[Closed]

[lightsoflife]

Who: Naomi Kaufman, Karl Aurion
When: January 14, afternoon
Where: The Locke City Forensic Laboratory
What: Trouble at the lab and a save.


[It's one mistake, some incorrectly filed paperwork for a case that's due to hit court soon, but it sure brings in a lot of trouble. Naomi's already requested permission to leave an hour early so she can pick up her daughter, but her boss catches her in private just as she's heading for her car.

That's where things start to go bad. The paperwork was her fault, she admits that; but then Mr. Wayland asks her if it's happened before. They missed the time she checked out the tainted water months ago when she'd been newer, thankfully. But she'd taken a harder chance in trying to sneak some testing on the rock sample from the Tuning Towers when she'd been handling some evidence from the high school drug bust, and unfortunately that hasn't gone unnoticed. It's not something that will immediately threaten her job, but if the questions start getting closer to the truth of what happened Naomi's pretty sure she won't like what comes of them.

So now she has to explain some undocumented usage of equipment she shouldn't have been using, and on the spot it's a little hard to come up with something convincing. For the moment, she stalls.]

The high school...that was a month ago, right?

Comments

[lightsoflife]

It's a fact of life, given our circumstances. Although it doesn't mean I don't wish I'd taken a job offer in Illinois instead.

[flamberge]

You may want to recall that wish. Illinois has a uncannily bad tendency for political corruption.

[lightsoflife]

Sad. Let a woman dream, will you?

[flamberge]

Sorry. Might I suggest a better dream location as an apology?

[lightsoflife]

Please do.

[flamberge]

Europe. Some nations are more problematic than others, but the general atmosphere is more fantasy like than you can imagine.

[lightsoflife]

I was going to make a joke, but it seems like you've actually triggered something. That other person we're connected to through our echoes - mine actually did work in Europe.

[flamberge]

Perhaps you ought to consider it a sign about taking a job there yourself.

What sort of work had they done?

[lightsoflife]

I don't remember precise details, but it had something to do with medicine. I believe the person I'm receiving echoes from was a surgeon, but I wouldn't take her as a model to follow.

[flamberge]

Might I inquire why? A surgeon is an admirable profession.

[lightsoflife]

Surgery generally is a good profession, yes. However, surgery for potentially unethical research is not.

[flamberge]

What makes you believe it had been unethical?

[lightsoflife]

From what I gathered, the other person's employer believed culling humanity would be its salvation, and se was concerned that they'd given her a subject to kill on the operating table. I don't have high hopes for the ethical integrity of the entire thing.

[flamberge]

Culling humanity? You mean something akin to selective breeding?

[lightsoflife]

Nothing so well-intentioned. Death for the sake of death, fanatical beliefs aside.

[flamberge]

And they believed that needless death would lead to salvation?

[lightsoflife]

As far as I know, yes. I don't remember all the details, but they didn't seem too concerned with rational justification.

And the person whose memories I receive went along with all that. I would gladly tread far from her footsteps.

[flamberge]

Even if you were to pick a similar path, say by venturing to Europe, it is not written in stone that you need to make the same choices as she.

[lightsoflife]

I'd rather not take my chances, especially since I have someone else to take care of. Dragging someone down with me is the last thing I want to do.

[flamberge]

Understandable and admirable. So long as you do not forget about the fact you have someone relying on you then you won't easily follow that same path.

[lightsoflife]

I don't think I could forget. That's one difference between me and her, I suppose.

[flamberge]

A difference that will help you remain yourself.

[lightsoflife]

I suppose so.

Thank you.