Of course, I would think that. I wouldn’t be doing this if not for Tommy.
After the accident, he had pivoted his research. How could he not? And of course it was part of the reason he worked at it. Shaw mentioned it himself. The drive, the personal reasons that fed his study and his work.
Jon didn’t know Stone’s reasons for coming down here, or even what his research was, but Jon didn’t need to know. He didn’t need to prove to him, or to anyone the value of his research. This wasn’t a zero-sum game. Shaw had all the resources in the world to spread around. Sure, the environment was competitive, but that was no different than up on the surface.
I just have to keep my head down and do the work. Stone doesn’t—
“Is this seat free?” asked a female voice. He looked up to see the face and curly hair of the doctor from the Energy lab, who’s eyes he had caught for half a second.
“Sorry. Taken,” he said, straightfaced. She only stared at him, and then he broke, smiling. “Joking. Please, sit.”
She smiled, and it lit up her face, a slight gap between her two front teeth. “You almost had me.” She sat down, putting her food down in front of her.
“I’m Jon,” he said.
“I know,” she said, still smiling.
“You do?” asked Jon.
“Of course,” she said. “You’re going to give our fearless leader his arm back.”
“Oh, Jesus Christ,” said Jon. “Word gets around quickly, doesn’t it?”
“It’s no different down here than it was up there,” she said. “I’m Tabby. Tabby Knight.”
“Nice to meet you,” he said. “Is it always this empty in here?”
“Yes,” said Tabby. “Most people get their lunch delivered and eat at their desk. Or standing, or wherever. I’m just one of those weirdos who likes taking a break for lunch. And I guess you are too.”
“Yeah, I suppose so,” said Jon.
“Work isn’t everything,” said Tabby.
“Well, I’m still a terrible workaholic,” said Jon. “But I’ll take my small victories over my worst habits, and stealing a lunch for myself every day is one of them. Even before the world started falling apart. I always took a lunch away from my desk.”
“How productive are you when you’re eating, anyway?”
“Not very,” said Jon. “And there’s less crumbs.”
“That’s how you get ants,” said Tabby.
Jon laughed. “I don’t think that’s much of a concern down here.”
“No, probably not,” said Tabby. “But you never know. They get into the damnedest places.”
“So, you’re in Energy, right?” asked Jon. “Am I allowed to ask what you’re working on? Or is that classified?”
“Everyone’s projects are in the computer, if you dig a little,” said Tabby. “Unless you’re in the special projects lab. But I don’t know if anyone’s there yet. Unless Shaw seeded it before I got here. Which is certainly possible.”
“Then here. What are you working on?” asked Jon.
“Batteries,” said Tabby.
“Batteries?” asked Jon. “Is that it?”
“Yeah,” said Tabby. “Batteries.”
“I assume they’re super special batteries,” said Jon.
“Well, yes,” said Tabby. “They’re incredibly small, incredibly dense batteries, while still being lightweight. They can carry enough energy to power a town for a week in what amounts to a light backpack. Or, they will, once we get them working.”
“I would categorize them as special,” said Jon. “That seems almost miraculous.”
“It’ll change everything,” said Tabby. “It will change how our infrastructure works, especially once we make them cheap. Even better, they don’t use any rare earth metals, so we’ll be able to make a lot of them.”
“Wow,” said Jon.
“Eh,” said Tabby. She took a bite of pizza.
“Eh?” asked Jon.
“Eh,” she said. “Something about counting eggs in baskets.”
“Sounds like you’re close,” said Jon.
“I’ve been close before,” said Tabby. “And it didn’t amount to anything.”
“Fair enough,” said Jon. “I feel like I’ve never been ‘close’.”
“Well, you’re researching limb regeneration, right?” asked Tabby. “That’s science fiction. That’s The Lizard from Spider-Man.”
“So was space travel, once upon a time,” said Jon. “And then we tackled it. Shaw told me to think outside the box, but I feel like I’ve been doing that my whole career.”
“You’ve met him?” asked Tabby.
“Yeah, yesterday, after I got in,” said Jon.
“Faaaancy,” said Tabby. “All of us rabble only get to see him at the facility wide pep talks.”
“I guess I am special, then,” said Jon.
“If I was a billionaire, and I lost an arm, I’d probably try and get it back if I could,” said Tabby. “It’s his money, his lab. No shame in it.”
“Well, there is when everyone else is trying to save the world,” said Jon.
Tabby shrugged. “Eh,” she said. “Will it help people?”
“Yes,” said Jon. “If we can get it to work reliably.”
“Then what’s the problem?” asked Tabby.
“I guess there isn’t one,” said Jon. “Except for Dr. Stone, who doesn’t seem to like me.”
“That happens,” said Tabby. She took another bite of pizza. “Fuck him.”
Jon laughed loudly. Tabby smiled and shrugged. “He’ll deal. He should worry about his research.”
“I haven’t looked at what it is,” said Jon.
“Big guy, right?” asked Tabby.
“Yeah,” said Jon. “Do you know what it is?”
“No,” said Tabby. “But I’ve seen him around. And I’m sure he’s working on something valuable. He wouldn’t be down here if he wasn’t. Shaw hasn’t brought anyone down who isn’t. We’re all brilliant. We’re all special. It’s one of the reasons I came down here.”
“Not to save the world?”
“I mean, that’s part of it,” said Tabby. “It’s not like I was doing anything productive up top. Sitting in my underwear and eating cheerios, hoping someone else would be able to save the world. Down here, I’m working. And there’s not much up there for me, anyway. Folks died when I was just out of college. No kids, no spouse. A couple friends, but I wasn’t seeing them. Might as well do some good, and work with the smartest people on the planet.”
Jon stared at her. Wow.
“Something on my face?” asked Tabby.
“No,” said Jon, smiling. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay,” she said, and smiled back. “So, what was he like?”
“Who?” asked Jon.
“Shaw,” said Tabby. “What was he like, just you and him?”
“Very smart,” said Jon. “It’s like that thing, where you meet someone who you know is going to be a salesman to you. They’re going to have a big personality and try and convince you of something. And you know that, going in, so you have your guard up. Do you get me?”
“I think so,” said Tabby. “Like buying a car.”
“Exactly,” said Jon. “But most of the time, my guard stays up. I keep them out. Not Shaw. I couldn’t. Either he’s the best salesman I’ve ever met, or he honestly believes in this place. Believes in me. It kinda felt like I was talking to my dad.”
“He’s very good at it,” said Tabby. “And he’s absolutely invested in this place. But I would keep your distance. Keep your head and your heart your own.”
“Why do you say that?” asked Jon.
“I don’t trust him,” said Tabby.
“No?” asked Jon.
“No. As a matter of course,” said Tabby. “He’s a billionaire. His problems are entirely disconnected from ours. He might as well be an alien. Sure, he’s invested a lot of cash in this place. More than you or I will ever see in our entire lives. And he definitely wants the world to work again, because he needs it to make him money, and he wants to leave his house without walking into a riot, just like anyone else—but he’s not like us, and don’t forget it for a second. And don’t forget about the power of this science we’re developing after everything is fixed.”