Chapter Twelve
Nola froze as footsteps came closer to the grate.
“It sounded like the ventilation unit,” a man’s voice said.
There was an angry murmur before Nola’s mother’s voice came loud and clear. “I lost an entire tray because the computer mishandled the climate settings on my experiment. That same computer also monitors the climate settings in this room. Correct?”
Nola could picture her mother’s face. Eyebrows raised, nostrils flared.
“Yes,” the man said. “PAM monitors both systems.”
“And PAM is malfunctioning,” Nola’s mother growled. “So go get every climate control and computer tech down here and get this fixed before we lose every seed we have!”
Angry footsteps pounded away toward the door. Nola could see a pair of thick black boots through the slats of the grate. She held
