BEEP BEEP BEEP!
Jane averted her eyes from her computer to stare at her lab coat pocket, where the alarm sounded from. She reached inside, pushing past a voice recorder and pulled out her phone. Her tired eyes stared at the screen. "Check the samples!" the alarm name read. With a yawn, she turned off her alarm and stood. Jane Williamson, an Egyptian woman from impressive beginnings. Her mother, a politician. Her father? A scientist like herself. Though, he had no interest in studying cryogenics. As for an appearance? She had tanned skin, dark and curly hair, and deep, brown eyes that sat behind thin glasses. She could've been quite the catch if she didn't have such a threatening gaze. If glares could be weaponized, she'd have been a wanted serial killer by now.
Without so much as a huff, she walked over to a large, see through cabinet sitting at the farthest wall on her right. Quickly, she pulled out a pair of gloves from her other pocket, and slipped them on. With now protected hands, she opened the cabinet, and began pulling out small, various tubes of different colored water. Once she had six of them in her hand, she turned and walked over to a machine located in the center of the room.
It was a large dome that sat on a brightly lit exam table, connected to a multitude of wires. Inside the dome was a tiny plate, with an equally tiny spike of ice sitting in its center. Above the plate hung a small, faucet looking device. On the table next to the dome was a rectangular compartment, a small screen. and two bright buttons, red and green. She opened the compartment, revealing small holes embedded into the bottom in a circle formation. One by one, she inserted each of the tubes into the slots, then closed the lid. Reaching into her pocket again, she pulled out her voice recorder, then turned it on. "My name is Jane Williamson, and it is currently 2:34 AM. I am studying the last batch of samples we have in the lab, and if this next set turns out to be a failure I will be going home. I will now start the procedure." With a deep inhale, she pressed the green button with her free hand. On the screen lit up the number one. The light of the screen reflected off her glasses, almost covering the blistered redness inside them. How long had she been awake?
From the faucet, a small drop of clear liquid formed. It dangled there for a moment before falling onto the plate below. Nothing happened. It was the water from the first vial. "The first vial didn't cause a reaction. Moving onto vial two." She said simply, pressing the green button again. The number two flashed onto the screen. A second drop of water, this time a strange pink hue, dropped from the faucet. Again, nothing.
"The second vial didn't cause a reaction either. Moving onto vial three." She muttered. Another button press. Number three. A black-ish colored droplet fell from the faucet. Once it touched the ice, it sizzled greatly and melted it entirely. Jane bit her lip in anger. "The third vial melted the ice upon contact. Vial three is a failure. Moving onto vial four." Press. Number four.
The fourth vial, filled with a slightly silver colored water, did nothing. Jane could feel her anger growing, evidenced by the twitching of her eyelid. "Vile number four; failure. Moving onto vial number five." She spoke into her recorder. Another press. Number five. The fifth liquid, more on the green side, created a small spark whenever it hit the plate. Nothing Jane was looking for. Another failure.
"Ugh!" She scoffed as she slammed her free hand down onto the exam table. "Number five; FAILURE!" She shouted into her recorder. Her voice was nearly hoarse afterwards. After a few moments of heavy breathing, Jane let out a long, deep breath, and cleared her throat, "Excuse-.. Excuse my outburst." She said curtly into her device.
"Last vial." She muttered. She gently pressed the green button, and watched closely as a blue droplet formed from the faucet. Her eyes stared deeply into the liquid dangling as she counted the seconds leading up to its eventual fall. She watched as it tumbled down to the plate below. It splattered against the plate. The moment it connected, a small spike of ice sprang up. Jane's exhausted face broke into a smile. "Vial number six was a success! This concludes tonight's tests. I will continue to experiment with vial six in the coming days." She closed her eyes, then turned off her recorder. Jane stepped away from the testing area and walked back over to her desk. It was nearly 3 AM. Just as she was about to shut off her computer, her eyes slowly traveled back over to the testing area. Jane nearly tripped over her own feet rushing back over to run another test.
With growing excitement, Jane began the process one again. Her eyes sparkled happily as she watched another droplet form. It fell down to the plate, rolling off the ice that sat there and into a different spot. There, another spike shot up. "Aha! This is brilliant!" Jane grinned. As a third droplet formed from the faucet, her phone began to buzz wildly. Someone was calling her. Jane, annoyed, pulled out her phone and checked to see who it was. It was her roommate, and walking headache, Chuck Miller. She sighed deeply, then answered. "Why aren't you in bed?" She asked.
"Me? I could ask you the same question. It's three A.M and you're still at the lab! I'm proud of you for putting so much effort into your work, but it'll still be there tomorrow. Well- technically it'll still be there today." Chuck's voice muttered from the speaker. It was clear that he'd just woken up. The reason was unclear, however.
"I can't go home now! I've just made a huge breakthrough. Vial six, the blue one? It's producing ice with each droplet. I'm about to see how large of a spike it can create." Jane said, her voice shaky with happiness.
"Wait- Jane, you should wait until someone is there with you in case something goes wrong."