by Potts, Allie
As the lights dimmed, Alan turned to verify that the projection on the wall matched his talking point. He caught her eye and paused for a moment. Juliane’s heart started beating as she thought, This is my chance. She fought to control the excitement from showing on her face.
Alan’s lips turned up, but the smile he directed her way was anything but sincere. No. She knew then that Alan had never been blissfully ignorant of how he minimized the team during crucial moments. No. He did, in fact, understand that this was the type of work that reputations were made on, and had no intention of sharing those honors with anyone. She fought the urge to cry. She would not cry in front of the board. She would not cry in front of anyone.
“Ladies and gentleman, today we can say that we have mastered the ability to access data through the mind alone!”
The presentation, which at this point had been filled with standard two-dimensional charts, graphs, and data points, spun into a breathtaking computer-rendered simulation. Not trusting that an impartial digital designer would properly understand her vision, Juliane had spent the last several weeks programming it herself.
“And it is all thanks to a simple firefly. The science behind how these simple creatures illuminate the night, its bioluminescence, is nothing new. But what we've been able to do with that enzyme certainly is. Through a process of genetic imprinting, we believe we can now signal human epidermal cells to release a similar enzyme."
"You want to make people glow in the dark? Like bugs?" asked a man seated in one of the center rows.
There was a collective intake of breath in the room. No one interrupted Alan during a presentation. Juliane would be surprised to see the man in the auditorium ever again.
Alan's lips tightened, but he continued without addressing the audience member directly. "Note that this technique would also allow for a degree of cellular control unmatched in the animal world. A person's skin would illuminate only just enough to be recognized by a receiving node. Then, through a series of high-frequency flickers—so rapid that they are nearly imperceptible to the human eye—a person's cells would then be able to transmit data packets similar to data transmitted by LEDs.” Alan paused once again to drink from a water bottle, although Juliane suspected the pause was more for the audience's benefit than to address his own thirst.
"So where are the receiving nodes?" the man asked.
I hope for his sake that his resume is up to date, thought Juliane.
The corners of Alan's lips twitched as he turned his attention to his questioner. "They could be found in the traditional router, but they could just as easily be found in the person next to you. A sunflower is able to track the position of the sun even though it has no eyes. It can do this thanks to yet another specialized cellular protein. The same sequence that can force the production of one enzyme can be used for another."
As irritated as she was with Alan, Juliane couldn’t help nodding like a proud parent. While Alan’s work centered on getting the data to interact with a person’s internal cells, her algorithms were the key ingredient in making the system dynamic and adaptable. Together, what they had accomplished was almost magical.
"Imagine a world where no one has to worry about another ugly wireless tower going into their backyard, a world with ageless infrastructure. Imagine a world with Internet-enabled telepathy. I call it, Project Gene Assist."
As the lights came back up, Juliane readied herself to answer whatever questions would come her way. Her algorithm, in theory, was designed to automatically calibrate performance regardless of skin tone, age, or gender. It was perfect. She could still salvage this opportunity. All Alan had to do was hesitate long enough to give her the opportunity.
As the minutes passed, her shoulders ached from refusing to slump in defeat. Alan was able to answer every question with ease and confidence, never once looking her way for assistance. She had to acknowledge he had come to this meeting well prepared. It dawned on her that she may have made a tactical error in her career by teaming up with him. The projects she would have worked on might have been less impressive, but she would have had an easier time distinguishing herself from less capable team leaders.
Juliane frowned and shook her head. No, she thought to herself. She hadn't gotten this far in life by settling for less than she deserved. She just needed to change her tactics. That smile had proven Alan knew exactly what he was doing. Perhaps it was time to take a more direct approach.
As the last of the board members filed out of the room, Juliane dropped her statuesque calm facade. “What the hell, Alan!”
“I beg your pardon? Do you think something went wrong? I rather thought our presentation went perfectly.”
“Oh, now it’s our presentation?”
“Your name was on it, was it not?”
“Oh yes, in small print on the opening slide. Very memorable.”
“I don’t quite understand what your complaint is. You stood with me the whole time.”
“Yes, but you never acknowledged I had any input on the project whatsoever!”
“You could have chimed in at any time during the question-and-answer round.”
“No, I couldn’t. You answered every question.”
“And were any of my answers wrong?”
“No, but it was my area of expertise!” She knew she had started to sound like a whiny child, but trying to regain her self-control was like trying to plug a broken dam.
“I see, and had they followed up with a question about how the data is stored in the proteins, or how the brain can access the information, could you have followed up on that?”
“We both know I wouldn't be prepared for that.”
“So you agree that we both knew enough about your contribution”—she didn't need to see his fingers make the air quote gesture to hear it in his tone—"to provide expert answers, but only one of us knew enough to provide complete answers on any topic.” Alan paused. “If we had done things your way, this entire process would have continued twice as long, and for what? Your ego?” As he paused his eyes bore into her own. “What is that thing you like to say? Our purpose here is to find ways to make life better for others. There is no place for ego in the pursuit of the greater good, only efficiency. We make our presentation, get our funding, and go on to the next project as quickly as possible.”
