- Timothy McGee: Are you working on any subdermal, micro-drug delivery systems?
- Adriana Broussard: Yes, but I can't go into any detail, as that work is highly confidential.
- Alden Parker: Work like this?
- Adriana Broussard: Where did you get that?
- Timothy McGee: Pulled it out of a woman's arm.
- Adriana Broussard: That's not possible.That was a prototype from a program that was shelved six months ago.
- Alden Parker: Why was it shelved?
- Adriana Broussard: The FDA came out to do an inspection, and they felt the product was too risky.
- Alden Parker: The FDA? Do you remember exactly who from the FDA did the inspection?
- Adriana Broussard: The safety officer's name was Logan Donohue.
- Alden Parker: The lieutenant's husband. Funny coincidence.
- Nick Torres: And I actually think I might be able to explain it. Kasie ran her blood, and her thyroxine levels are through the roof.
- Donald Mallard: Thyroxine?
- Nick Torres: It's a hormone produced by your thyroid gland. Also known as T-4. Too much can lead to headaches and memory loss.
- Donald Mallard: Violent outbursts?
- Nick Torres: At the extreme levels that we found? Yes.
- Donald Mallard: Are you telling me that Lieutenant Donohue stabbed her husband because her thyroid is out of whack?
- Nick Torres: Well, not quite. We also found a T stimulant in her blood, and it's not natural. It's synthetic, like a, like a pill or an injection.
- Donald Mallard: What, is she taking something?
- Nick Torres: Well, she says no. And if that's the case...
- Donald Mallard: Someone's drugging her?
- Nick Torres: And I think I know how. She was having trouble breathing when she came down, so I took a look at her lungs. They're clear, but the X-ray showed me this. At first, I thought it was a birth control implant, but the lieutenant said she didn't have one. In fact, she's never had an implant of any kind.
- Donald Mallard: So how the hell did it get there?
- Nick Torres: No clue. But by the way her T spiked and then went back to normal so quickly, I suspect this implant is the cause. Now, I suggest getting it out of her immediately, before something else happens.
- Timothy McGee: I read about these in NanoTech Today. It's a microfluidic chip that can run all kinds of medical tests from a single drop of blood.
- Alden Parker: We're actually here to discuss something a little smaller.
- Adriana Broussard: Hmm. Dynamical Labs actually thinks big by thinking small. Our true calling is microbiomechanical systems. Such as replacing these old cochlear implants with artificial auditory nerves the thickness of a human hair.
- Timothy McGee: I'm guessing people get pretty upset when their programs get shut down?
- Adriana Broussard: Our engineers devote their lives to their projects.Donohue's name is like a curse word around here now.
- Timothy McGee: Well, competitors have been stealing each other's tech for centuries. Lightbulb, telephone...
- Nick Torres: Monopoly.
- Timothy McGee: The board game?
- Nick Torres: Yeah, it used to be called The Landlord's Game. It was made to teach people how terrible capitalism was.
- Jessica Knight: Well, that backfired, because every capitalist loves that game.
- Alden Parker: Not me. Last time I won at Monopoly, I was nine. Been chasing that high ever since.