Botanicaust

accused her of being attracted to the outsider, but she scoffed at the idea. She loved Mo, but sometimes he was as narrow-minded as Vitus.
    Tucking her gamma pad under one arm, she headed for the prison room only to be waylaid by her supervisor. “ Did you get the paperwork on that prisoner? ”
    Her heart lurched with hope. “ Did the Board make a decision already? ”
    “ No need. Turns out he carries the F508 mutation on the CFTR gene. ”
    “ No. ” Her stomach flipped over.
    “ Euthanization order went in this morning. Sign off and get him transferred. ” Vitus dismissed her.
    “ F508 mutations are so common. It could easily be resolved with gene therapy- ”
    “ On a prisoner? Waste of resources. Don ’ t argue with me. ” He held up a hand to stop her. “ Sign off immediately. ”
    He disappeared into his office and Tula knew it was pointless to argue with him. Conversion used enough resources without further requirements for gene therapy.
    She stared at the protein drinks in her hands. Her extension request would never be approved now. Levi would be dead by morning. A waste of resources. Unless she could prove he was worth saving.
    She tried to keep her countenance light as she continued into the prison block. No need to worry him. But she wracked her brain for reasons to recommend converting an ad ult carrier of Cystic Fibrosis.

“ G ood morning, Levi. ” Tula greeted him as usual, but her smile seemed stiff.
    “ Gut morning, Tula. ”
    She dropped eye contact as she handed both canisters through the bars, and he thought he detected a gleam of moisture on her lower lashes.
    He reached a gentle hand toward her. “ Tula? Eye? ” He ’ d been learning the names of body parts.
    “ … okay , Levi. ” She said a few more words he didn ’ t understand, but he had a feeling things were not okay.
    He accepted the canisters and backed away from the cell door to sit on his cot. She palmed the lock and closed the door with a click behind her before joining him on the mattress. She smelled warm, and he wished she hadn ’ t settled so close to him.
    At the same time, worry gnawed at his gut, and he struggled to find a way to ask her what was wrong. Sometimes communication between them seemed to click, and other times one or both of them ended up frustrated.
    In silence, they sipped the flavorless drinks.
    “ Tula, eye? ” he asked again, and then pointed to himself. “ Levi? ”
    Tula tightened her lips into a forced smile then picked up the gamma pad on the bed. Since the incident with Awnia, he ’ d been given a more primitive notepad. The stubby plastic pencil was better than his fingers, but not by much. Nothing like the slender utensil Awnia had turned into a weapon.
    Much to his chagrin, Tula pulled up the last sketch he ’ d been working on. The one he thought he ’ d erased. Were all of his lascivious creations still inside the device? Heat crept up his face and he reached over to take the screen from her.
    Tula didn ’ t let go. She rose, her deft hands bringing up another picture he thought he ’ d deleted.
    His heart raced with embarrassment. His father had always warned him his drawings would lead to trouble. Shaking his head, he again tried to take the notebook. “ I didn ’ t mean for anyone to see those. Please. ”
    An entire string of unintelligible words streamed from her lips, and she pressed the notebook to her breasts as she palmed the lock and exited his cell.
    “ Tula, no! ”
    But his words were in vain. He wondered what his sins would get him into now.

    As she climbed the stairs out of Confinement, Tula scrolled through the memory on the gamma pad, reviewing all the drawings Levi had done since he began talking. Her patients usually made multiple drawings of her over the course of counseling, but what struck Tula about these was the way he turned color and light into something powerful. A talent some might consider genius. Especially considering he ’ d done it on a child ’ s gamma pad.
    She passed her lab and continued to the second flight into the Liebert building. Although the walls were solid concrete, the sun bored through the retrofitted nuvoplast roofing, and the unaccustomed brightness made her eyes tear as she emerged into the hallway. Only a few doors down from Confinement, Council Woman Arnica ’ s office stood open to indicate the head of the Conversion Committee was available.
    If Tula could convince the Board of Levi ’ s talent, they might