"In the Name of Science"

[Guest TParek]

Harold Golsmee picked unhappily at the skin around his fingernails as he stared at the walls that surrounded him.

 

What had he done? He created a grand instrument... something that would revolutionize the lives of colony housewives everywhere! And how had the galaxy repaid him? With a ... a jail cell! Whatever had he done to deserve such a fate? A toaster! A toaster which was truly was one of the greatest inventions of their generation. To heck with Erickson's precious little transporter, or Archer's Warp Five engine. This toaster was their true future.

 

And here he was. Genius was, once again, stifled. Why was the world so cruel? Why was karma so cruel? He'd given up his entire life in favor of studying culinary devices, and now... now he was thought of as a monster.

 

Science was important! The two who had called for his imprisonment should have known that! A single tear ran from his eye, and he reached to wipe it away, suddenly wishing for some curium-toast. It made everything better. Why couldn't they see that? Why did they want to ruin his work?

 

He gasped, a sudden fear grasping him. What would they do to The Precious? Would they dismantle it? Try to steal its secrets... his secrets? Or worst... destroy it? Fervently, he dropped to his knees, letting loose a steady stream of babbled prayers to assorted divinities.

 

Outside the cell, the guard on duty just shook his head. Scientists really were all kooks, weren't they?