Snippet #949612

[Backpost]

It took a while for Wes to notice Nuri's blushing cheeks, but when he did, he had to hold back a snort. She was getting googly-eyed over him? Wes should have felt his knees buckling under that radiant green gaze of hers, but instead he felt strangely comfortable talking to her. Nuri, on the other hand, seemed nervous and even a little fidgety, but her broad grin was a good sign; in fact, that flawless smile made Wes feel a little nervous, and he fought back a sudden rush of butterflies. He smiled and leaned forward just an inch on the table, hoping to look more engaged in the conversation and make her feel comfortable.

"The worst part was how self-righteous the people at Geiger were about it. They had directly caused almost four thousand deaths, and they tried to justify it when everyone knows exactly why they did it - for more green in their wallets. And that's the problem. Instead of facing our problems and doing something about them, these corporations distract us with some new, trivial scientific 'miracle.' Take those 48-hour eye drops that Geiger distributes. People are wasting their time making crap like that when our planet is polluted and people are dying from diseases that should be curable. Science could do so much more if the people in control of it had better intentions."

The look in Wes's eyes burned with impassioned anger when he finished talking, but Nuri brought the conversation back to a lighter note - his Pioneer paper. He let out a sigh and smiled, letting his fists unclench. "In a program like this, everything matters. Some people criticized that I spent way too much energy whining about shabby living quarters, but I say it's basic psychology. If you cramp a bunch of kids in a stuffy hole in the wall and call it a bedroom, they're not going to be happy. If we didn't have suitable living conditions on here, I doubt people would be nearly as happy to work." Wes smiled and kicked back in his chair. "That's one thing that I like about the Pioneer Program - we have rights. We're not slaves for the system, you know?"