The World of Myth Magazine

Hi Everyone!
I'm thrilled to have my SF story, Millennium Microbial, featured in The World of Myth Magazine. Thank you, Steph!!! http://www.theworldofmyth.com/
I've also posted it below. Enjoy!

Millennium Microbial

Karen settled into her seat, waved good-bye to her husband and opened her company issued computer. Millennium Microbial liked to called it a Data Tablet, but Karen and everyone else just called it a laptop because that's what it was.

            Her boss Jerry Finkelstein had sent his personal transport carrier to pick her up after emailing her with a message to come to work early, or, as he put it, "Suffer the consequences." The consequences being having a day (at least) docked off her forty year predetermined LifeLine. She'd already lost thirty-seven days and didn't want to lose anymore. Not like her husband who was at one-hundred and seventy-seven lost days and counting. Sure Quinn was a quiet man, an engineer by profession, but he was also a bit of a free-thinker, something she loved about him. But it was also something that got him into trouble in the rigid thinking twenty-third century. Hence the large number of docked days.

                        Karen turned her attention to her laptop. She knew exactly what was on Finkelstein's mind. He wanted an update on the project she and the other two members of her team had been working on. As she brought up her records, a shudder went through the normally unflappable young lab worker. The team been studying the possibility of improving the nutritional value of the world's dwindling food supply. They had the preliminary results, and they weren't good. The process they tested was going to be prohibitively costly and no manufacturing company in their right mind would go for it. With that being the case, the world would just have to do with more chemically produced nutritional supplements and vitamins, and get used to more injections of the body's much needed proteins, just like they were doing now. It was the only way.

            Distressed to have to present such dire results to her boss, Karen closed her computer and looked out upon the grey, ashen land that was now planet Earth, the end result of two hundred years of global warming. Desolate brown landscapes, non-descript concrete structures to live and work in and a dusty atmosphere making daytime seem like perpetual twilight. The outside world was endlessly depressing.

            She sighed and focused her attention. The transport carrier had parked in the tunnel underneath Millennium Microbial. She exited and made her way to the entrance. Two security guards checked her for banned electronics and a reader scanned her index fingerprint. When they acknowledged she was safe to enter she swiped her identification card and was let in through massive steel doors.

            The inside of the building was stark with whitewashed walls, wide hallways and black tile. No color anywhere. She took the elevator to the fifth floor and made her way to her cubicle. Next to her Jen popped her head over the partition.

            "Hey, there. Did you hear about the meeting? Finkelstein wants all of us, me and you and Randy, to attend." Jen pointed one cubicle down where their other team member's work station was located.

            Karen nodded. "Yeah, I heard about it. He called me in on my day off."

            "I know. That sucks," Jen lowered her voice shook her head. There was no love from either of them toward their demanding boss. "You could use a break." She switched gears and asked, "Do you know what it's about?"

            "I'm pretty sure he wants an update on our project."

            "So soon? We've only had two months to work on it."

            "Yeah, you know him, he expects miracles. Doesn't care about scientific method or process at all. Just results. What a jerk."

            Jen whispered, "Yeah, I know. He's the absolute worst." She was paranoid about anyone over hearing their conversation and with good reason. The company was ripe with employees who would do anything to get ahead. It made for a more stress in an already stressful work environment.

            At twenty-six years old Karen and Jen were the same age and got along well. They'd worked together at Millennium Microbial for five years, the entire time they'd been employed by the bio-engineer company.

            Karen checked the clock on the wall. "We should get going."

            Jen pointed behind her. "I'll get Randy." Of the three of them, he would be considered the quiet one, almost to the point of being withdrawn. He was a brilliant microbiologist, though.        

            "Sounds good," Karen said. "I'll grab my laptop. It's got my re-cap on it."

            Five minutes later the three of them walked in Jerry Finkelstein's office. He took one look at them and then checked his ornate watch. With no preliminary greeting, he barked, "Let's get started." He didn't even offer for them to sit down.

            Not surprised by his rudeness, Karen, as team leader got right to point, opening her laptop. "I'm assuming you want an update?"

            Her boss sat back and smirked. He was a short, squat man with a thin goatee. He looked like a potato, one of the few vegetables that still existed in the world. "Yeah, I do. Give me your best shot."

            Inwardly, Karen grimaced. God, she hated the man. 'Give me your best shot.' Everything was a game to him. In fact, sometimes Karen got the distinct feeling he wanted them to fail, especially she and Jen. He had a bad attitude toward women in general and the two of them in particular, always making them prove their worth as competent scientists.

            "Okay," she started. "Here's where we're at."

            The essence of her presentation was that their research into splitting microbial DNA and trying to genetically engineer a different stain of food was a failure. The plants they developed all died. The experiment was a failure.

            But, at least they'd learned something, as Karen pointed out in summary, "We know what doesn't work. Now we can focus on looking in a different direction."

            Finkelstein leapt to his feet and screamed. "I don't want to go in different direction! I wanted this to work and now you're telling me it doesn't. We've already invested a lot of money into this research. What you're telling me is unacceptable." He shook his head disappointedly. Then he pointed a finger at Randy. "What about you? You got anything better than this?"

            Randy looked sheepishly at Karen. She felt a sudden clutch in her stomach and knew immediately something bad was going to happen. He was going rogue and he was going to turn on them. "Well, to be honest, I do."

            "God damn it!" Karen yelled.

            "Good," Finkelstein said. "And you," he pointed at Karen. "You shut up." Karen clamped her lips shut as he flicked his fingers at them, like shooing a fly away. "I want you both out of here. Now."

            They did as they were told but not before Karen and Jen both shot hard stares at Randy on the way out. He avoided their looks of disgust. At least he had the decency to blush.

            "What was that all about?" Jen whispered once they were outside the office and the door was closed.

            "I think our team mate is going off on his own. Remember how we talked about trying to genetically engineer a DNA strand like they did back in the twenty-first century? I think that's what he's going to talk to Finkelstein about."

            "We both know that won't work," Jen said.

            "I know. I guess our old teammate Randy just wants to try and get on Finkelstein's good side."

            Jen coughed out a derisive laugh, "Good luck with that. We both know he doesn't have one."

            "Randy doesn't know that, I guess. You know, I always thought there was something funny about him."

            "Well, you were right." She pointed toward the closed door to emphasize her point. "That's for sure."

            The two of them walked back to their cubicles, talking intently. "We could get started on our own research right away, you know," Jen said. "You've got those last findings, right?"

            "Yeah, the ones that suggest working with that DNA strand?"

            "We can investigate that one protein strand on the fifteenth chromosome."

            "Yeah," Karen said, thinking. Then she made her decision. "Let's do it. Let's prove that idiot Finkelstein wrong." She set her laptop down on her desk and took out her phone. "Let me call my husband. It could be a long night."

            Jen gaze looked into her own inner distance, almost thinking out loud, "It could be a long few months. If we don't get this worked out..." she let her words trail off.

            "Yeah, I know," Karen said. "If we don't coming up with a solution to increase the world's food supply..."

            "We're dead," Jen said, cutting her finger across her throat.

            "Yeah. Dead," Karen agreed, looking at her friend. They had a huge job ahead, but they had confidence in themselves. They clasped hands in solidarity. We can do this. Then Karen dialed her husband. "Hey, Quinn. I'll be home late. Something's come up." She listened and then said, looking at Jen and giving the universal A-OK sign, "No, it' not a problem. Me and Jen can handle it."