vivianya (vivianya) wrote in neogenesisrpg, @ 2009-04-03 03:48:00 |
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Entry tags: | teja jansen, vivian yahni |
Who: Teja Jansen, Vivian Yahni
What: Shop talk, plan making.
When: Wednesday evening, late.
Where: Teja's hospital room.
Rating: PG
Status: Complete
Visiting hours had ended quite some time before, but Vivian didn't adhere to any rules not her own or the government's. Hospitals were several rungs lower in the food chain. She moved from the nurse's station with ease, folding her ID shut into her pocket. They wouldn't question what they didn't understand. Not if they knew what was good for them.
The door handle felt cold under her fingertips as she twisted it and stepped into the dimply lit room. "Aren't you supposed to be sleeping?" she asked in lieu of greeting, her eyes on the figure in the bed.
"I've slept," came Teja's answer, the only light in the hospital room the light illuminated over the woman's head. A magazine was in hand, bought from the gift shop downstairs or from a waiting room, Teja declined to ask where it was from when it was given to her. It was something to read, at least.
Vivian closed the door behind herself, mindful to keep their conversation private. "Then I don't have to worry about intruding on your rest," she surmised dryly and advanced into the room to see the other woman better. "How was the delivery?"
"Painful." she answered, wryly yet honestly as she closed the magazine and placed it on her bedside tray. "The most single painful experience in my life thus far, without exaggeration."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Vivian replied, the words more out of politeness than anything else. Dr Jansen's comfort was not her concern. "But the baby was born healthy and without complications?"
"Yes, she was rated an 8 on the Apgar score not long after being delivered. The only complications were with the mother, though they were still common and minor ones." Teja spoke the words, recognizing the formality for what they were. "What brings you here at this hour?"
Pleasantries done, Vivian moved into the more practical and relevant. "Staff from the facilities at Maple Falls have all but ten percent been evacuated. I wanted your opinion on how best to proceed given the nature of the research conducted there." She paused, a short moment, before going on to the next item on the list. "We've lost one of the more promising subjects in Dr Shou's program. Our system now lists him as registered in a domestic partnership with the founder of the Medina Foundation. It's a remarkable coincidence."
"Sounds as if you have not yet cleared Seattle's pest problem." she joked, her mood lightened even moreso by the drugs being dripped into her arm. Though she remained lucid, interestingly so. "Victor must be more than a little disappointed at the news of his patient, losing Maple Falls would not improve his mood. However, since it has already been evacuated, the best measures to take is to close it permanently. I am sure the DC office is open to suggestions on how it is done?"
"Pest control always takes a bit of time," Vivian agreed. "Especially with such resistant vermin." She didn't find it necessary to share with the other woman the exact reasons why the House of Spades could truly be such a problem. "I have been given a blank cheque as far as the permanent closure of Maple Falls goes. But your input would be appreciated." She didn't want to talk to any scientist with a deep attachment for unmarked test tubes. Dr Jansen, for all their disagreements, was aware of what it meant to be in charge and the decisions one had to make.
Teja reached for the remote for the television in the room and turned it on, first time since being admitted to the hospital room. She flipped to the 24-hour news station. "The response to the modified serum injections were below what was projected. In fact, though it has been relegated nationally to a line on the running ticker on CNN, few if any truly believe the House of Spades was responsible, moreover blames us for a lack in oversight."
Vivian turned to watch the TV, lips pursed. "Yes. It is a strange turn of events. Our predictions ran short of the goal and we increased anti-government feeling instead." It was a personal failure, as she had championed the measure, but it wasn't entirely without merit. "Nevertheless, we were able to see how subjects react to the drug if altered chemically. We could not have hoped for a bigger sample without this event."
"The problem is image perception." Teja turned up the volume. "They were the victims of House of Spade's attack, not us. Though the intent to embarrass is there, the fact remained we appeared to suffer little. If we show that House of Spades has the strength and will to hurt us as well, that no one is safe, minds will begin to turn."
"How do you propose we do that?" Vivian asked warily. She would have liked to point out that paired government officials had suffered too, but statistics didn't lie. The general civilian population had been the one at risk. "There doesn't seem to be much occasion to paint the House as the villain of this drama."
"Provide a venue." she shrugged absently, wheels already turning. "Grants are given all of the time to extend goodwill to the city, why not arrange a large sum to be presented to a university?"
"A show of goodwill?" They hadn't tried that tack in a while. The proverbial chalice, dripping with poison. "It would be useful to cut down on the professorial corps. Most of them will be out of a job soon anyways. We'd be doing them a favor."
