The Not So Skunk Works

[freeman]

"You're a man of few words."

Dr. Freeman had heard that all too often, both from his peers in academia and otherwise. But don't actions speak louder than words? Perhaps someone should tell that to Dr. Kaku, whom Gordon had just run into at Empire State University. Dr. Kaku took great pride in his string theory and M theory. He could talk about it all day, but without any solid applications to show from all his talk, was it just that? Talk? Were Dr. Kaku's words hollow?

Worse yet, with only mathematics and nothing more backing up his theories, string and M theory began to sound like nothing more than a religion. Gordon could see why outsiders referred to string theorists as cultists. It seemed that the high regard that Dr. Kaku and those like him held for the theory bordered on a religious zeal. And that could lead to dogma, and dogma had no place in science.

Worries for another time? Maybe. Right now, Gordon had to get some nourishment inside him, and of course, check his e-mail. Part of the drawbacks for scientists in Gordon's field was that they were constantly busy. Even during breaks, they were doing some sort of work. And yet, was there ever a moment that Gordon didn't look forward to waking up and going to work?

He didn't seem to ponder how fulfilling his work was, at the moment. Rather, he sat down on a park bench, clad in a enough warm clothing to give the illusion that he was going skiing. Not at all out of place though, considering the heaps of snow and Christmas decorations around New York, even here in Central Park.

Under one arm was an expensive, state-of-the-art laptop computer. Under the other was a big, plastic lunchbox and a thermos, no doubt filled with coffee or some other hot beverage. Dr. Freeman had been through similar routines on breaks before, so he made use of his time. The moment he sat down, he opened up his laptop and activated it. While he waited for it to load, he went to work pouring himself some coffee and pulling a slice of leftover, delivery pizza from his lunchbox. Not a moment wasted.

And so the munching, sipping and checking of e-mail ensued.

[cordy]

Cordelia was kind of loving the whole 'second shot at life' thing. Especially since she was back in action just in time for Christmas! She sort of felt like a sap, but she had to admit that the holiday spirit was kind of getting to her. The decorations, the presents, the overall cheery atmosphere...it all filled her with a warm, fuzzy kind of feeling. Of course, she'd sooner burn her outfit than voice any of these sentiments aloud. But it was the thought that counted--wasn't that the whole point?

Despite her excitement, however, she couldn't help feeling an inevitable pang of sadness. If things were still like they used to be, if the demon who'd possessed her hadn't robbed her of her old life, then she perhaps she would've been spending the holidays with her friends right now. They were more than her friends, really. They were family. But now, she knew she'd probably never see any of them again. The loneliness that had suddenly struck her nearly succeeded in stifing her good mood altogether. Her memories kind of had a funny way of doing that.

We take what we can get, and we do our best with it. She reminded herself, echoing the very words she'd spoken so long ago. It was true, because at this point she was lucky to even be alive at all. And these things didn't last forever, as she knew very well. She had to learn to enjoy her life while it lasted.

All of these things aside, Cordy couldn't deny herself a smile when she walked into Central Park. In fact, smile was a bit of an understatement. Upon taking in the sight of the snow-covered park, she let out a tiny gasp and giggled like a little kid. Cordelia loved snow...as long as it wasn't like, burying her car or ruining her shoes or something. But seeing as she'd walked here, and she'd taken care to wear one of her less expensive pairs of boots, it was pretty safe to say that she'd be enjoying the snow today. Her memories of the fluffy white substance were few and far between, after all. That she could remember, it had only ever snowed once in California when she had lived there. Other than that, her exposure to it was limited to the occasional ski resort vacation her parents would sometimes take her on as a child.

Cordy happily trudged down one of the paths, becoming more and more enamored with the wintery scenery with every step she took. By the time she came across the man sitting on the bench, she was nearly too elated to contain herself. Unable to pass him without at least making some kind of enthusiastic comment, she burst out: "Isn't this great? I haven't seen this much snow in...well, ever." She sighed, before glancing down at the man she'd just addressed. He looked rather comfortable considering that he was sitting out in the cold; he had pizza and coffee and...and a laptop. Actually, he looked kind of busy.

"Oh!" Cordelia backtracked, a bit embarassed that she hadn't even noticed. "Sorry if I'm bothering you or anything. It just...seems a shame to let a day like this go by without some appreciation, you know what I mean?"

[freeman]

The skunk works. That's what they used to refer to top secret projects. Stealth jets, exoskeletons, super soldiers, Metal Gear, etc. In Dr. Freeman's case, teleportation technology. But those took place at beyond classified research facilities. Places like Groom Lake, otherwise known as Area 51. Or in Gordon's case, the Black Mesa research facility that was located almost completely underground, in the New Mexico desert.

