Chapter 8

{A/N: We're finally at the point probally everyone's been waiting for.}

"Yes, finally!"

Pushing back her chair, Zoe jumped to her feet in celebration. She breathed deeply, feeling a rush of adrenaline unlike any she had ever experienced before, her brain pumping out dopamine in excess to celebrate her success.

Spinning around, Zoe danced through her lab as she celebrated. Hundreds of tiny vials lined the shelves around her, each bearing a small label indicating its use in various branches of genetics and organic chemistry.

As her dopamine high began to subside, she moved back to her workbench and pulled her chair to its correct place. Her eyes faltered from exhaustion, but she pushed back the need for sleep, prioritizing the confirmation of her success.

Tapping away at her keyboard, obvious signs of exhaustion were evident in the dark bags under her eyes. Her usual lab coat sat in a crumpled pile off to the side and smelled slightly from neglect. After a flash of inspiration, she had spent the last three and a half months cooped up in her lab, working relentlessly.

On the screen before her, a graph measured both power input and output—the output being magnitudes higher than the input. The screen displayed the results of her long micro fusion reactor project, her hard work finally culminating in success.

Breaking into mad laughter, an insane gleam flashed through her eyes as she gazed through the reinforced windows. Inside, a small metal orb glowed with an eerie blue light as Cherenkov radiation leaked out en masse, the pure energy barely contained within the sphere.

"Note for version 198: improve radiation shielding around the core. Suggest either a self-perpetuating containment field or further refinement of the orb's main alloy. Possibly implement both."

Smiling widely, Zoe verbally narrated her notes for her AI to record, her fingers flying at preternatural speeds as she carefully monitored the core's barely functioning shields. Checking a Geiger counter within the chamber, she raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Gamma radiation proves to be higher within the chamber than expected. Luckily, the main E.M. shields are fully functioning. Throttling down the power now for final testing." Narrating her actions, she rapidly began controlling the device's inbuilt systems to end the reaction occurring within the core.

Slowly, the output bar dropped below the input value as the blue glow disappeared and the Geiger counter returned toward normal readings. Turning off the miniature fusion reactor completely, Zoe sighed and placed her hands on either side of her console.

Her head drooped toward the keyboard, but she quickly shook off her need for sleep as she moved away from the extremely delicate equipment. Performing final checks, she stepped into the decontamination chamber on her way out. A beep indicated she was successfully decontaminated as the far door slid open.

Stumbling her way out, she blearily glanced at the clock as she shambled toward her spare bed. 2:03 am. Reaching her small military-style fold-up bed, she collapsed onto it as the last of her energy drained away.

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Waking up after a long sleep, her mind was finally refreshed. 'Urgh, I can't believe I lasted that long. What was that, two and a half weeks without sleep?' Mentally questioning her own actions, she slowly stretched before wiping her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she immediately gagged at the smell.

Ignoring her nose, Zoe moved to the kitchen and pulled open the refrigerator door, only to gag again at the food within.

"Well, that's not edible anymore," she muttered, closing the fridge. She decided to go out for food instead of dealing with the spoiled contents.

Grabbing a spare set of clothes, she trudged toward the shower with slow steps. Undressing, she tossed her dirty clothes aside and stepped into the warm water. Breathing a sigh of relief, she slowly scrubbed the filth from her body as her stiff muscles relaxed.

Eventually, she was forced to get out when her skin started to wrinkle. Grabbing a towel she dried herself, then wrapped another around her hair and moved to the mirror.

In the reflection, her analytical purple eyes stared back with unnerving apathy. She tried to smile, but the gesture was almost perfect save for the lack of genuine emotion behind it. Sighing, she stopped trying to fake expressions that would only please others and returned to her usual micro-expressions.

Glancing down at her body, deceptively strong muscles hid beneath perfectly smooth skin while water trickled over her perfectly balanced curves. Taking small satisfaction in her appearance, she couldn't help but feel a bit narcissistic, her previous life's memories giving her an objective interpretation of how she looked.

Shaking the towel in her hair, she removed most of the water before grabbing her hair dryer. After drying off completely, she turned to her outfit: a pair of grey jeans and an AC/DC themed shirt, topped by a version of her lab coat styled more like a trench coat.

Her stomach rumbled audibly, the sound reverberating around the room. Face flushing red she looked around to make sure no one had heard her. Breathing a sigh of relief, she checked the time before leaving to find a nearby café. '10:43 pm, June 3rd, 2019. Wait—is that the date? I missed Dad's sendoff to space.'

Looking at the date in bewilderment, she finally realized how long she had actually spent in isolation. 'Dang, I've been locked up in here for four months.' Pulling her phone from her pocket, she quickly typed in some code to modify her video call app, then dialled her Dad's number as she walked. The call rang for a bit.

Stepping outside into the sunlight, Zoe enjoyed its warmth briefly before the call connected.

"Zoe, is that you? Where have you been for the last few months? And better question—how did you manage to call me on the ISS?"

Chuckling, she started walking along the shoreline while looking for a café. Far to her left, she caught a glimpse of the nearby lake through the buildings and decided to head in that direction.

"It's actually quite easy connecting to the ISS. I installed a backdoor in the system a few years ago, shortly after you got accepted into the program. And I was hard at work for the last few months—I finally completed my project."

Looking blankly at her for a few moments, Byakuya's expression slowly changed as he broke into fits of laughter. Around him, the other astronauts finally turned their attention as his phone drifted away from him, and he struggled for breath.

Finding a café by the lakeside, Zoe immediately ordered a large assortment of food before taking a seat. Looking back down at her phone, she saw her dad slowly turning blue as he heaved for breath between laughs.

