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 Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 7:01 pm
Early one afternoon, when Aubrey noticed Miss Frangipani was in her room, she activated the intercom, which alerted the woman with an electronic beep and the click-buzz white noise carried by most electronics when activated. "Miss Frangipani? This Dr. Lockheart, may I speak with you?"
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Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 7:06 pm
Anjali, who had been watering her plants (and listening appreciatively to their thankful song), jumped a bit, sloshing some of the water out of the can and onto the floor. "Doctor... just one moment," she said, quickly putting the watering can down and throwing a towel from her hope chest onto the floor to soak up the spill. She stripped off the latex gloves she'd taken to wearing, in order to not goo up everything she touched - the tiny sticky tips of her fingers curled outward appreciatively at the influx of fresh air - before sitting down on the bed, facing the screen.
"Ah... can I help you? I have a few minor findings from my experiments to report, if you'd like," the woman offered.
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Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 7:09 pm
"Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you," Aubrey said, heading into the labs. "I just noticed you were in. Its, uhm, time for your next injection. As promise I'm giving you the oppurtunity to come into the labs and get it voluntarily if you'd prefer. I would be most appreciative if you could bring your data along as well."
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Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 7:11 pm
Anjali's heart thumped at the news - whether from dread, excitement, or a strange mix of both, she couldn't say. The latex gloves fell from one hand onto the floor. "Ah... okay, very well... should I bring anything besides my notes?" she managed, through the surge of anxiety. "A change of clothes, a toothbrush... ah...."
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Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 7:14 pm
Aubrey smiled a bit despite herself. "Just your notes, so I make copies of them if you would let me. Generally the injection is outpaitient. Which means we'll just give it to you and you will be free to leave. It can take up to a few hours to take effect. If you would rather be in the labs and observed, you'll be allowed to. We'll do our best to make you comfortable, but its your choice."
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Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 7:16 pm
"You're going to watch me either way, right?" Anjali folded her arms and gave Aubrey a wry grin. She could tell her fingers were trembling just a little bit - not enough to be visible, but it made the sticky tentacles on her fingertips bounce lightly against her skin, triggering more mucilage. "Perhaps the labs, so I can... ah... discuss my notes with you while I wait? Or something along those lines? If you have time, of course."
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Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 7:19 pm
"Yes, we will, to be honest. We can set up a room for you in the labs. We'll bring in a TV and food for you. You can bring some of your plants if you like. Bring extra clothes if you like, or we'll have scrubs you can have. Any requests?"
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Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 7:20 pm
"I can bring my own things," Anjali reassured her, mentally preparing a checklist. It helped; the jitter of her tentacles slowed, then stopped. "Er. I guess I'll be at the gates in... ten minutes?"
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Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 7:24 pm
"Of course, I'll meet you there."
And she did. Aubrey made sure she was there waiting for her, trying to look as polite and accomodating as possible. She really did appreciate the woman's effort and honesty. In her mind, she was nearly the ideal Islander, something Aubrey did not take for granted.
"Thank you again for your co-opperation. I wish more of the islanders followed your lead."
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Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 7:33 pm
Anjali had quickly packed up one of her suitcases, dug out from under the bed for this purpose. It had smelled like home when she opened it up... regretfully, Anjali filled it with a few necessities, and scooped up one of her hanging basket plants on her way out, on a whim. The freesia dangled its leaves around her arm as she walked through the village, heading for the labs.
Aubrey was already there, and Anjali greeted her with a wave that was only slightly shaky, then listened to the other woman's words. "It's my own fault... and I have no reason to fight." Yet, she thought, inwardly. And she had every reason to try and grow closer to Aubrey... she did feel badly for the woman, and curious how she could maintain odd kindness and do what she did at the same time. Part of her motivation was calculating... and part of it, a genuine desire to help the other woman, for Aubrey's own sake. How could one live in such a state?
"Well, ah... shall we, I suppose? I have my notebook in my bag; once I get within and dig out a pair of gloves so I don't stick to the pages, I can show you some of my results."
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Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 7:44 pm
Aubrey nodded and led through the lush lobby into the elevators to one of the research laboratories. "How is it.. your fault?" she inquired against her better judgement.
