All I can see is magnificent color of the sunset. But the world, robbed of its life, robbed of its meaning.I’m walking closer and closer towards the edge.It is harsh, a clear distinction between the rock and the sea. I can’t stop myself from walking, from running.My feet continuing their routine, one in front of the other,In constantly accelerating forward motion,Until the solid ground in front of me disappears.I can’t stop myself from falling, the water slowly creeping towards my face,Until they meet.

The facility seems completely empty at first, until I take the elevator down to the lobby. Katherine and Dr. Boyd lay motionless on the floor, right next to the container of the compound. Total immune dysfunction, and invasion from the virus.

“Oh, of course! I’m glad that you’re not discouraged from continuing your research. The world needs bright, young minds like your, my friend. Well, I typically don’t do this, but here’s the key to the entrance. You can stay here overnight and let me in when I come back in the morning. If you decide to leave early, I just ask that you lock up behind you and return the key to my mailbox on the way home.”

She stands up, and walks towards the door. She pauses, as if to say one last thing, but ultimately decides to keep walking, until she is gone. I remain seated, hollow, and defeated. The silence remains unbroken.

Dr. Boyd and I sit in silence while Dr. Breed signs my thesis endorsement form. I’m filled with the same overwhelming rage I felt on the day of our first meeting.

I should be relieved by this, but I’m not. I’m happy, I’m loved, I’m fulfilled for once in my life, and the first thing I hear from my friends is that I should get a room? I know it was a joke, but I feel like I deserve more recognition for making it work with Eve of all people. Maybe they’re just jealous, I wouldn’t put it past them. For the rest of the day, I try to push that frustration out of my head. It works for a while, until I notice Eve in conversation with Elias. Does he not know what boundaries are? He has to know how uncomfortable that must make me. He’s doing it on purpose. I move over to Eve and give her another kiss on the cheek. This stops her conversation with Elias, but she gives me a slightly confused look. I get an increasingly prominent feeling of anxiety as the day goes on. I knew going public was a bad idea. When I’m alone with Eve, there’s no pressure. It’s just us. Now, there are a million factors to consider. Are my friends eying her? Is she off talking to Elias? How much affection is appropriate to show?

I wave goodbye to Dr. Boyd, and I hear the doors shut behind me as I walk towards my car. Contented and satisfied, I turn around to get one last look at the QuantuMetrics building. I notice a small smudge on one of the windows.

I notice a small smudge on one of the windows. This page has paths: 1 2019-11-17T22:45:58-05:00 Mali Waugh 0600600e5f6ecef19135b530fb3213ee8dd46ede Untitled Short Story Ch. 1 Mali Waugh 3 Mali Waugh plain 2019-11-17T22:55:15-05:00 Mali Waugh 0600600e5f6ecef19135b530fb3213ee8dd46ede Contents of this path: 1 2019-11-17T22:46:34-05:00 Ch. 2 1 Mali Waugh plain 2019-11-17T22:46:34-05:00 1 2019-11-17T22:47:17-05:00 Ch. 3 1 Mali Waugh plain 2019-11-17T22:47:17-05:00 1 2019-11-17T22:47:50-05:00 Ch. 4 1 Mali Waugh plain 2019-11-17T22:47:50-05:00 1 2019-11-17T22:48:18-05:00 Ch. 5 1 Mali Waugh plain 2019-11-17T22:48:18-05:00 1 2019-11-17T22:48:44-05:00 Ch. 6 1 Mali Waugh plain 2019-11-17T22:48:44-05:00 1 2019-11-17T22:49:12-05:00 Ch. 7 1 Mali Waugh plain 2019-11-17T22:49:12-05:00 1 2019-11-17T22:49:39-05:00 Ch. 8 1 Mali Waugh plain 2019-11-17T22:49:39-05:00 1 2019-11-17T22:50:02-05:00 Ch. 9 1 Mali Waugh plain 2019-11-17T22:50:02-05:00 1 2019-11-17T22:50:27-05:00 Ch. 10 1 Mali Waugh plain 2019-11-17T22:50:27-05:00 1 2019-11-17T22:50:52-05:00 Ch. 11 1 Mali Waugh plain 2019-11-17T22:50:52-05:00 1 2019-11-17T22:51:15-05:00 Ch. 12 1 Mali Waugh plain 2019-11-17T22:51:15-05:00 1 2019-11-17T22:51:52-05:00 Ch. 13 Where Is Everybody? 1 Mali Waugh plain 2019-11-17T22:51:52-05:00 1 2019-11-17T22:52:23-05:00 The Final Chapter 1 Mali Waugh plain 2019-11-17T22:52:23-05:00 « Continue to “Ch. 8”