Ironic. This was as far removed from that as possible. It was freezing cold, unlike the desert, and it was completely above ground. That was just for starters. Rather than start-of-the-art super computers, Dr. Freeman was using a lowly lap top. But it was sufficient for what had to be done, namely just checking things during his lunch break. Ah, and finally the programs on it had fully loaded up. Gordon immediately went about opening the browser while removing his Black Mesa coffee mug and began pouring himself a cup of coffee.

Both the coffee and the reheated pizza Gordon was snacking on steamed noticeably in the Winter cold. But it was probably the fact Gordon stuck out like a sore thumb on that park bench, rather than the rising steam of his sustenance, that drew the attention of the woman who walked up to him. He glanced up at her while taking a long sip of coffee. In one of the psychology classes Gordon had had to take, he learned that everyone formed their opinion of people during the first few seconds of seeing them. In the woman's case, she immediately struck Gordon as....as the type who was keen on fashion. As someone who was always up to date with the latest styles and trends. Not that that bothered him, necessarily. Then again, he could be completely wrong about her.

But she seemed very giddy and polite, the latter of which was confirmed when she apologized for what she seemed to perceive as her bothering him. To reassure her, he slid over to the edge of the bench, offering her a place to sit next to him if she wanted. He also sat his lunch box so that it would be between the two of them and gestured toward it, making it clear she could take anything and everything she wanted to to snack on. A warm meal on a cold day was beneficial, not to mention hard to resist.

Speaking of which, Gordon was too busy stuffing his mouth with a slice of pizza to say anything to her. He did, however, pour her a cup of coffee in the plastic cup that came with his thermos. Obviously, it wasn't in use, since Gordon had brought his Black Mesa coffee mug. The Black Mesa logo not only adorned his mug, but also his lap top's skin and the wallpaper in his background. Indeed, his browser had also brought up the Black Mesa homepage. The woman had probably heard of Black Mesa, along with its corporate rival Aperture Science.

Aside from not saying a word yet, Gordon seemed to be a pretty open book with the woman. One of the first e-mails he checked was apparently more personal than work related. He gestured the laptop screen toward her to give her a better view. In the e-mail was a group picture, scientists in white lab coats. Their laboratory was adorned with various Christmas decorations and the captions "Wish You Were Here" were at the bottom of the picture. If the woman read some of the e-mail, she'd confirm the painfully obvious again, that Gordon worked for Black Mesa, and that he was not only a scientist but that his name was Gordon Freeman. After all, aside from his name being mentioned several times throughout the e-mail, there was also his e-mail address.

[e-mail]

[cordy]

To her relief, the man didn't seem to be too bothered by her presence. She flashed him a grateful grin, and then took a seat next to him on the bench. That hadn't been so hard. Not everyone in this city was completely unapproachable, it seemed. She was used to it, of course, having lived in Los Angeles for five years. But Cordy had always kind of found a way to fit in in LA, where as in New York...well, she was still feeling like a bit of an outsider. But the man next to her seemed friendly enough, and as he handed her the cup of coffee, she allowed herself to relax a little in his company. "Thanks!" She chirped, before taking a sip. The warm drink was a wonderful contrast to the icy temperature of the air around them.

After a moment, Cordelia turned to the man next to her and surveyed him with mild curiosity. He hadn't spoken a word so far, an observation which briefly confused her. But far from being reserved, he seemed more than willing to show her the email he'd been reading on his lap top. The first thing that Cordy noticed was the picture. A group of people dressed in lab coats--she gathered from the decorations in the background as well as the picture's caption that the email was probably a Christmas greeting of some sort, and the people in the picture were probably people that the man--Gordon Freeman, according to the email--knew.

She smiled warmly at the picture, but before she could voice her forthcoming "aww!", something else caught her attention. The words "Black Mesa" stood out to her suddenly, and she had to do a double-take to make sure she hadn't misread. "No freakin' way! You work for Black Mesa? That is way cool!" She gushed excitedly. Taking a closer look at Gordon, she noticed the mug and his lap top skin, and realized that the fact should've been obvious. Cordelia really didn't know much about the stuff that went down at Black Mesa--she wasn't sure if anyone did, except the people who worked there. But she knew they were a high-tech research facility. It was something that her old techno-pagan high school teacher, Miss Calendar, would've gone crazy over.

