26. Glowing Flies and Growing Lies

    Some things changed, and some stayed the same, merely duplicated. The First Bell rang while Zara studied the Menu in the Student Cafeteria, urging her to hurry up. She had hoped for something different to go with her university experience, however new food wasn't going to be anything new, at least not in a Student Cafeteria... Her eyes landed upon a Coffee dispensary. "Aha!" Zara smiled, reaching for a cup, at last she would get to taste the famed adult beverage. Too late to enjoy a bowl of oatmeal, she stuffed a muffin in her bag and hurried out in search of her new classroom, coffee in hand.

         Unbeknownst to Zara, the university campus was huge, by the time she found the floor plan the Second Bell rang, and by the time she arrived at her classroom, the class was already in session. With great trepidation, she entered the room as discreetly as possible, painfully aware of her poor form, a stupid error on her first day. 

         To make matters worse the professor was upset. "And who are you?" She marched across the room with her stern voice.

         "My name is Zara..." She felt the floor disappearing beneath her feet already.

         "My name is Mesta, goddess of Unities" the professor introduced herself, calming. "I doubt very much that I am your professor! This must be your first day?"

         "Yes."

         Mesta took her arm and led her back outside the classroom. "Rule number one, you will not barge into an unassigned classroom! Who are you?"

         "My name is Zara" she repeated, checking the number on the door. "I'm sure I was assigned to this class. Isn't this Room 6?" She offered her pass as proof.

         Mesta looked at the pass but still refused to let her in. "Hmmm… I think there may have been a mistake. This is a Golden program, you look like you're from the Hairdressing school!"

         Zara felt a lump in her throat tighten as she realized the consequence of the clothing swap. "(Gasp)... I'm so sorry" she apologized, moved to confess her sin with hopes of salvation. "I swapped clothes with my roommate, we only wanted to have fun."

         "You only wanted to have Fun?" Mesta wasn't impressed at all. "You think you were given a scholarship at the finest university in Fina just so that you could have Fun?"

         Zara knew in her gut that very moment, she had blown her first impression at Fina U.

         "There's a strict dress code here in Fina" Mesta scolded, "It is written in your contract. Now go home and change into your assigned clothing. Read your contract again before you come back. I don't want any more trouble from you!"

         Mesta returned to the class and closed the door, shutting Zara out. 

         Malodon rolled the examination trolley closer to one of the artificial wombs in the Embryo Lab. He placed the moth on a stand between the fetus' head and the crystal skull, thinking that a live example could perhaps offer the results he expected to see. But once again, the moth lay motionless between the crystal elements.

         "Damn!" He cussed out loud, unwilling to accept the theory was a fail, he began to pace, he had to figure out a way to prove it.

         The waft of frankincense billowing into the lab couldn't have arrived at a worse time. Atalon wanted results, he even brought his audience, Halios and Bakkon were in tow this time.

         "Malodon" Atalon greeted him with a smile. "How is the Crystal Program coming along? We thought you might be able to show us some of your results."

         Malodon could sense the expectations were rising on their own, it only assured him that he was right, everyone knew in their gut he was right about his Electric Brain Theory, even if he couldn't prove it yet. 

         "It's not an easy puzzle to solve" he replied, letting them down gently.

         "Show me what you've got" Atalon ordered.

         Malodon took the moth back to the cabinet and picked up the star flies, quickly hatching up a new idea. With nothing to lose and no one looking over his shoulder, he opened a jar of luminescence powder, sprinkled it onto the flies and carried them over to the experiment, making sure as to expose them to light on their way, before placing them on the trolley between the Crystal Skull and the fetal brain in the artificial womb. "If there's any kind of electromagnetic frequency travelling between the skulls, the star flies will illuminate when we turn out the lamps."

         Halios snuffed out the lamps on cue, when suddenly, in the darkness they could see the glowing flies!

         "Look-it!" Atalon squealed, thrilled to witness proof that his theory had been correct. "Congratulations my genius brother!" With a loud cackle he slapped Malodon on the back. "I told you it would work! Halios, turn on the lamps. Let us not waste any more of Malodon's precious time, he has New Crystal Gens to develop!"