Page 86 - Just Deserts

PIVOT

One bright spring morning on the campus of Bordham University
the door of the Institute for Chromosomal Studies opened to admit a
young woman in a stained and shabby lab coat. She peered into the
room, blinking behind thick spectacles.
“Are you looking for someone?” The inquisitor was a gawky man
standing next to a file cabinet. He had the pasty ill-complected face
of a graduate student in the sciences.
“Why, uh, yes, I am,” the woman replied, locating the other
human being in the room. “I’m supposed to start working here today
for Dr. Kingswater. Is this his office?”
The man put down the folder he was holding and approached the
newcomer with his hand extended clumsily.
“Oh. Well, welcome aboard. I’m Mungo Beane, the professor’s
part-time jack-of-all-trades around here. This isn’t his academic
office; the university just lets him use this small laboratory because
the biochemistry department moved to the fourth floor. I think he
made up that fake ‘institute’ to impress potential sponsors. So, you’re
the one he hired. Actually, I’m glad to have some help. His project is
getting too big for me to stay on top of all the paperwork as well as
do research.”
She shook his hand. “Thanks, uh, Mungo, is it? My name is
Angela Agram. You can call me Angie; everyone does, except my
mother. Is Dr. Kingswater here? I really only talked to him on
the phone. I guess he doesn’t have much time to give job interviews.”
“Yeah,” Mungo agreed. “It’s just work, work, work, ever since he
got the scent of some big grant money. As a matter of fact, he’s out
there right now selling his theory to some corporate types, I don’t
know who. If this thing really takes off, it will eat money like the
Manhattan Project.” He turned his back to her and returned to filing
a stack of papers.
“Oh.” Angie laughed nervously. “Gee, I hope I can help out. I
was working for Eugenex until last month, when their funding was
cut off by Congress.”
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