Mystic Studies Institute

Doctor Solari’s office, if one were to stick their head through the door and look, appeared as if he’d just moved into the facility. Boxes and stacks of files, all haphazardly pushed against the walls or piled onto unused filing cabinets, made the space feel cluttered and hectic.

Doctor Solari had, in actuality, moved into his new office several months ago. He had no plans to fix the mess.

Instead, he sat on the swivel chair by his desk, crocs propped up on the fake wood, as he read the case files some lab assistant or another had dropped on his now unfinished game of sudoku, which laid abandoned by the cup of tea next to him. The files were admittedly far more interesting than sudoku.

Each subject had somehow managed to poke a hole through his understanding of reality. He smiled. His mind for experimentation was already whirring after he finished reading the first file, and it only grew with the others.

Ah, the things he’d learn here. Taking this job was the best decision he’d ever made.

I knock lightly on the door, the sound echoing before I peek my head in, without waiting for a response. The appearance of the room certainly...surprised me. But it told me a lot about the new doctor. Stepping into the room fully, I glance at him. I had abandoned my customary clipboard and pen for hope of looking casual and relaxed. "Hello." I said, inclining my head towards the doctor. "Dr. Drake Solari, yes?" I asked politely, a smile weaving its way through my facial expression.

"I'm Maddie Angevin."

“That’s my name,” Doctor Solari said as he looked up from the packet of files in his lap and smiled, making no move to sweep the clutter away from his desk. He at least moved his feet off as he swiveled in his chair a bit to get a better look at the person who just stepped through the door.

“Nice to meet you,” he said. “I was just doing some homework,” he joked as he held up the dense packet of records he’d been looking through. The doctor tossed it onto his desk and knitted his hands together. “Did you need something from me?”

An easy smile stretched across my face. "It's nice to meet you too." I said politely, nodding in his direction. At his joke about homework, I laughed. "Yes, there is always something to do around here." I paused, observing him and thinking about my response.

"I came to say hello. I hadn't met you before. Perhaps we could collaborate." This is what I really came for, but I also really wanted to say hi. "For example, I've been learning about the subjects," I winced at the word but I didn't have a better one. "And I'd be happy to share my feedback to save you the trouble of asking the same questions."

“Ah,” Doctor Solari said, “I’d love to hear it. Beats reading all of this,” he said with a gesture at the pile of papers.

“Sit down! Feel free to move those papers,” he said as he gestured to the chairs stacked high with clutter across from his desk.

He tilted his head and leaned forward, hands knitted together. “What stood out to you about the subjects?” He asked.

I gave him a warm smile as I sat down on one of the chairs, moving the troublesome papers. My nose wrinkled at the mess, but I didn't comment. "Well, I had a few notes on Ayaka." I started. "She was the first I interviewed. She says that she is 118 years old, and has an innate ability to feel animals and plants. She can feel it if a tree is cut down around her. In fact, she told me that she feels extreme pain for 3 days in this case. She can also feel if an animal dies. She wasn't eager to let me scan her brain, but she said that her brain stays at the maturity of 18 and not 118. She is extremely weak against willow flowers. They make her sick for a month." I paused, taking a breath. "Also, she abhors technology and will have nothing to do with it, and she is mortal. She can be injured. Time simply does not affect her. " I took another deep breath and cleared my throat, pausing. "That's all I have on Ayaka. Apologies, if it seems to be a lot."

“So she’ll be an annoying subject to test,” Doctor Solari said with a frown. “She seems to be more in line with your field though, being a biologist and all.”

He paused for a moment and looked at a paper on his desk. One of his basic calculations for a different subject, who generated glass with the mere thought. “It’s strange, how much their powers defy reality. No conservation of mass or energy. Not even a significant waste of energy in the form of heat or light. It’s... worrying...” He realized he was rambling. He shook his head.

“If you experiment on her, I’d love to see the results.”

