this.
Do you have to study rare fish species from time to time?
Well, it happened before. Actually, thats what I liked about my job. Observe live what few people have seen before. And to explore
Have you written any manuals in your field?
Manuals? No. A mountain of monographs, but not a single book. It was in the plans, but a change of job got in the way. So what did you want to talk about?
Stephen Frost leaned slightly towards Cage and began to expound:
Mr. Cage, our company is planning an expedition to the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. In order for it to take place, we need a highly qualified expert in the field of marine fauna
From such words Hector experienced a noticeable rush of blood to the brain. It was like an injection of adrenaline into the very heart, which was about to beat much harder. It seemed that Hector had finally woken up. It was as if he heard a bomb explode near his ear and went deaf, losing for some time the ability to hear at least some sounds. Instead of sounds a ringing thundered in his ears, and Frosts lips moved silently for some time.
never had to before.
And what is the purpose of the expedition?
A complex of scientific research at the intersection of biology, ichthyology and paleontology.
Thinking a little, Hector tried to say something, but Frost interrupted:
Are you interested in payment?
No, no. How long is the work planned for?
Two month. Maybe a little more.
When do you intend to start?
Possibly in the coming months. The time frame can vary from three to seven months. Now the question is about recruiting the expedition. At the moment we are interested in the ichthyologist.
Dr. Cage pondered in absolute silence, his gaze cast somewhere to the side.
In any case, we do not require an urgent response. You have time to think.
Hector looked around his apartment, the scattered books, the countless educational and lecture materials that he had to grind a hundred times every day. He thought about what his life had become. Its colors remained as gloomy as his rented apartment.
But suddenly Hector came to his senses and decided that he needed to at least pretend to have doubts.
Can I ask one question?
Sure. Ask Frost answered, taking a sip from his cup.
Since youre talking about payment, can you provide some clarity?
Oh, of course. For two months of work you will be paid, well, lets say, enough so that you can afford to quit teaching and not think about it for a very, very, very long time. To be more precise, it will be
Frost took out a notepad with a pen from the inside pocket of his jacket, wrote down the amount and pushed the notebook across the table towards his interlocutor.
But, just so you understand, Mr. Cage, this is the amount that you will receive regardless of the results of your work. Frost began to drink coffee in large sips. We understand perfectly well that this is largely a matter of luck and the number of individuals and species discovered does not depend on you. Therefore, the contract will provide for a fixed salary. The amount you see will be paid regardless of the results of the expedition. And if any discoveries are made, new species are discovered, then well, you understand me.
Hector Cage actively scratched his nose, while Frost added:
Ill leave you my business card. Do not hurry. Think it over carefully.
Sorry, Hector interrupted, Mr
Stephen.
If such an offer had come a couple of years ago, I would have thought a thousand times. But under the current circumstances, such a vacancy creates too strong a contrast with my current job to think about anything. I agree.
Glad to hear that. Oh, and I forgot to mention one more thing. If individuals of rare biological species are caught, you will be offered a job on a long-term basis. You will study or manage the progress of scientific work on the study of those individuals that will be at our disposal. And one last thing. How do you feel about greater depths?
Excuse me? Hector Cage said perplexedly, frowning his eyebrows.
The expedition, that our company is planning, will take place near the ocean floor at a depth of about seven and a half to eight thousand meters.
And do you have suitable equipment for this?
Actually, we produced this device. There are no analogues. At least for now.
Cage thought even harder, and Frost had already finished his coffee by this time.
Gradually, a kind of thirst began to appear on Hectors face. After some time he said:
Where to sign?
Hearing these words, Frost burst into a wide smile. But as soon as that smile faded, he immediately spoke in a serious voice:
Mr. Cage, I have one request for you.
Im listening.
No one should know about my visit to you, as well as about this conversation. Is this possible?
I dont see a problem.
I like it. And finally, so that you dont get bored, I will leave one gift. Maybe you can come up with a few new theories.
Frost placed a piece of paper with the image on the coffee table and added:
Take a look sometime. Thanks for the coffee. It was delicious. And I didnt say this out of politeness.
They shook hands, after which Hector escorted his guest to the door.
Almost reaching the threshold, Frost turned around and asked:
Mr. Cage, may I ask you one question?
Hector spread his arms.
Why were you fired from your previous university with such success in science?
Hector felt a surge of energy. Now no bad memories could spoil his sharply increased enthusiasm. He straightened his back, put his hands in his pockets and answered in a confident tone:
I knocked out eight teeth of a graduate student who was diving into my wife.
I respect you Frost said before leaving.
3. KAYLA FOX
In a lecture hall filled with students, with the lights off, the voice of thirty-five-year-old Kayla Fox, Doctor of Biological Sciences, sounded. She commented on the next image that came from the projector:
Here is a sample of a human zygote the result of the fusion of two different-sex gametes. In other words, this is what happens when you forget about contraception.
There was synchronized laughter in the lecture hall.
