Asterion Read Free

will also reduce our dependence on fossil and synthetic hydrocarbon based energy sources.”
    For the first time Taylor has a wide-eyed attentive audience. Approval of this project would launch them up the government ladder like a rocket. With the prospect of answering two critical issues facing the populace as outlined by the Leader, they knew it would garner a lot of attention. Their consensus is that they must fund this project. It would have all the resources it needed to succeed in the shortest amount of time.
    Devin worked the crowd reinforcing his importance as director and cementing his future relationships. He gives an approving nod to Taylor, and continues rubbing elbows with his own kind. They are already in party mode, having moved on from their last self-interest to the next one.
    Taylor slips away and heads for the lab. He felt most comfortable there despite its sterile workbenches filled with the usual lab equipment. Glassware of various shapes, containers, electronic equipment to observe and take measurements, glass door cabinets that formed the walls filled with various chemicals, compounds, and organic material filled the lab. It is a place of solitude to think and challenge the boundaries of nature.
    Devin meets Taylor later that day in the lab. “Congratulations Scott, your project will catapult you to stardom with the people and further enforce Burnsom’s favorability among the people. His critics won’t be able to stop this project.” Devin examines a squib-shaped separating funnel as if he had never seen one before. “It’s a win for everyone associated with this project.”
    Taylor knew what Devin is happy about and it is not the benefit to the people or Burnsom’s popularity. It is how he could use this to achieve his own goals. “Thanks for your support.”
    Devin sets the funnel down, and walks toward the door. Without looking back he cautions, “Don’t disappoint me” in his usual cold, stern voice.
    “So much for a warm moment,” Taylor thought and shook his head.
    Equipment and supplies start to pour into the lab through the shipping doors. The lab has to expand it space within the facility, which required major remodeling. Construction began on additional sterile chambers to form the incubation and maturation areas. This would be the model for assembly line genetically modified creatures. Technicians assembled, set-up and tested equipment to verify its function and calibration.
    Screening, interviewing and hiring of personnel began. Directing all these efforts occupied Taylor’s time for the first few months of the project. He hated not being able to focus all his attention on advancing the research, but the devil is in the details.
    Devin seemed overly interested in the hiring process for someone supposedly above the fray. He made it known that he was not into the day-to-day operations and these tasks are for low-level managers. Devin liked the thirty thousand foot view of things, both literally and figuratively. He had shown little interest in the past for these tasks, as these are mundane and boring.
    Taylor, stuck in his office, poured over the hundreds of resume’s the lab received. One-by-one, he interviews the qualified candidates in his office and narrows down the field to several who might fit the bill. Taylor hires two scientists to assist with the project. Trent Boseman has specialized in electrical and software engineering for most of his career including work with nanotechnology. A lot of work still needed to done to integrate the multiple super computers and the instrument. Devin pushed for his inclusion on the team. Trent is the typical computer engineering type. Pale and used to working in isolation, his social skills are not always the best. He could be frustrated and temperamental most of the time and occasionally upbeat and happy when things worked out in the lab. Despite lacking in the social graces, this is what you got with the best in their field. Slightly