"It was a mistake," he said, willing her to hear his sincerity, his regret.

She did not move, staring into the experimental habitat. Her breathing was slow, which was a good sign, but her pupils were dilated, which was not. "Do you know how long it took to get this breed established?" Her voice was soft, and smooth as a lover's caress, which was a very bad sign, indeed.

"They were hungry," he said entreatingly. "How was I supposed to know-"

"It was clearly labelled," she snapped. She rounded on him, her eyes blazing. "It was right-"

"You left it right in the middle!" he exploded. If he couldn't placate her anger, then he would indulge his own. "What kind of experiment is that?"

"How dare-" She bit off whatever she might have responded, and drew herself up. For a slow count of ten, she merely glared at him. Her head turned, and she looked back at the ruined experiment.

For an instant, he thought she would weep -- but no. Of course not. She was far too controlled for that. "We'll destroy them," he said, trying to be reasonable, "and muck out the habitat, and start over. I'll do it, you can just supervise."

"No." She sighed the word. "You gave it to them. It's too late. Corrupted or not, we can't do anything now."

He felt excitement, but suppressed it before she could see. If she was not going to destroy the specimens, then he might still have a chance to prove his theories! The whole process could be so much faster, if only someone would listen to him -- and this was his chance!

"But I'll need the habitat cleared," she continued, not looking at him. "You'll have to take them out."

He stared at her. "Out? But... But outside of the habitat-"

Her eyes fixed him, her rage controlled, but by no means extinguished. "Out," she said firmly. "And stay with them. Maybe you'll learn something."

He might have hoped she meant that he would learn something of value, but he rather suspected she'd meant it to be disciplinary. And to stay with them would mean neglecting his duties in the lab. "But-"

"Out. Hurry up; it's going to day me days to get the habitat restructured. And don't come back until this misbegotten experiment of yours is done, and you're ready to pay attention and follow orders." She stalked out of the lab.

He watched her go, and turned to look at the habitat. They were such beautiful little creatures, so affectionate, so passionate. How could he turn them out? How would they ever forgive him for ruining their existence?

It wasn't his fault, really, though. It had been her. And their intellects were small, their communications crippled. If he was careful, their perceptions might be... altered. And then they would love him, cleave to him, and she would be the object of their scorn and hatred. They would be his, and his experiment would be successful beyond her wildest imaginings. He would return in triumph, and then would bow before his superior understanding.

Yes.

Lucifer would be sorry for the way she had treated him, Jehovah vowed, as he entered the habitat.

Sorry. I don't know where that came from, but it's been bouncing around in my head for days and I had to get it out somewhere.

--Liz