Juliane said nothing as she absorbed her words twisted against her. He was obviously as prepared for her accusations as he had been for the presentation. She was forced to concede that he had won this round. She would leave, lick her wounds, and come back to fight another day.
“I am going to interpret your silence as agreement.” He shut down the wall projection and put together the balance of his belongings. Without waiting for reply, he turned and disappeared. Juliane closed her eyes and clenched her fists, swallowing a scream of frustration before it could consume her. Her time would come. She just had to be patient.
Three
Shadows stretched across the greenway as she exited the building that housed Dr. Than’s office. It hadn’t taken much effort to organize the woman’s paperwork before handing the stack over to an idle runner in the lobby. Her office and lab space was in the Gould Building near the center of the ACI campus. When it was constructed, Louis Evans Sr. had just begun expanding his company's holdings. He had always been quick to invest in technology. As a result, the building was one of a number of structures built in the ‘experimental’ style loathed by the town's historical community.
It was cylindrical in shape with a glass dome top providing spectacular views of campus. While the glass was clear, the dome acted as a solar collector, powering the entire building. At its base, the architects had installed a series of camera and pixel displays, which would then project whatever the view was on the other side, rendering the base invisible to the casual observer. The resulting effect made it appear as if the top of the building was a floating hemisphere. Supposedly, Louis Evans Sr. had thought the town ne
eded modernization to counter other structures such as Castle Craig, a tower made to look like a medieval castle set within nearby Hubbard Park.
To Juliane, the building was a testament to the ACI's willingness to invest in the unproven, but not all experiments are successful. The panels were enough to achieve the effect the designers were looking for, but what the architects hadn’t anticipated was the extent of injuries their design would inflict upon those who never looked up as they wandered about the campus.
The entrance to the building was easy to miss. It was only identified by a subtle alteration to the otherwise repeating layout of brickwork that cut through the commons. As she approached, she noticed a man lounging along a walled planter near the base of the building. He looked to be about her age, in his early thirties, dressed more sharply than one might have expected at this time of day. Juliane would have expected a person dressed like that to stand at attention, careful to avoid contact with anything that could mar its appearance. But based on his relaxed posture, he couldn’t care in the least if his clothes were damaged by their proximity to dirt or brickwork. His skin was gorgeously tanned and unblemished, his hair stylishly tussled. His face was partially covered by a full yet manicured mustache. Juliane decided it suited him.
He spoke as she grew nearer. His voice was velvet smooth with a singsong quality about it. It was not an accent she was familiar with. She was so caught up listening to the sound of the words and not their content that she did not immediately realize he was addressing her.
“I’m terribly sorry, Ms., but would you happen to know where in the blazes the entrance to the Gould Building is? I must have circled this spot nearly a dozen times and all I’ve gotten for my trouble is a bruise to my leg.” Unlike the dozens of times she had heard similar complaints from new visitors, the man seemed more amused than annoyed.
Juliane remembered all too well her first visit to the building and offered him a sympathetic smile. “Sure, you’ve almost found it. Follow me.” Juliane led the way, and within moments, several panels ceased displaying projections from the other side of the building, allowing a door to become visible. “The trick is to look for changes to the pattern of the brickwork. Around here the pattern is everything.”
"Why in the world would a building be made with a door so hard to find?" he asked.
"I am sure the designers thought a door would destroy the effect," Juliane answered while sparing a glance upward and toward the dome. "Architecture aside, it also helps provide a higher degree of security. There are several projects being reviewed inside that the competition would give anything to know about."
They entered the building together. The marble of the floor tile shone in near mirror quality with images of the high-end fixtures reflecting on its surface. The interior of the Gould Building was more typical of a Fortune 500 tower rather than most research and design facilities. Juliane had expected the man to stop to fully take in their surroundings, but his stride never broke. He nearly walked into Juliane’s heel.
They continued through the building’s lobby, finally reaching the elevators. “The directory is on the wall over there. Do you think you will be able find your way from here?”
The man laughed. “Not if the interior of this place matches the exterior. I’ve been sitting out there waiting for someone to either enter or exit for probably the last thirty minutes, and I was already late for a presentation before I arrived. I’ve likely missed it entirely by now, but I suppose there is a chance that I could go directly to the source for a download—assuming my contact is here.” He looked around the empty hallway. “There doesn’t appear to be a lot of traffic in this building.”
“No, I suppose not. We tend to get lost in our projects and forget about the basic human necessities. Some of us even prefer to sleep here.”
“We? I thought this building was nearly solely occupied by research and development. Are you one of the academic liaisons then?”
