I don't care either way, but what if it does?" Mr. Jackson asked again.
"If it doesn't work, then we'll just try another method. If it works, then we can continue our research and experiment on others."
Mr. Jackson nodded, not paying attention to the fact that the human subject could receive side effects or, worse, death.
Dr. Rut wrote something on one of the sheets of paper and handed it to Mr. Jackson.
"Give this to him. It has instructions on how and when to take the test tomorrow."
Mr. Jackson took the note and walked off while Dr. Rut looked over at Dr. Grant and asked, "Is everything set?"
"Yes. All the preparations were made yesterday."
"Good. Now let's prepare for tomorrow morning. We'll start early, so you might want to rest tonight."
Dr. Rut turned around and headed towards the door as he saw Ms. Grant enter the room.
She had changed her hair color to match her new body, and she was wearing a white lab coat over a black tank top and shorts. She looked different than usual.
"Did you change your clothes?" Dr. Rut asked as he noticed the difference in Ms. Grant's appearance.
Ms. Grant walked up to him and placed both hands on the sides of his face. "Of course! How else would I make myself useful here?"
Dr. Rut smiled as he put his arms around her waist. "Well, you already have helped me quite a bit today. Thank you for volunteering for this project."
Ms. Grant patted Dr. Rut's shoulder. "Don't thank me yet; there's a lot more I want to do here."
"I hope you do," Dr. Rut said as he led her to the elevator. "We'll be leaving for home soon.
Ms. Grant laughed as they stepped onto the elevator. "There will always be time to relax, Doctor. But never to live."
"That's true. You've been listening to the wrong kind of music lately." Dr. Rut laughed as he held the door open for Ms. Grant.
Ms. Grant slipped inside the elevator and closed the doors behind them.
The elevator continued downward and finally stopped.
The doors opened, and the two exited.
"Are we going down to the basement?" Ms. Grant asked as she looked up at Dr. Rut.
"No, we're going to the ground floor. The entrance to the underground tunnel is right there." Dr. Rut pointed out where an opening appeared in the ground.
"Now what? Are you planning to kidnap someone?"
"Nah, we're going to deliver some things to some people."
Ms. Grant raised her eyebrow. "Some people?"
"Yeah. I've invited them over for dinner."
"People you haven't met before?"
"I thought I told you about them last night. They're my friends."
"But they're not doctors like us?"
"They're scientists too, actually." Dr. Rut laughed, "And they wanted to meet you. I brought you along because you seemed to enjoy helping me with the experiments."
"So, why did you bring them here?"
"I figured they needed to see what happened during the experiments, so I decided to invite them tomorrow as well."
"Do you want me to go somewhere else instead?"
Dr. Rut shook his head. "You don't have to worry about anything. Just relax."
"Okay, but what if they find out that I'm not who I say I am?"
"Then they'll know." Dr. Rut grinned as he pressed the button to open the basement.
The two walked downstairs into the laboratory complex and entered the first room.
"Hello, Dr. Rut. I didn't expect to see you again so soon. And who's your guest?" A man with short brown hair and blue eyes asked from behind his desk. He had a white lab coat over a dark green t-shirt and khaki pants.
He stood up from behind his desk and came forward to shake hands with Dr. Rut.
"This is Ms. Grant, a scientist and a doctor." Dr. Rut introduced Ms. Grant: "She volunteered to help me with the experiment."
"Thank you for inviting me." Ms. Grant smiled warmly at the other man. "It's nice to meet you."
"I'm Mr. Hyriss. Please sit down, Ms. Grant. Would you like something to drink? Tea?"
"Water would be fine."
"Coming right up." The man offered.
Dr. Rut laughed. "You act like you aren't a guest here too."
After a few moments, the water arrived.
Dr. Rut sat beside Ms. Grant on the sofa across from Dr. Hyriss, and the three men talked for several minutes until the man returned with a tray filled with drinks and snacks.
"What are those?" Ms. Grant asked while pointing at a small plate of food on the table.
"Those are nachos. Want one?" Dr. Rut passed the plate to her.
"Sure!"
Ms. Grant took a chip and popped it in her mouth.
"These chips taste great. Where'd you get them?"
"They were given to me by one of my colleagues after our last meeting. We work together on a couple of projects."
"How many people do you work with?"
"About thirty or forty researchers."
"Is that all of them?"
"Not exactly. There are also several students working under us as assistants, and there are some interns coming in now and then to work on special projects. All in all, about sixty people."
"Wow! That sounds like fun."
"Yes, it does. It gets pretty busy sometimes, but I love what I do." Dr. Rut nodded. "Most days."
Ms. Grant nodded as she chewed on the chip.
"Have any questions you need answered?" Dr. Hyriss asked as he reached over to grab a chip.
Ms. Grant shook her head. "No, I think this will be enough."
-------------------
The next day.
The door opened as a student walked into the office.
"I heard you wanted to see me, sir."
"Yes...Lux... Have a seat." Mr. Jackson waved at one of the chairs.
"Thank you," Lux said as he took a seat.
Mr. Jackson cleared his throat before speaking.
"We are conducting an experiment today, and I know you are interested in these kinds of things. So I want you to be one of the first people to witness it."