"Yes, in the meantime, it will provide an avenue to permanently close down Maple Falls." Teja pointed out. "I would keep the actual collateral damages low if at all possible, those at the venue would be among the most useful, after all. The thought of losing one should bring the intended effect."
Vivian nodded, hands folded behind her back. She didn't need notes to remember this. "It would be helpful to have some way to distract the press, both official and not, from the Maple Falls incident." There hadn't been one yet, but that would happen soon. "Casualties will be unavoidable. What most people remember from tragedies are the pictures and the deathcount, after all."
"As will the survivors." she nodded, pausing to look at Vivian to drive her point. "They will not accept a large deathcount, no matter how great the impact. It may appear to be difficult to recover, but to make it impossibly so will be more than both our positions at stake. Control the losses or think of a better plan."
"They will accept what we tell them to accept," Vivian retorted. "They need us." Both the government and the people. "We just have to remind them of that fact. And fast. Before they forget that Seattle is the center of the country. If we lose one city, we lose them all."
"I do not want to lose anyone that can be made use of, just yet. This is a gambit, you realize, to put our least expendable resources in harms way?" she sighed. "Make an expendable loss in Maple for all I care. The fact remains that if we lose most of these people in a bid to reclaim a city, we might as well consider it a lost already."
"We can control the losses," Vivian snapped before reigning herself in. "I will select the venue accordingly and make sure the guest list doesn't involve anyone we absolutely cannot do without. There are a few names out there I wouldn't mind losing in the interest of the greater good." Whether Dr Jansen was among them wasn't important. "When would you be able to attend something like this? Timing is important, Maple Falls must be coordinated."
"Next week, there is no reason to draw it out on my account." Teja stated, turning off the television and reached for her magazine. She never cared for the television anyway. "Send the proposal and draft of your guest list to DC prior to mailing the invitations. I'm sure they have their own list of people they wouldn't mind potentially losing either. Also, it is always good to know of the ones they would mind, as well."
Vivian bit her tongue. "You have a habit I find exceedingly aggravating, Dr Jansen, and that is of attempting to school me in things I already know. Cease or I will end up giving into the need to prove myself - and that's no guarantee for your well being." It was what she wanted to say, but knew better. You didn't try to catch the tiger by the tail until you knew you could handle it. "I'll do that," she replied instead. "Your husband will have to attend, of course, but is there anyone else you'd like to see partake?" The implication was clear.
"See if there are any reporters from the last press conference available for instant media coverage." Teja said, tilting her head to the side. "The rest I will have to think about, but I am sure I can rely on your best judgment."
"Ah, the reporters. Yes, they would be a good choice." Vivian nodded. She hadn't considered them. Her own list involved a select few whose loyalties she didn't trust. "I'll have the list emailed to you in the morning... will you have a way to receive it or should I opt for courier instead?"
"Courier, I will not be home for another day or two, and internet access at this point is sketchy at best."
"That is unfortunate," Vivian noted. "I would ask, then, that you send it back immediately once reviewed. Any delay at this point could prove problematic."
"I will, personally if need be." Teja said in agreement. This endeavor would be time specific. "If this is approved, can you arrange it in a short time?"
"I can." It would be tight, but Vivian was confident of the necessity of another move. Strike while the iron was hot, as it were. "Maple Falls is a time-bomb, in any case. It is best we tackle that problem before someone else does." The threat of investigation, even journalistic, could be catastrophic.
"That is something that can be agreed upon at every level." she nodded, those few detractors could be easily brought to their side of reasoning.
"There is the small issue of the two hundred or so people living in Maple Falls..." Vivian pointed out casually. "A toxic leak could displace the population to the nearest neighboring town on the date in question."
"Would a mass evacuation before a major event too suspicious?" Teja blinked. As far as she was concerned, all of Maple Falls at this point was expendable.
"It's a small town in the middle of the countryside," Vivian replied, shrugging lightly. "It wouldn't be news for the local media. We can make sure of that." She moved closer to the bed and smiled. "I would've thought you'd be happy. I'm fighting the incentive to list them as collateral."
"You misunderstood my definition of collateral damage." Teja returned the smile, shaking her head once. "If they are expendable, they could provide use in numbers. It is only the ones I can use later that I want to limit."
"Everyone is expendable," Vivian replied, mirroring her smile. "That's the beauty of the system. We're working to create a better world that neither you nor I will be able to live in." That was what she worked for, that was why she didn't sleep anymore.
Teja reached up and placed a hand on the woman's cheek. "Not everyone, we're still a generation or two before people can be quickly replaced. That includes you, Miss Yahni. The future may not be a world either of us should live in, but I will find a way to do so. You will too, if self-preservation allows."
