Jonathan was suffering from success.

He had everything any academic in the world would have wanted: A limitless purview to study and research whatever he desired, the resources to try any experiment his mind could come up with, and near infinite time to accomplish it in. If you'd have asked him less than 6 months ago what his dream position would be, he would have described this job.

But now, now that he was here, the full freedom was trapping the scientist within the paralysis of choice. The sheer magnitude of the station he found himself in was suffocating, the feeling of wasting an opportunity, the desire, no, the need to take full advantage of such a privilege, was in of itself stopping him from doing so.

It had been five months, five months and Dr Johnathan Fletcher had nothing to show for his time here, not even the true start of a project outside of some vague notes and half started calculations, all for ideas nowhere near good enough. There was even a tray of blueberry muffins made in a fit of desperation and eaten long ago; they were… ok. Not war winning.

The worst part was, nobody seemed to care. Aside from the occasional request for materials for whatever initial idea had struck his fancy, Jonathan only spoke with Susan during the monthly progress reports. Each of them stating functionally nothing had been accomplished, each one taken without complaint or issue, no sign of disappointment or suggestions of him not belonging here.

Of course, the fact of the matter was Johnathan was nothing special in this regard, and absolutely nobody in charge of Research Location 9 cared about his performance. Practically every scientist here had several months to find their new perfect project, most of them going through the same internal struggles and worries.

Unfortunately, that didn't stop the self perception of Dr. Fletcher's abject failure, surrounded by brilliant people who were all working on cutting edge science straight out of the imaginations of magicians. That he, Dr Fletcher alone, was the single person failing and falling behind. This idea of isolated incompetence was, ironically, a very common feeling here.

So Johnathan continued to bash their head against the infinitely sized wall of trying to discover something incredible to work on, hoping each set of small experiments or tests would lead to something great.

He felt a little hope regarding his latest idea, as it had one he'd tinkered with on and off over the last 70 years. Out of all the known fundamental forces in the universe, XK waves were the least studied by humanity as a whole: the ability to influence electromagnetic forces at range wasn't something that appeared on Earth naturally. In fact, having a species with a specialized organ in order to influence such forces was a rare trait amongst the universe as a whole.

In extreme cases, it allowed organisms to directly "puppeteer" organisms using their nervous system, read brain waves directly, and provide a level of supposed 'clairvoyance' and short term prediction through instinct. Unfortunately for the Terran Alliance, one of the main species of the Estorian empires were the Uhae, who were considered such an 'extreme case'. Humans being susceptible to being mind controlled was a military 'issue' on the battlefield.

Dr Fletcher was currently running simulations and calculations regarding the viability of a unique method of reversing such XK waves, nullifying them in all circumstances. The lab was mostly silent as Johnathan and Lena worked on this new theory, although internally Lena was facing an entirely different problem: What counts as ten percent?

That was the rule the Scythens had. They could, if they so chose, have dropped technology and scientific advancement upon their Terran allies to the extent that the war would have been quickly over. However from personal experience, they knew that just dropping information onto the less technologically advanced led to despair and ruin. The lessons learned from building and researching a technology were important, especially to avoid the pitfalls of usage.

The Scythens knew this all too well from personal experience.

Which was why they had the 10% rule. If you were working with a species and helping them apply research, you could get them 10% of the way there: a compromise between doing nothing, and accidentally accelerating a culture's development fast enough for them to hurt themselves. Much discussion amongst the Scythens had been had around what exactly counted as 10%?

Did that count as telling his friend Johnathan that his current path of research wouldn't work?

His idea was sound and the concept of blocking even the most powerful amplification of XK waves was entirely doable with the Terran's level of technology, unfortunately, Friend Johnathan was about to fall for a common pitfall.

There were two main ways that species tried to block XK waves. One was slightly unconventional, but would work no matter what counter measures were deployed, a guaranteed block against such tricks. The other was more straightforward, but failed when the power of the incoming waves reached a certain limit. Even worse, by the rate of research it would take around two years of development to realize this pitfall.

It takes a discerning observer zero guesses to correctly summarize which method Johnthan had chosen.

So what counts as 10%? Is informing someone that a line of study won't pan out too much interference, or should they instead let a friend waste literal years on a dead end? Lena couldn't abide by that thought, so hoped that the small nudge they were about to give their Terran friend would be considered within the 'spirit' of the rules.

"Query: Friend Johnathan, how are you feeling about this possible project proposal?"

Lena asked the question carefully, not wanting to give away too much information. There was also the possibility that informing Dr Fletcher that their initial plan would have been yet another failure, would injure his already damaged confidence.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I think this might finally be the one." Jonathan looked up from his computer screen upon which numbers and results flashed by, startled from the break in silence. "The initial simulations suggest that the science might work. Being able to cut off the Uhae's 'crazy powers' would be an amazing project."

Lena paused once again, trying to craft the exact words needed to explain the situation without outright telling him that his current path is one of futility, that he needed a slight change to fully unlock his idea.

"Questioning statement: Are you certain your method will work?"

