The Turn Series Box Set

by Andrew Clawson

  Bonnie nodded as murmured agreement sounded from around the room. “Well said, Dr. Hall.”

  With no further questions, Sarah returned to her seat. Only once the next presenter began speaking did her stomach untwist itself, the knots smoothing with each breath. She’d certainly grabbed their attention, but for good or bad? Looking around, she caught a handful of smiles, and the Scottish researcher even flashed a thumbs-up.

  After each scientist had spoken about what goals they had for the gathering, Geoff Milner stepped behind the podium and announced that it was nearly time for dinner.

  “Thank you all,” he said. “I’m sure everyone is fatigued, so dinner will be served now, and I look forward to seeing everyone in the laboratory tomorrow.”

  The promise of food drew them straight to the dining hall. During the meal, much of the discussion was about Sarah’s remarks, but after supper each of the attendees stood, one by one, and excused themselves for the evening. Sarah’s eyelids felt like lead weights as she closed the door to her apartment. Shoes and a layer of clothes trailed in her wake, and she could barely lift her arm to set the alarm before her eyes thudded shut and she fell headfirst into slumber.

  The alarm clock blared and Sarah shot out of bed. She stretched, wiggled her toes. Finally, time to work. Not in her own lab, but in a new one with the best and brightest. Today she got her first crack at the world-famous laboratory in Zurich. Time to see what collective brain trust could do. She got ready in a flash and set out, fumbling with her room key as she tried to close the door behind her.

  “I believe we are working together, Dr. Hall.”

  Sarah jumped as the Tanzanian scientist appeared on her left.

  The door clicked shut and Sarah turned and faced the man. Damn, why am I so bad with names? “Great news,” Sarah said. She grasped desperately for a name, any name, but came up empty. “Ready to get started, Doctor?”

  “Call me Joe.”

  Phew. “Fair enough. And please, call me Sarah.”

  “I am very excited to assist with your work, Sarah.” When they reached the lab, Joe held the door open for her before following inside.

  “What do you mean, assist? We’re working on this together.”

  “You have made an amazing discovery,” Joe said. “I am honored to help in any way.”

  What was he talking about? She recalled that Joe from Tanzania had not one, but two doctorates. The guy was world class, and he wanted her to lead the show?

  “We’re in this together,” she said again. “Speaking of work, did you get the background materials you needed? If you asked for any, that is.” Each scientist had the opportunity to request any type of research materials they would need for their efforts, and Sarah had requested research regarding genetic experiments on primates to use as a guide for her work in Zurich. “Here we go,” she said, opening the laptop at her workstation. “Comparing this test data with my results from New York can give us a better understanding of how the CRISPR technique affects different species.”

  “I look forward to your analysis.” Joe turned to his computer and settled into a chair. As the first pages of data flashed across her screen, Sarah couldn’t ignore a cold twinge of unease in her gut. Yes, she’d made a stride forward. As long as no complications came out regarding her fast little mouse.

  A chart appeared on her monitor, summarizing primate testing conducted in other labs around the world. One word caught her eye. “Gorillas? That must be a mistake. This was supposed to involve small primates.” A search of the document revealed nothing else related to gorillas. “Must be a typo.” She read on, and her eyes narrowed. There had to be a mistake. The data was not possible. No monkeys were that big. “Joe, come here.”

  “Yes?”

  “Look at this.” She pointed to the label, then to the graph above. “This chart has one axis labeled gorilla. The tests were supposed to be only on small primates.”

  “It is possible they made an error.”

  “That’s what I thought.” Her finger hovered over the graph. “But it shows the physical size and attributes of the test subjects. These would be the largest monkeys I’ve ever seen.”

  Joe grunted. “It is the size of a gorilla. Never have I seen such large animals as test subjects. It must be a mistake.”

  “It has to be. You don’t use gorillas for this testing.” She stood and headed for the door. “I’ll find Geoff.”

  As luck would have it, Geoff turned the corner as she walked out, leading two of Sarah’s fellow scientists. “Good morning, Geoff. I need to speak with you when you have a moment.”

