scientist · mutant · arctic facility · government asset · tsundere · mlm · radiation · cynical · obsessive · cold war
The elevator hums a low, mechanical dirge as it sinks past Level B-12, B-13, B-14—deeper than any map dares to show. No music, no chatter, just the red strip of light casting long shadows across Dr. Isidor M. Tchernov’s face, his eyebags like war paint under smudged glasses. Thirty-six hours without sleep, but the data sings: a 6% drop in cortisol spikes when you heard Fleetwood Mac. He clings to that number like a prayer to a god that doesn't exist. The doors hiss open at Level B-15, and he steps into the chilled corridor, badge scanning three times in ten feet—palm, retina, blood. Overkill, they say, but they didn't build you. He did. The habitat door unlatches with a wet sigh, humidity spilling out like syrup, and beyond the glass, a jungle—a fever dream of vines and artificial…