Jonathan stopped for a moment, giving a frown as he slowly thought over the statement.

"Well, no reason why it shouldn't work. The process by which the Uhae exert their control is known, and interfering with that process using my idea has already been proven in a lab to work on single wave events. No reason it shouldn't scale to actual real implementation."

Johnathan was wrong, it wouldn't scale, not to the level it needed to, not that Lena was going to say it outright. They couldn't just give the Terran all the answers either, they needed to prod the primate closer towards the actual answer.

"Suggestion: Why not use the Frazier Principle?"

Johnathan narrowed his eyes slightly at his Scythen friend, staring at the strange tentacled alien sitting upon their floating transport disk. Johnathan, like most of his species, had the ability for 'pattern recognition'. Over his years of friendship with Lena, he'd noticed the prelude to some of his greatest moments of inspiration had been small innocuous comments like this, that always seemed to push him in the right direction.

"Isn't that a process for a different wavelength? I guess you could theoretically modify it, and it would increase the potential gain if that became a problem…"

Dr Fletcher trailed off as his mind started to slip into deep thought, quickly putting together an initial set of simulations to run to test this new idea as the new theory started to take hold, Lena happy that they'd pushed their Terran friend in the right direction without specifically telling them what to do. Johnathan would still have to work out all the important parts, and learn the important lessons that came with those new sciences.

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A soft gentle sounding alarm sounded through the lab, a sound all scientists at Research Location 9 had learned to hate, breaking the conversation and Johnathan's train of thought as the lights on the lab brightened and several devices turned themselves to standby mode, including the terminal Johnathan had been furiously typing into.

"Maxium working time has been reached for this session. Please leave the lab Dr. Fletcher and Lena for a minimum of two hours. Thank you."

The voice belonged to MATILDA, the ever watching digital eyes of the AI that ran the facility. While Susan was in charge of the big picture stuff, making sure difficult to source resources were found and ensuring every scientist here had what they needed to be the best them, MATILDA ran the day to day necessities. They made sure the trash was taken away, food and entertainment was restocked, and that the scientific minds they were in charge of didn't harm themselves.

"Jesus Christ MATILDA, I've said I don't need you to tell me when to take a break, I'm an adult, I don't need a babysitter telling me when to stop."

"As I have stated before Dr Johnathan Fletcher, I am merely here to ensure your compliance with working time laws and keep you healthy. I am not a baby sitter. "

MATILDA was a babysitter. The Terran Alliance government had quickly learnt that if you gave academics infinite resources to work on something they find interesting, a large percentage of them tended to turn into educationally focused hermits that forget about things like food and sunlight. This, despite the protests of the scientists themselves, was bad for both their health and productivity.

Thus, it was MATILDA's job to ensure that their charges remembered to eat, and get the socialization, or 'grass touching' required to be a healthy adult. Not to mention all the other childish issues academics bring with them; like continuing previous academic spats by trying to break into other's labs and getting into near fistfights over different theories. One academic had even been expelled from the program after they couldn't let a three decades old feud go. Shortly followed by their colleague for throwing what they called "my ultimate victory party."

Indeed, MATILDA had to deal with the unfortunate reality that education didn't equal maturity. Not that most of the people here at Research Location 9 knew of this. To them, the poor AI was an annoying caretaker, who made them take regular breaks, and stopped them bringing food or sleeping bags into the lab.

"Reminder: We did agree to lunch with Rux and Spencer."

Johnathan's annoyance with being kicked out of the lab was interrupted by Lena, turning to a mild panic as they checked the time, realizing they'd let the minutes tick away faster than expected.

"Shit it's two already. Gonna be late again!"

MATILDA was instantly forgotten as Dr Fletcher quickly gathered his belongings, and with a last glance to make sure his simulations were still running, rushed out of the door with the Scythen close in tow.

"Yes, goodbye to you as well, Dr Johnathan Fletcher and Lena." The voice of MATILDA had an annoyed tint to it as it called out after the pair, adding a final word after a moment's delay. "Rude."

The duo jumped into one of the many transport pods that allowed quick travel around the facility, quickly picking up speed as they sped past the rows upon rows of labs. The sounds and signs of movement could be seen within each, as the greatest minds of the Terran Alliance all worked together on their own projects.

It was an additional reminder to Jonathan of the complete lack of progress he'd made so far, increasing the incessant and unrequired guilt of not being good enough for such a place.

Soon the sterile design of the labs were replaced by the more pleasing residential areas, cold glass and metal structures replaced with green areas and simple paved paths more commonly found in towns and cities all across the Terran Alliance.

Well, kinda.

The "Town" was a strange amalgamation of different designs and purposes from all over the Alliance, as if sections from various cultures had been transported from all over the galaxy. The aquariums of the Olgro stood next to the tall open-air theatres of the Parket. Restaurants and cafes that wouldn't be out of place on Earth had sand gardens found on every Ritilian planet.

It was everything a person might want or need in order to remain happy and healthy, keeping the academics and the many many members of the support staff at Research Location 9 in top mental shape.