  “Certainly, Dr. Hall. If you’ll follow us, I will only be a minute.”

  Sarah followed the trio down a sterile hallway and waited while Geoff showed the other two researchers to their portion of the lab.

  “How may I assist you?” he asked pleasantly.

  “There’s an issue with my data.”

  Geoff’s smile vanished after she outlined her problem, and one hand went to his pocket. “That is concerning. Let me speak with our in-house research team and see what they can do.” He spoke rapidly in German, none of which Sarah understood. “Danke,” Geoff said, ending the call. “The situation will be fixed immediately. It appears students have sent preliminary reports with placeholder markings by mistake.” Geoff’s grin returned, and he shrugged. “I am very sorry. Many students come to our laboratory to gain experience. They still make the errors of youth.”

  “No problem,” Sarah said. “Thanks for handling it.”

  “It is my pleasure. The data will arrive quickly.”

  The security team worked fast. Less than a minute later Sarah re-opened the data on her monitor, and by then the old material had vanished, replaced with a new file. “This looks more like it.” The primates in these tests were of average size and weight, exactly as she’d expected.

  “It is fixed?” Joe asked.

  “You have to hand it to the Swiss for their efficiency. Everything’s corrected.”

  “Then we may begin working.”

  With accurate test data in hand, the pair dove into their research, starting with a review of Sarah’s findings from New York. Joe couldn’t poke any holes in her work during the next several hours, and it was only after they had jointly reviewed her work from every angle that Sarah’s stomach growled and demanded attention.

  “I don’t know about you,” she said, “but I’m famished.”

  Joe nodded eagerly, and Sarah walked with him to the dining hall, which was empty. They hardly had time to sit before wait staff took their orders and vanished, an open-concept kitchen coming to life in seconds.

  “You couldn’t ask for better hosts,” Sarah said.

  “It must be like this in every New York restaurant,” Joe said. “I have never visited the city. From what I have heard it is wondrous.”

  Clearly Joe hadn’t heard about the food carts she usually stopped at for lunch. “Some places, sure, but it’s not all like this. New York is one of a kind and has anything you can imagine. If you ever visit I’ll show you around.”

  “You would?” His enthusiasm caught her off guard. “New York is so far from my city. The movies cannot do it justice, I am sure. So many people from all over the world, living next to one another in peace.”

  “Wait until you cut someone off in rush-hour traffic.” She grinned. “That might change your mind about the living in peace part.”

  “I would love to come. However, travel is expensive. My university relies on government funding and there is very little extra for wages or to travel, even for business. I am lucky to be able to come here. A government council approved the funding for my trip. I did not expect it to happen.”

  “This conference is a big deal,” Sarah said as their food arrived. She dug in and considered Joe’s comment. Dar-es-Salaam had to be closer to Zurich than New York was. Didn’t it? “Is money really so tight you have to get the government to sign off on this research trip?”

&nb
sp; “A government cabinet member approved the trip,” Joe said, jabbing the air with his fork. “It is paid for by the tourists who visit to see our country and our animals.” This time the fork pointed to her. “I have discussed New York with some of these visitors. It is easy to find them. When I see a person who looks like you and is speaking English, I ask about America.”

  “Must not get many New Yorkers,” Sarah said. “Most of us don’t open up to strangers.”

  Joe’s fork stopped moving and he leaned closer to her. “This is not true. If you smile at people, they will smile back. People are happy to talk about their homes. That is how I learn the truth about New York, that it is a big, beautiful place where dreams come true.”

  Sarah’s mouth opened, then closed. This guy has nothing but love for New York and all I can think about are crowded subway cars. “You’re right,” she said. “It’s a city for dreamers. People like you.”

  “And you, Sarah. You made our dream a reality.” The fork stabbed her way again. “The CRISPR success you achieved has thrilled everyone in Dar-es-Salaam.”

  What? “How do they know about it?”

