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NEXT MORNING
THE NILE EGYPTIAN MUSEUM, FREMONT, CA
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WHILE WAITING FOR THE office elevator, that seemed to be taking its sweet time, Kaili reminisced about the activities from the night before. She could she her reflection in the shiny silver elevator doors and knew she couldn’t hide the smile on her face. It was a dead giveaway that she had a wonderful celebration last night. That was one reason she wanted to get in early this morning, despite that fact she could no longer wait to start the DNA testing prep.
She found herself literally springing into the elevator just as the doors open. Pressing button 3, she was keenly aware that every step would get her closer to her day’s objective.
As soon as the doors sprung open Kaili stepped out. The automatic light illuminated the floor in the examining room where Kaili spent most of her days. Kaili headed directly to the dressing area where she would slip on her white lab coat, hair net, gloves and work goggles. She grabbed her face mask and headed to her skeleton laid out on the table.
The room was clean and white. Rectangular tables were lined up in the middle of the room about six feet apart. Each table had a stool chair or two dedicated to it. Lights hung over each table. Office desks surrounded the tables on the outside framing the tables within. Each desk had the standard computers, in-boxes and everything an office desk would hold but also magnifying lamps each examiner could peer through to see what they were working on more precisely.
Behind a line of desks to the right were rows and rows of shelving similar to a warehouse. The shelves held tons of artifacts and relics of the past not yet reviewed. They were artifacts that the museum had acquired or purchased with the hopes of preserving and researching when the future and the charity dollars would permit.
As Kaili reached her work table, she took in a moment to examine the full skeleton while whispering a little prayer for guidance in her next steps. Kaili picked up a small dentist pick tool and leaned over the skull on the table. Ever so gently Kaili reached for the bottom jaw and reviewed the old decaying teeth that were still attached. She had noted earlier that both back molars were intact. Kaili preferred to use molars to extract DNA since the teeth themselves were pretty large.
Delicately she uses the tool to feel around the molar, and with any luck, loosen it without any damage. After a couple of skilled movements, Kaili realized the tooth was loose. Gently she wiggled it a little to get it off the jaw bone itself. She was quite pleased that it had gone better than expected.
Kaili immediately headed over to her work desk. There she removed her goggles, pulled out her large magnify lamp and examined the tooth in much better detail. It was a perfect specimen in which to work from. Taking a few moments to prep the molar, Kaili rinsed the tooth with distilled water. It was protocol to remove as much of any contaminates that may be on the specimen. Once she felt the tooth was prepped, she reached over, grabbing her drill. Briefly she examines the drill ensuring the correct fine drill head was attached. Then she grabbed a special sheet of paper and placed it in the middle of the table so that all the powdery dust would be captured. Bringing the tooth back under the microscope she began to apply the drill, she started shaving down the tooth and gathering what she would need for the DNA.
After a few minutes Kaili put the drill down and reviewed the amount of powder she had created. There was more there than what would be needed. Before taking the next steps, she carefully carried the tooth back to the jaw bone on the table so that there would be no losing it. It was too valuable to misplace.
Hurrying back, she grabbed a clear round glass bottle and placed it on her desk table. Grabbing a plain label, she noted ‘KW SK 1055’ and dated it today. Placing the label on the bottle, she safeguarded its attachment. Next, she cautiously grabbed to four corners of the paper with the powder. Watchfully folding the paper in half to create a makeshift funnel.
Next, she started to bring the bottle over to the paper and began to precisely shake the powder into the bottle ensuring nothing trickled on to the table. Immediately she reached for the cap and secured the bottle tightly.
The sample was now ready for the lab. Kaili felt the excitement grow in her chest. She tried not to let it overwhelm her as she had been disappointed before. Snatching a manilla envelope, Kaili placed her bottle of hope into the envelop along with the lab request paperwork she prepared the day before.
This project would get her ultimate attention, as she decided she would walk the sample down to the lab herself. She quickly left and headed in that direction.