Waking The Zed Read Online Free Page A

after the end of the first hour, Dr. Klein returned. She handed Pam a steaming mug of coffee and asked her if she would like her to fetch a sweater. “I might be able to find something that would fit you.” Of course, her look suggested that anything that draped her own slim figure would fit much too snugly for Pam’s sturdier frame. In the midst of all of this, Dr. Klein is still incurably vain.
    Pam shook her head, “I’m alright. ” She managed a thin smile. “I grew up on a farm in Iowa, you know. A little cold wakes me up. I do appreciate the coffee though.” She took a small appreciative sip. One thing she liked about her job was that Dr. Klein invested in good coffee and an expensive coffee maker. “This is great brew, Dr. Klein. I think it could wake the dead by itself if we could just get them to drink it.”
    Dr. Klein smiled, though her expression did not seem to reach all the way to her eyes. Pamela suppressed a sigh as she realized the worst thing about this job was not the silent stiffs in their individual freezers, but the cold and creepy personality of her boss. Even the gesture of bringing Pam coffee seemed condescending, like Dr. Klein took a moment to pantomime what actions she believed thoughtful people would perform. But like her occasional smiles, the sentiment never seemed to come from deep down.
    Pam suppressed a chill even as she tried to understand what her instincts were telling her about this woman. She reminded herself that Dr. Klein’s earlier work with the virus blocking proteins had certainly saved millions of lives. That should earn her a break, right? A great woman like that did not have to be likable to be appreciated. But it was still hard for the young woman to balance that sterling reputation with what she knew of the cold and condescending person who signed her paychecks. Pam wondered if the doctor had always been this way. Maybe when she had been a young and beautiful scientist on the verge of fame she had also been pleasant.
    Then the young engineer, Enrico, entered the room.  In the past, Enrico Sanchez’s dark eyes and carefully trimmed mustache had always reminded Pam of some handsome and tragic silent movie actor she had read about on the Internet after attending a campus festival that featured old films.
    But n ow that Pamela knew he had passed on her chatty comments to Dr. Klein, she felt uneasy instead of attracted. He had looked so handsome to Pamela before, but now his features just appeared artificial and rubbery. His features were even, true, but Pam noticed that the pores on his nose were rather large. His dark mustache looked too even, like it was a fake one that had been pasted on. She suppressed a sudden grin at the thought. She tried to cheer herself up by imagining Enrico with different types of pasted on mustaches and beards.
    He barely nodded at Pamela but smiled openly when he turned towards Dr. Klein. The older woman smiled back and something in her suddenly open body language reminded Pam of her earlier sense of unease. They’re a pair. The realization that Dr. Klein and Enrico Sanchez were probably already lovers abruptly shoved its way into her consciousness. I’m a fool. It was a sudden and shocking thought. Dr. Klein had to be thirty years older than either Enrico or Pamela. But as Pam mulled the possibility, she instinctively knew it was true. Dr. Klein had a young lover, and it was the same person Pam thought was attracted to her! Then she shrugged. I must be losing my instincts.
    Pam forced herself to settle down. The pair had every right to love whom they pleased .
    “I have the recovery room almost prepared,” Enrico said to Dr. Klein. “The technicians can complete the rest. Should we move the capsules now, Doctor?”
    “We still have a few hours to wait,” she said. “After all, even I can’t be a hundred percent certain this will work. It’s important to take each step in the right order. That way I can document all my results to