Project Orpheus: A Tale of Blood and Feathers

Chapter 13: The Reckoning

Noh took in a deep breath as the dinner was finally over. The rest of it had been a social nightmare. Ashton was constantly trying to butter up Chester by babbling on about his particular political views, which everyone else at the table were not happy about. Except maybe Anise. She made it pretty clear that she, like Dr. Noh, was pretty politically neutral.

That was a luxury Dr. Noh could afford, but she wasn't sure about Anise. Noh had her secret lab hidden away from the world, funded by the governments regardless of their involvement in any war. Amusingly, the war was actually a major blessing for her. Human-machine integration and biotechnology was what Noh, and by extension Snowhenge, was all about, and they also happened to be great ways to make super soldiers. That meant money from players.

She understood the desire though. The situation in the world was, to put it simply, complicated.

She had some work to do now anyway, and she was enjoying the alone time of silent computation when her office door swung open. It was Chester, who was supposed to be with the tour.

Great.

Noh slid the screen between him and her, as she said "What do you need?"

"Well, when I brought my son, I wanted to see what he thought and he is...bothered by the feathers."

"Tough. That's what dinosaurs actually looked like. We pulled their DNA straight from the rock, there can be no argument about it now. This is real stuff."

Chester sighed, then cleared his throat. "What I mean to say, doctor, is that they're not...they're not marketable."

Noh's eye twitched as she slid the monitor off to the side, placing her hands on the table.

"Not marketable? Are you stupid? Get your head out of your ass for one second, they're god damned dinosaurs! They have intense 'marketability,' just by being dinosaurs. Though I'm sorry reality doesn't conform to your son's expectations!"

Chester took a step back, taken a bit back by Noh's fury, but his expression was still blank.

"When we started this project, you were supposed to make the dinosaurs for me. They're mine, and I want them changed. I don't want feathers on them."

"They're yours? They're y-" Noh slammed her hand on the table and got out of her chair, her head seething. "They're not yours, They - they're living things, they belong to themselves - they belong to nature! You don't get to complain to Mother Nature's manager about how dinosaurs aren't 'marketable,' you absolute goober!"

Chester took in a breath, remaining as calm as he could as he spoke.

"But I'm not complaining to Mother Nature's Manager, I'm complaining to you. You are not bound by Mother Nature, you said so yourself. Why should this bother you so much?"

"Because you can't just buy life, Chester. Nature spent billions of years engineering these creatures in very specific ways with very specific traits for very specific reasons. She may have made up her mind to be as stupid as possible about it, but incidental as it is they are still what they are. You wanted me to bring dinosaurs back from the dead, and I'm going to bring them back exactly as they were. That's what was in our contract, that's what you agreed to, and that's what I'll be doing if you want me involved at all."

Chester reached into his pocket, a stern frown coming across his face as he reached into his pocket for some object or other. Noh reached for a button under the leg opening of her desk, just in case, making the motion look like one to sit back down.

"My son does not like the dinosaurs. I do not like the dinosaurs. I can't sell stupid looking dinosaurs."

Noh folded her hands together, still keeping a sharp eye at the hand in his pocket. "What about the feathers makes them stupid? What about any of what we created makes them stupid?"

"They just do." Chester snapped back.

"And what science is there to be learned from 'selling' them?"

"None, but how do you expect to run this park if you can't do it?"

Noh smiled and laughed. "I don't, actually. The park is your problem, remember?"

His eyebrow furrowed even deeper, "I meant how do you intend to fund your research without the park?"

"I have plenty of other alternatives. Resurrection biology is fascinating, and what I've learned is already helping me in my own personal endeavors, but my specific interests lie in other areas, so this wouldn't be a loss."

"You will do as I say!" He ordered. "This project was my idea, my money, and my time! I own it! I own this! I own you!"

Noh's eyes went wide. She had never seen Chester this angry before. His voice was deep and booming, veins popping from his head in frustration as he clenched his visible fist to sheer white. This was going to be a problem. She regained her composure, the most important thing coming out of her mouth first.

"You. Do not. Own. Me." Noh said. "I am a servant of knowledge, and you will respect me and my people or I will immediately take away everything I've given you."

Chester finally pulled out what he had in his pocket. It was a lighter, which he began to fiddle with. "You know, Doctor, I have some friends in very high places. I could make a few calls, throw around a few dollars, and the majority of your government backers would just disappear. They would leave you high and dry, and that alone."

His expression was still angry, but lighter - as if he were calming down.

Noh raised an eyebrow. "Are you threatening me?"

"Why ever would I do that, Noh? You've been a great business partner, and very helpful. Right? So I have no reason to do those things, since you're being so helpful." He said, slyly.

"You're threatening me. You - haha! You actually think you can threaten me. You're actually threatening me over reviving dinosaurs as they properly should be! For not making the dinosaurs the way you want! HahAHa! You're such a child!"

That got under his skin. He snarled at her and ran his hand through his hair.

"I can end you, Noh. I really can."

He put the lighter away and adjusted his tie, tugging on his lapel. "Just, think about it." He said, and left the room.

Noh rolled her eyes, and got back to her work - but not before ordering Charles to keep a closer eye on his Operator. Having Chester hire him out was her best decision - she had a direct pair of eyes on him at all times, and one that Chester couldn't get rid of.