Page 7 - Unlikely Stories 2
P. 7
El Asesino
Dr. Rabette resented the intrusive interference, as he saw it, of the
government in his research lab. If the university would only squeeze
its wealthier graduates a little harder, endowments would obviate the
necessity of submitting to the bureaucratic administration of federal
grants. Today it was someone from the National Science
Foundation’s auditing staff, attached to the Inspector General’s
Office. A watchdog.
No such animal, grumbled the professor of experimental genetics.
It’s just an attack dog barely restrained by a leash. Bad enough they
have the run of the place: now he actually had to be interviewed!
Well, it was their buck, and it stopped in his office. The man who
introduced himself didn’t look like half a million dollars. He bore an
uncanny resemblance to a cheap-suit detective.
“Warren Rabette?” A minimal handshake. “Jack Flacket. My card.”
He seated himself unbidden across from the academic, opened a
well-worn briefcase and pulled out a folder. “Let me just review the
project with you first.”
Dr. Rabette remained silent, feeling himself on trial and unwilling
to give the prosecutor any ammunition.
“Okay, you’re working on the link between birds and dinosaurs.
That may be a simplification, but it gets to the issue at hand.”
Issue? thought Rabette. Now it really is an inquisition.
“Eggs, Professor. Apparently you are using the fact that both types
of animal lay eggs. If you can reverse-engineer a chicken’s DNA and
put it back into a hen’s egg, maybe it will hatch a dinosaur. Is that
about it?”
Ah, the layman’s view! sighed the researcher. At least he’s not
leading a mob of angry villagers with torches and pitchforks “Yes,
essentially. Two oviparous species, transgenic organisms: the rest is
just technicalities.”
“Could we take a look at the lab, particularly where the eggs are
transported from the gene-splicer to the incubator?”
“Certainly, Mr. Flacket. You will need to put on protective clothing
to enter, however. We are very careful about contamination.”
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