Chapter 7 #2
Dani looked down at Silva’s list of questions. “So, uh,” she said, clearing her throat. “How are preparations coming along for the gala?”
“Oh, well,” Dr. Rodriguez said, her plastic-wrap facade slipping a bit. A blonde-roast brown began to grow in Dani’s mind—but it faded just as quickly as it had come, and Dr. Rodriguez perked up, having resisted the urge to give in to Dani’s ability.
Dani frowned. This might be harder than she thought.
“Just splendidly,” Dr. Rodriguez said. “There’s always hiccups in the process, of course, but we’re really very excited to be presenting at our alma mater. Our CEO is a Leap alumnus, too.”
“Keeping it in the family,” Dani said. Dr. Rodriguez shot her a strange look, one she couldn’t quite interpret. “What did you mean by hicc—”
A chime shimmered in the air. The elevator glided to a stop, and the doors whooshed open.
“Hold on to your questions for a moment,” Dr. Rodriguez said, stepping out with an element of drama, “because you’re going to want to take this in. Come along!”
Dani and Oliver exchanged a glance before they followed.
They stepped into a small glass room with a door straight in front of them, surrounded on all sides by views of the biggest laboratory Dani had ever seen.
If there was any organization to it, it was beyond her understanding.
It looked as if OneiroLabs had thrown a bunch of scientists into a room filled with beakers and incubators and increasingly bizarre equipment and told them to wreak as much havoc as possible.
And they were doing just that. To their left, a woman in full protective gear was tinkering with a pot over a flame; the pot was emitting a fierce magenta mist that seemed somewhat problematic, based on her reaction.
On their right, two people were taking a hacksaw to what appeared to be a large, translucent cube of gelatin.
As Dani watched, they succeeded in splitting it open, only for a remarkable mass of orange goo to spill all over and for both of them to panic—or celebrate, she couldn’t tell which.
“Welcome,” Dr. Rodriguez said with a flourish, “to the Imagination Workshop.” As she spoke, the words formed in bright blue letters on the glass behind her, using the same official font as the company’s logo.
“Wow,” Dani said, not sure if she was being sarcastic. It was impressive and revoltingly showboaty at the same time.
“Every idea at OneiroLabs starts right here,” Dr. Rodriguez continued.
“We encourage our scientists to work on anything they can think of, test it to their hearts’ content, and make a proposal to our product committee.
Our famous DreamLite and DreamRite lines?
Both started here. So did our upcoming project—the one we’re debuting at the gala.
While it’s too dangerous for us to step inside the workshop, please watch from this side of the glass for as long as you like, and I’m happy to take any questions. ”
Dani glanced down at her notebook, trying to figure out where she’d left off. Oliver gracefully filled the silence. “So, you mentioned the new product is your brainchild—does that mean you made it yourself?”
“It does! My managerial duties often keep me out of the lab,” Dr. Rodriguez said with a hint of cutesy petulance, “but there are certain big projects that let me jump back in every once in a while. The concept of the new product was my—was our CEO’s, but the realization of it was entirely my own.”
“What’s the concept?” Dani asked casually.
“It’s meant to empower people through dreams,” Dr. Rodriguez said.
Out of the corner of her eye, Dani saw Max look up, surprised.
Her gambit had worked, catching Dr. Rodriguez off guard just enough to answer without thinking.
The woman’s off-the-cuff answer was the color of a purple yam—she was proud of what she’d made.
“Instead of just giving you good dreams or taking your dreams away, like the other products in our lineup, it puts the choice of what you do and where you go directly in your hands.”
“Like lucid dreaming?” Oliver said.
Dr. Rodriguez paused, seeming to realize she’d revealed too much. “Not necessarily. It’s a little more abstract than that. More like … a world you can explore, and a way to navigate it.”
Oliver frowned. “How exactly does that—”
Max shot them a look. He definitely recognized them. But his expression was not one of suspicion, like Dani would’ve expected, but of warning.
“Earlier you mentioned there have been some hiccups in the process,” Dani said, talking over the rest of Oliver’s question. “Did you mean in the clinical trials?”
She hated watching people squirm under her influence, and Dr. Rodriguez was no exception. A battle was raging on the woman’s face.
“Trials are just that—trials,” Dr. Rodriguez said finally. “There are always a few misfires, but we’re back on track and excited for the gala.”
“I’d love to hear more about that,” Dani said.
She felt queasy; the sensation was not unlike when she helped her parents at the betting tables.
This was normally the time when she’d walk it back, redirect the person if they seemed uncomfortable.
But she had to keep going. “What do you have planned for the presentation? Will you be showing what you’re doing in the trials? ”
“Some of it, yes.” Dr. Rodriguez was staring at Dani’s pen as it flew across the page, frowning as though she knew something was wrong but couldn’t figure out what.
“The beauty of technology is it allows us to record a person’s dreams as they experience them.
We’ll be sharing some clips of the recordings, which should demonstrate the full scope of what the product is capable of.
” Her words didn’t send any colors into Dani’s brain—Dr. Rodriguez was fighting hard to deliver only the most carefully media-trained responses.
It was time to make a temporary retreat.
“That’s incredible,” Dani said. “Fox’s Leap is really lucky to have the gala on campus this year.”
A smile relaxed Dr. Rodriguez’s face. “Yes, we’re very grateful to have the university as our host. Our mutual relationship is very important to us,” she said. “Well, unless you have any questions about the workshop specifically, perhaps we should move on to the next stop?”
“Sure,” Oliver said, having regained their composure. “Thanks for showing us this, it’s actually very cool.”
“My pleasure.” At Dr. Rodriguez’s cue they trooped back into the elevator. “Eighth floor, please, Max.”
Dani took the moment of quiet to review the rest of Silva’s questions; Dr. Rodriguez was not going to like them.
Considering how hard of a fight she’d already put up against their probing, Dani wasn’t sure how much more she’d be able to draw out of Dr. Rodriguez.
The Head of Research might end the tour early if Dani wasn’t careful.
“Where are we going next?” Oliver asked, breaking the silence.
“The research labs,” Dr. Rodriguez said brightly. “It’s where we conduct all our trials and hone products that have moved beyond their initial phase. Along with the Imagination Workshop, it’s one of the most exciting places in the building, in my own humble opinion.”
Before Dani could pick out the next question to ask, the elevator came to a stop with a ding, and the doors slid open.