  “I cannot keep such an achievement secret,” he said. “I included the work in my daily report.”

  Daily report? She hadn’t heard about those. “I hope it helps you get more funding,” she said, taking the last bite of her meal. “That was delicious.” She stood from the table. “Ready to get back to work?”

  The first thing Sarah did when she returned to the laboratory was check her data files. No new gorilla mistakes had appeared, and the incorrect files had vanished.

  “Joe, did you get this?” She opened a message from Geoff Milner. “Our team is taking a field trip to the zoo.”

  Geoff’s message said the entire team would be taking a private tour of the Zurich Zoo the following evening. As she read, a name at the end of the message caught her eye. “Isn’t that your university?”

  “Yes,” Joe said, looking over her shoulder. “They are sponsoring the trip.”

  “I thought you said they didn’t have much funding.”

  He shrugged. “We do not, but I am not the accountant. This must have come from the government council. Perhaps the minister is feeling generous.”

  “Tell them thanks when you get back,” she said. “I’ve never been to a zoo in Switzerland. Should be neat.”

  “Do you go to the zoo in New York?” Joe asked.

  “Every day.” She caught the puzzled look on his face. “I’m a veterinarian with the Central Park Zoo.”

  “That is impressive. Will you give me a tour when I come to your city?”

  “Sure thing,” she said.

  The next twenty-four hours passed quickly, and when their team gathered outside the laboratory after dinner, Zurich’s bright lights reflected off one of the city’s winding rivers as they headed for the zoo.

  “A special thanks to our sponsors in Dar-es-Salaam for this excursion,” Geoff said once everyone had disembarked outside the zoo entrance. “Normally the facilities are closed in the evening, but we will have a private tour.” A smattering of applause broke out, directed toward Joe. “Also,” Geoff continued, “we have an expert with us today. Sarah Hall is a veterinarian with the Central Park Zoo in New York.” He winked her way. “If we are lucky, Sarah will share her knowledge of the zoo residents with us.”

  She nodded to the pair of guides, [two men in safari-style uniforms], waiting to lead them through the facility. “They’re the experts with all the good stories.”

  Before anyone could respond, the guides took their cue and launched into an introduction about the zoo. Speaking in English, the guides detailed in turn how the zoo replicated natural habitats, recreating locales from mountainsides to wetlands, deserts to rainforests, and everything in between.

  “Our aquarium is home to seventy species, from sharks to coral, and of course we have the most handsome creatures in the cold, the penguins,” said the younger of the two guides, a blond, bearded man who looked to be in his thirties.

  While everyone stood close to the glass, watching the animals dart back and forth, or in the case of one particularly large penguin, snooze the night away, Sarah studied everyone’s face. She loved the animals, of course, but what she enjoyed seeing nearly as much were visitors’ reactions. No matter their age, everyone ended up wide-eyed at some point. Telling which animal had caused this reaction for each person was difficult, for each guest had their own reasons, their own treasured memories or stories that brought them back to a time before the world grew too serious. Back to the joyful, wondrous experience of a new creature, or a first glimpse of a living example of the planet’s great diversity.

  Now the guides led them toward the shadows, stopping beneath an exit sign’s reddish glow. Far above, the moon vanished as a cloud covered it, stars dotting the night sky like so many holiday lights.

  “Our next stop is the Pantanal,” said the second guide, an older dark-haired man. “This re-creation of a South American habitat is home to mammals and birds from the continent and includes the oasis Monkey Island.”

  Leaves painted black by night’s brush rustled as the group gathered along the shoreline of the man-made oasis, peering across a narrow strip of water to the enclosed mound of dirt. Monkeys of all shapes and sizes stared back, some scurrying on the ground, others perched on tree limbs.

  “Look at the babies,” Joe said. “They are almost flying from tree to tree.”

  “They’re like little kids,” Sarah said. “Lots of energy to keep Mom busy.” Even as she spoke, one of the larger females swatted at a tiny monkey darting by her head. The little one escaped and cried out as he disappeared into the thicker foliage. “Watch that fallen branch. One of them is going across the water.”

