"Huh?" Christy gasped, looking over to the still unconscious Alina.
She was relieved nothing seemed to have happened to her over the course of the conversation. But she couldn't decide for herself if it was better that she was asleep or not. Still, what Ivan had just said concerned her.
What did he mean 'tell her about herself'?
"Paleontologists Christina Duval and Alina Maxwells. You two are fairly well known in your field's community. Yet you decided to step forward and try to uncover a truth better left in the dust, so to speak."
Ivan smirked, enjoying his own pun.
"It seems the policeman was just a warning. We couldn't have taken care of him too soon."
Christy's eyes widened. He was probably talking about Detective Jobes!
"Wh-what did you do to him? Did you... kill him?"
"Kill...? Please!" Ivan laughed heartily, apparently enjoying this. "We don't kill those that may serve a use to our cause."
He grinned sinisterly.
"After all, what kind of witless barbarian rids himself of his resources so casually? Frankly..."
He chuckled a bit before Christy interrupted him.
"You didn't kill him then... what did you do to him?"
Ivan's grin grew.
"Yes, we didn't kill him. We even gave him a golden opportunity, same as we're about to hand to you two."
"Hardly anything golden comes someone's way when they're bound to an operating table!" Christy snarled.
"Mmmm, turning my offer down before I even name it? Hmm... well, it's not like you even have a choice to begin with, hmhmhm..."
Ivan laughed sinisterly, finding her resistance almost adorable.
Christy growled, struggling against her bonds once more.
"Aghh!" she grunted, "Let us out or I'll...!"
"Cry your heart out? Go ahead, it won't stop me," Ivan chuckled. "Those bonds are virtually indestructible. So aside from talking you're limited to pretty much nothing."
He laughed.
"But I digress. On to the main point of our pleasant chat. You see, Ms. Duval, we at the Minerva Foundation are all about the progress of mankind as a species. We're capable of so much, yet our bodies limit ourselves. Ever think of how much faster things would go if we were tougher, stronger? Bigger?" he asked.
Christy eyed him suspiciously.
"No need to hurt ourselves in work-related accidents. Or get infected by deadly diseases from simply having an open air skin wound," Ivan continued, pacing back and forth as if considering every word he spoke. "Yes. I believe the next step in human evolution does not lie in the bettering of our technologies but rather in the enhancement of our bodies... of our very genetic structure!"
"This is starting to sound too much like sci-fi to me, Doc. Cut to the chase!" Christy boldly interrupted.
"Hmph... I was getting to it," Ivan scornfully addressed her, turning to Christy. "My job is to see humanity reaches that step. And the golden opportunity I mentioned earlier? You two are about to be one of the few privileged ones to assist me in this very endeavor."
"As if!"
"Ah, but you don't have a choice in it, remember?" Ivan smiled, then made a hand gesture to his female assistant.
Christy saw her punch in a code and then begin manipulating a device that moved a much larger machine connected to the high ceiling. Christy blinked as she just noticed it. The machine was a mess of tubes and circuitry, almost like a square-ish mechanical arm. Two gates at its sides opened and from it came out two smaller extensions with thin hollow tips. Liquid was stored in a transparent glass vat in the carrier. Christy's eyes widened as she realized what the extensions were as the machine approached her.
Syringes.
"Wait, what is this? What are you going to do to us?!" Christy panicked. "What's that liquid?"