Queen of the Meadow

"Darling, I don't feel very good right now. I think I'll take a nap."

"What's the matter?"

"I'm not sure. We had a breakthrough at the lab today. We were able to isolate several sections of unused DNA and reconstruct a previous version of the species."

"Really? That's great! Isn't that why you joined the firm?"

"Yes, of course it is. However, the species I'm talking about is ours."

"You're kidding? I thought that was forbidden."

"Duh...don't you think that's why we really wanted me to take this job?"

They winked at each other, sure their conversations were recorded but not their body movements.

"So what did you do next?"

"We think we were able to recreate some of our ancestral branches. We're taking a few weeks to sort through the results."

"Branches?"

"Yes, when we had tails, scales, four sets of eyes and flippers. The usual rot."

"Cool. So when can I go swimming with my next of kin?"

"Very funny. We're not looking at recreating the past. We're more interested in the future."

"Of course we are. Do you think you can do it?"

"Honey, consider it done."

"This puts us ahead of the timetable. What about the others?"

"I don't know. I lost contact. When's the next meeting?"

"In a few weeks. Want me to try to get a hold of them?"

"No. Remember, you're innocent of the whole thing. Your task will come later."

"Of course, dear, you're right. How long do you want to sleep?"

"Say...30 minutes. It'll give me a few minutes to settle down with the cats and maybe 15 minutes or so of real sleep."

"Okay."

"Love you."

"Love you, too."