Chapter 13

Hiccup left the Mess hall and followed Astrid's instructions on how to get to area B. Since this part mostly consisted of laboratories and testing rooms not many Berkians had ventured in here. The area seemed a lot better maintained than the other parts of the facility and Hiccup supposed that was the scientists' doing. After all they wouldn't want to conduct their experiments in a subpar environment. Theoretically, Gobber's area should also be part of the B area but it was in the lower levels and connected to other sections via service corridors. The hallways there weren't as well lit as here.

"Proceed left at the next junction and then three doors down to the Nanotech labs." Astrid relayed the instructions as Hiccup looked around curiously. When he got to the junction Hiccup saw a sign near one of the doors that looked like a DNA helix. "Astrid what is that?"

"That is the Genetics laboratory," Astrid explained. "It is where research is being conducted to clone animals for the Biodome."

"Cloning animals? Is that even possible?" Hiccup asked. He wasn't too familiar with the process and was now wondering about the parrots he had seen flying overhead when they had first arrived.

"It is boy! The habitat wouldn't function without them." A voice startled Hiccup and he turned to look to his right. Dr. Bludvist had just come out of one of the adjoining rooms and was staring him down. The gaze was scrutinizing and the burly man crossed his arms before asking "What are you doing here?"

"Astrid.... Uhm...... was giving me a tour!" Hiccup uttered quickly and it made some sense. "Yeah, she was giving me a tour." He stated. He didn't know what it was but this man made him a bit nervous.

Drago huffed before muttering "Well get in there. I will tolerate you looking in my lab for a bit." as he pointed towards the Genetics lab.

"Excuse me, what?" Hiccup's brows shot up.

"If you're on a tour then you were going to go into the labs right?"

"Eh....... yeah......" Hiccup said while his internal dialog went something along the lines of "Crap crap crap." as he was just two doors away from his destination. Reluctantly, though he did not show it, Hiccup proceeded into the lab. While the corridors were white, the inside of this lab had darker paneling. Metallic grey walls and several workstations were present. There was even a closed-off section with an observation window. Hiccup peered through it to see rows of tubes containing some type of green fluid.

"That's the nursery," Drago said, startling Hiccup once again. He hadn't expected the man to actually talk more to him. Hiccup turned around to see him don a white lab coat and grab a tablet.

"Nursery?" Hiccup asked as his curiosity got peeked. "You mean that's where you grow clones in?"

"Yes, the fluid acts as a substitute for a womb." Drago hummed not looking up from his work.

"What type of animals are you cloning?"

"For now, mainly insects, birds and small mammals and several fish species." Drago mumbled. "The fluid speeds up the creation process from months to a few weeks and now that you've seen the lab out you go."

"Doesn't cloning entire animal populations each time become tiring?" Hiccup cocked his head to the side. Drago scoffed and gave Hiccup a look.

"It's not needed. The animal populations are unaffected by the Midas drug," Drago then muttered as he looked at Hiccup and then the automatic door. Hiccup was positive the man wasn't about to answer more questions and looked ready to throw him out. He himself hurried to the door but stopped when a thought hit him.

"Can you clone a human?" Hiccup asked and he thought he saw the man's eyes widen for a moment.

"You ask a lot of questions boy."

"I'm naturally curious," Hiccup said.

"And curiosity killed the cat. Now get. You have more to see I believe." Drago stated.

"Right.... Uh,.... I'll just go." Hiccup mumbled and was out the door in a matter of seconds. Back in the corridor Hiccup let out a breath. "That was nerve-wracking. I thought he was going to snap me in half when I asked that question."

"Dr. Bludvist can be a bit prickly about that subject." Astrid told him as Hiccup hurried to the third door. It wouldn't do if someone stopped him now.

"Human cloning? Why?"

"He has been trying to break the secret to human cloning for nearly two decades now." Astrid stated as Hiccup entered another lab. The lab was dark at first but the lights turned on automatically.

"What is this place?" he asked as he looked at all the machinery that came to life.

"The Nanobiotechnology lab." Astrid explained. "Hiccup please put your hand on the scanner on the left workstation. Hiccup turned his head to the left and saw a glowing square with an indent for a hand light up. He walked to the workstation and carefully placed his hand in it.