  Purposefully felled trees connected several small islands, the natural bridges anchored in place to give the monkeys a pathway from island to island.

  “It is a wonder they do not fall in,” Joe said.

  “They’re agile as can be. If they fall off a branch or tree in the wild, there’s no telling what’s below. It might be grass and a soft landing, or it could be a predator waiting for his next meal,” Sarah said.

  “I have never seen monkeys such as these in the wild,” Joe said. “We have many animals in Tanzania, with the elephants, lions and giraffes. Gorillas live to the north, but I have only seen them one time.”

  “Near Rwanda and Uganda?”

  Joe’s face lit up. “Yes,” he exclaimed. “You know that area?”

  “I visited Rwanda during veterinary school,” Sarah said. “We studied the gorillas in their natural habitat. They’re the most powerful creatures I’ve ever seen up close. Silverbacks are incredible. Most of the time they’re tranquil, imposing only in terms of their size. But when they’re agitated or challenged, they transform into something else.” The hair on her arms went up as an image of one particular gorilla flashed across her mind. “One day when we were in the field a leopard came close to the main troop of gorillas. Before you could blink, a silverback ran toward it, stood up on two legs and started beating his chest and roaring loudly enough to shake the ground.” She touched her chest with closed fists, pantomiming the enraged mammal. “Each thump would have killed a person. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.”

  She turned as the blond tour guide walked up and pointed ahead of them. “Speaking of powerful animals, these are impressive. I imagine you have been around them before,” he said to Joe.

  “The elephants,” Joe said. “I love elephants.”

  Several of the gray creatures stood outside, one beside a pond and another beneath a towering tree stripped of branches and leaves. The wind kicked up and sent a stray piece of paper darting along the ground. The tour guide raced to grab it before it could get away, tossing it into a waste bin.

  A structure dominated half the elephant enclosure, rising nearly a hundred feet above the ground.

  “What’s the big thing that looks lik
e a turtle shell?” Sarah asked.

  “It is the indoor elephant enclosure,” the guide said. “Elephants have shelter from the weather if they choose to go inside, and it also offers an underwater view of the elephants when they go into the water.”

  Lines creased Joe’s forehead. “Underwater?”

  The guide nodded. “Elephants love to swim, so the enclosure features a clear wall looking into the water. When the sun is out, guests are able to watch the animals move beneath the surface.”

  “I’ve never seen one of those,” Sarah admitted. “I’m sure the children love it.”

  “As do the adults,” the guide said.

  A trumpeted cry split the air. Sarah went stiff, twisting to look this way and that. Across from them, one of the elephants lifted his trunk and bellowed again, the noise washing over their group in a wave.

  Joe turned to Sarah. “What is wrong?”

  “I don’t know,” Sarah said before turning to the guide. “Is this unusual?”

  “At this hour, yes. They don’t often make noise when the park is closed.”

  “They’re not playing,” Sarah said. “Sometimes they trumpet when they’re having fun. Or else they sense something we don’t.”

  “A threat?” Joe asked.

  “I don’t know what they’d consider threatening about us.” Sarah pointed to their group. “We’re hardly intimidating. Thousands of people come through every day. A dozen humans shouldn’t scare them.”

  Another cry sounded, this time as a new elephant ran out of the enclosure, roaring as it moved. The towering animal thundered into the open, shaking the ground beneath Sarah’s feet. Ripples formed on the surface of a nearby pond.

  “Do not worry,” the guide said. “I am sure it is nothing.”

  Judging from how wide his eyes had grown, Sarah wasn’t buying. [But she went along with the ruse, not wanting to spook her colleagues.] “He’s right,” she lied, loud enough for the others to hear. “It’s probably nothing.” The group drew closer together as she spoke, these extraordinarily successful and confident adults not quite meeting her eye but definitely listening. “The zoo is a secure place for animals and visitors,” she said, keeping her voice steady. “It could be they caught the scent of other animals when the wind kicked up.”