Academic liaisons were part-time employees, full-time students, and basically a step above servants. Within any other organization, they would have been called interns. However, the ACI had chosen the unique title as a way of acknowledging that in addition to being tasked with all sorts of menial work in support of assigned research teams, these individuals were also expected to serve as a bridge between the ACI and their various universities.
They had helped the ACI make millions, yet they were expected to put up with any number of indignities for little more than the hope that their indentured servitude might one day grant them the recognition that they had never been able to achieve on their own, and for what? Recognition that they might one day be invited to join the ACI full time and given the opportunity to repeat the cycle. Juliane wrinkled her nose at the thought.
It was common for new recruits to spend a year or two in such work, but a person still doing that work at her age? Juliane shuddered. If an AL is my age and hasn’t been recognized by now, they never will be. It was a matter of personal pride that Juliane had never spent a second as an AL.
“I have had the pleasure of maintaining my own office here for the past few years.”
He stopped in mid-stride, and Juliane batted her eyelashes, returning his false sincerity with her own. His gaze swooped over her body from head to toe, while his head cocked to the side and his thumb stroked his chin, as if appreciating fine art. “What did you do then, graduate high school when you were twelve?”
She found herself wanting to shake her hair free from its bun in slow motion like women in the movies did whenever they were attempting to be seductive. Where did that come from? she wondered. Juliane was relatively certain that had she gone through with the move, she would have looked ridiculous. Juliane knew that she was attractive, and had even gone on a couple of dates, but had found that most men were a complication she hadn't missed. Instead, she heard herself giggling. “Sixteen.” What has gotten into me?
“Well, you don’t look a day over twenty.”
Juliane decided the banter had gone on entirely too long. As much as she enjoyed the moment, she shouldn’t allow this smooth-talking stranger to make her into a person she didn't recognize. She reminded herself that women before her had fought too hard to penetrate her otherwise male-dominated field. She had fought too hard. She would not allow herself to play the role of the vapid female. She rolled her shoulders as if shrugging off a coat while tightening the control on her expression.
“You mentioned that you were here to see someone? I’m not completely surprised that they didn’t come down to see you when you missed your appointment; as I mentioned, we tend to lose track of time. Do you know what floor they are on?”
The stranger seemed oblivious to the effect he had had on her and her internal struggle. “Well, if I am being honest with you, even if I had managed to attend the presentation on time, it would have been a surprise visit. I’m here to see Dr. Faris.”
Juliane froze, her finger on the elevator call button. She fought the rush of fire that sought to consume her cheeks. “If you were intending to surprise, you certainly did. I’m Dr. Faris, but I don’t believe I have a meeting with you on my calendar.”
She risked a glance in his direction, only to be disappointed to see that he did not share in her embarrassment over their prior exchange. If anything, he looked as if he enjoyed himself more knowing who she was. His eyes twinkled in amusement, and the corner of his lips turned up in a sly grin. “Okay. So that’s not the only thing I need to be honest about. I’ve known who you were since before we met. I just wanted a chance to break the ice before we got to the formal introductions.”
“Oh? And why is that?” The fire in her cheeks was immediately extinguished, replaced by a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.
“Well, I have reason to believe that you might have made excuses not to meet me otherwise.”
Juliane wondered if she might be dealing with some sort of stalker, an attractive, smooth-talking stalker but a stal
ker nonetheless. She knew it was only a matter of time before her success earned her one.
“And who might you be then?”
“I’m Louis Evans. I believe you might have heard of me?”
Four
Juliane and Louis rode up the elevator together in silence. Mentally, she replayed her words over and over again, analyzing them to see if she had said anything she might be ashamed of, now knowing who her companion was. By the time the doors opened on her level, she was still far from making a ruling.
“My lab is down this way.” Juliane gestured toward a door with J. Faris displayed on the nameplate. Not waiting to see if Louis followed along, she picked up her pace. As she pulled open the door to her domain she was greeted by Chad, her academic liaison and research assistant. While she may never have had to subordinate herself by acting as an AL, she definitely appreciated having one around most days.
When Chad had first been assigned to her, she had seen his various flaws but thought his assignment was the ultimate compliment. At the time, she imagined all he needed was a person such as herself to unlock his full potential. But more often than not, she found herself reconsidering that earlier assessment.
Over time, she discovered that Chad was not the most dependable of assistants on a good day. On a bad day, he might not show at all. He was involved in a serious relationship with another AL, Nadia, who tended to demand more of his time than Juliane ever did. Juliane could lodge a complaint with her superiors, but she wasn't confident that a replacement would ever be assigned unless she found a way to break out of Alan’s shadow.
“How’d the presentation go, boss?” As Juliane lamented Chad's lack of ambition, he ran to her side with a clipboard and a cup of coffee. His burnished red hair, pale skin, and freckled face combined with his earnest expression made him look like a child playing doctor in his white lab coat.