In this image we can see how the tail of the sperm has already dissolved in the cytoplasm of the egg. The nuclei of both gametes of opposite-sex individuals begin the process of fusion, after which the diploid set of chromosomes is restored. Thus, in the cell of the future organism, the formation of genetic material occurs, half of which comes from the egg, and the other from the sperm. And so, from two haploid cells a diploid cell is formed with a full set of chromosomes, which are carriers of hereditary information. What questions will you have regarding this part?
Miss Fox? the voice of one of the students was heard.
Yes?
What happens if several sperm get into one egg? How will the nuclei behave then?
Good question. The fact is that to penetrate the egg, it is not enough for the sperm to reach it. The egg is surrounded by a membrane that must dissolve so that sperm can penetrate. And here is the most interesting thing. For this shell to dissolve, the egg must be surrounded by at least three hundred million sperm, because only in this quantity can they secrete a sufficient amount of the enzyme hyaluronidase and protease, which will be able to dissolve the shell of the egg. And when the sperm penetrates inside, the membrane begins to thicken, which does not allow other sperm to penetrate inside.
The voice of a girl from the back row was heard in the hall:
This is love. One and only for life.
There was laughter in the room, and the teacher involuntarily joined in.
What kind of love is there? objected the guy from the previous row. She let him into her bungalow, and then locked the door. Darling, its called dictatorial matriarchy.
The laughter became stronger and died down only at the moment the bell rang.
Dr. Kayla Fox outlined an assignment that would need to be completed for the next class, after which the students began to disperse, emptying the lecture hall.
This was the last lesson. Kayla gathered all her study materials into her bag and hurried to the parking lot. As she walked down the stairs, she thought about the garish message shed read on one of her students T-shirts. The caption read: «CHOCOLATE AND MILK MIX». Below the inscription was the face of a dark-skinned boy. Then Kayla remembered a joke. It was told in the morning by the presenter of one of the radio stations when he announced the rating of the most unfunny and ridiculous jokes. He literally said the following: «Why should scientists all over the world rack their brains trying to revive animals that have long been extinct? Isnt it better to take a roundabout route? Take a motherfucker, cross it with an orthodontist, and you get a mastodon».
On the way back, Kayla stopped at a supermarket. Approaching the checkout, she stood in line behind a young married couple with a boy of about three years old. The child did not attract any attention to himself until he dropped the toy car from his hands. Kayla removed her hands from the cart to pick up the toy. While handing it over to the boy, she accidentally glanced at the cover of a popular science magazine that comes out every week. This issue was dedicated to modern genetic diseases, as well as pathologies that were previously unknown to medicine. Kayla began scrolling, her eyes scanning the article headlines. When it was her turn, Kayla placed all the goods on the checkout counter and continued to scan the pages while the cashier punched the barcodes. The magazine talked about the identification of new genetic diseases. In Melbourne doctors were faced with an unprecedented case. The fetus had to be cut out of the womans belly in the sixth month. The reason for this decision was the fact that the fetus had a visible tail. Something similar occurs in the early stages of pregnancy. But in this case, the tail not only did not disappear, but grew at a faster rate than the fetus itself. The doctors were especially shocked by the fact that, having terminated the pregnancy, they did not kill the fetus, and after removing it, certain sounds began to come from the mouth. And there were a lot of such articles.
Will you take it?
Kayla asked without taking her eyes off page fourteen:
What?
Will you take the magazine? the cashier repeated.
Oh, yes Kayla answered, handing over the magazine in order to punch the barcode.
The journey from the supermarket to home usually took eighteen to twenty minutes without traffic jams. This time Kayla arrived in thirteen.
The first thing she did was take out all the food that needed to be placed in the refrigerator. Kayla put everything else aside for later, leaving the bags and work bag lying in the kitchen. To save time, she decided not to change clothes. Once in her home laboratory, into which she had converted one of the bedrooms, Kayla put on medical gloves, and then began studying new samples of her months-long experiment. She took out a chicken egg from the incubator. Before starting work, Kayla turned on the voice recorder on her phone:
Study of sample number «forty-five». Twelve days have passed since fertilization. The appearance of the egg is healthy. There are no damage or defects observed on the shell around the hole through which fertilization took place. Im autopsying the egg.
Kayla lightly tapped the shell with a scalpel and poured the contents into a plastic container.
As in all previous attempts, the yolk and white are missing. Instead, there is the same liquid watery consistency, which in some places is yellow in color, and most of it is dark gray. There is a fetus inside.
Kayla picked up the creature with tweezers, which was covered in mucus from the environment in which it lived. She transferred it to a wide glass container and continued the audio recording:
The fetus has a flesh-colored pale pink tint. The sample size is about four to five centimeters in length and up to one centimeter in width. The shape is different from most of the previous ones. At one end there is a black bulge, similar to an eye. In the middle of the body along the edges there is something resembling limbs that have not yet had time to ripen and separate. There is also a gap visible at the opposite end, the length of which is about one and a half centimeters. The sample makes slight movements in the area of the black bulge. Compared to previous attempts, this sample is more similar to a human embryo. Perhaps the higher temperature at which the egg was stored had an effect.