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"I'm surprised to find you still alive."
"Me too, sir." "Well, let's have no more testing of prototypes without wearing our protective gear, shall we?" "No, sir. Shan't happen again, sir." "Right. So... besides you, who else was in this wing?" "Rogers and Ptempkin, sir." "Ah, that must be Rogers over there, I recognize that absurd comb-over anywhere. Do try to get it in the same bag as the rest of him, will you?" "Yes, sir." "And Ptempkin?" "He was the one firing the device." "Oh? Really? What range?" "He was at the controls... actually setting the controls. I'd say two feet, maybe less." "So that red mist over there?" "Where? Oh... there sir? Good eye. Aye, that's probably him." "Well, it definitely seems we've gotten our output at sufficient power levels, doesn't it?" "I won't know until we get the records from the secure archive... but judging by the burn marks and the buckling, I'd say we have." "But not the control." "No sir, not as such." "I can't see as any of our customers would want to buy a weapon that destroyed them instead of the target. You agree?" "I agree, sir." "Can you see Dr. Sanguineous eager to atomize himself simply to further his own goals?" "I wouldn't put it past him, sir -- he's a spiteful one." "A point to be debated at leisure, I'm sure... as it wouldn't be in our best interests to lose one of our best customers." "No sir, I agree." "If you spent a little more time hanging out with the sales force, you're remember these aspects of the business more. The big picture, Sanders... the big picture." "I'll keep that in mind." "See that you do. See that you do. While I'm down here, at least brief me on our other projects." "Rather well, sir. I was planning on reporting advances across the board at the next status meeting." "With the exception of this mess?" "Well, as you pointed out, we did solve the power threshold problem, sir." "Yes. Well, as long as you meet the schedule. How's the egress project coming along?" "For the zombies, sir?" "Aye, Zarkot's moved up his time table." "Well, we found that a few of them actually retained enough of their faculties to make use of levers and simple tools -- but for some reason they still won't use crowbars. Not even when brains are clearly to be had on the other side of the simplest of boarded up windows." "So you haven't got them through windows and doors yet?" "No sir. But Ptempkin thought it might be the iron." "Iron?" "Yes -- he was hypothesizing that zombies have the same problems with iron that elves and faeries have." "And?" "Well, there's certainly nothing physically disruptive -- they're not like the other exploders and burners. Ptempkin was thinking that it was something to do with a fear of iron, or maybe that it dampened their neural activity." "And did he test his "stupid zombie" hypothesis?" "Well, it was next on his agenda." "Curious. Well, might as well put Rogers on it." "Pardon, sir? Rogers?" "Waste not, want not, Sanders." "Yes, sir." |