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People from all around the world talked and laughed and argued over subjects that made Darcy’s heart soar. Yes, climate change was still very much a real thing. Andyes, the laws of robotics should be amended by scientists in the next one to two years.
“I am in heaven,” she said to keep from squealing. She shimmied her shoulders, trying to get all of this excited energy out of her. She needed to play it cool and calm. She was a very serious scientist.
All her plans at aloofness went out the floor-to-ceiling windows when she spotted a familiar set of heavy-rimmed glasses. “Oh my universe, is that–?”
It was.
Elias Kleiderman, in all his eighty-three year-old glory, wobbling around the room with his signature smile and curious eyes, made all that much bigger by his glasses.
Darcy was going to fangirl and she was going to fangirl hard. She was so focused on Kleiderman that she didn’t notice the sudden hush in the room. But she definitely paid attention when Kleiderman’s eyes turned even wider. A second later, he began walking toward Nazyn.
Nazyn leaned over and whispered in her ear, hot breath tickling the back of her neck. “Who is that?”
“Elias Kleiderman,” Darcy whispered back through gritted teeth and her wide smile.
“Who?”
“He made the water purifying system on the Moon that allowed us to set up permanent colonies over there.”
“Ah, I’ve read his work, fascinating,” Nazyn whispered just as Kleiderman stopped in front of him and looked up, up, up at him with a smile.
“Nazyn A'Cryth, I presume,” Kleiderman said, looking like a kid who’d just met his fairytale hero. He shook Nazyn’s huge hand with his own frail one like he never wanted to let him go. “My boy, it’s an honor to meet you.”
“The honor is all mine. Your interplanetary work is astounding. The filtration system alone was a work of genius,” Nazyn said, sounding genuinely impressed.
“A strong compliment from the man who opened a bloody portal between galaxies. I would very much like to chat with you this weekend, if possible.”
“Certainly, it would bemyhonor,” Nazyn said, then totally surprised Darcy as he went on, “And this is Darcy Taylor, Alien Inc.’s new technology integration specialist.”
“Pleasure to meet you,” Kleiderman shook Darcy’s hand as enthusiastically as he’d done Nazyn. Which absolutely floored her, of course. She was touching Kleiderman.TheKleiderman. He’d been in her history books, for Universe’s sake.
“Sir, it’s been one of my dreams to meet the man who made lunar habitation a reality,” Darcy gushed.
“Call me Elias, dear, we’re all colleagues in the realm of science. It’s good to see some young blood among us geezers. I’m very much looking forward to your big gadget reveal.” He sighed. “I have lived to see alien technology unveiled at a human convention. I am one lucky sod.”
No, Darcy was. Well, not a sod, but she was so damn glad to be here–for the first few moments, before every single scientist in that lobby started coming toward them.
It was like they’d waited for Kleiderman to make the first step and then they’d all found their courage to greet the Deruzian.
Only problem? Said Deruzian knew all about their inventions and technologies and gadgets, but he had no clue who anyone was.
“I read their studies, I didn’t think I would need to know their faces,” Nazyn whispered to Darcy, looking a bit panicked.
“Don’t worry. These are my celebrities,” Darcy said. “I even know what some of them eat for breakfast.”
As they made their way toward the reception, stopping every few seconds to shake hands, Darcy whispered the name and the invention to Nazyn and he took it from there. Jennison, the pneumatic system that launched hyperspeed trains. Smith, who made single cells play video games. Raman, whose dispersion theory pushed quantum computing to the next level.
Nazyn was grateful for each whispered hint, flashing a quick smile Darcy’s way each time. And every single time, he introduced her to these brilliant minds, without hesitation. He didn’t feel like her boss, and she definitely didn’t feel like an employee. Like Kleiderman had said, they all felt like colleagues.
Not all the people they greeted agreed, though. A few of them only glanced Darcy’s way, before their attention returned to Nazyn. He cut those conversations off faster.
Others took too long. Nazyn even got caught up in a conversation with Alina Novak, the leading scientist in the field of neuroscience.
When word spread about Nazyn’s arrival, the lobby became even more crowded.
The more people came to greet him, the more tense Nazyn seemed. His jaw clenched a bit tighter, he flexed his fingers after each handshake, and his stare turned too focused, as if he was struggling every second.
The questions became more invasive, too.