"It must be great, working there. I don't really know much about science--except, well, would you say that detective work employs some kind of science?" Cordelia mused thoughtfully. The first thing that came to mind in her particular line of detective work was 'demonology', but she guessed that Gordon would find that to be a little obscure, and she wasn't ready for him to start looking at her as if she were crazy just yet.

Cordy shook her head slightly, and took another drink of her coffee. No, those things were better left for another time. And besides, it had just occurred to her that she had neglected to introduce herself. It was only appropriate, since she'd already learned Gordon's name. "By the way, it's nice to meet you, Gordon! I'm Cordelia Chase...most people just call me Cordy." She added the last part as an afterthought, as if she'd almost forgotten this old detail of her personal life. She nearly had, to be honest. Cordelia was beginning to find that she had forgotten a lot of little things about her old life. It seemed bizarre to have to keep reminding herself of things like this. She supposed that dying and then being brought back again took some getting used to.

[freeman]

Just like a super wealthy person showing off their brand new, top of the line Lamborghini, Gordon loved flashing his Black Mesa paraphernalia. Everyone who worked at Black Mesa did. In business terms, this might fall under the category of corporate culture. The company was proud of itself and so were its workers. Everyone loved working there and they loved to show off. Of course, with such powerful corporate rivals, the showing off was extra beneficial to the company. Advertisement was important, after all.

So it was no surprise that Gordon smirked, despite his best efforts to contain himself, and beamed with pride. The good doctor nodded a yes at the woman's question. Her observations were correct. And was was quite glad she noticed. He worked hard to get a job at Black Mesa, worked damned hard in fact. And even though some days were stressful and not so rewarding, it was turning out to be a fruitful and rewarding career. And the pay was good too.

The woman who identified herself as Cordelia proved observant enough to notice the abundant Black Mesa paraphernalia. She proved she could notice things beyond the obvious when she noticed Gordon's full name and recited it back to him. Despite Dr. Freeman making no attempt to hide what was on his laptop, it still demonstrated that Cordelia had a pretty good attention to detail. Maybe that stemmed from her fashion sense. Or perhaps it was from her days as a detective with Angel.

"It must be great, working there. I don't really know much about science--except, well, would you say that detective work employs some kind of science?" Cordelia asked. Gordon took another bite of his pizza and then scratched his chin, looking away as though in deep thought over the woman's question. He finally looked back toward her and nodded another yes. He gestured back toward his lunchbox, once again silently offering Cordy a slice of reheated pizza, some Chinese food or one of the sandwiches he had. All the while, a genuine look of interest never left his face. His facial expression showed his fascination with her career choice and hopefully would encourage her to reveal more, maybe even making her tell a good war story or two about her days as a detective.

[cordy]

Over the years, Cordelia had learned a few things about trusting people...mainly not to, because at best? People tended to screw you over. At worst, they turned out to be blood-sucking, soulless demons or something along those lines. After she began getting her visions, and ultimately losing a good half of her humanity, she had become withdrawn, distanced, and disconnected from the average everyday life and the people it involved. When she wasn't working, or having a vision, or being attacked by a demon, she was...well, no, her life had pretty much consisted of some combination of those three aspects. Point being, Cordelia wasn't usually one to approach a stranger at random and begin a conversation.

Or at least, she had thought she wasn't. Clearly, things were beginning to change. Perhaps it was because of the sheer excitement of seeing the snow and just feeling alive again. Or maybe it was because she no longer had the Fang Gang(as Angel's friends had affectionately dubbed themselves) to rely on, and she was inevitably starting to teach herself how to reach out to people again. Whatever the reason, Cordy couldn't deny that it felt nice to have someone to talk to again. Gordon was actually very easy to talk to, and although he didn't seem to say much, he was a good listener. Their meeting suddenly struck her as ironic, because while Gordon was unusually quiet, Cordelia had often been told that she talked too much. Funny how these things happened.

She smiled her gratitude when he motioned to the food in his lunchbox, and suddenly realized how hungry she was. Taking a slice of pizza(and being careful not to get anything on her new white peacoat, naturally), she dug in and, contemplating this unplanned little lunch break, made a mental note to add pizza to the list of things she missed most about living.

Sitting in comfortable silence for a few moments, she took the time to curiously wonder about her new companion. She could think of about a hundred different questions she wanted to ask about him and his work, although she wondered if he'd answer any of them. As the thought occurred to her, she glanced at Gordon again, only to notice that his expression had changed into one of acute, almost expectant interest. Abruptly brought out of her thoughts, Cordy was momentarily confused--what had she been saying? Oh. Right, the whole detective thing. Cordelia felt odd, remembering those days. It stirred up a strange mingling of emotions; of warm fondness and a panging sadness at the same time. But Gordon wasn't wondering about her emotional attachments to the people she'd worked with. He was wondering about what all her job had entailed.

