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and general comfort. Burnsom decreed that military chaplains would staff the government churches after their service in the military is completed. They preached a belief in the perpetual government that took care of everyone and their needs. The illusion of freedom, based upon the clouded view of time. Burnsom had created just the right amount of authoritarianism and freedom to enrich his life and those he smiled on.”
    The clock strikes midnight and Christine and Taylor realize they have to go to work tomorrow. A long embrace yields to a goodbye kiss and they part ways for the evening. Taylor wrestles with how much society had changed. The illusion is that it is better than the past, but conditions for the people are austere when compared to history. However, he thought that at least now, everything is stable. What is best? Is there a middle ground to all of this and what about being able to worship as one pleased? Christine went home with similar thoughts racing through her mind.
    The end of the week draws near and the team moves the embryo to the uterine chamber to start the accelerated gestation process. Pushing the envelope, they will bring this experiment to term in a month.
    Off in a corner of the lab, Taylor stops Christine, “Hey, do you want to worship together?”
    “Yes, I would love that. Every Sunday?”
    “Yes.”
    “Wow, I’ve worshiped in private for years. Couldn’t find any Christians around.”
    “Me to, it’s better when someone else is there”
    “I know what you mean.”
    They are excited about the prospects of working together on significant projects and for the life they are starting to build together. All noticed their closeness and for a few, it is of significant interest. Devin is suspicious of any assembly and Milar had her own interests.
    Milar gathers a backup iteration and prepares to transport it to a secret location. Milar asks Taylor, “If you’re not doing anything this weekend, you can come with me to deliver the backup.”
    “Sorry, I have plans for the weekend.” This confirmed his suspicions.
    “Too bad,” Milar leaves the lab.
    Taylor wonders what this new interest in him is about, as he did not see himself as her type and showed no interest in her.
    Devin catches Taylor in the hallway and offers his own brand of advice. “Be careful who you trust. Appearances can be deceiving and deadly.”
    “Aren’t you being a little melodramatic?”
    Devin shoots back, “You science types are always too trusting. That trust can come back to bite you in the end.”
    Taylor breaks off the encounter. “Okay.” He wonders if Devin is talking about Christine, Milar or even himself.
     
    Christine is waiting for Taylor back in the lab. “What was that all about?”
    “I don’t know. Either they are acting weird, or we’re a bit paranoid after watching the documentary.”
    “It does cause me to look over my shoulder more often.”
    Taylor smiles, “I guess we’re making too much out of this.”
    With concern on her face, Christine looks at Taylor. “Maybe, maybe not.”
     

CHAPTER 8 - EXPERIMENT GONE WRONG
     
    Taylor enters the lab early on Monday with great anticipation. Walking the dark hall his footfalls echo throughout the idle structure. He enters the main lab and proceeds to the artificial uterine chamber. He enters after going through the second set of security measures. The high humidity level hits him. Maintained at a higher level than the rest of the lab, it mimicked a real uterine environment for Asterion. Soft red lights provide some guidance in the darkness. Taylor feels the beat of the lab as it monitors and provides for the experiment’s subject. Looking into the round, clear chamber the embryo is still too small to see any details of the creature.
    He turns on the monitor for the scanning microscope and witnesses his first clear glimpse of the creature. Taylor carefully studies it from head-to-toe making sure development is normal, as normal as a designer