  Immediately, the blood drains from my face. She’s calling him Eli. Nobody in our friend group refers to Elias as Eli. I

“You’re surprisingly knowledgeable about chemistry for a research assistant. Are you majoring in chemistry for your undergrad?” I ask, attempting to break the silence.

Dr. Boyd, THE Dr. Boyd, head chemist

We get into the elevator, and get off on the 3rd floor. Katherine leads me through a long and extremely symmetrical hallway towards Dr. Boyd’s office. She walks with such confidence, such precision. She keeps a swift and steady pace, and I try not to fall behind. I get the feeling that she wouldn’t wait for me. Fluid, forward motion. She comes to a rapid halt in front of a door, and gives it three short knocks. “Felix Koenig here for you sir,” she says, leaning towards the door. She turns to me and gives me a quick farewell, immediately walking back towards the elevator before I can even say goodbye. I stand motionless in front of the door for about 10 seconds, which feels like an eternity. Finally, I hear footsteps approaching me from inside the room, and the door opens.I was surprised to find that Dr. Boyd is extremely kind and approachable. As I sit down, he insists I take a mint from a bowl on his desk. We immediately begin talking, and he seems impressed with my ability to sustain an intellectual conversation about chemistry. I show him my procedural outline, and ask for suggestions for changes. After about 30 minutes of changing masses, selecting different glassware, and adding new steps, we produce a detailed, revised experimental procedure. As I read through the paper one more time, Dr. Boyd comments, “Dr. Breed was right about you, I’m pleasantly surprised by your depth of knowledge, Felix. I believe you’re onto something big here.”

She continues staring intensively at the sky. She seems to be incredibly observant, like she has this innate desire to study and analyze everything she sees.

Eve seems shy at first, mostly just picking at her food while the rest of us talk, but slowly, she starts engaging in the conversation. She still seems reluctant to share much about herself, however, mostly just commenting on what other people say. I can’t get a good read on her. After we all finish eating, I decide to bring up my meeting with Dr. Breed. Her eyes immediately light up.

  Needless to say, my meeting yesterday with Dr. Breed did not go as expected. Regardless, I’m not discouraged. I owe myself that much. Dr. Breed may have proposed a couple of light suggestions, but I can’t be bothered to feed his ego. What matters is that I have a professor sponsoring my thesis,

A project this extensive requires an immense amount of work to support it, Felix.”“Oh, you can speak to your contact if you want, but it’s definitely not necessary. I believe my work will speak for itself. Thank you for all of your input, though. I have a lot to think about.”

Eventually, I turn away from the mirror, continuing my daily ritual. For the next hour and a half, the thought flickers in and out of my mind. I can’t seem to shake it, but it’s unexpectedly motivating. The forward motion of my life is continuing.            I run up the stairs to the second floor of the Halcyon Chemistry Building, taking a moment at the top to catch my breath. My appointment starts in 20 minutes;

“ ‘The Ethics of Self-Actualization,’ dude what the hell is that title, ” I ask, barely stifling a laugh. “I can’t believe what I’m hearing. You know, I didn’t come out here to get attacked, my friend.” ”I mean come ON, ‘self-actualization?’ The way I see it, you either have it or you don’t. You know, all those hippy-dippy self-love guys are just trying to make a quick buck off of you” “I mean you’re entirely wrong, but love the enthusiasm,” Elias jokes. ”Okay whatever, man. I honestly don’t have the energy for a debate right now.”

All I can see is magnificent color of the sunset. But the world, robbed of its life, robbed of its meaning.I’m walking closer and closer towards the edge.It is harsh, a clear distinction between the rock and the sea. I can’t stop myself from walking, from running.My feet continuing their routine, one in front of the other,In constantly accelerating forward motion,Until the solid ground in front of me disappears.I can’t stop myself from falling, the water slowly creeping towards my face,Until they meet.