"Dad, it wasn't that funny."

Struggling to recover, Byakuya regained his breath with a wheeze as he pushed off the wall and snatched his phone from the air.

"Oh, that is hilarious, Zoe. I can't believe you hacked one of the most secure systems ever conceived just to check on me."

Blushing slightly, Zoe realized how that might seem from another perspective. She couldn't deny that despite how apathetic she acted most of the time, she still deeply loved her family. Back on the ISS, Byakuya moved through the satellite to talk with the other astronauts.

"Hey Yakov, guess who called me?"

On the other side of the phone, Zoe overheard the conversation between Byakuya and another astronaut.

"Hm, you shouldn't be able to receive calls here?"

Chuckling, Byakuya turned the phone to show the screen to the other man. The man was large and well-built with a dirty blonde beard and hair.

"My daughter hacked us to check on me."

Rolling her eyes at her dad's affectionate tone, she turned her attention away from the growing banter as a waitress carried over multiple trays of food.

Immediately digging in, she breathed a sigh of satisfaction as her famished stomach was finally sated. Looking down at her phone, she saw her dad and the other man breaking into laughter over something he said. She awkwardly considered hanging up but decided to hold on a bit longer.

A few minutes later, the two men turned their focus to her. Putting down her food, she wiped her face and took a sip of water before picking up her phone.

"So, as the responsible adult here, I'm forced to reprimand your actions, but as a fellow scientist, I must say I'm impressed," Yakov said, starting the conversation with a harsh tone before switching to a more jovial one.

"Yep, that's right, Zoe. You shouldn't hack multinational space stations for fun," her dad added.

Chuckling lightly, Zoe could recognize how unserious her father was being.

"Don't worry, Dad. I patched out the backdoor I used and sent an email to NASA to point out any vulnerabilities I found."

Suddenly, a third voice cut in from the side as a grumpy-looking man floated into view.

"Ah, so that was you. We've been trying to find you for years now. Wait—how old are you?"

Chuckling, her dad decided to mediate properly. "Shamil, this is my daughter Zoe. She's 17 at the moment."

Eyes bulging, the man quickly schooled his expression as he floated away comically. Chuckling lightly, Zoe decided to finally get to the point of her call.

"Anyway, enough introductions, Dad. I'm calling you because I succeeded."

Turning serious, Byakuya focused with unnerving intensity, his action confusing the spectating Yakov behind him.

"Are you talking about the project I think?"

Nodding slowly, a mad grin split her face and showed off her longer canine teeth.

"Yep, I successfully miniaturized a fusion reactor."

Eyes spinning, Byakuya seemed to try to wrap his head around the implications of what she'd said, eventually resorting to his go-to reaction and bursting out in laughter, much to his companions' confusion.

Pushing off the wall, Yakov snagged the floating phone from the air as he landed on the opposite wall.

"Miss, are you being serious? Large fusion reactors haven't even been made yet, and you claim to have already miniaturized a technology that doesn't exist."

Her brain halting, Zoe slowly smacked her face into her palm as she remembered she was supposed to publish her work on fusion reactors but had put it off because she didn't like paperwork.

"Um, I actually got fusion reactors working a few years ago, but Idon'tlikepaperworkandforgottopublishit."

Speaking a mile a minute, Zoe's cheeks flushed red as a look of bafflement engraved itself into the Russian man's face. Standing up from her table, she shoved the rest of her food into her mouth like a chipmunk before paying and walking away, desperately trying to escape her embarrassment.

Eventually, a few minutes passed as Zoe walked back to her lab while ignoring the bombardment of questions coming from the phone. Pushing open the door, she stormed into the room and began activating her reactor, desperate to prove she wasn't lying and to ease her embarrassment.

Powering up, the reactor leaked Cherenkov radiation but nonetheless thrummed with power. Spinning her phone's camera, she pressed it against the reinforced glass.

"See? I did it! I just forgot to publish my work."

Seeing the proof, Yakov seemed to go into shock while Byakuya smiled proudly, with the little robot Rei just drifting through the background. Suddenly, his expression twisted with concern as his eyes glued to the window.

"Zoe, check outside! I can see something!"

Recognizing the seriousness of his tone, Zoe immediately bolted out of the lab. The heavy containment doors all shut behind her as she passed through them. Reaching the front of her lab, she stood momentarily frozen—there, stretching across the entire horizon was an endless wave of green light.

Unsure what to do, her mind moved into overdrive as she calculated the wave's rough velocity and direction. A growing dread welled up in her stomach as she realized she wouldn't be able to outrun it.

Turning sharply, she rushed back toward her lab, desperately pulling at the sealed door, the metal groaning in its frames but holding steady. Chuckling self-deprecatingly, she slowly slid down against the door. Turning toward the phone, she looked at the worried face of her dad.

"Sorry, old man. It seems my precautions will be the end of me. The doors locked as soon as they detected the increase in radiation. I can't hide from whatever this wave is."

Sighing deeply, she slowly reached into her shirt and pulled out the pendant that had been with her since birth. Tracing the delicately engraved patterns, she tried to think of any way to protect her most treasured possession.

Opening her mouth, she slowly put the necklace inside, her thinking being that it would be slightly protected there, and if her body were horribly disfigured, they would still be able to identify her. She paused just before deciding to speak her last regrets aloud.

"Sorry, Dad. I appreciate everything you ever did for me. I'm not sure what the wave will do, but I hope at least that you and Senku survive. Dang, I won't get to say goodbye."

Seeing the approaching green wave fill her vision, she put her pendant in her mouth and tucked her head into her legs in a brace position as the wave washed over her—the last thing she saw being the tears falling from her father's face.