Aubrey wiped the skin of her arm with alcohol and injected her with the greenish liquid from the syringe. It tngled as it entered the blood stream, making Anjali feel flsuh for a few seconds before it diffused, and everything seemed normal.
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Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 7:47 pm
"Because the being part of... ah, an experiment, though it obviously didn't specify what kind or any details... for an indeterminable amount of time, was actually in the employment contract I signed. I didn't read the fine print enough, because I was so excited about getting to do landscape design for a 'tropical resort'." Anjali sighed and shook her head. "So... it is my fault, in a way... I could have prevented it."
Anjali stiffened as the needle entered her skin, then let out a long breath as the odd warmth tingled through her body. It felt like the first injection had - the second one, she'd been knocked out for. "Well... there it is, then?" She tried to smile, but didn't quite get there, her lips stretching in a sort of quick convulsion upward before falling into an uncomfortable expression.
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Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 8:00 pm
Aubrey didn't seem to say anything. She couldn't keep the look of guilt out of her eyes though, plain as day.
"There it is.." she echoed quietly. "I'll show you to your room."
Aubrey led her to an observation room that looked remarkably like a nice hopital room. There was a small bed with sheets and a comforter, a television on a stand, a waredrobe for her clothes, and a small barthroom with a sink and tiolet. A few magazines had been placed on the bed, and a chair in the corner of the room. A pyrex pitcher of water and paper cups rested on the bedside table.
"Just... you let us know if you need anything. I'll try to be here as much as I can. May I copy your notes?"
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Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 8:05 pm
Hmm. So she did have a bit of uncertainty, Anjali observed as she followed Aubrey to the observation room. That was good to know. Aubrey did seem to be a genuinely nice person, but it seemed to her that the other woman was being used just as surely as the subjects were...
Anjali carefully put her plant down on the chair before turning to survey the rest of the room. "Not bad... will I be able to call for painkillers should I need them?" Another excellent reason to choose the lab over her own room, especially if they were going to be spying on her regardless. "And, one moment." The botanist put her suitcase on the bed, the handle having been wrapped in plastic wrap to avoid staining the leather, then carefully opened it using the extra wrap and retrieved another set of latex gloves. It was tricky - and sticky - work getting them on, and she had to go into the bathroom to wash and dry the gloves to free them from the sticky side effects of her touching them, but once she was satisfied she moved to take her notes out of the suitcase. "Here you are. Bits of it are written in my native tongue, though - I tend to slip to it when I write quickly - so you may do better to remain with me and have me explain and translate, if you have the time."
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Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 8:10 pm
"Well, let me go make some copies, and I'll be right back to discuss them with you. And I'll make sure I have painkillers on hand if you need them."
Aubrey slipped out with a smile, returning a few minutes later with photocopies and some snacks.
It takes several hours for the transformation to begin, though before anything physical happens you swear the plants' songs seem a bit louder, crisper, and easier to distinguish from one another. Though as the hours crawl by, the changes begin. Unlike most islanders, your transformation is not sudden, violent, or even really all that painful. Over the course of many hours, the chlorophyll in your skin increases, causing your arms, all the way up to the shoulders, plus the skin on your legs, navel, and genitals to turn green. They feel normal, still responding to the touch like normal, though almost all the fine hairs on the green skin turn white and thin.
The tips of your fingers swell and become more sticky and bulbous than before (which makes them sensitive and a bit sore), as do the ends of your hair. Many clumps of your hair have seemed to grow a thin film around itself, giving it a vine-like quality. The tips have turned red and sticky, like your fingers, and are able to move, though very subtly and slowly, on their own - responding to stimuli. You learn you can control them if you concentrate, and also notice they are sensitive to stimuli - such as a heat, pain, etc. The same goes with the red bulbs sprouting from your ears.
The last major change is to your feet, which turn a deeper shade of a green than the other part of your skin. The skin is courser to the touch, like that of the stem of a plant, and toes begin to stretch and pull - which is the most uncomfortable part of the transformation. The toes themselves grow brown, and sprout tiny little hairs that resemble the roots of plants.
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