Too Much Time in the Lab

Sarah nodded, surveying her guests once more. She reached into her coat, pressed something, and the curtains were all released, significantly dimming the entire room as she stood up and walked back to the door to the parlor, gesturing for her guests to follow. "Let's head to my workshop."

Workshop? Rosetta repeated in her head. While she was excited to see what a scientist's workshop looked like, the sudden dimming of the lights from the curtains being closed was a little... eerie. But it felt nothing like one of her bad omens. The darkness just made the mansion feel like it was haunted.

Now back in the lobby, Sarah lead her guests to the large set of double doors that were flanked by two curved staircases leading to the second floor. These doors were always locked. And while they looked like regular wooden doors that came with the place, Sarah had these reinforced with plenty of modifications to keep brute force or magic from bypassing it. Any attempt to scan these doors would provide no telltale signs of being important.

As she approached a small panel popped out and she pressed her hand against it. She took a step back as the doors swung outwards. A metal staircase lit up by strips of embedded lights lead downwards. "Come on." The lights were a cool, soft blue. These lights were also on the top corners of the hall. As they would reach the bottom, the whole laboratory lit up, exposing various stations and equipment neatly arranged in their own sections.

On the right was where the mainframe for the whole operation was found, surrounded by walls of reinforced glass. Next to that were computers and monitors. Further down this line was a bigger station with a huge screen, showing camera feeds from many parts of the inside and outside of the mansion. The parlor being one of them.

On the left was where the machinery was located. Printers, laser cutters, and a long table for assembly. There were also three capsules there, all wired up to a station. The capsules were padded and had glass lids, which had a rectangular light at the top. One of these capsules was occupied by a feminine-looking humanoid with pink hair. They couldn't see it from where they were, but the green light at the top of the capsule might tip them off. There were other stations as well, but these were the most prominent ones.

"Whoooaaa... Pinch me I must be dreaming."

"Please don't break anything while you're here."

Rosetta yelped at the sharp pain on her butt. It made her jump a little. "Okay, I asked for that," she'd say, rubbing the spot where she got pinched, a little blush on her face. How could she have known that her new android friend would take what she said so literally? What she was seeing was definitely reality though, at least she was sure of that now. This place looked so cool!

Sarah glanced back at Zoe and answered her, "Firstly, I will need some preliminary scans of your body." She took her guests to the left side of the lab. Sarah walked past the capsules and to an area that was obscured from where they had previously been. This area looked like something one would see in the medical section of any sci-fi ship. There was a seat there that could be turned into a bed, or an operating table depending on what it needed to be at the time. At the moment, it was set up to be half way on either setting.

"Take your place here and we'll get started."

"This is giving me James Bond vibes..."

"Not to worry. There are lasers, but they will not harm your friend."

"O-oh, it's just a reference to a move where a spy named James Bond is strapped to a table while a laser slowly rises to cut him in half."

"A method only to give some sense of tension, and to highlight how unintellectual the villain truly is."

"Wh-what?"

"If they really wanted to kill the hero, they'd do it with something that's sure to do the job. Or at least remove anything that could be a weapon."

"I... I guess that's true..."

Sarah went to the command console, pressing a few buttons that lead to a blue laser grid being projected on Zoe's body, making her look like the wire frame of a 3D computer model. "The device will track any movement you make to ensure consistent data. All you need to do is stay within the scanning boundary." The seat leaned back until it was horizontally flat.

A flat, triangular projection that flickered at a near invisible frequency traveled from Zoe's head to her feet a number of times. On the console, a diagram of the subject was being stitched together along with the data from the scan.

"Interesting."

"What is it?"

"Your friend seems to be biomechanical."

As the lasers turned off, the scan having been completed, Sarah turned to the android. "Some samples from your body to go with the data you can supply would be useful to speed up the process of making compatible armaments, however the process would be intrusive, but optional."

"How intrusive actually?"

"Subdermal."

"I would say 10 grams would be enough for the core tests, 100 for conditional tests, and 200 for more intricate experiments. It falls to you how much you are willing to give."

"Wait wait wait wait wait!" Rosetta quickly jumped in, turning to Sarah. "Wouldn't the data she gives you be enough for your tests?" Rosetta wasn't sure if losing that much might hinder Zoe, but it seemed excessive.

"I'm dealing with alien architecture," Sarah explained calmly. "There will be factors that I may fail to take into account, and if I do re-create your friend's technology, I still won't be able to assure accuracy. It's best to have samples so I may keep results consistent."

Rosetta turned to Zoe. It sort of made sense, but she was worried for the android. "I'll help you if you want me to, but are you sure you want to give such samples? Where will she get it from anyway?"

"That will depend whether the architecture differs due to location."

"I won't do that if that is your request, however I might integrate this technology into future projects, if it proves to be compatible."

"What projects would that be?"

"It depends on what's needed at the time."

Sarah walked over to another console in a section of the lab that seemed to only be a collection of computers. Until the floor opened up, and a glass tube rose up from the floor. It was big enough for two people, three if they squeezed in a little.

At the top of this tube hung some claw-like devices with needles in the center. Looking a little sinister, Rosetta thought. At the base were some smaller tubes, which she guessed were what the mad scientist would be using to collect the samples.

"You will be submerged in a suspension fluid, so unless you have extra clothing, it might be best for you to strip."

"HOLD ON! You think she'll just strip down for a random stranger?"

"It was a suggestion. We can delay this part if you need to fetch some clothing."

Sarah then turned to Zoe, "To minimize redundant samples, I'll only take from significantly different sectors. I hope you know what these sectors are, or I'll have to prospect. And another thing, is there a particular area I should avoid? I don't want to cause a system failure."