Rett turned a little orange in response to her praise. He was very proud of this mini ecosystem he'd set up. It was truly enormous, comprising of nearly a third of the whole research building, which, in turn, was the largest building in the city. It was a<span style="font-style: italic">lot</span>of work for one person. Most of it was work done by computers he and De'voure had programmed long ago to control the climate, season changes, rainfall, sunlight and all conditions. The plants and animals grew on their own without any chemical influence, and only occasionally did Rett have to arrange for something to be culled. People were, after all, a part of the ecosystem as well. It was simultaneously wild and well controlled-- a perfect balance of science and nature. He was very proud indeed.<br/><br/>Instead of following her in right away, he stayed under the tree until the rain ceased.  His clothes and hair were damp from fat drops sliding along the leaves of the tree, and dropping onto him despite the shelter. He shook himself before going into the lab, then stepped in and removed his lab coat. He placed it into something of a closet, and overnight the heat lamps would come on and dry it. Writing down a few notes about what he observed in the atrium, he got ready to leave and closed up.<br/><br/>When he got home, he changed into dry clothes and sat down at his desk, chin resting on his interwoven fingers as he thought. He hoped that this new girl was worth the effort he would be putting into teaching her. Worse than working on his own would be working with someone who had to be baby-sat. So far, however, she seemed competent enough. She was a genetics biologist, with prestige and strong credentials. On paper, she had promise, and from what he'd seen, she had even more. Ah, but she was part of the genetics department. She was his partner only temporarily. Once the laws changed, she would go back to the work she wanted to do, and he would be on his own again until he had to train<span style="font-style: italic">yet another</span>lab partner. He sighed and massaged his brow, mentally worn. He went to bed simultaneously worried and optimistic.<br/><br/>The next morning, he was in the lab before her. He'd turned on most of the equipment and gotten things started. When she came in, he turned in his swivel chair to look at her. "Good morning."