It was an oddly maternal gesture and it threw Vivian off long enough for the other woman's reply to settle under her skin. "I hope that's not your way of suggesting procreation and motherhood will give our lives meaning," she drawled, relying on sarcasm to to cover her surprise. She took her hand away from her face but did not release it, the bones fine in her grasp. Breakable. "You should know I met your husband. By chance. And also by chance, I noticed he picked up one of the flyers on subject 5."
"Not the only suggestion, but it would pass the time." she mirrored Vivian's tone, her hand intentionally lax in the other woman's grasp. "Thank you for the notice, if he brings it up in my presence, I will handle it. Like I instruct my patients, 'tne of the elements to any successful marriage is communication', right?"
"Right," Vivian snorted, amused at the fine edge between truth and lies that the Doctor seemed to walk so effortlessly. Fingers traced the inside of her wrist, over blue-green veins. "As long as you don't communicate more than you intend. In all likelihood, you'll be believed. He has no reason to distrust your word."
"A fact that I intend to keep. It would be disadvantageous to lose his trust." The side of Teja's mouth quirked into a sideways grin, the touch to sensitive skin almost ticklish.
"Yes. Especially now that you have a child together." A pause and Vivian looked up. "What's its name?" It hadn't occurred to her to ask - or care - before.
"Her name is Sampuran Kaur." Teja answered, Vivian asking about her child signifying business being well out of the way. "Perfect height, weight, Apgar, her name is fitting."
"And you are the picture of the proud mother," Vivian pointed out, amused. It was an opportunity to see Dr Jansen in a different light and she always loved to have complete profiles. "I am pleased for you."
"I am pleased for myself, admittedly," Teja tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "There were concerns regarding myself and motherhood, but I had none. I knew I could raise a child when it became time for me to."
Vivian arched an eyebrow and released her hand, leaning closed fists against the bed. "Whose concerns? The government's?" Why wouldn't they think her capable of raising a child? Was it because of time constraints?
Teja nodded. "And my parents. They raised me to the best of their ability, but it is understandable that children born with similar traits as I have are often drawn to violent acts."
"What traits would those be?" Vivian inquired, intrigued by this confession. They hadn't had time to talk outside of work yet, but this exceeded expectations.
"A lack of empathy, and because of that remorse." she shrugged. "I'm not devoid feelings, curiosity among the strongest of them, but my perception of reality has never been like most. Some would say detached, others too sharply attuned. I'm sure you have noticed."
Vivian nodded, once. "I have but it wasn't my prerogative to analyze or investigate. If you were hired, then you are good at your job and that's all I care about. The lack of empathy must help." And she smiled as she said it, because damn her if that didn't sound familiar.
"Apparently so, I can sleep at night. Reporters always through that question at me, one of the few moments I actually do have to lie." A grin. "Take what you will from why I told you that."
"I don't know what to take from it," Vivian admitted honestly. "It doesn't seem like you'd reveal a weakness to an enemy willingly, so I'll assume you don't consider me an enemy." Or that was what the good doctor expected her to think.
"Allied or not, I thought it was beneficial to know." Teja shrugged. "Unless the weakness has been turned into a strength, in that case I might have told you to distract from a stronger weakness. Either that, or I'm a convincing liar and there is little merit to what I just said."
Vivian almost wanted to clap. "If nothing else, you're a fascinating performer, Doctor." She didn't buy the backtracking, so that was one option that could be removed, but the rest were all equally possible. "One day," she mused, smiling pleasantly, "remind me tell you about the last woman who thought we were allies."
"I will." Teja laughed, pleased by the answer. "We could compare stories over coffee, if you'd like."
"I'd like that a lot... Though preferably not at your place. I wouldn't want anyone to overhear what we have to say."
"Agreed," Teja smiled, glancing over at the small knock on the door behind Vivian. "It is probably time for Sam to eat."
Vivian stepped away from the door, making room for the nurse. It wasn't the one she'd frightened earlier. Good. "Would you like me to stay?" she asked, smile just a little twisted.
"It's up to you," Teja reached for the loose tie on her shoulder, completely unshy when it came to breastfeeding. "Did you have other things to discuss?"
"No," Vivian admitted easily. She didn't think to lie and ignored the nurse as though she was another prop in the room. She did make a mental note of the baby, but it too was a footnote on the landscape. "But I'm sure I could come up with something."
"Then make yourself comfortable, at least." she said, her arms out and ready for the baby to be laid in her arms. "Did you sleep well, baby?"