“It just seems to me that at such an early stage in your scientific career, you should be taking all the advice you can get. Honestly, I don’t think Dr. Breed is jealous of you. He seems to be warning you, advising you to be thorough and detailed with your work. I mean it makes complete sense to me why he would want you to reference more papers, I’m assuming especially the Arborn paper you were talking about. If this compound really does pose a risk to society, wouldn’t you want to be cautious?”

“The presentation was incredibly articulate, I will say, Felix. However, I must admit that Dr. Boyd’s compliments do not speak for the both of us, as he supposed. You must know that I mean no offense towards you or Dr. Boyd, and do not worry, I will sign off on your thesis as a theoretical work. However, as far as societal implementation, I urge you to be more thorough with your research. I would strongly suggest including citations to multiple research-based sources, most especially Dr. Arborn’s study, as I have previously mentioned. You do not have enough empirical support to seriously consider your study as complete, and ready for implementation. As a theoretical thesis, it is brilliant. As an applied work, it is incomplete.”

“That’s not it at all! Of course I want to be with you. I just like spending time with you in different settings, with different people. I didn’t mean to make you feel this way. You know what? Just forget I brought it up, I’m so sorry.”

“So, what’s your experience with religion? I’m very curious.”

It seems to work, fortunately, and as we expand upon our conversation about religion I continue to follow her line of logic, careful to hold back any opinions that she might find offensive. My new strategy allows us to branch our conversation out considerably, with very little conflict, and I’m relieved. As the night goes on, there’s some invisible force pulling us closer and closer together until finally, my leg brushes against hers. I feel my face begin to blush, and an intense heat and pulse courses through me. I muster the courage to look up at her face and see that she’s blushing as well. She laughs softly, again breaking the silence, her signature move. We lock eyes for an impossibly long couple of seconds, and as I’m about to form the words “What about Elias”, she leans forward and kisses me. The kiss is short and soft, but somehow leaves my head spinning when she pulls away. She smiles at me, and for the first time, I’m finally able to admit to myself that I want to be with her. When the right one comes along, everything really does happen naturally. She lays her head on my chest, and I stroke her hair until we both fall asleep.

The process is elegant, neat, clean. Dr. Boyd and I work in complete synergy, each anticipating the needs and thoughts of the other, and efficiently coexisting and maneuvering throughout the lab setting. In about an hour and a half, we are able to proudly display a prototype of the Uranium-Morphorsium compound. We quickly store it in a heat safe, vacuum-sealed, chemical-safe container, specifically designed to hold extremely powerful radioactive materials.

While scanning a paper on the properties of intensively heated, liquid Uranium, a notification pops up on my phone. For a split second, I assume it’s a text from Eve. I pick up my phone to respond, but I’m surprised to see that it’s an email. I immediately gasp. A few weeks ago, I emailed QuantuMetrics Lab, a prestigious scientific facility partnered with the Chemistry department at Halcyon, briefly summarizing my research, and requesting a meeting with their head chemist. They finally reached out to me and not only granted my meeting request, but supervised use of their chemistry lab, at my earliest convenience. A rush of validation fills my head. My research proposal has enough potential to catch the attention and endorsement of a major scientific institution. I email them back, and after a few exchanges, they are able to offer me access to their facility today. In the hours before my meeting, I continue toiling away at my research, hoping to outline some kind of basic rough draft for the compound synthesis procedure. I finally come up with something I’m relatively confident with, although there are a few technical processes that I haven’t fully elaborated on. I check the time, and realize I have to leave immediately. My brain buzzes with activity throughout the entire drive there.

Success. I quickly look ahead and see Elias, distracted by a conversation with Amiel. I ask Eve for her phone number.

Today is the first day of the rest of your life.

I’m proposing and researching a compound that results from the controlled introduction of element 92, Uranium, and element 123, Morphorsium. In theory, this compound is expected to exemplify a new method of radioactive decay that is incredibly stable while still producing unprecedented amounts of usable energy. It’s honestly pretty revolutionary, and only a few papers have been published on Morphorsium, so there’s an enormous amount of research still left to be done.