Chapter #3Weird Science by: BeeJay   Hello. My name is Sara Stein. I'm not a doctor yet, but that day is coming.
To understand my story, you have to know where I came from; which means knowing about my father. Boris Stein is a certified genius: He graduated from high school at the age of 12, then started accumulating doctorates the way some people collect stamps. After 20 years, he took a position at Pacific Tech, where he helped the college get grant money. He also made a friend, Lionel George.
Mr. George introduced him to another friend of his, Dr. Ilona Zucco of the Astrophysics Department. He said he thought they needed each other. Boris disagreed; so did Ilona. But they both respected Mr. George, so they decided to see what would happen if they spent some time together. As it happened, Ilona taught Boris something that he never learned about in any of the schools he attended as a student; she taught him about love. A couple of years after they met, they got married. After a while, they decided to give parenthood a try, and they had me.
Dad wasn't always easy to get along with, even if you take into account the age difference between him and Mom (he's sixteen years older than she is; not enough to make it disgusting, but enough to make a difference). His hair (pale blond, though it looked pale green if the light hit it right) always looked like he just French kissed a light socket. His sense of humor ranged from acerbic to truly dark. And he often forgot about things that had nothing to do with whatever he was working on, either at Pacific Tech, or in the private lab he had set up in the basement of our house. In fact, one of the things he routinely forgot was to lock the basement door; that could be a problem, especially considering that I wasn't allowed to go down there as a little girl. But none of us who knew him ever knew anything but love from him. And, when I started bringing dates home (a couple of boys, but it wasn't long before I started bringing girls home), he always remembered their names. By the time I settled on Heather Evers, she was already being treated like one of the family. This was good for her, because her parents didn't approve of her lifestyle, and had even sent her off to conversion therapy before she met me.
I'm not quite the genius that Dad is, but I'm undeniably bright: I graduated high school before I learned how to drive. I was looking forward to following in my father's footsteps.
And then, one day, I found out where those footsteps led.
******************************
It was a Tuesday in the summer. Mom and Dad had something to do at Pacific Tech; and, even though I now had a driver's license (first try), I was told to stay home and do some chores. Well, I took care of those chores quickly enough, so I had the afternoon free. And what I decided to do with that afternoon was check out Dad's lab. After all, I was just a kid when he said he didn't want me in there; now, I was a high school graduate.
Checking the doorknob, I found that it was unlocked. Well, I thought, if he still doesn't want me down there, it's his fault for leaving the door unlocked again. I opened the door, and walked down the stairs.
When I entered the lab, I was amazed. I had expected white boards and calculations, and they were there; but there were also test tubes and flasks, holding liquids of various colors. And there were gadgets and gizmos whose purpose I couldn't begin to guess.
Seeing what looked like an old notebook, I picked it up, thinking it might give me a clue about what I was seeing. As I flipped through it, my amazement only increased. "Gilled animals?... Transmutation?... Gender alteration?"
As I closed the notebook, the first thought that went through my mind was My God, Dad's a mad scientist! A real mad scientist!
The second thought was I want in on this. | Members who added to this interactive story also contributed to these: |
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