Transition

Chapter 9 - Underway

Diane and Dr. Frost entered the Vatten Industries property and were met by a droid in a one piece, solid grey suit with a Gold V-I emblazoned over the front. They rode the elevator to the executive floor and met with Horace Torrance.

"An absolute pleasure to finally meet you, Dr. Sommers. Your reputation is the envy of some of my people here that are working on the project. And, Winston . . . it's been far too long."

"Your invitation said you were finishing the first stage of the equipment." Diane spoke, exchanging appraising stares and uninterested in any fake old boy reunion.

"We are and I would like you both to see what we have accomplished. If you'll follow me."

A different elevator in the rear of Horace's huge office took them swiftly and silently to a sub-basement laboratory where several workers in the familiar grey suits, busied themselves about the room.

Near one wall stood a shiny new series of compartments that took up about 27 square meters with another larger area marked out on the floor for future construction.

"All according to your specifications, Dr. Sommers . . . via Dr. Frost of course." Horace wet his lips and coughed into his hand.

Diane gave him a suspicious look but quickly flattened her expression. This was just more confirmation that Vatten Industries knew a lot more than they let on.

"It looks wonderful, Mr. Torrance. Has it been tested as yet?"

Horace raised a hand and two men pushed a large rolling table toward them.

"We saved the maiden voyage just for your inspection, Doctor."

They watched as the men loaded the body of a pig into the first compartment.

"This part could take a while if I understand the process correctly so I have arranged some drinks and snack over here," he pointed to a clear glass cubicle that held a linen covered table with trays of snacks and bottles, chairs and a video panel showing readouts of all the important aspects taking place.

They seated themselves, poured drinks and relaxed as the first stage was set into motion.

"The subject is the approximate weight of a six-foot male in his middle forties so around two hours perhaps. We're also working on a method that might speed this end of the procedure considerably."

"We can't vary too much," Diane stated. "Retention of the subject's original properties is crucial."

"I understand. I was wondering, Doctor if you could perhaps tell us about the breakthrough you had with this."

Diane sipped her drink and glanced at Frost. "I can tell you about how it was presented to the other scientists once we knew it worked."

Horace blinked slowly and smiled. "That would be most enlightening."

She closed her eyes and summoned the memory before beginning the long story.

Howard assembled the team in the lab and excitedly made his announcement.

"My friends, you will be as excited as I am to hear that our transition project is a success."

Helmets all turned one way and another as the team shared wide eyes and smiles. Several began talking at once and Howard raised a hand for silence.

What you see on the table here" he said, pointing to a cube about the size of a single die, "is now the condensed version of sample PO712, formerly as it appears on the monitor."

The team gathered around the screen and stared at the specimen sample, sealed in a glass container the size of their vacuum desiccator - almost a cubic foot.