I sigh. "I'm not even sure what type of experiment I would do." I say honestly. "I took a sample of one of her plants, but I haven't done anything on it yet. It thrives." Tapping my chin, I continue. "I could see if the genetic structure matches with normal plant material. But I don't want to do anything harmful. Testing willow flowers on her would be a bad idea."

I chew on the inside of my cheek while I think. It's annoying. "She wouldn't let me teach her technological skills, and attempts to get some basic information on her were disregarded. It's as if she is avoiding doing anything." It was always an option I suppose, but I doubted it.

Clearing my throat I continue. "Have you spoken to Zabizel yet? She is quite interesting." I wrack my brains for the information I had on her. "She is extremely powerful. She would leave this facility if she could, but there are certain countermeasures against her. I'm not sure which ones are most troubling although that may be worth looking into. She is several centuries old and comes from a universe before this one." My eyes grow distant at this. A faint smile crosses my lips, as they form more words. "She was caught by humans but is still bitter. Honestly, I find that stupid for humans. If there is something big and powerful that could kill humans, don't bring attention to yourself. Especially negative attention."

"Oh, and she is a shapeshifter."

“I haven’t spoken to Zabizel yet, but I certainly intend to. She may have some information which could help me along with my thoughts,” he said with a shrug. “Her file was certainly fascinating to read, though it doesn’t say much about how she was caught. I’d love to talk to those people, too...” he paused.

“You think we shouldn’t mess with forces we don’t understand?” He asked, tilting his head. “If that’s the case, why are you here?” He didn’t sound hostile, just confused. If she truly believed trying to harness and understand something powerful- something like Zabizel- then he wondered what her intentions actually were.

I listened to him talk until his questions turned to me. My face heated up and I looked down, avoiding his gaze. This was always hard to talk about. "Well." I began. "I'm smart." I said this in my most matter-of-fact voice. I definitely was not bragging. "And as someone who was fortunate enough to be born that way, I feel as if I should use it. For learning and helping other people."

"I almost want to make sure that people don't harm these power beings. They didn't do anything. It's just how they were born." My voice started to rise with my fury. "People always be stupid about things like this. Liking the same sex, or not being the gender you were assigned at birth. But now it's spread to something bigger. Being fortunate enough to be born with an ability unexaplanable would be amazing! And it's their right to not be tested or be a victim." My breathing came heavy now and I realized I had been rather loud. I cleared my throat and tried to look more professional. "Sorry."

“That’s a noble goal,” he said with a nod of his head, “but just humor me for a moment... do you not trust the scientists here to think of the subjects as people?” He watched for her answer, leaning slightly forward with his fingers knit together.

"I-I" I stuttered for a moment. "That's a little personal. You for instance, seem perfectly capable of understanding that the subjects are living breathing people. Dr Leigha seems a little harsher. I'm not saying that I don't think she looks at the subjects as people, I'm just saying I don't know what she thinks."

"Doctor Leigha, huh?" He said, leaning back and thus pushing the moral debate to the side for now. He noted Maddie's suspicions- and her true intentions- and filed them away in his memory without comment. If he were crueler, he would love to see just how far her morals could stretch in a laboratory setting. He smiled. "I haven't had the pleasure of meeting her. I heard she was busy introducing the subjects into the facility," he said as he re-knit his fingers together.

"Who knows, maybe we'll collaborate on something one day. I probably need her to oversee my experiments, if nothing else." He looked up at the ceiling tiles. "I'm sure I'll need your help soon, too. I have a feeling research here will be multidisciplinary."

I gave him a wry smile. "She's not much for conversation, but she isn't unpleasant to be around. She speaks so technically." I commented. "Almost like a robot." I laugh, trying to diffuse the situation with humor. "Well, I should be going. Have fun with your experiments." I said pleasantly, giving him a smile and a nod. "I hope I'll see you again."

“I’m sure we’ll see each other again!” Doctor Solari said with a smile. “If nothing else, we’re both trapped in the same building with the same break rooms,” he said as he held up his now cold mug of tea.

“Don’t be a stranger. Like I said, I think collaboration is key.”