in between, aligned with physical contractions of sinew and fibrous tissue.
If he didn’t know better, he’d think he was seeing Annie from the inside out. The movements and colors, like so much blood and muscle. His vision went deeper. He swallowed against the nauseous sensation of the bottom dropping out of his stomach. Lungs, heart, blood vessels, and tissue gave way to micro views of moving, living cells.
He was both thrilled and terrified, because for a runaway imagination, this was a good as it got. Though the lack of control of his body was frightening.
The bits and miniscule pieces of Annie’s being swirled and pulsed, smaller and deeper until all Jason could see before his eyes were cell bits. Like a vision from a powerful microscope, nucleus, ribosome, and mitochondria moved and danced before his eyes.
Weird and disturbing as that should have been, it was the tiny black threads of a structure Jason couldn’t identify, wrapped like filament in a light bulb around the mitochondria in Annie’s cells, which sent a chill of unease down his spine. The threads didn’t register from any college biology class he had ever taken and he’d had his fair share.
He rubbed at his eyes with his fingers, pressing his eyeballs to erase the odd visions from his memory and his view.
“You okay, Mr. Ballard?”
Sandy’s voice sounded far away until Jason blinked and found her standing in front of him. Her hand was on his arm. Annie, normal as she should be, sat in the chair holding her pictures tight in her hands, waiting.
“Yeah, I’m good. Just…I’m good.” Jason sank to the rolling stool. “So Annie, you ready to show me your artwork?”
CHAPTER 9
Jason squinted at the laptop’s screen, then rolled away from the conference table to stretch his neck. The digital set of the interviews from Ed had been quick and clean, each one tagged by patient and then by question to make them easy to manipulate and splice. His own notes to accompany the segments were turning out to be a lot more time consuming.
“Would this be a bad time to speak with you, Mr. Ballard?”
He glanced up. The formal tone didn’t bode well for Briet’s state of mind, but at least she’d taken the first step and come to speak to him. Her shoulders were set, eyes focused, hands tapping her pant leg. Nope, she wasn’t happy. Jason could bet she was itching to fist her hands on her hips and glare at him.
“Have a seat.” He waved her next to him at the table and reached behind him for the sealed paper cup of hot water and herbal tea bag he had waiting on his desk.
Her eyes widened as he placed them in front of her. “I’m that predictable?”
“When it comes to your patients, yes.”
She unhooked the plastic lid to the paper cup and narrowed her eyes. “It’s still steaming.”
“Just got back twenty minutes ago and I knew you would finish your rounds soon.” He held up a hand. “I swear I’m not tracking your movements.”
“Speaking of video.” She pursed her lips and took a deep breath. “Was it really necessary to put those kids through that? Does Welson not have enough PR without brutalizing sick children?”
“I admit it probably came across that way, especially with Mario—”
“Probably? The woman had him in tears.”
Jason held up his hand. “Your promise was you’d come to me and let me try to explain.”
She took a breath, dropped the tea bag into the water, and folded her hands, giving him an opening.
“The majority shareholder’s meeting is tomorrow.”
She raised her right eyebrow.
“I’m presenting these interviews as part of the closing statements on the status of the project. And—” He needed to hurry up. Briet’s brows had drawn together like thunderclouds. “Several of the shareholders, who I’ve already approached for extraneous funds, will be there. The clips are a tool. To validate the money I’ve proposed they commit for the initial procurement and support
If he didn’t know better, he’d think he was seeing Annie from the inside out. The movements and colors, like so much blood and muscle. His vision went deeper. He swallowed against the nauseous sensation of the bottom dropping out of his stomach. Lungs, heart, blood vessels, and tissue gave way to micro views of moving, living cells.
He was both thrilled and terrified, because for a runaway imagination, this was a good as it got. Though the lack of control of his body was frightening.
The bits and miniscule pieces of Annie’s being swirled and pulsed, smaller and deeper until all Jason could see before his eyes were cell bits. Like a vision from a powerful microscope, nucleus, ribosome, and mitochondria moved and danced before his eyes.
Weird and disturbing as that should have been, it was the tiny black threads of a structure Jason couldn’t identify, wrapped like filament in a light bulb around the mitochondria in Annie’s cells, which sent a chill of unease down his spine. The threads didn’t register from any college biology class he had ever taken and he’d had his fair share.
He rubbed at his eyes with his fingers, pressing his eyeballs to erase the odd visions from his memory and his view.
“You okay, Mr. Ballard?”
Sandy’s voice sounded far away until Jason blinked and found her standing in front of him. Her hand was on his arm. Annie, normal as she should be, sat in the chair holding her pictures tight in her hands, waiting.
“Yeah, I’m good. Just…I’m good.” Jason sank to the rolling stool. “So Annie, you ready to show me your artwork?”
CHAPTER 9
Jason squinted at the laptop’s screen, then rolled away from the conference table to stretch his neck. The digital set of the interviews from Ed had been quick and clean, each one tagged by patient and then by question to make them easy to manipulate and splice. His own notes to accompany the segments were turning out to be a lot more time consuming.
“Would this be a bad time to speak with you, Mr. Ballard?”
He glanced up. The formal tone didn’t bode well for Briet’s state of mind, but at least she’d taken the first step and come to speak to him. Her shoulders were set, eyes focused, hands tapping her pant leg. Nope, she wasn’t happy. Jason could bet she was itching to fist her hands on her hips and glare at him.
“Have a seat.” He waved her next to him at the table and reached behind him for the sealed paper cup of hot water and herbal tea bag he had waiting on his desk.
Her eyes widened as he placed them in front of her. “I’m that predictable?”
“When it comes to your patients, yes.”
She unhooked the plastic lid to the paper cup and narrowed her eyes. “It’s still steaming.”
“Just got back twenty minutes ago and I knew you would finish your rounds soon.” He held up a hand. “I swear I’m not tracking your movements.”
“Speaking of video.” She pursed her lips and took a deep breath. “Was it really necessary to put those kids through that? Does Welson not have enough PR without brutalizing sick children?”
“I admit it probably came across that way, especially with Mario—”
“Probably? The woman had him in tears.”
Jason held up his hand. “Your promise was you’d come to me and let me try to explain.”
She took a breath, dropped the tea bag into the water, and folded her hands, giving him an opening.
“The majority shareholder’s meeting is tomorrow.”
She raised her right eyebrow.
“I’m presenting these interviews as part of the closing statements on the status of the project. And—” He needed to hurry up. Briet’s brows had drawn together like thunderclouds. “Several of the shareholders, who I’ve already approached for extraneous funds, will be there. The clips are a tool. To validate the money I’ve proposed they commit for the initial procurement and support
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