That was a long story if there ever was one. Cordy tried to focus, and considered exactly how much she should tell the man sitting next to her. "So this detective gig I had was in L.A.," she began, trying to sound casual as she could. "Angel Investigations--it was just a small private business. Me and a couple of friends. We specialized in...unusual cases. You wouldn't believe some of the stuff that goes down in Los Angeles." Cordy had begun to fidget during her little speech, first by entwining and flexing her fingers, then by playing with a strand of her dark brown hair. As if suddenly becoming aware of her own restlessness, she dropped her hands at her sides and continued. "I mean seriously. You probably wouldn't believe it. But anyway, we kind of...disbanded awhile ago. And now I'm here!"

Cordelia shrugged and flashed a grin, although it was slightly less cheerful than the one that had previously adorned her face. She didn't want to come off as like, depressing or anything, so she quickly tried to regain her former chipperness. And of course, there was the fact that she was still curious about Gordon. "And you!" She exclaimed spontaneously at the thought, "You're here too! Well, obviously. I just meant, I always heard Black Mesa was out west somewhere." By way of indicating the other side of the United States, she made a vague gesture in a direction that probably wasn't actually the west. "Do you have a branch here in New York? Or are you just here on vacation or something?"

[freeman]

Indeed, Black Mesa was located out west, in the New Mexico desert to be exact. A hidden, underground complex. A secluded fortress of rock and metal. A castle in which the king and his subjects worked on endeavors of science. A complex so advanced and well defended, that it would be the envy of any super villain genius. And Dr. Freeman worked there. That alone made him the envy of most of the scientific community.

So then, why? Why did he come here, so far away from home?

The economy was not going well. Everyone was now suffering, even the scientists. Geneticists and bio-engineers, who would normally work on cures for diseases and other medicines, were reassigned to study the T-virus, as well as help plan for a possible biological weapon attack by terrorists. Gordon himself, who was working on intriguing and fulfilling teleportation research, was reassigned to work on weapons development. True, it never hurt to help, but he felt there were plenty who were already working on weapons research.

And it wasn't what he wanted to do in life, wasn't the reason he became a scientist. No, he wanted to do something spectacular. He wanted to develop teleportation technology. Or portal technology. Or pioneer time travel. Or maybe even help pioneer ways to travel faster than the speed of light. Sadly though, Gordon had signed a contract and he was obligated to his employers, not that he didn't love working at Black Mesa.

But there were brilliant minds in Dr. Freeman's field, those who weren't bound by contracts and employers. Such a man was Dr. Kaku, who had been instrumental in the development of both string theory and M theory. Unlike other applications of science, string theory, and likewise M theory, allowed for such outrageous and fantastic ideas like time travel, faster than light travel and even other dimensions and universes. And that's why Gordon, in his time off, had rushed to attend a lecture given by Dr. Kaku.

Of course, Cordelia probably didn't know that, and couldn't have known Gordon's dilemma. Perhaps he was too socially inept to explain it in detail. Or perhaps he, like all scientists who worked too long inside Black Mesa and didn't socialize enough with outsiders, had allowed his manners and common courtesy to become a tad rusty. In a laboratory, or at least the ones Gordon had worked in, there was little regard for politeness. Scientists, like Freeman was doing now, would go hours without eating or resting, before taking power naps and stuffing their face uncontrollably.

Gordon's mouth was still stuffed and rather attempt to talk while he finished off his last bite of pizza, he opted to open up the video recording he'd taken of Dr. Kaku as he gave a lecture at New York's very own Empire State University, less than an hour ago. Still chewing, he almost mumbled something, almost, and pointed toward Empire State University, then back at the computer screen. Assuming Cordelia would watch the video, at least the beginning, she'd see Dr. Kaku giving a long winded lecture about his two theories, about how everything was made up of these so called strings, which were beyond subatomic and vibrated in eleven different dimensions, and supposed were the reason the universe was the way it was.

Or perhaps she'd get bored and leave or decide to interrupt.

[cordy]

Initially, Gordon turned and pointed to a nearby building, Empire State University, by way of response. Cordelia quirked an eyebrow, briefly confused. Before she could ask what he meant, however, the scientist clarified by pointing at his computer screen again. She watched wordlessly as a video clip began to play. The man who began to speak wasn't familiar, but Cordy immediately inferred two things about him: one, he was of some importance; and two, he definitely seemed to know what he was talking about. As the theories the man presented grew more in-depth, she tilted her head slightly. Cordy had never been particularly adept when it came to the sciences, and she had to admit that some of the man's lecture was going right over her head. Still, something about the way he spoke was intriguing. Maybe it was the sheer intelligent enthusiasm with which he spoke as he voiced his ideas, or maybe it was the whole larger-than-life feel that always accompanied discussing dimensions and the universe in general.

