Unrest

Abstract

The chain is silver and made of irregular, flattened links. The e-stick itself is shaped like an Easter lily. Eiko likes wearing it around her neck, as a lucky charm. Before she shuts down her computer, she saves the latest version of her data onto the stick. The debilitating hack a couple of years ago has made everyone more careful about back-ups. Not that everyone necessarily thinks research data from the Reserve are worth saving at all—or that work like hers, meticulous analysis of gene expression in germline and pre-em cells from different sources, should even be performed. Scientific experimentation is what got us into this mess! Eiko refuses to give in to such defeatism. They will solve this problem. They have to. She pushes back her chair and gets up quickly. She waves at Janine and Liling, both working at nearby desks. Only Liling notices and returns the gesture, before focusing on her screen again. It feels wrong to be leaving the lab so early. Eiko promises herself to make up for it over the weekend.