Living Is a Part of Life

Kida held her breath as she carefully added three drops of succinylcholine to her solution. She had been working on the chemical mixture for three months now; just enough for one person. Once she used it, she would throw the beaker into the boiler furnace and no one would ever be able to recreate her masterpiece.

The lab had given her free access and free rein to work on any new projects she chose, and the other scientists were too busy with their own projects to wonder what she was working on. The lab trusted her; she gave them no reason not to. But if they knew what she was doing they would surely send her packing. It was for this reason that she kept several other projects nearby and handy in case anyone came snooping. She wrote all her experiment data and notes in code and locked in her desk. Once she got it right, she would burn them before using her creation.

Most people assumed that she was working on some new wonder drug, or the cure for cancer because of all the live tissues and medical supplies she regularly worked with; little did they know, the only reason she needed living cells was to make sure her solution would kill them.

In layman's terms she was creating the ultimate anti-antidote; a poison that would not only kill but adapt to counteract any attempt to medically rehabilitate the afflicted person. But she was careful that there would never be a way to discover her recipe; she wasn't about to be labeled a bioterrorist, nor did she want to be responsible for the next new bioweapon. No government agency or political extremist was going to get their hands on this, this was for her and her alone.

Kida took another petri dish of tissue from the freezer and placed it under her microscope and arranged all her medical supplies before adding a few drops of her poison to the dish. The succinylcholine had made a significant difference in its effectiveness. It was almost ready. Another week maybe before she would be confident enough to use it. She placed the beaker on a shelf with the medical supplies and had just taken off her gloves when Justin walked into her private lab with a pink carnation in his hand.

"You didn't forget, did you?" He asked playfully.

"I certainly did not. And that better not be for me." She teased, gesturing to the flower.

"Quite the contrary Madam," Justin replied executing an exaggerated bow and exhibiting the flower like it was a medal, "this dulcet beauty will be gracing my lapel for the rest of the evening." He made a grand show of placing it in his lab coat pocket and Kida laughed.

"You might want to wait until you're wearing your suit; and trimming the stem wouldn't hurt either." She walked past him and headed home to get ready.