Dangerous by Default

36. Hope

A gelatinous humanoid mannequin stared up at Mina from the operating table with the void expression in its eyes. Milky and translucent, its skin revealed a myriad of multicolored organs inside that were all nearly perfect replicas of a human anatomy, down to the width of microscopic fibers. Mina had designed it herself. At nearly $20,000 a piece, she shuddered to imagine Rupert's reaction if he saw her actually cut into it. She could only use it once.

"Ready for surgery?" she cood to her humanoid. From a tiny metal case on her desk, Mina selected one of the three vials filled with a goo-like substance and opened it over the abdomen. A tiny worm-like syrup dripped in a long sinew, slipping between the cells of the model's translucent skin. Once it had become entirely discharged inside, it dispersed, like a bright pink milk spilt inside the fishbowl of the model's internal organs.

Mina pulled a lever under her desk that raised a small pair of googles connected to a thin wire. In the goggles she watched a three dimensional map take shape, one tiny slice at a time. The goo was a tiny machine, measuring the microscopic edges of the model's organ tissue, then transmitting them back to her computer as an ultrasonic mesh. From this map she was supposed to be able to see the abdomen of the model in full resolution. What she saw instead, was fuzziness.

The goggles were flung onto the table. This again. Her nano sensors were fogging from contact with gasses floating between the cells of the body.

How do you wipe the lens of a nanomolecular camera?

She thought they had it solved by bathing the particles with a new chemical compound. But it didn't work. Her lethargic arachnoid robot sprung into action after she input another command on her wrist. It's movements were quick and decisive. The body was scooped up and tossed into the air, landing in a rectangular chute that led to the incinerator. She could have placed the chute closer to the ground, but this was much more fun to watch. A good way to resolve the tension of a failed experiment. She glanced back at the metal case of sample vials. Four more tests to go. Goo one, Mina zero.

At 9 AM the Faraday cage that prevented cellular transmissions into her fortress of solitude was programmed to release,making her a CEO once again. As the drawer automatically slid open, her phone erupted to life in a stream of messages and emails. Mina didn't plan to stop working now, but she instinctively snapped a glance at the screen.

URGENT.

She laughed. The last time her assistant texted her URGENT, he had forgotten the password to her starbucks account. She hoped it was something else this time, or it might be the last message he ever sent her.

Hi hi. There's an investor here in the lobby irl.

What the hell? There isn't... Mina opened the email and discovered a long thread that had played out in the early hours of the morning.

"Yes, Mina is available at 8:45 for a walkthrough."

Well how do you like that. She was fifteen minutes late. The arachnoid robot was already preparing a fifth mannequin. No, this had to wait. Mina locked down her lab and raced to the front office. Scrolling through her emails again as she power-walked across the robot testing area, she realized she didn't know the first thing about who she was about to meet. It didn't matter. She was just grateful for the miraculous timing. Dove Equity Group. Never heard of it. God I hope you came to fuck.