"What are you doing?" Hiccup asked but then hissed when something pricked him. He took his hand off and saw that there was a small pinprick where a drop of blood was oozing out of.

"I am calibrating the device to your DNA." Astrid stated as machines went to work. "Estimated time of completion: 20 minutes."

"Astrid what do you mean by calibrating it?" Hiccup asked as he found a desk chair. "What exactly are you making?"

"It is something of my own design." Astrid stated. "An advanced version of the Bluetooth headset."

"Bluetooth?" Hiccup asked with a frown. "What is Bluetooth?"

A small holographic screen popped up in front of him. "Bluetooth, also known as short-link radio technology was conceived in the late 20th century. Historical records show that it gained popularity and then later dwindled as more advanced methods of data transfer became available. As for calibrating your DNA to the device, think of it as a lock. No one but you can use it."

"Wow," Hiccup was impressed but then he thought of something "Wait, you can use faster methods of data transfer. So why Bluetooth?"

"There is a chance that a third party could discover the more advanced methods and listen in to our conversations." Astrid stated. "I rather they did not find out."

"Uhm...... Okay?" Hiccup said. He wasn't yet sure of what to make of it but he didn't think it was anything bad. "So... uhm, can you tell me more about the whole cloning thing and the Biodome?"

More screens popped up but these held words that Hiccup didn't understand very well. They looked to be technical manuals as well as results of various studies. "Arcadia uses a process called Reproductive cloning. This means that we can produce copies of whole animals. In the early stages the process took months to complete and the project was nearly scrapped until Dr. Johann Trader engineered the Bioplasma. This cut the cloning time to a great degree. However there was a problem. The fluid could not be used to clone human beings."

"Why not? Is it something in our DNA?" Hiccup questioned

"No. Theoretically the process should be able to produce a human clone." Astrid stated. "However, those affected by the Midas drug cannot be cloned."

"So that's what Dr. Bludvist is so prickly about?"

"Yes, the cloning process recognizes the Midas drug as a foreign agent and produces an error. Up till now there has been no successful human clone."

"But the animals are alright?" Hiccup asked as he remembered the man telling him that they were unaffected.

"According to research records the Midas drug doesn't affect animals. It was engineered to be selective. The animal populations can reproduce normally after the cloning process. Populations are still monitored but so far it has been a success. Several insect and bird species have already formed symbiotic relationships with the plantlife." As Astrid stated this she observed Hiccup who was deep in thought.

"Is there something on your mind?"

"I was just wondering about that Midas drug."

"I have no records of the drug's development. I would be of little help in that area." Astrid stated.

"I was just wondering, if your nanomachines could remove the drug from human bodies." Hiccup said.

"I am sorry Hiccup, but that is impossible." Astrid stated. "Normally nanomachines could work inside a human's body to stop diseases and fix injuries. However, the Midas drug was made to be virtually undetectable. Without an original base sample to go off on the nanomachines wouldn't know what to look for. And no original samples exist anymore."

"Oh," Hiccup mumbled a bit sadly.

"The device is finished," Astrid announced a few minutes later causing Hiccup to perk up. She directed him to one of the workstations where the mechanical arms had been busy. There on the table lay a device that was smaller than Hiccup's hand. He looked at it curiously. It seemed to be able to go around the back of his ear. There was a bud attached to the device and Hiccup placed that in his ear. His auburn hair completely covered the device.

"Can you hear me?" Astrid's voice came through the bud. Hiccup jumped at first because it felt so close.

"Y...Yeah," he said. Honestly it felt like she was standing right next to him and whispering in his ear. "This is awesome! You're amazing Astrid."

"Why thank you Hiccup." Astrid chirped. "You're making me blush."

"I wish I could see that." Hiccup laughed as he exited the lab.

"It is not out of the question," Astrid mumbled.

AN: So sorry for the delay. I went to an all you can eat buffet. Came home stuffed and then fell asleep. (Woke up at 11 PM and saw that I had forgotten to finish this chap)
Next update will be on Saturday.