Chapter 344: Lab-2

As the people she had been waiting for entered the room, Mina beelined toward a table that had caught her interest. She was intrigued just by watching the woman who was carefully measuring out a substance and dripping small drops of it on to neuro-simulators.

The simulators, although rarely used due to its un-reliance, were meant to measure the effects of chemicals on the brain. In theory, the synthetic neurons should react similarly to a human brain, the problem was that no two brains were created equal. That meant that any result that was obtained from using a neuro-simulator was unreliable at best, but Mina suspected that in a lab as advanced as the one she was in, the reliability of the equipment was not an issue.

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Mina quietly watched the woman who carefully dripped a single small dose of something onto several places on the artificial brain. Mina lowered her body to be at eye level with the labels of the vials that were nearby and recognized many of them. She began to read the labels aloud, wishing that she had a pair of safe gloves so she could hold some of the materials to get a better look.

"Tetrodotoxin, Sodium Pentothal, Oxytocin, Aminoethyl Benzene… wait... Dopamine? Are you trying to make a mind control drug?" Mina asked and the woman finally looked up at her.

"Who are you?" She asked suspiciously, and Mina smiled.

"I'm nobody. Why are you working on mind control?" Mina asked, and the woman looked at President Lee, then returned to her work before answering like a robot.

"If enemy forces could be commanded to put their weapons down before fighting begins, we could avoid large scale disasters.

"But the practicality is off. Puffer Fish venom is extremely volatile, and a gust of air could send it into civilian populations, or even friendly troops." The woman looked up at Mina and scowled.

"That is why I am still studying it," she said.

"It's a waste of time, it would only be useful on a small scale; like an assassination. Instead of killing someone, you could just order them to kill themselves." Mina was unaware, but she was speaking the magic language to the men behind her. They were so thrilled by her words that they had not even realized the glare they were getting from Rebecca.

"That is a better application, but think small-"

"Gain little," Mina repeated. The woman nodded at her and returned to her work. Mina wisely left the woman alone and moved to the next station.

"What is this?" she asked, but the man who was working at the station did not immediately explain.

"I will show you," he said excitedly, and Mina backed away. "It's perfectly harmless," the man said, but Mina was not buying it. "I will show you on myself first." He clamped something to his clothing and pushed a button. "See, nothing to be afraid of." Mina stepped forward reluctantly and President Lee felt his heart palpitating. "You aren't pregnant, are you?" Mina shook her head as he clipped the small piece of metal onto her lab coat. The small device turned red, then green and Mina felt underwhelmed. There was nothing, not even a tingle. She looked at the man quizzically, and he chuckled in response.

"I didn't feel anything," Mina said, and the man gestured for her to come to him.

"Turn this computer off," he requested, but when Mina put her hand toward the device, it flickered and blacked out before returning to power on a blue crash screen.

"Did you magnetize me?" Mina asked, and the man nodded. He and Mina spoke for a long time regarding the uses of his invention. Their conversation led Mina to believe that not everyone on the third-floor lacked empathy, but a part of her knew they were just looking for efficiency, not to save lives.

After rambling with the magnet man for a long time, Mina glanced up at Rebecca who had been staring at her in a way that made her feel extremely uncomfortable. The woman looked as though she wanted to open Mina's skull so she could get a closer look at her brain, and Mina felt it was entirely possible she might try.

Mina had been planning to stay the night at the Lee facility, but she was having second thoughts about it. Not just because of Rebecca but because of the men, who were looking at her like the last woman on earth. Their stares were so intolerable to Mina, that she felt the urge to bolt, but in a lab filled with things that could kill her, and things that were meant to kill her, she forced herself to stay put.

"President Lee, I'm a bit tired. Can we leave now?" Mina asked. Her voice was so low and weak that Doctor Witt's medical side kicked in.

"Panic?" He asked, and Mina nodded. "Trigger?" he followed up and Mina pointed at him and the others. "Judgement?" he questioned, and Mina nodded.

"We are not judging you; we are admiring you." Mina wished she could take the man's words well, but she did not even know his name and he had already proposed separate marital homes for them if she chose to be with him.

"Is it because we are men?" Dr. Witt asked and Mina tilted her hand from side to side. "Focus on what you can control," he reminded her.

"But I cannot control your eyes," Mina replied but like magic. She had calmed down.

"How?" Mina questioned. She knew that Doctor Witt had done something, but she had missed what it was.

"I reminded you of a fact. You cannot control everything, and you have to stop trying." Mina took in the information, but applying it was another thing entirely.

"What are you two talking about?" President Lee asked. He had been quietly observing for most of Mina's tour because he wanted the girl to enjoy her experience. Even if Mina were not as smart as he knew she was, he had a feeling that anyone would have enjoyed walking through his lab. Unfortunately, the fact that she seemed to have a connection to everyone except him, made him regret allowing Jeremy and the others to follow.

"Mina and I spoke at length about her panic attacks," Doctor Witt responded. Although president Lee was his boss, he kept his response vague. He believed in privacy, and Mina had spoken to him in confidence.

"Mental health issues?" Asked one of the men who was shadowing them, and Doctor Witt shook his head in the negative.

"Stress induced anxiety."

"Treatable?"

"With redirection," Doctor Witt replied. President Lee was looking at the two physician-scientists go on about Mina's health as if he were not the one who had just inquired.

"Please stop talking about me as if I am not right here," Mina said, and Ian was glad he had been pushed out of the conversation.

Both men looked down; guilty of getting carried away by the thrill of the potential of being the person who would work closely with Mina. More time to interact, meant more time to sell themselves as her best option.