Escape Velocity

Chapter Nineteen

I covered my mouth to hide my smile as something else occurred to me: if I was trapped on a desert island with Kate, one year of survival instead of seven would be a positive outcome.

Ms. Tyson took the papers from us and put them in a folder.

We shared side glances, and then Olivia asked, "Aren't you going to let us know the results?"

"Nope. This is for Parallax to review." Ms. Tyson opened another folder. "Congratulations, everyone. You're at the final phase. Here are your last assignments: With Dr. Seabron on the nanobe team are Liz, Melisse, and Christina. With Dr. Brunello on the carbon nanotube team are Kate, Olivia, and Savanna."

Turned out my feelings about Kate hadn't improved that much. Even the one-year survival sounded too long.

~~~

Kate, Olivia, and I arrived outside the Materials Science lab at nine a.m. The graphene and carbon nanotube work wasn't as flashy as Dr. Seabron's alien life, but I was counting on Dr. Brunello to help me with FetchBot. I had made progress on the shapeshifting but I had to make a good impression so I could ask about using some of his sensors for FetchBot.

"In the bins along the wall, you will find your clean suits. Bunny suits, we call them. They're similar to the bio-hazard coveralls worn in the nanobe lab to prevent introduction of contaminants, even dust, into the lab. You'll wear them for today's orientation and anytime you're in the clean room."

The bins were marked by size, and Kate and Olivia pulled sealed packages out of the bin marked "Small."

My fear of being abnormal never seemed to go away and, just when it seemed I might catch a break, the Fates found a way to crush the idea. My old pal, hyper-self-consciousness, oozed up from my toes, my stomach, from somewhere.

Please don't let me need an extra-large.

Dr. Brunello grabbed a package from the "Large" bin and handed it to me. "Savanna, you're tall. This should fit."

Tall. Yeah, that'll work. Better than big-boned or sturdy. When there was no sarcastic comment from Kate, it made me paranoid. She probably had a bigger plan to undermine the team. Her own flaws might make her cautious now but I was sure she hated that I had something on her. This was no time to be unprepared. She'd look for any chance to shake my confidence. Always.

Dr. Brunello, Olivia, and Kate were suited up, including surgical masks, hoods, and booties. Olivia grasped my arm and said, "This is creepy. I feel claustrophobic."

Huh. Not a great characteristic for an astronaut.

The weird part was how hard it was to recognize people. It was unsettling when I couldn't distinguish between Olivia and Kate, or barely even Dr. Brunello. A wave of dizziness caused me to lean against the wall. I almost lost my balance as I put on the booties. When I was done, I returned Dr. Brunello's thumbs up, and we headed to the pressure shower, where blasts of air removed any tiny particles on the surfaces of our suits.

Everyone in the nanotube unit moved around with ease. They reminded me of insects certain of their destinations, weaving through the room, following logical paths known only to themselves.

My big feet encased in booties could mean disaster. I hoped they had good insurance on their equipment. Olivia stopped to let a lab worker carrying a tray of glass containers walk by and I bumped into her. I expected an angry response, but she reacted with a muffled, nervous sound.

Dr. Brunello led us toward a group huddled near an electron microscope on the left. Other equipment sat on a long table against the wall. "We'll be testing some carbon nanothread over the next few days. You'll be helping us with that. We'll use a spinneret to create a macro-size cable."