She could definitely see why this man, whoever he was, would interest someone like Gordon. Working at a facility like Black Mesa, Cordy reflected, probably put you close to the top of the scientific community. It was probably practically expected of him to investigate whenever someone presented a new theory like this. She watched the video through until the end, and though there were quite a few points she didn't understand, she did manage to take in a couple of tidbits that stuck with her.

"Wow," Cordelia said at last, still trying to process some of what she'd heard. "That guy's really something, huh? I can see why you'd wanna come all this way to meet him. He really makes you think..." She furrowed her brow a bit, feeling somewhat as if her mind had been jumbled by the lecture she'd just heard. As she tried to make sense of it all, she added, "I'm not saying I--you know, get it...completely. But...what he said about the strings and the dimensions and stuff? ...Do you think he's right?"

If anyone could give an honest and accurate opinion on the subject, she imagined it would be Gordon. She shook her head as she considered the matter, partly in awe and partly in confusion. Just thinking about it all was beginning to make her head hurt...or maybe that was another vision coming on. Hopefully, it was the former. "I never really thought about it before. The universe on such a large scale, I mean. When you think about it that way, me and you are really just...tiny." Cordy frowned thoughtfully, unsure of exactly how much she liked this concept. One thing the former cheerleader absolutely hated was feeling insignificant. Although, at the same time, it really was kind of interesting. She'd rarely ever thought of the world at anything more than face value, and science was just...well, something you learned about in school. But people like Gordon, as well as the man in the video, were proof that these things were very, very real.

Now that she thought about it, she knew for a fact that there were different dimensions. Hell, she'd been crowned princess of a dimension where demons walked the streets and humans were treated as nothing more than slaves. But Cordy had always thought of it as just sort of...existing. She'd never taken too much time to actually wonder HOW it existed.

At this, Cordelia was unable to keep a smile from spreading over her features. Thinking of the time she spent in Pylea, and all this talk of science and dimensions in general, reminded her of Fred. Winifred Burkle, another member of the Angel Investigations team and a mathematical and scientific genius, would have loved to chat with Dr. Freeman. Laughing to herself, Cordy couldn't help but mention this aloud. "I wish you could meet Fred...a friend of mine." She explained the second part as an afterthought. "She would've flipped over something like this. She was really into like, quantum physics and mathematics...all of that kind of stuff."

[freeman]

Indeed, Dr. Kaku did make one think. And every physicist, like Gordon, could relate to him in some way or another. Especially when he'd give speeches and lectures which had details of his childhood in it. How he'd once said he'd built a miniature particle accelerator as a boy and how it'd blown every fuse in his mother's house when he turned it on. As a small boy, Gordon had made various things and gadgets, including a tennis ball gun.

That's not to say Gordon had all the fun between him and Cordelia. Gordon would've turned green with envy if he knew what sort of adventures the woman sitting next to him had had. She'd dealt with other universes and alternate realities. Hell, she'd even been to one. To Gordon, such things only existed in theory. And then there were the things that only existed in the realm of myth and legend. Things he thought were just fairy tales. Demons, witches and vampires. Oh the stories Cordelia could tell. Not that Gordon had any way of knowing that. To him, she was just a very friendly stranger with an interesting past.

"...Do you think he's right?" Cordelia would ask him. Gordon nodded a yes. He had to be right. Or else all of Gordon's work and research would be useless and wasted time. No, he couldn't think like that. A good scientist doesn't give in to hoping against hope. If Dr. Kaku is wrong, then so be it. Better to know he's wrong than for him to be wrong and to continue wasting time and effort going in the wrong direction with teleportation research.

Cordelia went on to talk about her friend Fred. At first, Gordon assumed it was a guy, until Cordelia referred to Fred in the feminine. Strange name for a girl, but who was Gordon to judge. Besides, she sounded quite fascinating. He would've liked to have heard more, except that he caught a look at the time on his laptop's screen. Round two of Dr. Kaku's lecture was about to begin. He quickly packed up his things and rushed off. Of course, not before scarfing down a sandwich, pointing at the time, and then waving goodbye to Cordelia, before giving her a slip a paper with his number on it in case she wanted to meet up with him again.