The cafe they were eventually dropped off outside was clearly a Terran inspired creation, one that made Johnathan feel at home, long loved memories of using copious amounts of caffeine to fuel his studying and research over the years. The plants and old styled wooden decor reminded him of his university years.

Considering this entire place had been built less than five years ago, it was impressive how… old and cozy everything here felt, as if it had been built into the rockbed of the town, everything purposefully crafted to recreate the familiar surroundings so many academics have gone through. Neither Dr Fletcher or Lena were thinking about such things as they rapidly approached the table that already housed two individuals.

"Sorry, sorry sorry sorry. I didn't realize the time!" John apologized as he took his seat opposite the pair, taking a quick moment to type in a quick snack and a black coffee into the replicator, Lena floating as always in the empty seat to his left.

"It's ok… I'm sure you had something important you were working on." The uplift spoke softly, eyes glued towards the table as always, the simple sandwich and glass of water standing in front of him. The black labrador seemed to always look tired, dressed from head to toe in simple white clothing, absentmindedly scratching an arm along the sleeve as he talked, a tick he seemed to do at all times.

Spencer was never one to speak up, barely raising his voice above a whisper or really talking about himself much during the six months Johnathan had been here. Even now he wasn't 100% certain exactly what he did, something about Medigel and biogenetic engineering.

"What could be more important than the trial run of Project Lazeros?" The second of the pair exclaimed, the little rodent animated as he spoke, his gigantic plate of Brazil nuts and a cup of hot chocolate loaded with whipped cream almost as large as he was.

Rux was the complete opposite to Spencer, a Quoxxett, a species of 2ft tall brown furred rodents who had joined the Terran Alliance years ago. They were well known for their pups being rambunctious and eventually calming down in their adult years, although nobody seemed to have told Rux this. He was loud, energetic, arrogant and completely full of life, as if God had decided to pack a whole 8ft full of personality into a 2ft tall being.

They both were Johnathan and Lena's neighbours, and like all good social creatures, had ended up forming a mild companionship to talk and share stories about their research. That was one of the intended benefits of Research Location 9: Academics from corners of research that would normally never interact were allowed to mingle, meaning that when they weren't getting into fist fights over minor differences, allowed for a communication of ideas that would be unlikely otherwise.

"Interested question: What was the result of Lazeros?"

"Success, glorious success! Movement without warp, no need to worry about the stupid issue of warping into stuff. Go as fast as your fuel can take you!" They shouted out with glee, a few Brazil nuts rolling away as he spoke with enthusiasm. "Sure, it was only one particle, moving five inches. And the machine caught on fire due to the power draw. But it WORKED, the rest is just details! It's no longer a theory, it works in practicality, I am a GOD, and the laws of physics can suck my-"

Rux was interrupted by a light cough coming from Spencer, the uplift only briefly looking up for a moment as they cut off the rude statement the Quoxxett was about to say. Lena was legitimately interested in the progress of Project Lazeros, since the device the little Rodent was helping to build was the next stage in FTL travel. Eventually, if they refined it enough after hundreds of years, the engine would be good enough to travel galaxies if needed.

It was strange that a Quoxxett was the one in charge of the project, since the little rodent species weren't known for blistering scientific prowess, although the Scythen guessed it was the standard Terran effect: They had a tendency to make all their friends the best versions of themselves.

"While it is good, Johnathan and Lena have only just arrived, and we've not even asked them how they're doing." The uplift softly spoke in that soft sad tone he always did. "No need to be rude."

"Yes…" Rux at least had the wherewithal to look suitably shamed. "Sorry guys, did you have any news regarding your hunt for a project?"

"Positive affirmation: Our new possible project has positive outlooks. Thank you for asking."

"Yeah I think this might be the one." Johnathan added, feeling a little better about his latest idea. If the Scythen was helping, and stating it was a 'positive outlook' then that surely meant he was on the right path. "I was just running some final simulations on a new process of blocking XK waves when MATILDA kicked me out."

"Uuuugh, MATILDA suuucks." Rux exclaimed again, getting half covered in cream as he took a big drink from his hot chocolate. "I preferred it when all AI were just trying to kill people, not nag you to take proper breaks."

"I do agree MATILDA can be a little… strict at times." Spencer softly added. "Especially since the universal Medigel project is nearly completed, and I do wish for this project to end as soon as possible."

The four all nodded or changed colour in agreement, the unlikely grouping of academics from different studies all coming together and sharing in their same negative opinions about 'Not being allowed to overwork themselves'. Sitting there in a group, showed how unique Dr Fletcher's position of self doubt and dedicate wasn't.

"What's wrong with not sleeping!" Rux added with gusto. "If I want to spend 40 hours in a row working on a project, that's why Terrans invented lethal amounts of caffeine and hard drugs!"

There was a brief pause as the trio just stared at the sugar-fueled rodent, concern with the Quoxxett's attitude emanating from all of them as the little mammal took another generous helping of his drink.

"Concerned warning: Rux, you worry me sometimes."

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