Rebirth 1
"Subject shows no change from the last tests." There was a note of weariness in the tech's voice as he noted the results into the system. "Have we reached a dead end, I wonder?" His long lapine ears hung down the back of his head in a show of disappointment.
"Nonsense, my boy. There are no dead ends in science; only opportunities to advance in another direction!" Charles Spensor responded cheerfully. The raccoon flicked a switch on his antigrav chair and turned to face the young technician. "What doesn't work today gives us a new direction to travel in tomorrow." He paused to look at the tech's name tag before he went on. "Think of it like a road block, Chaz: What other directions could we take to get around it?" He took the datapad from Chaz's unresisting paw and flipped through the last few days worth of information.
"I don't know, sir; I mean I'm just a tech..." The young rabbit looked embarrassed to be put on the spot like this.
"Come now, Charles; it's hardly fair to expect the boy to have all the answers." Maria Spensor, smiled as she ruffled her chair-bound mate's hair. "He's only been with us for two days; you can't expect him to have any insights to the project yet."
"Ah. my dear, that's where you are wrong. Sometimes, it's the fresh outlook that spurs us on in the correct direction." The raccoon backed his chair once more and headed it back toward his work station. "Young Chaz there might prove to have our 'eureka moment' hidden inside his unassuming brain." He seemed to lose interest in both the rabbit and his wife as he peered into the high powered microscope at his latest creation.
Maria smiled fondly at her husband, shaking her head slightly before she turned to the young technician. "You'll get used to our ways soon enough, Chaz. For now, just keep collecting data on that subject; we'll leave it one more day and see if there is any noticeable change before moving on to something else."
Chaz went to the work station he'd been assigned two days ago, when he started working with the Spensors. Maria watched him for a moment until she was sure he was engrossed in his task before she moved to join Charles. "Sometimes ,I think you expect too much of them, my love." She placed a soft kiss on his steel gray hair before taking the chair beside him and peering into her own microscope.
A soft snort was the only response from her husband as he continued to manipulate the tiny levers and buttons that worked the robotic arms they used in building their nanites. "I think if we used live flesh instead of necrotic, it would work better. The nanites are picking up on the lack of vital signs and giving up. How much more evidence do they want before they will let us use live test subjects?" It was an old complaint, so Maria let it slip in one sharply pointed black ear and out the other, smiling to herself as she went back to analyzing the latest data.
* * * * *
The terminal emitted a special code, one that had an familiarly ominous sound to it. Charles reached over and hit the accept button, "Hello, Mother; how are you today?" He said without even looking up from the formula he was working on.
A choked sob made the fur on the back of his neck stand on end just before he heard her anguished voice. "Oh, Charles!" He looked up to see the top of his mother's head and her paws with just a hint of her muzzle peeking through on the monitor. She was obviously in distress, and he had a good idea what had put her there.
Very carefully, he set his tablet aside and folded his paws together on the desk in front of his terminal. "What did he do this time?"
It took a few moments before she was able to speak clearly enough for him to understand through her tears. "...bar... fight... parole... What am I going to do now?" The last came out as a desperate wail as she surged into a fresh fit of sobbing.
His mother could be a bitch at times, but she didn't deserve this. The old raccoon needed to shape up or ship out, and knowing him the only way either of those was going to happen was if she tossed his sorry carcass to the curb. "Mother, I would give you the same advice I gave you last time, and every other time since I can remember, but you won't take it." He sighed and tapped in a few commands to his terminal, then spoke softly as he would with a distraught patient. "I've sent in a prescription for a mild sedative; I think you should take it and sleep for a little while. In the meantime, I will contact the authorities and see what, if anything, can be done to bail him out this time." He wished there was more he could do for her, but she'd gotten herself into this situation years ago, and her traditional values kept her locked into it no matter what he or Edmund encouraged her to do. Thinking of his younger brother, he asked,"Have you told Edmund yet?"
She mutely shook her head, and he sighed, knowing she expected him to handle that call as well. "Alright, Mother; that prescription should be there in the next few minutes. Get some sleep and call me in the morning. I will call Edmund and let him know, then call the authorities and see what's to be done about him this time." He paused for a moment, then added more softly, "It will be all right Mother; his actions have no bearing on you at this point." He managed a reassuring smile for her when she lifted her head and nodded. "I'll talk to you in the morning, Mother." He disconnected before she could devolve into another fit of sobbing.
For a few moments, he just sat and stared at the blank screen. A bar fight. Did the idiot have any sense at all? It was bad enough that he'd been incarcerated several times for drinking and unruly behaviour, but to let it happen again... There were times Charles wondered if he and Edmund really were his offspring, and this was one of them. Both had made something of themselves. He'd gotten his doctorate in medicine and then gone back for a second in computer science. He had a wonderful mate who treated him well and worked at his side. Edmund had built his construction company from the ground up (no pun intended) and was doing well for himself. Granted, he hadn't found a mate yet, but he was still young, only eighteen; it wasn't like he needed to take the first female who proposed, either. How they managed to do so well with a father like theirs was a miracle.
None of this was going to help him make these calls, though. Sighing deeply to himself, he hit the button for Edmund's terminal and tried to put a smile on his face while he waited for the call to be accepted.
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Breaking news: The Federated Council of Colonial Worlds has just added several diagnosable disabilities to the list of non-contributing citizens. Malcontents have already filed to have the order changed through the interspecies courts; however, that is a stalling tactic at best, as the council vote was unanimous. The changes will go into effect in just a few cycles. right after mating season begins. If you have any questions or concerns about these new definitions, you can find the answers on the Council's website under New Legislation.
In other news, the Cross-Species Families gala produced some interesting reports this year. The Blackwood felines where there again, showing their support for the event, even going so far as to allow their cherished daughter Clawdia Blackwood to dance with a mysterious raccoon gentleman. Sources have not yet determined his ident, but you can bet as soon as we have it we'll share it with you.