It is Doctor George Larkin dressed in his gray designer suit and shiny shoes. Clean shaven, no hair out of place. It's a model of the status quo in all that glory. It may have been a prank that sent these girls here, but Larkin doesn't have the sense of humor that I'm aware of. The man barely smiles. And Dr. James Fielder isn't far behind, dressed in a lab coat. A competent man of science, I always thought. He is currently working on non-destructive analytical methods such as trace element examination and surface analysis, boring stuff. Behind him is a third man I don't know. He wears brown hunter tweed with the outline of a brown bow tie. It may have been elegant in its day, but now that suit lies threadbare on this man's burly body and smells as stale as if it had been stored in the depths of an attic trunk. I've never minded a fashion faux pas, but a nose violation is another matter. “Are you wearing headphones?” asks Dr. Larkin. “Ah… that's right. Sorry." I pull them down around my neck. “Otherwise I don't wear these things. Normally I work here alone, but… as you can see today I have some helpers.” I smile at the girls. “And they're doing a good job.” Dr. Larkin waves They give him a hand and turns to me. "Well... you already know Doctor Fielder." I nod at him. "Now let me introduce you to Doctor Nelson Polley. "Dr. Polley." I extend a hand. “Welcome.” “A pleasure, sir.” Polley gives me a warm but firm squeeze and his eyes soften. His smile is sincere. He's the type who walks old ladies across the street without complaint and is forgiven for smelling his tweed suit. . “My field is an artifact p... middle of paper... s.""It's brilliant." Fielder smiles. "Yes. Calgon, take me awayeeeeee!” I feel so relieved that the thought escapes. Yet everyone's faces are distorted. They don't understand me. “It's a commercial I saw once on vacation,” I try to explain, but it's too late.“DR. SCHWAB.» Larkin shouts in a voice that shouldn't be ignored. "I arrive. Right." I know what that means. It means I have to hurry and he's already heading for the door. "Wait." I take off my headphones and pat each girl's hands goodbye, especially their mini ponytails. I wish them every good. “You better get a move on,” Fielder says and cocks his head. I need to catch up, I know. Larkin is already down the hall, but I stop to pat the counter in my lab before running out the door. "Where are we going?" I ask. I'm running as we enter the Enlightenment Gallery.