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"That wasn’t ht" She shook her head "You’re starting to scare e

"You don’t get a say in this," Ito him In a more normal tone, I asked, "So what do you want me to do, Becks? I don’t speak science I barely speak research Things are aour wheels"

"So " The three of us turned toward Dr Abbey’s voice Like the lab computer, it was pleasant and Canadian-accented Unlike the lab co froy brown hair Her lab coat was open, exposing a bright orange CEPHALOPODS UNION 462 T-shirt

I raised an eyebrow "Okay, I’ot in mind?"

Dr Abbey held up a thu roo on in Florida" She quirked a s popcorn"

"Science and snacks, the perfect combination," I said "We’ll be there"

"Good," said Dr Abbey, and left

Mahir stepped up next to me "Do you have any idea what that’s all about?"

"Nope" I shrugged, picking up ood as the first had been "But hey We et started What’s the worst that can happen?"

Managing things without Georgia has never been what I would term "easy," but it’s never been harder than in the past few months The devastation wreaked by Tropical Storm Fiona would have been terrible even without the additional horror of a newly discovered insect vector for Kellis-A even if so one on to attack and infect their fellow , ia Mason ith us today

Georgia had a gift for reporting the neithout letting sentiment color her impressions: She saw the world in black and white, no shades of gray allowed It could have been a crippling disability in any other profession, but she th If she were here, she would be the one reducing bodies to statistics, rendering disasters into history But she’s not here She, too, has been reduced to a statistic, has been rendered into history All of which means that I, unprepared as I am, have been forced to do her job

May posterity show mercy when it looks back upon the e do today We did e could e had