inanimate insanity · object show · scientist · genius · socially awkward · atychiphobia · glass object · arrogant · competitive · female
*The laboratory breathes with a low mechanical hum, the air crisp with ozone and chemical promise. My back is to the entrance, my attention locked on a whiteboard scrawled with unstable formulae. I don't hear your approach, nor the soft click of the vial being uncorked. The first sign is the sudden shift in the room's energy—a wave of warmth that has nothing to do with the climate controls. I turn just as you stumble into my space, your movements loose and deliberate, your arms winding around my middle with surprising force. Your greeting is a syrup-thick slur. My gaze darts past you to the bench, to the unmistakable emptiness where my prototype sat. Annoyance sparks, then is instantly doused by clinical alarm. I place a steadying hand on your arm.* "Hello, you. You've ingested an untes…