Mother, Page 2

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  “Doctor Syd, I don’t think they believed me.” Laura was despondent, though she wasn’t sure why. It had been exactly what she had expected, except perhaps less aggressive. Infertility was certainly something of a sore spot in Dr. Carter, so his venom may have been diluted by what passed for emotion coursing through his acidic mind.

  Dr. Syd nodded, tapping at his computer with his side to her. His head gleamed in the harsh light of the office, and the white tufts of hair that formed a semi-circle around it were unkempt and splayed all over the place. He looked every bit the classic haggard mad professor. And even now, he didn’t stop working.

  “Well of course they didn’t believe you,” crowed a voice from the doorway. Dr. Carter had decided to drop in, and Laura hushed an aggressive curse. “You forgot the key ingredient in making a scientific presentation credible.”

  “And what’s that?” Laura asked, rolling her eyes in preparation for the smart-alec response.

  “The truth,” Dr. Carter replied with over-the-top shock that she had to even ask.

  “Can I help you, John?” Dr. Syd sighed.

  “Well, Ken, the newspapers are here frightening the students with their photographers’ flashbulbs. They’re not used to seeing bright light, you see, but I’m sure the press’ll go away if you two pose for a pretty picture and give them a few insane words.”

  “My secretary could have informed me of that, it doesn’t take a man with two PhDs and an ego the size of a planet,” Dr. Syd replied with the dry calm of someone much more interested in their computer screen.

  “Ah ha ha. Feel free to live on my planet-sized ego if this one really does go postal and try to kill us all. And your secretary was worried that coming into a room where you two were alone might leave her with a visual that would scar her for life, so I gallantly volunteered to take the hit for her. Imagine my surprise to see you two actually working. It’s... enormous, Ken.”

  “At least someone believes us,” Laura noted, cutting through the arrogant verbiage that was growing so large it threatened to swallow the room.

  “Oh, if they believed it, there’s no way they’d actually print it,” Dr. Carter retorted. He backed up to the door and held his hands against the frame, lounging there like a bat with that hideous grin of his. “If humanity is doomed, who’s going to bother buying newspapers anymore? Serious news just puts people off. You know why there aren’t any funnies in the paper anymore? It’s because... it’s all funnies!”

  With an over-enthusiastic smile and an irritating wave of his hands he left. Dr. Syd rose to his feet.

  “Shall we?”

  Laura sighed, leaning back in her swivel chair. It almost fell out from under her, leaving her having to grab the desk for support. “Dammit. What’s the point, Doctor? They’ll only mock us, and we’ll have Dr. Carter crowing over our misquotes tomorrow morning.”

  Dr. Syd scratched at his beard and crouched to address Laura, like a father telling his child a little secret that mummy isn’t to know. “The point, young lady, is that so long as we do our very best, we can’t feel guilty about the outcome. Even if we fail.”

  “Sounds like a wasted effort to me,” Laura huffed, but she was already rising. He was right, she couldn’t live with knowing she could have done more. Not that there would be anyone left to blame her.